Other new managers are Darrell Rogers for the Catawba Valley area, Verne Deason for the Charlotte Metro area, Jackie Hunnicutt for the Northwestern area, Scott Smith for the Randolph County area and Cathy Lowery for the Southern area.

“We are proud to have excellent leadership throughout our organization,” said Pam Frey, Consumer Banking Executive for CommunityOne. “Each of these individuals possesses extensive knowledge and experience that will help us continue to provide excellent service to our customers and communities.”

Mendenhall, a native of Greensboro, previously served as branch manager of the bank’s Hilltop Road branch in Jamestown and has more than 16 years of banking experience. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Appalachian State University and holds Series 7 and Series 66 financial securities licenses. In his new position, Mendenhall will manage the bank’s consumer banking efforts in the Piedmont area, including Guilford, Alamance, Orange and Rowan counties.

Concord landscaping business wins Angie’s List award

CONCORD — H2O-Matic Irrigation & Landscaping Inc. has earned an Angie’s List Super Service Award for 2011.

The honor is bestowed annually on approximately 5 percent of all the businesses rated on the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews on local service and health providers.

Rick Battaglia is president of H2O-Matic Irrigation and Landscaping, which specializes in hardscaping, irrigation, landscape lighting, aluminum fencing, outdoor kitchens, fountains, ponds, fog-scaping and mist cooling, drainage and water treatment.

Ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List, but members can find the 2011 Super Service Award logo next to business names in search results on AngiesList.com.

Judicial district bar elects new officers at annual meeting

SALISBURY — The 19-C Judicial District Bar held its annual meeting Nov. 16 at the Salisbury Country Club, with President Andrew Abramson presiding.

New officers elected include Jennifer Suneson of the Rowan County District Attorney’s Office as president, Peter C. Smith of Koontz & Smith as vice president and Richard R. Reamer of Kluttz, Reamer, Hayes, Randolph, Adkins & Carter LLP as secretary-treasurer. These officers will serve the local bar for the coming year.

The 19-C Judicial District Bar serves lawyers who live and practice in the judicial district of Rowan County. Membership in the local bar is required in conjunction with membership in the State Bar Association. The 19-C District has 139 members.

State helping small businesses deal with tax issues

More than 1,000 businesses are receiving help getting back on track with tax payments through a new program offered by the N.C. Department of Revenue and N.C. Small Business Commissioner's Office.

The Small Business Taxpayer Recovery Program offers penalty and fee waivers, as well as payment plans to companies that have fallen behind on sales, withholding and certain other taxes. The program is designed to help businesses recover from the economic downturn and runs through June 2013.

Businesses with 200 or fewer employees qualify for the program and must agree to use the counseling services of the Small Business and Technology Development Center or the N.C. Small Business Center Network.

• How can a small business participate in the Program? Contact the NCDOR representative below or set up an appointment at the Charlotte office: NC Dept. of Revenue, 301 McCullough Dr., Suite 300, Charlotte, NC 28262, 1-877-252-3052

• Who qualifies for the program? Businesses with 200 or fewer employees qualify for the program and must agree to use the counseling services of the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) or the NC Small Business Center Network (SBCN).

• When does the Program begin? It is available now and is scheduled to run through June 2013.

• What are trust taxes? Trust taxes are taxes that are paid by a customer or withheld from an employee and held in trust by the business until they are filed and paid to the Department of Revenue. The following tax types are trust taxes: Motor vehicle lease and rental, Sales and use, Scrap tire disposal, White goods disposal, Withholding, Franchise tax is also included in the program, but is not considered a trust tax.

• Why is the Department of Revenue making this offer to small businesses? The goals of this program include reducing the number of non-compliant taxpayers and helping small businesses recover from the economic downturn.

• How do I obtain the counseling offered as part of this program? To request counseling, please have your application available and contact the SBTDC at 919-600-6169. Please indicate that you were referred by NCDOR.

• What’s in it for me? Small businesses that qualify for the program will have any penalties and collection assistance fees waived on the previously mentioned tax types. In addition, they will receive more favorable payment plan terms than are normally offered for delinquent trust taxes. Further, the Department will not issue liens for delinquent trust taxes included in the program. The SBTDC and the SBCN will assist participating small business taxpayers with financial planning and other business needs.

• What if I am in the program and cannot fulfill the terms of the agreement? Failure to comply with the terms of the agreement will automatically disqualify a small business from the program. This will result in the immediate reinstatement of all penalties and fees and may subject the small business to a tax lien. The Department strongly encourages small businesses to file and pay all current taxes and make all scheduled payments for the delinquent liabilities.

Call 877-252-3052 for more information or go to: http://www.dornc.com/business/recovery_program.html. You can also contact NCDOR Representative Cale Johnson, 919-715-3304, e-mail: cale.johnson@dornc.com.

Some tax moves you can consider making by Dec. 31

As December comes to an end, why not make a few tax moves now that could give you added savings when you file your 2011 tax return? According to Salisbury area Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, year-end is an ideal time to lower your 2011 tax liability and increase the size of your refund when tax time arrives early in 2012.

“There is still time for a final push to claim several tax benefits before 2011 winds to a close,” said Pat Laughrey, area manager. “In fact, many taxpayers will be doing things like giving to charities and pre-paying January tuition, but the key is knowing how these and other common expenses may count as tax deductions if you qualify.”

There are five key considerations taxpayers should be thinking:

• Save more for retirement – By increasing retirement plan contributions, you can reduce your income for tax purposes. Triad taxpayers can contribute up to $16,500 to a 401(k), 403(b) or Federal Government Thrift Savings Plan; those over age 50 can contribute an additional $5,500.

• Prepay January payments in December – Taking care of your January mortgage payment, 4th quarter state tax estimate, or winter semester tuition now lets you claim these payments on your 2011 tax return.

• Get to the doctor! – If you are holding off on a major medical procedure until after the holidays, stop procrastinating and make an appointment now to increase your 2011 medical expense deductions.

• Give to charity – Giving cash and non-cash donations to charity can give back on your taxes. And volunteering time counts too, which means that volunteers who work with charitable organizations in the Triad community may be able to deduct their out-of-pocket expenses on a tax return.

• Save energy, save $500 on your taxes – If you are planning to buy an energy saving hot water heater or install energy efficient windows or insulation to your home, do it now. Up to $500 in credit may be available for making energy-related home improvements.

To learn more about tax moves to make, visit www.jacksonhewitt.com or call 1-800-884-5709.

No store closures planned under Winn-Dixie, Bi-Lo deal

Food retailer Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. agreed to go private in a $560 million all-cash deal with smaller rival Bi-Lo LLC.

The deal creates the ninth largest supermarket operator in the country, Bi-Lo Chairman Randall Onstead told Reuters in a telephone interview.

The new company will have about 690 grocery stores and 63,000 employees in eight states throughout the Southeast. Bi-Lo -- owned by private equity group Lone Star Funds — currently has 207 supermarkets and employs about 17,000 people.

Greenville, S.C.-based Bi-Lo was started by former Winn-Dixie executive Frank Outlaw in 1961.

Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie have both filed for bankruptcy protection in recent years, with privately held Bi-Lo emerging from bankruptcy last May.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Winn-Dixie was under bankruptcy protection from February 2005 to November 2006.

Submit information about new businesses, honors and management promotions to bizbriefs@salisburypost.com. Include a daytime phone number.

Editor’s note: In memory of longtime reporter Rose Post, who died this year, the Post is reprinting some of her columns. This story appeared in the Post on Nov. 11, 1979, the first of many features on Jackie Torrence that Rose wrote.

Some people sing in the shower.

But not Jackie Torrence.

She laughs.

And cackles, high piercing black-witch cackles that ice the blood and prickle the skin.

Or she moans, moans like a lost ghost looking for a permanent resting spot, crying for the past.

Or groans — as the water flows — her voice becoming a heavy door opening to a dark, dank great room in an abandoned castle.

Or she turns the faucet up and creaks a rusty squealing creak, like a sticking door being pushed open in a haunted house.

And squeaks like squeamish steps inching along on mysterious stairs leading up, up, up ...

And howls and yowls and neighs and bays and ...

Well, the sounds can just go on and on and on just as the stories go on and on and on, “and sometimes I’m sure my daughter thinks I’m a little cracked.”

But Jackie Torrence, Salisbury native on her way to becoming an internationally known storyteller, has to practice the sounds she uses to make her stories real somewhere.

So why not in the shower?

Or in the car, as she’s tootling along alone, headed toward another school full of children or auditorium full of adults or party people ready to be entertained, all of them with no notion — until they’ve heard her — just what’s in store.

But plenty’s in store.

Spellbound

The children themselves proved just how much Thursday at Erwin Junior High School when hour after hour, through a whole day, she sat on her piano bench and told stories to seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders who stayed absolutely still and silent, leaning forward to catch a frog’s croak, jumping THAT far off the floor when suddenly she snapped a branch in a dark forest, shivering as she uttered the high piercing wail of a bereaved mother.

Her big earrings bounced and the sparkling rings on her fingers flashed magic stars and her eyes widened and narrowed with the pace of her story and the children listened.

Oh, my, did they listen.

Once, just once, a youngster laughed nervously at an inappropriate place.

“Shhhhh,” his friends turned on him spontaneously, ordering him to instant silence. “Shhhhhh!”

And he shhhhhed, at total attention for more tales.

“Hello,” Jackie Torrence introduced herself to each class at Erwin. “I tell tales — tall tales, medium sized tales, and very, very small tales — and lots of ghost stories.”

And she’s off.

Not that she ever expected to spend her days traveling all over North Carolina and the country telling stories, and no one’s more surprised than Jackie Torrence that she’s told stories in 30 states, Canada and Mexico and is right now trying to juggle her schedule to fit in an invitation to tell stories in Sweden in January.

But she knew she would have to do SOMETHING.

