City proclamation honors Garland Smith

On the day he turned 100 years old, Seneca’s Garland Smith was feted by the city he has called home since the late 1930s.  At City Hall last night, it was a time for pictures with family and city officials and proclamation presented and read by Mayor Dan Alexander.  The mayor noted that when the Belk department store reigned as the city’s anchor store in the downtown, it had Smith as store manager.  Except for World War Two years when he served in the Army, Smith managed the Belk store from 1939 until he retired in 1981.  Smith expressed appreciation for the recognition, but he told the mayor and other city officials that it is he who should be congratulating them, for Smith believes that they represent the best city leaders in his time.  Smith’s son, City Attorney Mike Smith, thanked the mayor and the council for the attention given to his father on the occasion of his 100th birthday.