By Steve Huffman
shuffman@salisburypost.com
SPENCER ó In Spencer, he’s known as “Pap,” and chuckles when the newspaper refers to him as the town’s “elder statesman.”
He’s C.E. Spear and he’s been involved in local politics as long as anyone can remember.
“Everyone calls me a politician, but I don’t consider myself a politician,” Spear said. “It’s just an honor to serve.”
Spear, 85, lives with his wife, Julia, in a neat brick house on Baldwin Avenue, just off Fourth Street. They’ve been there since 1950 when they paid $12,500 for the property. The Spears have been married 63 years.
Together, they’ve watched the seasons and years slip away, busying themselves with all the things couples busy themselves with over the course of a lifetime.
“Behave yourself,” Spear told his wife as she excused herself one recent weekday morning, leaving home for a hair appointment. “Don’t start any fights out there.”
Julia smiled, replying only, “You be careful, too.”
Once his wife had climbed in her car and was safely out of earshot, Spear reflected on the couple’s lifetime love affair.
“I’ve got a good supervisor in Julia,” he said, smiling.
The Spears have one child, Samuel, who lives in Charlotte with his wife, Linda. The Spears’ granddaughter, Courtney, graduated Saturday from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Nathan, their grandson, recently completed his freshman year at Appalachian State.
For those keeping score, Spear served 12 years on the Spencer Board of Aldermen before being elected mayor in 1977 and serving in that capacity 14 years.
He stepped down as mayor in 1991 and was out of town government until 1997 when he filed for alderman and was returned to the board. Spear has served in that capacity ever since. That’s a total of 38 years of work as a community servant.
Spear will be up for re-election this fall, but said he hasn’t decided if he’s going to run again. He’ll do like he’s done on several occasions in recent years, he said, waiting until the filing period nears its end to see if enough candidates are interested in serving the town without him having to do so.
“I know people say, ‘That old goat, why doesn’t he get on out of there?’ ” Spear said, smiling again. “I always tell them, I never had any intention of staying up there that long. It just happened.”
Spear was born in Commerce, Ga., and moved to Spencer in 1942 at the suggestion of his brother, Fletcher, who had landed a job at Spencer Shops. Spear went to work for the railroad, then served a stint in the Army at the end of World War II, stringing communication lines across Japan in anticipation of the occupation by the United States.
“I only went overseas after the shooting stopped,” Spear admitted.
He returned to Spencer following his military service and worked as a boilermaker at Spencer Shops until the huge railroad repair yard closed in 1960.
“I could have gone to Atlanta and gone to work the next day, but I wanted to stay here,” Spear said of Southern Railway’s offer to transfer its Spencer Shops employees. “This was home.”
And so, Spear and his brother-in-law, Lawrence Grubb (they married sisters), opened Industrial Repairs Co. off Long Ferry Road. They worked as steel fabricators and remained in the business 26 years.
“We didn’t make a lot of money, but we made a lot of friends,” Spear said.
He’s been involved in a number of civic activities over the years ó a member of the Spencer Masonic Lodge for 50 years and a past master of the organization.
Spear and his wife are longtime members of Spencer’s Central United Methodist Church, where he teaches Sunday school and leads a group Bible discussion with a class of senior citizens.
Spear has served on the board of Rufty-Holmes Senior Center and brags profusely on Rick Eldridge, the organization’s executive director. (“That’s the best spent tax dollars in the state due to the board they have out there,” Spear said.)
Spear was one of the original members of the board of directors of the N.C. Transportation Museum and played a role in its selection as a State Historic Site. He still volunteers countless hours there, pointing out, “I’ve done everything from drive a train on down.”
Spear also enjoys American Legion baseball at Newman Park, though he admits that a fair amount of his love of the games stems from the hot dogs prepared at the park by Pinky Trexler.
Spear said he’s been blessed with good health, though he said problems with his aorta in his abdomen have forced him to curtail his lifting.
He asked his doctor if the diagnosis should put a damper on his golf game.
“My doctor told me, ‘I can’t think of a better place for a golfer to die than on the golf course,’ ” Spear said.
Then he paused before continuing, “I’ve had such a great life.”
Others think Spear has been great for the town and the community as a whole.
“He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met,” said Calvin Hendrix, a former member of the Spencer Board of Aldermen who attends church with Spear. “I can’t say enough about C.E.”
Hendrix said Spear is the perfect elected official, the kind of man who looks at all sides of an issue before making a decision.
“He never gets upset,” Hendrix said. “He tries to treat everybody alike.”
Spencer’s current mayor, Jody Everhart, said much the same. Together, he and Spear have served on the board in one capacity or another for 14 years.
“He’s just been like a father or grandfather to me,” Everhart said. “You couldn’t find a better man.”
Everhart said that even when Spear wants to tell him he might have handled a situation differently, he never does so in the course of a public meeting, waiting, instead, until the two are alone to speak.
“He’ll put you in your place in a nice way, you know what I mean?” Everhart asked. “Then he’ll come right back and compliment you. He always comes back with something positive.”
Spear smiled when such accolades were passed along to him, joking that people are reluctant to criticize the elderly for fear they won’t be around much longer.
“The people in this town have been so good to me,” he finally decided.
Spear said he still tries to adhere to the first rule he adopted when he decided to run for alderman all those years ago.
“I’ve never promised anybody anything,” Spear said. “I just tell them I’ll do my best to do what I took the pledge to do.”