Image via The Washington Post
Meet lifelong BFF’s Leona Barnes, Elizabeth Hammett, Gladys Butler and Bernice Underwood. The four women, who grew up within blocks of one another, were born and raised in the Southwest Washington neighborhood. They are all turning 100 this summer.
The impressive foursome spent their early years in a segregated society and lived through a wide array of major historical events together — from World War II to the assassination of Martin Luther King to the election of Barack Obama.
“I never thought I would see a black president,” Barnes told The Washington Post. “So it was marvelous for me.”
While the friends have had minor disagreements over the years, they credit a committment to being nice to one another as a major part of their lasting friendship.
“The only thing I can say, we just cared for each other, we loved each other and we just were friends all these years,” Underwood says. “Never had a cross word with any of them.”