The East Parkside community in West Philadelphia honored community leader Callalily Cousar, who turns 95 next month. She was president of the neighbors association and was a block captain for decades.
Callalily Cousar greets guests during her 95th birthday party celebration in the Parkside section of Philadelphia on Saturday, August 24, 2024.Officially, Callalily Cousar retired as president of the East Parkside Residents Association in West Philadelphia nearly a year ago, in September 2023.
Cousar has been the face and power behind the East Parkside neighborhood group for 35 years. She also served as block captain of the 4100 block of Poplar Street for 34 years. “You have to have the right mindset and the right heart,” Davis said at Cousar’s early birthday celebration on Aug. 24. “You have to know how business gets done.”The community gathered to honor her 95th birthday, which is actually on Sept. 25. The invitations also called Cousar “Ms. Dit,” after a family nickname that began when a younger brother couldn’t pronounce her first name. “He called me ‘Cal-Ditty,’” she said.
Family members traveled from North Carolina, where Cousar’s parents, John Henry and Rosa Norcum, lived before migrating to Philadelphia. Other relatives came from Alabama and Maryland.“Are you a Littlejohn?” Barbara Cousar, the honoree’s middle child, asked Dominic Littlejohn, a young man with hair in shoulder-length locks.
When they began having children, Cousar left her beauty salon and started working as a hairdresser from home. She organized numerous block beautification projects, and her block won the “City Clean Block” contest twice, “showcasing her ability to inspire collective action and pride among her neighbors,” her daughter, Glenda Cousar, wrote about her mother.When Cousar’s children began leaving for college, Cousar and her husband became foster parents.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Doorman steps in to help after teen sexually assaulted near Gracie MansionIt happened just after 1 a.m. Saturday on East 90th Street and East End Avenue in a quiet area of the Upper East Side.
Read more »
Elias: New UC school year will look a lot like the last oneNate is an East Bay community papers editor for the Bay Area News Group and East Bay Times. He edits the Hills weekly Alameda Journal, Berkeley Voice, El Cerrito Journal, Montclarion and Piedmonter newspapers; Central Costa County's weekly Concord Transcript and Walnut Creek Journal papers; and East Contra Costa's weekly East County News.
Read more »
Elias: Blue states likely to keep trying to let noncitizens vote locallyNate is an East Bay community papers editor for the Bay Area News Group and East Bay Times. He edits the Hills weekly Alameda Journal, Berkeley Voice, El Cerrito Journal, Montclarion and Piedmonter newspapers; Central Costa County's weekly Concord Transcript and Walnut Creek Journal papers; and East Contra Costa's weekly East County News.
Read more »
Me & My Car: 2011 Caddy owner learned lesson about Iowa’s salty roadsNate is an East Bay community papers editor for the Bay Area News Group and East Bay Times. He edits the Hills weekly Alameda Journal, Berkeley Voice, El Cerrito Journal, Montclarion and Piedmonter newspapers; Central Costa County's weekly Concord Transcript and Walnut Creek Journal papers; and East Contra Costa's weekly East County News.
Read more »
Elias: $400M ‘loan’ to PG&E to keep nuclear plant going a raw dealNate is an East Bay community papers editor for the Bay Area News Group and East Bay Times. He edits the Hills weekly Alameda Journal, Berkeley Voice, El Cerrito Journal, Montclarion and Piedmonter newspapers; Central Costa County's weekly Concord Transcript and Walnut Creek Journal papers; and East Contra Costa's weekly East County News.
Read more »
Elias: Six California Congressional races more crucial than usual this yearNate is an East Bay community papers editor for the Bay Area News Group and East Bay Times. He edits the Hills weekly Alameda Journal, Berkeley Voice, El Cerrito Journal, Montclarion and Piedmonter newspapers; Central Costa County's weekly Concord Transcript and Walnut Creek Journal papers; and East Contra Costa's weekly East County News.
Read more »