Christopher Craig, the head of Noel's Street Department, has always been a worker.
His first job was as a 12-year-old boy growing up in Scotland. He had a paper route that meant he got up early before school and rode his bicycle several miles a day for the equivalent of $13 per week.
"You've got to work for stuff if you want it," he commented.
Craig was raised by his grandmother in Ayr, Scotland. His mother and stepfather moved to the U.S. when he was about 8 years old, and he and his brother would visit them on holidays. Thus, he had been to America numerous times before he immigrated here in 1993. Still, he experienced a bit of culture shock and difficulty fitting in.
"It was pretty tough. I always thought I would never leave my homeland," he said.
He found plenty of work that took him to many different states. He did everything from drywall to roofing, concrete work and sawmills.
"I love to learn stuff," he said. "Everything I know is self-taught."
In 1996 he earned his U.S. citizenship, and that same year he moved to Noel. His parents had retired in Anderson, and after a short stay with them, he found himself in Noel. In 2006, he started working for the Street Department.
"I really didn't expect to be head of the department," he said. "The opportunity came up, and of course that's fantastic."
One of Craig's projects now is the park. He is installing new playground equipment and making other improvements. He reluctantly cut down a couple of trees for safety reasons -- but planted new ones.
"I want to make this town look better. I'm working for the people of the city. I want to keep everyone happy," he said. "It's going to take time to get it all done to where we're maintaining instead of fixing."
He said the road maintenance has been behind for some time and a lot of the roads are in bad shape. The department has been patching them, but that is like "a Band-Aid on a broken arm,'" he said. "In a perfect world we would like to repave all the bad roads ... at least one or two a year."
He said he is trying to cut back on expenses so he can do more paving. He believes he can run the department with only two employees instead of three, saving about $20,000 that could be dedicated to paving.
Streets are Craig's primary focus, but, he added, "The park is important also for families to come enjoy with their kids."
Although Craig came to the U.S. as a stranger, he now takes pride in his hometown of Noel.
"I call this place home now, and I love this place," he said. "I think it's a beautiful place -- the bluffs, the river, the sunset -- the natural beauty around here is fantastic. And the people also. It's nice to drive down the street and have people waving. It's not like a big city where everybody's strangers."
General News on 05/05/2016