He was born in 1910, four years before the Guns of August signaled the start of The Great War, back when the average life expectancy for men in America was 48.4 years.
Jesse B. Dafford was born and raised in Duplin County, where he started his teaching career in a one-room school in Beulaville and become something of a local legend for his raccoon hunting skills. The call of duty led him abroad during World War II, when he served with the Ninth U.S. Army in combat operations throughout Europe and the Pacific Theater.
When he finished, he went back right home, where he served local students and families 50-plus years, with more than 30 of them as principal of C.W. Dobbins Elementary School in Wallace. He also is a senior deacon at Greater St. Luke’s Holy Church in Rose Hill.
Thirty months ago, when his health declined, Daffard became a resident at the State Veterans Nursing Home in Fayetteville. He is confined to a wheelchair now, but his contributions to the military and his community are still well remembered.
It was no surprise, then, that a crowd gathered on Jan. 18 to celebrate Dafford’s 100th birthday. Among the dignitaries was Sen. Charlie Albertson of Duplin County and school system officials. Daffard’s wife Estelle, who will turn 94 in April, attended with the party with their two daughters and a niece who traveled for the occasion from Washington, D.C. A busload of friends from their church, ranging from toddlers to near contemporaries, were there, too.
The Senator, whose older brother was among Dafford’s hunting buddies, and others warmly commended him on his lifetime of public service. I was especially struck by gentleman from his church who recalled “Mr. Dafford’s insistence that we always get good grades. He said we’d appreciate the hard work later, and I can tell you, sir, that I certainly do.”