1
PRESERVING OUR HISTORY: ROTARY CLUB OF GREENSBORO
ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION
INTERVIEWEE: WALKER RUCKER
INTERVIEWER: KATHELENE MCCARTY SMITH
DATE: March 20, 2008
[Begin Tape 1, Side A]
KS: This is March 20, 2008, my name is Kathelene Smith and I am interviewing Mr. Walker Rucker. Good afternoon Mr. Rucker, how are you today.
WR: I’m fine, thank you.
KS: Thank you very much for spending some time with me today. Please tell me when and where you were born.
WR: I was born in Greensboro in 1923, which makes me eighty-four years old.
KS: And it seemed when they were announcing you, you had about three or four names. So, what’s you complete name?
WR: Well, I rarely go by the first name which is John, and the rest of it is John Walker Fry Rucker. I’m named for my grandfather who I gave a bit of his history here and he was resident here in this house [Blandwood Mansion] and my mother was born here and was here until she was six years old, grew up here. But I rarely go by the first name John. Walker Fry Rucker is my nomenclature standard.
KS: Well, please tell me about your family and your home life growing up.
WR: Well, I’m just about like most of the citizens of this area. I attended public schools in Greensboro. I had a brief episode, a childhood career, as a page in the US Senate in Washington in about 1934 and ’35. Those were the days when the only thing that protected the Republicans was the game laws and it was open season year around. [Both laugh] Being a member of that party now, I know what they came from.
KS: So tell me about your home life growing up.
WR: Well, my father was a native of Columbia, South Carolina and he came into Greensboro as a cotton broker because of the location of the textile mills here. He 2
met my mother who was a seventh generation resident here and they had three children and I am the youngest and only survivor.
KS: So you had brothers and sisters.
WR: I had one brother and one sister who have been foregathered.
KS: And where did you go to high school when you growing up?
WR: Called Greensboro High. It’s now known as Grimsley. Incidentally, regarding this presentation here, the word – the name Grimsley comes from the first president of the combined Jefferson Standard Life.
KS: Really.
WR: George Grimsley. He came to Greensboro as a – originally as the school superintendent and from there he branched and started private enterprises and was president of one of the companies that merged with Jefferson and became the first president of the expanded Jefferson Standard. I went to Grimsley High School and was drafted in 1943.
KS: Now, did you go to college before you were drafted or were you drafted right out of college?
WR: I went one year to the University of South Carolina and as I say, I was drafted in 1943 and spent the war in the Army Air Corps lastly serving as a navigator. On being discharged in 1946, I went down to the University of North Carolina. Went down there and graduated in 1949. After that, I joined the family businesses.
KS: Now back when you were in the war in the Army Air Corps, were you ever in Europe? What part of Europe –
WR: No, I was very fortunate, I never got shot at and spent a little time in what was called Third Air Force and had a hundred hours in a B-17, but we were on orders to leave for England in March of 1943. Correction, March of 1945, and by then we had barely gotten our orders to go to Savannah, Georgia, and the war over there was called to a halt. They didn’t need these – our plane was obsolete there. I had had a hundred hours with a crew, what they call combat crew training and our crew was broken up and I was sent to a place called Avon Park, Florida, where I checked out on what you called the “Flying Dutchman.” The B-17s carried a small lifeboat under the bottom and it was to be dropped when they invaded Japan for any troops that had had the transport shot out from under them. So, I got as far as the west coast on that and Mr. Truman got us all out of that. But that’s my military story.
KS: So then you came back and finished college. What was your favorite subject?3
WR: I guess history, I don’t know if that shows.
KS: So, you graduated and when did you meet you wife? Did you meet her in college or afterwards?
WR: We were married in 1955, I’d met her two years earlier. Did you meet her?
KS: No, I haven’t met her.
WR: She has left now, but she was here. And we had three children. I lost my – our oldest boy through an automobile accident.
KS: Oh, I’m sorry.
WR: But I still have a daughter who was here with my wife and the youngest, my son, who is out of town at the time.
KS: Well, so you have a military family. I understand that you are a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. I’m a DAR member myself, so I know exactly what that is.
WR: Oh really? I didn’t know that Bill [Bill Moore] had put that – I didn’t put that in my script, he did.
KM: That’s wonderful; I don’t think I’ve ever met a Son of the Cincinnati, so I’m thrilled about it, being a DAR member myself.
WR: Well, my particular ancestor was Thomas Jefferson’s uncle. His name was Colonel Charles Lewis and he was – that’s the one that I mentioned my grandfather was a first cousin of, and it’s through the Lewis family. Thomas Jefferson’s mother was Martha Randolph. Her sister, Mary Randolph, had married Colonel Charles Lewis who was my fifth great grandfather. I’d just as soon stay away from that because that doesn’t help me sell my company at all. [Both laugh]
KS: So, after you graduated college, what did you do then?
