McBRIDE Continued From Page Bl
public relations. He nods at the big green plastic bowl of mints
in front of him.
The traditiop started shortly after McBride started his post by
the library doors. He scattered a few mints on his desk.
Anybody walking by was welcome to one. In exchange, they had to
tell McBride their name and what they did.
He's spent at least $140 a month on mints over the years, he
estimates. He used to buy two-pound bags from Wal-Mart. He found a
better deal online, buying directly from Brach's, he said, pulling
out a plastic sack that weighs more than six pounds.
"To me, it was worth every penny of it," he said. "I couldn't
just sit and not talk to people."
It's also why, years after they have graduated, some students
stay in touch with the gentle man who sat. by the library's
doors.
Three girls from Spain, now playing profes-sional golf in
Europe, e-mail McBride every now and then. One student, now a
lawyer in Charlotte, invited McBride to his wedding.
Long ago, McBride was a student himself. He thought he wanted to
be a history teacher and a baseball coach. He lasted a year at
Bradley Uni-versity in Peoria, Ill.
He later spent four years in the Air Force, then began working
for Com Products International Inc., a corn-refining company.
The factory job moved him to Wmston-Salem, and he retired in
1994.
That lasted about 11 months. Weary of the win-ter months, he
looked for a part-time night job for something to do when he wasn't
playing golf.
Working at a university never gave him sec-ond thoughts about
dropping out of school all those years ago. "It made me think I
didn't.want to go back," he said. "I've seen the coursework. You
had better been prepared for it! or you will not make it."
Six-hour shifts sitting at a desk is not for every-one, McBride
says. They have to be patient. They have to like the library quiet,
yet puncture it with friendly chitchat.
"Whatever it took, I wasn't going to just sit and get bored," he
said.
When things were slow, he opened his latest book, usually a
mystery. He goes through two a week.
The study-weary students, the last-minute procrastinators, the
rumpled professors and the streakers pulling a fraternity prank
also kept him entertained.
Once, a nearly naked student ran by, rosing a shoe on his way
out the door, It ended up under
,'O!JP'W. P!iOTO B\' GRUCE "'W'l,W, George McBride takes the
day's first walk thtough the Z. Smith Reynolds Ubrary at Wake
Forest.
McBride's desk, and the boy fell to his hands and knees to
retrieve it.
Come back and get it later, McBride told him. I'll leave it on
my desk. , He's also stopped students - from other places, he
insists - intent on stealing books. He's helped bring five to the
magistrate's office. 'Iwice, he's intervened when students felt
that strangers were exposing·themselves.
Still, the library isn't exactly a frat party. It's not , Burke
Street on a Thursday night.
"I'd rather be sitting in here, talking to them," he said. "I
see them when they're on their best be-havior. The police officers
nut there see them when they're at their worst."
If it weren't for the calendar, he could tell the change of
seasons by the number of students passing by. Around midterm exams
and finals, the traffic picks up. "You see some you've never seen
before because they've never been here be-fore," McBride said.
·
Now summer school is in session, and like the warmer weather's
effect on the outside, things have slowed down in the library.
The building goes dark at 10 p.m. instead of 1 a.m. McBride
doesn't refill his bowl as often.
Tonight, his.bowl will be gone. But he's leaving the extra mints
behind .
• Laura Giovanelli can be reached at 727-7302 or at
[email protected]
Stars tor 2 who Shme Lac.Icing the votes neeoeo tor House
passage, though, they stopped short of putting the bill to a vote
on the House floor Wednesday. Black said that because the bill
includes money for a study, it was not subject to a "crossover"
deadline that passed yesterday for nonbudgetary bills to clear one
house or the other if they are to be considered this session. · Two
veterans of World War II receive recogn,ition
By Titan Barksdale JOURNAL REPORTER
As American forces pushed into Germany during World War II, a
fellow sol-dier jumped into John Plamp's foxhole. The unknown
soldier had just re-
gained consciousness after a grenade explosion. Plamp was
impressed with how the soldier pulled himself togeth-er and got
back into the battle, fighting until he ran out of ammunition.
the 100th Infantry Division in Nashville, Tenn. Earl Martin, the
sol-dier from the foxhole, talked with Plamp, and they shared their
memo-ries.
Plamp then set out to repay his sense of debt and began a quest
to get recognition for Martin: a medal for his service.
Martin was one of two World War II veterans who received medals
yester-day. ·
In Wmston-Salem, Sen. Richard Burr presented a Silver Star to
Martin. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-Sth, presented
"That's not a crossover issue, so that's not dead," he said.
Black said he hopes to bring the moratorium up for a vote in
several weeks - probably after the House tries to pass a budget by
June 16.
There were anywhe~ from 57 to 62 support-ers of a moratorium in
the 120-member House, Black said.
But opponents said they had at least 63 votes against a
moratorium as the possibility of a vote approached Wednesday and
several conserva-tive Democrats made their opposition clear.
"They don't have the votes," said Rep. Hugh Holliman,
D-Davidson, a death-penalty sup-
See CROSSOVER, Page B6 After nearly 60 years of trying to
identify the man who Plamp says "saved his life" that day, Plamp
met him two years ago at a convention for See MEDALS, Page B3 Earl
Martin received the Sliver Star from Sen. Richard Burr (right). •
House Speaker Jim Black says he wants
the House to pass a budget by June 16, B6.
Known for handing out mints, a library fixture works a final
shift at Wake Forest
CHECKED OUT By Laura Giovanelli JOURNAL REPORTER
The library's heavy front doors open every few minutes with a
click and a clang.
Here comes another one, shuffling by in the student uniform of
jeans or khaki shorts and weighed down by a sagging book bag.
There goes Holly, George McBride says, pointing out a thin,
young blonde walking past. McBride has seen her tn1dge in and out
of the library through-out her undergraduate years. She just
fin-ished law school and now is studying for the bar exam, he
says.
McBride - the nighttime security guard at the Z. Smith Reynolds
Library at Wake Forest University- has seen many other Hollys come,
go and graduate.
His retirement begins today. If the weather is good, you might
find him on a golf course.
But for 10 years you could usually find him at a plain wooden
desk just inside the library's doors.
He's watched over hundreds, if not thousands, of students bent
over open textbooks, researching professors and working faculty,
and the library's 1.4 mil~ lion volumes, which include a signed
_ ____,.........,_-"-------
copy of Gone With the Wind and a first edition ofWaltWhitman's
Leavef o/Grass.
The stocky man has a round, smile-creased face and a gravelly
voice. He is 64, a bookwonn and surprisingly beloved for someone
whose tan and brown unifonn is supposed to represent authority and
order.
The security sensor blares, and his head snaps up.
He makes eye contact with nearly everyone who walks by.
Above all, he says, this job is about See McBRIDE, Page B6
JO\/RNAL PHOTO BY BRUCE CHAPMAN George McBride takes a playful
Jab from student Heather Hans at the library.
MS615_McBride_George_001.tifMS615_McBride_George_002.tif
