Carrboro mayor declares Nov. 27 Margaret F. Stone Day

Margaret Stone has lived in Carrboro for 53 years.

She raised four sons with her husband, earned much respect in the community and became a deaconess at New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church.

And Friday, her 80th birthday, Stone received a gift from Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton: a day named in her honor.

Chilton signed a proclamation that designated Friday “Margaret F. Stone Day.”

“Her son made the initial contact, asking for a letter from the mayor for his mother,” said Sharmin Mirman, the mayor’s assistant. “It was Mayor Chilton who wanted to take it a step up and make it a proclamation.”

Bernard Stone, Margaret Stone’s son, said he was surprised when he found out that the mayor knew his mother and wanted to proclaim a day in her honor.

“I thought it was great because sometimes the mayor is just a figure head and may or may not care about his constituency,” he said, adding that Chilton knows Margaret Stone because she is a precinct worker in Orange County.

While Bernard Stone claims the honor was a surprise to his mother, she disagrees.

“No, it wasn’t a surprise,” Margaret Stone said. “My children know better than to surprise me.”

Bernard Stone said his mother, who was born in Chatham County, has always been well respected and appreciated in Carrboro. He cited her service efforts such as going to Carol Woods Retirement Community to patch and sew clothes for the residents.

To celebrate the momentous occasion, the Stone family, Chilton and close friends and family — some from as far away as North Dakota and Texas — met at the Hampton Inn and Suites off Farrington Road for a party.

At the celebration, guests listened to speeches and watched Stone open gifts.

“It feels good,” Margaret Stone said of having a day named after her. “I don’t think I am a person who likes to have a lot of recognition because I am just an ordinary person.

“I just appreciate my family and friends on that day; I don’t need to have a lot of honor bestowed upon me.”



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