KILGOROUND
LINDA BALLARD

"If he lives to be 80, he wants a skating party, he told me. If you live to be 80 and I'm around, you're going to get it," she said. "So, he's getting it. And he even has knee pads and probably will need one to cover the rear end, but, he is getting his party," said Joyce Clark.

Joe Clark's actual birthday is Thursday and his party is planned for Saturday, from 4:30 -6:30 at Interskate of Kilgore. "Oh, I might need an ambulance on standby," he said. "But, I'm having a party."

Joe was born in a little community outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma and as a newborn babe, his parents loaded him, grandparents, aunts and uncles and other family members and came to Kilgore in 1931. Upon arrival, they opened a grocery store called Midway Grocery at Oil Center and later opened it at Laird Hill on Highway 42.

He attended school in an old wooden building in

Shell Camp near Ellerd Truck Lines. "One day, the teacher told us to pick up our desks and walk with her. We carried our desks across the road to a brand new school house - Elder School. It was the most exciting thing to be in a new school. A big slab of concrete had been poured for us to play on, and that is where I learned to skate," said Joe.

Needless to say, skating became a passion of Joe's as he grew up in the Kilgore area during the late 40's and 50's. He and a bunch of others would arrive at the local rink almost nightly to whirl away across the floor. Barbara Bass, Butch Pulcher, John Bennett, Bob Melton, Speedy Freeman, Benny Sherron, Jamie Johns and John and Bradley Blanton were just a few of his skating friends.

"I got banned from the skating rink one night. It was the worst thing that could have happened to me," he said. "A friend and I were cutting up on the floor and they blew the whistle for us to stop. Well, we didn't stop and he banned me for a week. We never hurt any kids cutting up as we could jump over them and do spins on the floor. I could skate, or so I thought. It was a lot of fun. Like some people enjoy flying or riding a motorcycle, to me getting on those skates was like riding on clouds…"

Joe and Joyce met at Bethel Baptist Church and married on her graduation night in 1955. "Getting married stopped the nightly visits to the skating rink," said Joe. "But, you could see me there every Sunday afternoon."

"I even tried ice skating one time while in Houston," said Joe. "I thought if I could roller skate, I could surely ice skate. I want you to know, I had on 100% wool pants as I stepped on those skates, and I mopped that ice rink well with those wool pants," he laughed.

Joe continued to work in the grocery stores for a while and then took on bread and milk routes. He went to work for Kilgore College where he retired after twenty four years. The couple raised two sons; one was killed in an automobile accident while in his early teens. The other one is owner of an answering service called American Communications. Neither son became as interested in skating as much as Joe.

Joe and Joyce will also be celebrating their 53rd anniversary this next week, so this party means much to them. "If the Lord is willing and the creeks don't rise," said Joe. "I'm putting on a pair of skates. I'm not saying I'm going far, but I will hang on to that bar around the rink for dear life until I feel secure enough to know I can skate again."

That's called spunk, and Joe, at the age of 80 still has plenty of it. If the Lord is willing, Joe, we will see you there.

Happy Birthday today to Donnie Furlow, Tom Watson, Christine Harden, LaShekia Kenney, Brandy Marie Hughes, Kathy Schlau, Bob Cargill, Jamie Kay Johns, Sherry Smith, Mrs. Odie O'Neal, Stanton Martin, Stephen J. Pattie, Cathy Hankins, Gary Hassell, Marion Harris, Stephanie Harris, Tiffney Hardt, Jean Avery, Jacki Beane.

Happy Anniversary today to Mr. and Mrs. Danny Patterson, Danny and Janice Males, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Geese, Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Laird, Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Crabb, Mitch and Jenna Lucas