Tables of flowers, balloons and happy birthday cards can still be seen in Maxine Austin’s home.

Today she celebrates 90 years of life, but one week ago, more than 75 members of her family and friends presented her a birthday party.

“I was overwhelmed,” said Maxine. “The surprise party was done by my family members.”

Before her actual birthday, Maxine sat down with a staff member of the Neosho Daily News to tell him about her life.

Maxine was born Feb. 17, 1918, near the Elm Springs community. The community is near the Neosho R-5 School Farm, southeast of Neosho. Her parents were John and Daisy Schumaker.

“I started school in a two-room school at Elm Springs, but later we moved to a farm on Lime Kiln Road,” Maxine said. “I graduated from Hilldale School and later graduated from Neosho High School in 1935.”

After graduation, she went to college at Draughan Business College in Springfield, where she learned a lifetime trade.

“I became a bookkeeper,” Maxine said. “I studied all kinds of bookkeeping and office work. Of course in high school, I took shorthand and some other things.”

Graduating from the college, her first job was at the Neosho MFA.

“Back then, it was called Farmer’s Exchange, I was hired as the secretary and the bookkeeper,” said Maxine. “It was different from now. We bought eggs, cream, and sold those items. We even had groceries, mostly staple groceries.”

In 1938, she married the love her life, James Austin. They were married on her parent’s farm. They moved to the farm where she now resides at, south of Wal-Mart. Along with the dairy farm, her husband was also an electrician. James put in the electricity at the Camp Crowder barracks.

Later on, a political party wanted him to run for political office.

“The Democrats in Newton County decided they wanted him for circuit clerk and recorder of deeds,” said Maxine. “I campaigned for him, in the whole county. I had a 4-year-old little girl and she went along with me (campaigning).”

All of their hard work paid off and in 1954, James was elected to the office, which he held for eight years.

“Actually every Democrat that year won,” added Maxine.

Not only did Maxine help her husband, but she also helped in other fields as well. For three or four years, she was the secretary of the Neosho Harvest Show on the historic Square.

“The last one that we had was in 1939 — it was our (Neosho) centennial,” remembered Maxine. “We all dressed up in these antique clothes. Jim wore a frock tail coat and I wore a long dress made by my mother.”

Jumping a few years later, Neosho residents would probably know the Austins as realtors. In the early 1970s, they purchased a three-bedroom house where Meek’s Lumber is located at now. They opened up a realtor business. It was taken out during the 1975 tornado. They then moved the business down the Neosho Boulevard close to where the Scott’s Rental is now located. The business remained in that location until the late 1980s and it was moved to her current home.

Her husband died in 1983.

“I am a work-alcoholic,” said Maxine. “Whatever I did, I did it with all of my heart. I like people.”

Over the years, Maxine said she has seen many changes in the area, particularly on the Neosho Square.

“There were grocery stores on the Square, we even had five theaters, even during the Camp Crowder days,” Maxine said. “A bus went by here (pointing outside of her window near the entrance of Crowder) every 20 minutes. We had 65,000 people out there Crowder. You could not even get on the Square.”

Maxine said the soldiers would come into town to watch movies.

As she still reads her birthday cards and still looks at the flowers and the balloons, she looks forward to her next birthday.