How does one remember and share with others what living to be 102 years old has been like. Cleo Linwood (Smith) Simmons can tell anyone who asks and will listen to what her years have been like. She was born on April 11, 1924, the fourth oldest of 12 children born to Gordon and Lula Smith.
The early years were spent helping her parents and three older sisters do what was needed to simply survive. The Smith family had little, if any, money, and basically all the food they had was raised in the gardens.
There was no electricity, running water, or telephone. The washing was done a washboard and hung outside on a line to dry. Imagine that much washing of dirty clothes. The irons were heated on the wood stove before they could iron. With that many children, that was a lot of ironing!
Cleo’s mother would make most of their clothes and these would be handed down from one child to the next.
The only way of travel was walking as granddad never did drive or own a car. These were hard and difficult times for sure.
As the family grew so did the workload of the older children. Schooling was important and Cleo and her siblings would walk down through the fields to the Stony Run School, about a mile from the house. They went to school regardless of what the weather was like.
Granddad would take the older children and together they would walk through the fields and woods to St. Michael Church, located on the Sugar Grove Road. I have no idea how far that was.
On April 12, 1937, Cleo’s mother passed away, 26 days after her twin sisters were born and one day after her 13th birthday. What a tragedy for this husband and 12 children. I can hardly imagine what this time in their young lives must have been like.
Granddad was determined to keep his family together and raise them to adulthood, and he did. Helping with new babies was easy for Cleo, as there were seven siblings younger than her. So when older sisters, Jane and my mom, needed help, she was there.
Cleo met the love of her life, Vernon Simmons, and they were married on June 8, 1946, and they would share their lives together for 76 years. They moved to Staunton, Virginia, in the late 1940s.
Cleo continues to live in the house that her three brothers built for them. She loves flowers and the large flower bed in the backyard sported a dress of many colors from early spring until the killing frost of fall.
The garden was filled with a variety of vegetables that were canned for the winter and to share. Vernon loved to mow his lawn and care for the apple trees and the plum and peach trees that stood in a row below the garden.
There was a large pecan tree and a chestnut tree above the garden. The sour cherry tree was beside the carport. Bushel upon bushels of fruit were canned and given away. None of these trees remain in the yard.
Cleo was happy taking care of her home and raising her children and never had a public job. She would sew for her family, extended family and friends. She would babysit several children and should they not adjust to her way of doing things, she would ask the parents to find another sitter. Cleo believed in teaching right from wrong and I believe we all know that is a hard lesson for many to learn.
Cleo’s children hosted an open house for her on April 11 which was her 102nd birthday. She said it was a beautiful day with family members, extended family members, church family, and friends and neighbors—dozens of them—visiting with her for more than six hours. There were 71 people that visited that day.
What does one give as a gift? Cleo received a lot of flowers, and some arrived two days before her birthday. Candy and her favorite soft drink, Dr. Pepper, were also gifted.
Cleo told me there were people everywhere she looked. They shared memories of old times when they were together and the things they had done. This celebration started on April 9 when Wanda, her remaining sister, and a first cousin visited and then on April 10 her three oldest nieces, the daughters of Glenna and Sheba, visited. These ladies are all in the mid 80s or beyond, and one might say this was a gathering of the old girls!
This is a glimpse of the life of Cleo Simmons. If you want to know more, just stop by for a visit and you will be welcomed. She still has a sharp mind and enjoys talking about the early days and her life in Stony Run.
Cleo spends her days reading, doing word searches, and just sitting in her chair. When it is warm outside, she likes to sit out on the carport. Her physical health no longer allows her to help with the cooking or doing the house cleaning or taking care of her flowers.
Aunt Cleo is a very special lady, and she has been a blessing in my life every day of my 85 years. We will see what 2026 has in store for this remarkable person.
Jenna and Larry, her children, are seeing to her care and doing their best to see that she remains in her home the rest of her life, however long that might be.
By Violet R. Eye
