CAMERON, Texas — Doris Stidom always told her children she would live to see 100 years old.
She just turned 103 in September, and she's filled with more life than ever before.
But Stidom's journey didn't begin in Cameron.
She was born in Edge, Texas in 1920 to a World War I army private, Alfred B. Ross, and her mother, Dora Tate, who died when she was only 5-years-old.
Her father remarried to Eva Hornsberry who raised her and her two siblings.
She fished with her family, picked berries for her step-mother to make jellies, had picnics by the lake and went to church every Sunday.
As a child, she attended an all-Black school in Wheelock.
Some of her fondest childhood memories included playing basketball and running track.
"I could be everybody running except one boy, but all the girls and most of the boys, I could beat them running," Stidom said.
She moved to Cameron after meeting her husband Lenion "L.C." Stidom who came to Wheelock.
He played baseball with her brothers, asking to walk her home one day.
"I told him I didn't care about him going cause he was friends with my brothers," Stidom said. "He came back and asked my dad if he'll marry me."
They were married in 1946 until his death in 2012, moving back to Cameron.
She worked in farm labor in Gause, pulling and chopping cotton, and worked 18 years at a chair factory in Caldwell, all while raising six kids.
She even helped build the Greater Jerusalem Baptist Church.
She loves the Cameron, but she still remembers experiencing racism.
"It has changed quite a bit. The schools are larger," Stidom said.
But now, the community and the city are recognizing her contributions.
She has a key to the city, is an honorary member of the Rough Riders and even has the street she resided for about 50 years, South Nolan Avenue, named after her.
Milam County Museum Director Kyle Barrett says it's common for residents like Stidom to get recognized.
"People don’t really realize how much Milam county has contributed and how many people like Ms. Stidom we’ve had in this town that contributed to the history we’ve had in the Brazos Valley," Barrett said.
The museum plans to add her biography in her honor.
Though, she owes it all to her family who serve as her caretakers and those she shares her greatest memories with.
She, now, lives with her daughter and always makes sure to get all her family together for holidays and special occasions.
She still loves to fish and attend C.H. Yoe High School football games.
But she owes her long life to God and tries to honor him every Sunday at church.
"I treat everybody right. Try to make friends as much as I can. Anybody I see need help, I’m always willing to go and help," Stidom said.