Centenarian Librarian Remembers Her Meeting With Dr. King

August 28, 2008 - 9:35am — birdie

Today is the 45th anniversary of the day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington D.C.

You don't have to be a centenarian to remember it (this reporter was in junior high school in the District), but Della Jones, 105, remembers it as a very special day...it was the day of her college graduation at age 53. She since went on to become a teacher and librarian, and now at the age of 105, still lives on her own in the same house in Williamstown, KY that she's been in for 85 years, despite being a double amputee and confined to a wheelchair.

"Oh, I thought it was wonderful," Della said of the historic 1963 speech. "I think we all should have a dream for our lives and work towards that dream."