Community members will come together 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Friday to celebrate the late Birdie Thornton’s 100th birthday at the center on Hine Street that is named in her honor.

Thornton’s granddaughter, Lori Ermert, came up with the idea for the centennial celebration.

“My grandmother had an incredible impact on this community,” Ermert said. “We wanted to recognize the fact that her legacy lives on in the Birdie Thornton Center.”

Ermert, her husband Mike and several extended family members will join Athens City Mayor Ronnie Marks at the Friday celebration.

During the event, Thornton will be recognized for her tireless work to establish a safe place for her son and other intellectually disabled children to learn at a time when few options for special needs children existed.

In the late 1950s, Thornton and her husband Roy raised enough money and awareness to open a center in Decatur. It was relocated to Elkmont in 1969 and came to be known as the Limestone Opportunity Center School. Thornton and a group of her friends taught about 20 students through the program until her death in 1972.

Shortly after her death, the school was renamed Birdie Thornton Center for the Developmentally Disabled in her honor.

The school temporarily relocated to the old Trinity High School until 1986, when the government mandated public school classes for special needs children. The current building on Hine Street was completed in 1987, thanks to funding from the AARC.

Although the center now only serves adult clients, Thornton’s granddaughter believes the school honors her grandmother’s vision to help all people with special needs.

“What she did was truly amazing for that time,” she said. “And although the center has evolved and no longer serves children, I think she would be proud to see the needs of older special needs clients being met through the center.”

Birdie Thornton Center Director Kristy Allen has worked with Ermert to plan a celebration befitting Birdie Thornton’s legacy.

Stating at 10 a.m., visitors can enjoy backyard games, face painting, live music and if the weather cooperates, rides on the Limestone County Lions Club train and old-fashioned hayrides. Gary Compton and Billy Swindell, a retired Limestone County special needs teacher and friend of Thornton, will provide the music.

Volunteers from Steelcase in Athens will be on hand to cook hot dogs and hamburgers.

Allen said they are still in need of volunteers to make the day a success. Contact Allen at 256-232-0366 for more details. Volunteers are asked to be at the center by 9 a.m. and should park at nearby Jimmy Gill Park, 333 W. Sanderfer Road.