Jackson Free Press

At first sight, one wouldn't suspect that the freshly painted home of Willie Mae Shirley has been standing since 1926. The home, located on Shirley Avenue in the Washington Addition subdivision, is filled with memories from friends and family in the form of pictures, furniture and gifts. An inviting walkway lined with brightly colored marigolds leads to the home's front porch.

There's a bond between this house and my dad," says Shirley, 87, who grew up in the home and says she has never wanted to live any place else.

Shirley's father, Peter Davis, built the house in 1926 for his family, when Shirley was just 2 years old. Even after marrying in 1941, Shirley continued to live in the same house, despite her husband's efforts to move away. While raising their five children, her late husband, Willie Shirley, made additions to the house and helped repair other homes in the neighborhood.

"He dedicated his labor, and that's why the community saw fit to change the street from Everett Avenue to Shirley Avenue in honor of him," Willie Mae Shirley says.

During the '70s, she started arranging annual neighborhood reunions for those who had moved away from the neighborhood once known as Gowdy.

"Our Gowdy reunion was for people who were born and raised here, just like me, but moved away," Shirley says. "We just wanted to see some of the folks that we grew up with. So we decided that we would have this organization and have them to come back home so we can see them, since we (aren't going) anywhere."

As vice president of the Washington Addition Neighborhood Association, Shirley is working on getting a historical marker for the neighborhood. The marker will feature an old newspaper photograph of Shirley and other neighbors with former Mayor Dale Danks Jr. behind a Gowdy sign taken during the 1980 reunion. She says this will take a while, though, because they do not have nearly enough money, yet.

On June 16, the entire neighborhood gathered at a block party to throw Shirley a surprise party for her 87th birthday.

Shirley was expecting her birthday celebration to be a small gathering with friends. "I thought it would be three or four old ladies and that we'd be sitting here talking, and they'd serve us ice cream and cake," Shirley says. But when she came home that day, neighbors had blocked off the streets for an outdoor party, complete with live music. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. also appeared to honor Shirley with a plaque from which he read aloud.

"The life of Ms. Shirley has been one of dignity, hard work, integrity and much happiness. ... She has watched the world change dramatically over her lifetime and contributed to its progress with her own hard work," the plaque reads.