u rider the sun
THE BRUNSWICICfefEACON D
THURSDAY. JANUARY 10. 1991 ! D
Shaw Hooes To Provide
?
County With New
Style Of Leadership
BY TERRY POPE
Today homes line Mt. Misery Road in
Donald Shaw's neighborhood in
Leland. Bui 29 years ago when he
and his wife, Sadie, settled there after mov
ing from Columbus County, his home was
only the third house on what people still
call Du Pont Road.
"I walked out to the road," Shaw recalls,
"and you couldn't see a light anywhere. It
was so dark. I mean dark."
What has happened in Shaw's neighbor
hood since then is typical of Brunswick
County. Growth. The county's Northwest
water treatment plant built in 1986 lies just a
few hundred yards away from his front yard.
"It's right over there," Shaw says, point
ing his finger south, "and I don't have coun
ty water. I'm just thankful that we've got
good water here."
Even with the growing population, it is
still a quiet community. Goshen Baptist
Church, where Donald and Sadie arc active
members, is only a half mile from their
home. A large white church nestled be
tween bent and ancient oaks covcrcd in
Spanish moss, it stands on the banks of
Hood Creek. The place has preserved its
Southern mystique.
In this community is where Donald Shaw
began his campaign in 1986. He didn't un
derstand how county commissioners could
call themselves leaders. Squabbles on the
board irritated him. When he questioned
one commissioner (whom Shaw refuses to
name) about the board's policies, he was
met with a challenge. The commissioner re
sponded, "Why don't you get up there and
try to do something!"
"I really felt it was ncccssary for me to
win the seat to try to help solve some of the
county's problems," Shaw says. Incumbcnt
Grace Bcaslcy whipped Shaw by more than
1,800 votes that fall. Shaw was attempting
to become the first Republican from Leland
elected to the board since the Civil War.
However, running for office also had its
price. Up until 1986 he had operated a tele
vision repair shop behind his home and also
worked rotating shifts at Federal
Papcrboard Company in Reigelwood, where
he has worked for 29 years. He had to close
the repair shop. Electronics had been a love
since childhood, but not after politics en
tered his life.
In 1974 Shaw built a 25-inch color televi
sion set from scrap parts, a set that still
plays today. In 11 months he finished a cor
respondence course from DcVric Institute in
Atlanta with a 96 average. An instructor
couldn't believe it. Nobody had ever com
pleted the course in 11 months. As a teenag
er, Shaw had set a goal of one day learning
to work on televisions. He found that it
wasn't as difficult a job as he thought it
would be.
"I've always been an electronics nut,"
Shaw said. "I feel the same way about poli
tics now. It's in my blood."
The 1986 loss stung, but Shaw remained
determined to try again, to win. For four
years, he never stopped shaking hands and
spreading the word that he would be back.
People remembered his face. At parades
and beauty pageants, they remembered the
slim jaw and the wide smile and the confi
dence in his voice whenever he talked about
the need for new leadership on the board of
commissioners. The board gave him plenty
of campaign material with its constant bick
ering.
Nov. 6, 1990, was perhaps the longest
day he can remember. Shaw had cam
paigned constantly since the first day of Til
ing in January. He wondered how many
people would remember him at the polls.
Running on the theme of, "Let's do away
with the good ole boy style of politics in
Brunswick County," Shaw raced past Ms.
Beasley this time by more than 800 votes.
While watching the election returns at the
government complex in Bolivia, Sadie held
close to Shaw. When it became obvious that
he had won, tears began pouring down her
face.
"All I could do was smile," Shaw said.
"It seemed like it was a very, very good
dream. We are still very happy about it. We
still talk about it. 1 hope four years from
now they'll vote for me again, that my
record will be just as good four years from
now."
The "we" that still talk about his upset
victory are his wife and son, Marvin Donald
Shaw III, 26, who works in bridge mainte
nance for the N.C. Department of
Transportation. Watching his father lose in
1986 really bothered him, Shaw said. Sadie,
who worked at Lincoln Primary School for
15 years before she accepted a job as regis
trar at Cape Fear Community College, took
AFTER ENTERING POLITICS Shaw gave up his television repair business, but he still enjoys tinkering with electron
ics at his shop in Inland.
stAff photos rr rttxr rort
DURING EIJECTION RETURNS in November, Donald and Sadie Shaw
watched as voters mandated a change in leadership, giving Shaw the District 5
commissioners seat over incumbent Grace Heaslev.
the loss in stride, seeing it as a challenge for
1990.
"Most people say she's the politician, not
Donald Shaw," he said. "She has a lot of
class, charm and political inclination. She
really does. She worked so hard."
When the smoke had settled, the county
had elected a new leader, a native of
Evergreen in Columbus County who grew
up on a farm and volunteered for two years
of service in the U.S. Army from 1958-60.
After serving 20 months in the armored
batallion in the state of Washington, Shaw
came back to Columbus County to help his
father crop tobacco all summer.
Every four days he would drive to
Federal Paper in Reiglewood and ask for a
job. It was about the only major employer
around; you either worked on a farm or for
Federal. He always got the same answer,
"Come back later, when we're hiring."
Finally, his persistence paid off. He was
allowed to take the test given to potential
employees. Prior military service was also
in his favor, but his scores revealed a tech
nical knowledge that company officials
drooled over. They could use a man like
Shaw.
Today, Shaw works in quality control,
keeping a check on the company's finished
product, rolls of paper. He is also a relief
water plant operator. Federal has its own
water plant used for the production of paper
products. It is a plant that operates similarly
to the Brunswick County water plant near
Shaw's home. The county's water system
employees know that, too. They often seek
his advice when complications arise at the
plant.
The "workaholic" in him makes Shaw al
ways willing to lend a hand. A leader, Shaw
says, is someone who takes action, foresees
the future and is willing to work and work
hard. This past Christmas, Shaw gave up his
time at home so a fellow employee with
smaller children could play Santa Claus.
Federal Paper never closes. The water sys
tem must operate constantly to avoid costly
damage from cold weather. It amounts to
around 70 days of overtime for Shaw each
year.
"A leader shouldn't ask someone to do
something that they are not willing to do,"
Shaw said. "A leader shouldn't feel that
they are too good to do anything. He should
set the example. You can get better results
that way."
Shaw figures he will continue to work at
Federal for 12 more years. He will take an
occasional summer vacation to spend a qui
et week in Gatlinburg, Tenn., in the Great
Smoky Mountains, to relax. In between will
be trips up Black River to fish for bream
and whatever else will bite.
"I want to work as long as I can," Shaw
said. "I don't have any intentions of slowing
down until I have to."
Shaw's mother still lives in Evergreen, on
the old homeplace. It was there that Shaw
came to know hard work, raising tobacco,
sweet potatoes, hogs and cows. He would
chop wood for the fireplace. Shaw would
come home from school and jump right on
his chores. It was just a way ot life.
"I was an old farm boy," Shaw recalls.
"When I got a job at Federal paper I appre
ciated it. Hard work never bothered me."
The former Sadie Williams, from
Chadbourn, has talked about a return to the
farm. She collects cows, not live ones, but
ceramic and stuffed cows for the home.
"She wants a milk cow so bad she can't
stand it," Shaw said, laughing. "I just don't
know about that. She's always wanted to go
back to the farm."
For now, the couple would just settle for
better government in Brunswick County.
'The majority of people in Brunswick
County are loving, nice, understanding peo
ple," Shaw said. "They just want to be
heard. They want to have input and they de
serve that."
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