Wanted to be somebody

“When I was at Price High School, I was preoccupied with wanting to be somebody. We chose quotations to put under our pictures in the annual and mine was, ‘What shall I do to be forever known/And make the age to come my own?’ A teacher told me that was selfish. But I told her, ‘That’s the way I feel. I don’t want to just live and die and nobody know I did anything on this earth.’”

But becoming a storyteller was the result of a series of happenstances, all unplanned.

“My life had been so enriched by Abna Lancaster, who taught English at Price High School — she had just an incredible storehouse of Afro-American literature and she made us learn it — and Dr. Mason Brewer at Livingstone. He excited me with his Uncle Remus stories. It was so much fun to hear him.”

But she never thought of telling stories herself until her marriage had broken up and she was trying to support her daughter as an assistant at the High Point library.

Started stories

“I worked at the Washington Street branch and children would come in and tear the place up every night, so I started telling them stories and kids started coming to hear my stories.They didn’t tear things up any more but I didn’t get much done.”

As a result she was invited to tell a story for a community service program. It went so well that she was assigned to the children’s story hour, which grew from five children to as many as 200, and ultimately to tell stories in the High Point schools and on High Point’s television station.

“I was telling stories all day long and reading stories all night to be able to digest them so I could tell them,” and it just got to be too much at an assistant’s salary. So she left the library and entered High Point College to get the degree she didn’t get when she left Livingstone to get married.

But calls came for Jackie to tell stories, and soon “I started getting so many jobs I had to quit. I’ve got my degree now, but I was in and out before I got it.

“There were periods when I had no work at all, but then all of a sudden, the calls started coming from Tennessee and Kentucky and Virginia, and it just went like that,” mostly because of an appearance at a party in Charlotte, a column in a newspaper, and an invitation to attend the annual convention of the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling in Jonesboro, Tenn., where she’s been a featured storyteller for the past three years.

“When I left the library, I was taking birthday parties for $5 to $15 or$25, and then a man offered me $50 to tell stories at his New Year’s Eve party in Charlotte. I thought that was great.”

It was even greater when a column was written about her and brought an invitation to the Jonesboro convention.

A national ‘hit’

“All the really big nationally known story tellers were there — Richard Chase and Diane Walkstein, all the big names — and I just panicked. I told a Granite Quarry story” — and she was a storytelling hit among storytellers. “People said ‘You mean you’re not getting but $25!”

Since then there’s been no problem getting work. The problem has been getting it scheduled. At the moment she’s booked solid — mostly for schools where she generally does a week of storytelling for an entire system and finishes with a concert for the community — through Dec. 23. With a week out for Christmas, her calendar is then full again ... right through to Halloween of 1980.

She’s got tapes of her stories and a record about to come out and she’s writing a book of stories her grandmother used to tell and she still can’t believe that what’s happened to her is happening. But she loves it all.

Her favorite story, which she calls “Buried Alive,” was another accident.

“My car ran hot in Asheville, and I pulled up to a house with an old woman sitting on the porch. She looked at me and said, ‘That contraption give up on you, didn’t it? Come on up here and sit a while.” Jackie did, and they talked, and the old woman insisted on hearing a story when Jackie told her she was a storyteller.

Buried alive

“When I got through, she said, ‘I got me a story, too,’ and she told me a true story about her mother who was buried alive. Grave robbers opened her grave immediately to steal her rings and cut her fingers off to get the rings. That brought the woman to and she got back home,” scaring her husband so that he tried to talk her into going back to the grave.

The old woman who told Jackie the story was taking care of her mother when she died in 1947 “and she wouldn’t believe it until she had five doctors examine her.”

The story runs an hour and 40 minutes long and is a favorite for story concerts.

So are the Uncle Remus stories.

“They’re not being told any more because people feel they’re racist.” There’s a whole generation of children, she says, who never heard of Uncle Remus, but “I’m telling them. I get away with it now because they’re wonderful stories,” and times are a little calmer than they were. “I tell people they belong to both races. They do.”

Besides, telling the Uncle Remus stories is part of being a revivalist storyteller, which is what Jackie is.

There are two kinds of storytellers, she explains — the traditionalists who are the old folks like those in the mountains who had down stories from generation to generation.

“But nobody told me stories so I don’t have anything to hand down.”

Revivalists, though, are those who pull legends and tales from folktale anthologies and pick them up from other storytellers and from experiences like that with the old woman in Asheville and make them their own.

Storytelling itself, she believes, is being revived after a fallow period, largely because of television.

“But right now,” she believes, “storytelling is becoming one of the top kinds of entertainment because storytellers I know are being booked for conventions and parties and all kinds of places.”

In addition to Uncle Remus, she loves all the old stories, the Grandfather Tales and the Jack Tales, and the regional tales of all the places she goes.

“When I go into a new area, I use the interlibrary loan system to look for books of stories from that area.”

Once she finds them she works hard to make them her own and to let them do the thing they do best — let children’s imagination soar.

“Children can develop all kinds of skills from hearing stories. They get better at concentrating and stories can stimulate the imagination. A good story is a motivational tool for reading. When kids hear the stories, they want to get the books and read.”

And so does Jackie Torrence, who’s always looking for a good story but never forgets the ones she knows.

“I sometimes lose my car and car keys. Sometimes if it’s a great big lot where my car is parked I have to wait till all the cars leave to find mine — but I never forget the stories.”

And she believes there will be some children, at least, who will never forget Jackie Torrence.

“Sometimes when I walk through a mall or a shopping center in a place where I’ve told stories, I hear children tell their mamas, ‘That’s her,’ and the mama will say, ‘Who?’ And they say, ‘the story lady.’ ”

When that happens, she remembers that quotation she chose to put under her picture in the old Price High School annual.

“What shall I do to be forever known ...”

And she feels good.

Torrence died Nov. 30, 2004, at the age of 60. Mike Dunthorn of Knoxville, Tenn., who had heard her stories as a child wrote this in a letter to the editor of the Post: “For me, and so many others like me, Mrs. Torrence will always have a special place in our hearts, in memories of learning, laughter and spellbound happiness, listening to her tell those stories as only she could.”

eford@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Business is good this holiday season, many local retailers say.

Surprisingly good.

“Sales have been just wonderful, out the roof,” said Missie Alcorn, co-owner of Caniche and The Lettered Lily downtown.

Alcorn estimated sales are up 35 percent over last year.

“It’s really a tribute to our community and their support and loyalty to local businesses,” Alcorn said.

Just the Thing owner Glenda Dyson said her downtown shop’s holiday season has been “really, really good.”

“What I’ve seen more importantly than sales is that people are really embracing shopping local and keeping shops going,” Dyson said. “They’re saying, ‘I don’t have to drive to Concord or Charlotte.’ ”

Nationwide, the holiday sales forecast was good, with ShopperTrak, a Chicago-based research firm, predicting sales for the November and December period combined will rise 3.7 percent compared with the same period a year ago.

The shop-local mantra repeated by retailers and business leaders seems to have taken hold this year, pushed by Downtown Salisbury Inc. and the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, which includes reminders on its Facebook page, emails and newsletters to frequent local businesses first.

“I like to think it’s going to have an impact,” Chamber President Bob Wright said. “People are realizing they can’t help the economy in Rowan County if they shop in Charlotte.”

Friday morning, men filled K-Dee’s Jewelers, where business is up 7 percent overall and 11 percent for diamond stud earrings. Owner Ken Dietz said every year during the four days before Christmas, most customers are men shopping for last-minute Christmas gifts for their wives.

For the first time, the downtown shop posted signs reminding people of the economic impact of shopping local. For every $100 spent at a local independent business, $25 more stays in the community, according to a 2008 study commissioned by Local First.

Word is spreading, Dietz said, and sales have almost recovered to pre-recession levels.

“Every customer who walks through the door is a blessing,” he said.

Not all business booming

Not everyone is having a better year than last. At Yoder’s Amish Market on Statesville Boulevard, sales are down 10 percent to 12 percent, owner Rick Smith said.

“I’m pretty sure it’s the poor economy,” he said.

The store will survive, and sales in Salisbury are equal to sales at the original market location in Yanceyville, where they’ve been open for 20 years, Smith said. The week before Christmas was busier than usual, so that might push December sales closer to 2010 figures, he said.

Sales continue to lag at Carolina Golf Mart on the I-85 service road. The shop hasn’t recovered from the Great Recession, co-owner Mike Apone said.

“We’re so far away from what we used to do,” he said.

For the fourth year in a row, sales are down 40 percent to 50 percent from a pre-recession Christmas season, Apone said.

The business survives because both Apone and co-owner Bob Timm work in the shop to keep expenses low, Apone said. The Internet has hurt the business because people who buy online pay no tax, and now most websites offer free shipping, he said.

Although golfers can try out a new driver at the shop before they buy and Carolina Golf Mart can match online prices, it’s tough to compete with websites, Apone said.

Adults doing without

Rowan County and Salisbury were hit harder during the recession than other communities, and people are spending their discretionary income on gifts for children, not adults, Apone said.

“Adults can do without,” he said. “People take care of their kids first.”

At Windsor Gallery Jewelers on West Innes Street, owner Carol Rabon said she’s having a “much better” Christmas season than last year.

She attributed the boost to an increase in advertising, including coupons in the Salisbury Post, radio spots and a direct mail campaign.

“We had done them before, but now we are running them more frequently,” Rabon said.

Many customers have commented they are trying to shop local this year, and several have said they want only items made in America, she said. More people are showing an interest in North Carolina jewelry artists as well.

And rubies are hot this year, in everything from pendants to rings to bracelets.

“I have never had so many requests for rubies,” Rabon said.

An increase in advertising also helped boost sales at Creative Teaching Aids, where business is up more than 15 percent over last year, Business Manager Steve Misenheimer said. The downtown shop spent 25 percent more this year on marketing in radio and print, he said.

