Robert Shipley Inducted Into WNC Agricultural Hall Of Fame By Sherrie Norris Robert G. Shipley was one of two men inducted into the Western North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame for 2006 at Wednesday’s recognition ceremony at the Mountain Horticulture Crops Research & Extension Center in Fletcher. A group of family, friends and well-wishers from Boone joined him for the special occasion. Robert G. Shipley was one of two men inducted into the Western North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame for 2006 at Wednesday’s recognition ceremony at the Mountain Horticulture Crops Research & Extension Center in Fletcher. File photo by Marie Freeman According to Linda Lamp of WNC Communities, the event, marking the 15th year of introductions into the Hall of Fame, was designed “to recognize the stewards of our Western North Carolina agribusiness sector and honors the visionaries and leaders of the agriculture industry.” She adds, “At a time when Western North Carolina is seeking new methods of sustainability, WNC Communities is proud to recognize those who have made significant contributions to one of our state’s most important sources of revenue.” No doubt in the minds of Watauga County residents, no one is more deserving of this award than our own Mr. Shipley. During the presentation, Shipley was described as having impacted many youth in Watauga County, NC and Augusta County, VA by teaching vocational agriculture for over thirty-seven years. During that time, he briefly switched careers to serve in the Army Air Corps during WWII from 1940 to 1943 and to serve as an Agricultural Extension Agent from 1940 to 1943. Mr. Shipley has served on the Watauga Farm Bureau Board, Watauga Hereford Association President, NC Tobacco Grower’s Board, Burley Tobacco Stabilization Board and the Farm Service Agency County just to name a few. He retired in 1977 to farm full-time.” Those who know him best, and that would be nearly every young man who learned under his instruction and followed in his footsteps as today’s farmers, and those who have been by his side through his years of teaching and public service, can attest to his valuable contributions to Watauga County, and know “the rest of the story.” In her nomination of Shipley for this award, Sue Counts, County Extension Director, who was joined by other community leaders in making this possible, had this to say, “Mr. Shipley has given over 70 years to the agriculture community in Watauga County, western North Carolina, the state of North Carolina and the burley tobacco region. He is an innovative leader of the agriculture community and at the age of almost 94, is still an active farmer and involved in many farm related organizations. He continues to serve his community, county, state, region, and nation and has dedicated his life to being a good citizen, an example for others to follow, a steward of the land, and with a personal commitment to agriculture and the farmers of Watauga County, North Carolina and the region.” Shipley was born in Valle Crucis on June 23, 1912 and at the age of ten moved with his family to southwest Virginia. He received his BS degree from Virginia Tech and his MS degree from Ohio State University and worked as an Agriculture Extension Agent in Grayson County, Virginia. He returned “home” to teach vocational agriculture and soon became synonymous with agriculture in Watauga County as a highly influential instructor. Many of today’s local farmers credit Shipley for their success. Several of his students followed his lead, with two of his better known success stories including J. Kenneth Perry, a previous WNC Agricultural Hall of Fame inductee, and Dr. Blake Brown, Extension Economist at NCSU and resident of Boone. He also designed the agricultural building behind the old Cove Creek School, where many got their start. Local historians know that Shipley and his father were always “the innovative farmers.” The senior Shipley brought the first purebred Hereford bull to North Carolina in 1898. Robert Shipley is past vice-president of the NC Hereford Breeders’ Association, and past president of the Watauga Hereford Association (the first such association in the state). Mr. Shipley raised sheep and is a past president of the NC Sheep Breeders’ Association. He remembers traveling to Madison, Wisconsin to purchase a Suffolk ram to improve his flock of purebred sheep. In an earlier interview, Shipley described raising sheep as one of his favorite sidelines. He taught sheep-shearing in the county schools through 4-H clubs and under his leadership, three students won national sheep-shearing contests. Shipley has been a Grange member for many years and helped launch the local chapter of the Grange. In 1998, the NC Grange honored him with the Grange Community Award. Mr. Shipley has also been a member of the Farm Bureau Board for many years and is past president of the Watauga Farm Bureau Board. He remains active on both boards. Shipley was raising burley tobacco before there was a tobacco program. He has been a member of the Burley Stabilization Corporation Board since 1964 and has served as the Burley Stabilization representative for Burley Tobacco since 1987. Additionally, he has been on the NC Tobacco Growers Board of Directors for fifteen years. He has also served as chairman of the County and Community Committee of the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Mr. Shipley has been a member of the Boone Rotary Club for over 50 years; he was a founding member of the Mountaineer Ruritan Club in 1964 and served as the club treasurer for a number of years. Shipley was honored during the recent 50th Anniversary of the Watauga County Farm City celebration for his great contributions, with the event dedicated to him and another individual, who, too, made significant improvements in the lives of our people through the years. He was also featured recently in a special newspaper segment on Early Education in Watauga County, as one of the county’s two eldest teachers. In it, he related the importance of giving his former students “hands-on” experience. He told of keeping them in the fields as much as possible, in addition to taking them to state fairs, both locally and in New York, as well as educational trips to New Mexico and Canada, as far back as the 1930’s. Shipley is a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He has been married to his bride, Agnes, for 64 years. They raised three children, have six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Mr. Shipley has always been active in his church and attends Henson Chapel Methodist Church where he has taught Sunday School for many years. Mr. Shipley was joined in the induction by Dr. Paul Shoemaker of Buncombe County, a noted professor in the Plant Pathology Department at NCSU from 1970 to 2003. He developed disease control strategies for tomato and burley tobacco while at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center. He also has served the agricultural community as an extension agent. Linda Lamp concludes, “WNC Communities is honored to award these two gentlemen with a place on the prestigious Hall of Fame Wall located in the Mountain Horticulture Crops Research & Extension Center.” Watauga County is honored to congratulate Robert G. Shipley on this notable and long-over due achievement.