Black History Month: Michael siblings reach rare milestone ages
Lula Pittman (left) and Lewis Michael (right) are pictured at their sister, Etta White’s, drive-through birthday celebration in 2020. {Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart/Davidson Local}
Originally published November 5, 2021.
The likelihood of encountering a person who has lived over a century is rare. The probability of encountering a person who has lived nearly a century is rare, too. And the likelihood of meeting multiple persons in one family who fit the previous descriptions, well, that’s like finding that elusive needle in a haystack.
Unless you know the Michael siblings.
Etta White is 106. Lewis Michael is 97. Lula Pittman is 96.
Yes, there’s a family in Davidson County that has two nonagenarians and a centenarian. Go ahead, pick up your jaw from the floor.
When I sat down to talk with Michael and Pittman, my first question was straight to the point: what does it feel like to be your age? Without hesitation, both admitted, “It feels good.”
Born to Frank and Estella Michael, the Michaels grew up on a farm off old highway 52. As three of the 10 children their parents had, when they were old enough to take on outside responsibilities, they did. Pittman, who is the baby of the bunch, recalled how being the youngest didn’t grant her any special privileges. “Wasn’t no babies. I worked like everyone else.”
At the family homestead, they grew their own food - corn, hogs, berries, cherries, potatoes, wheat. “We raised everything we ate and had everything with a leg on it,” said Michael. “Only time we’d come to town was for sugar and fish. We’d take the wheat to Grimes Mill and they’d grind it up and make flour.”
Today, you go into a grocery store and purchase a bag of flour. For Michael and Pittman, living almost 100 years has afforded them the unique opportunity to experience the introduction of major life-changing inventions. As children, they traveled in a horse drawn wagon. At their house, there was no refrigerator, air conditioning or electricity. They used oil lamps for lighting, heated the house with a fireplace and cooked meals on a wood stove. An icebox was utilized to preserve food.
Pittman and Michael stand on the front porch of Michael’s home.
{Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart/Davidson Local}
Given their ages, it’s astonishing to grasp the major events they’ve lived through in their lifetimes: two world wars, the arrival of automobiles, televisions and personal landlines, segregation, the “Jim Crow South,” development of the United Nations, passing of the Civil Rights and Voting Acts, integration, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X and President John F. Kennedy, Alaska and Hawaii receiving statehood, the voting age being lowered, the 9/11 attacks and the election of President Barack Obama.
Their sharp memories led them to sharing some background information on their paternal and maternal grandmothers. They were slaves. For a while, their father’s mother, whom they referred to as “Grandma Julie,” lived with them.
“She used to worked in the field. Her master and his wife got her back to working in the house. She said one day the master and another maid working in the house went to bed and his wife went to town. The master told her to let him know when his wife came back. Grandma Julie said she was real young, was playing and forgot about it. His wife almost caught him in the bed with the other slave. The master told his wife that Grandma Julie told a lie. He told his wife to carry her out to the barn and give her a good whooping. She showed us the welts she had on her back.”
Despite the reality of life’s hardships for Black people, Michael and Pittman agree they had a wonderfully memorable childhood thanks to their parents. “They were marvelous,” recalled Pittman. “We had a good life on the farm. They raised us up the right way. If we went wrong, we did that on our own.” Michael, laughing, chimed in, “bet’ not do wrong.”
Every Saturday, the siblings would travel dirt roads to go “into town” to go to the movies. As a result of being the youngest children, Michael and Pittman have always been extremely close.
After their respective graduations, they all began to carve out their own paths. White, an avid roller skater in her youth, went to Teachers College (now known as Winston-Salem State University). She moved to New York where she obtained a degree, with honors, from Monroe School of Business.
Upon moving back to North Carolina, White enrolled in cosmetology school. In the book “Lost in the Shuffle II: More Stories that Need to be Told” by Tonya Lanier, White stated the most popular hairstyle request was the winglet. “That’s where you curl a strand of hair and pull it down so it dangles. I must say I was very good at doing this all over my client’s head. It became my signature style.”
Having had a previous stint in the nation’s capital, White moved back to Washington, D.C. and became a clerk at Navy Headquarters. She retired from the US Government as a Tax Technician in the Audit Division. Her golden years were spent in Lexington with her late husband, Bob. Currently, White is residing in a rehabilitation facility due to some recent health issues.
“Books were always her thing,” said Pittman about her big sister.
Michael’s first job was at United Furniture. Later, he was hired at Coca-Cola, where he worked for 33 years. His initial pay rate was 90 cents an hour. When he asked his boss for a raise because his daughter wanted to go to college, the response he received from his boss prompted him to issue an ultimatum. Having been told his daughter didn’t need to go to college, Michael threatened to quit at the end of the week.
The day before his demand expired, he was offered the opportunity to drive an 18-wheeler. Since he was promoted, his pay increased. Michael drove for 23 years, to states such as Texas, Georgia and West Virginia, without an accident. “I loved driving and seeing the world,” he expressed.
Pittman’s hand rests on her diploma and memorabilia from her days as a student at Dunbar 4th St. School and Dunbar High School.
{Kassaundra Shanette Lockhart/Davidson Local}
In 1953, he married his late wife, Mary. They had two daughters, Jean and Paulette (who has passed). He has two grandchildren, Nikki and Warren, and one great-grandson, Darren.
Pittman’s post-graduation plans took her to Wilmington, NC, Newark, NJ and Washington, D.C. where she held various jobs. When her parents became ill, she returned home to care for them. Settling back into life in Lexington, Pittman worked at the shirt factory before retiring from United Furniture.
A mother of two sons, William (who passed when he was a toddler) and Enoch, nicknamed “Larry,” Pittman has a daughter-in-law, Marvalene, whom she considers to be her daughter, and a granddaughter, Shanta.
When you lived as long as they have, one can’t help but wonder what day-to-day life looks like for the siblings. Michael enjoys cleaning up at his church, St. Stephen United Methodist, and the Acacia Lodge 66 where he’s a member. He also does work around his house. Recently, he received his renewed license in the mail.
While Michael is on the go at times, his little sister prefers to stay inside (going to get her hair done is an exception) and perform what she calls handwork. Pittman crochets, makes baskets, colors and creates things out of nothing. “I enjoy doing what I’m doing. I don’t sell nothing. I give my handwork away. That’s my blessing. If I sell it, I’m selling my blessings. Somebody’s always giving me something or calling me. That helps to make my day.”
As the brother and sister continued sharing stories, memories and laughs, I asked if they had any secrets to longevity. Both quickly confessed they didn’t think they’d live as long as they have. Michael will turn 98 in December; Pittman will be 97 in January.
Circling back to my question, Michael summed up his key to a long life in three words, “The good Lord.”
Smiling, Pittman added the cherry on top.
“It’s a blessing. Just take care of yourself and do the best you can.”
*Since the original publication of this article, both Michael and Pittman have had their respective birthdays.
