Posted 10:56 pm Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Send to Kindle
Centenarian: This election more important than first
Mary “Madge” Holiman, 104, voted in her first election in 1932. She cast a ballot for Franklin D. Roosevelt.
But she said it was more a vote against President Herbert Hoover.
Mrs. Holiman was 24 at the time and newly married. The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920, but Mrs. Holiman said politics were not a big topic in her home growing up.
Politics and religion were not broached during day-to-day conversation around her home, she said. The self-described “farm girl” from Redbud, near Edom, said it was her husband Lee, “a Navy man” who convinced her voting was important.
“We weren't political,” she said. “We weren't involved, but my husband thought it was a duty to vote.”
Mrs. Holiman's family was affected by the Great Depression at the time. Everyone struggled, she said.
Her father had a heart problem and the 90-acre farm, where cash crops — including sweet potatoes, cotton, peanuts, berries and livestock — suffered during the time.
She had just married and made the five-day trek to California via Model T where her husband was stationed.
The Holiman's $79-a-month Navy pay didn't go far, but it was steady income, she said. Mrs. Holiman, as other wives and family members, were not given on-base medical care, and an emergency medical procedure reduced the monthly budget $7.
“They were tough times especially when he was away,” she said.
Holiman was assigned to a mine sweeper at Pearl Harbor during the attack. It was eight days later that Mrs. Holiman heard word her husband survived.
Mrs. Holiman missed several elections over the past eight decades, but she didn't miss this year's vote, casting her ballot early. She would not reveal her presidential selection.
After her husband retired from the Navy, the two hit the road with a 21-foot Terry trailer and traveled across America.
But she said it was more a vote against President Herbert Hoover.
Mrs. Holiman was 24 at the time and newly married. The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920, but Mrs. Holiman said politics were not a big topic in her home growing up.
Politics and religion were not broached during day-to-day conversation around her home, she said. The self-described “farm girl” from Redbud, near Edom, said it was her husband Lee, “a Navy man” who convinced her voting was important.
“We weren't political,” she said. “We weren't involved, but my husband thought it was a duty to vote.”
Mrs. Holiman's family was affected by the Great Depression at the time. Everyone struggled, she said.
Her father had a heart problem and the 90-acre farm, where cash crops — including sweet potatoes, cotton, peanuts, berries and livestock — suffered during the time.
She had just married and made the five-day trek to California via Model T where her husband was stationed.
The Holiman's $79-a-month Navy pay didn't go far, but it was steady income, she said. Mrs. Holiman, as other wives and family members, were not given on-base medical care, and an emergency medical procedure reduced the monthly budget $7.
“They were tough times especially when he was away,” she said.
Holiman was assigned to a mine sweeper at Pearl Harbor during the attack. It was eight days later that Mrs. Holiman heard word her husband survived.
Mrs. Holiman missed several elections over the past eight decades, but she didn't miss this year's vote, casting her ballot early. She would not reveal her presidential selection.
After her husband retired from the Navy, the two hit the road with a 21-foot Terry trailer and traveled across America.
Mrs. Holiman said the world has changed dramatically through incremental steps since she graduated from a two-room school in Edom in 1929.
America has changed. Tyler has changed. Society has changed. People and politics have changed, she said.
She remembers drawing water from an artesian well on her farm, which also watered the livestock and crops and her favorite fishing spot, a spring-fed lake in northern California — Clear Lake. The well is still there but is now capped, and Clear Lake was contaminated by a nearby mercury mine in the 1990s.
Mrs. Holiman took a 5-cent airplane ride above Tyler in the mid-1920s. It took off from a wide open field where Bergfeld Center is located. After landing, she said her shoes were covered with oil from the early era aircraft.
Society and its sense of community have declined, and people have become less independent, she said. People are more open to ideas, but Mrs. Holiman, who has a son and two granddaughters, said she can't decide if people and civilization advanced or declined.
“I don't know if it was for the best or worse,” she said. “I met so many people during and after the war, and their ideas were different. I don't know if I got older, but the character of people changed.”
The character of politicians has clearly changed for the worse, Mrs. Holiman said. In the past, she said, both political parties disagreed but compromised for the betterment of the country and its people. Today, the division is so deep she feels very little is being done during a critical time in the nation's history, she said.
Voting is important and she feels this election is even more important than her first, she said.
Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade, when told about Mrs. Holiman's continued voting activity, said she has heard many stories about senior citizens' participating, from long-time to first-time voters.
“I am proud of her and the fact that she continues to vote and participate,” Mrs. Andrade said. “It tells me she understands the importance of her vote.”
Peggy Larison, Mrs. Holiman's niece, called her an “inspiration” and “example to be followed.”
America has changed. Tyler has changed. Society has changed. People and politics have changed, she said.
She remembers drawing water from an artesian well on her farm, which also watered the livestock and crops and her favorite fishing spot, a spring-fed lake in northern California — Clear Lake. The well is still there but is now capped, and Clear Lake was contaminated by a nearby mercury mine in the 1990s.
Mrs. Holiman took a 5-cent airplane ride above Tyler in the mid-1920s. It took off from a wide open field where Bergfeld Center is located. After landing, she said her shoes were covered with oil from the early era aircraft.
Society and its sense of community have declined, and people have become less independent, she said. People are more open to ideas, but Mrs. Holiman, who has a son and two granddaughters, said she can't decide if people and civilization advanced or declined.
“I don't know if it was for the best or worse,” she said. “I met so many people during and after the war, and their ideas were different. I don't know if I got older, but the character of people changed.”
The character of politicians has clearly changed for the worse, Mrs. Holiman said. In the past, she said, both political parties disagreed but compromised for the betterment of the country and its people. Today, the division is so deep she feels very little is being done during a critical time in the nation's history, she said.
Voting is important and she feels this election is even more important than her first, she said.
Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade, when told about Mrs. Holiman's continued voting activity, said she has heard many stories about senior citizens' participating, from long-time to first-time voters.
“I am proud of her and the fact that she continues to vote and participate,” Mrs. Andrade said. “It tells me she understands the importance of her vote.”
Peggy Larison, Mrs. Holiman's niece, called her an “inspiration” and “example to be followed.”
“She has the most positive attitude,” she said. “She still cooks for (my husband and I) and works in the yard. She's amazing.”
Mrs. Holiman continues to knit. She paints and also has won blue ribbons for her quilts.
Politics is not a passion for Mrs. Holiman, but talking about politics stirs a passion connected to her past and future.
Mrs. Holiman said she always has considered the person over political party. If the person was seeking re-election, she studies their record. If they were new she considered what they stood for and made “the best guess.”
She said she is fed up with politicians from both parties and believes leaders need to set aside agendas and provide solutions.
“They're supposed to be so educated, but they can't see what they are doing to the country on both sides,” she said. “One day we're going to wake up, and it's going to be too late. I hope I don't see that day, but it could happen.”
Mrs. Holiman continues to knit. She paints and also has won blue ribbons for her quilts.
Politics is not a passion for Mrs. Holiman, but talking about politics stirs a passion connected to her past and future.
Mrs. Holiman said she always has considered the person over political party. If the person was seeking re-election, she studies their record. If they were new she considered what they stood for and made “the best guess.”
She said she is fed up with politicians from both parties and believes leaders need to set aside agendas and provide solutions.
“They're supposed to be so educated, but they can't see what they are doing to the country on both sides,” she said. “One day we're going to wake up, and it's going to be too late. I hope I don't see that day, but it could happen.”
