Some stories don’t sound real until you sit down and listen to them.
Elizabeth “Betty” Hermann’s is one of those. The centurion celebration will be held Saturday, April 18th from 2 to 4 p.m. at 240 Theater Road in Marshfield,
She was born April 17, 1926, just outside Marshfield, about five miles east along what folks used to call the old wire road. The youngest of nine kids, she grew up in a time that feels almost hard to picture now.
She remembered seeing her first airplane and thinking it was some kind of monster in the sky. The first car? She and the other kids threw rocks at it as it sped down what is now Highway 38.
That was life back then.
The Depression years weren’t easy. Betty told stories about suppers of baked possum with sweet potatoes underneath, soaking up the drippings. Mornings came early. There were cows to milk, hogs to feed, and school to walk to—two miles each way.
Lunch might be a piece of bread with butter and a turnip. And that was enough.
Everything was work. No tractors. No shortcuts. If you had livestock to sell, you drove them into town yourself. Trips to Springfield took days, not hours.
But life kept moving.
In high school in Marshfield, Betty met Lawrence Hermann. After the war, they married and got to work building a life together. And work they did.
Farming, sheep, cucumbers, seed sales, dairy cattle—you name it, they tried it. Then came the big leap into the egg business. HMB Quality Egg Company grew fast, supplying eggs all across southwest Missouri. At one point, cartons were coming in by the train carload just to keep up.
Later, they opened L&R Farm Supply, which served the community for 30 years.
Betty never slowed down.
She helped run the farm, the store, raised six kids, stayed active in church and community groups, and still found time to do more. She even worked as groundskeeper and ticket taker at Frontier Theater well into her 80s.
Most people walked.
Betty ran.
Folks called her the Energizer Bunny long before that was a thing.
Even in recent years, she was living on her own, cooking meals and mowing her yard. These days she’s at Webbco, but if you ask around, people will still tell you the same thing—she’s quick. Always has been.
And now, she’s about to hit a milestone most only dream about.
Her family is inviting the community to come celebrate. No gifts needed. Just a card, a smile, and maybe a good story or two.
Because if there’s one thing Betty’s life proves, it’s this—
You don’t just live 100 years.
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