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Jay Cooper 0:00
I'm Jake Cooper here with Ronnie Proctor. Today we're gonna be talking about his past and stuff like that. So kind of give me a little brief, I guess description of your childhood and growing up here in rural, North Carolina.

Ronnie Proctor 0:15
Well, I had got two brothers. And one, four years younger and one six years older. Grew up over where the Rocky Mountain was an airport is on 97, then moved closer to actually just down the road a few miles from Cooper school, on 58. And honestly, I remember working in tobacco, we pick some cotton because there's a field right on the side house we lived in. And when we got home from school, or early on weekends, he just had he has the bags was picked it in and just say go at it. Have a good time, we thought it was a good time we didn't care about the money. But the tobacco that was serious stuff, I remember putting in when I was young handing me and I went to trucking. And then went to prime and was was terrible. But I remember for one time, I went home at lunch and took a nap, which I found out later. That's that's not what you need to do in the heat. So I went back to the field after lunch probably went half a row and literally passed out. So I said, Well, kid, he'll take me home. No, he put me on the tractor inside the truck the rest of the day. No stuff like that. And we had I had, I don't remember we had few dogs, but my bicycle was my, I rode my bicycle just and of course back then, I didn't know where my mom didn't know where to work I was I just need I was on my bicycle, I would probably ride it way Oh, no the side or sandy cross which straight down the road, but it was, you know, as much as 8, 10 miles away and dependent on that to get from where I wanted to be. And when we lived on 97 At that time, even at kids, you could you could wave the Trailways bus down and go to Rocky Mount. And then jam is just take a hanger term, they would literally stop out there in the middle of nowhere. Take you on in wherever you want to go which was Rocky Mount out to the theater, spin at the theater and then coming back but has some good neighbors and we had just had a good childhood now remember every warning anytime it just if you needed some it would appeared Mom and Dad would come up with the resources to make it happen. And I remember Cooper's school because I went there first to be 11th and then I went we went to Southern Nash the first year opened in 69. And the school is there and and it's torn down. And this is a new school but when I was there it was a different school we've had from what grade one through 12. And I remember asbestos which we didn't know what it was but everywhere it was a pipe and you would see in that school down the halls, vertical and horizontal it'd be covered with this insulation which we found out later was full of something good not good point. But we didn't know and I guess we did know and like I said I didn't I don't remember ever wanting for anything. And I did will tell you one thing and I never lived in a house with indoor plumbing until Paul and I got married and moved into in 71 and moved to Rocky Mount into the mobile home park and we it was a really nice place to start your life out as a married couple but we didn't have indoor plumbing so if you don't if you don't know why that means you'd have to live there to know, we had we had a kid kitchen sink with running water. We didn't have a pump, but we did have running water through the kitchen sink but you took your baths and wash in your bedroom and And then you wash your hair and the kitchen sink and think about somebody your age when couldn't imagine that. That's the way it was. So you got used to the way it was and it still still now what it says to me, right man, I suppose that's about I'll remember.

Jay Cooper 5:23
So as you think, think about your life and life challenges that you or maybe a family or have had to face, who has a family members and friends who may have helped them navigate with challenges as family, friends and neighbors church or healthcare professionals?

