December 1953 page 13

ing services, membership, and, of course,
assets. It now has 225 employees in its
central plant and 75 more in its branches.

Once a year the membership gets to-
gether to have a good time and to hear
first-hand reports on the operation of its
business. Last year over 6,000 members
attended the annual meetings which had
to be held in five sections.

Through the facilities of Farmers Ex-
change, Durham has suddenly become the
center of a rich five-country agricultural
area which in two decades has proved
that diversified farming can pay big di-
vidends.

TOM WOMBLE RETIRES;
RAY SMITH TAKES OVER

LAST month T. F. Womble, joint
D & S-Seaboard agent at Apex, N. C.,
retired after 52 years of service with
these railroads. He was succeeded by
another Seaboard veteran, Ray Smith,
was was transferred to Apex from Mon-
cure, N. C.

Agent Womble joined the Seaboard
when he was a lad of 15 and since that

[image: Mr. Womble]

day he has been one of the railroad's
steadiest and most loyal employees. He
came to Apex as agent 40 years ago and
during his long period of service there
he has endeared himself to hundreds of
friends and well-wishers.

Tom Womble has a reputation for re-
liability that would be hard to match.
Over a period of 30 years of attending
Sunday School he has missed only three
or four Sundays. A short time ago he was
awarded a pin for perfect attendance
during the past four years. He was super-
intendent of school for many years.

But even through Mr. Womble has re-
tired from railroad service, he has no
intention of loafing. A side-line pulp-
wood business which he started some time
ago will now get his full attention.

Mr. Smith, the new joint agent, is a
veteran of 31 years with the Seaboard
and has worked at many stations on the
railroad. He is a native of Laurinburg,
N. C., and received his education at Hoff-
man near Hamlet, a Seaboard operating
center. He is married and is the father of
five children -- three sons and two daugh-
ters. Two of his sons are now serving in
the Air Force.

[image: Mr. Smith]

14 SEMAPHORE