The year was 1917. Woodrow Wilson was president; the United States entered the first of two World Wars and the first jazz records were recorded. That was also the year Ruby Arnold was born. 

Despite the dark clouds and chilly weather, the community room of an apartment complex is warm and inviting. Neighbor Pat Catania ushers people in and directs them to the buffet spread that took three days to prepare on her small apartment stove. Three round tables are covered with a pink-and-white-checkered plastic tablecloth, adorned with vibrant foil centerpieces and spiral-shaped confetti. The cutout stars and the sprays of foil wave in the breeze of an open door. 

Front and center is a sheet cake composed of cupcakes uniformly covered in white icing with a blue-shell border that perfectly frames clusters of small, piped flowers. The crowd of around 12 people gather to sing “Happy Birthday” and to “ooh and ahh” at the bubblegum pink flashing cake topper. Ruby Arnold blows the candles out in one breath.  While the crowd cheers, Arnold smiles. Arnold has experienced multiple birthday celebrations, 101 of them, to be exact. 

While the milestone is a special one, Arnold says, her upcoming birthday is just another year. “I don’t feel, I never have felt, old.”

Arnold was born March 23, 1917.

“I’m from a family of 16,” Arnold says. She explains that her father had three sons from a previous marriage. 

“She (Arnold’s mother) had 13 in all, plus the three sons,” Arnold explained. 

Arnold describes the Todd, North Carolina, of her childhood. 

“Not many had a car, so we walked everywhere,” Arnold says. Arnold mentions the summertime swimming holes she, and the young people, would visit. 

“Each family would help out another family,” Arnold says. “We helped each other and it was good,” added Arnold. 

In high school, Arnold spent the summers in Boone, where she worked as a server in a cafe. “Gosh, when I first started coming to Boone, there were very few stores along the street,” Arnold says. 

“The first car I saw, it was a Ford,” notes Arnold, recalling its narrow, top-heavy appearance with a bit of a chuckle. “It looked like if you touched it, it would fall over.” 

Arnold went on to work in three different banks. “I liked that more than anything else,” says Arnold. 

Fast-forward to 1944, when love was definitely in the air. Ms. Ruby became Mrs. Carl Arnold. With the title change, her job location changed as well. “My husband was a mortician, and he wanted me to work with him,” Arnold says. 

In 1974, Mrs. Arnold lost her husband of 30 years. She never remarried. 

Arnold moved back to Boone at the request of her niece and sister-in-law, who wanted Arnold closer. The relatives subsequently moved to Georgia with the expectation that Arnold would go with them. “I didn’t want to leave the mountains, I love it here,” Arnold says. 

Today, Arnold lives in a one-bedroom apartment on what neighbors affectionately call, “Ruby Lane.” Arnold’s apartment is small, yet inviting. She has a red, V-Tech cordless phone and a small sitting area with two chairs. Next to the chairs is a sofa that holds her latest knitting project. The soft, white yarn creation is placed neatly with the needles close by. “I like to walk and eat out quite a bit,” says Arnold, “And of course, my knitting.”  

After developing macular degeneration, driving is no longer an option. Arnold’s limited eyesight does not deter her from being independent. In-home supervisor for the Watauga County Project on Aging, Charity Curlee says you actually have to talk Arnold into using the services and notes how Arnold uses services so that she can stay independent. Curlee also gushes over Arnold. “Mrs. Ruby is just this amazing lady,” Curlee says. 

Despite her macular degeneration, Arnold finds a way to continue her hobbies, such as reading. Using a magnifying apparatus, Arnold places her books underneath and views the projected images on a television-sized monitor. 

Neighbors, Arnold says, have been helpful. “They’ve been wonderful,” says Arnold. 

Catania says Arnold will map out the groceries needed by store row and type the grocery list in large font. “She does not want to impose.” 

“She’s like family to me,” neighbor Faye Whitesides says. “You know, I’ve kind of adopted her and she’s adopted me.” “She’s just so loving and kind and thinks of other people a lot.” 

Whitesides is quick to acknowledge Arnold’s green thumb when it comes to her flower garden adding that she has learned so much.  

Anyone who spends time with Arnold will tell you she is more than a neighbor, she’s something much more. “She will do anything for anyone,” Neighbor Gabby Crowe says. 

“I call her my Momma,” says friend, Sandy Costa. Arnold smiles. 

SOURCE LIST

All Interviews Were In-Person

Mrs. Ruby Arnold- On Sunday, February 11, 2018

Ms. Faye Whitesides- On Sunday, February 11, 2018

Ms. Pat Catania- On Sunday, February 18, 2018

Ms. Gabby Crowe- On Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Mrs. Charity Curlee- On Friday, March 2, 2018

Mrs. Jean Rice- On Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Ms. Sandy Costa- On Wednesday, February 28, 2018

https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1917

www.Libraryancestry.com