Eatonton’s Beadie Brodnax entered her 100th year last week and said she feels like she remains “good material.”
Speaking in her living room about a quarter mile west of the Putnam County Courthouse, and within sight from her back door to where she grew up, Beadie recalled her time from the mid-1950s to early-’70s, working on the Chevrolet assembly line in Detroit.
“The cars were good back then,” she said. “They were made of good material. And just like I said, we old folks nowadays, I think we're made of good material, too.”
Born May 14, 1926, Beadie remains alert and active with friends and family, and cherishes the ability to care for herself while looking forward to each day with a positive outlook.
Beadie explained that her maiden name was Marsha, but she grew up the daughter of Maude and Fred Stokes, her stepfather.
Attending Eatonton High School, long gone but formerly near where the current post office stands, Beadie lasted only until the 10th grade before joining the working world. Before leaving, though, she made her mark at school as an athlete and a dancer.
“I was a pretty good basketball player, I think. I made a few baskets,” Beadie said. “And I just loved to jitterbug.”
Beadie later held jobs in a beauty salon in the building that now houses The Eatonton Messenger, as well as with Ashley Dry Cleaning, and served as an in-home childcare provider for the family that owned and operated Tucker’s Drug Store in downtown Eatonton.
She recalled the days when The Livery, now an event space for nearby Barrel 118, lived up to its intended purpose when built, “where it used to be where people come into town from out in the country and have their horses and their wagon stay there while they go shopping.”
She had known her eventual husband, James Broadnax, since both were kids throughout the 1930s, though they never attended school together, Beadie said. Then, as a teenager, James joined the U.S. Army, serving his military time stateside before being honorably discharged in the mid-1940s.
“When he got back to town, we just met somewhere and he said, ‘Oh, what you been doin’?’ And, ‘Well, can I come by and see you? Can I take you out?’ Or something like that,” Beadie recalled. “And then it just took off from there.”
They were married “about 1946 or ‘47, I can’t remember,” Beadie said. Their wedding was held at St. John AME Church on what is now Willie Bailey Drive, where Beadie remains a church member today. Together, Beadie and James had two children, a son (deceased), and a daughter who lives in Michigan.
In 1953, James moved his family to Detroit, where he found work on the Ford assembly line, with Beadie doing likewise a few years later with General Motors. They lived downtown in the Motor City until 1993, when James and Beadie moved back to Eatonton and built the house she lives in today.
James passed away in 2003, so Beadie now relies on help from neighbors and relatives, but she still takes pride in doing things for herself.
“Today, I just look forward to being able to get around where I can do a little bit for myself,” Beadie said. “If I can’t do a big thing, I just ask someone to help me. But it’s important to stay active so that I can take a little bit of care of myself, just like I did when I was coming up.”
She’s seen a lot in her 99 years, but Beadie said she tries to take everything just as it comes and doesn’t worry too much about things she can’t control.
“That’s the thing that I was taught to do,” she said. “Respect people, go to my job, do my work, come home, and take care of my house. That was enough. I wasn’t never too much into politics or anything. I just wanted people to be able to get them a job, have them a home, and take care of themselves, not trying to go out, beat people out of stuff,” she said. "If we saw old people back in our day, we used to help them carry a glass of water. If they are out in the street, ask What can I do for you? But some of these young people today don’t care about that. They don’t even want to walk over to you.”
Still, Beadie continues to see a lot of good in the world, too, even when it feels like tumultuous times are taking over.
“It’s always gonna’ be changing from what it is now. Every year, it’s gonna’ come with different changes. So, I don’t live in the past, but I can remember the past. We all just have to love each other. Help each other if we can,” she said, sharing 99 years of accumulated knowledge.