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‘Thursday, July 13, 1989
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——— A Tn ASE TEE
He Gets Involved
Ronnie Loves Flying, Photography And Helping People
By JIM HEFFNER
To paraphrase John F. Kennedy, "Ask not what
Kings Mountain can do for you, ask what you can do
for Kings Mountain." That could be Ronald J.
Hawkins' motto.
Called Ronnie by virtually everyone, the energetic,
cheerful Co-Manager and Vice-President of Harris
Funeral Home will probably be embarrassed by that
comparison, but is there anyone more involved in the
community?
Hawkins serves on the Board of Directors of the
Cleveland County Cancer Society, he's a Mason, he's
active in the Big Brother Program, he's Cadet
Commander to 15 cadets in the Civil Air Patrol as well
as a 1st Lieutenant who flies missions for the CAP, he
was a Jaycee, he drives the van for the youth program
at his church, First Presbyterian, where he has served
on the Board of Deacons in the past, and he is active in
the local chapter of Kiwanas, handling most of their
public relations.
Add to all that the fact that he won the Jaycees
Young Man of the Year award in 1982, and you begin
to wonder if Hawkins ought to have a spot reserved in
the Guinness Book of World Records.
Born and reared in Kings Mountain, Hawkins has
three passions: flying, photography and helping others,
especially young people.
"When I was in grade school and early high school,
he said, "my brother and I had a friend whose father
was a chemist at Lithium. We both became interested
in science and, at that time, I decided I wanted to be a
bio-chemist."
The chemist, Dimitri Pouchak, encouraged the
Hawkins brothers and before long they were experi-
menting with rocket propulsion and any number of
chemistry experiments.
"Not only that, but Dimitri taught me scuba diving,"
said Hawkins. !
But Ronnie Hawkins' principal interest turned to fly-
ing. Former Mayor Glee Bridges, according to
Hawkins, was a pilot who used to fool around at low
altitudes, spot a group of children at play and toss can-
dy and gum from his plane. Most of the kids chased
the goodies, but Hawkins attention was rivetted on the
airplane.
“] really got the bug," said Hawkins. "I knew
Tommy Bridges was a pilot so I went to see him. He
offered encouragement and urged me to get someone
to take me up. I got together with Worth Davidson and
he gave me a ride. As soon as the wheels cleared the
ground I was hooked. Now Worth and I own a Cessna
172 in partnership."
The flying and his penchant for helping youngsters
made the CAP a natural choice.
A while back, Hawkins and Tom Brooks got a call
from their CAP unit, the Shelby Composite Squadron,
to help search for a downed plane on Roan Mountain
near the Tennessee border.
"It had been snowing hard but the sun was bright
when we got there. That made the search a little tough.
When we came in from one direction, the glare pre-
vented us from seeing anything and when we ap-
proached from directly over the top of the mountain,
we had a problem with shadows. We knew we were
right on top of the downed aircraft because of the
emergency transmitter, so we just kept at it and, in
about thirty minutes, we spotted the wreckage. The
RONNIE HAWKINS
Relaxes For A Moment At Harris Funeral Home
plane had crashed into the trectops about fifty feet
from the peak. It took about an hour and a half to di-
rect the ground crew to the location. Unfortunately, the
three people aboard were killed."
More recently, Hawkins and two others flew the
pinpoint any damaged homes off the main roads that
might have been missed by the rescue people."
But all the flying isn't work. Hawkins gets a kick out
of taking people for plane rides who've never been be-
fore, young and old alike. "I get the same thrill they
do. It's just like the first time I flew with Worth
Davidson everytime I take somebody up who's never
had an opportunity to fly."
"Ollie Harris and Otis Falls have been
the two big influences in my life. Otis
was my Scoutmaster. He has been a
driving force in the lives of many
people in Kings Mountain."
Ronnie Hawkins
path of the tornadoes that hit in Cleveland and Lincoln
Counties, taking still photographs and making a video
tape of the devastation. "The stills were for the Raleigh
Emergency Operation Center as an aid to damage eval-
uation. We made the video for Cleveland County to
Not long ago he was in seventh heaven when he
took 27 adults and kids from the Cleveland County
Youth Assistance Program flying,
Besides the flying and community service, Hawkins
is an avid photographer. "I love photography," he said.
"I especially like developing black and white.
Unfortunately, I just don't have enough space for a
darkroom."
He uses his photographic skills in his work with the
Kiwanis, taking photos of youngsters who've won
Kiwanis awards. "Then I usually badger Gary Stewart
until he publishes them in the paper," said Hawkins.
