Oakland Spirit Shines Through Celebration And Service
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Oakland News
By Linda Aldy
Welcome to the first Oakland News column in quite awhile. Thanks to Krista McFerrin (from the Charleston Sun Sentinel) for the invitation to write about things going on in Oakland. She did promise that this column will be welcomed on a random basis if there are times that I can’t get it done.
The family and friends of Mr. James Allen celebrated his 95th birthday earlier this month at the Timothy Booker Sr. Senior Citizen Center. By the time my mom, Margaret Ross, and I stopped by, there had been quite a crowd. In addition to celebrating his birthday, I was so happy to reconnect with his daughter Earnestine Allen Tolbert, who is now a retired nurse and past-president of the Grand Rapids, Mich. Black Nurses Association.
The Allens were our neighbors growing up. Earnestine was one of three brave young women who integrated the school system. I was a senior and she was a junior when she and her friends made history. We rode the same school bus. I had no idea what courage they were displaying. I had lost touch after I graduated and left the area. Facebook reconnected us.
The next morning, we received the news we were hoping wouldn’t come. My Aunt Audrey Ross had left this world. My sister Carol said that only Aunt Audrey could pass away at nearly 102 years old and somehow manage to leave us surprised. That’s because, despite her age, she was fully active.
She worked many years at the bank in Oakland, retiring just before her 90th birthday. She was still living on her own, making her Thursday trips to Charleston for her weekly hair appointment and her bits of shopping. She had groups she met with on Mondays and Wednesdays for card games.
Her funeral service was definitely a celebration of life. The floral spray on her casket included 101 roses plus orchids, lilies, hydrangeas, snap dragons, peonies and more in shades of pink. It was a masterpiece and designed by JG Henderson at Bloomin’ Hills Farm and Flowers in Tillatoba. The Methodist ladies and other friends made sure the family had plenty of desserts and Sue Donohue Smith catered a late lunch after the service and interment. Small towns are at their best during times like these.
Aunt Audrey was blessed to have friends and family all around her. She had the sweetest neighbors in Michael and Velisha Walls who for 30 years kept an eye out for her. The staff at TGH Inpatient Rehabilitation were amazing and endeared themselves to the Ross family during the days that Aunt Audrey spent there.
Y’all don’t forget that Oakland has its own grocery store now! We want to be sure it is successful, so look first at the Oakland Farmacy Marketplace, right on the corner of Highway 51 and Hickory Street. Their prices will make you ask the clerks if they rang up everything. I think they are now offering watermelon and cantaloup from Cypress Creek Farming Co, between Oakland and Coffeeville. There could be more local produce as well.
We received news at the Chamber this past week that Ajinomoto Foods North America (AFNA), a specialty frozen food manufacturer with a plant facility in Oakland, has been named by Inspiring Workplaces Group as a 2025 Inspiring Workplace, earning “Best in Class” in the Culture and Purpose category. Ajinomoto has been a wonderful community leader and partner as we have worked on promoting Oakland for the past few years. Congratulations!
I know we have several recent high school graduates from the Oakland area who are launching their next chapters. Micayah Walls, daughter of Michael and Velisha Walls, has a list of honors and recognitions
