TULSA, Okla. (BP)–Ninety-five year-old Hazel Moss of Tulsa sounds young, and appears to be in her early 60’s. When asked how she had accomplished this marvelous feat, she replied, “I always tell the younger people, obey your parents, follow the Ten Commandments, rest well at night and eat plenty of vegetables, especially carrots. I make the best vegetable soup in the country, and my daughter, Peggy, will attest to that for sure.”
Moss, who has been a member at First Baptist Church, Tulsa for 45 years, still reads the newspaper and her Bible without the use of glasses. “I have orange juice in the morning and another glass of orange juice just before I go to bed,” she said. “I eat the old-fashioned oatmeal that takes a long time to cook, not the three-minute stuff. I don’t drink coffee, but I do drink tea.
“For exercise, I used to walk a lot, but I don’t walk much anymore. I guess going over to Peggy’s house next door and climbing her steps is pretty good exercise for me. I do that often. And, I never did take up the bad habit of smoking tobacco.”
Moss stays busy with her hobby, which she contentedly says helps the less fortunate. She makes lap robes for people who use wheelchairs, for those who are homebound with illness and for disabled veterans in the Veteran’s Administration hospital in Claremore.
“Would you like to know how many lap robes I have made in the past few years,” she asked? “I have a report in the other room from the church.”
Returning, she reads from the report: “It says 850, and it is dated June 28, 1998.”
She doesn’t have time to keep count of her production herself.
“Too busy making lap robes,” she happily declared.
When asked about the happiest part of her life, Moss replied without hesitation, “Living on the farm in Oilton, and seeing my children, Peggy and Jack, grow up. I was 21 when I married John, my husband, and he felt we should buy the farm in Oilton and settle there so the kids wouldn’t have to move from school to school.” Her husband helped build oil refineries for Skelley Oil Co.
The saddest day of her life, Moss said, “was when my husband died. I was 50 years old. I didn’t want to re-marry because I didn’t think I would ever find as good a man as John was. You know, you have to love a man enough to argue with him, and after the argument still love him.”
She paused for a moment. “My life is happy now. Perhaps that is one of the secrets for keeping young. I think you should try to be happy with what God has given you, and at the same time, you work to make life better for yourself and others too.”
“You know, I still go to church three or more times a week. I’ve always been a churchgoer. There at First Baptist Oilton I taught Sunday School to the 9-year-olds. Most of the time, we arrived early at church, usually by an hour. Peggy learned to play hymns on the piano and Jack visited with his pals. I read my Bible during that time.
“It has been a long time now, all those years,” she concluded, letting her mind wander back over the years again.
“But not so long, either, as I think back. The best part is, I wouldn’t change a day of it.”
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