Serena McElrath will be turning 70 in October. This year also marks 10 years she has been cancer-free.
It’s a lot to celebrate but she didn’t want to do it alone.
Seven relatives in the Glen Alpine area celebrated their 70th birthday together on Saturday, Sept. 6, at Heavenly View Venue on Jamestown Road. The women are, from left, Lennie Coleman, Rena McElrath, Deanie Walton, Stephanie Baker, Yara (Sara) Neranti, Barabara Avery standing in for Essie Wallace Pierce, and Helen McDowell.
That’s where her cousins and an aunt came in. McElrath and six female relatives are all turning 70 this year.
“I’m so grateful and honored that God let me see this day because it is an every-day reminder of what my journey has been,†McElrath said. “But I just wanted to celebrate with my family, and that was a vision, and I shared it with a couple of them and it (was) just like it took off.â€
On Saturday, Sept. 6, the seven joined together to celebrate their 70 years on earth and their lifelong friendship at Heavenly View Venue on Jamestown Road.
Two of the seven have already turned 70 this year and others will turn 70 soon.
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The seven are McElrath, Helen Denise McDowell, Essie Wallace Pierce, Yara (Sara Bryant) Neranti, Stephanie McElrath Baker, Gardenia (Deanie) Walton and Lennie Fran Coleman.
This is the first time they have all celebrated their birthdays together, Neranti said.
“We’re all relatives from the west end of Burke County,†Neranti said. “That’s why I said it was generational, ancestral, historical.â€
Neranti said they are known as the sensational seven and they are all friends first but also family. They are cousins, aunts and nieces, Neranti said.
They all went to McAlpine elementary school and grew up near each other, either on Kathy Road or Jamestown Road.
As they grew up and forged ahead into adulthood — jobs, kids and life — they have been able to stay connected through family reunions, Neranti said.
A retired educator, McElrath spent 43 years working and living in the Virgin Islands and Atlanta. She moved back two years ago after her father died.
“I don’t know what made me decide that. I just knew I wanted to celebrate it with my family, because I haven’t done that,†McElrath said. “Like I said, I’ve been gone for 43 years, so I wanted to come back home. As I’m back home now, I wanted to celebrate with my family.â€
The ladies’ outfits for the birthday party harkened back to “Soul Train,†the popular TV show that started in the 1970s. The seven birthday gals split up duties to make sure the celebration went off without a hitch, McElrath said.
In addition to celebrating their birthdays, Neranti said the celebration also honored their ancestors as well.
“When we get together, we always honor our ancestors, because it’s on their backs that we continue to move forward by their stories, their teachings, their life and how they lived in front of us,†Neranti said.
McElrath said the celebration saw a tremendous turnout of family and friends and reminded the women of their childhood together.
