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- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 29 Mar 2006.
Dora Stokely obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 2 Aug 2013.
Just Plain Talk: August brings much deserved rest for some and rain on all
(c)2013 NPT PHOTO BY DAVID POPIEL
Solar-10 Vice President Tim Abramson, at right, congratulates Buford Messer for his more than 29 years service to the company and wishes him well during retirement.
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Buford finally retires
Buford Messer is just one of those fellows whom you can easily like, and I suspect fellow employees at Solar 10 have enjoyed sharing many working hours and shifts with him. But in late July he decided after almost 30 years there to retire. His boss, Tim Abramson, more like a close friend, hated to see him leave. When you reach 76, maybe it is time to go, yet Buford looks younger than his years and could easily squeeze out work weeks until he is 80. I’ve met him a few times over the decades and like him too.
Tim, who is a fellow Kiwanian, praised Buford’s skills no matter what the job he undertook, whether powder painting pressure vessels, or packing goods to ship overseas. Solar 10’s key product is a variety of pressure vessels for the air conditioning and refrigeration commercial market. However, it took its name from the era of manufacturing solar energy panels and components. Now, shipping to foreign markets is no easy task. Tim explains it requires careful labeling and boxing to pass export muster. Likewise, the powder painting to create a fused epoxy surface is a high-craft task that Buford made look easy. And he is not just a great worker but “an excellent employee and good church man,” said Tim.
This is what Tim, vice president of the Solar 10 Division, had to say in a letter posted so all employees could read and know: “Buford was hired at Solar-10 Division (of Refrigeration Research, Brighton, Michigan) on February 24, 1984. This Friday (July 26) will be Buford’s last day on the job. Never late, never complaining, never missing work unless an emergency. Buford has been an exemplary employee. Possessing great physical strength and stamina, Buford is also a very good manager. This was evidenced in the way he managed our paint department.
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 9 Aug 2013.
Just Plain Talk: A long way from Raven's Branch, a good life well-lived by Messers
A recent family photo of the Messers is helpful to know the family I’ve been talking about in early August. From left are Pam and Jimmy Messer; Tate and Jarod; Toye and Buford Messer; Randy and Margaret Messer, who are the parents of Tate and Jarod. Jimmy and Pam live not far from Tunney Moore and daughter, Mitzi; Randy and Margaret live off Highway 321 across from the Billy Hugh Sparks farm.
Author: David Popiel
Jimmy McNabb got the yellow school buses running on time and smoothly, as thousands of students went back to classes for the first full week last week in our hometown, and the next event that is welcome by so many is our county fair opening Sunday. Be sure to follow the Plain Talk coverage every edition this week
You will be glad to know that Dog Days end today, August 11, and I thought it was supposed to be a time of extreme heat and humidity instead of 60-degree mornings and mild afternoons. We have been talking with Buford and Toye Messer because he retired from Solar-10 in late July after about 29 years. Add his years at Wall Tube and he is over a half-century of work. Solar-10 Vice President Tim Abramson praised Buford Messer's service at the plant located off Highway 411. Buford did many tasks and later took on management responsibilities. As Tim said, "This was done in an unassuming way making sure everyone knew the correct labels, packaging requirements and special procedures. Buford will be sorely missed by all and we wish him well on his future travels. We will be expecting Buford's attendance always, at our annul Christmas luncheon."
Growing up in Raven's Branch
You may know some of the Messer family members. His daughter-in-law Pam (Click) Messer is principal of Centerview School. She is married to Jimmy Messer, who works in the giant warehouse for Walmart in Greene County. Oldest son Randy Messer is married to Margaret (Strange) Messer, a teacher at Parrottsville, and he works for Ball Corporation at Chestnut Hill. Randy and Margaret have two sons: Jarod, a student at ETSU, and Tate, who attends CCHS as a junior. Buford's wife, Toye, is already retired and worked 32 years at the cafeteria of Edgemont School until 2009. Principals during those decades were Dale Campbell, Ronnie Fezell, and Connie Ball.
I found out that, as a young man, Buford joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. He is the son of Robert and Esther (Rollins) Messer, one of seven children. But Buford is the only surviving child. Wanting to know more about the couple I drove over to Wallace Street off Hwy. 411 so that means Buford only had a half-mile to go to the plant. They've lived at 1731 Wallace Street since 1975 and more than 50 years in that neighborhood. Bob Large sold them his house and later they moved across the street into the Herb Turner home. That's when mortgage payments were $60 a month and you could buy a home for a few thousand dollars. Buford was born in Spring Creek, North Carolina, and then the family moved to Raven's Branch where Robert farmed and also worked at the sawmill and helped build the Enka plant at Lowland. By 1956, Buford joined Wall Tube & Metal where Herb Sane was his boss and some others you know included Gray Sparks and company president John Alt. By Nov. 1960 he married the former Toye Cagle, also of Raven's Branch and good friend to Beverly Leatherwood and Iva Lee Rathbone. Toye's parents were Ottie and May Cagle.
Buford was drafted into the Army that same month so Toye stayed at home with her parents. Buford also had many friends in the small community including Roscoe Rollins, Charles Rollins, Chuck Leatherwood, and Leonard Green just to name a few.
Joins Army in 1960
The Army sent Buford to Frankfurt, German, where he patrolled along the new Berlin Wall separating West and East Germany, occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union. Buford said at that time the "wall" was merely a wide plowed strip of land that extended for miles. It was an intense time to be in the military during the height of the cold war. Without incident, he returned to the US and home and back to Wall Tube but it closed in 1984, and many of you recall this so he visited Tim at Solar 10 and was hired. Some long-time co-workers there have been Willie Ivey, Danny and Earl Johnson, L.V. Talton, and Kenny Hurst, most still working at Solar 10. It shows that American-made products still compete in the world market.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, Owensboro Messenger Inquirer (KY), 29 Jan 2000.
Ottie Cagle obituary
- [S112] Census, 1940.
Name: Bueford Messer
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1940
Event Place: Joe, Township 13, Madison, North Carolina, United States
Gender: Male
Age: 2
Marital Status: Single
Race (Original): White
Race: White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original): Son
Relationship to Head of Household: Son
Birthplace: North Carolina
Birth Year (Estimated): 1938
Last Place of Residence:
District: 58-17
Family Number: 36
Sheet Number and Letter: 3A
Line Number: 37
Affiliate Publication Number: T627
Affiliate Film Number: 2939
Digital Folder Number: 005460250
Image Number: 00844
Household Gender Age Birthplace
Head Robert Messer M 39 Tennessee
Wife Ester Messer F 36 Tennessee
Son Lewis Messer M 18 Tennessee
Daughter Novella Messer F 16 Tennessee
Daughter Geneva Messer F 13 Tennessee
Son Elijah Messer M 9 North Carolina
Son Elisha Messer M 9 North Carolina
Son Bueford Messer M 2 North Carolina
Daughter Dora Messer F 1 North Carolina
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Name: Robert Messer
Titles and Terms:
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 05 May 1921
Event Place: Cocke, Tennessee, United States
Age:
Birth Year (Estimated):
Father's Name:
Father's Titles and Terms:
Mother's Name:
Mother's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Name: Hester Rollins
Spouse's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Age:
Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated):
Spouse's Father's Name:
Spouse's Father's Titles and Terms:
Spouse's Mother's Name:
Spouse's Mother's Titles and Terms:
Reference ID: 101
GS Film number: 1928646
Digital Folder Number: 004485961
Image Number: 00084
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Abt 1938 - (~ 86 years)
