THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 12, 1996 TAG: 9604100110
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
George W. Johnson has seen many changes in 100 years. Not all of them for the good.
He has watched public morality deteriorate in the 20th century.
``You can see it everywhere,'' said Johnson, who observed his 100th birthday Wednesday in the Churchland home he shares with his wife, 81-year-old Lucille. ``The world's getting in a terrible fix. There ain't nothing else they can do. They done everything in the book.''
Johnson was born in the small farming community of Aiken, S.C., in 1896. His father, a farmer and gardener, had been born just as the practice of slavery in America was at an end. Johnson's grandmother, who lived with them in Aiken, had been a slave.
While schooling was available, it was a long way from their home, so Johnson spent his time learning from his family the ethics of hard work.
George Johnson and Lucille Parker were introduced by coincidence after both their previous marriages had ended. By the early 1950s, Johnson had moved from South Carolina to Pennsylvania. After working his way up from dishwasher to cook in a Harrisburg, Pa., restaurant, he was transferred by his company to a New York location. He began boarding in a house in New York City.
Lucille, who was born in North Carolina, moved to Virginia when she was 15. When her first husband died, she ended up as a boarder there for an older woman. One day, the woman asked her if she intended to marry again.
``She said, `There's a man rooming at my daughter's house in New York,' '' remembered Lucille. ``She said, `He's a nice man. His name is George Johnson.' ''
Johnson and Lucille wrote each other for eight months, then met in New York. After a brief courtship, Johnson announced, ``I don't see why we can't get married.'' And so they did.
The Johnsons then moved to Chesapeake to work with Lucille's sister at a retreat in their neighborhood. Johnson, nearly 60, had returned to the South with a new wife. They have lived here ever since, working at the retreat and staying active in their church.
``When I get up in the morning, I read my Bible,'' said Johnson. ``It's a good habit.''
He still works as a cook at the retreat, located next door to his house. He also works odd jobs. He does laundry and irons for two other households.
One of his loves is the church, he said. Though he no longer attends every Sunday, he faithfully watches televised services. His taste in music begins and ends with hymns.
Segregation in America has ended in his lifetime, but the world is more violent, he said. The worst of it, the 100-year-old said, are the drugs.
``If I'd known it was going to get this bad,'' he said, ``I wouldn't have wanted to be here.''
Johnson said he lives the best life he can, even if others don't. He's slower, he admitted, but still pulls his own weight.
``Plenty of people go to 100 years old,'' said Johnson. ``I say this. If you get to it, and you're active and ain't no burden to anybody, it's fine. I thank the Lord that I'm here and able.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
George W. Johnson celebrated his 100th birthday on Wednesday.
KEYWORDS: CENTENARIAN by CNB