Mound Bayou celebrates Bertha Lee Bell’s 100th birthday

Bertha Lee Bell turned 100 on Sunday, May 17, and Mound Bayou marked the milestone for one of the town’s oldest living residents. In a city of 1,534 people, her birthday stood out as more than a family celebration, it became a reminder of how much local history can live in one person’s life.

Bell’s son, Derek Bell, who works as an educator and administrator with the Cleveland School District, described his mother as active, self-sufficient and still deeply engaged in daily routines. She walks every day, handles her own personal care, does not rely on home health help and still likes getting out for rides and errands. He also said she keeps up with regular medical checkups, has avoided diabetes and has been on blood-pressure medication for decades.

Those habits give her family a practical view of longevity in a place where health outcomes have long been shaped by access, routine care and household stability. Bell’s daily rhythm is plain but telling, from a consistent breakfast to the occasional fast-food treat. In a region where chronic disease and transportation barriers can complicate aging, her independence has become part of the story family members tell about her.

Bell’s life also reflects a deeper Delta history. She and her husband once ran a restaurant called The 1964 Club while also farming, then spent time in Chicago before returning to the Delta about 40 years ago. That path connects Black entrepreneurship, migration, agriculture and homecoming, all themes that have shaped Mound Bayou and the wider Bolivar County community for generations.

The town itself gives Bell’s century even more weight. Mound Bayou was founded in 1887 by formerly enslaved men Isaiah T. Montgomery and Benjamin T. Green. The Mississippi Encyclopedia has described it as once the nation’s largest and most self-sufficient African American town, and the Mound Bayou Museum of African American History and Culture says residents built businesses, schools, health institutions and civic life during segregation. The city also proudly calls itself The Jewel of the Delta.

That history helps explain why a 100th birthday carried such meaning in a town built on endurance and self-determination. Mound Bayou’s past runs through Bell’s lifetime, from the legacy of Black institution-building to the everyday work of staying rooted in place. Her celebration was a family moment, but it also served as a living record of a town that has spent 138 years making its own history.