Loftin & Weeks
LOFTIN
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Philip
Daniel
Loftin
(1978 - 20??)
Curtis
Dean
Loftin
(1953 - 20??)
Sam
William
Loftin
(1918 - 1979)
Alonzo
Lester
Loftin
(1876 - 1937)
William Alexander
Loftin
(1851 - 1939)
James
Franklin
Loftin
(1827 - 1864)
Thomas
Loftin
(1798 - 185?)
James
Loftin
(1768 - 1836)
John
Loftin
(1740 - 1793)
Cornelius
Loftin III
(1714 - 1785)
Cornelius
Loftin II
(1675 - 1735)
Cornelius
Loftin I
(1648 - 1735)
Leonard
"Laughton"
Loftin
(1610 - 1678)
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Our Story 1
Curtis: The College Years
Freshman Year
I started Appalachian State University in Boone in September of 1971 with the intentions of becoming a teacher. I attended ASU from 1971 to 1975. My freshman Roommate was William Clark Lehman from Hickory High School. Appalachian State University the way it looked in 1971
Bowie & Eggers Dorms at the the top left of the photo
Gardner & Coltrane Dorms are 1/3 down on the left of the photo
During those years, the big concern for most Freshman male students was whether on not they'd get drafted to serve in the War in Vietnam. I remember sitting around in a friend's room watching TV as they drew the draft lottery numbers. Several of my friends were indeed drafted but my number was high, so I was able to stay in school. I didn't have a TV in my room that year so I'd go down in the lobby to watch TV with some of the other guys. "Night Gallery" was one of the guys favorite TV shows that year. During my Freshman year at ASU I lived in Bowie Dormitory
Because of my strong ties to home and my home church, I went home from ASU every weekend of my Freshman year - except for the first weekend, when I was invited to attend First Baptist Church and go home with a family from the church for lunch. Curtis - ASU Freshman Year Photo
My church background was Baptist, but in the Fall of 1972 before I started my Sophomore year at ASU, I was Baptized in the Holy Spirit at the Balls Creek Campground in Catawba County, NC, where our family tented. A group of young adults from Lamb's Chapel in Charlotte had lead the youth meeting that particular night and and afterwards they prayed for me. Balls Creek Campground (2012)
Sophomore Year
As I returned to school for that Sophomore year of college, I initially joined the Baptist Student Union Choir and remained a part of the group for the first half of the school year. The BSU Choir - Curtis is holding the second "I" in SPIR"I"T
I became a part of the BSU Choir "Spirit of the 70's", touring from Virginia to Indiana, and singing at a Bible College, the ghetto suburbs of Indianapolis as well as a shopping mall. Southern Accent: 1 When we were at the shopping mall in Indianapolis, we were told to walk around the mall and invite folks to our performance later that afternoon. When we talked with people, they'd say, "Where are you from? We love your accent." We told them that we were from North Carolina. Every store we went into, they'd say, "Talk some more for us - we just love your Southern accent". We were loving it, so we just cranked-up the Southern accent even more than normal. By the time I went back to school after Christmas, I had left the BSU and had joined a Charismatic Bible Study on Campus. The Charismatic Bible Study group met in the annex of the Episcopal Church on the ASU campus, behind the Student Book store, and was led by three ASU students - one of whom was Gary Cuccio. Carolyn Weeks (who was a Junior at ASU) had been invited to the Bible study by a dorm friend, Sarah Loftin (later Sarah Cuccio). Carolyn came to the Bible Study along with a friend of hers, Tony Sanford (who was a Freshman). Sarah and I had met at the Bible Study a few weeks before and were surprised that we shared the same last name - even though we knew of no known relation at the time. Sarah introduced me to Carolyn and Tony at the beginning of the meeting on that Tuesday evening and I invited them to join me after the Bible study for a snack at the BI (Bavarian Inn). The BI was a fast-food type restaurant that was located below the ASU cafeteria. They accepted the invitation and my friendship with Carolyn and Tony began. St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Boone, NC
The thing I liked most about Carolyn was her smile - and her joy - and the fact that she loved the Lord so very much. Even though Carolyn was from a Baptist background, her church in Raleigh had not taught on the Rapture of Believers. This new knowledge that she learned at the Bible study, about the 2nd coming of Jesus, sparked Carolyn's excitement and caused her to love the Lord even more. Carolyn, Tony and I would get together daily, and as our friendship grew, so did our relationship with the LORD. We soon welcomed Ann Hamilton (another Freshman) to our small group of friends. Ann was extremely talented - both in voice and her ability to play the piano. It wasn't unusual for us to go to one of the piano rooms in the music building and sing around the piano while Ann played. Tony Sanford, Carolyn Weeks and Ann Hamilton
