Ms. Harding moved with her family to Baltimore 1917. While a number of her memories have been lost to time, it’s the photos she shares with her nephew, Frank Moore, that bring her the most joy.
She grew up in what is today Baltimore’s Upton neighborhood.
“I went to school at Old Worship,” she said. “I went there until I finished up my grades, and then I went to another school.”
After graduating, Ms. Harding immediately began working, and as she says, started her “life’s work” serving others.
“I started giving, just working and giving,” she said. “God always supplied my needs.”
As the years went on, she continued working as a waitress at the Mount Vernon Club. She supported herself after her husband, Carlson Harding, passed away in the 1970’s.
But she never lost sight of her commitment to honoring God and helping others.
“You’ve got to believe in something,” she said. “If you don’t believe in God, then you believe in the Devil. If I can help someone, anybody, then my living was not in vain.
Not a life in vain at all. Instead, it has been a life remarkably lived.
Ms. Harding lived on her own until a year ago, when her life changed. She has since moved into the Keswick Multi-Care Center.
“In the last year, it’s been really good because this place has been so good to her,” said Frank Moore.
And even though her location is different, Ms. Harding says her life’s work is far from over.
“I go around and tell people about God. I read the Bible to them and ask what their favorite song is. Then we sing it together.”
Living on her own until 105-years-old is an amazing enough feat on its own. But through her devotion to God and others, Ms. Harding was also a weekly usher at her home church, Enon Baptist.
It was an honor she held until a year ago.
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