Dozens of people came to honor former Orange mayor Essie Bellfield as the downtown “Meals on Wheels” building was named in her honor.
Mayor Larry Spears Jr. quoted City Councilor Annette Pernell in saying “we must pay respects and honor” people “while they are still with us.”
Bellfield was one of the first women elected to the Orange City Council and then became the only woman and the first African-American to serve as mayor.
The Reverend Develous Bright of Salem United Methodist Church, Bellfield’s home church, talked about watching history being made as she is honored with the building’s name. He said children will see the name and be inspired.
They will see “where a little girl can grow up to be mayor, just like Essie Bellfield,” he said.
The 86-year-old Bellfield entertained the audience with some stories, including one about her sleeping “with two men. Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson.” She said she trained with the sheriff’s office and pulled back the lapel of her suit jacket to show a small badge.
As city officials, ambassadors from the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce, and Bellfield’s friends gathered to cut the ribbon at the building, two city employees on ladders dropped the canvas covering to reveil the name “Essie L. Bellfied” on the building.
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