As time passed, our desire to find a location to spend some solitary (and group) time in prayer and worship with the Lord increased. We called these special times "date nights" with the Lord. At one point we used the small Chapel in the upstairs part of the Student Union, but you couldn't really get any privacy. We finally discovered that they did not lock the doors to the small Episcopal Church on campus. Even after someone stole some implements & decorations from the church, they still refused to lock the door and simply put a written request on the door that the items be returned. It wasn’t unusual for us to spend two or three hours in the LORD's presence – praying, listening to records (this was the early 1970s) and worshipping, just resting in Him, enjoying the Lord's presence - often with only a single light on - and sometimes no light, just what was provided by the outside street lights. We soon discovered that we might start our prayer time in the Episcopal Church with 3 or 4 of us and by the time we left there could be two or three more people we didn't know. On one special weekend evening, about Midnight, after spending some time in prayer, we felt impressed to observe communion. We were in the Episcopal Church chapel, but there were no stores open at that late hour to get the proper supplies. We ended up using a grape soda and peanut-butter crackers from a vending-machine at the local laundry. Jesus said in the scriptures to “do this in remembrance of me” – and so we did. As the months and years passed, we welcomed Bill Shearin and Bill Mitchell to our group of close friends on campus. Carolyn, Tony, Ann, Bill and Bill were not just my closest friends - they were my brothers and sisters in Christ, also. (Left) Carolyn, Bill Shearin & Ann outside of Gardner Dorm (Justice in the background)
(Right) Ann & Bill in one of the piano labs in the Music Building
Bill Shearin, Bill Mitchell, Curtis, Ann and Carolyn
in the block building next-door to the Loftin's home (1974)
Curtis - ASU Sophomore Year Photo
Another one of our favorite places to meet with the Lord was the chapel at First Baptist Church on the ASU campus there in Boone. We’d actually “slip” into the chapel before it was locked up for the evening, carrying our Bibles, a "record-player" and some records and for the next few hours we’d get alone with the Lord. We’d sit, or lay, on the floor -and talk to Him about EVERYTHING. We'd usually be spread out over the chapel and then we'd come together before the end of the evening. We were in love with Him and loved to just sit and talk with Him. On one occasion Carolyn, Bill Shearin and I decided we wanted one of our “date nights” with the Lord. We agreed to meet in the 1st Baptist Church Chapel just before they locked the doors for the evening. Carolyn was the first to arrive in the chapel and waited on Bill and me. Shortly after she arrived, she realized that someone was coming into the chapel and that it wasn’t Bill or myself. It was the church janitor! Her first reaction – lie down on the church pew and lift her feet. She did – and WASN’T discovered. She knew that if she were caught, she'd be asked to leave - and she really wanted to spend time with the LORD. She was overlooked by the janitor as he made his rounds, but she also didn’t sit up right away – fearing he’d turn around and return to the chapel.
At the very same time, I was just starting down the long hall connecting the various corridors and Sunday School rooms behind the large sanctuary and smaller church chapel. Suddenly I was aware that someone from the other end of the hall was beginning to turn off the lights. I knew if I was discovered, that I’d be asked to leave, too, – so I took off in the other direction. Every time I turned down one hall, it seemed the janitor was coming in the very same direction – turning off light after light.
I eventually found myself in the stairwell, but was determined NOT to leave without spending time with the LORD. Instead of exiting the building, I headed up the winding stairs to the 2nd floor landing – only to discover the doors to the 2nd floor hallway was locked! Suddenly I heard his steps starting up the stairs, so up I went to the 3rd floor landing - tiptoeing all the way. To my regret, the doors to the 3rd floor hall were also locked! You can imagine my shock!
I heard the janitor try the doors to the 2nd floor hall to be sure they were locked and I knew that it was only minutes before I’d be discovered. What was I suppose to do when he rounded the corner of that final flight of steps to the 3rd floor? … say “Hi! How you doing!”
I prayed, “Lord, he’ll never believe my motives were innocent and that all I wanted to do was pray in the chapel". I had visions of jail & the police – but to my amazement, he stopped after checking the doors on the 2nd floor hall and went back down the steps and exited the building!