“And it’s paying off,” Misenheimer said.

The shop also has benefited from a trend away from regular toys to educational games, he said.

Peanut Doodles, a new scrapbooking and art supply store downtown, can’t compare sales to December 2010, when the business was closed for most of the month, co-owner Lisa Campbell said. But since moving to Salisbury in January, sales for the whole year are better than they were in Lexington, she said.

“We’ve seen a sizable increase,” Campbell said, attributing the boost to higher visibility and more foot traffic. “We are very happy we moved.”

Art selling well

The Green Goat Gallery in Spencer has had a strong Christmas season, owner Anne Waters said.

“I have really been pleasantly surprised by the sales of original art,” she said. “Getting a painting for Christmas is a luxury.”

The gallery has built a reputation as a go-to shop for special gifts for Christmas, anniversaries and birthdays, where people can find a one-of-a-kind treasure, Waters said.

“A lot of regular and loyal customers are taking care of their shopping list here,” she said.

Store sales are up nearly 5 percent at Godley’s Garden Center & Nursery on Statesville Boulevard, owner Bill Godley said, and outside sales of trees, shrubs and perennials also are higher than last year.

“To reach that, you have to get creative,” Godley said. “It’s a learning curve, being in this economic environment, that is challenging.”

Godley said he’s asked suppliers to drop prices if he pays them up front, then he passes those savings to the customers. Suppliers have been “very anxious to negotiate,” he said, and the shop has offered deeper discounts to customers than last year.

Consistent advertising on a weekly basis and in-store promotions have stimulated activity, Godley said, and Mother Nature has helped.

“We haven’t had a bad Saturday weather-wise since early September,” he said. “Last year, on Dec. 15 or 16 we were at 10 or 12 degrees. When it’s really cold, there’s no movement.”

Carolina Golf Mart hasn’t had to cut its staff, although part-time workers get fewer hours than they did before the recession, Apone said.

The shop used to have strong sales before Christmas and after the holidays as well, when people used gift certificates and came from out of town to shop the after-Christmas sale, he said.

Apone said he didn’t know whether the golf shop would ever have another December like those days.

“We still stock the store like it’s still going to happen,” he said. “We don’t want it to look empty when a customer walks in.”

Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.

kminn@salisburypost.com

CLEVELAND — Two women dragged a 97-year-old man to safety from a Christmas Eve house fire in Cleveland.

One person was evaluated for smoke inhalation, but no one was seriously injured in the fire. The home at 340 Knox Road was gutted by the blaze, which took about 90 minutes to put out Saturday afternoon.

Emergency crews were evaluating Robert Knox Jr., who cannot walk, when the fire was called under control around 4:15 p.m.

His grandson, Luke Knox, and Luke’s wife, Meredith, also live in the home. Meredith was taken to the hospital for a precautionary smoke inhalation check.

She and Robert Knox Jr.’s caretaker, Phyllis Pullam, helped get him out of the house when a grease flare-up got out of control.

Robert Knox III owns the home and said Meredith was on the other side of the building when the cooking fire started.

He said Meredith smelled smoke and ran to the kitchen, where Pullam had been heating grease on the stove for fried chicken. According to Debra Horne from the Rowan County Fire Marshal’s Office, the two women tried to put out the fire, but the flames spread too quickly.

Around 2:45 p.m., they called 911 and got Robert Knox Jr. out of the house.

The younger Robert Knox said he was just a few minutes away when his wife called to tell him what was happening.

“It was pretty well engulfed when we got here,” he said. “There was fire coming out both windows on this side of the house.”

Horne said the older Robert Knox built the house himself in the 1940s, and Luke and Meredith had done some remodeling just a few years ago.

“Everybody’s OK,” Robert Knox III said, choking up as he looked at the smoke-filled home. Later, gesturing to emergency responders, he said, “I just want to thank all of these people.”

Greg Summitt, deputy chief with the Cleveland Fire Department, said the fire burned the interior stairs, limiting firefighters’ access and making it difficult to put out.

Summitt said a second alarm was called because there might have been limited people working on Christmas Eve, but plenty of personnel showed up.

Responding to the fire were the Cleveland, Franklin, Locke, Woodleaf, West Rowan, Wayside (in Iredell County) and Rowan-Iredell fire departments, along with the Rowan County Fire Marshal, EMS and Rescue Squad. Salisbury Fire Department also responded to assist Cleveland.

Robert Knox III said he can provide a place for his family members to stay, but they have lost clothes, furniture and medical equipment. The American Red Cross was called in to help them.

Contact reporter Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.

Twitter: twitter.com/postcopolitics

Facebook: facebook.com/Karissa.SalisburyPost

“A bunch of old guys in funny hats,” John Hedley says, confident that within this crowd lies the spirit to keep the coffee shop going for a long time.

Thursday is free coffee day for vets.

Every day, the stories are no charge.

The noise from all the conversation rolls like a tide against the walls, which are crammed with photographs, newspaper articles, guns, flags, letters of commendation, medals, uniforms and other artifacts.

All of it has been donated over the years by various brothers in arms.

The Thursday crowd often spills out the front door and onto the sidewalk along South Main Street.

“There’s no other place like this in the country,” says Larry Nosker, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Air Force.

The men and women who come here like to call it their “living” museum.

• • •

About mid-morning, coffee shop manager Ralph Dagenhart, a Vietnam veteran, picks up a microphone from behind the counter and makes a few announcements.

The shop has four first-time visitors who are veterans, he reports.

As Dagenhart introduces them, they wave and receive a hearty welcome and signature key ring in return. Part of the coffee shop’s DNA — established by the late Richard Warren — is to make sure veterans feel welcome.

The newcomers already have signed the “Book of Honor,” joining some 8,000 other service veterans whose names have been recorded at the shop.

Later, Hedley steals a moment to update his fellow veterans on their progress toward purchasing and renovating a bigger building at 165 N. Main St.

The former art gallery sits directly across the street from where Warren started Pat’s Gourmet Coffee Shop more than 15 years ago. It was named for his then wife, Pat.

Warren served in Vietnam as a combat pilot, flying a Huey C model gunship for the U.S. Army.

Whenever a veteran entered his shop, Warren extended the Vietnam veterans’ greeting of “Welcome Home,” because most Vietnam servicemen never received even that simplest kind of greeting when they returned from their war long ago.

In time, word spread about Warren’s coffee shop and its special affection for those who served, and it became a favorite place for veterans and active-duty personnel.

The shop established traditions such as the Book of Honor, free-coffee Thursdays and the homemade key rings for “newbies.”

The key rings are made of colored beads, sometimes fashioned after the military ribbons worn on dress uniforms.

Though simple, they become treasured keepsakes for many of the vets, because it’s a quiet thank-you for their service.

• • •

Most important, Warren’s coffee shop became and remains a safe haven and place for healing, says Father Leo Fahey, unofficial chaplain for the shop.

“There are a lot of wounded bodies and wounded spirits here,” he says.

Veterans who couldn’t even share their war experiences with close family members found they could talk with guys who may have gone through the same kinds of things.

“That’s what it’s all about — bringing these guys together,” says John Casson, who was stationed in Germany during the Berlin Crisis.

Casson remembers when Joe Sparacio started coming to the coffee shop. Suffering from severe post traumatic stress disorder — thanks to two tours in Vietnam — Sparacio wouldn’t talk to anyone at first.

But his fellow veterans eventually knocked down the wall.

“The doctor told me to come here, and I’ve been coming here ever since — every day,” Sparacio says. The coffee shop, which also offers microwavable food such as muffins and sandwiches, is open every day except Sunday and holidays.

Sparacio laughs that the psychiatrist charged $100 to send him to a coffee shop.

Today, Sparacio is chairman of the events committee and constantly talks up a big fundraiser planned for Jan. 17 (See the accompanying box.)

Bernard Kibling says he brought his brother-in-law, who lives in Boston, to the coffee shop last year.

In the Navy, he was a ship’s boilermaker and was ordered, during a fire, to close a door on shipmates so the fire could be contained. The men were lost.

His brother-in-law never spoke about the incident with family until after he had met the guys at the coffee shop, where these kinds of stories are more easily shared, Kibling says.

Garland Graham of Salisbury often travels to Richard’s Coffee Shop on Thursdays with his friend, Gary Gardner of Faith. “It’s relaxing to me,” Graham says.

He served overseas in Thailand and Laos from 1962-63, before the United States’ heavy involvement in Vietnam.

“They always tell me how I went over there and stirred things up,” Graham complains.

• • •

Richard Warren died in 2009 from health complications connected to his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. But before he died, Warren set in motion the process for establishing a tax-exempt nonprofit he wanted to name Welcome Home Veterans Inc.

Meanwhile, complications between Warren’s ex-wife, Pat, and the landlord led to the coffee shop’s closing soon after his death.

Several regulars of the old place refused to let Warren’s dream die, and they reopened “Richard’s Coffee Shop” in a new place — 128 S. Main St. — on July 4, 2009.

In addition, Warren’s buddies were successful in making Welcome Home Veterans a 501(c)3 organization, which is important now in receiving tax-deductible donations.

Richard’s Coffee Shop is not only the most patriotic coffee shop in America, it’s probably the world’s only nonprofit one for veterans.

• • •

With the large crowds on free-coffee Thursdays and music-day Saturdays, when local musicians stop in to play country, bluegrass, gospel and patriotic music, the Welcome Home Veterans board needs the bigger place at 165 N. Main St.

The 5,000-square-foot building also would offer enough room for all the donated military treasures now in storage, a kitchen, media center and gift shop.

It could allow the group to expand its outreach support to organizations such as the USO, Blue and Gold Star Mothers, the Red Cross, American Legion and Veterans of Foreign War chapters.

In addition, Hedley envisions school groups coming to the new place and students talking one-on-one with veterans of wars that they’ve only read about in textbooks.

