Synopsis of Lives of Sons and Daughters
Ashby Bond Randolph
Bond graduated from Bristol High School in May 1944. He had begun his freshman year at Salem College before his 18th birthday, so he got a deferment from military service until he completed that year of college.
Bond was drafted into the U.S. Army in July of 1945, and he married Ruby Oldaker on December 24, 1945, on his first leave from the service. He was sent overseas to Germany; then returned and was discharged in January of 1947. Ruby continued her previous employment at the Weston Glass Plant until April of 1947, when Bond obtained his first job.
Bond’s first job was as a truck driver on a strip mining coal operation in Weston at $1 an hour; he then became oiler on a shovel for the same company at $1.20 an hour. He became a bulldozer operator in August of 1949 and earned $1.70 an hour. By this time, they had three sons and Bond’s work was not always steady; but Ruby did not work outside the home.
In August of 1950 Ruby asked Bond to return to college on the GI Bill so they could have a better future for their family. He did return to college and graduated from Salem College on May 29, 1952.
With a college degree he found work as a janitor for the Hope Natural Gas Company at $7.49 per day. He did not enjoy this inside work and quit the company in March of 1953. He sold hospital insurance for a company for about three -months, and one policy he sold was to the son of a superintendent for the Hope Natural Gas Company. The superintendent was so impressed with Bond that he offered him a position with the company again as a field worker. Bond accepted and he worked as a casual laborer for the company until December 1954, when he was hired as a regular employee. He was promoted to Utility A classification in April of 1957 and chosen as a Trainee in Safety on May 1, 1958.
Bond became a Safety Engineer November 1, 1958, and was promoted to Safety Director for the company on July 1, 1960. From this time his work was in the administrative offices in Clarksburg, W.Va. The company merged with another company and became known a s Consolidated Gas Supply Corporation; and Bond was named Manager of Safety on March 1, 1965, the position he still holds today. The company recently reorganized and is now known as Consolidated Gas Transmission Corporation.
Bond and Ruby have four sons. Because he has always worked long hours and frequently been away from home, he did not want Ruby to work outside the home. She has been a life-long homemaker, a position she has always enjoyed. She likes to call herself a “Domestic Engineer.” She has done quite a bit of volunteer work; at one time she worked one day per week as a volunteer at the local Veterans Administration Hospital for a period of five years.
Xenia Lee Randolph Wheeler
Xenia Lee graduated from Bristol High School in 1945. She and Edgar were married that summer. Edgar graduated from Salem College in 1947. They, with their new daughter, Annita Marie, spent the summer in Florida working with Pastor Elizabeth Randolph holding two-week Bible Schools and evangelistic meetings in Palatka, Carraway, and Florahome, Florida. That fall the family moved to Plainfield, N.J., where Edgar got his college debts paid off by working as linotype operator at the Seventh Day Baptist Publishing House.
In April of 1948 Edgar began his first full-time pastorate at the Seventh Day Baptist Church in Hammond, La., while he attended seminary at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Edgar has served churches in Louisiana; Athens and Paint Rock, Alabama; DeRuyter, New York; Salemville, Pa.; Ashaway, R.I.; Denver, Col.; and Nortonville, Kans.
Xenia Lee enjoyed being homemaker, wife, mother, and grandmother, supplementing Edgar’s income at home as she typed, sewed, or babysat.
Alois Edmund Randolph
Alois graduated from Bristol High School in 1947. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, 1951-1953. He was in the 4th Signal Battalion of the 10th Corps and served in Korea.
After his discharge from the Army, Louie attended Salem College three years. Then he went to Columbus, Ohio, where he worked first at Lattimer-Stevens (a factory -making gauges) and then at Buckeye Steel. Then he worked at Westinghouse for 14 years, 12 of those as foreman. While he was still working at Westinghouse, he worked during vacations and other times driving truck and moving furniture. Since he quit at Westinghouse, he has been driving trucks and doing some office work for Harvey Pugh Trucking Company.
Louie married Mary Ann Young soon after he went to Columbus, and they have lived in that area since then. They lived two years in Columbus, four years in Shadeville, and for the past 23 years in Grove City. They have two daughters and three sons.
Elsie Mae Randolph Lewis Bottoms
Mae graduated from Bristol High School in 1948 and from Salem College with a degree in Secretarial Education in May 1951. That spring she married Harry Vernon Lewis, who was a freshman at Salem. Harry had spent four years in the Navy in World War II and had driven truck across country for one year before he came to college.
