Celebrating a century of life
NEW FREEPORT — An open house birthday party has been scheduled for a Deep Valley woman who will soon be celebrating an event that has, quite literally, been a century in the making.
Ora Bell Shreve will turn 100 years old on Dec. 29, a milestone achievement that will be celebrated with family and friends at the Church of Christ in New Freeport on Sunday, Dec. 27.
Ora was born Dec. 29, 1915, in Grub Hollow, W.Va., the second oldest daughter of 15 children. She was married to Wilbert Shreve for 70 years before he passed away in 2003.
Ora is the mother of three sons, Gerald Francis, who passed away at the age of nine months, Ronald D., who lives in Hundred, W.Va., and Charles, who passed away at the age of 44; and two daughters, Arrahwanna, who lives in Moundsville, W.Va., and Juanita, who lives in Michigan.
Her extended family includes 14 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and 14 great-great-grandchildren.
Typical of her generation, Ora is modest and humble, and does not understand the fuss about her upcoming birthday. When she was told that her birthday is a rare milestone, she shrugged and said, “I don’t feel like I’m 100. I don’t have any aches and pains. I just live my life.”
She said she is grateful to have many friends from around the county and all across the nation.
“I don’t have any enemies that I know of,” she said with a smile.
To say that Ora has lived a full and interesting life would be quite an understatement.
She recently shared many memories, including growing up with a large family, her long and blessed marriage, and her life as a child, a wife and a mother. She recalled hardships and happy memories, all of which she said she would never trade or change.
Ora recalled attending classes at a one-room schoolhouse in Garrison from first through eighth grade.
“There were 30 students in the one room, and there were no school buses back then so I had to walk a half-mile to and from school every day,” she said.
They say love is unpredictable, and in Ora’s case that couldn’t be more true.
Ora recalled that in June of 1933, she was walking through a field to work when she crossed paths for the first time with the man who would later become her husband. After a few minutes of idle chatter, Wilbert looked at her and said, “Let’s get married.” To which Ora replied, “Write me a letter.” He did write her a letter, she received it and on June 28, 1933 his parents took them to Waynesburg to get married before the Justice of the Peace, George Zimmerman.
That was the start of their 70-year marriage. In 1948, the couple moved to their home where she currently lives.
Comparing life in the early- to mid-1900s to today, Ora said she believes the world has definitely changed.
“Life was so much simpler when I was growing up,” she said. “You could leave your front doors unlocked and open. You trusted your neighbors. There was so little drugs and violence. Everyone worked hard and found time to go to church, and family meant everything. I wish we could go back to those times.”
Speaking of working hard, Ora said she remembers her husband and children working diligently to be self-sufficient.
“We farmed and gardened a lot, we canned our own food, we had our own chickens, milked our own cows, baked our own bread,” she recalled. “Our clothing was made out of feed bags that we sewed ourselves, we churned our own butter, we made our own soap. It was a lot of hard work, but we worked together as a family and took care of ourselves.”
She and her husband also enjoyed hunting together, and traveled to many different locations to hunt a wide array of animals, including bear and deer.
“I loved to hunt, I’d still do it if I could,” she said.
Even while working hard at home to raise a family and run their farm, the couple had various jobs. Wilbert was an oil well pumper for Dun Mar Oil and Gas, which later became Greenridge Oil and Gas. He worked there until he retired at the age of 62.
Ora spent many years cleaning, wallpapering and painting people’s houses. She also later worked at a leather factory in Cameron, W.Va., where she made Army belts for U.S. soldiers serving during the Vietnam War.
Ora said she has many vivid memories, both good and bad, of her nearly 100 years of life. She remembers the devastation of the Great Depression. She also remembers watching five of her brothers head off to fight for their country during World War II, as her family back home constantly worried about their well-being.
“We didn’t have a television, a phone or a radio, so the only updates we had about my brothers was either by letters mailed to us or, if it was bad news, someone would come to our door,” she said. “But they all eventually did return home, safe and sound. When they came home, it was a wonderful reunion.”
She fondly remembers the many businesses that once prospered in New Freeport and Deep Valley.
“There were quite a few businesses in those areas at the time, including a convenience store, a barber shop, a gas station and even an undertaker,” she said. “We loved to go to the stores. It’s a shame there isn’t much business left in this area.”
She also recalled the exciting memory of sitting in an automobile for the first time, after years where her only modes of transportation were walking or the occasional horse ride.
“It took us two days to move from Grub Hollow to Deep Valley by horses and buggies, and it was such a long trip that we had to camp out along the roads,” she recalled. “So when I got to sit in a car for the first time, I was very excited.”
Speaking of growing up, Ora — the daughter of Thomas W. and Emma V. Shafer — recalled how close-knit her large family was.
“We got along great,” she said. “We didn’t have TV or anything like that to occupy us, so we made our own entertainment. We would gather in a room and tell ghost stories. We made ‘movies’ with shadow hand puppets. And my very first doll was a glass vinegar jug with a rag stretched over it. But we didn’t care about that stuff, because we had each other.
“We loved, protected and cared for one another. We were all really close.”
Her family moved from Grub Hollow to Greene County when Ora was six years old after he father was transferred there for his job. And Ora has lived in the county ever since, mostly residing in the New Freeport and Garrison areas.
She has attended the Church of Christ in New Freeport since she was 17 years old, so she said it is only appropriate and fitting to have her open house birthday party there.
The party will be held on Sunday, Dec. 27 between 1 and 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend and celebrate Ora’s birthday with her family and friends. For more information about the open house, call 724-447-2763.
Even as she celebrates her 100th birthday, Ora still loves to remain active. She has a tremendous amount of energy, she stays in touch with her family and friends, and she enjoys shopping immensely.
“Back in the day, we didn’t have a lot of shops to go to, nor did we have many opportunities to go shopping,” she said. “So I do enjoy doing that. Sometimes my daughters can’t keep up with me when we go shopping.”
Reflecting on her nearly 100 years of life, Ora said she has no regrets.
“I would do it all over again if I could,” she said. “But I do wish I could be with my husband again. I miss him terribly. We had a wonderful life together.”
When asked what advice she would give to people for living a long and good life, her words were simple, direct and powerful.
“Stay away from alcohol,” she said. “And most importantly, be happy, be good to everyone and always keep God in your life. That’s what got me this far in life.”