I received a call one morning a few weeks back, from a reporter working for the Raleigh, NC, News and Observer. She wanted to feature John in an upcoming article, Life Stories. Of course, I was thrilled. I asked her why he was selected? She said he looked like the type of person they normally featured. I thought about it for a bit and did a little research. I checked out the reporter's previous articles to see how she writes. I have dealt with reporters for some time now during my stint on the Board of Education. I didn't want just anyone writing about John. I wanted someone who would do it right, and, after reading a few of her articles, I thought she passed muster.
She needed people to interview; family, friends, professional contacts, etc., so I made calls to a few folks, asking if they would mind talking with her.
After talking with several of them, she decided on her focus for the article. "It's really hard with people like John," she said, "they have so many interesting aspects in their lives. It is difficult with the limited space we have for the story to tell everything. I keep thinking one day I am going to write a book about all these people and then I will have more freedom in what I can write about them." Maybe she will.
So, to all John's friends and cohorts that agreed to be interviewed, I say, "Thanks". John would be really proud. I know I am.
As I ventured out this morning in the cold and still snow covered country to pick up a newspaper, my thoughts were of course on John. As I drove up to the local Bojangles to pick up a copy of the N&O, I happened to see someone standing there inside the window. It was an old friend. He pointed down at the newspaper box, smiled, made a fist and gave me a "thumbs up". Amazing how little things like that can mean so much. Thanks "Dear Friend"!
As I ventured out this morning in the cold and still snow covered country to pick up a newspaper, my thoughts were of course on John. As I drove up to the local Bojangles to pick up a copy of the N&O, I happened to see someone standing there inside the window. It was an old friend. He pointed down at the newspaper box, smiled, made a fist and gave me a "thumbs up". Amazing how little things like that can mean so much. Thanks "Dear Friend"!
PCQ
COURTESY OF PAT ADAMS
Adams
Tags: lifestyle
If you gave John Quincy Adams V a reason, he'd cook a pig. Sometimes a whole one to celebrate a graduation or other special event. Sometimes just pounds of bacon - pig candy, he called it - to feed the breakfast and lunch crowds on the annual multifamily beach trip.
More than just a cook of pork, Adams was an expert on it. A farmer, he supported colleagues in that profession, serving on the state and national pork councils. He worked to ensure the future of the state's agriculture, encouraging sustainable practices with an emphasis on local producers and products years before others saw the point of it.
Adams was a go-to guy for small farmers and national agricultural leaders, writing grants, providing advice, anticipating what needed to happen next to nurture food production from the ground up.
"He was very forward-thinking in seeing there was some transition that was going to happen in agriculture and that needed to happen," said Nancy Creamer, director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems at N.C. State University. "He was dedicated to helping producers make that transition and stay in business."
Adams was 61 when he died of cancer in November.
Long lineage
Adams came from generations of farmers, a vocational lineage that ends with him. His ancestors settled land in Beaufort that was granted to them by the British government more than 200 years ago.
Patricia Lee met Adams when they were students at N.C. State. He and his roommates were in the upstairs apartment; she and hers were looking for a television with good enough reception to pick up the State-UNC basketball game. Their neighbors above had one.
He was outgoing and tackled every challenge, said the woman who would become his wife.
"If you were picking teams for life, you'd pick him," she said.
She was quiet, more comfortable in the background. "I guess we fit together well," she said.
They married after graduation and by 1975 had started their own farm in Greene County.
Leader among men
John Adams quickly came to be regarded as a leader among the state's small farmers.
"He was the type of fellow that everyone would ask a question and he'd always give them guidance," said Bobby Ham, a sweet potato farmer Adams worked with. "He wouldn't tell them what to do. He'd give them guidance. He was just always wanting to help somebody."
Adams helped new, expanding and innovative producers write grants for their work. He mentored young farmers and their workers.
"John was the type of person when he got an idea, he just took that idea and went to work," said Deborah Johnson, CEO of the N.C. Pork Council, who served at the state and national level with Adams.
"He was candid about doing what was right. He might even take the other side of an issue to make sure we'd looked at every aspect of it. He wanted us to have all the information and wanted everyone to have a chance to have their input."
Fun with father
Even when Adams was having fun, farming was never far from his mind.
The Adamses' two daughters raised animals to show from the time they were in elementary school, including getting up in the night to check on them and going with their father to do other work on the farm.
Meredith Adams, now executive chef of her own restaurant, Eurasia Cafe in Mount Pleasant, S.C., credits that experience with helping her career.
"I probably wouldn't have what I have without the work ethic he taught me," she said.
Adams was also a fun dad, recalled younger daughter, Lauren, pulling them through rare Eastern North Carolina snow on a sled, towing them and friends down the Pamlico River in summer "making sure we were safe but making sure we were delighted. He was the most inspiring as far as fun goes."
Adams delighted friends with his food. The family took an annual two-week beach vacation with the same folks for three decades. Adams enjoyed the time doing his share of cooking and playing bocce.
And yes, there was the matter of his name, which brought its share of questions and teasing. While he could claim the sixth president as distant kin, the Fifth was named for an uncle.
1 comment:
WONDERFUL article!! It was written very well for the space she had to write!! I guess, little did she know, JQ was bigger than life!! So many stories to tell, so many smiles he shared with so many different people!! He was just a Prince of a Fellow!!
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