The Moore County Democratic Women honored five veteran members for their outstanding accomplishments at a recent luncheon.

"Many who gathered there left with a greater resolve to make their own lives as meaningful as time allows," said one person who attended the event at the Days Inn.

Those honored for their lifetime achievements and long party service were Wilma Cunningham, Anna Davenport, Charlotte Gantz, Lulu Knibbs and Sue Phillips.

Wilma Cunningham

Cunningham was born in Concord and later moved to Winston-Salem, where she worked for Reynolds Tobacco Company during the 1920s and 1930s. Her husband died, leaving her with two small children. Wilma continued with Reynolds, later moving to Akron, Ohio, where she bought a restaurant.

Cunningham's son, Tom, was the first town manager employed by the town of Southern Pines. After the death of Tom Cunningham and his wife, his mother moved to Southern Pines and raised their two children. She took over the Gray Fox Restaurant and later the restaurant at Hyland Hills. She also developed the formula for a pain remedy, which is sold at the local establishment Dunrovin.

At nearly 80 years of age, Cunningham wrote a book about a slave girl whom her family once owned.

"Wilma remains active and is a bright light in the community," one admirer said. "She proves that one can approach one's centennial year with joie de vivre despite many vicissitudes faced over a span of 99 years."

Anna Davenport

Davenport also lives in Southern Pines. She was only eight days old when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified (1920), giving women the right to vote.

Davenport's first direct political involvement came at age 21, when her father-in-law ran for treasurer of his county. She managed his campaign. He won, and Davenport never stopped working to help elect Democratic candidates. She has held positions in her precinct and worked as a judge at the polls on election day.

While living in Virginia, Davenport worked with Bell South and assisted in her husband's business. She remained involved in the businesses after moving to Moore County -- continuing even after her husband's death.

She was an active member of the Sandhills Business and Professional Women's Club and served as a board member for the Malcolm Blue Farm Property. Anna painted a much-prized rendering of the Blue farmhouse. The nonprofit organization sells many lithographic reproductions of her original painting.

Davenport has two sons and two grandchildren.

Charlotte Gantz

Gantz, who lives in a cottage at Penick Village, is a transplant from her native Sewickley, Pa. She attended Bryn Mawr College, where she had a part in Katharine Hepburn's first play. For three years after that debut, she worked on Broadway. After receiving a doctor's degree from Columbia Law School, she practiced law as an assistant corporation counsel in New York City. During this time, she also worked in politics and civic work.

In 1943 she married Robert Gantz and moved to New Hope, Pa., where twin sons were born. She was interested in natural science and worked on insect programs and iris breeding. She published three books, two on natural history and one on a Guaymi Indian. During this time, she worked with James Mitchener to revise the Pennsylvania constitution.

In 1948, Gantz moved to Southern Pines and began sharing her knowledge with Weymouth Woods, helping develop an insect collection and conduction programs. She donated her fossil collection to Appalachian State University in Boone to form the nucleus of is paleontological collection.

Gantz has been in charge of the flower beds at Weymouth Center since 1982. She is active with the League of Women Voters. She has one son who lives in Boston. Her other son is deceased.

Lulu Knibbs

Born in Plymouth, N.C., Knibbs now lives in Pinehurst. She moved to New York, where she married Arthur Knibbs in 1941. She completed 20 years with the New York City Housing Authority, serving in important areas of human need. After her two sons had grown old enough to permit it, she decided to return to college and graduated from City College of New York.

After moving to Pinehurst in 1982, Knibbs opened a catering business and became active in the League of Women Voters, the American Association of University Women, First Church of Christ Scientist in Southern Pines and the Moore County Democratic Party.

Knibbs' son, Arte Jr., graduated from the University of New Rochelle. Her other son, Lester, graduated from Harvard.

Sue Phillips

Born in Granite Falls in 1912, Phillips moved to Cameron after graduation from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1933. She married the late Pete Phillips and began a lifetime of activity on behalf of her adopted community and its schools, library, church and various civic affairs.

In additional to a bachelor's degree in biology, she earned a master's degree in education from UNC-Chapel Hill. She taught science and served as librarian in the Cameron and Sanford public schools, devoting decades of service in various capacities to the town of Cameron.

Phillips served the Presbyterian Church as elder, moderator, youth leader, Sunday school teacher, Circle leader and other positions. She is a member or former member of the Moore County League of Women Voters, the Historical Society, Cameron Women's Club, Cameron Town Council, Planning Board, Preservation Committee and the Friends of Weymouth.

She has been active with Amnesty International and was honored by the Sandhills Regional Library System for 19 years as a trustee. A lasting legacy will be the Town Hall, constructed out of the old fire station, which she donated to the town. She also has donated a sizable tract of land for use as a future park.

Phillips has two children and five grandchildren.