Englewood resident Rosie Atcherson celebrated her 103rd birthday Friday. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Wendell Hutson

ENGLEWOOD — Rosie Atcherson and Mirl Carthron combined have lived for 205 years, including 45 as Englewood residents.

Atcherson, a widow, celebrated her 103rd birthday Friday while next-door neighbor Carthron will be turning the same age on Aug. 30. Their memories of Chicago stretch back to when blacks and whites had separate bathrooms and the day Dr. Martin L. King Jr. was assassinated.

"I remember Dr. King. He was always fighting for black people. He stood up for what he believed in and was not afraid of anyone," said Atcherson, whose glaucoma caused her to lose her vision in 2004.

Her family, which includes 17 grandchildren and countless great-grandchildren, joined her Friday to celebrate her birthday with food, cake and decorations.

Englewood resident Mirl Carthron will celebrate her 103rd birthday on Aug. 30. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Wendell Hutson

Since 1970, Atcherson, a retired railroad worker, has lived in Englewood in the 6100 block of South Marshfield Avenue.

"I used to ride the train a lot, too. I used to like riding the train," added Atcherson, who lives with her grandson Tyrone and daughter Alberta Davenport, who turns 83 on Monday.

According to her granddaughter Rosie Thornton, 58, Atcherson loves to eat chicken feet and collard greens and enjoyed running when she was younger.

"She is the 'big momma' of our family, and we love her so much," Thornton said. "'Never let your good be your evil' is one of the sayings she would always tell me when I was younger."

For the last 15 years, Carthron has lived in Englewood with her son Grady Johnson, 77, and his wife. When she was younger she cooked all the time, according to Johnson.

"When she moved to Chicago from Money, Mississippi, in 1945, she worked at a meat packing company and stayed there until she retired some years ago," Johnson said.

When King was murdered on April 4, 1968, Carthron said "Blacks were angry and breaking everything in sight. That's what I remember on that day."

She lamented that young people nowadays do not listen to their elders.

"I don't have anything to say to them. They are in their own world," Carthron said.

In the end, though, the secret to longevity is no secret at all.

"As long as you have family, you have life," Atcherson said.

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