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(ELECT DIXON DRITT
Sheriff of Robeson County j
? 19 years experience in law
enforcement
?A life-long resident of
Robeson County
?Committed to serve all the fine
people of Robeson County.
"YOUR VOTE AND SUPPORT
WILL K APPRECIATED."
^ Poid for by rhg Commirrw To Etvcr D;*on Dr.fr Sheriff j
IN THE
[
ARMED
SERVICES
Fort SDI, Oklo.--Pvt. Londell
McNeill, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Henry McNeill, Jr., Route 2, I
Maxton, N.C., recently com
pleted training as a cannoneer
under the One Station Unit
Training (OSUT) Program at
Fort Sill. Okla.
OSUT is a 13 week period
which combines basic combat
training with advanced indtvi- '
dual training (
Students learned the duties |
of a how it sor or gun section j
crewmen and received in- I
struct ion in handling ammu
nition, setting fuses and pre- "
paring charges, communica
tions and maintenance.
McNeill entered the Army in
November 1*77.
The private la a 1*71 grad
uate of Hoke.County High
Mmol. Raodord
Up from Dust
& Darkness
By Lew Barton
3rd Century Artist
Its . very sad thing to see any Sorr to be so brief. More
person go to prison. ne)(t WMk
But hoy about his ?
ANN'S MAMC MMAOA
MAUTY SALON
<CJo*#d Tueedoy) ?
ColUueRtwl A
Pembroke fi.C njk
?Jc.iittrinn
Shampoo . 13.00 fl
(with free nmdunmtn>%'
MNIrr (?md ImnlM
April II. IV7R ?
As? tot
'AINI >A McN hi 1
SJ1W4
Locklear*?? 1
(Continued from page I)
dun and there are thine* about hit
identity that disturb fatip
It would be easy to place superficial
tap of "moody" or "brooding" on Gone
Locfclear. But thoae Labels are mislead
ing. They may describe a part of his per
sonality. but not its sum total.
The best way to talk about Gene Loch
Lear is to divide his Ufe into its two dis
tinct parts.
Baseball Player
There wasn't much recreation except
baseball when Locklear was growing up
in Pembroke.
He do things so much easier than oth
er youngsters that he knew he had a tal
ent for the game. He had an outstanding
career at Pembroke High, which went
unnoticed.
He was not even offered a scholarship
to Pembroke State University, which
galls him.
"If your home town school won't offer
you a scholarship, who will?" he said
"We've had a lot of players from around
here in the last few years that have gone
to other schools
"Why wasn't I good enough to go to
Pembroke? I don't know They saw me
play. You tell me."
? * ?
LOCKLEAR ATTENDED a Pitts
burgh Pirates try out camp in I960. He
said he was the fastest player there, had
a good arm and hit three pitches out of
the park in five swings.
Yet the Pirates told him he wasn't a
prospect
But a Cincinnati scout had seen him
and arranged for a tryout. The Reds
liked what they saw and signed him.
"I got no bonus money, just a plane
ticket to Tampa, Fla.," Locklear said
"To me. that was all I needed I was
young and I just wanted a chance to play
baseball
"Maybe if I had had the right backing,
the right people behind me, I could have
gotten a big bonus. But you can't go
through life saying 'could have.' "
Two years after Locklear signed, be
led the AA Eastern League in hitting
with a 323 mark In 1972 he was Player
of the Year in the American Association
with a .325 average, 15 homers and 65
RBIs
The Reds brought him up in 1973, but
he figured his days were numbered be
cause of some of the other young players
they had, like Ken Griffey and Dan
Driessen. He was traded to San Diego,
which looked like a good opportunity.
? ? ?
IT WASN'T.
The Padres used Locklear sparingly
the rest of 1973 and he hit just .233 in
a mere 180 at bats.
He began 1974 at Hawaii and was hit
ting .341 with 14 homers and 52 RBIs in
just 77 games when he was promoted.
But the Padres wasted him on the bench
and he got only 70 at bats.
It looked like 1975 would finally be
Locklear'j year. He got off to a torrid
start and was hitting over .400 in the ear
ly going when he was abruptly shipped
to the minors.
"What happened was that I demanded
to play," Locklear said. "I was making
$20,000 and hitting .400 and still playmg
behind Bobby Tolan, who was making
$100,000 and hitting .220. I didn't think
that was fair. So, instead of playing me.
they sent me down to teach me a lesson
or something "
Locklear was in Hawaii only 18 games
and then recalled, but he ended the sea
son with just 237 at bats. He hit .321,
best average on the club.
In 1976, he again played sparingly with
San Diego and was finally sold to the
Yankees, for whom he played in just 13
games
? ? ?
LOOKING OVER the Yankee roster
in spring training last year. Locklear
kn*/. there was no way he'd stick.
" itiey had too many guys making too
much money to keep me," he said. "So I
decided to play out my option."
He spent the year at Syracuse, where
the highlight of his season was hitting
four homers in one game, which hadn't
been done in the minors since 19S6
The Yankees apparently were not im
pressed by Locklear's feats. Instead of
calling him up for the pennant race, they
purchased players like Cliff Johnson and
Dave Kingman,
So Locklear's major league career
hasn't progressed as he had hoped. He
may have picked up a bad reputation,
however unjustly, because of the inci
dent in San Diego when he was sent
down while hitting .400. Now 28, his
tpeed isn't what it used to be, but his
sat is as good as ever.
