Mr. Bishop (GA) – Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my sincerest congratulations and Happy Birthday wishes to Mrs. Buena Wooten Long, who will be celebrating her 100th birthday on Wednesday, July 25, 2012. On this day, Mrs. Long will be honored with a birthday celebration and dinner at the James H. Gray Senior Citizen’s Center in Albany, Georgia.
Born in Whigham, Georgia on July 25, 1912 to Archie and Ada Wooten, Mrs. Long is the youngest of six children: Malachi, Charlie, Wadis, Leah, and Ruth. Although all her siblings preceded her in death, she is the second member of her family to become a centenarian; her paternal grandfather lived to be 106 years old.
Mrs. Long fondly remembers plowing a mule on the family farm as a child. As an adult, she worked as a seamstress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Detroit, Michigan. She is now an active participant at the Golden Retreat Senior Citizen’s Center. Although she enjoys all the activities at the Center, bingo is her favorite.
Mrs. Long is the mother of Mrs. Helen Murphy-Prince; grandmother of Mr. Craig Wendell Prince; great-grandmother of Mr. Randall Murphy and Mr. Brian Murphy and great-great-grandmother of Miss London Taylor Murphy.
Mrs. Long credits her longevity to her faith in God, a strong work ethic instilled in her by her parents and good genes. She is an active member of the Institutional First Baptist Church under the pastorate of Dr. Eugene G. Sherman.
George Washington Carver once said, “How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong because someday in your life you will have been all of these.” Mrs. Long has advanced far in life because she never forgot these lessons and always kept God first.
The race of life isn’t given to the swift or to the strong, but to those who endure until the end. Mrs. Long has run the race of life with grace and dignity and God has blessed her over her lifetime.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute to an outstanding citizen and woman of faith, Mrs. Buena Wooten Long, as she, her family, and the seniors and volunteers of the Golden Retreat at the James H. Gray Senior Citizen’s Center prepare to celebrate her 100th birthday.