Hedley, a Vietnam veteran and retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, serves as president of the Welcome Home board.

The purchase price of the new building is $390,000.

Hedley says the group will ultimately have to raise between $450,000 and $500,000 to renovate the structure and purchase it outright.

Hedley said the fundraising started this summer when the board had $4,500 to its name. Now there’s a solid $75,000 in the bank.

By raising an additional $30,000 to $40,000, Welcome Home Veterans could make a good down payment and set up a workable mortgage, Hedley says.

Project leader Tom Harrell of Salisbury says the group has yet to reach the majority of roughly 90,000 veterans who live in Mecklenburg, Iredell, Rowan and Cabarrus counties, where most of the coffee shop regulars are from.

• • •

Hedley has a special affection for the late Richard Warren.

In Vietnam, he led an Army reconnaissance unit whose missions by their nature were secretive, unless they came under attack and needed fire support from the air.

One day when Warren was still alive, Hedley brought to the coffee shop a dozen or so men from his platoon who were visiting Hedley’s lake house in Denver as part of a reunion.

The hard-core combat veterans all wore red kerchiefs, the symbol of Hedley’s unit.

The next time Hedley saw Warren alone, Warren said they had to talk. When he saw the red kerchiefs, Warren explained, he realized that his Huey gunship had once come to the rescue of Hedley’s men in the bush.

The more they shared their memories of locations and events in the war, the more they realized that Warren’s Huey had come to the rescue of Hedley and his men.

“That’s a debt I don’t know how to repay,” Hedley says. “It’s un-repayable. ... I believe that I owe my life — and the lives of my soldiers — to Richard’s actions.”

This past July, a week before his own platoon’s reunion, Hedley traveled to the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho, where Warren’s Huey gunship is one of the aircraft on display.

A large section of a wall at Richard’s Coffee Shop is dedicated to Warren, and it includes a photograph of his gunship.

“That bird probably saved my life,” Hedley says.

At the Idaho museum, Hedley met Warren’s co-pilot, crew chief and door gunner and he told them, of course, of the coffee shop back in North Carolina.

In the front window is a piece of granite carved with these words about the shop’s mission:

“Dedicated to honoring American veterans and active-duty military personnel in memory of Richard.”

Hedley knows what that all encompasses.

“This is a phenomenal place,” he says.

Richard’s Coffee Shop at 128 S. Main St., Mooresville, is open 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

• • •

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@ salisburypost.com

Want to donate to Welcome Home Veterans?

Richard’s Coffee Shop in Mooresville — dedicated to honoring veterans and active-duty military personnel —  is a 501(c)3  nonprofit, charitable organization which is accepting contributions toward the purchase and renovation of a new building at 165 N. Main St.

If you would like to make a contribution toward that effort, send your tax-deductible donation to Welcome Home Veterans, 128 S. Main St., Mooresville, NC 28115.

For more information, visit the organization’s website at www.WelcomeVets.com

To raise additional money for Welcome Home Veterans, 150 n Out Billiards & Darts in the Mooresville Plaza is sponsoring a Veterans-Celebrity 8-Ball Shootout from 7 p.m.-midnight Jan. 17.

Several NASCAR drivers will be among the celebrities competing in the “Breakin’ Balls” tournament that evening.

All proceeds will go to Welcome Home Veterans, and the public is being encouraged to attend the big night.

Hundreds of military veterans are expected to be in the crowd.

For more information, visit www.150noutbilliardsanddarts.com

The business is located at the intersection of N.C. 115 and N.C. 150, 3 miles east of Interstate 77.

Beginning Jan. 17 the Saleeby-Fisher YMCA will have Aqua Zumba. Known as the Zumba “pool party,” the Aqua Zumba program gives new meaning to the idea of an invigorating workout.

Splashing, stretching, twisting and even shouting, laughing, hooting and hollering are often heard during an Aqua Zumba class. Integrating the Zumba formula and philosophy with traditional aqua fitness disciplines, the Aqua Zumba class blends it all together into a safe, challenging, water-based workout that’s cardio-conditioning and body-toning.

Classes will be Tuesday, Thursday and Friday morning at 10 a.m. and Wednesday night at 6:15 p.m. Classes will begin Jan. 17. For more information contact Bridget Dexter, associate executive director at 704-279-1742 or bdexter@rowanymca.org. You can also visit www.rowanymca. org.

For the Salisbury Post

Once upon a time and far away, Benjamin Wilson sat in his old green chair with his feet propped up toward the fire. It had been such a cold day and Ben had worked outside. He needed some rest, and he needed the warmth of the fire.

But the only sound in the house on the edge of the woods was the occasional crack of the fire and the shift of the burning wood and, once in a while, the wind howling around the house. His candle threw long shadows on the walls.

And Ben listened, knowing there should be another sound in the house. A human sound. A woman’s voice. But that voice no longer spoke.

That voice had been the voice of Katie, Ben’s wife. She could be heard singing and laughing and talking, but that happy sound had not been heard in the house for almost two years now. Katie’s voice had been silenced when she fell from a ladder in the apple tree. When he found her, her neck was broken. Katie was dead.

After the funeral, Ben was not the same.

He closed himself into his own world of grief, as though he never wanted to come out again. When he walked anywhere, he seemed to be in a fog. He stayed at home all the time. He hardly ever went to town anymore. He found no peace looking in the store windows that he and Katie had loved to walk by and look into.

He even seemed to hate speaking to people who had known him and Katie, those people who tipped their hats and bowed their heads and spoke.

“Good day, Miss Katie,” they’d say. “Good day, Mr. Ben. Y’all look well and happy.”

And they were indeed happy, as happy as two people could ever be.

But sitting in his old green chair that night, Ben thought to himself, “It’s all gone now.” All he had was this old fireplace and the candle that flicked its light onto the wall.

Ben looked up toward the left wall where the calendar hung. The big blue letters spelled out “December.”

He looked closer at the numbers. Thirteen days before Christmas, he thought. His memory once again fell to Katie. This was a special time for Katie. It was a wonderful time. The preparation for Christmas had always kept both of them busy. The house always smelled like cinnamon, cider, fresh candle wax and sweet, lemony candy.

Katie baked for church bazaars, children’s parties and missionary teas. Ben kept the wood cut, and it was his job to get the Christmas tree and the cedar runners for the stairway.

But all that was gone now, and the house was quiet. The only aroma in the house was that of the fire and smoke in the fireplace. The memory of Katie was beginning to fade, and Ben tried to push the memory of Christmas away.

He sat thoughtless now, gazing again into the fire, listening to the sounds of the wind and the approaching new winter storm. He stood and walked toward the front door.

As he opened the door, a great gust of icy wind blew past him. He stepped onto the front porch and looked toward the sky. It was dark. No stars. No moon. Just thick, snow-filled clouds.

He stood there for a long time. Suddenly, he heard a sound. Was it a wounded animal?

Hawooooooooooooo ...

Turning his head in the wind, he located the pitiful cry. He realized that it was coming from the trees beyond the woodpile. Then he lifted the lantern that hung near the door and lit it.

He walked slowly through the yard toward the woodpile. Cautiously he pushed the underbrush away so he could see where that mournful sound was coming from.

There in the dim light of the lantern was a dog, not just any old dog, but a great, huge St. Bernard. His brown eyes looked up at Ben, begging for help. And that sad sound came again — from the dog.

“Well, fellow,” said Ben, “what in the world is wrong? Are you hurt? Show old Ben where you’re hurting.”

Then he turned and started to the house and went in. The great dog followed, and at the warm fireplace, he examined the dog from head to paws.

But he couldn’t find any open wounds or broken bones. Still, every once in a while, the great dog would let out that sad sound and look at Ben with those sad, unhappy eyes.

Ben put more wood on the fire and gave the great dog what was left of his dinner of pork chops and gravy and rice — and a bowl of water.

“Well, my friend,” said Ben, “you were just hungry. And thirsty, too, by the looks of it. Where in the world did you come from?”

When the big dog had finished his meal, he curled up in front of the fireplace and went to sleep.

And the days went by.

Ben and the big, sad dog became companions. Every day when Ben came home from his work, he brought Great Dog, as he called him, a gift. Two days before Christmas, Ben came in and said, “Look at this, Mr. Dog. I’ve got us a Christmas tree. Maybe that will make you happy.”

But Great Dog just looked up at Ben with those big, brown, sad eyes.

Ben popped corn and strung it around the tree. He found berries in the woods and strung them over the tree. He pulled cotton from the cotton bolls left in the fields and put them on the tree.

“Look at that, Great Dog. That ought to make you happy.”

But the big dog just looked at him with sad eyes.

And then Ben thought of something.

“Wait a minute,” he said. “I’ve got something that even a big, sad old dog would like.”

He walked over to the camel-backed trunk that sat in the corner. From it he took a box wrapped with yellow and gold ribbon labeled “Christmas Ornaments.”

These were the ones that Katie had made over the years. He put them all on the tree and the big dog watched. The room began to change. A bright light seemed to be coming from the Christmas tree. He smiled as he placed the last bulb on the tree.

“Katie would be proud of us, Great Dog,” he said. “Just downright proud.”

And there were tears in Ben’s eyes.

The Great Dog seemed to sense that this was special. He stood up and started to bark and jump and circle around Ben.

Outside the house, carolers had gathered. They stood at Ben’s fence, and they started to sing.

God rest ye merry gentlemen,

Let nothing you dismay,

Remember Christ, Our Savior,

Was born on Christmas day.

Ben and Great Dog walked out and greeted the carolers.

No one had seen Ben for a long time, let alone with a smile on his face. When carolers moved on to another neighbor, the preacher stayed and spoke and shook Ben’s hand and rubbed Great Dog.

“God bless you, my friend Ben,” he said. “How in the world did you catch the phantom? The children in the community have tried for years to catch that dog. He belongs to nobody. He just wanders from place to place for food. Seems like he’s found a friend in you.”

