Since 1924, Sylvia Agatha Halls, affectionately known as Ma, has seen a life of hard work, two husbands, life in Britain and four generations of offspring.
And on Wednesday, President Dame Sandra Mason led the toast as Barbados’ newest centenarian was the guest of honour at a small gathering of family and friends in Roebuck, St Peter.
Halls, who declared she had no expectations of reaching her 100th birthday, commented: “I feel good, good; I feel proud.”
She attributed her ability to reach this milestone to “the grace of God”.
“I never thought I would reach this age. The sun rise on me working; the moon rise on me working…. I worked real hard; I never thought I would see it. I thank God for all of his blessings on me; I am blessed.”
Halls, who is in good health overall, has a good memory and is somewhat self-sufficient. She shared some of her morning routine with Dame Sandra.
“The first thing I do, I say my prayers, then I turn the radio on…and then I go to the shower and I bathe myself…,” she said.
In a tribute, her eldest son Keith Morris remarked: “I like the way she is batting. She has reached a century, so you can hold your bat in the air, Mum.”
Morris said his mother worked hard throughout the years to keep the family together and they “love her for that”.
Born in Four Hill, St Peter, Halls attended the former Indian Ground Primary School, which was later amalgamated with All Saints’ Girls and All Saints’ Boys into All Saints Primary. After school, she worked as a labourer on several estates, including Four Hill Plantation.
In 1948, she met and married her first husband, Hattan Morris, and by 1968, both emigrated to the United Kingdom. He died in 1972.
While in the UK, she met Bernard Halls, whom she described as “a wonderful man”. In 1984, at the age of 60, she married him. She said they were happy and especially enjoyed vacationing outside of the UK.
At formal events, Halls said she often felt like a “black fly in milk”, noting the racial disparity. She relocated to Barbados in 1994.
The centenarian was in mourning on her 99th birthday as her husband died in December 2022 and was buried a few days before her 100th birthday.
Halls attends online church services throughout the week and often listens to Q 100.7 FM radio. Her favourite colour is daffodil yellow, and she likes soup and coucou.
Known to be a good cook, she earned a prize at school for her cassava pone, an award which she still has with her today. One of the centenarian’s specialties is white rice and corned beef with channa (chickpeas).
“I was a wonderful cook,” she remarked.
The president presented Halls with a bouquet, a bottle of non-alcoholic wine and a personalised card, followed by a toast.
She told the family: “This part of my job is the one that I treasure most; coming to meet the true builders of Barbados, the centenarians, and I like to listen to them. Your mum is a phenomenal woman because her memory is very good; her health is very good.”
Halls had seven children, one of whom is deceased; 17 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
(BGIS/BT)
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