NEWS

​Maggie Louise Black Smith

The Recipient of the G. Jackson Burney Community Service Award, 2025

Maggie Smith loves Davidson. All you have to do is ask her. She has loved Davidson since she was a slip of a girl when she moved here in the sixth grade. And she has shown this love in myriad ways during her many years of living here.

Maggie’s parents, Ernestine Alexander and Gus Black, were hard working people who instilled a strong sense of purpose in their two daughters. Gus was a sharecropper who had to move the family throughout North Mecklenburg and South Iredell Counties to share crops, looking for the best land to farm. Maggie remembers that they always had plenty of good, healthy food to eat because of her parents.

Children could not sit around in Ernestine and Gus's home. Maggie and her sister were taught the value of hard work and were expected to participate in the chores and upkeep of the family's home. Ernestine took in work to clean and iron for others and taught her daughters the value of both. Because they had to move so frequently, Maggie decided that she was going to stay put in one place when she grew up, whenever she found that place.

The family moved to Mooresville and back to Huntersville, where Maggie was born. Her first school was the Lyttle Grove School, located on Poplar Tent Road. It was a single room school with two teachers and big pot-bellied stove in the middle of the room to keep them warm in the winter. According to local historian Nancy Griffith, the school received Rosenwald Funds and remained in existence for many years. Maggie, with her prodigious memory, even remembers the names of those two teachers who played such an important role in her early life – Liza Russell and Eva Davis. At recess, the children would go into the nearby woods and gather sticks to feed the stove. Their teachers taught them to be honest and always tell the truth, lessons that Maggie took to heart and lived by all her life.

Maggie and her sister and parents attended Huntersville Presbyterian Church. The church sent children off to camp every summer and Maggie went once. And once was enough. The camp had no lights and one night they came upon a hornets’ nest. Maggie was stung numerous times and her feet swelled up painfully. But she stayed and toughed it out, a trait that characterizes Maggie’s approach to life. But when she got home, she vowed that she would never go back to camp and that, if she ever had children, they would not go to camp either. Those hornets might still be there.

When her parents settled in Davidson, Maggie knew that this was home. She had found her place, at last. She attended the Ada Jenkins School and completed ninth grade there. Maggie was headed to tenth grade but by that time she had met the love of her life, Herbert Smith. They married in 1954 when Maggie turned sixteen years old and had their first child the day after Christmas that year, a son named Darrie. Darrie was soon followed by daughters Terry and Melinda, and another son named Larry.

Maggie was young to have children and says that she grew up with them. When her youngsters played outside, Maggie would watch from the window until she just had to go outside and play with them.

As a young couple, Maggie and Herbert lived with his parents Allie May and Herbert Sr. in Davidson. All of Maggie's children were born in this warm, intergenerational home. The family had lots of fun together, playing games of all kinds - board games and jigsaw puzzles - and they could often be found watching baseball at the old ball field before Sadler Square was built there.

She and Herbert were excited to move into their own apartment, located about where Roosevelt Wilson Park is today. Not long after that, they built and moved to a house on Lakeside Avenue, the same house where Maggie still lives. They have added on to it through the years to accommodate a variety of family members and were always diligent about maintenance and upkeep, which is why it is so nice to this day.

Family has been the center of Maggie’s life since Darrie was born. Two of Maggie’s beloved children, Melinda and Larry, passed away in the same month, four years ago. During Melinda’s illness, Maggie had a room built on the house for her and her daughter, Porschea. Porschea and her son Remington still live there and are happy company for Maggie. She likes for her house to be filled with the light and laughter only family can bring.

Speaking of family, Larry did not have any children of his own but thought his job was to spoil everybody else’s children. He lived in Davidson with Maggie for a time and then moved into his grandparents’ home right down the street.

Maggie’s sister, Gussie Latta, died five years ago and lived with Maggie until she moved to Charlotte. Maggie is proud of her sister who was the first Black campus police officer in Davidson College history. Maggie and her sister, who had two daughters, remained close for their entire lives.

Darrie, Maggie’s oldest son, lives with Maggie, as does his daughter Letha. They are another example of how Maggie loves and welcomes family, how she will never feel alone or lonely.

