Herald Democrat
September 1, 1996

GRIFFITH WILL OBSERVE HIS 100th BIRTHDAY

Denton - Ernest A. Griffith, a 36-year resident of Denton and former Sherman resident will observe his 100th birthday on Sunday September 8.  Griffith was born September 11, 1896 in Comanche.
Prior to his retirement in Denton, Griffith spent a total of 40 years in the cotton ginning and grain business.  Early in his career, he worked as a bookkeeper and a general office worker at Williams and Miller Gin Company in Wellington for seven years.  In 1926 Griffith moved to Weinert, Texas, forming a partnership with Will Stitch and operating Griffith and Stitch Independent Ginners.  After Stith's death, the business operated at Griffith Gin and Grain Company until it was sold in 1944.  Griffith also spent 16 years managing cotton gins and over 50 grain elevators for the Kimball Grain Business in Woodward, Oklahoma and Sherman.
In 1917 Griffith took a short break from ginning to work as a general clerk at the Palace Drug Store in Sweetwater, a break he treasures.  "I became a first rate soda jerk and an expert at making cherry cokes," Griffith says.  Griffith also treasures the courtship of a Miss Clela Clay, remembering it as the "high point" in his life.  In 1923 Griffith was "hot stuff" with his new bride and his new model Ford coupe that cost $521.  During the years of 1926 to 1943, Griffith raised his family, served on the Haskell County School Board and was a member of the Haskell County Rationing Board during World War II.  Clela Clay and Ernest Griffith enjoyed a long and happy marriage until her death in 1991.
Griffith is an active member of the Denton community.  He has been a member of the Rotary Club for 36 years, a volunteer for 25 years at Flow Hospital and an usher at the First United Methodist Church for 21 years.  Griffith has been a Mason with Scottish Rite of Dallas for 50 years and a Mason at the Blue Lodge in Wellington for 75 years.  He currently is president of the "Baggy Pants Club", a group of men who meet weekly to solve the world's problems.  Griffith, who is known for his wit and charm, also enjoys playing "Forty Two" with a group of friends and works in the store at the Vintage Retirement Village where he presently resides.
He has one son, Dr. E. Clay Griffith of Dallas, and two grandchildren, Gary Ernest Griffith of Dallas and Colette Schweiger of Cleveland, Ohio.  Griffith also has twin great-granddaughters, Vickie and Mandy Griffith, both recent college graduates, also from Dallas.