WR: Our family business is commercial storage and trucking transportation.
KS: And you did that right out of college.
WR: Yes m’am.
KS: And so you went in because of your family.4
WR: Right and my son now runs the operation and does a much better job than I ever did.
KS: Well, I don’t believe that. So you’ve lived in Greensboro all your life. Have you been involved in politics?
WR: No m’am.
KS: Tell me something about your civic involvement in Greensboro.
WR: Well, I believe he [Bill Moore] recited the usual things: Rotary Club president, Silver Beaver Boy Scout, and the usual things that go with providing community involvement. I am proud of having served as president of the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina and also Evergreens Retirement Home here which has two facilities; one in High Point and one here in Greensboro and they were both built when I was president through a bond issue. That’s the nearest to politics I got, pressing for that. And he mentioned, I served as president of the Greensboro Historical Museum.
KS: Since you’ve lived in Greensboro, what events have happened that stand out in your mind, such as the 1960s sit-in, the ‘79 Nazi-Klan shootout. Any events stand out particularly in your mind?
WR: Well, in those things I was, I guess you’d call it an interested bystander, but I was not heavily involved in anything. It did not impact me in any particular way. The Nazi-Klan shootout took place fairly close to where some of business facilities were in East Greensboro. I mean, that was nearest that I could have said I had any involvement in that but, it was an unfortunate business. I think it was Moses that said, “A plague on both your houses.” And that’s what I would have said to the Klan and the Communists.
One of my favorite hobbies – my wife and I are extensive travelers. I imagine we’ve been to Europe about forty times, and four times to China and five times to Russia, and we’ve been to Nepal. As a matter of fact, I adopted a man in Nepal and he was here earlier helping us. He came over twenty years ago and started with a green card and now he’s a full-fledged citizen. He brought his wife over and they’re both citizens and he lives here in Greensboro. But that’s a byproduct of my travels.
KS: Well, that’s exciting. Do you have any connections with local colleges or universities?
WR: Other than an alumni, I guess that’s about it. I’m a Chapel Hill alumni. I enjoy the senior courses that UNCG has and two of the professors were here today; one a French professor and the other one a History professor.5
KS: Now, how has Greensboro changed through the years?
WR: Well, the basic industries have just gone, unfortunately. Textiles, which my family was involved in through cotton merchandising and storage; it’s gone to China. Furniture, which I had indirect connections with. My wife had – that’s now in Indonesia and tobacco, we all know what’s happened there though I was never a smoker. So, we’ve seen the basic industries just fade completely. And I gather we’re – I guess we’ll shoot for a white collar town now because they talk about the economy’s so bad and yet every time I go out the restaurants are filled and I don’t know, it must be affecting other people than our people but those that lost their jobs, I gather, are the older generation and beyond retraining. I don’t know. But the city, we’re almost a quarter of a million people now which was the population of Florence, Italy, when the Renaissance was in full bloom. There’s an awful lot of growth around it so apparently, we can keep people employed. But it’s an entirely different basis of employment than it used to be. It used to be large manufacturing facilities, textile mills, now apparently it’s more shop trade, I guess.
KS: So as you see it, what are some the issues facing Greensboro such as population growth, economic growth, leadership, race relations, water shortages?
WR: Well, I would say all of those are apparent. What the answers to them are, I don’t know. The tax situation is somewhat disturbing because they’re going to have to raise taxes to pay for what we actually need now and must do. I think this war in Iraq, of course, has been a tremendous mistake. Everybody admits that. When we went into this war, Bush was saying something about, he would pay for the war with the Iraq oil and now I hear the number trillion every now and then. It’s unfortunate that couldn’t be devoted to health, into structural repair, etcetera. I don’t know. Apparently, the price of gasoline has not affected the driving as yet because everywhere I go we run into – you go to Charlotte, you go to Raleigh, and to some extent around here and these bottlenecks and yet the counties – the roads serving the county is paved over with asphalt.
I would like to see the redevelopment of the rapid transit rail. Now whether that will happen or not, I don’t know. This North Carolina Railroad, when we recovered our property, we picked up the right of way from the coast to Charlotte and I believe they could be doing much with that. I don’t know whether they will or not. Charlotte is already working on something and the research triangle has a light rail around it, but I think that’s got to be expanded greatly if gasoline is going to continue to cost what it does. I read where the ridership is going up on the rail facilities between Charlotte and Raleigh which passes through here, which is a good sign. I don’t know what is going to happen with the free trade business, it has certainly impacted this area here, and to what extent, I don’t know.