Back in the mid-eighties, Maggie worked as a nurse’s aide at Huntersville Oaks Hospital, work she enjoyed. Maggie had made a friend in Davidson, Mary Beth Kuzmanovich. It was Mary Beth who suggested to Maggie that she open a certified day care center in her home. Mary Beth noticed Maggie’s ability to connect with and nurture young children.

Maggie was gentle and kind and loving. And she maintained that same capacity to see the wonder and magic in a child's world that had drawn her outside to join in play with her own children. Mary Beth helped Maggie acquire the appropriate certification, and Maggie’s day care business was off and running. Maggie took care of all three of Mary Beth’s children and she laughs when she remembers that Mary Beth practically brought Daniel to her straight from the hospital.

Many other Davidson families were lucky enough to take their children to Maggie. Since Maggie could take only six children at a time, later reduced to five children, getting a spot in Maggie’s day care was a real coup. Maggie can still list the names of the babies who came under her care, along with their parents’ names.

Maggie remembers two special needs babies with whom she could interact and help them have fun. Beth was a baby in Maggie’s care who could not walk. Maggie made sure that she had a wheelchair, but at Maggie’s house, Beth could sit on the floor with Maggie, playing with abandon.

Laura was baby that Maggie watched while the grandmother worked. Laura could pull up on furniture, but she could not walk. Maggie loved Laura and felt that she was very special. It was Maggie who first noticed that something was not quite right with Laura, and doctors later diagnosed her with a spinal issue.

Polly Griffin was another parent who found a place with Maggie, taking her youngest baby there. Polly said, “We have no memories of David Griffin’s infancy and toddlerhood that do not feature Maggie Smith. She welcomed us into her home, renovated for infant care, and into her life with open arms; this imprint is with David for life. There simply aren’t sufficient words in the English language to express our gratitude for her tender, loving care, for her introductions to her family, her neighbors, her church, and the Mundle family who became our friends for life. Maggie’s innate, generous spirit brought us all together in Davidson. Only later did I learn that we had been guided by a pillar of our town. You are a treasure to us, Maggie Smith.”

Maggie remembers David well, and she even knew that he had a baby of his own now, a boy named Wesley.

Maggie chose to close her day care business in order to care for Herbert full-time when he became ill. She took care of him until his death on February 9, 2005. After this, she cared for her mother who lived with her, as well as some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. This was never work for Maggie; it was her deepest joy.

Maggie also takes joy in her church, Reeves Temple AME Zion. She serves her church community as an adult Sunday School teacher and is president of the Missionary Society, directing supplies and gifts across North Mecklenburg, especially for college students.

One of Maggie’s most memorable days was the celebration of her 85^th birthday at Lingle Hut. Many of her children from day care came, along with their parents, and they sent cards and gifts. One former baby in Maggie’s care came from Virginia!

Maggie loves her church and its pastor, the Reverend Dr. William McKenith. She feels that God sent him to them, along with his wife, First Lady Doreen McKenith, who plays the keyboard and leads the choir. Their membership has increased after Covid, and they have small children coming again to church, which delights Maggie.

A good life – a great life - is what Maggie says she has been blessed to have in Davidson. She knows that she would not want to live anywhere else, and she loves the people of Davidson, knowing so many of them. She has served on numerous town boards, especially interested in affordable housing and Park and Rec, finding the time in her busy schedule to give back to the community.

Many of her friends and family have gone to heaven, as she points out, but there are plenty of people left to keep her busy. It hasn’t been all a bed of roses, but the good days outweigh the bad.

Maggie reads the Bible every day, especially her favorite passage from Joshua, “…Keep your mind on God and he will give you the desires of your heart…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Maggie feels that Reeves Temple AME Zion is a part of this honor. She believes that their love and friendship helped make her the person she is today. As her granddaughter, Porschea, said, “Her knowledge of the history of Davidson provided me the backstory I needed to name Roosevelt Wilson Park. In her 88 years, Maggie is still known as a person who loves her town, her church, her flowers, and Park and Rec to help and better the community.”

Maggie Louise Black Smith, we are honored to name you the recipient of the G. Jackson Burney Community Service Award. Thank you for loving your community, all those babies who thrived under your care, your church, and us. We are grateful for your dedication and service to Davidson.

Thank you.