Not many people get to honeymoon in a house of such historic note, but this man did. And even in death, he continues to live on at the Hezekiah Alexander homesite on Charlotte's Shamrock Drive.
Thomas Ruben "Tom" James of Indian Trail died May 3, 2008, at Hospice House of Union County. He was 85 and a World War II Army infantry veteran.
Through friends, he corresponded with Rowena Millsaps, down from the mountains to work at Charlotte's old shell plant during the war. They wrote until his discharge, then he came home to meet his bride-to-be.
They married in 1946 and, since his parents lived there, Tom and Rowena spent their honeymoon in the historic Hezekiah Alexander home before it was restored to its current condition. Their union produced son Steve and daughter Sylvia.
"He lived in the Rock House, also known as the Hezekiah Alexander House, from February 1942 through October 1946," said Leslie Kesler, the home's historian and curator. "In interviews, he provided the museum with many useful details about what the Colonial-era house was like at the time of World War II. His voice can still be heard in a segment from those interviews that is featured in our exhibit, `Solving the Rock House Mysteries.'
"The assistance and the support of other James family members have been of great value to us, and we consider them part of the extended museum family," the curator said.
His after-school business
Even at an early age, Tom was self-sufficient; he had a nice little bike repair business that he ran after school. He would be a fixer-upper and restorer of old and broken things all his life. Other times, he ran James Plumbing Co. and raised Shetland ponies."He was a very outdoors kind of person," said daughter Sylvia Helms. "He always liked fixing things -- he rebuilt antique automobiles, tractors, anything with a motor. He was really good at that." The most unusual car he rebuilt was a 1950s Kaiser, plus many Renaults, his daughter said.
Son Steve learned the business from his dad and worked with him for 34 years. "I went on the payroll at 14," he said. "We were father and son, partners in work, hobbied together and vacationed together. I lived beside my mother and father for all but two years of my life and the longest I went without seeing him was 16 days in my 53 years."
Started his competitors
Tom not only took care of his own family, but his work family as well. "He put people on a path to own a business," Steve said. "He started a lot of his competitors. He always treated people good."
Tom taught his son how to take care of a family and be a good family man, Steve said.
Tom, one of 13 children, helped his siblings and parents, Sylvia said. "He was that kind of person... who took care of whatever needed doing."
And there was a lot that needed doing at his church, St. Luke United Methodist, where he was a charter member. He not only helped build the church, but helped care for it for 50 years.
"He built barns, garages, houses -- he was always building something," Steve said.
"He never forgot details," said friend Kay Stegall. "His son Steve (once told me), `I've never made a decision unless I run it past Pop.' "
"Daddy was a real special man," Steve said.
Indeed he was, Steve. Real special.
it's a matter
of life... Gerry
Hostetler
