Pittsburg resident celebrates 100th birthday

By Lauren Shortnacy
lshortnacy@campcountynow.com

Life is an exciting business, and most exciting when it is lived for others. ~ Helen Keller
 Edna Winkle Carson reached an important milestone in her life Friday Feb. 7 when she turned 100. With a big family and having many students from her teaching career, Mrs. Carson’s many stories are what she is known for.
Born on Feb. 7, 1914 in rural Wood county out of Winnsboro Mrs. Carson helped her family out around the farm. She picked cotton and helped tend to the fields.
“Back then we called it chopping cotton,” Mrs. Carson said.
Mrs. Carson’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Johns Wintters said hearing Mrs. Carson’s (known as BoBo) stories is something the family loves.
“She told us when she was little she once got in trouble for throwing her bar of soap that she got for Christmas in the fireplace and her sister, Elizabeth and her got in trouble for laughing when the horse that was pulling the wagon they were in, pooted,” Mrs. Wintters said.
Mrs. Carson was married in 1935 to Joe B. Winkle in Winnsboro. They spent their honeymoon in Quitman. When asked why Quitman, Mrs. Carson smiled and said “We had to, the car broke down.”
Turns out the  newlywed couple was on their way to Tyler  when the car broke down in Quitman.
For Mrs. Carson’s new husband this wasn’t such a bad thing. Mr. Winkle loved reading the Saturday Evening Post, but never received them on time.
The day the car broke down and kept the couple in Quitman, Mr. Winkle was able to purchase the newest issue of the Saturday Evening Post.
“He didn’t pay me any mind that whole night,” Mrs. Carson said.
Mrs. Wintters said Mr. Winkle, her granddaddy, and Mrs. Carson wouldn’t let her mother watch Elvis on the television because he was too vulgar but that didn’t stop Mrs. Carson from going and seeing him herself at Las Vegas, which is one of her favorite places.
“Several times we would go upstairs at her house and play his albums,” Mrs. Wintters said.
Mrs. Carson has two children, Alice Johns of Pittsburg and Larry Winkle of McKinney. She has five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She is a member of First Baptist Church in Pittsburg and her favorite hymn she likes to sing is “How Great Thou Art.”
Mrs. Carson was an educator most of her life. She taught at “Forest Home” school for a year, Clearwater in Wood County for two years and at Leesburg when they had a school for about a year.
“I became a teacher so I could get out of helping with the fields,” Mrs. Carson said.
When working at “Forest Home” and Clearwater, Mrs. Carson would walk to school. She rented a room close to the school and would live there during the school season. Just like today, school was an all day event that took place but Mrs. Carson said the difference between now and then was discipline.
 

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