We thoroughly enjoyed meeting and getting to know the humble but intrepid Mrs. Mildred Cook at Montgomery’s Oak Grove Inn. Mrs. Cook was a pure delight to visit, which elucidates why she’s so well liked and an inspiration to other residents. Daughters, Lydia Benefield (LB) and Ann Edwards (AE) were present as was Grove Park Director O’Neal Green (OG). Mrs. Cook turned 105 in October 2024. Following is the text of our interesting conversation (with our notes in parentheses).

MC: I’ve never been interviewed before.

BOOM: Is it exciting?

MC: I don’t know. I’ll tell you later. (Laughter)

BOOM: Tell us about your life here at Oak Grove Inn.

MC: Well, it’s just a wonderful place to live. We’re so fortunate to have Mr. Green. I came when it opened. I was among the first people here. If I need to go somewhere, I, luckily, have one son, Bill Cook, and two daughters who all live here in Montgomery. I live a very uneventful life, I think. I used to be very active, but I don’t try to do that anymore. It’s just a little bit too much action. It just does not interest me.

Daughter LB: However, she loves to play bingo, bean-bag-toss, and she loves to attend any musical performance that comes to Grove Park. And she attends church services on Sunday morning then watches church services on TV.

MC: I don’t go to breakfast. I’ll have coffee and a sweet roll in my room. And that’s my breakfast. They do have breakfast here every morning. But I don’t go down. It’s a little too early for me. (Mrs. Cook lives on the second floor at Oak Grove. At 105 years old, she remains quite independent, walking without assistance down her hall to the elevator that takes her downstairs to dine or visit friends.)

BOOM: Do people often ask you for wisdom or about how to live a long life?

MC: I believe you’re the first one. (Laughter)

BOOM: Well, we want to know. We’re very interested in your wisdom. (Mrs. Cook is remarkable. When she visits the doctor, they ask her, “Is this right? Is this really your age?”)

MC: Well, I think that you have to say to yourself: I can’t do everything that everybody else does. There are some things that I have to know that I’m unable to do and accept it. But living with friends and family close by—that means everything to me. I was raised in a very small little town and had an average-sized family—four children, parents. My father was a banker. My mother just worked at home. I taught school for several years. And here came the war—World War II. So, instead of continuing to teach school, a female friend and I got on the road and went here, there and everywhere during the war. Went to the West Coast. You could always get a job anywhere you went. (Mrs. Cook graduated from Montevallo. Expert at typing and shorthand, she secured a job with a military ship-refurbishing company at Long Beach, California during the war. The WWII period was the most consequential period of her life. That’s where she married Mr. Cook. He was from Camden, Alabama and she from Sweetwater, Alabama. They met at Auburn. But he was a Marine shipping out from California when they married without having ever met each other’s families!)

MC: It was different from any other time I can ever remember. People were friendlier during hard times. It was hard times.
BOOM: What about the Depression?

MC: I well remember the depression. It brought everybody together. I mean, you dug up your back yard and made it into a garden so you had something to eat. And people had a little better, friendlier attitude, I think, about everybody and everything. It lasted several years and it was very difficult. A lot of families went hungry because they had no way to get food.

BOOM: So, what are your thoughts about the world today—the technology, morality of the people, all the chaos in the news?

MC: It’s baffling. Every day, you seem to realize something else that you haven’t realized before. It’s continuous. And you just say to yourself: I’ve got to deal with it. It’s here and I’m not going anywhere. And we’re all here together. Like here at this place. And people become more friendly and helpful to each other—much more than they were before.

BOOM: Do you have any secrets you can share with us for how to live a good life?

MC: You have to learn to throw off a lot of things. If somebody hurts your feelings, you can’t just hold onto it and say, ‘Oh, I don’t know why he did that to me’ and feel sorry for yourself. Let it go. That’s hard to do sometimes. But it’s important to do.

All in all, they say people down South are friendlier. It’s sort of just accepted. But I think it’s really true. I’ve never really lived anywhere else any long length of time. On the West Coast during the war. Other than that, close around here. But a place like this (Oak Grove Inn) is not easy to find. We’re very fortunate. Everything you need is right here. (Mrs. Cook has been a resident since about 2010.)

Director Green: I want to tell you: She’s one of the most humble ladies I’ve ever met. Not only as a resident but to everyone who comes in. The humility that she has is just unbelievable. I always kid her, saying, ‘Rub up on me because I want some of those genes to rub off on me!’ Because she’s a touchy-feely person—so humble when she meets anyone and everyone. The respect residents have for Ms. Cook is unbelievable. And it’s not just because she’s 105-years-old.

Daughter AE: Mama has seven grand-children and sixteen great-grandchildren. I can’t imagine life without Mama. We’ve always had her.

Contributed by monthly BOOM! columnist Jeff Barganier. Jeff is a novelist, travel writer and speaker.