Harford County resident Essie Smith received so many cards for her 104th birthday recently that her relatives had enough to hang around the edges of a tent set up for the celebration.
Smith's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren and many other friends and relatives traveled from across the U.S. to her home off of Forge Hill Road northeast of Bel Air for a celebration that began April 30 and continued through May 4.
Birthday signs, which bore family photos with Smith, were posted outside and inside Smith's mobile home. The signs were donated by local sign makers.
Her granddaughter, 52-year-old Veranell Pounds, of Edgewood, announced the celebration on Facebook, and more birthday cards have since poured in – Pounds said the family requested 104 in honor of Smith's age.
The cards were hung around the tent during the big party May 3, and there were enough to fill a large cardboard box.
Pounds said many cards came from people the family does not know, including a batch from schoolchildren in Illinois. She spread them across the small kitchen table in her grandmother's mobile home.
"All of them were beautiful and special for all of us," she said.
A proclamation came from Harford County Monday, Pounds said.
Smith napped in a chair late Monday morning as her relatives spoke to The Aegis. They said she was worn out from the celebrations, which were attended by 100 to 150 people.
"It was beautiful," Smith's daughter, Catherine Coleman, said. "It was overwhelming."
Relatives from as far away as California attended.
Her grandson Rodney Mack, 38, traveled from Boston. He was raised in Canton, Ohio, and his mother – Smith's daughter – Agnes Annabelle Mack, traveled from Canton.
"It was great, absolutely wonderful, just a lot of people, and it was good seeing family I haven't seen in a while," Rodney Mack said.
Mack said he and his family would travel in their RV to Harford County each year to see his grandmother.
"We'd park it up on the hill, come down and play with all the cousins, see all the aunts and uncles, make mud pies," he said.
Smith is well known in the community for her cooking, in quality and quantity.
"Dinner usually means a ham, some chicken and about 10 or 15 sides," Mack said.
Smith's daughter, Mary Pounds, who is Veranell's mother, said Smith "used to bake the best apple pie you ever tasted."
Smith was born Essie Lynn Edwards on April 30, 1911, in Glade Valley, N.C., according to her family. She is one of 13 siblings, and the only one still living.
Smith's family moved to Harford County when she was 8 years old, and she grew up along Mahan Road between Churchville and Aberdeen.
She and her late husband, Preston Nicholas Smith Sr., were married in 1932. They raised 11 children at Forge Hill and Kalmia roads, which is about six miles from the center of Bel Air off of Route 1.
Four of their children have died. Mr. Smith died in October 1973,
Smith's daughter, Catherine Coleman, is her caretaker, and she lives with her mother in the mobile home. The homes of two more daughters, Mary Pounds and Barbara Norris, are next door to the trailer, and they also help take care of their mother.
Coleman said her mother opened her house to all the children of the community when she was growing up.
"It just seemed like, back then, everybody gathered at Mother's house," she said. "She was like a second mother to everybody around here."
The land along Forge Hill has been in the family since her great-grandfather on her father's side of the family, Henry Preston, purchased it in the 1800s.
"She helped everybody," Coleman said of her mother. "She would see somebody [who needed help], and she would walk up to them and put some money in their hand."
Veranell Pounds said her grandmother would also pray for people "if they needed prayer."
Smith's children said she has strong religious convictions.
Walter Norris, who is married to Barbara Norris, said he has known Smith since he was 16 years old.
"She doesn't have sons-in-law, she has sons," he said.
Norris said Smith stressed her Christian faith when he met her.
"She wanted to make sure you stayed in church," he said. "Basically, she put you in the hands of the Lord."
In addition to her 11 children, Smith has 34 grandchildren, 20 to 25 great-grandchildren and at least 100 great-great-grandchildren, with more on the way, according to her family.
Smith not only took care of her family and community, but also worked as a caregiver for the Greer family of Bel Air. She cared for the matriarch of the family and then her children after she died; the Greers are still in touch with her.
The Greer family operated a milk company, and Smith's husband worked as a milk truck driver and a chauffeur for them.
He served in the Navy during World War II, and many of his descendants have served in the military.
"Every time she's had a birthday, they'd call," Coleman said of the Greers.
Smith's children and grandchildren also described her as a strict disciplinarian who would not hesitate to tell them to cut a switch from a tree when they misbehaved.
"We thank God for that, because that molded us to be the people we are today," Coleman said.
While Smith napped during The Aegis visit, her relatives said she loves to talk and go out, and she is known for her collection of fancy hats.
"At night, before you put her to bed, she'll be talking to you all night long," Coleman said.
Smith's family credits her interest in traveling and spending time with younger relatives, her daily cups of coffee and the care she has received from Winters Run Family Medical Center in Bel Air as reasons for her longevity.
"God just blessed her with beautiful people in her life," Coleman said.
Veranell Pounds said she would not have graduated from high school without her grandmother's help. She said she became pregnant while attending C. Milton Wright High School, and Smith watched her child as Pounds was being taught at home by a tutor provided by the county school system.
"Ever since then, I'm dedicated to her for the rest of my life," Pounds said.