After Mae graduated, she and Harry moved to Carbondale, Illinois. Harry graduated from Southern Illinois University with a Bachelors in Elementary Education and a Masters in Education Administration. While he was in school, Mae worked a year as secretary in the Government Department at SIU. Harry taught junior high at Edwardsville, was principal and taught eighth grade at Percy, was principal of the Greenup Elementary School for four years, and then was principal of Cumberland High School one year when he died suddenly in April 1961.
After Harry died, Mae completed a Masters degree in Business Education at Southern Illinois University. She taught for two years at Johnston City High School in Illinois. In 1965 she moved to Almond, N.Y., and has taught in the Executive Secretarial Department at SUNY Agricultural and Technical College at Alfred for the past 19 years. For five years she was chairperson of the Executive Secretarial Dept., from 1974-1979.
In 1979, Mae married George Daniel Bottoms. He had just retired from a career in park work in the Chicago area. He had been superintendent of engineering for the DuPage County Forest Preserve. As such, he had done much work in the development of park grounds and facilities.
George and Mae bought a home with 4 1/2 acres at Phillips Creek, N.Y. (about six miles from Alfred). Here George has spent many hours growing beautiful flowers and marvelous vegetables, making improvements in their home and grounds, and fishing.
Edna Ruth Randolph Richards
Edna Ruth graduated from Bristol High School in 1950 and attended Salem College for two years. At the end of her sophomore year, she married Donald Richards, who graduated from Salem that year. He was in ministerial training, and they moved to Alfred, N.Y., where he attended Alfred Univ. School of Theology and graduated in 1955.
Don (with Edna Ruth as a helpmate) has served pastorates in Berea, W.Va.; Dodge Center, Minn.; Verona, N.Y.; and Marlboro, N.J. While they were in Verona, Edna Ruth cared for two mentally handicapped children who were placed by the State–Tina and Kathy. They had to leave these children when they left New York State, but Edna Ruth did not leave her interest in helping children with special needs.
Soon after they moved to New Jersey, Edna Ruth began working at Evanoff Guidance Center, where she worked with retarded children in preschool. She completed her degree in special education at Glassboro State College in 1976. Soon after completing her degree, she began working for the Shiloh School District, teaching special educa
tion for older children. She also was certified as a family trainer and worked with the families as well as the children. About Christmas time, 1978, when she went to the hospital for gallbladder surgery, she found that she had cancer in the liver. After trying various treatments unsuccessfully, Edna Ruth died at her home on January 2, 1980.
Rex Main Randolph
Rex graduated from Bristol High School in 1952. He attended Salem College one semester; then he married a neighbor girl, Phyllis McClain, the following spring. They have lived within a mile of both his and her parents most of the time since their marriage. In 1959 Rex built a new home on property between the McClains and Dad and Mom Randolph. Phyllis cared for her parents during their last years when they were not well. Both she and Rex have also done much to look after the needs of Mom and Dad Randolph over the years.
Rex has worked at several jobs in the Clarksburg area. He worked for Montana Lumber Company (making pallets) for one year. In 1954 he began work at Pittsburgh Plate. He worked in the tank department in shipping for three years, as a clerk for two years, and then in the machine shop. Pittsburgh Plate changed its name to TPG Industries and closed its Clarksburg branch in 1974. Rex was offered the opportunity to move with the company, but he declined. After 20 years with the company, Rex had lost all benefits and was out of work.
Since that time, Rex has worked as layout man for General Machines in Clarksburg. Phyllis has worked at various times caring for sick people in their homes.
Rex and Phyllis are both active in the Lost Creek Seventh Day Baptist Church, where Rex is a Deacon.
Cleo Elizabeth Randolph Boyd
Beth graduated from Bristol High School in 1956. She attended Salem College for two years. The following summer was spent in service to the S.D.B. Women’s Board, working in Bible Schools and camps. On Aug. 4, 1958, she married Joe Boyd, and they set up housekeeping in Salemville, Pa.
Joe drove tractor trailer truck for a little while and then went to help his dad on the farm. When his dad quit farming, he went back to driving truck. A back injury caused a change in occupation again. This time he went to work as custodian at a local grade school.
During this time Beth came to the conclusion it was time she get into the money-making act if they were to successfully raise four children. Since her children were top priority in her life, she decided to get into the school system as teacher aide. From there, she began taking college courses and substituting in the grade schools.
Finally, in 1973 she went back to Salem College and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She has been teaching in the Northern Bedford County Schools ever since, except for a year and a half, which was spent with their new baby and caring for her while her hip was being rebuilt.
Joe tired of being a custodian in just a few years and went back to driving an 18-wheeler. He has worked for Smith Trucking in Roaring Spring now since 1972.
Beth and Joe are both members of the diaconate of the Bell Seventh Day Baptist Church at Salemville, Pennsylvania.