This aged man looks forty or fifty years younger than he really is. His
skin is white but not deeply lined. His vision is excellent and he walks
nearly erect. Thirty years ago he gave up smoking, as his doctors warned
him he was near death from old age and that the use of tobacco would
only hasten the end."
"In the Ozark Mountains of Marion County, Arkansas, just across the
Missouri line, lives Mrs. Elmyra Wagoner. She, too, is one hundred and
twelve years old. There are a thousand wrinkles in her face and she
looks her age, but in her actions she is sixty. Up until a very few
years ago, when still past the hundred-year mark, Mrs. Wagoner kept a
large garden and was able to work in the fields. While she has given up
outdoor work, she is still active. On inclement days she sits by the
fireplace in her mountain home and spins. On pleasant days she may be
found walking about the yard. Recently her great-great-granddaughter was
married at Protein, Missouri, six miles from the Wagoner home. This
woman of one hundred and twelve years walked to the wedding, enjoyed it,
and then walked back home, a distance that would tire many persons half
that age.
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