KILGOROUND
LINDA BALLARD

"The only thing bad about being where I am right now," said 92 year old Paul McClain, "is that I cannot tend to my business."

His business is that of being a barber, which since WWII has been his livelihood in Arkansas, Texas and California.

McClain was born on December 12, 1915 on a farm on the outskirts of Russellville, Arkansas. His father, James Doyal, was a farmer and a barber during the depression. He kept the barber shop open on Fridays and Saturdays to make it through the harshest of times.

"World War II had just started when I finished high school. I became part of the Arkansas Tech National Guard. We were shipped to Dutch Harbor, Alaska where we stayed for three and a half to four years," he said. "About the time I was getting ready for discharge, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Of course, that set us  back and we had to fight the war.

"After the war, I took up the barbering. As there was no work to be found in Arkansas, I went to California. I made several trips back and forth from Arkansas to California and it was in Arkansas that I met a girl. Her name was Almeda Winford and we got married. We stayed in Arkansas for awhile and then we moved to California. My father joined us there later. We worked in the Los Angeles area and lived in California over twenty years.

"We had one son," said Mc- Clain. "And he died when he was a toddler. I thought my life was over it, devastated me so, that is until my wife became sick later on and I lost her, too. I had gone off and fought the war and saw so much loss there, yet, it was in the states that I suffered the most…

"I moved to Texas to be near the closest relatives I had left. That was Eddy Holley and his mother. If my son had lived, he would have turned out like Eddy. His shop (Kilgore Feed Company) keeps him busy, too, but he is out here visiting me every chance he gets," he said.

"I am the only son he never had," said Holley. "He lived in Tyler until one day I got a call that he had fallen. We moved him into the Gregg Home for the Aged where I could watch out for him more closely. He's been in Kilgore for quite a few years, now."

Last month, the pair took off on a trip to Arkansas to see the old home site and the National Guard Armory where McClain first joined the military.

McClain is a baseball fan and a couple of weeks ago, the two loaded up and headed to Dallas to see a Ranger game. "How many people do you know of would gather up a 92-year-old to venture around the country?" Eddy asked. "We have a good time. The only thing I will not do with him at his age is get him on my motorcycle."

McClain looks healthy and carries on a good conversation. One can only hope they can do the same when they reach his age. It may have taken him awhile to get to us in Kilgore, but he is here at a place dedicated to caring for others and around the last of family members that love him.

"I served in the Army during WWII and the Lord brought me home in good health," said McClain. "The rest is whatever the Lord wants it to be - and that's my life story," he added.

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It's almost here - an evening of entertainment, fun, food and a silent auction sponsored by the Kilgore Community Crisis Center will be taking place on Saturday, June 14 from 6-11 p.m. Casino Night has become one of the major fundraisers for the center. Individual tickets as well as sponsorships are still available. For more information contact Eugene Davis at 903-984-3019.

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HAPPY birthday today to Vincent Lee Ramirez, Dianne Miller, Cynthia Sorrell Cole, Will Williams, Florence Waldman, Matthew Linn, Jay Day, Blake Hightower, Deonte B. Colbert, Wes Ronning, Katie Stalcup, Don Thrash, Bob Butler, Kelly Bentle, Mary Beth Briggs, William Linn, Cheryl Rowe, Stephanie Schrader, Meredith Long, Kamia Jackson

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HAPPY anniversary to Charles and Lisa Stafford, Eugene and Beverly Moore