KILGOROUND

"All three of mine were veterans," said Mrs. Ray Ford, "including my husband, both sons, Mike and Gary, served in the military as soon as they were old enough. Gary joined the National Guard and Mike was drafted soon afterwards.

"Two of the three arrived last week at the Veterans Day program provided by Maude Laird Middle School students and staff," she added.

"The program was excellent," said Ray Ford. "The bands performed and each veteran stood to give their name, branch of service and the number of years served. There were several other WWII veterans in attendance."

Ray was in the Signal Corps attached to the Fifth United States Air Force Unit. He married on Christmas Day in 1941, went in the service on Christmas Day in 1943, and was discharged on Christmas Day in 1945.

"Prior to Ray getting to come home, Mr. Devall, the owner of the Kilgore News Herald at the time, went in search of my father, Roy Camp, to inquire about Ray. My father was working at Kilgore Grain (currently Kilgore Feed)," said Mrs. Ford. "When Mr. Devall found out Ray was getting his discharge, he hired him. Ray had a job working the presses before his feet hit American soil."

Ray was a Linotype operator before joining the military. "I was fortunate to have a job when I came home," he said. "Many did not.

"We leased a lot for $15 in the Griffin addition off west North Street," said Mrs. Ford. "We bought the house for $400. It was a beautiful place to live at the time. And there was a grocery store sitting right in the middle of the street as you were entering the housing district. It was Cammack's Grocery and cars actually had to drive around it to get in their homes."

He stayed with News Herald until he began printing Christian literature for South Central Publishing Company. On June 7, 1959, he opened Ford Printing Company, where he continued his trade for 46 years until he made the decision to sell the company to the current owner, James Baker.

Their sons followed their father's footsteps with Mike becoming manager of the Kilgore College print shop and Gary becoming a writer for Southern Living magazine. Gary's 30th anniversary with the company was celebrated recently with a reception and he was presented with a beautifully bound scrapbook containing the many articles he has written over the years. On Nov. 28, Gary will retire from Southern Living and move to Lynette, Ala.

Sell-out was one thing for Mr. Ford, but to retire completely was quite another as every morning he still arrives at Baker Print Shop to set the machines to run for print jobs lined up for the day.

As far as Gary celebrating full retirement, we will have to wait and see. The word doesn't seem to be a part of the Fords' vocabulary.

And as the holidays approach, let us continue to honor the veterans serving our country and may we acknowledge the youth who recognized them on Veterans Day. Good job, Maude Laird Middle School.

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Blowing out the birthday candles today are Rick Jones, Brandy Patton, Betty Fowler, Kaye Watson, Barbara Young, Joe Johnson, Robert Garcia, Chris Mount, Irene Shepard, Joe Beall, Phyllis Nelson, Daniel Samford, Barbara Thurmand, James E. Ware, Nora Jo Fox, Anissa Tomlinson, Mark Gaudet, Jimmy Smith, Mark Killingsworth, Billy Clarke, David F. Hooker, Dianne Lyle