KS: So what do you see the future for Greensboro being?6
WR: Well, I would say that the best thing to do is – apparently we’re in the process of trying to reeducate our workforce so that they are capable of – capable of more skills than used to be called for. The jobs that are here. When I have a problem on the telephone, I talk to the operator and often it’s either India or the Philippines. Those are jobs that we would normally handle here. And they handle them very politely and are very capable but that creates our unemployment problem. I don’t know what the answer is.
KS: Now today in your speech you were talking about your new corporation and the issues that y’all have had with the stock. Can you explain a little about that?
WR: Well, this corporation, Fabius Corporation, is designed to represent the private shareholders versus management. Management has gotten completely out of control. Management has gotten completely out of control and are walking off with the private shareholders’ assets with impunity and this would – if this company is able to be – sell the public, we will be able to represent – to see that more control of the corporation is returned to the true owners, the stockholders, stock owners. But, it’s – that’s along way from being realized.
KS: So you’re spearheading this yourself.
WR: M’am?
KS: You’re spearheading this movement yourself.
WR: Yes, yes. My company is.
KS: So tell me about – when did you join the Rotary Club of Greensboro?
WR: I am now the second man – the man with the second oldest tenure in the Greensboro Rotary Club. I served as president, oh about twenty-five years ago. I’ve always been involved in its activities. But, the Rotary Club was founded in my father’s office in Greensboro in 1917 and we have been represented in the Club ever since. But, I have the second oldest tenure as a member. I think I joined about 1950.
KS: That’s something. Well, is there anything that we have – I’m about at the end of our general questions. Is there anything that we haven’t talked about that you would like to discuss?
WR: Not particularly. [Both laugh] I cannot think of anything. I’ve raised the issues that I think need to be addressed though I don’t have the answers to them. Tell me this, what – this has to do with the bicentennial? 7
KS: No, it’s an oral history project that is the combined efforts of the Rotary Club and the UNCG Archives.
WR: I see, well, I take many courses out there as a senior citizen. Two of my professors were here, a Dr. Ruzicka and then another one who taught the French class. I’d forgotten the connection with the Rotary. I – there’s an interesting story about how the Club was formed in my father’s office. It had nothing to do with – with him personally. It was downtown; right in the middle of the downtown Greensboro section and on the first floor was the local saloon. So, the man that formed the club, Mr. Paul Schenck, figured he could get twelve stalwarts from downstairs to take care of it so they met in my father’s office in 1917 and organized the Club up there.
KS: That is a wonderful story.
WR: Mr. Schenck asked my father if he would be the first program chairman. My father said, “What are the requirements? And Mr. Schenck said, “Well, just a topic of interest to any of the membership, but you may not deal with personalities, politics, or religion.” My father said, “I don’t want that job, I couldn’t keep their interest for twenty minutes without discussing one or the other.” So he declined being program chairman. We’ve had, let’s see, I think we are about the eighty-fifth anniversary of the Club.
KS: That’s wonderful. That’s wonderful. Have you been a member of a local church since you’ve been here?
WR: Oh yes, I’m a member of the First Presbyterian Church, about seven generations.
KS: That’s incredible. I know it is a very strong church.
WR: The first church was – the grounds were given by, it’s now the Greensboro Museum, was given by Robert Lindsay. I’m now on that cemetery committee and they’re having a sunrise service this weekend in the cemetery right behind what was the church. It’s now the Greensboro Historical Museum. You talked to Mr. Moore about that.
KS: Now, does that cemetery date back to the beginning of the founding of the church?
WR: Yes. Let’s see, there’s a much older Presbyterian Church here called Buffalo Church that David Caldwell, a Greensboro patriot, was the minister of. And that’s out off of South Church – North Church Street, but this was the first church in Greensboro and I think it was the original church. Most of the people here were Scotch or Scotch Irish. There were a number of Germans that came into the community. The county was organized, I think, about 1745, and the first – the first county courthouse was at Robert Lindsay senior’s – he had a tavern and they 8
had the county meeting there until about 1773 and then moved it to Guilford Courthouse to be nearer the center of the county after the county was formed, but that’s way back in those days.
KS: Well, is there anything else you’d like to discuss?
WR: I would like to close with a tribute to “our town” on its Bicentennial.
“Let not our town be large, remembering
That little Athens was the Muse’s home,
That Oxford rules the heart of London still,
That Florence gave the Renaissance to Rome
Record it for the grandson of your son –
A city is not builded in a day:
Our little town cannot complete her soul
Till countless generations pass away.”
Nicholas Vachel Lindsay
[From “On the Building of Springfield”]
KS: Thank you so very much for participating in the oral history project. Thank you.
[End of interview]
[End of Tape 1, Side A]