Phew! I couldn’t believe the janitor hadn't heard the sound of my pounding heart and shaking legs!
I EVENTUALLY left the safety of the 3rd floor landing and headed to the chapel where Carolyn was waiting. I let Bill in through the side door and the three of us spent several hours in the Lord's presence – at first together – but eventually by ourselves – just us and Him! - so much in love with Him.
The first thing I'd always do each evening once I got back to my dorm room was call Carolyn on the phone and we'd talk for another hour or so. The thing is, we weren't romantically inclined with each other. All this time, I was dating other girls on campus - but when I'd get back to the dorm (even after a date), I'd call Carolyn. My room in Coltrane Dorm my Sophomore year at ASU
There is a photo of Jone Richardson (my girlfriend back home during my first two years of college) on the bulletin board -
as well as lots of cards from Jone and Angela Taylor (my little sister). There is also a typewriter on the desk.Price Park and Price Lake became our favorite place to go "out of town" - that is, when we had a car. We'd go there and hike around the lake, pray, and spend hours just enjoying the beauties of nature. Curtis at Price Lake
I had been "saved" on 04 Jun 1970 when I was 17 years old. I was licensed to the ministry at Mathis Chapel Baptist Church one year later on 04 Jun 1971. During college I was still seeking the Lord's guidance for my life. I decided I'd like to hold youth meetings on the weekends I was in my home town, so we painted the walls and floor of the empty block building next door to Mom & Dad's house - the building that has housed Loftin's Tire Service and later Loftin's Clothing Outlet. Dad built a half-dozen wooden pews, as well as a raised area and a podium. The Lighthouse Youth Ministry was born. Bobby, Grace and Angela Taylor were like a second family to me and were always at the LIGHTHOUSE for services. We had numerous people who were Baptized in the Holy Spirit during (or after) our service, including Mom and Dad. There were healings and even one salvation. Curtis, on the right, with Bobby, Grace and Angela Taylor Junior Year
During my Junior Year at ASU, I registered for a year-long teaching internship at Hardin Park Elementary School in Boone, NC. Instead of just student teaching for a Quarter, Interns were in the school for the entire year, but only for the first half the day. During the afternoon, we had classes on campus. Hardin Park was an open-classroom style K-8 school and I was assigned to work with four teachers, Mrs. Elizabeth Horton, Mrs. Elizabeth Randell, Mrs. Winkler and Ms. Harriett Neighbors. Mrs. Horton was my supervising teacher. There were two other interns assigned to this group of sixth grade students, Jill Behringer and Penny Kiziah. The first group assigned to me by Mrs. Horton was a group of boys for Spelling. The open-classroom 6th grade setting at Hardin Park in February 1974
Mrs. Elizabeth Horton & Ms Harriett Neighbors
A December 1973 Christmas Celebration with the teachers, their spouses and the three interns
(Left) Ms. Neighbors, Mrs. Horton, Mrs. Randall, Mrs. Winkler; (Right) Dr. Horton and Mrs. Elizabeth Horton
Jill Behringer and Curtis back at the dorms (without Penny Kiziah) after the Christmas party
Curtis outside of Hardin Park Elementary School during the 1973 - 1974 school year
An evening of bowling at the ASU bowling alley, hosted by Curtis and Penny
(Top Row) Brad Epley, Curtis, Brian Chipman, Mark Williams;
(Bottom Row) George Fox, Mike McKinnis, Neil H, Scott Eggers(Left) Carolyn, Penny Kiziah with Brian and Neil at the bowling alley
(Right) Curtis with Ronnie M, Brian Chipman and David Singleton
Picking with Ann in my Junior dorm room in Gardner Dormitory
I frequently took friends home with me from ASU during the last two years - Carolyn, Ann, Bill Shearin, Bill Mitchell and Dan Wessell. Even though Dad was sick and not working at the time and Mom was only working part-time, they never complained about the extra guests. (Left) And yes, there was a little "flirting" going on between Ann and myself
(Right) I got Carolyn to pose for a silly photo
(Left) Carolyn up a tree while strolling through the woods across the road from my parents' home
(Right) Carolyn & Curtis pause for a Pepsi break - Yes, out of a glass bottle back then
I think this was the longest I ever wore my hair
Carolyn was fun, sweet, kind and had a personality that made you want to be around her all the time
