Earlene Harvey-Morris is a member of the Falkville, AL class of 2010, and she is 95 years old. She was supposed to be a member of the Class of 1933, but the Great Depression got in the way and her school closed right before she was supposed to graduate:
“This is just something I never thought would happen,” Harvey-Morris told the Falkville class of 2010, who adopted her and made her an honorary class member. Her fellow graduates were making amends to a woman affected by the Great Depression in the 1930s. Faced with an insurmountable budget crunch, Falkville High School was shuttered just months before she was scheduled to graduate in May 1933
She received 2 diplomas, one for the Class of 1933, and another for her adopted Class of 2010.
As you know, I love stories like these, but one of the things that struck me about it was how the teens in the Class of 2010 got a personal lesson about the Great Depression as they learned about the obstacles she faced. Even when the school re-opened, she couldn’t attend because there was no bus service and she lived 10 miles away, an obstacle to education that’s not frequently heard of in the United States now.
Though her family enabled her graduation, Earlene Harvey-Morris’ story is a great example to a younger generation of the importance of education. I hope at least one young person was moved by the sight of these people pursuing this 77 years later.
-Elizabeth Thielke
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Jane says,
This is so great. I also heard about a woman who got braces when she was 78. How awesome.
on 04 July 2010 / 10:33 PM
BonnieB23 says,
I went back to college at the age of 50. It took me 6 years to graduate because I did not go full time. But it gave me huge satisfaction to have done it, once I was finished. And it was such fun going through. I took a lot of extra classes because I loved learning so much. It is NEVER too late to learn something new. It is never too late to go back to school. But i know from experience that it does take a certain amount of “guts” because we tend to feel old when we first see a campus full of undergraduates. However that passes very quickly. My book Ahead of the Curve and intimate conversation with women in the second half of life, discusses this theme. http://www.readaheadofthecurve.com
As a health and wellness coach I love to encourage women to go out and follow their dreams. Such wonderful dreams deserve to be lived, and we can do it.
on 12 July 2010 / 2:21 PM
Kaye Swain says,
Hi Elizabeth – great encouragement and inspiration – both from the article AND the comments!
Thanks so much for including this in the Boomers and Seniors: News You Can Use blog carnival at SandwichINK! This is the fun kind of news for seniors that puts a big smile on faces!
on 20 July 2010 / 12:24 PM
Your Starting Point Is Now | NEW DAY NEW LESSON says,
[...] to play an instrument late in life. There are retired people who go back to college and even a 95 year old who got her high school diploma. Age should not be a [...]
on 28 July 2010 / 11:02 PM