Where are they now? Fred Eargle

For this edition of “Where Are They Now?” we travel 275 miles northeast of Tryon to Fuquary-Varina, North Carolina, a small town near Raleigh. There we meet Fred Eargle and his wife, Glenna. Fred was the son of Curt Eargle who owned the old Home Ice Plant in Tryon below my old home site on highway 176. He left Tryon in 1948 to join the U.S. Navy. After retiring from the Navy, Fred attended North Carolina State University in Raleigh receiving a degree in Engineering. He later became a distinguished Professor of Engineering in the College of Engineering at N.C.S.U. Fred and Glenna have two daughters and two grandchildren.

Fred Eargle fondly remembers working for his father at the ice plant. He especially enjoyed making and selling ice cream at the plant on Sunday afternoons. He charged five cents for two large dips of the banana flavored homemade delicacy. Fred recalls that it was a favorite of Grover Whitmire’s older brother. Fred also remembers school dances in the old gym and the times he spent as a youth with my grandfather, Horace Porter. My grandfather was handicapped and restricted to a wheelchair. Fred remembers sitting on our front porch with Mr. Porter and watching him tie pieces of cord that he would sell to a mill to make rugs.

I salute Fred Eargle for his service to this country, and for his successful career at North Carolina State University. I would like to hear from people who remember Fred Eargle.

s.hefner@comcast.net.