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A Life Well-Lived
Published October 15, 2009
When visitors first step into Annie Young's DeKalb County home, they immediately see her great love for her family and her skill as an artist.
The walls and shelves of her home are covered with photos of her family, as well as examples of her own art work.
At the age of 98, Mrs. Young has spent almost a century taking care of her family and creating beautiful works of art that she designed herself. There has also been a great deal of work, as well as learning and joy, in that near century.
Born in 1911 between Sulphur Springs and Valley Head, Mrs. Young has lived here whole life in DeKalb County.
"I think it's the best place in the world to live," she said.
Mrs. Young and her husband raised a family of six girls and two boys in a three room house.
The family had a hard time making ends meet, but Mrs. Young made a garden each year and sewed for the public. She also made all of the family's clothes. One special dress, made in 1953, was worn at the high school graduation of all six daughters. One of Mrs. Young's great granddaughters wore the dress for her graduation in 2000.
Although she never learned to drive, Mrs. Young served as a librarian at DeKalb County Public Library for more than 30 years. An avid reader, Mrs. Young read classic books, such as "Little Women" and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" to her children in the evenings, with the older children gathered around her chair while she rocked the babies.
Other than the Bible, Mrs. Young, said her favorite book is the Harper Lee classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird." During her years as a librarian, Mrs. Young taught a number of adults to read, as well as assisting children who were having problems learning to read.
Mrs. Young suffered polio as a child and only completed the eighth grade in school. However, she went back to school in 1958 at the age of 47, attending DeKalb County High School half a day while working at the library. After graduating from high school, she went on to Northeast Alabama Community College where she earned a degree in library science.
Despite her great love for education, Mrs. Young said the most important lessons in life can not be learned from a book.
"Outside of learning about Jesus, the most important thing in life is learning to appreciate family and friends," said Mrs. Young. "I can't count the number of friends I have, and they are all priceless."
While she was busy raising her eight children, working and getting her education, Mrs. Young also taught herself how to create beautiful arts and crafts. Her work includes quilting, painting, creating pictures with yarn, wood carving and collage work and other crafts. Among her most unique pieces are miniature walking sticks she carved from a single piece of wood. A hand carved into the top of the walking stick is so detailed even the tiny knuckles and fingernails are visible.
Another especially unique piece of artwork is a picture of a rooster made from tiny bits of colored pictures torn from magazines and pasted onto a board.
Mrs. Young has experienced and learned much in her 98 years on this earth. She said the best piece of advice she can give to anyone is to "do unto others as you would have done to you."
"You can't go wrong doing that," Mrs. Young said.
Mrs Young said he greatest strength in life is her belief in God and her family, and she finds "great joy in being good to people and doing for others."
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