‘I had a beautiful life’: 97-year-old Hattie Smith recounts life in Denver

DENVER – Sitting on a sofa in her Park Hill dwelling that she bought in 1956, Hattie B. Smith, 97, scrolls by Fb on her iPad.

“I can see my household… After I don’t go to church, I simply watch it on right here,” stated Hattie, who’s now the oldest member of her church, Central Baptist Church in Denver.

Hattie says her iPad helps her sustain with fellow church members, her favourite sports activities crew, the Denver Nuggets, and relations who stay in different cities.

She has spent most of her life in Denver, however her story started 97 years in the past within the Deep South.

“I used to be born in 1926 in Tchula, Mississippi. The “T” is silent. It’s about 90 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi,” Hattie stated.

At 19 years outdated, Hattie moved to Chicago after falling in love with Johnnie Smith.

“We obtained married in 1946,” she stated.

Johnnie fought in World Struggle II. The couple ultimately settled in Denver after the conflict and raised three sons.

‘I had an exquisite life’: 97-year-old Hattie Smith recounts life in Denver

“My child was the primary Black baby to be born at Fitzsimons Hospital,” Hattie stated. “Once we first got here right here, from 5 Factors as much as Downing Road is all they allowed for Black individuals.”

Hattie remembers 5 Factors as the middle of Black life in Denver at the moment.

“That is the place all of the evening golf equipment, little bars have been: 715, Rossonian and all these issues. All of the Black troopers would go there,” she stated. “The troopers my husband met… not all of them, however some, they might come down and go to with us. We lived on twenty fourth in Welton Road on the time, proper across the nook from Central Baptist Church. However all of that’s torn down now.”

Hattie served her neighborhood for greater than 60 years, volunteering for civil rights causes and for her church. She grew to become a pillar in her neighborhood,

Hattie says though some elements of her life have been arduous, total, life has been good.

“When my youngsters handed (away), you understand, I actually suppose my youngsters hit me worse than my husband,” Hattie stated. “I had a sweetheart for a husband, after which we had youngsters. I had an exquisite life.”

Her recommendation to anybody hoping to make it to yr 97 is easy.

“Say your prayers and no matter you bought to do. And attempt to assist anyone else alongside the way in which,” she stated.