From John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington
Della Jones, 105, remembers well Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, delivered 45 years ago today from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
"Oh, I thought it was wonderful," Della said of the historic 1963 speech. "I think we all should have a dream for our lives and work towards that dream."
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| AP file |
| In this Aug. 28, 1963, file photo the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial for his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington, D.C. |
Della's dream was to be a teacher, and she taught for 36 1/2 years, first in Kentucky's black schools and eventually in its integrated schools.
"I just kept persevering, and I always had good results for doing so," she said in a recent interview.
Della began her teaching career in 1924 in a segregated rural school in southeastern Kentucky, crying herself to sleep at night because she was away from her home near Cincinnati for the first time. She was 19 years old.
"It was such a secluded place," she told the Grant County News. "But I made a commitment and was determined to finish up the year."
Della kept her commitment but stopped teaching in 1929 to marry Bradley Jones, then resumed teaching years later. When she decided to get her college degree, she cleaned dorms for 17 straight summers to pay her way through Kentucky State University.
She received her degree at the age of 53, and Dr. King gave the commencement address at her college graduation. He was 29 at the time, already a famous civil rights leader.
"It was a beautiful day in June of 1957, and everybody felt rejoiced," Della remembers. "Dr. King told the graduates to continue doing the best they knew how and to accomplish these things by persevering, and I always remembered that, and I tried hard to improve on whatever I was doing."
Della's biggest thrill that day was meeting Dr. King and shaking his hand. He congratulated her on her degree, but she doesn't remember what she said in response.
"I was just so thrilled to even be in his presence," she said.
Della taught grade school and high school during her long teaching career and finished up as a high school librarian.
"I loved biographies," she said, "to see how people progressed and improved their lives, and I always tried to do the same thing."
Her husband died in 1969, and their adopted daughter passed away in 1972. Della retired in 1974 and lives alone in the same house in Williamstown, Ky., that she's been in for 85 years, despite being a double amputee and confined to a wheelchair.
"So I'm here," she said, "an old lady at 105 doing what she can by herself."
Well, not exactly. She's surrounded by devoted friends and family, including the local sheriff, who lives down the street and looks in on her regularly. They all got together for Della's birthday on July 7.
"I had a marvelous birthday," she said. "It was a joy, it was just a joyful time. I've enjoyed life, and I've always looked for the best and gotten the best that I could out of it."
A wonderful life for a wonderful lady.
Della was one of the centenarians featured by Willard Scott on NBC's "Today" show. If you know of any centenarians who've had a brush with history over the past century, please tell us a little bit about them in the comments section below and be sure to fill in your return e-mail address so we can get back to you for more details.