‘Miss Alice’ feted for 104th birthday
Commemorations for Alice Stewart included a drive-by by members of a local car club.
Alice Stewart with a photo of her and grandson Scott Stewart, taken during her July 29th birthday celebration. [Andy Fillmore]
Alice Stewart— known as “Miss Alice” to family members and friends—had a 104th birthday celebration on July 29 that combined her love of cars and greeting cards. It also revived memories of her first date with her future husband in the 1930s—in a Ford Model A with two cousins tagging along in the rumble seat.
Stewart, a resident at Holiday at Atria/Marion Woods, a senior living facility in southeast Ocala, was born July 30, 1919. She was treated to the one-day early birthday drive-by from about 30 members of the Ocala Street Cruisers Car Club.
The drivers tooled around the parking lot in collectible rides such as a 1975 Ford Bronco, 1956 Chevy Nomad wagon, 1969 Camaro, MoPar Challenger and Model A Ford. As Stewart waved from the facility’s front entrance, a number of well-wishers stopped their vehicles to greet her and give her birthday cards.
Stewart, an artist and former interior decorator, has an eye for color and balance and enjoys the artwork on many greeting cards, which she continued to sift through well after the visit. She provided some insight into her life history while accompanied by her personal caregiver, Kareen Saez.
Stewart was born Alice Strop in Mount Carmel Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and her father worked as a conductor for public transportation.
“My daddy loved cars, (he had) two touring cars,” she said, adding that she recalled an early touring car called the Elgin Six.
According to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History website, the Elgin Six was a product of the Elgin Motor Car Corp. of Argo, Illinois, which was founded by executives of the Elgin Watch Company and manufactured cars “built like a watch” from 1916 until 1923. It had a six-cylinder engine on a 114-inch wheelbase and came in roadster and touring models that sold for $845.
Alice Stewart, center, poses with family members Robert Stewart, Brian Stewart, Scott Stewart and Hallie Croson, next to a Model A Ford. [Family photo]
The couple had one son in 1940, Jerry Stewart, who passed away in 2020.
Scott Stewart, Jerry Stewart’s son, said he purchased a 1930 Ford Model A in 2016 and gave his grandmother a ride to bring back memories of the same type of car she remembered from decades years earlier.
Alice and Wayne Stewart moved to Ocala around 1950 from Columbus, Ohio, with their son, and the family operated a Gulf Oil service station near the intersection of State Road 40 and Pine Avenue in Ocala until the mid-1950s, Scott Stewart stated.
Jerry Stewart attended Ocala High School and, after the service station was sold, he served in the U.S. Navy on the U.S.S. Saratoga, then later worked with Marion County Code Enforcement, Scott Stewart explained. Wayne Stewart went on to work with the U.S. Postal Service locally.
Scott Stewart said his grandmother also worked with Welcome Wagon, which was founded in 1928 and is “one of the first all-female companies in the United States,” according to welcomewagon.com, which describes roots of the company as a “new mover” welcoming service with a hostess presenting gifts and coupons from local businesses and providing information to new members of community.
Alice Stewart has been a member of the Ocala Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution since 1977 and served as chapter librarian from 1998 to 2001 and chaplain from 2006 to 2010, according to chapter regent Renee Coventry.
Scott Stewart said he enjoys hearing about the family’s history during regular visits with “Miss Alice,” who has three grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren.
Saez said that with “Miss Alice’s” knowledge of current affairs and history, she is a window to “the past and future.
“Miss Alice is unbelievable,” Saez said. “She tells us stories (and) makes us laugh.”
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