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Tuesday
March 16, 2010 Since 1922 |
Happy Birthday, Mr. Barnett
By Jane Howard Lee
Contributor Published October 1, 2009 N.C. Barnett is turning 79.
That might not be big news to everybody, but to his family and friends it is a big deal and they want it known just how proud they are of the man.
He moves slower than he once did but his values, his work ethics and his love of family, church and community have not changed. He provides a shining example of what it takes to be a real man, his children say.
Barnett was the second of 12 children born to an East Texas Piney Woods farm couple, Moses and Victoria Barnett. As the oldest male, he had to grow up fast to help out. As a child he would get up early to milk cows, pick corn, peas and potatoes, then walk several miles to school with holes in his shoes. After school, he would walk the several miles home and then hurry to get the rest of the chores done.
From his parents, N.C. picked up a strong work ethic. From their family life, he learned the importance of family.
He completed 12 years of education while working the farm and hauling hay for pennies.
“For most young blacks at that time, education was viewed as a luxury, rather than a necessity,” said Barnett’s son Carl. “My father saw it differently.”
In 1949, when N.C. was 19, he discussed things with his father and decided that his brothers and sisters could manage the farm and he set off to make his own way.
He journeyed to Baytown and within a couple of days of his arrival here, found work at a sawmill in Cedar Bayou.
The work was hard, the hours long and the net pay was $20 per week.
In 1951, he married Tommie Land, the daughter of Thomas Land, who was the first black barber in Baytown, and sister of the great blues singer Buddy Ace.
N.C. landed a better job at Baytown’s Britton-Cravens Lumber Company, which bumped his pay up to $24 a week.
N.C. and Tommie spent their first wedding anniversary at Lilly Duke Hospital, where their first child was born.
Barnett’s education and work ethic paid off when he was promoted to shipping clerk at Britton-Cravens, which in 1953 was the highest position that a black could hold.
In 1954, he was selected to become a deacon at Mt. Olive Baptist Church – a position that he holds at the same church today.
N.C. and Tommie had five more children and the farm boy from the East Texas Piney Woods viewed all six as gifts from God.
In 1965, N.C. saw an opportunity to increase his pay, thus providing more for his family. He took a job with Champion Paper Company in Pasadena, working shift work, but kept working half-days at Britton-Cravens.
Working two jobs continued to be the norm until all the children had finished high school and
college. He only gave that up in the 1980s.
A quiet and calm man, known for his concern for others, N.C.’s family say he always saw his life as reflecting the parenting skills of his parents. He wanted to provide the same inspiration to his children and to others.
Today, N.C. Barnett is retired but still loves to work with wood and to help others. He also still finds time to return to the homestead farm and grow peas, corn, okra and watermelon.
Lest you think the life of this simple man does not touch your own, consider this:
Through his work with first the Cedar Bayou sawmill, then with Britton-Cravens, N.C. Barnett had a hand in the development and construction of every subdivision built in Baytown between 1949 and 1986.
Just think about that.
Jane Howard Lee is a reporter for The Baytown Sun.
Contributor Published October 1, 2009 N.C. Barnett is turning 79.
That might not be big news to everybody, but to his family and friends it is a big deal and they want it known just how proud they are of the man.
He moves slower than he once did but his values, his work ethics and his love of family, church and community have not changed. He provides a shining example of what it takes to be a real man, his children say.
Barnett was the second of 12 children born to an East Texas Piney Woods farm couple, Moses and Victoria Barnett. As the oldest male, he had to grow up fast to help out. As a child he would get up early to milk cows, pick corn, peas and potatoes, then walk several miles to school with holes in his shoes. After school, he would walk the several miles home and then hurry to get the rest of the chores done.
From his parents, N.C. picked up a strong work ethic. From their family life, he learned the importance of family.
He completed 12 years of education while working the farm and hauling hay for pennies.
“For most young blacks at that time, education was viewed as a luxury, rather than a necessity,” said Barnett’s son Carl. “My father saw it differently.”
In 1949, when N.C. was 19, he discussed things with his father and decided that his brothers and sisters could manage the farm and he set off to make his own way.
He journeyed to Baytown and within a couple of days of his arrival here, found work at a sawmill in Cedar Bayou.
The work was hard, the hours long and the net pay was $20 per week.
In 1951, he married Tommie Land, the daughter of Thomas Land, who was the first black barber in Baytown, and sister of the great blues singer Buddy Ace.
N.C. landed a better job at Baytown’s Britton-Cravens Lumber Company, which bumped his pay up to $24 a week.
N.C. and Tommie spent their first wedding anniversary at Lilly Duke Hospital, where their first child was born.
Barnett’s education and work ethic paid off when he was promoted to shipping clerk at Britton-Cravens, which in 1953 was the highest position that a black could hold.
In 1954, he was selected to become a deacon at Mt. Olive Baptist Church – a position that he holds at the same church today.
N.C. and Tommie had five more children and the farm boy from the East Texas Piney Woods viewed all six as gifts from God.
In 1965, N.C. saw an opportunity to increase his pay, thus providing more for his family. He took a job with Champion Paper Company in Pasadena, working shift work, but kept working half-days at Britton-Cravens.
Working two jobs continued to be the norm until all the children had finished high school and
college. He only gave that up in the 1980s.
A quiet and calm man, known for his concern for others, N.C.’s family say he always saw his life as reflecting the parenting skills of his parents. He wanted to provide the same inspiration to his children and to others.
Today, N.C. Barnett is retired but still loves to work with wood and to help others. He also still finds time to return to the homestead farm and grow peas, corn, okra and watermelon.
Lest you think the life of this simple man does not touch your own, consider this:
Through his work with first the Cedar Bayou sawmill, then with Britton-Cravens, N.C. Barnett had a hand in the development and construction of every subdivision built in Baytown between 1949 and 1986.
Just think about that.
Jane Howard Lee is a reporter for The Baytown Sun.