One hundred years ago today, Aubrey McGlaun graced Covington County with his presence, and he’s still going strong.

“I can’t hardly believe it,” he said of his 100th birthday. “I’ve definitely had a good life. I’ve always had a job as long as I was able.”

McGlaun said he’s thoroughly enjoyed the 10 decades he’s lived.

He was educated at the Bass School near Carolina and is the son of Nancy and James McGlaun, he said.

He said his greatest memories are those with his children – Lamar McGlaun and Doris McGlaun Henderson – from his 66 years of marriage to Helen Henderson McGlaun.

“I met Helen when I was working for Wages on the weekend,” he said. “I’d go three or four miles to party. I did that for several years until my brother, Willie, moved close to there and I stayed with him. It was there that I started dating Helen. When things ‘got real thick,’ we ran away and got married.”

Henderson said her mother was only 15 when she married her father, who was 22.

“They were married by Judge Brodgen near today’s Andalusia Flower and Gift Shop. They snuck out in the middle of the night after Mama was supposed to be in bed.”

McGlaun said he used to be “pretty swift,” but old age has slowed him down.

“He used to tackle any kind of job,” daughter-in-law Ann McGlaun said. “If anything would tear up on the farm or house, he’d jump in and fix it.”

McGlaun said he enjoyed the different jobs he’s had throughout the years.

“Me and another man blew stumps out of the woods with dynamite,” he laughed. “I also worked with the state for some time, and I enjoyed that. They gave me a truck to drive.”

McGlaun worked for the state highway department and said he built a road going to Baker, Fla.

“I had good credit,” he remembered. “My supervisor told me that I was the only man who he sent off and came right back.”

After that, he farmed for a while, and then worked for more than 30 years at Alatex, where he retired.

“They tried to get me to come back after I retired,” he said. “But I couldn’t; I had to take care of my wife.”

“He took care of ‘Mama Helen’ for nine years,” Ann McGlaun said. “He was really compassionate with her. We really got to see another side of him.”

Ann shared a “funny story” about McGlaun.

“He was on the way to Opp to the hospital for an X-ray when he was crossing Opine Road to go up the hill to the hospital. He pulled out in front of a car, he said, that was going too fast,” she said. “They had to use the Jaws of Life to cut him out. Once they got him out. He told them to do what they needed to do because he was scheduled for an X-ray.”

Despite his age, he’s in good shape, the ladies said.

“He’s had one minor stroke that he’s recovered fully from,” Ann said. “His mind is still good. He fixes his coffee in the morning.”

His family and friends, including his two children, five grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, will honor him with a birthday party reception at Covington Electric Cooperative’s Community Room from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m.