Ronnie Proctor 5:38
Well, my mom was always there for them. Of course, the dad was to this, she worked and he was he was gone and she went home. I remember ironing clothes when I get home from school. I mean, that's something unheard of now. She was a certain day like on Monday, she washed and ironed watching her soap operas and iron and in the living room, and I had good friends, I had to remember that. It was a family. Last name was Vickers, when we lived on 97, I must haver lived there till I was about 11. And they were there was quite a few or maybe as many as seven or eight. And they lived in a house with no electricity or indoor plumbing. And they work hard. And your their daddy live in separate house and they would ring the bell, I mean, like a cow bell for him to come and eat and a day didn't carry on conversations with her mama would deal with a mama but not to Daddy was spoken to Yes or No sir. And that was it. They knew what they had to do. And they lived a rough life. And I started to do screams and I had and I mean it was brings tears to my eyes today. How they came in everyone one of them became really successful. And so you know, you can't blame it on how you were growing up is what you make of your slef so and we went to the doctor over in Elm city, which won't far from where we lived, we used to go there also to get your haircut my granddad was a preacher. Oh, my mom was a preacher, please chapel. He was a barber and a preacher. But I never knew him. He died before I was born. And my dad, his mom and dad were from Oak level, which outside of Nashville between Nashville and Sandy cross. And they were farmers. So that's about all I remember about that. But I we had aunts and uncles, they had aunts and uncles that live in Elm City. And then my grandma lived in Elm City. And she had a son, it was the same age as my brother. So we had an uncle that was basically the same age as we were. But she live in a hotel over in the city. And they used to have the movie theater right across the street and I would go spend. When I was younger before I started working in Nevada. I would go and spend the whole summer with her. And she would always she cook a cake once a week. And we would eat their cake all week but she was a good cook and she just had a little room probably no bigger than this to live in with a little kitchenette. But I had cousins I had double cousins which sisters married brothers. And so I got several double cousins and we just had good some was visiting and just doing whatever we want to do they they cut grass to make their money. So they had a rec center over in Elm city. So most of the day, they were cutting grass, I was on my own. I met people over the city and that was about a way the summers came about my grandmother was just such a good cook and she just took us and made she always had a puzzle going in her bedroom which was a living room and bedroom but she had a puzzle going all the time. And she would leave it and come back to it and leave and come back to it which I thought Think About It was pretty cool.

Jay Cooper 9:52
So as far as challenges, who would you say? You would know if you had a challenge? You know, who would you go to do you rely on the chair or, or maybe some friends,

Ronnie Proctor 10:02
Family members, because I went to church at people's chapel in a city right outside of the city. And he's going to Bible school. And I remember, not so much going to Sunday school on Sunday school. But the bible school I remember going out and doing crafts and stuff like that, but didn't have really much challenge. I don't remember a whole lot of challenging. I mean, it was what it was. And we got along, everybody got along and family got along, we always made it, especially at Christmas when dress, dress up and visit and just have a good time.

Jay Cooper 10:46
So how would you compare your upbringing, you know, with not many challenges to today, where it seems like everyone has challenges and every

Ronnie Proctor 10:54
It is, in today's. Paula, my wife, we try to help in everybody we can and we volunteered for high school band, we don't have any children, but for almost eight years we did which was I learned a lot and those kids learn more from them than they did me as kids chaperones and keeping them on true and narrow road when we would go on trips and didn't need to because the band director kept them. They kept him in I'll always remember going to football games and all he was really strict on the job found out why, first of all, whatever, 16 17, 18 year old kids and so but he did a beautiful job with and they were awarded the band was such a joy for be around all those kids.

Jay Cooper 11:57
So you know, being involved with kids, you say it's a good thing that kind of helped them grown up in a world nowadays seems like things so political, when they're taught that, you know, challenges are normal thing, and that almost always just complain about it. Do you kind of help them, you know, kind of sit? Or let them see a different point of view that you know, somebody that's got it worse than you have or anything?

Ronnie Proctor 12:22
Absolutely, absolutely. But we didn't think of it like that. Low stuff just like eaten in the cafeteria. cookers when I was one through 11 to me to be really good. You know, if people were talking about how bad was that it was really good. And it probably didn't cost a quarter if that at times, but it was good. And it would have something that I like I would get to two plates. And he and like the family did I was talking about the Baker's stay always take her to lunch because they didn't have the means to buy. And at times, they had saved my money I would try to treat them to to a lunch, a hot lunch. And that meant a lot to me.

Jay Cooper 13:19
Well, thank you that's a really good interview is anything you'd like to say to close it up or anything useful?

Ronnie Proctor 13:25
No, I appreciate you giving me the time. And so things are things are so much different now is maddening when that goes on in this world that we don't know about. And we're learning about political things and politicians that do terrible things to to the youth now. Not trying to better as they come up. Just everything about money. And status apply. There is just a lot of evil in the world that I didn't see. Back when I was growing up, didn't realize what was going on. And it was going on, even when I was a child because I'm 72 now so even way back then. We just didn't know about

Jay Cooper 14:21
Thank you.

Ronnie Proctor 14:21
You're welcome.