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James Allen “Jim” Graham

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Birth	:	7 Apr 1921 Rowan County, North Carolina, USA
Death	:	20 Nov 2003 Cleveland, Rowan County, North Carolina, USA
Burial	:	Third Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate	:	35.7607420, -80.6841160
Plot	:	row 30, plot 11
Description	:	North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductees JAMES ALLEN GRAHAM 1921-2003 James Allen "Jim" Graham personified North Carolina agriculture as the state's longest serving agriculture commissioner. Jim Graham's entire life revolved around agriculture. He grew up on a cattle farm in Rowan County and graduated with a degree in agriculture from N.C. State University in 1942. He began his career as an agricultural teacher, before becoming a research station superintendent. He also held positions as a fair manager, secretary of the N.C. Hereford Association and as manager of a farmers market before being appointed agriculture commissioner in 1964. He was elected to the... Read More	North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductees JAMES ALLEN GRAHAM 1921-2003 James Allen "Jim" Graham personified North Carolina agriculture as the state's longest serving agriculture commissioner. Jim Graham's entire life revolved around agriculture. He grew up on a cattle farm in Rowan County and graduated with a degree in agriculture from N.C. State University in 1942. He began his career as an agricultural teacher, before becoming a research station superintendent. He also held positions as a fair manager, secretary of the N.C. Hereford Association and as manager of a farmers market before being appointed agriculture commissioner in 1964. He was elected to the post nine times. He continued to operate a cattle farm in Rowan County throughout his career. He chose not to run for a 10th term in 2000 and retired from a life of public service in January 2001. Jim Graham's trademark Stetson hat, size 151/2 cowboy boots and cigar made a striking figure and a longtime symbol of North Carolina agriculture. His 6'4" physical stature was equally matched by his larger-than-life persona and tenacious manner when he was fighting for the programs he believed in. He had an uncanny ability to remember which towns were in which county and upon meeting people he could usually come up with a name of a relative of theirs. This led to a sincere belief in the campaign slogan, "Jim Graham is my friend." During his years as agriculture commissioner, Jim Graham secured funding for a number of outstanding programs and facilities for agriculture and consumer services. These include programs to eradicate the boll weevil in cotton, eliminate pseudo rabies, cholera and tuberculosis in hogs and provide free soil samples to all North Carolina residents. He developed a network of five state-owned farmers markets and three agricultural centers and seven animal disease diagnostic laboratories across the state. He started the "Goodness Grows in North Carolina" marketing program, expanded the N.C. State Fair and set up a program to check every gas pump, scale and price scanner in the state for accuracy. Jim Graham possibly received every award in agriculture, including the National 4-H Alumni Award and Progressive Farmer's Man of the Year. He cultivated one of the top agriculture departments in the nation and was recognized by many national organizations for his vision. Jim Graham was the face of North Carolina agriculture for nearly 40 years, earning him the nickname "The SodFather," and induction into the North Carolina Agricultural Hall of Fame. Elected to the North Carolina AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME 2008 Obituary Notice in the Southeaster Farm Press: An old-time politician, who traversed the state pressing the flesh, eating barbecue and taking pictures with pretty girls, Mr. Graham was a legend in his own time. He was fond of saying that he never met a stranger. Plenty of powerful people were on hand to pay their last respects to a man who was just as at home around the state capitol as he was at the country store. N.C. Gov. Mike Easley, former Gov. Jim Hunt, legislators and congressmen were at the memorial service for Jim Graham. Mr. Graham's ashes were buried in Cleveland in Rowan County. A mountain of a man, Mr. Graham stood 6-foot-3, weighed more than 200 pounds in his prime and wore a size 15 ½ EEE shoe. His physical stature in his prime, however, was only preceded by his stature among the state's voters and those in agriculture, who sent him to Raleigh for nine consecutive terms. Mr. Graham grew up on a 250-acre farm where his family raised cotton, cattle and grain in Rowan County. His mother wanted him to become a minister. Instead, Mr. Graham chose to attend North Carolina State University, then known as State College. He drew heavily from Bible stories in making speeches in later years. He graduated with a degree in agricultural education. After teaching in Iredell County, N.C., for several years, he took a job running a test farm in Ashe County, focusing on experiments related to raising beef cattle and sheep. He also managed the Dixie Classic Fair in Winston-Salem and the Farmers Market in Raleigh. In 1964, Gov. Terry Sanford appointed him to fill the term of L.Y. "Stag" Ballentine, who had died during office as commissioner of agriculture. The job was a boyhood dream come true for Mr. Graham, he recalled in his autobiography, "The Sodfather: A Friend of Agriculture in North Carolina." He attributed the dream of becoming ag commissioner to the comments of a hired hand on the family farm. The ag commissioner at the time was a man named William Graham, no relation, whose name was on bags of fertilizer. The hired hand said, "'Jim, if I were you, I would be Commissioner of Agriculture when you grow up and you won't have to lift these heavy bags anymore,'" he later recalled in his autobiography. At age 14, Mr. Graham took the advice to heart. In his job as ag commissioner, Mr. Graham oversaw such diverse activities as gas pumps and food safety, as well as agricultural issues and the State Fair. His 36 years in office saw many changes in agriculture in North Carolina, with the move away from tobacco as the dominant crop to a more diversified agriculture. He had a special affinity for the State Fair. He turned the event into the largest single gathering in the state of North Carolina. It was there that he met his wife, Helen Ida Kirk, a home economics teacher from his hometown of Cleveland. In a published report on the occasion of his last fair as ag commissioner in 2000, Mr. Graham said that seeing "her in front of the old waterfall at the fair that day hit me like a thunderbolt. I decided then and there I was going to marry her." Mr. Graham told Kirk that he didn't have a way home and persuaded her to let him ride on the bus with her and her students back to Cleveland. He sat beside her on the long trip back home. They were married Oct. 30, 1942. When a new waterfall was built in front of Dorton Arena in 1999, it was dedicated to Mrs. Graham, shortly before her death at age 81. The story goes that when the couple's second child was born in the 1950s, Mr. Graham marked the occasion by handing out birth announcements at the livestock pavilion proclaiming the arrival of a "blue ribbon champion." For years, Laura Constance Graham thought the fair was a big birthday party thrown in her honor. Mr. Graham's association with the State Fair is the stuff of legend. The story is told of a wide-eyed little girl staring at Mr. Graham while he signed autographs at the opening of the 133rd State Fair, his last. The little girl asked her mother, "Is that the president?" Her mother said, "No, that's Jim Graham," in almost reverential tones. "This is his fair." Mr. Graham also served as president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the Southern United States Trade Association. He developed the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services into an efficient operation, staffed with professionals who have in some cases spent their entire careers there. Britt Cobb, the interim ag commissioner, has been at the department for 25 years. With his trademark vanilla-colored Stetson hat and cigar in hand, Graham was a political rally waiting to happen everywhere he went. People lined up to shake his hand and speak to him. Peter Daniel, who worked as assistant ag commissioner for Graham for 20 years, said being around Graham was like having a "Harvard graduate degree in politics and public life. "He'd walk into Ballentine's cafeteria (a popular downtown Raleigh eating establishment) and people would line up to talk to him. The servers knew him. They knew what he wanted." Daniel, who is now assistant to the president of the N.C. Farm Bureau, said he learned lifelong lessons working alongside Graham. "So much in government is accomplished through relationships and trust—people sitting down and understanding each other. "He was a master in participating in that kind of politics that is so dependent on personal relationships." Graham always ended speeches by saying "I love my job." Many at his memorial service wore red campaign-style pins that declared, "Jim Graham is My Friend." e-mail: [email protected]

