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82-Year-Old Celebrates 64 Years with Classic Leather
June 27,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Leather Upholstery on June 28, 2010
Earnest P. (Bud) Drum, 82, is celebrating 64 years of work with leather upholstered furniture manufacturer Classic Leather, Hickory, N.C.
Drum was first hired by Statesville Chair Company in 1946 at the age of 17 and has been on the job ever since.
Drum was the supervisor of Statesville Chair Company's machine room for 20 years and has worked for Classic Leather Inc. since it acquired Statesville Chair in 1986. Since Classic Leather was founded in 1966, Drum has actually worked for the company 20 years longer than it has been in business. He currently runs routers, profilers, carvers, planers for Classic Leathers case goods production facilities.¨
In his 64 years on the job, Drum has seen a world of change in the business, its facilities, the marketplace and society in general. So, after being a witness to so much history, what is Drum's favorite memory of his time at Statesville Chair Company and Classic Leather?
"When we finally got some indoor toilets," Drum responded.
When hes not running routers, profilers, carvers or planers for Classic Leather. Drum enjoys fishing, golf and Corvettes. He and his late wife, Millisent, have one son, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild.