On July 1, 1925, Ben S. Read, then president of the Telephone Pioneers of America, granted
a charter authorizing organization of the J. Epps Brown Chapter No. 35 (No. 35 because it
was the 35th to be organized in the Association).

Prior to the formation of Chapter No. 35, North Carolina and South Carolina Pioneers were
members of Dixie Chapter No. 23. Members were employees of Southern Bell as well as
employees of independent telephone companies. The suggestion that such a chapter should
be organized originated with John C. McManus.

The organizational meeting, with 49 charter members, was held on July 24, 1925 in the
Chamber of Commerce Hall in Charlotte. Officers elected were: President – Morgan B. Speir,
Carolina’s Manager of Southern Bell; Vice President – Charles P. McCluer, General Manager
of Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Company; and Secretary/Treasurer – S. D. Lucas.
The Chapter was named in honor of J. Epps Brown, Southern Bell President and a native
of Newberry, South Carolina.

Charles McCluer was the first member to join the Pioneer organization. He entered the service
of Southern Bell in Richmond, Virginia in 1885 as a collection and errand boy. In 1898 he
transferred to Charlotte where he held several executive positions until his appointment as
General Manager of Carolina Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1905.

In October 1949, a petition signed by 31 members of the J. Epps Brown Chapter No. 35, 
residing in Columbia, South Carolina, requested that consideration be given to the
establishment of a South Carolina Chapter. A Charter was granted on January 31, 1950
but the official announcement was withheld until June 10, 1950 to coincide with the Silver
Anniversary of the J. Epps Brown Chapter No. 35 which was being celebrated in Charleston,
South Carolina. This was the last joint annual meeting of the North and South Carolina Pioneers.

The charter for the new chapter was presented to Chapter President-elect J. M. Wasson.
The North Carolina Pioneers retained the original charter and the original chapter number 35,
but adopted the new name "North Carolina Chapter No. 35." South Carolina retained the old
name "J. Epps Brown.", and adopted 61 as the chapter number to correspond with its position
as the 61st chapter in the Association.

On October 3, 1966, the Tar Heel Chapter was chartered and the organization meeting was
held in Raleigh on January 14, 1967 with 149 charter members. W. Mason Curtis was elected
President; Jeff Seabock, 1st Vice President; W. W. Lawrence, 2nd Vice President; and
Archie Thomas, secretary- Treasurer.

As the telephone industry continued to grow, so did Pioneering. Old North State, made up of
Western Electric employees in the Winston Salem area, became the 79th chapter formed in
the Association.

The highest position that an employee can attain in the Association unless they are a
company officer is region vice president. There have been four North Carolina Pioneer members
who served in Region 7 (prior to the merger of Region 7 and Region 13 to make Region16) as
vice president. They are Margaret Jackson, Larry Morgan, Joe Clontz and George Harmon.

The first Council within North Carolina Chapter No. 35 was formed July 16, 1943, as the
Piedmont Council. It was followed later that same year by the Asheville and Raleigh Councils.
1946 saw the addition of the Coastal Council followed by the Independence Council in 1952,
the Foothills Council in 1967, the Salem Council in 1968, the Hornets Nest Council in 1973
and the Central Council and Blue Ridge Councils in 1976.

The Goldsboro Council and the Cardinal Council have come and gone. Blue Ridge Council
combined with Salem Council in 1998 while maintaining a life member club. The Central
Council and Coastal Councils combined in 1999 while both retaining a Life Member Club.
With members moving from one building to another due to job changes, the Independence
and Hornets Nest Clubs combined to
become the Charlotte Council.

North Carolina Chapter No. 35 has always been blessed with strong and capable leaders.
Evelyn Newman is the only person to have served more than one term as Chapter President.
O.G. Bain was chapter president when South Carolina split off and Joe Chavis was chapter
president when the Independent Telephone Companies formed their own Pioneer chapter in
1967. George Wray, who served from 1950 – 1951 hold two records. He is our oldest living
past chapter president and served the longest time ago.