Ronnie Hawkins journey to his present position in
his job and the community almost didn't happen. He
dropped out of high school in his senior year and
joined the U.S. Army, serving most of his time at Fort
Bragg, where he finished his schooling via the GED
route. After his discharge he went to work part-time at
the Kings Mountain Hospital. Most of the nurses took
an interest in him and pushed him to get back into
school.
"I'll never forget that wonderful group of nurses," he
said. "Eventually, at their urging, I entered Gaston
College and later Cleveland Tech."
Enter Ollie Harris.
"Ollie came to see me one day and offered me a job.
I went to work for him and, after about six months, de-
cided this; was what I wanted to do..I entered Gupton-
Jones in Atlanta and graduated a year later, then got
my license. I've been in this business for fifteen years.
I guess I'm here to stay. I owe a lot to Ollie. He and
Otis Falls have been the two big influences in my life.
Otis was my Scoutmaster. He has been a driving force
in the lives of many people in Kings Mountain. He
used to buy Scout uniforms for those who couldn't af-
ford them and he used to take us places where, other-
wise, some of us wouldn't have been able to go. Otis
even took a couple of kids under his wing, gave them
jobs and saw they had what they needed to become
productive citizens,"
Public service appears to be a way of life with the
Hawkins family. Wife Libby is a Sunday school teach-
er and a deacon, as well as Chairwoman of Property
and Grounds for the church. Hawkins' mother, Aloyse
Jones adopted one child, a daughter, and has been a
foster parent to 52 others.
The world is filled with takers and givers, in Kings
Mountain, Ronnie Hawkins falls into the latter catego-
ry.
Bud Medlin Won't Stop Helping People
Veteran Postal Clerk Retiring And Wil Spend His Time Witnessing For The Lord
Two weeks after throat surgery in 1986 Bud Medlin
was back at work at Kings Mountain Postoffice.
Instead of talking to his customers he wrote notes.
"The prayers of Kings Mountain people helped me
through that bout with cancer and I've tried to give
them something in return by helping them, not only at
work, but through church and community work," said
the popular postal clerk who has retired after 26 years
as a postal clerk and carrier.
One of Kings Mountain Postoffice's most popular
employees, Bud Medlin has made many friends over
the years. "I will really miss those friends but I want
them to know I appreciate them and if at any time they
need anything they know where to call me," he said.
Medlin, 60, took an early retirement and plans to de-
vote full time to being a Christian witness and to help
several churches in charity work.
Medlin believes that work is good therapy for most
everything that ails a person. "When I was diagnosed
with throat cancer and then had surgery I came back to
work two weeks following surgery on Jan. 4, 1986 but
I couldn't talk. I wrote then-Postmaster Fred Weaver a
note that I could work four hours a day for a while and
the note-writing went on when someone came to the
front desk to see me. I really found I had a lot of
friends,” he said of that experience.
Bud Medlin earns his reputation as a compassionate
man, not only from the postal patrons who come to
him to buy a stamp or money order, but from others he
has helped from all walks of life. He counts heavily on
prayer and faith.
"I always took time for people. When they couldn't
read or write, I tried to help them and I found that the
Postoffice was the best place to witness because I saw
so many people who came through the doors, "he said.
On Friday, his last day at work, Medlin received his
568th cap to add to his collection. Coincidentally, it
came from a fellow postal worker in Canada. Medlin
has also started collecting soft drink bottles. When his
friends go on trips they come back with caps or soft
drink bottles from far-away places and give to Bud.
Medlin has caps from all over the world.
Medlin has worked for three Postmasters. Charles
Alexander hired him in January 1963 as a city carrier
in City I and after a year he operated the parcel post
truck for four years and then became a clerk. He and
Postmaster Fred Weaver supervised the moving chores
from the old building to the new postoffice three years
ago. His current boss is Postmaster Mike Howard.
A Kings Mountain native, Medlin is the son of the
late Mr. and Mrs. Everette Medlin. A 1948 graduate of
Kings Mountain High School, he attended Gardner-
Webb College. A football official for 18 years with the
N. C. District Conference, he played semi-pro football
three years for Gastonia Volunteers. He served in the
U. S. Army during the Korean Conflict in 1952-53.
Before coming to Kings Mountain Postoffice, he
worked at U. S. Rubber Co. in Gastonia nine years.
Mrs. Medlin is the former Dorothy Cothran of
Gastonia. They have two children, Barbara Horne of
Greensboro and Cindy Gillespie of Gastonia.The
Medlin family includes two granddaughters, Lauren
Gillespie and Mary Lee Horne. He is active in First
Wesleyan Church.
Bud Medlin doesn't expect to be idle during retire-
ment. He plans to be busy doing the same thing he did
on-the-job, helping people.
Bud Medlin, left, congratulated by co-worker Quay Moss, Jim Anderson, Mike Loveless, right, look on at
Kings Mountain Post Office.
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