[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 113 (Thursday, July 26, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN CELEBRATION OF MRS. BUENA WOOTEN LONG'S 100TH BIRTHDAY

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                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 26, 2012

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my 
sincerest congratulations and Happy Birthday wishes to Mrs. Buena 
Wooten Long, who will be celebrating her 100th birthday on Wednesday, 
July 25, 2012. On this day, Mrs. Long will be honored with a birthday 
celebration and dinner at the James H. Gray Senior Citizen's Center in 
Albany, Georgia.
  Born in Whigham, Georgia on July 25, 1912 to Archie and Ada Wooten, 
Mrs. Long is the youngest of six children: Malachi, Charlie, Wadis, 
Leah, and Ruth. Although all her siblings preceded her in death, she is 
the second member of her family to become a centenarian; her paternal 
grandfather lived to be 106 years old.
  Mrs. Long fondly remembers plowing a mule on the family farm as a 
child. As an adult, she worked as a seamstress in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania and Detroit, Michigan. She is now an active participant at 
the Golden Retreat Senior Citizen's Center. Although she enjoys all the 
activities at the Center, bingo is her favorite.
  Mrs. Long is the mother of Mrs. Helen Murphy-Prince; grandmother of 
Mr. Craig Wendell Prince; great-grandmother of Mr. Randall Murphy and 
Mr. Brian Murphy and great-greatgrandmother of Miss London Taylor 
Murphy.
  Mrs. Long credits her longevity to her faith in God, a strong work 
ethic instilled in her by her parents and good genes. She is an active 
member of the Institutional First Baptist Church under the pastorate of 
Dr. Eugene G. Sherman.
  George Washington Carver once said, ``How far you go in life depends 
on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, 
sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong 
because someday in your life you will have been all of these.'' Mrs. 
Long has advanced far in life because she never forgot these lessons 
and always kept God first.
  The race of life isn't given to the swift or to the strong, but to 
those who endure until the end. Mrs. Long has run the race of life with 
grace and dignity and God has blessed her over her lifetime.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute 
to an outstanding citizen and woman of faith, Mrs. Buena Wooten Long, 
as she, her family, and the seniors and volunteers of the Golden 
Retreat at the James H. Gray Senior Citizen's Center prepare to 
celebrate her 100th birthday.

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