CAIRO – Jack O. Davis has a special connection with Pinkie Norwood Simmons. It started from birth and has grown ever since.

“Ms. Pinkie delivered me Monday, 74 years ago, Dec. 9, 1950. I grew up four or five houses down the street from her. I’ve always admired Ms. Pinkie Simmons,” Davis said. “Ms. Pinkie gets things done. All of her children have been successful. I can tell that she guided them in the right direction. Ms. Pinkie is a person that loves everybody.”

Simmons, a former mid-wife who Davis says delivered more than 1,000 babies during her career, is 98 and will be celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Washington Middle School’s gym in Cairo. Davis is helping with the celebration and explained why Simmons deserves to be recognized.

“History has it she delivered over 1,000 babies and once delivered seven in 24 hours,” Davis said. “Most of the babies she delivered were in the Cairo area. This was done during the segregation era. We weren’t accepted in the hospitals or doctor’s offices; we had to go to the back. But when those doctors and hospitals said no, Ms. Pinkie said yes.”

The event on Saturday will start at 6 p.m.

“We’ve got a proclamation from the senator and governor of Georgia, proclaiming Pinkie Simmons Day. The mayor of Cairo is going to give her a key to the city,” Davis said. “Sanford Bishop, congressman from that area, has a proclamation from the U.S. House of Representatives.”