Ben laughed out loud.

“Yep,” he said, “he needed a friend, and so did I. Christmas is for friends, you know.”

And the Great Dog barked, so loud he seemed to be repeating wholeheartedly Ben’s words.

“Christmas is for friends, you know.”

And that’s the end of that.

eford@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Stephanie Bruce grew up in public housing. Now she helps people move out of it.

Bruce, 45, serves as the new coordinator for the Family Self-Sufficiency program at Salisbury Housing Authority. Bruce graduated from the program herself in 2004, learning skills and saving enough money to move out of Civic Park Apartments a year later and buy her own home.

When Bruce talks to tenants about enrolling in the program and they hesitate, she uses herself as proof it can work. As long as they are willing to make the effort, she says.

All her adult life, Bruce was determined to leave public housing and become a homeowner.

“It was hard and very challenging,” she said. “I knew against all odds I had to keep moving forward. That’s why I sometimes would work two jobs and why I endured school and work, and why I didn’t have a social life for a while.

“I gave up some things, but I think I gained a lot more.”

Bruce has fond memories of living in public housing as a child with her mother, three sisters and grandparents. The neighborhood acted as an extended family, with people helping to raise each other’s children.

Her mother always worked, Bruce said, and instilled a strong work ethic in Bruce and her sisters.

As an adult, living in public housing was a much different experience for Bruce. Most of the people living around her did not have a job.

Bruce found in the self-sufficiency program the support and comradery she needed to help achieve her goals.

“I was accustomed to working. Something in me always said I need to work,” she said. “Within the neighborhood, it’s kind of hard to stay motivated when people around you don’t share the same goals and interests.”

Bruce graduated from Salisbury High School in 1984 and attended Johnson C. Smith University for two years. She was the first person in her family to go to college.

When her mother became ill, and Bruce dropped out to help care for her. Then Bruce had a baby.

She abandoned her college career and went to work to provide for her son and family, taking jobs in manufacturing plants and fast food restaurants. Living in Civic Park Apartments in 1991, Bruce never gave up on her dream to earn a college degree.

Coordinator Zelda Turner began talking to her about the Family Self-Sufficiency program. Although Turner was persistent, Bruce said she was struggling to make ends meet and raise her son, while helping to care for her mother. She just wasn’t ready.

“Sometimes you get so bogged in today it’s hard to think about next week or tomorrow or even the next hour,” Bruce said. “I was in the mode of survival.”

Eventually, Turner convinced Bruce to enroll.

“It was the best decision I ever made,” Bruce said. “I still thank her for that.”

The self-sufficiency program, which went dormant after Bruce graduated and was renewed by Sam Foust when he took the helm at Salisbury Housing Authority, is designed to help families get off government assistance and become financially independent.

The program provides bus fare to get to school, appointments and job interviews. Participants learn how to budget their money and other life skills.

As coordinator, Bruce connects participants with resources in the community. On their own, tenants — who often do not own a computer — may not discover places like the R3 re-employment center in Kannapolis, the first-time homebuyers program at Salisbury Community Development Corporation or services offered through the Employment Securities Commission.

“It’s so much easier if you have someone to help and guide you,” Foust said.

Participants work with Bruce to set goals and map out a five-year plan to accomplish them. Like Bruce, most put “college degree” at the top of their list.

In 2001, at age 35, Bruce enrolled at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. It had been 15 years since her last college course. She transfered to Catawba College and earned a degree in business adminstration.

“I still can’t believe it,” she said. “It was awesome.”

While going to school, she worked a split shift at a group home. She didn’t have a car, and if she stayed late to study or get help from a professor and missed her ride, she walked several miles home.

Bruce describes her life as a struggle during those years. As a single mother working and going to school full-time, money was tight and stress was high.

“It was not easy,” she said. “The hardest part was staying focused.”

With help from her family and Mt. Calvary Holy Church, Bruce kept working toward her goals. She found hope and motivation in the word of God.

“The word just drew me,” she said. “The church reached me right where I was at.”

Her church family provided emotional support and sometimes more. Once, when Bruce lost her job and had no transportation, a church member gave Bruce her car, filled with gas, to use for job interviews.

The self-sufficiency program requires participants to deposit any additional income they earn while they are enrolled into an escrow account, which they receive when they graduate. They can withdraw money during the program to buy something goal-related. Bruce took out money to buy a laptop.

When she completed the program, Bruce had accumulated $3,000 in escrow. The money went toward the down payment on a Habitat for Humanity house.

To finish, participants must achieve all their goals and hold a job for 12 months. That takes five years for most people, but some do it in as few as three years. Bruce needed seven years.

In 2005, she began working for the Salisbury Housing Authority. Five years later, Foust resurrected the Family Self-Sufficiency program and made Bruce the full-time coordinator.

“I saw the need to develop the whole person, rather than just provide housing for someone,” Foust said.

The more he heard learned about the program, which is offered at housing authorities across the country, and the more he got to know Bruce, Foust said he knew the program needed to come back and Bruce was the one to lead it.

“I saw her passion. She was helped at one time, so she in turn wants to help others,” he said. “I saw that she has that connection to folks that she was working with, and I knew she would be able to do more in her new position.”

Bruce gives the program legitimacy, Foust said.

“I can always point to Stephanie and say, ‘It can be done. All you have to do is want to do it,’ ” he said. “It has so much more value, because she is speaking from experience.”

Bruce provides an excellent role model for public housing tenants who want financial independence.

“She knows exactly what they’re going through,” he said. “She’s had to overcome obstacles and barriers.”

Since taking over the program, Bruce has built enrollment to 21 families. So far, two have graduated. Some families have left the program, unable to keep up with the requirements.

Bruce hopes they will be back.

“They have to be at a place in their life where they are ready to do the work,” she said.

The 90-day joining process serves as a way to screen participants. In the first three months, tenants must complete vocational testing, set goals and attend meetings.

“I can tell within that time period,” Bruce said. “If they keep appointments and follow up, they are going to be good participants.”

Bruce knows it’s hard — she’s been there.

“I have an absolute understanding of what they are dealing with, so I can empathize with their situations,” she said.

She talks to each of the 545 families in Salisbury Housing Authority about the self-sufficiency program. New tenants go through an orientation process that includes Bruce, and she publishes a newsletter with information about the program, sharing success stories about people who have met a goal or completed the program.

“Most people are scared to do something different,” she said. “They are in this cycle of doing the same thing and getting the same result.”

Bruce works to show tenants that financial independence can change their life. If bureaucracy intimidates tenants, Bruce said she will “hold their hand through the process.”

“What Stephanie does so well is to help people navigate the red tape and get into the right person at the right time,” Foust said.

Rather than an “authority,” Bruce wants tenants to see the public housing agency as a partner ready to help them accomplish their goals.

“It’s important that residents are able to live their best life,” she said. “We’re here to partner with them, and not just tell them what do to.”

Bruce laughs when she says “I’ve turned into Zelda.” Just like Zelda Turner, the former coordinator who convinced her to join, Bruce now pesters people to sign up.

Bruce’s caseload will reach capacity when she has 25 families. Foust is pursuing grants to fund a second full-time position for the self-sufficiency program.

“I wish I had three more just like her,” he said.

Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.

GREENSBORO (AP) — One of the oldest current members of Congress is talking about his two weeks in hospitals and the illness that put him there.

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble of Greensboro scheduled a news conference Wednesday after his discharge from Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, where he was undergoing rehabilitation.

The 80-year-old Republican was first hospitalized on Dec. 13 in Washington, with what doctors described as a respiratory infection.

Coble’s illness sidelined him during the hotly contested issue of whether to extend a payroll tax break for two months.

Coble has spent 26 years representing the district around the eastern and southern part of the Triad.

For the Salisbury Post

Imagine walking the same halls as great military leaders like Lee and Grant, Pershing and McArthur, Eisenhower, Patton, Swartzkopf or Patraeus. Salisbury High School graduate Philip Tonseth gets to do just that. Tonseth is attending West Point Military Academy and appreciates the history of what many consider the best undergraduate institution in America.

“Everyday there are tourists walking the grounds,” Tonseth says, “and I feel like I go to school in a museum.”

West Point Military Academy, located about 50 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River, was established by President Thomas Jefferson on March 16, 1802. George Washington called the location the “most important strategic position in America,” and the Academy continues as the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States.

Forbes.com and U.S. News and World Report have both called West Point Military Academy the best public college or university in America.

Tonseth began his education at West Point this past summer with basic training called “Beast Barracks.” Most of the actual military training is done during the summers, with upperclassmen actually serving with active U.S. Army units.

There are 4,400 members, both male and female, of the Corps of Cadets, all academically, medically and physically qualified for the demanding level of leadership training. Most cadets were nominated by a member of the U.S. Congress.

West Rowan graduate Jon Crucitti is also a part of the “Long Gray Line.” Tonseth realized shortly after September 11, 2001, that he wanted to serve his country. He excelled academically and athletically at Salisbury High, starring in cross country, baseball and football.

“The overall schoolwork is very hard, and there is a huge amount of homework each night,” said Tonseth. He continued, “I have two roommates and it often helps to have more than one opinion. We have to be focused on school. I usually am up till 11 or 11:30 p.m. doing homework.” One roommate is from Washington, D.C., and another from New York City, who previously completed three years at another college before being accepted at West Point.

Tonseth described a typical day as beginning at about 6:20 a.m.

“There is a required knowledge that I have to know each day, such as what uniform to wear. We have to be in morning formation at 7 a.m., then we go to breakfast. Classes continue for most cadets till 4 p.m. Those who are involved in intercollegiate sports get out at 3 p.m. Others go from class to do something with their own company which includes intramurals. Dinner is from 6-7:30 p.m., but we don’t wait till 7 or most of the food will be gone. Afterwards, we do homework.”

