South Carolina Woman Recalls Working On Cotton Plantation As She Celebrates Her 106th Birthday

Reaching a ripe old age is certainly satisfying, particularly for the individual who beats the odds to attain such an achievement. This definitely holds true for a remarkable South Carolina woman named Ms. Gussie Dennis, who celebrated her 106th birthday on August 10. This is made even more significant by the fact that she faced hardship during her youth working as a child laborer on a cotton plantation at the time of the United States’ 1917 declaration of war on Austria-Hungary.

The centenarian was born into the family of sharecroppers Broadus Evans and Blanche Sullivan, and just like every one of her eight siblings, she spent her childhood working tirelessly without proper housing or food, which intensified their chances of dying (medical care was the least of their worries).

The South Carolina woman shares her experience working on a cotton plantation as a child

In an interview with WCNC, Ms. Gussie talked about her first days as a laborer on that South Carolina plantation at the tender age of six. She vividly remembered what a typical day was like: waking up at sunrise to toil on the farm until sunset, with some time to rest. “We worked up until the big bell of the landlord’s plantation [would ring], and that bell said ‘bing, bong,'” Gussie explained. “We’d sit under that shaded tree until the bell would ring again.”

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Ms. Gussie added that, as a young child, not even harsh weather kept them from working the plantation. “We’re going back to the field,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s 199 degrees, you’re gonna put on that straw hat.”

Ms. Gussie expresses gratitude for her life, marriage, and family

Gussie has been married and widowed twice, first to  Edward Taylor, with whom she relocated to New Jersey, where they raised their three children. After four decades of marriage, she became a widow and reunited with her childhood sweetheart, Willie Dennis, who had been searching for her for many years. After their wedding, the couple moved to the Beverly Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Following Willie’s death, Gussie moved in with her daughter, Denise Taylor, who also resided in Los Angeles, to be closer to her sister and brother.

During the discussion, Ms. Gussie expressed happiness about having a good and supportive family. “God has provided a way for me to marry a nice man, and he gave me three children and they never had a hungry day. God provided for me to have food and shelter. Oh, I’m so happy to have them all here,” Gussie confessed. “And I got my little grandboys and my great-grandkids.”