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is James Allen “Jim” Graham's memorial?
James Allen “Jim” Graham's memorial is located at: Third Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Cleveland, Rowan County, USA.
When did James Allen “Jim” Graham death?
James Allen “Jim” Graham death on 20 Nov 2003 in Cleveland, Rowan County, North Carolina, USA
Where are the coordinates of the James Allen “Jim” Graham's memorial?
Latitude: 35.7607420
Longitude: -80.6841160

Family Members:

Parent

James Turner Graham

(1896 - 1977)

Laura Allen Graham

(1894 - 1980)

Spouse

Helen Ida Kirk Graham

(1918 - 1999)

Siblings

Charles Turner Graham Sr.

(1922 - 1993)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Third Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7607420, -80.6841160

2. Knox Grove Baptist Church
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7557070, -80.7115100

3. Cleveland Town Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7357660, -80.6806540

4. Cleveland First Baptist Church Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7347650, -80.6802790

5. Allen Temple Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7343320, -80.6684760

6. Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7333000, -80.6653380

7. Cleveland Memorial Garden
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7276640, -80.6863050

8. Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7653590, -80.6231360

9. Lebanon Lutheran Church Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7402300, -80.6266800

10. Cedar Grove AME Zion Church Cemetery
Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7240520, -80.6270450

11. Rock Hill Church of Christ Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.8175520, -80.6626270

12. New Jerusalem Holiness Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.8170730, -80.6545130

13. Corinth Church of Christ Cemetery
Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.8101360, -80.6346300

14. Old Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.8269440, -80.6905560

15. Moore's Chapel AME Zion Church Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.8256760, -80.7012787

16. Unity Presbyterian Cemetery
Woodleaf, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7613360, -80.6022520

17. Knox Chapel United Methodist Church
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7081200, -80.7457400

18. Cameron Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Statesville, Iredell County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7548910, -80.7733210

19. Faith Baptist Church Cemetery
Statesville, Iredell County, USA
Coordinate: 35.8065440, -80.7538357

20. Emanuel Pentecostal Church
Woodleaf, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7965180, -80.6037410

21. Ebenezer Methodist Church Cemetery
Mount Ulla, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.6930200, -80.6425900

22. Church of Christ at South River Cemetery
Cleveland, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.8313230, -80.6491700

23. South River United Methodist Church Cemetery
Woodleaf, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.8349400, -80.6538480

24. Saint Lukes Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
Mount Ulla, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.6810800, -80.6849760