On Tuesday, lifelong Sampson County resident Susie Bethune Faison turned 100 years old. It’s a milestone not many of us reach, and it’s definitely something to be celebrated. And celebrate she did on Saturday, with a party attended by more than 200 people.
Ms. Susie has never served in public office, has never really garnered all that much attention, and has lived a quiet but lovely life in our rural county. She’s never caused much controversy, and to our knowledge has never made the front page of the newspaper — until now.
There’s something to be said for making it to the century mark, and still being able to live on her own and even drive herself around. She’s independent and spunky, and recognizes that she’s a blessed woman.
More of us should embrace life with this much gusto — to truly live and make a difference to others, even in the smallest of ways.
Our Facebook post marking Ms. Susie’s birthday had 1,200 reactions and as of Tuesday afternoon had been viewed 81,391 times. It’s refreshing, especially after recent events like a controversial write-in campaign for Clinton mayor, a fraud investigation, a Piggly Wiggly robbery and the death of a 3-year-old in a car accident, to be able to share some good news, and have it be received so well. Not many people are going to have a negative thing to say about Susie Faison, and in the journalism business, it’s a breath of fresh air to be able to spread love and appreciation, rather than gloom and doom.
The year 2025 has brought many things we’d rather not focus on, like numerous mass shootings, including in nearby Robeson and Brunswick counties, the very public murder of a conservative activist, a government shutdown, the loss of movie star icons like Robert Redford and Diane Keaton, and rock icon Ozzy Osbourne, and ever-rising grocery costs, to name a few.
To be blunt, it can be depressing. So it’s a great thing when The Independent has positive things to report, feel-good stories that are sadly few and far between in this day and age.
We hope you truly enjoy reading the news. Even when we have breaking news that involves death, disorder or disruption, we hope you appreciate being informed. That is, after all, what a newspaper is for — to inform a community of its goings-on, both good and bad, controversial or light and fluffy.
For those who prefer the nitty gritty breaking news, don’t worry. We’ll continue our job of reporting the events and happenings of the day, staying local to Sampson County and serving our readers to the best of our ability, as we always have. It’s just nice to have the feature stories on people doing good things once in a while, too.
We appreciate you, and we hope you will continue to utilize The Sampson Independent as your news source.
And, too, we wish Susie Faison many more years of health and happiness in Sampson County.