Jessie Winston is a bit famous in Natchez. He’s never been a popular film star or musician, but he’s been here a long, long time.

Winston, who also happens to have the rare distinction of being born on Christmas Day, just celebrated his 108th birthday.

That’s no typo.

Winston was born in 1910.

Imagine for a minute the local history Winston has witnessed, first-hand.

Nationally, he saw the impact of World War I and World War II, Korea and Vietnam on Natchez.

On a more local level, Winston saw much of modern Natchez history as well. The formation of pilgrimage, the Rhythm Club fire, the construction of modern roadways, highways and construction of both Mississippi River bridge spans.

Truly the man has seen more progress and change than most of us can ever dream about.

What’s even more remarkable about Winston is the he’s outlived the majority of his generation two times over.

The average man born in 1910 lived to be 48 years old.

Winston has that doubled — with 12 years to spare.

Our community is fortunate to have such long-living people in our midst as they provide living context and history of the world around us.

We hope and pray Winston is around for many, many more years to come.