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Chronicle Profile-- ~
Volunteer offers a
By IRENE PERRY ,
Chronicle Staff Writer
"It's never too late to volunteer," says Johnie ]
Shell, and at age 76, he should know.
For .almost-two years now, Shell haf been a i
volunteer with the Food Bank of Northwest North 1
Carolina.
A retired employee of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, 1
Shell lpflrn#?H ahrvnt ?W?*? -x u **
? ?wui wiv |jiugiaiii mrougn Keynoias' j
monthly employee bulletin.
"The bulletin had an RSVP in one of the sections/'
says Shell. "I didn't know what it was
about, so I called the number and a lady came to
visit and told me that it was to try and get 1
volunteers for the Food Bank. She then sent me to
see the Food Bank's director." ?
Fie first worked at the Food Bank office on Polo <
Road, where Shell says he swept the floors and kept '
the place neat. i
"The Food Bank moved to its new offices on - <
Liberty Street," says Shell. "Now, we have
32,000-square feet and six offices, and it is a little <
harder to keep clean, but 1 do my best. i
"1 also put food away and help sort the food, but |
mostly 1 keep the place clean." t
When the county Health DepaFMent inspected <
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30% to
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All men's warm
outerwear. j
Choose from a wide selection
of parkas, bomber style ^B
jackets, leather jackets JHj
and more. Warm quilt
or pile linings, poly-cotton Bpgfl
poplins,- cords, etc. :?-WMI
Men's Sizes S,M,L,XL. igggjj
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i helping hand
the bank earlier this year, it issued a sanitation
rating of 99 percent, of which Shell is extremely
proud.
"I never heard of a place getting such a high
rating before," says the Laurence, S.C., native. "I
was glad to see it."
For 15 years, Shell swept floors in one of
Reynolds' factories and he did it in style. He would
jo to work in a "one-day shirt" (a white shirt), and
"I may not be able to get down on the floor
and crawl like a young man, but I'm still
able to get about.
? Mr. Johnie Shell
at quitting time the shirt would be filthy. But he
wure wnue sniris everyday, anyway. He says he
vorked nine hours a day and a half a day on Saturdays
back then, earning $7.25 per week.
"I come up on the rough side of the mountains
md I don't mind working," he says. "A young
man I know, who works at Reynolds, told me it was
people like me who laid the foundation for him at
:he company. All I can say is that I am glad I am
ane of the people wh6 laid the foundation for them
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Food Bank volunteer Jnhnie Shell- "Ane ie iia?
Parker).
(young people); it's good for them to go in and enjoy
it. It was good us older people could help."
Shell first learned about helping out when he was
a child. As the youngest child in his family, he often
sat around the fireplace with his mother, a missionary.
"She would say 'so and so is sick, and 1 got to go
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Chronicle, Thursday, December 27, 1984-Page A7
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5t a number in volunteering" (photo by James
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scv nci, iic says, iviy motner would go and see
how she could help; sh^/was very much a missionary.
Anyone who got sick in the community,
she would go and see about the person. She drove a
horse and a wagon, since we could not afford a
buggy.
Please see page A8
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