Mrs. Maxine inspires with her tireless work ethic

Thomas Jefferson once said, “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” If that’s true then 85-year-old Maxine Mooneyham of Bruce must be the luckiest person I know.

I enjoyed a visit to her home last week to see some of her many quilts she is constantly producing. I knew Mrs. Maxine was a hard working lady due to the many times I’ve driven by her home on Arthur Street and seen her working tirelessly in her yard, but I didn’t realize she’s 85-years-old.

I wanted to go interview her and write about her charitable heart. She has made hundreds of quilts over the past several years, all of which are donated to children’s hospitals and nursing homes.

What I discovered was the source of this good Samaritanism is an unrivaled work ethic.

“I was raised to work,” she told me. “I guess that’s the reason I work all the time now.”

She was raised in Mt. Moriah on her family’s farm where work was never done. She spoke of picking cotton, plowing fields, pulling corn and all kinds of other “routine chores.”

I asked her where she thought her desire to always be working on something came from. She modestly explained how she just doesn’t like to sit around and do nothing.

“I have to have something to do,” she said.

In the spring, summer and fall that’s a lot of yard work. She has a riding mower, but often prefers the push mower for “more exercise.”

To make sure she gets enough exercise she likes to walk a couple of miles around the neighborhood.

When the sun goes down she comes inside and sets up at her sewing machine to start piecing together colorful quilts.

She explained that soreness starts settling in around her neck and shoulders if she sits at the machine for too long (I deduced that meant two-to-three hours) so she gets up and does something else and then goes back to sewing later.

The “something else” is often painting her house. Once a year she likes to change the colors of her rooms, particularly her den, so she moves all the furniture around and paints the walls.

She explained that friends and family often volunteered to help her do anything she wanted done, but she prefers doing things for herself.

I found her to be a remarkable lady with an energy and work ethic that was nothing less than inspiring.

You may email Joel McNeece at joelmcneece@gmail.com