VIENNA — Maries Manor residents celebrated on Monday afternoon as one of their own turned 100 years old.

Mary Barnhart, born Oct. 14, 1924, was the center of attention on her 100th birthday as facility staff put on a party for the special occasion. Family, friends and fellow residents joined Barnhart for the celebration in Maries Manor’s lounge, where each table was adorned with 100th birthday balloons.

Maries Manor Social Services Director Becky Bowser shared some biographical information about Barnhart before the staff served cake and ice cream. Barnhart is the youngest child of William Carney Hickey (1897-1983) and Stella (Smith) Hickey (1904-1983). She had two older siblings, James Ralph Hickey (1920-1944), who was presumed dead after going missing in action at the Battle of Normandy during World War II, and Margie Lawn-Hale (1922-2003).

As a child, Barnhart attended Wheeler School, a one-room schoolhouse near her home. Country schools typically ended at eighth grade, so Barnhart attended Vienna High School, where she graduated in 1942.

At 15 years old, Barnhart met her future husband, Lewis “Louie” Barnhart (1923-2019), who regularly walked a mile from work to visit her. The couple married on Sept. 8, 1942, and moved to an apartment in Dixon before they later moved closer to home. Barnhart taught school at another country school at Hay Hollow, also in the western part of the county.

The Barnharts had four children: Earlyn, Shelby, Bill and Phyllis. They bought a farm near Meta; raised cattle, hogs and chickens and grew a garden. In addition to farming and teaching, Barnhart also worked for LB Manufacturing in Meta and Iberia, where she made tents and raincoats, respectively. She also worked for a hat factory in St. Elizabeth where she made hats for the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Another job was as a cook in the Maries R-1 cafeteria.

Barnhart is a devout Christian and attended Ricker Church of the Nazarene in Meta for many years. She served as a Sunday school teacher, and her son Shelby is now the pastor.

Later in life, the Barnharts traveled around the country and enjoyed time with their nine grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. They lived together at Maries Manor for a few years before Lewis died in 2019.

Bowser said she had spread the word about Barnhart’s milestone, and the responses she had gotten had all shared the same sentiment.

“Everyone would say to me, ‘She’s 100 years old and still sharp as a tack,’” Bowser said.

Barnhart’s family shared some favorite memories with her, including their appreciation for her hard work in the kitchen making sure they all had three hot meals each day.

Maries Manor staff presented her with a special blanket honoring her century milestone. She also received a card from other residents and a letter from Gov. Mike Parson recognizing her achievement. Barnhart spent the party talking with friends and family who all congratulated her.

So far, Barnhart’s life has covered the terms of 16 American presidents: Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, fellow 2024 centenarian Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. She has lived through events such as the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War, among many other conflicts.

Barnhart’s life has also overlapped with the construction of the interstate highway system, the popularization of commercial air travel, expeditions to the moon and the construction of the International Space Station. The first transatlantic phone call from London to New York happened in 1926, and now many people can contact others around the world instantaneously just by reaching into their pockets for their cell phones. “The Jazz Singer,” the first feature film marketed as a “talkie,” with spoken dialogue, premiered in 1927, and today sound and color movies are also available at the push of a button on a cell phone.