Pinkie and Rosalie celebrate 100 years of life and love

In 1923, Calvin Coolidge became president after Warren Harding died in office. The Boardwalk at Coney Island opened, and the Hollywood sign was erected. The first issue of Time magazine was published, and both Warner Brothers Pictures and the Walt Disney Company were created. The New York Yankees won their first World Series Title, and Austin Peay became Governor of Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority and Center Hill Lake did not exist. Hank Williams, Jim Reeves, Chuck Yeager, Alan Shepard, Henry Kissinger, Bod Dole, Rocky Marciano, Charlton Heston, and Bob Barker were born.

Also, in 1923, Ruth Rhea Tubb was born, in Sparta, and three days later, Rosalie Lankford was born in East Nashville. Ruth Rhea “Pinkie” Tubb Hill and Rosalie Lankford Beck will turn 100 years old on Sept. 11 and Sept. 14, respectively. Individuals who reach 100  years old are known as centenarians, but these two women are better described as Christians and examples of living a God-centered life.

Mrs. Pinkie has lived in Sparta her entire life, except for some time at college and a few years after her marriage when she resided in Warren County. Mrs. Rosalie has lived in 11 states, including Tennessee, California, Washington, Minnesota, Maryland, Florida, and Georgia. These ladies have lived fascinating lives, and it was a privilege to interview them.

Ruth Rhea Tubb only weighed 5 pounds when she was born, on Sept. 11, 1923. Her mother said that Ruth Rhea was too big a name for such a little pinkie. Her brothers joined their mother in calling her “Pinkie,” and the name stuck. She recalled her father giving the children a dime a piece to go to the movies. It was her 6th birthday. Her brother told her not to inform the theater workers it was her birthday, so she would only have to pay a nickel for the movie, and they could use the change to buy extra popcorn. 

She attended school in White County and graduated from the old high school near East Bronson Street, where she was voted Miss WCHS. She was a standout basketball player. She served as the class secretary and organized class reunions until only five class members were left. She is the only remaining member of her class now. Her favorite class was Algebra, and her favorite teacher was William Metcalf.

Mrs. Pinkie attended David Lipscomb University, in Nashville, for two years before traveling to Pepperdine University, in Malibu, California.. Mrs. Pinkie attends Central Church of Christ in Sparta. Her faith has always been at the forefront of her life. She said one of her fondest memories is when the Vacation Bible School at Central Church of Christ was so crowded that the building was overflowing with children.

Mrs. Pinkie told her grandchildren, “Always attend church, be close to God, and you will be successful.”

Mrs. Pinkie met her husband, Malcolm Hill, while swimming at Rock Island. He was from Warren County and a friend of her brother. He asked her to attend an airshow in Chattanooga, and they began dating. They were married in 1948 and stayed together until he died in 1971. She has three children, six grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. She said she wished to go on a cruise with her entire family.

Mrs. Pinkie worked for Sparta Spoke Factory. She was involved with Save the Children and the Girl Scouts. She recalled living in several different homes in Sparta, all within a few blocks of her current home, which was built by her grandfather, in 1898, and is about a block from her church.

Rosalie Lankford was born Sept. 14, 1923, in East Nashville, and graduated from East Nashville High School. She remembered waiting as a child to see President Franklin Roosevelt when he came to Nashville. As a young girl, she would sit on a fence and sing Gene Autry’s “Blueberry Hill.” She remembered ration books during The Depression and learning skills like sewing and cooking out of necessity. She mentioned that every Thanksgiving meant it was time to slaughter hogs. She remembered stuffing sausage by hand and smoking hams. Her generation experienced some tough times, but they fully experienced life.

She was married Lawrence Beck, in 1941. He joined the military, and she moved to California, where he was stationed. She traveled from Tennessee to California by train. He worked in radar tracking and monitored the West Coast for Japanese aircraft and balloons carrying bombs between 1944 and 1945. Their first car was a 1939 Dodge they drove from Tennessee to Washington state. She won a sewing machine in a sewing competition in the 1950s. She still sews for her family and crocheted bonnets for newborns at the hospital. While her husband worked for NASA, in Washington D.C., on the lunar landing project, Mrs. Rosalie worked for the University of Maryland. She started part-time in the bookstore. She worked in the botany department and then accounts payable until she retired, in 1983. After her retirement, they returned to Tennessee.

Mrs. Rosalie was married for 74 years when her husband passed away at age 95. She has one daughter, two grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Mrs. Rosalie says children spend too much time on cell phones and electronics today. She believes they need to put their electronics down, read more, and spend more time interacting with other people. She said it is sad that so many children return from school to empty homes because their parents have to work. She says that transportation and electronics have been the most significant changes in her lifetime. She said the U.S. should have developed more rail transportation.

Mrs. Rosalie still drives herself and stays active. She says the Lord is first in her life, and, every morning, she thanks the Lord for allowing her to wake up. She is a member of First Baptist Church, in Sparta. She looks forward to one day meeting the Lord in person.

These two women were part of the Greatest Generation. They lived through the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, and Watergate. Mankind went from the Model T to the Eagle Lunar Module landing on the moon. Both women raised families and had careers. Maybe these ladies have been given so many years because of the excellent example and inspiration they are for the rest of us.