Darlington Veneer: 100 Years of Ramsey Family Leadership
The year 2018 marks the 100-year anniversary of Darlington Veneer Company. While it is impressive for any company to survive for 100 years, it is even more impressive to see a company thrive for so long under the ownership of a single family. DVC is currently under the third generation leadership of the Ramsey family. Being part of this long heritage and tradition is a source of pride for our employees, families, customers, and community.
As we move towards the future, we cannot help but look to the past for inspiration and fortitude. The Ramsey family has built and maintained a business that has not only a solid reputation for high quality hardwood plywood and service but one that has become a leader in the industry. With a strong past, we move with confidence towards our future.
To understand the early development of Darlington Veneer Company, we have to go beyond the generation of our founder, Sherman Ramsey, to his father. Jacob Sherman “J.S.” Ramsey was born in Columbus, Mississippi in 1855 to parents from Statesville, North Carolina. He eventually made his way back to North Carolina where he met and married Miss Mary Lamb Maxwell. J.S. and Mary Lamb went on to have three sons, of which Sherman was the youngest. Named after his father, Sherman seemed to be the most like him. The elder Mr. Ramsey was an owner of Long Island Cotton Mill, located south of Statesville, as well as owning the local newspaper, Statesville Record and Landmark during the late 1870’s. Sadly, J.S. died in 1892 when young Sherman was just two years old. After his death, Mrs. Mary Lamb Ramsey, remarkably, became Vice President of the cotton mill and ultimately sold the mill in the 1920’s, along with 565 acres to Superior Yarn Mills, Inc., a subsidiary of the Duke Power Company. That land now forms Lake Norman just north of Charlotte, N.C.
After attending Guildford College and the University of North Carolina, Sherman returned to Statesville in the early nineteen-teens and was a manager at the Long Island Cotton Mill, working with his mother. Like his father, Sherman had diverse business interests and soon became owner of North State Veneer Company. In the October 30, 1913 edition, The Statesville Sentinal reported that the company was “crowded with orders” and employed twenty to thirty men. Sherman Ramsey is quoted as saying; “only select timber of the highest quality” was used in the production of the company’s veneer. For unclear reasons, North State Veneer Company was sold in 1915. At that time, Sherman moved himself along with his wife, Helen Colt Ramsey whom he married on May 7, 1914, and their children to the Pee Dee area of South Carolina where his mother, Mary Lamb, had grown up as a girl. Three years later in 1918, Darlington Veneer Company opened its doors.
In 1945, Sherman founded our sister company, Diamond Hill Plywood, and named it after the community of Diamond Hill near Statesville, NC. However, one of his most legendary accomplishments occurred simply by chance. In 1949 he was playing a hand of poker with a group of friends, including Harold Brasington. According to legend, Mr. Brasington asked Mr. Ramsey about building an automobile racing track on some of Sherman’s fallow farm land. Mr. Ramsey replied that if he lost the next hand, Brasington could build the track, and for one of the few times in his life, Sherman lost. With the bet forgotten, a few days later, Sherman left for one of his many trips to Tucson, Arizona to enjoy the drier climate of the southwest. Upon his return to Darlington, much to his surprise, he discovered that Mr. Brasington had been true to his word and had begun clearing Sherman’s land for the nation’s first paved superspeedway. Sherman did not want to lose the fishing pond that he had on the end of the property and insisted that it not be marred, thus the famous egg shape of the “Lady in Black” NASCAR track was born, forever changing the future of the town of Darlington.
Sherman Ramsey was actively involved with the daily runnings of Darlington Veneer Company until his death in 1965 at the age of 75.
Jacob Sherman Ramsey, Jr. was born in Statesville, NC in November of 1915 shortly after his father, Sherman, sold North State Veneer Company. Jack grew up in Darlington and was an exceptional student. After completing high school, he attended Georgia Tech University and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Following graduation, he continued his studies and received his Masters of Business at Harvard University. While in Cambridge, Jack met Miss Esther Elizabeth Humphry of Harrison, New York. They married in September of 1940 and had twin sons, John Ramsey and Jim Ramsey.
Jack was always very involved in the daily operations of Darlington Veneer Company as well as Diamond Hill Plywood. Known for having a great business mind and management style, he was able to continue to grow and expand Darlington Veneer. When he realized in the 1970’s that it was more economical to purchase veneers rather than to peel our own, he made the decision to close that part of the business and strictly become a hardwood plywood mill. The lathes were taken out and the vats were filled in, creating room to expand the main office in the years to come. Over the next decades he trusted his employees, namely Reggie Hubbard, to take the reins while he focused his attention on Diamond Hill Plywood.
Jack had the same luxury as his father before him and saw his twin sons, Jim and John, take an interest in the in the companies that the Ramsey family had built. When his sons were sixteen, Jack asked James Cook, Darlington Veneer’s forester, to take John and Jim with him to the timber lands that were being logged. Mr. Cook agreed and took the boys the next day. He dropped them off that morning with the timber crew and went to check on a few other areas of the property. When he returned to pick them up that afternoon the boys were ready to go, telling Mr. Cook that they had not been fed and were itching with mosquito bites. It had never occurred to Mr. Cook to tell the boys that they needed to bring bug spray with them to the swampy area or that they needed to bring a packed lunch.
As young men, both Jim and John attended North Greenville University and Charleston Southern University. After graduation, with Reggie Hubbard securely at the helm of Darlington Veneer, Jim and John were able to focus on the growth and prosperity of Diamond Hill Plywood. They each spent time working in a Diamond Hill branch location. Jim managed the branch in Raleigh, N.C. while John managed the branch in Greensboro, N.C. While in Greensboro, John met Miss Jane Ostwalt of Winston-Salem, N.C. and they married on August 11, 1979. John and Jane returned to Darlington in 1979 and have one son, Brandon. Jim returned to Darlington in 1985 and the brothers continue work together in the corporate office of Diamond Hill Plywood with John serving as the Chairman and Jim, as President. This, of course, does not mean that they are not involved with the operations of Darlington Veneer. The brothers can often be found in the offices at Darlington Veneer keeping a firm grip on the business at hand.
Information submitted by Darlington Veneer Company
