Eda Buchanan celebrates 100th birthday with Italian homecoming

At nearly 100 years old, Jonesborough resident Eda Buchanan still remembers the sound of music echoing through the streets of Capri, Italy — and this month, she'll hear it again as her family celebrates her birthday in the town where her life began. On May 22, Buchanan and her family will celebrate in true Caprese style with a large gathering that brings together both the American family she built over a lifetime and the relatives she left behind in Italy decades ago. Raised alongside three sisters and two brothers, Buchanan said she still keeps in touch with many nieces and nephews in Capri and is eager to see them again. "In 100 years, you wonder what you would pick as your most fruitful or most delicate memories in life — it's love," Buchanan said. "Love for your family. It's important to cherish all these beautiful things, and it takes almost a lifetime to truly appreciate it." The celebration will be a whole island affair. Buchanan said a traditional folk band from Capri will escort the family through the streets of town on their way to dinner, playing handmade instruments while dressed in traditional costume. "They are preparing something out of this world," Buchanan said. "There will be a big, big celebration of about 35 people in the family. We have five families from here traveling to celebrate my birthday in Italy, including six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren." She described the route through Capri's famous town square — what locals call "the living room of Capri" — as one of the moments she is most looking forward to. "Everyone will be out in the street everywhere, and they will sing 'Happy Birthday' to me," she said. Food, too, will be central to the trip, something Buchanan said has always been at the heart of both her family life and her identity. "Cooking and entertaining was my life," she said, adding family meals were always important in her household, and cooking became one of her lifelong passions. During the trip, she said she is especially looking forward to authentic Italian cuisine. "We will be eating a lot while we're there," she said. "I'm excited to get doppio espresso." Buchanan last returned to Capri two years ago for her 98th birthday, though she said preparing for this trip has felt different. "It's been hard to prepare," Buchanan said. "I think about it more than I did two years ago, but I've been very fortunate to go back and keep in touch with the family." Over her lifetime, Buchanan has made around 15 trips back to Capri, the first time occurring in 1946, when she met a young American soldier, John Buchanan, on leave from the army. She said the two knew each other for only 10 days before beginning a nearly yearlong exchange of letters. In 1947, at 20 years old, Buchanan boarded a ship from Naples with 800 other passengers and immigrated to the United States. The couple first lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, before eventually settling in Kingsport, where Buchanan raised four children and built a life that would span the next seven decades. Her Italian upbringing and exposure to fashion in Capri would later inspire another major chapter of her life. "My family was interested in fashion and we had beautiful stores," she said. "I was always trying to create beautiful things, and so, I opened Weddings by Eda. Over time, I developed something I never dreamed I would have." Through Weddings by Eda, Buchanan became well known across the region for formalwear and bridal design. She said helping girls find dresses for prom became one of the great joys of her career. "Making the prom girls happy was my life's satisfaction," she said. In the 1970s, Buchanan coordinated regional fashion shows and helped raise money for multiple organizations. Over the years, she received numerous honors, including the Scarlett Award, a 1999 Retailer of the Year recognition from the Atlanta Bridal and Formalwear Association, and a 2006 plaque recognizing her lifetime contributions to Girls Inc. and other nonprofits. Now, as she prepares to celebrate a century of life in the place where it all began, Buchanan said the lesson she carries most is simple. "You create your own happiness through loving," Buchanan said. "Love to me is like a white rose — it grows and grows. And love is so strong that I still feel like I did as a little girl, when I grew up in Capri."