Lumbee elder credits smiles, laughter for long life

SHANNON, North Carolina — Charlie and Allie Oxendine grew up within shouting distance of one another in the Mount Airy community near Pembroke, North Carolina, home of the Lumbee tribe.

They bonded as friends during long walks to Burnt Swamp Church Indian school through rain, cold and heat during the 1920s. They married years later, a union that would span nearly 75 years.

A photo of Lumbee elder Allie Oxendine and her husband Charlie hangs above the sofa in her home in North Carolina. Oxendine, who turns 102 on Aug. 23, 2022, was married nearly 75 years to Charlie, who died in 2014. (Photo by James Locklear for Indian Country Today)

They endured the Great Depression, World War II, segregation and Jim Crow-era discrimination. And though Charlie died on Feb. 26, 2014, just short of his 97th birthday and just a few months before the couple would have celebrated their 75th anniversary, Allie Oxendine still laughs at recalling the years they spent together.

Laughter has proven to be medicine for the Lumbee elder, who will turn 102 on Aug 23. She thinks the calming effects of enjoying the moment have prolonged her life.

“I don’t like sitting around mad,” she said in a recent interview. “You’re supposed to smile and not sit around mad. If anybody makes me mad, I just walk away and do something.”