A Moorestown resident who met President Theodore Roosevelt and was a trailblazer for desegregation celebrated her 101st birthday recently.
Alfreda L. Macon, a 65-year resident of Moorestown, is very active and was in great health for her 101st birthday celebration. She was all smiles talking about her life and family.
“I’ve had a wonderful life. Everyone has his or her ups and downs, but I’ve survived it all and I’ve had a very, very good life. I can thank the Lord for that,” Macon said.
Macon was “officially” born on Feb. 6, 1915, in Tampa, Fla., to Taylor Stephens and Willie Mae Hamilton Stephens. According to Macon, she was actually born in 1914, but was part of a late census and her birth certificate was dated incorrectly as 1915, so she goes by that date now.
When she was just a baby, her family moved to Philadelphia, where she lived for more than 40 years. There, she grew up with four siblings.
Macon was a federal employee, working first at the Frankford Arsenal, followed by the United States Marine Corp. where she retired after 30 years. A trailblazer for desegregation in the armed forces, Macon was one of seven black women to desegregate her former place of employment after Executive Order 9981 was issued by President Harry S. Truman to abolish racial discrimination in the United States armed forces.
“Despite the discrimination, we made it through,” Macon said.
Macon met her late husband Eugene at the age of 17. They fell in love and, after World War I, got married. They spent 50 happy years together. During their marriage, Macon and her husband adopted their son Charles who blessed them with three grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.
“The loves of my life,” Macon said of her husband and son.
The Macons bought property in Moorestown 65 years ago. During that time, Eugene built their home with his own hands. In 1965, the Macons moved to Moorestown, and she has been living in that house ever since.
When Macon first moved in, the family didn’t have utilities for more than a year, she said. Everything was much more underdeveloped back then, with open land and trees. She lived on one dirt road in the area and the town then had one traffic light.
“I’m forever grateful. I have beautiful neighbors and dear friends,” Macon said.
A large factor in helping Macon to reach 101 has been her healthy and active lifestyle. Since she was young, she has been a lover of fresh vegetables. That is what she continues to eat today, and doesn’t leave any leftovers. She also hardly eats meat, sticking to fish and occasionally chicken in her soup.
Macon has travelled all over the United States and Europe, most recently going to California in December. She also remains active by planting flowers in the spring, doing her own lawn in the summer and using a leaf blower in the fall. Macon doesn’t have any trouble going up and down the stairs; she is just is a little slower than she used to be.
But what Macon attributed most to her age and health was God and his blessings.
“I feel wonderful, I have no aches and no pains. I move slow, but that is, I suppose, so I don’t get in trouble,” she said with a laugh.
Macon lives with and is taken care of by her caregiver Sonia Williamson. Alfreda said she does everything and truly is a blessing.
“(Alfreda)’s very active and independent … By law, because she is 101, they don’t want her to be here by herself,” Williamson said.
Last year, Macon had a surprise birthday celebration for her 100th birthday on Feb. 21. Despite a snowy day, she was surrounded by more than 100 family members, friends and neighbors. Also in attendance were Moorestown’s former Mayor Victoria Napolitano and Macon’s niece, Sen. Donzella James from Georgia. Both gave her a proclamation, and she was also named an honorary Georgia state citizen. Also, for her 100th birthday, Macon was invited to have dinner with President Obama, but decided not to go.
