By DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE Sunday Observer staff reporter husseyd@jamaicaobserver.com Sunday, June 01, 2014
CLARICE Burton, who celebrates her 100th birthday today, is well known in the district of Rose Hall, St Elizabeth for her delicious cassava pudding, coffee with coconut milk, kindness to everyone, and hopping onto trucks heading to political meetings islandwide.
"She love politics meeting," said Patricia Spencer, 55, Burton's youngest of seven children.
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| Miguel Spencer hugs his grandma, Clarice Burton. |
"Every politics meeting she would go... every truck she would jump on to it. The last election we had (December 2011) she had to vote. That time she was blind, but she was determined that she had to vote. She say we must make her vote before she dead," Spencer told the Sunday Observer from their Rose Hall home recently. "So we had to take her up to the school so that she could vote."
Burton was 97 years old at the time.
"We had to mark the X for her because she is blind, and she said remember when you marking put it beside so and so. I don't know if she will live to see the next election so we made sure to carry her," Spencer added.
Although she is unable to see, Burton's hearing is quite good and she is able to move around using her stick. She recalled her days growing up.
"I was born right here in Rose Hall. Mi never move and mi nah hope to move again," Burton said. "A must death going move mi."
Burton said that she had "one whole heap of brother and sister" who have all passed away.
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| Clarice with family |
This 'whole heap' consisted of six brothers and five sisters.
The centenarian attended Rose Hall Elementary School, but left before doing her exams and before graduating because she had to help care for her siblings while her parents worked on their farm.
"I didn't finish out my lesson but even if is my name mi can spell it still. It was old-time days and parents never interested in education more than so," Burton stated. more
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