Freshmen or plebes are only responsible for themselves. Personal hygiene, grades and all basic personal issues are included. Second-year students, called corporals or yuks, are responsible for mentoring a plebe, one-on-one.

“It is good to have this,” said Tonseth. “There is so much that we need to know. The sophomore is almost like a parent, doing his best to make sure that I don’t mess up.”

Upperclassmen eventually become responsible for squads or companies, with some rising to student leaders of the Corps of Cadets.

If cadets do mess up, they are given demerits. Demerits require punishment, but Tonseth is thankful that there are two levels of demerits.

“So far, I don’t have any serious demerits,” he said, “but I did have one for my sideburns being too long. My punishment was to clean the bathrooms and pick up trash for two hours.”

Serious demerits are punishable by walking tours that mean hours of patrolling the post grounds in full uniform.

A love of baseball encouraged Tonseth to help out with the baseball team.

“Being a team manager has helped me get acclimated to school,” he said. “Baseball has a spring and fall season at West Point. Some of my best friends are on the team, and I will get to travel with the team in the spring.”

Tonseth gets about 60 to 90 minutes of free time a day, but that includes getting a shower and taking care of personal things. His personal area can be inspected any morning, so everything has to be in its place.

There is a ski slope, skating rink and golf course on campus, along with lots of clubs like orienteering and rock climbing. Finding time to use them is a challenge in itself.

“With living so close together for four years, it helps with making friends and learning to interact with classmates. They normally walk in and out for a homework break or to get help with their work,” said Tonseth.

The biggest focus of Tonseth’s cadet life is academics. Class size is small. Faculty to student ratio is 1 to 8.

“The classes are challenging,” he said. “Everyone takes about the same things for the first two years. The focus is on the military aspect and how it will help us as future US Army officers. We will get to choose electives for our major during the last two years. There is an emphasis on math and sciences, but we also have literature, psychology, information technology, a foreign language, and history classes. Classes last for 55 minutes, except for chemistry, which is two class periods, and math is every day.”

Students select from more than 40 majors, graduating with a bachelor of science degree. All cadets graduate with a concentration in engineering. Following graduation, each cadet has committed to at least five years of active service.

“Being at West Point has definitely made me appreciate the finer and little things,” said Tonseth. “Every Friday I order a pizza and sit and watch a movie with a couple of my friends. I try to work out every day, and I take a walk around campus at least once a week to keep in touch with all the beautiful nature around me.

“I ready and willing to accept the challenges that West Point is sure to offer over my four years and can’t wait to do my duty with my brothers in arms when I graduate.

spotts@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Alienation of affection cases can sometimes result in hefty awards for the scorned, while others resolve themselves via mediation.

Here are a few cases from Rowan and beyond:

• The preacher’s wife

In 2006, Salisbury attorney James Davis filed an alienation of affection/criminal conversation lawsuit on behalf of Julie Buchanan, who accused Jennifer Gobble of stealing her husband, Michael.

The Buchanans had been married for more than 16 years and had two children. In the fall of 2004, they joined a church where Jennifer Gobble was the pastor’s wife.

The case was referred to mediation and, while awaiting further court proceedings, Gobble became pregnant with Michael Buchanan’s baby. (They later married.)

In August 2007, a jury awarded Julie Buchanan $305,000 — $50,000 for criminal conversation, $75,000 for alienation of affection and $180,000 for punitive damages.

Gobble, who filed for bankruptcy, appealed.

Her ex-husband, Sam Gobble, said in court documents she had received a sizable inheritance from a deceased uncle. She had two annuities with a one-time value of $700,000, one with a payout of $3,500 per month.

Gobble said she had no money and her new husband was in transition from one job to a new one.

Gobble’s appeal was dismissed, and in January 2009 she paid her judgment in full.

• A judge and a clerk

In December 2010, an alienation of affection and criminal conversation suit was filed against Rowan District Court Judge Kevin Eddinger.

Ronnie Isenhour, accused the judge of having an affair with his wife, court clerk Robin Isenhour, actively pursuing and seducing her. Eddinger said the relationship was consensual.

Kevin Eddinger referred comments to his attorney, William Diehl of Charlotte, who did not respond to calls from the Post.

The case was settled for an undisclosed amount following an October mediation conference. The parties dismissed with prejudice any and all claims and counterclaims in this case.

In March, Liana Eddinger filed a countersuit against Robin Isenhour, accusing the clerk of pursuing the judge, motivated by monetary gain.

The case went to mediation and, in November, both women gave notices of voluntary dismissals with prejudice of their claim and counterclaim.

The Post’s calls to Robin Isenhour’s attorney, J. Merritt White, were not returned as of press time. Neither Robin Isenhour nor Ronnie Isenhour responded to calls from the Post.

• $9 million reasons

Cynthia Shackleford of Raleigh was awarded $9 million when she sued her husband’s mistress for breaking up her 33-year marriage.

Allan Shackleford, a lawyer, said in news reports the marriage did not fall apart because of Anne Lundquist, the woman with whom he was accused of having an affair. The two are said to have met while Allan Shackleford was providing legal advice to the college where Lundquist was a dean.

Cynthia Shackleford said the alleged affair took place in 2004. A private investigator confirmed her suspicions. She filed the lawsuit in 2007.

A jury awarded her $5 million in compensatory damages and $4 million in punitive damages.

Lundquist has said she plans to appeal the decision.

• Best friend, mistress

A Johnston County district attorney filed a lawsuit in June against a longtime friend and neighbor who was alleged to have had an affair with her husband of 15 years.

Prosecutor Susan Doyle filed a criminal conversation suit against Christi Stem, an attorney specializing in family law, alleging that her husband, Michael Doyle, engaged in a sexual relationship with Stem.

Four months later in October, Susan Doyle agreed to dismiss the lawsuit and the parties reached an out-of-court settlement.

Stem acted as a mediator when the couple went to Stem with marriage problems, the lawsuit said.

Stem was also the godmother of the couple’s children.

The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Contact Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.

ecook@salisburypost.com

Who is the Salisbury Post’s 2011 Newsmaker of the Year?

You’ll find the answer in Friday’s paper.

Each December since 1984, the Post’s news staff has reviewed events of the past year and named a top newsmaker — someone who, for good or ill, made frequent headlines.

While you’re waiting to find out who is 2011’s Newsmaker, here’s a list of past newsmakers to peruse:

1984: Elizabeth Dole, Salisbury native and U.S. secretary of transportation in the Ronald Reagan administration at the time.

1985: David Murdock, California investor, who sold Cannon Mills Co. to Fieldcrest after buying it from the Cannons in 1982.

1986: Jim Hurley III, publisher, who was leading a major renovation and expansion of the Salisbury Post’s building downtown.

1987:Edward Clement, preservationist, who headed the Rowan Defense Fund, a group that fought against establishing a hazardous waste incinerator in Rowan.

1988: Tim Russell, county manager for three and a half years, who tackled many difficult issues, including construction of a new landfill.

1989:Don Martin, superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury Schools, who was credited with pulling school merger out of fire.

1990: Darrell Hinnant, executive director of the N.C. Hazardous Waste Commission and a target of fury as the state tried to site a hazardous waste facility in Rowan County.

1991: Ralph and Anne Ketner, Food Lion co-founder and wife, who in recent years helped get the homeless shelter established, gave the city the newly transformed Plaza building on the Square, started a housing program and did much more.

1992: Food Lion, then the fastest-growing supermarket company in the U.S., hit by a critical “PrimeTime Live” report alleging poor food-handling practices.

1993: Newton Cohen, chairman of the Rowan County Board of Commissioners, whose support for a $44 million school bond package helped win support for it from Rowan voters.

1994:Bob Martin, Rowan County sheriff from 1986 to 1998, who weathered several storms in 1994: brutal murders, political change, death sentences and a $13 million building project resulting in delays and embarrassment.

1995: Fieldcrest-Cannon Stadium in Kannapolis, a controversial economic development investment by Rowan County commissioners whose first-year attendance figures fell short of expectations.

1996: Rowan Regional Medical Center, which gained the $14 million Wilson L. Smith Family Outpatient Clinic, the $2.8 million South Rowan Medical Mall and several awards.

1997: Four children die. Rowan County faced the brutal facts of child abuse when Jordan Bradshaw (also called “Budde Clark”), Christopher Jones and DeMallon Krider died at the hands of caretakers in separate incidents. All had been under investigation by the Rowan County Department of Social Services. Sixteen-year-old Trola Miller was fatally shot while a bystander at a fight; she had been in DSS custody and foster care.

1998: Julian Robertson Jr., Wall Street investor and Salisbury native, whose gift of $18 million in 1997 to start the Blanche and Julian Robertson Foundation started bearing fruit in the form of grants for local nonprofits and schools in 1998.

1999: David Treme, Salisbury city manager, who named a new police chief and oversaw the Flowers Bakery Redevelopment Area, the 314-acre Salisbury Community Park off Hurley Road and the start of improvements to the Park Avenue neighborhood.

2000: Displaced workers, suddenly unemployed as jobs moved offshore and local textile plants closed. Unemployment hit 9.5 percent before falling to 5.5 percent.

2001: Dale Earnhardt, NASCAR driver, killed when his car crashed into a wall at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 18.

2002: Elizabeth Dole, this time a candidate in her own right, winning a seat in the U.S. Senate

2003: U.S. soldiers, fighting in Afghanistan and, starting in 2003, Iraq.

2004: Dr. Albert J.D. Aymer, president of Hood Theological Seminary, who led the movement of the school from the Livingstone College campus to a site off Jake Alexander Boulevard.

2005: Tim Russell, forced out as county manager after spending $23,000 in tax funds on private investigators to find the writer of hundreds of anonymous “Common Sense” letters

2006: Jack Thomson, executive director of Historic Salisbury Foundation, who led the unsuccessful fight to block demolition of some West Fisher Street buildings and worked with Lowe’s and the History Channel on the restoration of a Park Avenue house.

