"Life is a Story" February challenge post is inspired by Carol Williams and co-host Anna Banana Kruchten CRS, Phoenix Broker. This post adds another chapter to last May's contest challenge "Life is a Story" ~ Born to Sell.
T.W. FERGUSON
My passion to blog was an inherited trait from my Grandfather Thomas W. Ferguson who penned a number of books. "Home on the Yadkin" is the story of the origins of my Mother's side of the family in Wilkes County North Carolina. He also published "Spring Board to Optimism" and the story of Tom Dooley , who is buried on the farm in Ferguson, NC. The Kingston Trio made the story famous with their rendition of the folk song "Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley"
T.W. Ferguson was born in 1888 and lived to be 101 years old. My well founded interest in history came from the many fascinating stories he would tell.
When visiting Ferguson my Father, Earl Jr , and my Grandfather were on opposite ends of the political spectrum and would have heated debates. This was the origin of the political junkie in me. My Dad made sure our family visited our first cousins in North Carolina and his Sister's family in Maine on an annual basis. He instilled in us how important it is to have a tight family bond. In the 1960's & 70's he would load our family in a motor home and explore the USA. These trips that crisscrossed the states are memories I'll cherish forever.
By the time I finished high school 49 states visited were checked off. I attended "Prospect Hall" , a small Catholic school located in a large historic mansion built in 1787 . My high school years provided me a solid foundation for the future. The class of 1981 had 34 graduates and this past summer we celebrated our 40th reunion with 17 class mates in attendance.
After high school I attended High Point College. Now a University the campus does not resemble High Point College of 1981 which had a student body of 1,200. I visited High Point University in 2007 and was amazed at the transformation of the campus. My Wife said "There are more fountains than Rome!" My 8th grade daughter Jessica said "This is where I want to go to school!" ( Yes she ultimately did and graduated in 2016.)
While the University has grown tremendously the values of the College I attended remain the same. Nido Qubein the current President sums up the values instilled in this short You Tube clip.
I majored in History / Political Science and met many life long friends. The experiences at HPC taught me to live and work with many personalities and people from different backgrounds. This was the ideal place to prepare for my future in real estate sales.
At High Point College I would also meet a fellow classmate who would become my best friend and future Wife , Melissa Duncan. We never dated until after we both graduated in 1985. We were married in 1992 and for our honeymoon we went to Hawaii which coincidentally checked off my 50th state visited.
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