Party like it’s 1916: 100th birthday party draws hundreds of admirers

A hundred years of life deserve a few hundred “happy birthday” wishes, at the very least.

The party of the century was at the S.C. State Fairgrounds on Saturday, where Mary Swygert Smith and hundreds of her closest friends and admirers partied like it was 1916 in honor of Smith’s 100th birthday, coming up Tuesday.

“I don’t know how I got so old so fast!” Smith joked as she clutched the hands of a pair of friends, a trail of dozens waiting behind them to peck the cheek, hug the shoulders and shake the strong hand of the woman whose still-vibrant life has inspired many.

Smith has outlived many of her contemporaries, who came of age during the years of two world wars and the Great Depression. But for such a crowd to gather in her honor was a testimony to her life of love and service that has spanned generations.

“She’s always doing something for others,” including baking 850 cookies and eight pound cakes for her own birthday party, said the youngest of Smith’s four daughters, Nancy Smith.

The valedictorian and sole surviving member of the Brookland-Cayce High School class of 1933, Smith delivered a commencement speech that seemed to foreshadow the impactful life she’d lead. Her niece read it in her honor Saturday:

“We cannot hope to reach perfection in this life,” Smith’s words read. “May the years that are ahead find each of us active in the affairs of our community. And our greatest desire is that it can never be said that a member of the class of 1933 did not give the greatest possible returns on the investment that our community has made in us.”

Still living independently in St. Matthews and driving her own car, Smith remains devoted to her hobbies of canning and cooking and calling to check in on friends and fellow church members.

Reta Anne Westbury, a childhood classmate of Smith’s daughter Rebecca Myers, thinks of Smith as “the lady with the hats” – Smith’s trademark, she said.

Westbury and Ann Shuler remember spending many hours at Smith’s home when they were growing up, and while their mothers were all close friends, they’ve always thought of Smith as a mom to them, too.

“If you ever met her, you’ll never forget her,” Westbury said.