2007: Treasure Feamster, the 13-year-old girl whose shooting death brought attention to the presence of gangs in Salisbury.

2008: Victor Isler Sr., Justin Monroe, Salisbury firefighters who died in the Salisbury Millwork fire.

2009: Rowan County American Legion team, who lifted local spirits by reaching the Little World Series in Fargo, N.D., and finishing third in the nation.

2010: Bill Kenerly, retiring Rowan County district attorney, who served as the special prosecutor investigating former Gov. Mike Easley, tried two murder trials, negotiated pleas in several others and learned from the state court system that his office was the most overloaded and understaffed DA office in North Carolina.

2011: ?

Find out who the next newsmaker is in Friday’s paper.

•

Also coming in the days ahead:

Saturday:Top 10 stories of 2011

Sunday: 10 to watch in 2012

Monday:How to keep New Year’s resolutions, and the 2012 community calendar.

RCCC ContinuingEd classes

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is offering continuing education classes. The college aims to provide affordable and accessible courses for both personal and professional development.

• Activity Director — If you are interested in a career as a state-approved activity director for nursing homes, you will learn about state and federal regulations, how to plan and implement activities, and various other duties that encompass the activity profession. State regulations set certain criteria to be an activity director. This 60-hour, state approved course meets the N.C. qualification requirements.

Mondays and Thursdays, April 12-June 21, 2012, 6-9 p.m., Rufty Holmes Senior Center, Hurley Room. Registration, $175. Space is limited and advanced registration is required. Textbook, $56.

• Electrical Contractor License Preparation — Electrical contractors, engineers, suppliers, designers and those wishing to have a better understanding of how we use the sun to make electricity should attend this 12-hour course. This class is an in-depth presentation on the design and installation of photovoltaic systems and the National Electrical Code (2011). This course prepares you to take the next step in energy conservation.

Mondays, Jan. 23-June 18, 6-9 p.m., CBTC; fee, $175.This class requires advanced registration in person.

Materials: N.C. Residential Contractor Code 2009 Edition, Contractor's Guide to Business & Law (5th Edition), OSHA Handbook.

• Real Estate Prelicensing — This is the required course in preparation to become a “provisional broker.” This course covers basic real estate principles and practices, including real estate law, contracts, brokerage practices, financing, closing, valuation, fair housing, property management, taxation and mathematics as well as related topics. To qualify for the in-class final exam, students must have a combined average score of 80 percent on the three mini-exams given during class. The student can then take the final exam, and if they pass, they are eligible to take the North Carolina Real Estate Commission exam that is required to become a licensed real estate broker.

Mondays and Wednesdays, Jan. 23-April 23; 9 a.m.- noon; South Campus; fee, $175. This class requires advanced registration in person!

Materials: Modern Real Estate Practices in N.C.

• Pharmacy Technician Program — The pharmacy technician program provides the technical and practical training to allow the graduate to work as an assistant to a licensed pharmacist in both retail and hospital settings. The course also prepares the student to take the National Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam given by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board. Classes consist of lecture, multimedia, discussion, text and workbook assignments, independent research, and tests of competency and understanding.

Students must have completed the North Carolina Career Readiness Certification before beginning the pharmacy technician program. The career readiness program tests assess basic academic skills and are usually offered at no charge. Please allow two weeks to complete prior to registration. Students must provide their Career Readiness Certificate at the time of registration for the pharmacy technician program. No appointment needed.

Mondays, Jan 23-May 16; 6-9 p.m.; South Campus; fee, $175. This class requires advanced registration in person.

Materials: Textbook and calculator available for purchase at RCCC bookstore.

• Contracts and Closing —Provides postlicensing instruction in broker responsibilities relating to real estate sales contracts, contract procedures, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and closings. Topics include contract law concepts, residential sales contract preparation and procedures, closing procedures and closing statement preparation. Students must have passed prelicensure.

Feb. 1-April 11, 1-4 p.m.; North Campus; fee, $120. This class requires advanced registration in person.

• Conversational Spanish I — Conversational Spanish emphasis will be on basic vocabulary, common phrases and practical expressions used in everyday situations including work, travel, eating and shopping.

Jan. 24-March 20, 6-8 p.m.; North Campus, Room 4214; fee, $65. This class requires advanced registration in person.

Materials: Survival Spanish for All Americans, available for purchase at RCCC bookstore.

Also Jan. 19-March 15, 6-8 p.m., South Campus; fee, $65. This class requires advanced registration in person. Same text.

For more information about these courses, or to register, please call 704-216-3512 or 704-216-RCCC (7222), or visit http://www.rccc.edu/ certifications/.

KANNAPOLIS — The R3 Center is offering numerous career development workshops and resume clinics in January for adults in Rowan and Cabarrus counties. All of the programs are provided free-of-charge.

The R3 Center will also host a “feature workshop” in January titled Financial Planning for the Career Explorer.

“Understanding financial options is crucial in planning a new career. Your financial background can impact your accessibility to training and your work search,” said Keri Allman, director of the R3 Center. “Participants in this workshop will, with the help of a R3 Career Coach, develop a plan for their future by identifying financial resources and creating a budget.”

Located at 200 West Ave., in Kannapolis, the R3 Center is a career development center established by Rowan-Cabarrus Community College to assist displaced workers, those who are unemployed or under-employed.

The center’s mission is built on three Rs — a refocus on individual skills and interests, retraining and further education, and partnering with other workforce development agencies to secure career-oriented re-employment.

The center’s January schedule of workshops includes the following sessions. Due to the popularity of its free sessions, the R3 Center strongly encourages clients to call in advance to reserve a place (704-216-7201).

New Client Launch — 9 a.m. Jan. 4, 6, 20 and 30; 2 p.m. on Jan. 19 and 31; and 6 p.m. on Jan. 3, 17 and 30. New Client Launch is an orientation workshop for persons who have never attended an R3 Center workshop or taken advantage of its other services.

The calendar also includes the following workshops:

• Identifying Your Career Options — 9 a.m. on Jan. 9; and 6 p.m. on Jan. 23;

• Interview Techniques — 9 a.m. on Jan. 23; and 6 p.m. on Jan. 10;

• It’s Not Who You Know; It’s Who You Meet — 9 a.m. on Jan. 13;

• Stand Out from the Competition — 9 a.m. on Jan. 24; and 6 p.m. on Jan. 9;

• Looking for Work at 50+ — 9 a.m. on Jan. 10; and 6 p.m. on Jan. 24;

• Looking for Work with a Criminal Record — 9 a.m. on Jan. 25;

• Letter Writing for the Job Seeker — 9 a.m. on Jan. 26;

• Online Job Hunting — 9 a.m. on Jan. 27;

The R3 Center also will offer multiple resume clinics to help job searchers improve their current resume or create a new one from start to finish. Please call to reserve a seat. The resume clinics are scheduled for:

• 9 a.m. on Jan. 7 and 17;

• 11 a.m. on Jan. 26; and

• 2 p.m. on Jan. 5 and 12.

The R3 Center helps adult workers assess their skills, aptitudes, training and academic credentials, and future career interests to develop an action plan for career growth. All R3 Center services are provided free-of-charge. The center’s normal office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The R3 Center partners with other workforce development agencies, including the Centralina Workforce Development Board, JobLink Career Centers of Cabarrus and Rowan counties, N.C. Employment Security Commission and other area community colleges.

For more information about the R3 Center and its services and programs, please call 704-216-7201, or visit the center’s website at www.rccc.edu/r3center/.

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

Faculty, staff and students at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College worked to make the holiday season a little brighter for the less fortunate in the community. As a result, Christmas came early for 235 local children.

The Rowan-Cabarrus student government association brightened the holiday for these children through its annual “Branches of Hope” project. Each November, nominations for children are submitted and verified for financial need. Numbered doves are placed on Christmas trees at two Rowan-Cabarrus campuses. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to choose a dove to sponsor a child by buying requested Christmas items. These wish lists included simple items, such as shoes, winter clothes and bicycle helmets.

“Many less fortunate families in Rowan and Cabarrus Counties will have food and gifts this holiday season, thanks to the college. I’m proud of that and the work we do here,” said Natasha Lipscomb, SGA adviser and director of student life for the college.

Nearly three quarters of the doves were chosen, with 175 being taken. As always, any doves not selected from the tree were sponsored by the SGA. A specific allocation of money is identified each year in the SGA budget for Branches of Hope.

The Early Childhood Development Club also contributed food to the families that received gifts by initiating a food drive. They exceeded their goal by feeding more than 35 families this year.

“Rowan-Cabarrus is proud to help those in need during the holidays and throughout the year. The faculty and staff are very committed to being a vital part of the communities we serve,” said Lipscomb. “I’d like to thank all who chose doves and everyone who helped with the organization of the project. We look forward to another great year in 2012.”

spotts@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Jurors in the Robert Douglas Earnhardt murder trial said they could not reach a decision during deliberations.

Earnhardt is facing first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of his stepfather, Billy Tommy Elmore. Elmore was shot in the back of the head Sept. 17, 2009, at the 165 Leisure Lane home that he shared with his estranged wife, Patty Kesler Earnhardt Elmore.

Billy Elmore had moved out of the home a week before his death.

Just before the noon break today, jurors sent a note to the court saying they could not reach a consensus.

Superior Court Judge Kevin Bridges told them to continue deliberations until they had reached a unanimous decision.

Earnhardt is also charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury for allegedly shooting Tiffany Marie Barbee in the wrist/arm area.

Barbee had driven Billy Elmore to the Leisure Lane home so that he could feed his dog.

Earnhardt, in written statements, said he was defending his mother. Earnhardt said he saw his stepfather draw a gun toward his mother and that’s when he fired. A warning shot Earnhardt said he fired struck Barbee.

