A century of experience

Woodrow Wright spent 100 years in Abbeville. In that time, he’s seen a lot, but he says there’s no secret to living that long.

“I don’t do anything but say ‘Good morning’ when I wake up and ‘Good night’ when I go to bed,” he said. “The key is to do what the Bible said. Treat your neighbors like you want to be treated.”

His faith plays a huge role in his life. Despite his age, he still keeps up the grounds at his church, the Greater Pleasant Green Baptist Church. He drives himself and uses two canes to walk around (he has a wheelchair that he only uses at home, and he has no interest in using a motorized scooter).

Sitting down with him for 45 minutes gets you access to several life stories. He worked with sugarcane in Erath, with boats in Port Allen, a tire shop, and many other places around the south, but never moved away from Abbeville. He would work and return home.

His family is also important to him. He lives with a grandchild after losing his wife several years ago, followed by both of his children at different times.

Wright, whose first name came from the president at the time he was born, Woodrow Wilson, has seen a lot in his time. Born at the beginning of World War I and seeing World War II, the Civil Rights movement, and the many changes that have swept through Abbeville, he remembers close to everything.

“We never had to deal much with the racial issues,” he said of the Civil Rights era. “You had to ‘Know your place,’ whatever that meant. I could something one day, and that would be fine, and another day it wouldn’t be fine.”

Despite that, he kept mostly to himself. He had a few friends, but they never ran into any major problems.

“Our community was always pretty close,” he said. “We worked in fields, and whatever we got, we’d share it with our neighbors. One month, I’d share what I had, the next month a farmer would kill a calf and share the meat. We were all looking out for each other.”

That closeness, he says, ended with the era of radio and television.

“All of a sudden, you had people staying in to pay attention to that.”

“You weren’t associating with your neighbors as much. It really changed the way things were,” he added.

Wright’s philosophy in life has always been to be kind toward your neighbors if you wanted to be treated the same way. His devotion to the “Golden Rule,” along with his overall faith, has kept his spirits up in even the worst of times.

“My wife died, and then I lost my son three months later,” he said. “It was a bad time.”

His son, who was in Houston at the time, was shot and went into a coma for three months before passing. His daughter would pass some time later.

Still, he holds his family very dear. He never remarried and lives with relatives in a home on South Bailey. Together, they celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday.
“People ask if I would want another 15 or 20 years,” he said. “I don’t know. Things have just gotten so bad. But you always have to remember to treat your neighbors with respect. Do the right thing in your life.”

That goodness in his heart has helped him for 100 years so far. His family, at least, hopes it will continue.