The city of Rincon has selected Daisy Mills, 95, as the honoree for its Fourth of July Parade this Saturday.

 

In an interview with the Rincon Building and Zoning Coordinator Kia Westmoreland, Mills said she and her husband, Henry, moved to Rincon in 1976.

He worked at Bloomingdale’s until he retired, and she worked as a licensed practical nurse at Bellevue Hospital.

 

Married in their youth, the Mills lived through some of the greatest changes in our nation’s and the world’s history, such as the Great Depression and World War II.

 

“We had good times and we remember them, and we had bad times and we remember those. It wasn’t long,” said Mrs. Mills.

 

Westmoreland said that Mills was selected as honoree for her “you’ve-got-to-love-people-no-matter-what-they-do-to-you” attitude. Mills was a key supporter in getting community organizations such as the Effingham senior citizens program, Effingham Hospice program and Effingham United Way off the ground. 

 

Of her acceptance of Parade Honoree this year, Mills said: “I’m very excited; it was all unexpected.”

 

She said that when she remembers when first moved to Rincon, the Fourth of July was not celebrated city-wide.

 

“There were no celebrations for us back then, everyone was just doing their best to get by,” she said. “We’ve come a long way since then.”

 

For Daisy Mills, the Fourth of July is “a celebration of independence not just for one, but for all of us.”