McGREGOR — Naomi Conner’s longevity secrets include homemade lye soap, walking rather than driving and not going to the doctor.

She takes two aspirin each day but no prescription medications. Never misses a party. And still knows how to dress to the nines.

And she’s 110.

Last week, Willard Scott proudly announced Conner’s name on NBC’s “Today” show as one of the oldest living people. And staff at the nursing home think their now-famous resident is the oldest woman in McLennan County, if not the state.

When asked about her milestone, Conner says she’s “a little piece of leather, well put-together” and that the ground she stands on is holy.

Earlier this week, Conner celebrated her birthday at her home, Westview Manor Nursing Home in McGregor, with a party complete with ice cream and rock music. Conner’s granddaughter, Bennie Henderson, laughed along as the home’s staff grabbed the woman’s hands and danced with her in her wheelchair.

“It’s just amazing to have here her with us,” Henderson said. “Not many families can say they have six generations living.”

Henderson said her grandmother grew up just outside of Houston. She never worked a full-time job but worked every day. Conner spent her days working on a farm, picking cotton and killing hogs by hand. She came to the McGregor area in the 1930s and married three times.

The mother of three and soon-to-be great-great-great- grandmother of two said she believes cars spoil people, so she didn’t mess with them. She’d walk to and from the grocery store with her buggy.

About six years ago, when Conner’s family moved her into Westview Manor, she couldn’t rest.

She told her caretakers she needed to work.

So, they let her fold towels and sheets, which she still does today.

equinn@wacotrib.com

757-5748