July Fourth has come and gone and once again we owe a big thank you to all the area businesses who helped foot the bill for Gravette’s annual fireworks display. We can sit in our yard and have a front-row seat for the big display. Several neighbors provided a pretty good show before and after the city production, as well.

The only thing missing this year was fellow watchers. Jim and I watched the fireworks by ourselves as Joe, Heather and the kidswere out of town. They dropped by for a visit Wednesday evening when they returned to Arkansas after a few days of vacation in Minnesota. They also spent a couple of nights with Jim’s mom in northern Missouri.

The big event this week was Aunt Leta’s 100th birthday on Sunday. It’s not often you get to attend a birthday party for someone who’s celebrating 100 years of life.

Leta’s Uncle Fred commented on the tapedinterviews regarding his life that, “Nothing would happen on your birthday, work. Never paid any attention to our birthdays, hardly ever.”

But you’ve just got to do a little celebrating when a person reaches the century mark.

I think one secret of Leta’s longevity is that she’s the eternal optimist.

“Who is rich? He who is content with his lot,” an old proverb advises.

Life has not always been easy for her but she has a way of rolling with the punches, maintaining a cheerful attitude and never forgetting to count her blessings. A sweet smile and a keen sense of humor are two of her trademarks.

Leta’s devoted much of her life to helping others.She and her twin sister Leda went to live with their grandparents at a young age and helped care for them. In later years, she was a valuable asset in the Newt Douglas household, then lived with her Uncle Fred in Siloam Springs the last few years of his life. After she returned to Gravette, she worked many hours volunteering at Care and Share.

Mama and Daddy seldom went anyplace without taking their children. On those rare occasions when they did leave us youngsters behind, it was usually with Leta. She would come into our household or we would go visit her and she’d make us feel right at home. We looked forward to it because she usuallyhad some big adventure planned for us. One of my biggest thrills was when she accompanied me to Kansas City to visit my aunt and uncle there and celebrate my seventh birthday.

Leta was a fantastic cook. She’d often let us help her prepare some goodies, bake cookies or make Jell-O on our visits and probably helped instill a love of cooking in me and my brother Robert. She accumulated quite a collection of cookbooks but she didn’t need a cookbook to whip up a delicious meal. She was noted for bringing tasty dishes to family meals and church suppers. After Jim and I married, she baked him a few cherry pies when she learned they were favorites of his.

Yes, it was a fun weekend with family members coming from as far away as Oregon and California to help Leta celebrate. You amass a host of memories in 100 years, and we’re privileged to share some of them. Lots of good food was consumed, and cameras were clicking. We took one of our traditional cousins pictures, visited with family, friends and former neighbors and reveled in honoring this lady who’s brought joy to so many lives.

With her usual bright outlook she told one of my cousins she is shooting for 101 now!

Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Observer, is a lifelong Benton County resident.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 07/13/2011