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At age 90, Mosses resident Bessie Brooks still cultivates flowers that “volunteer” each year in her garden, just as her mother taught her to do. For the last 20-something years, she has shared images of the blossoms with The Lowndes Signal readers with the goal of inspiring young Lowndes County citizens to take up the mantle of positive growth in the area she has called home all of her life.

“We built this house in 1979 and raised our children here,” Brooks said. “My mother grew flowers, and I moved them down here when she could no longer tend to them. I give flowers away and hope young people will see them and want to plant some themselves.”

Brooks proudly displays the Zinnia’s and other perennials that return to her garden each summer. Inside her home, potted plants of all kinds receive the best of care and thrive in the enclosed porches she has dedicated to their growth.

Like many senior members of the community, Brooks is vibrant at 90 and continues growing flowers and vegetables, making home-cooked meals, sewing quilts and volunteering with her congregation at Bougahoma Missionary Baptist Church.

Recently, Brooks helped with a back-to-school event at the church where she frequently teaches children the importance of having a relationship with God.

“We teach children about God,” Brooks said. “We know who God is and where he brought us from.” 

Recalling her days as a child living in Lowndes County, Brooks recalled the days she walked to church, lived without air conditioning and cut wood to stay warm in the winter.

“God has blessed us,” she said. “We don’t have to worry about how to stay warm or how we are going to pay our bills.”

Brooks retired after 25 years as a home health aide with the Lowndes County Health Department. Much of her time now is spent helping others in whatever way she can.

“There are lots of people who can’t read,” she said. “We have grown folks who can’t read. So now, our church has a mission meeting, and we teach them how to read.”

In addition to gardening, Brooks enjoys sewing with the Mt. Willing Quilters. She also enjoys helping young men and women learn the art of sewing.