? * ?
? LOCKLEAR BECAME a free agent
after last year and talked with several
teams, but nothing ever developed. Fi
nally, he recently signed to play in Japan
with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Tokyo.
It could be an excellent opportunity.
"I signed a two-year contract with
them for more than $100,000 a year," be
said. "I know they'll play me because
they'll want to protect their investment.
"It will be difficult, with the cultural
and language differences, but if you're
making ammgh money, you can put up
with anything. They'll have interpreters
there and quite a fern people speak En
glish
"It's not the big leagues, but the com
petition is about equal to AAA. I'd like -
io play well there, then sign another
^onfrartjos^several more years for even
season, which Ms unUl Oct 1.
It may not be the Mg league*, but It's
certainly better than (est hanging aroand
for a couple of years puttie la tome
lime toward Me paarianAudit wtl he
more money than he's aver made by far
Tke Artfct
a
? Whflfi dan# I nrhUdf m Malafl m
uL'aJu
? Thar* start aa item 1M1 lag tar
?ai yjudaf^lUhsebe, ta LM
of ?t?* I if Ml. ott pArtug. mrtws,
commercial art and 10 oa I lisrasf
ait."
Locklaar wafted with aijnaaariM'
ter colon In hi* youth and soidMsftrrt
paintings tn the seventh grade.
The wall with the Bibhcal acene, da
pictinc the birth and death of Chrtat,
Wu done with houae enamel paint
"I did that in about a weeh-and a
half.'' he said "I always work fart be
cause I get going on something and haap
at it until it's done.
"I wanted to do a subject on a wall
and I thought the rdWious scene wonid .
keep my mind in touch with God and re
mind me to be thankful for the things
that had happened to me.'*
0 ? ?
LOCKLEAR PAINTS all kinds of (ob
jects, always with the idea that aomnone
might buy them. Pete Rose baa aboot B
of Locklear's pieces in his restaurant
and Johnny Bench has some in his.
In addition, Locklear has donated
paintings to the governor and Bautmnt
governor and had one to hang in the
White House
When Gerald Ford was prsrtdmL I
had the opportunity to tour the White
House with Dr. Theodore C. Marrs
(special assistant to the president for
Special Affairs).
"It was something I really enjoyed
and to show my appreciation to Dr.
Mam, I painted a country scene and do
nated it to him. It hung in the White
House until Ford left and Dr. Mam has
it at one of his homes now."
Playing in Japan will open some other
doors for his work, both as a source to
draw from and as a market to sefl in. He
has already talked to some people about
doing prints of Japanese players, such as
Sadaharu Oh, the all-time house ran
king.
WWW
JUST AS Locklear's life would have
been different without baseball, so
would it have taken a different turn
without painting.
"Painting is my way of knowing that
I've accomplished something," he ex
plained "People waste a lot of time in
their lives. If I was married and had
kids, it might be different. But a single
person has to try and get the most be
can out of his life When you get bond, *
you tum to drugs or alcohol."
Locklear doesn't really consider him
self a professional artist, although be has
sold about 109 pieces for as much as
$1,500 But be wants to be able to make
a living as an artist when he finishes Ms
baseball career.
"I've given a lot erf paintings away to
non-profit organizations and things," be
said. "I figure the man wart I get oat,
the better-known 111 became."
Locklear has a studio In hi* bone, v
which he shares with his rootton. ftrdnt, it
she's the reason he doesn't spent the off
season in New York or California or
somewhere else he could have a stndto
and have his work widely seen.
"My mother sacrificed her time to do
the best she could for me," be said. "So
why can't I sacrifice some of my time
to keep her happy? She fives for my
coming home in the winter. I want to
show her respect while she's still living.
When she s gone, there's nothing I can
do for her."
? ? ?
THERE IS ONE more side to Gene
Locklear? his Lumber Indian heritage.
This troubles him
"I don't like my heritage became I
don't know what it is," he said. "It's all
mixed up, so how can I depict it in a
painting?
"Our people always tried to get out of
their heritage and raise themselves like
the white man. So all we know is what
we've learned from whites.
"I'd love to know if I'm fuB-biooded
or not. And I'd love to know what things
were like for our people 200 years ago.
Maybe it trould help explain my makeup
to me. But that's Just not the way It to
"I guess it's really not that important
I deal with now and tomorrow, not with
the past."
Locklear maintains a certain identity
with Jim Thorpe, the marvelous Indian
athlete in the early part of this century.
Thorpe, who became an alcoholic before
he died, was not appreciated by his peo
ple despite his accomplishments.
"I've been down part of that road my
self." Locklear said "I had a dream to .
do something with my life and I've done
it, despite people who tried to teD me
there was no way an Indian could do It
"I just did what God gme me the abil
ity to do. It took hard work, dedication
and self respect. I don't have the ability
that Jim Thorpe had. but at least I can
say that I tried ."
And Judging from his wort on canvas,
and to a lesser extent on the bee shell
field. Gene Locklear has succeeded.
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