A Lifetime of Memories
E.J. Daniel celebrates 100th birthday
By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor

E.J. Daniel will celebrate his 100th birthday with a party Nov. 3, and "The Clock" is still ticking. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett)

Jenkins County native E.J. Daniel likens the years of his life to the words of a poem he read on a church wall in England, "The Clock." Written by an unknown author, it reads, "The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when that clock will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own, live ... love ... toil with the will ... Place no faith into tomorrow, for the clock may then be still."

Mr. Daniel's clock will tick away 100 years Nov. 4, showing no signs of slowing down or coming to a halt.

"There is nothing wrong with me that I know of, other than what goes along with being 100 years old," he brags, admitting that failing eyesight is his biggest complaint.

Sitting leisurely in the living room of his Harvey Street home, Mr. Daniel weaves the intricate tale of his life with all the finesse of a master storyteller.

Born the youngest of eight children to James Zack Daniel and Charlotte Mobley, he recalls humorously, "I was always the last to get anything."

Growing up during the Great Depression did not help matters, he admits.

"I can tell you about it but there is no way you can relate to it. Men with families would work all day for 50 cents a day. Many times they would work for a meal, only they would not eat the meal. They would take it home to their wife and children so they would have something to eat," he said.

"You just don't know how bad it was to not have anything," he adds, recalling how he plugged the hole in the shoes he wore to school with cardboard because he could not afford to buy another pair.

It was the hard times of the era that eventually led Mr. Daniel to quit school at the age of 16 and take a job with U.S. Post Office as a "village deliverer." At that time Millen's population did not qualify it as a "city", he said. It was a fateful decision that set the course for his life's career. In 1962 he became Postmaster of the Millen Post Office, a position he held until his retirement in 1974.

"It was the best thing that ever happened to me," Mr. Daniel said, next to meeting his wife of 50 years, Virginia Howard of Sylvania.

"I was dating a girl whose sister lived in Sylvania, and we went to see her. Her sister asked us to help chaperone the Sylvania High School senior prom, and Virginia was a member of that class," he recalls.

Their first encounter, however, was not the beginning of their courtship.

"I had to be gentleman. I couldn't be making eyes at those high school girls when I had a date," he laughs.

It was not until several years later when Virginia began teaching school in Jenkins County that

the Lord pulled all the strings" for the two to get together.

"She was just meant for me. It was a marriage made in heaven," Mr. Daniel said.

The couple shared 50 years of marriage before Mrs. Daniel passed away, and today there are two children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren to continue their legacy.

Mr. Daniel's life, however, was not confined to Jenkins County. He has traveled extensively and is a veteran of World War II, although he never saw combat duty. It was his job to get others ready for combat as he taught basic training. Following the war, he enlisted in the Army Reserves and eventually retired as a First Lieutenant.

As for advice on living a long life, Mr. Daniel said, "Do what the Lord says do. You have to pay attention to Him."

The years of Mr. Daniel's life may be long, but they are by no means stale. They remain fresh and memorable in his mind, pages from yesterday that have shaped the life he enjoys today and offer him hope for tomorrow as "The Clock" continues ticking.

Mr. Daniel will celebrate his 100th birthday with family and friends at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at Millen Baptist Church.