Florence Martin of Hampton beamed as she was surrounded by a plethora of cards and well-wishes for her birthday.
“I appreciate what all the people have done to share with me,” said Martin, who turned 107 on July 8. “I am a lucky old woman, that’s for sure.”

Martin welcomed numerous friends into her home for the occasion. Balloons and banners adorned her yard, with drivers honking their horns in recognition as they passed her home.

Martin, at press time, had received nearly 400 birthday cards. Some of those cards, she said, came from people she’d never even met.

“I wish I could see them and thank them,” she said. “You’d be surprised, all the people that call, that live far away, never heard of an old woman. I’m grateful that people take the time to mail a card for an old woman they’ve never seen or heard of.”

Martin was born on July 8, 1915. One of six siblings, she attended the Liberty Hill School as a child, and walked two miles to and from class through the eighth grade.

Martin grew up on a farm, and her father passed away when she was a young girl. While walking to school one day, she met Odus Martin. She married him in 1930, when she was just 16 years old.

They raised three children, including David and Betty, and Peggy, who passed away seven years ago. Florence and Odus were together 42 years, until his death in 1972.

Florence Martin retired from Southern States in Hampton during the 1960s, and has lived in the same house for 66 years. In recent years, she has enjoyed watching Atlanta Braves baseball and maintaining her garden.

She made reference to the latter activity while expressing her gratitude for those who have remembered her on her birthday.

“I wish I’d had some of them friends here a few years back when I was pushing a lawn mower, cutting grass around here and trimming these bushes,” said Martin. “I could have used them. I can still use some of them.

She also got a visit from officers with the Henry County Police Department to celebrate her big day. Henry County Police Officer Jason Valentine, of the Active Community Engagement Unit, said, “She gets around better than a lot of people in their 70s, said Valentine. I didn’t see her use a walker. She lives by herself. She’ll tell you, ‘I’m hard of hearing. You’ve got to talk loud.’ She offered to fix us lunch, and I thought that was so sweet. I was like, ‘We’re just here to visit you.’”

Martin thanked the police, and everyone else who came to celebrate her birthday with her.

­“I appreciate people taking their time to come and visit with an old woman,” she added. “They could be enjoying something else.”