Ellijay woman’s milestone birthday celebrated at Brooks Hill
Ellijay’s Nell Copeland had some simple words of wisdom about recently reaching her 100th birthday.
“I really don’t have a secret. As long as you do right and have good thoughts and love everybody, I have always tried to do that,” she said.
Copeland, a Gilmer County native, celebrated the milestone birthday with her friends and neighbors at Brooks Hill Apartments last Tuesday. She’s lived at the complex for elderly and disabled residents since it first opened in 1993.
“It’s a good place. It’s been a wonderful experience living here,” said Copeland as she enjoyed the musicianship of Ellijay’s Brett Cantrell, who performed at the celebration. “I’ve lived a good life. It really has been a good one.”
Copeland grew up within walking distance from where she’s lived the past 30 years. Her family, which included 10 children, lived close to where Chatsworth Highway runs today. Back then, most of the local roads were unpaved, she recalled.
“I remember that the park was a place where people brought their mules and wagons on Saturday to do their shopping,” Copeland said.
Her father built houses, including the family home.
“That was a time when you weren’t just a contractor, you did a little of the building, a little of the painting and a little of all of it,” she said. “He had some help building our house. Back then, everybody helped each other. There was no money involved.”
Copeland left Ellijay for Atlanta when she was 17 and lived with one of her sisters there before setting out on her own. For 35 years, she worked as a beautician at the flagship Rich’s Department Store in downtown Atlanta.
“It was the greatest store. I went there in 1953. I did hair and manicures. They had three beauty shops in that building, and people would come from all over. They would come through on a train. The train stopped for about an hour, and they’d run in to get a hairdresser,” she remembered. “Rich’s is not there anymore. I think that was the saddest day when they sold everything out, and it went on the auction block.”
Copeland met her husband, Douglas, a salesman, while living in Atlanta. He lived right across the street from her then and was also from a small town, but in Ontario, Canada, she said.
“He said it got way too cold in Canada. That’s why he moved to Atlanta,” Copeland said.
When asked about the numerous world events she’s lived through, Copeland remembered how three of her brothers were in World War II, one in the Army and two in the Navy. Her older brother, Bill, was taken prisoner in Germany for several years during WWII, but lived to come back home.
Brother, Harry Elliott, would’ve been on one of the battleships bombed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor if fate and a Navy doctor hadn’t intervened.
“The doctor had found out something was wrong with his ears, so they sent him to the base. He would have been killed if he’d been on that ship,” Copeland said.
Longevity must be in the genes for Copeland’s family. Her sister, Louise, who lives in Ducktown, Tenn., is about to turn 98.
“I had two aunts on my mother’s side who lived to be 93 and 95. There are just two of us 10 (siblings) still living,” she said.
About her hometown, Copeland said she loves the people and small-town feel of Ellijay.
“There’s nothing like a small town. There’s a lot of love in a small town,” she said.
As a special birthday surprise, April Harper, Brooks Hill manager, asked people in the local community to send birthday cards for Copeland’s big day. She wanted to get at least 100 cards, but received almost 200, which were presented to Copeland on her birthday.
“Some of the teachers even had their students do cards,” said Harper.
Copeland said she loves to grow flowers and had been active in gardening until just recently. That hobby dates back to her childhood.
“She did a lot of gardening here with the flower beds. A lot of the (flowers that have been planted here) are hers,” said Harper.
Copeland recently underwent physical therapy to improve her mobility. She hopes she’ll soon be able to enjoy gardening again and maybe even sharpen her cooking skills.
“I’m not a cook. I get by,” she said. “I’m hoping, if it’s the last thing I do, that I learn how to make biscuits. I know about two or three (people) who can help me.”
Jane Primrose, a close friend, said, if she lives to be 100, she can only hope to be as sharp and able to get around as well as Copeland.
“I hope I can have a good mind like her,” Primrose said. “We love her. She’s an inspiration to me and everybody around her.”