Centenarian Not Too Old To Party

COEBURN, Va. – Celebrating her 100th birthday today, Nita Bond is not too old to party – nowhere near.
She’s got a busy lineup of birthday parties this weekend, enough for everyone to help celebrate – and everyone knows Nita.
“She’s always the life of a party,” said Patricia Rambo, who works in the beauty shop where she gets her hair done. “Everybody who meets her loves Nita; she’s just got that air about her that everybody loves her.”
Bond retired from teaching just two years ago at age 98, after a 28-year career of teaching preschoolers at Head Start. Before that, she had a 34-year career in the Wise County school system. All told, she’s taught four generations of Wise County children.
“My husband’s 74, and she taught him,” said Gerri Laney, who worked with Bond at Head Start. “She’s just a great gal.”
Bond said she finally decided to step down from teaching because she doesn’t walk as well as she used to, “and if I can’t do a superb job, I won’t do it at all.”
She never had any children of her own, but that didn’t stop her from mothering countless others.
“She would go out and beyond her way to make sure they [children] were safe and had what they needed but they weren’t pampered too much,” said Lucille Carico, who taught with Bond’s sister years ago.
Carico describes Bond as do others who know her: a friend to everyone who “just takes you under her wing,” whose eyes sparkle and who always knows your name.
“I’ve never heard her say anything unkind about any person ever,” Carico said.
When asked what’s changed over the years, Bond doesn’t talk much about the obvious things. Some of the buildings in town have been improved, she says, and now women wear long dresses because they’re in style rather than because they’re required. She likes the music and art program they have now at the Lays Hardware building in town.
“Many, many years ago we had horses and wagons and we had different parking regulations and it was entirely different,” she said, when asked to sum up the century of changes since her birth in 1909.
“Some people still grow their food, but years ago everybody had a garden. They also had animals, such as cows and hogs. This day and time, most people have public jobs and they don’t have time for that,” she said.
When she began teaching in 1929, school was never cancelled for weather, she said, and the focus was on the essentials: reading, writing and arithmetic.
Corporal punishment was still allowed, and she enforced discipline with the help of a “board of education.” But she tried to keep her students out of trouble by keeping them busy, she said – and she helped them learn at school rather than piling on homework.
What has changed in 80 years? Schools have sports, she said, and cafeterias. And with a host of different exercises added to the school day there’s not much time left for the essentials.
These days, she still plays the piano at South Coeburn Methodist Church and remains involved in community issues.
“She’s a magnificent piano player,” said Eula Hughes, who has fixed her hair in the beauty shop since 1961. “She’s one of the best pianists that you’ll ever hear.”
Hughes said Bond, who graduated from Carson-Newman College in her 80s, also has been a wonderful Sunday school teacher for many years.
“She can pray one of the most beautiful prayers,” Hughes said. “One of the things I always enjoyed most was her Bible study class. ... Some people will teach a class and they’re boring as heck, but … the older teachers, they used to just illustrate with their voice, and that’s what she would do, just illustrate it out, and it would make it really, really interesting.”
Even at 100, Hughes said she is always up for an adventure.
“Anywhere you want to go … she’ll get up and travel with you and do whatever you want to do,” Hughes said. “She loves to do that. … She’s just a fun person.”
Bond says that even though she’s retired now, she keeps her mind sharp by reading. She reads the Bible every day, looks at the newspaper and works the crossword puzzle.
Her favorite technological changes over the years: washing machines, refrigerators, electric stoves, gas heat and indoor plumbing. Her least favorite: computers.
“We have different cars,” she said. “I used to drive a T-Model.”
She says she can’t do all the things she used to, but she thanks God every day that she has a good mind and her body still works so she is able to get out in the community.
“You have to have a good outlook on life,” she says. “You can’t sit down and feel sorry for yourself. You have to have a positive outlook and if you want a friend you have to be a friend, and that’s why I have so many.”
She says so many people come to visit that she can hardly eat her meals, but she appreciates every one of them.
“Now, this week is filled,” she said of her birthday social schedule. “They’re going to take me out Friday, I don’t know here … Saturday I’m going to Wise to a dinner, Sunday, my church.”
She says her age doesn’t bother her one bit. In fact, she’s proud of it. And now that she’s reached the 100-year milestone, what’s next?
“Just like the little Energizer [bunny],” she said. “Keep going and going and going.”

dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701

Life advice from Nita Bond, based on her 100 years of experience:

* “You have to have a good outlook on life. You can’t sit down and feel sorry for yourself.”
* “If you want a friend, you have to be a friend.”
* “The worst thing is following the crowd if it’s not a good crowd.”
* “Keep up with current events.”
* “My daddy always said that breakfast was the most important meal of the day and one should eat breakfast.”
n “Our God is the same God we had 2,000 years ago, and he can still perform miracles.”