Jurors also asked to go to the Leisure Lane property and Tamarac Marina.

Judge Bridges mulled over what he’d say to jurors once they returned to the courtroom.

District Attorney Brandy Cook said she would hope the judge would agree to deny the request because an on-site visit was not done during the trial. She also said the places have changed from more than two years ago.

Jay White, Earnhardt’s attorney, agreed, saying it’s been more than two years and it would also be improper for jurors to view the sites.

See Friday’s Post for more details.

Contact reporter Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253.

West Rowan High School JROTC cadets won four out of five first place finishes in the Raider Challenge Competition, claiming the first-place overall title.

Tyler Shoemaker was awarded individually for being the “Superior Physical Fit Cadet.”

Sgt. Ben Laster is the JROTC Instructor.

Participants included Mauricio Lopez, Deryan Aleman, Timothy Bailey, Austin Mowery, Dylan Tyler Shoemaker, Dakota Peoples, Cody Rainey and Dalton Brinson.

Wilson bought the lucky ticket Tuesday at the Raceway on Brookshire Avenue in Charlotte and then discovered her win after scratching the ticket at her husband’s office.

“I still don’t believe it,” Wilson said Wednesday as she claimed her prize. “No words. Just excited.”

Wilson’s win means she will receive $150,000 a year for 20 years. She received the first payment, $102,006 after taxes were withheld, on Wednesday.

Wilson claimed the last of five $3 million prizes in the instant game, which began in October 2009. All of the 10 $1 million prizes have also been claimed.

Since the lottery began through June 30 of this year, Cabarrus County education programs received more than $39.6 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries, school construction, need-based college scholarships and prekindergarten programs. Players in Cabarrus County have won more than $58.5 million in prizes since the lottery’s inception.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.1 billion for these initiatives statewide.

Buck Cline knows it’s an old joke.

“Need your sole saved?” he asks the customer pushing his shoes across the counter.

“Soles and heels, too,” the man says. “While you’re at it.” But he doesn’t smile.

Oh well. Buck doesn’t wait.

He’s been saving soles for half a century, and he doesn’t expect a knee-slapping raucous reaction to his moment of humor. This is standard stuff, part of the scenery, a shoemaker’s staple in trade, like the whirring of the finishing machine that’s as constant as a cat’s purr, like the unmistakable aromatic blend of leather and shoe polish, like the poster picture of an old-time shoemaker at a cobbler’s bench.

Come to think of it, that old-time shoemaker looks a lot like Buck, and he’s been smiling there on the wall nearly as long as Buck’s been running Cline’s Shoe Service at 110 E. Innes St. Buck doesn’t remember when he put it up. But he knows when he hung the big landscape and wild horses on the other wall. His son, Bucky, gave that to him when he was a student down at State.

And he knows when he got that certificate behind the counter. Back in the ’40s, when he was nationally registered as an orthopedic shoe serviceman because summertime meant polio. And polio meant he struggled trying to adjust braces and build up shoes so crippled children could walk.

“That was the most trying time,” he says. “All those kids had polio, and we didn’t even have an orthopedic doctor here. I spent half my time working on those braces and build-ups. The braces would come up to here” — he gestures toward his armpits — “and the kids would have to take their clothes off ...”

He’s just getting wound up good when Harold Parham comes in. Harold needs new heels, and he’s chancing Buck will still be here and put them on while he waits.

“I don’t hardly do any waiting work any more,” Buck says when Harold leaves. “Just once in a while. Used to be people would bring their kids up on Saturdays — three or four in the family — and line ’em up.” Nobody had more than one pair of everyday shoes, so they came when they could wait.

“I don’t hardly ever do kids’ shoes anymore either,” he says. Kids shoes aren’t worth fixing anymore. “They wear junk stuff.”

He’s talking now. Didn’t want to. Maybe later. But somehow he got started on those polio days and then Harold came in and waited — and, well, here we are. Everything else has changed in the last 50 years. Why not the shoe repair business?

“Used to,” he says, “if you got a job, you had to deliver and all that.” In Concord, where he grew up, he delivered in his neighborhood for C.G. Coley while he was in high school. “I’d go out on my bicycle and pick ’em up, he’d fix ’em, and I’d take ’em back.”

When he finished high school, he went downtown to work for Ralph Dry, whose brother, Charlie, had the East Innes shop here. Ralph sold out to J.S. Lee. “And then Mr. Dry up here got in bad health and bought this shop on condition I’d come run it.”

He came — and bought it 18 months later.

Those were World War II years. Gas and tires were rationed. So were shoes. People walked holes in their soles, and Buck fixed ’em. Buck and maybe half a dozen other shoe shops in downtown Salisbury, including one on each corner at the Square, that day’s “service stations” for walkers.

Nickname

Buck was Melvin then. He got his name during the war along with his draft notice.

“Robert Cook started calling me ‘Buck Private,’ ” he says, but the closest he got to the rank was a physical.

“They took some blood out of my finger,” he says, “and took me out of line and fixed my bus ticket to come back home.”

He felt fine, and nobody told him what was wrong with his blood. But it was a long ride back to Salisbury from Fayetteville, and the bus didn’t stop here. When it hit town about 2 a.m., Buck told the driver to let him off at the Wallace Building.

“But when he stopped, I couldn’t get up.” The driver got the night officer from the police booth on the Square to help carry him off.

“They laid me out there on the sidewalk,” he says, and the bus went on. Just then old Dr. Glenn Choate came out of the Wallace Building — and all the doctors and lawyers had their offices in the Wallace Building then — and saw him.

“Help me get him in my car,” he told the policeman, and they sped off to the hospital.

“They took some blood, too. I had appendicitis about to rupture. They took me right to the operating room. When they rolled me in, the doctor asked me if I’d called my wife. I said yes, but I hadn’t.”

Mae was home with the children, Judy and Melvin Jr., who was to become Bucky. If he called her, what would she do with them?

“I didn’t want to worry her in the middle of the night,” Buck says, “so I had the nurse call her in the morning, and by the time she got there, I was sitting up feeling good.”

He never heard from the Army again, but the name stuck. He’s been Buck ever since.

Made in America

His best business years were 1968 to 1978. He knows. He’s still got all his records.

“People were still wearing good shoes,” he says, “and they were getting them repaired. Everything was still being made in America then. I used to have five employees and a girl in the front. Now everybody who’s ever worked for me has gotten old and died.”

And nobody wants to learn to repair shoes.

“It’s hard work,” he says. “You get corns on your hands. And it’s about like being a doctor. People don’t mind calling you at all hours and Sunday mornings to get their shoes.”

Nor are most of today’s shoes worth fixing. They’re made out of plastic.

But not Buck’s. On his feet are good-looking leather shoes that cost him $125 at Goodnight’s — and were a bargain. They’ve had five new soles.

“And Goodnight’s has been gone at least 25 years,” he says.

It’s hard to buy a pair of good shoes now.

“The manufacturers are fully determined to put shoe repair out of business by building shoes that last a short time,” he says. “But business is still good here. I’m doing all I care to do.”

Shorter hours

That’s much less than his customers — many of them second and third generation now — want him to do. His shop is no longer open from dawn to dark six days a week. Now he opens at 7:30 and locks the doors and pulls the blinds at 11 Mondays through Fridays.

And he works, fixing everything he didn’t get to that morning when customers were coming in.

“I cannot operate behind,” he says. “I’ve just got to operate to where I can see daylights.”

Mostly it’s shoes — half soles that now cost about $20 a pair for men and heels at $3.50 a pair for women.

But he takes belts up and lets them out, repairs pocketbooks, makes scissors scabbards for various manufacturers, repairs anything in leather — and eats an occasional peppermint and a peanut or two.

“Old Dr. Monk told me years ago, ‘Eat a few peanuts a day and you won’t ever have a stomach ulcer.’ I feel like I might have a stomach ulcer but I eat the peanuts.”

And he watches downtown and the world change as he stands at his old machines.

Standing itself is an occupational hazard for a shoe repairman.

“You get in the habit,” he says. “I stand up a lot at home to look at TV. My wife’ll say, ‘Sit down.’ ”

But he’s not ready to sit yet. There are still soles to save.

Buck Cline closed his shoe repair shop in 1999 and passed away in June 2005.

Hubbard will work on a book-length project titled “W.E.B. Du Bois and the Luminous Darkness.” He puts Du Bois’ landmark work, “The Souls of Black Folk” (1903), in conversation with The Declaration of Independence (1776), by Thomas Jefferson; “Heart of Darkness” (1899), by Joseph Conrad; “The Liberal Imagination” (1950), by Lionel Trilling; “A Raisin in the Sun” (1959), by Lorraine Hansberry; “Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination” (1992), by Toni Morrison; and “A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr.” (1986). They set up a call and response between oppression and freedom.

He will participate in the spring colloquium series where he will give a lecture titled “Reflecting Black, Du Bois, Hansberry, and A Knock at Midnight” on Feb. 22.

Du Bois was the first African-American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. He held teaching positions at Wilberforce University and Atlanta University. The father of the modern civil rights movement, he was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) where he served as editor of its organ, the Crisis.

Hubbard is professor and chairperson of the department of English and language arts at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Md. He was educated at Catawba College (’71), the University of Denver and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has received fellowships from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

His research interests include 19th- and 20th-century African-American literature, Diaspora studies and Digital Humanities. He is an executive director of the forthcoming documentary, “Black Scholars in America: The Story of the College Language Association.”

He is author or editor of numerous works, including “The Sermon and the African-American Literary Imagination.” He is a member of the editorial board of The Collected Works of Langston Hughes and has served as editor of the Langston Hughes Review.

A Granite Quarry native, Hubbard is the son of the late Olin and Elizabeth K. Hubbard. He is married to the former Ruth Hampton of Kannapolis. They have two children, Aisha and Desmond. They are members of Pennsylvania Avenue AME Zion Church in Baltimore.