Kelleys life spans key historic milestones
Charles Kelley was born May 21, 1917, just a little over a month after the United States entered World War I by declaring war on Germany.
Other noteworthy events that have occurred in Kelley's lifetime:
• Women were granted the right to vote after the 19th Amendment was ratified on Aug. 26, 1920.
• The worst economic crisis in U.S. history began after the stock market crashed in October 1929.
• World War II officially began in September 1939 after Germany invaded Poland. The U.S. entered the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
• The Civil Rights movement, from 1954 to 1968, fought to end racial discrimination. The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, followed by the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and the Fair Housing Act in 1968.
• Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon's surface in July 1969.
• Terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, killing almost 3,000 people. Less than a month later, the U.S. began the war in Afghanistan.
• The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003 in a war that lasted more than eight years.
• Barack Obama was elected the first African-American president of U.S.
Source: www.usa.gov
Without hesitation, he points skyward.
"The Heavenly Father has taken care of it," he said.
And as Kelley prepares to turn 100 on Sunday, he's grateful.
"I talk to him every night and thank him for my longevity," he said.
Kelley's faith is a thread woven through his life, beginning in his childhood in the pre-Depression South. Born in Mississippi, Kelley was raised in Arkansas on a farm where he and his seven siblings helped pick cotton. They went to school from October, after the picking was done, until about April.
He remembers the lean years of the Depression. Crops failed in 1930 and again in 1931, he said, and the livestock was sick and dying. The crops began to fare better in 1932, relieving some of the pressure. Times were hard, but the family was at least able to produce its own food.
Kelley also remembers the deep racial divide of the South. Even as a grown man, he was expected to address young white children as Mr. and Miss. "You had to learn to get along with them (white people) and that's what I did," Kelley said.
One day, when Kelley was 20, some Marines came through town. Kelley was impressed.
"They were dressed so nice," he recalls.
He tried to enlist, but "the Marines didn't take blacks at that time," he said. Instead, Kelley went to Little Rock and joined the Navy.
That decision to join the Navy inserted him directly into one of the most defining moments of American history: Pearl Harbor.
Kelley was stationed on the U.S.S. Helena when it was hit at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The cruiser survived and after being repaired, Kelley rejoined the Helena as it went on to the South Pacific.
Ultimately, the Helena was sunk in battle at Guadalcanal. Kelley survived on a life raft for three days.
He drew on his faith - the faith he said his mother, Rosie, helped instill in him while he was growing up - to help see him through.
"Every night, I said my prayers," he said.
Once discharged, Kelley continued to work for the Navy at the Great Lakes naval station north of Chicago, spending his career there. His job was to identify electronic parts and write descriptions of them. It was a technical position, and Kelley started out by looking up information and handing it off. He said he started writing the descriptions after looking at what another fellow wrote and imitating the style until he learned it.
He married Ruth in 1958 and together they raised seven children. He said he always wanted a large family and now has 25 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren.
He and Ruth moved to Monroe more than 20 years ago. Ruth had had health problems, and Monroe Clinic had found the problem. The Kelleys didn't forget that and when the time came to leave the Chicago area, they headed here. Kelley said he likes being in a small town, with the quiet it brings.
As the century mark approaches, a visitor would be hard pressed to guess Kelley's age; he could easily be mistaken for a man 20 years younger. Kelley said he is in good health and can still do most things he always did - "just more slowly."
But Ruth passed away last month and that loss has been hard for him.
"It's the little things," he said. He might go to get a cup of coffee and "I look over and ask her if she wants a cup.
"She's not there."
Despite his grief, he sees his blessings. He has family living with him, helping him out, allowing him to remain in his own home.
As always, he knows where to look to give thanks.
"You know, 'give us this day our daily bread?' he said. "He has given me my daily bread."