Public Service Becomes Second
Career For These Three
BY ERIC CARLSON
When Mason Barber re
tired to Sunset Beaeh in
1986. it was the 28th and
(he hoped) final move in a long,
satisfying career with the Exxon
Corporation.
When George Anderson retired
iO v aiaudMi iii i 7o /, nc quiiivi v >ci
tied into to a quieter life on the 14th
hole after traveling throughout
Southern Asia as an international
vice-president of Chase Manhattan
Bank.
When Wally Auslev retired to
Holden Beach in 1990 as one of
North Carolina's best known broad
casters. he was returning to the
beach where he had spent week
ends and vacations since the 1930s.
Like most new retirees, all three
men figured that they would finally
have a chance to relax, to play a lot
of golf and to pursue other hobbies
that had always taken a back seat to
their busy careers.
What thev did not expect of their
so-called "retirement" was to be
come the mayors of their new
hometowns.
Mayor Barber of Sunset
Barber sa\ s he sought the post as
a way to get involved in his com
munis and to help guide its future.
"I've always enjoyed working
with people." he said. "Once 1 re
tired. 1 had the time to devote to
something worthwhile and thought
1 could accomplish something for
the betterment of the community. 1
saw that Sunset Beach was destined
to grow and wanted to see that we
preserved the character of the town,
and at the same time see that essen
tial services were provided."
Recognizing that most of his
neighbors, like himself, live on
fixed incomes, Barber is proud of
helping to keep the town's tax rate
as low as possible. At the same
time, he cites his efforts to encour
age a new supermarket and drug
store to Sunset Beach as an impor
tant benefit for local residents, both
as a convenience and an asset for
the town's tax base.
"My philosophy is that things art
going to change and if people can't
accept change, they're going to
have a problem." he said.
A willingness to adapt was es
sential lor Barber as he went from
the U.S. Army to the University of
Georgia and up the corporate ladder
in the Exxon Corporation.
When his country said go,
Barber went?to Saipan, Iwo Jima
and other hot spots in the Pacific
theater. And when the company
said go, Barber went?moving to
New Orleans, Tampa, Atlanta.
Jacksonville and cities all over
North Carolina. (Barber and his
wife Ginny lived in Charlotte four
times.)
He can recall "never a dull mo
ment" in his career with Exxon,
from his first days greasing cars iri
:i service station in 1949. to his last
vs
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^OJANS
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STAFF PHOTO BY ERIC CARLSON
SUNSET BEfiCH TOUJN Hfill
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CALABASH MAYOR (teorie Anderson (above left) displays some of the more than 1,000 open salts he has been collecting since his
mother gave him the first one over 20 years ago. He retired from Chase Manhattan Hank. Hidden lieach Mayr W'ally Ausley (top right)
continues to be an uvid sports Jan and West Brunswick High School Trojans supporter after an illustrious broadcasting career as the
"Voice oj the Wolf pack. Sunset lieach Mayor Mason Barber (bottom right) retired to Hrunswick County from the Exxon Corporation.
post as the company's distribution
manager for the Southeastern U.S.
While vacationing in the Myrtle
Beach area, the Barbers decided to
explore nearby Brunswick County,
where they discovered Sunset
Beach. Thev decided it \s as just the
kind of small town thev were look
ing for as a retirement locale. They
built their first vacation home in
1984 and moved into another house
permanently four years later.
The Barbers wasted no time get
ting involved in local civic activi
ties. Ginnv helped organize the
town's beautification committee.
As a former president of the Sunset
Beach Taxpayer's Association,
Mason was well-known when he
arrived and was soon selected to be
the town's mayor.
"I've enjoyed being in govern
ment It's very challenging," Barber
said. "It's not that much different
from business, except you have cit
izens instead of customers. The
rules and regulations make it a bit
different, and you can't delegate as
much as you can in the business
world. But it's been a lot of fun."
Mayor Anderson of Calabash
George Anderson is enjoying his
first term as mayor ol Calabash af
ter serving four years as a commis
sioner. He was a member of the
first board to be elected following
the merger <>l the old downtown
rapidly growing neighbor, the
Carolina Shores goi! and retirement
community that comprises District
2. He is the lirst mayor from
Carolina Shores.
In a town where there's some
times friction between the "old"
and the "new" residents. Mayor
Anderson has demonstrated a com
mitment to represent the entire
town of Calabash, not just his home
district.
Born on a farm in Northern
Ireland. Anderson arrived in the
U.S. at the age of 3, about a month
before the great stock market crash
of I1)?1) His father had emigrated
to Canada and eventually to New
Jersey, where he took a job as a
trolley driver. He was later hired by
the Mutual Life Insurance Co. and
moved th?> family to Brooklyn,
N.Y., and eventually to Long
Island.
As a youngster, George found he
had a talent tor singing and became
active in choir groups. He once
sang in the famous Trinity C'hurch
at the corner of Broadway and Wall
c... \/ , ..i
.meet ill i Vii IV v ay.
While a student at New York
University, Anderson decided he
wanted to be an opera singer. To
pay his expenses after college, he
took a job with Chase Manhattan
Bank, while pursuing his opera
studies at night.
"1 had planned to work there for
about five years," Anderson re
members. "Ix) and behold, five
years turned into 43.
"When I applied for the job, they
noticed 1 had been born in Ireland,
liven though 1 left when I was 3,
and couldn't speak a foreign lan
guage. they decided I ought to lx- in
the international department."
Anderson's operatic ambitions
took a back seat as he advanced
through the company's ranks, even
tually taking over leadership of the
bank's operations in Southern and
Southeast Asia and the South
Pacific. He travelled extensively, to
India. Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh,
the Philippines, and other countries
throughout the region while head
ing a department of 600 to K00 peo
ple.
Back home on Long isianu,
Anderson got his first taste of elec
tive office when he was named
chairman of the local school board.
He fondly remembers having the
privilege of handing his children
their diplomas at high school grad
uation.
Anderson's first wife died ot
cancer. When he later remarried,
his second spouse Marilyn had a
vacation home in Carolina Shores.
He had been planning to retire in
New England, but one trip to the
North Carolina coast made him
change his mind. The two moved
south shortly after he left Chase
Manhattan.
"I came down here to retire." he
said. "Unfortunately or fortunately,
it didn't turn out that way. After the
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