by Kay Bolden
When Sandra Moore opened her first Sandy’s Unique store in 2005, selling her own clothing designs as well as specialty gift baskets in downtown Joliet, she knew some of her inspiration came from her fashionable great aunt, Letha Crump who will turn 100 on September 22.
“I definitely think she’s been an influence on my ideas about clothes and style,” Moore says. “Even now, when she’s turning 100, we still call her Ms. Jazzy.”
Sandra’s mother, Willie Mae Moore, who lives in Crest Hill agrees. “When Letha steps out of her house, she is always well-dressed and stylish,” she says. “Very classy with matching hat, shoes, and handbag. Hair done nicely, and a beautiful smile.”
A beloved Mother of the Church, the Inspirational Deliverance Center Church of God in Christ on Chicago’s west side, Ms. Crump still goes out with her ladies’ group, prays for the sick, and attends services regularly.
The world was quite a different place on September 22, 1922, when Ms. Crump was born in rural Clarksdale, Mississippi. The life expectancy for a Black woman was only 45 years and this week she turns 100.
“There’s no secret to living this long,” Ms. Crump says. “Put God first, always pray, and always care for your family.”
In 1943, like nearly 6 million other African Americans during this era, Ms. Crump’s family headed north in what would later be known as the Great Migration. Black families left southern states in droves to find jobs in northern cities, and to escape the oppression of Jim Crow laws and racial violence. Ms. Crump found work in Chicago’s Leaf Brand Candy factory, and worked there until she retired in the early 1960’s.
“One of my fondest memories as a child was that she always had a full candy dish on the table in her house,” Sandra says. “As kids, we used to love to go visit her. As an adult, I keep a candy dish, too.”
While Ms. Crump never had any children of her own, she helped raise the children of her four siblings, and cared for her three sisters and her brother as they aged. Now the last of her siblings, she lives independently in her Chicago home of 55 years.
“She is just a loving, caring person,” Willie Mae says. “She always has been.”
What’s she looking forward to about turning 101? Ms. Crump just smiles. “It’s not me doing, it’s God’s doing,” she says. “If it’s God’s will, I’ll be here.” Ms. Crump’s church, neighborhood and her family have planned celebrations honoring her birthday on September 25, 2022.