During my Sophomore year I became friends with Russell Early - having met him at the Charismatic Bible Study Group in the Episcopal Church Annex. Russ met and fell in love with Carla Thompson - who was also a Hardin Park intern. My major at ASU was Education but it was Carla who convinced me to minor in Math. Russell graduated at the end of the 1973 - 1974 school year (my Junior year) and he and Carla were married. Russ & Carla Thompson Early's Wedding in Transylvania County, NC
(Left to Right) Max Thompson, Gary Hammer, John Morris, Russ Early, David Early, Steve Benfield, Danny Thompson, Curtis Loftin
Even though the ASU school year ended before the Hardin Park School year did, Curtis, Jill and Penny stayed on in Boone to finish out the school year there. The three interns lived with Dr. & Mrs. Horton during that last week - the girls in an upstairs bedroom while Curtis had a room downstairs. The 6th grade students were rewarded for a good school year by their teachers by taking them on a field trip to Price Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The interns were there to help supervise - and run them out of the water when it was time to head back to school. Curtis gets the upper hand on Mike Presnell
My Junior year was awesome and left me with a very positive teaching experience. Mrs. Horton even nominated me as Honor Teacher. The Observer-News-Enterprise, Newton, NC - Newspaper Article
I didn't have my photos made at ASU during my Junior year but I did have them taken at Hardin Park. Curtis - Hardin Park - Junior Year Photo
Senior Year
During the summer break between my Junior and Senior year, I had gone to a Jimmy Swaggart Crusade in Charlotte with Bobby, Grace and Angela Taylor (close church friends from home). While at the meeting, I remember asking the Lord, "Who am I gonna marry?" It was there that I heard Him speak to my spirit, "Carolyn". At first I was really excited, but after leaving the meeting I thought to myself, "that can't be true - Carolyn's like my sister!" Later that same summer, I went with Bobby, Grace and Angela to another Jimmy Swaggart Crusade - this time in Columbia, South Carolina. During prayer time I asked the Lord, "Who am I gonna marry?". His response to me was, "I've already told you - Carolyn!" This time, I listened! Some photo-booth photos to send to Carolyn
... and a few more
Carolyn was a year older than me and a class ahead of me at ASU. She was suppose to graduate at the end of the 1973 - 1974 school year, but at the last minute she discovered she was lacking one class and was not able to graduate on time. As a result, she ended up staying in Boone for the summer to get the last credit she needed to graduate. Instead of going home after summer school, she chose to live in an off campus apartment while she worked in Boone. Carolyn was beautiful both inside and out - and she was my closest friend. She and I exchanged letters on a weekly basis that summer - and I knew I didn't want to loose her friendship once we graduated from college. As I visited her and Ann (who was rooming with Carolyn) during summer school, our relationship began to change. I even gave her my college ring to wear. I remember her cooking for me in the small kitchenette in her dorm that summer. As I started that last year at ASU, I was rooming in Gardner Dorm with Bill Shearin and Carolyn was sharing an apartment off campus (owned by Maj. Dohm) with Jill Behringer. Eventually Carolyn had the apartment just to herself. She was working at Cato's in Boone to pay her expenses. (Left) Jill Behringer and Curtis return from a Christmas party at Elizabeth Horton's home in Dec 1973
(Center) Carolyn with Chris & Richard Dohm at Price Lake
(Right) Carolyn's mother, Viola, visits her at her Boone apartment in the Spring of 1975
Curtis with the Dohm's dog while Carolyn was babysitting the boys
Carolyn & Curtis outside of her apartment in Boone
My Senior dorm room that I shared with Bill Shearin
During the Fall Quarter (1974) of my Senior Year at ASU, I asked Carolyn out on our first official date. With little money to spare, we went to the Appalachian Theater to see "The Ten Commandments", starring Charlton Heston & Yvonne DeCarlo. (Below) On this particular date, we were going to a church meeting
I was invited to participate in an ASU work-study program for the Fall Quarter during my Senior year - teaching half of a day at Hardin Park once again with Mrs. Horton. Also during my Senior year, I was invited by some of my Hardin Park students to see them perform at an event on the ASU campus. Susan Casey, Mariette Hartley, Ingrid Brown, Willy & Wally Light were members of the Grandfather Mountain Cloggers. They had traveled around the world performing and even performed on TV's "Hee Haw". Curtis with five members of the Grandfather Mountain Cloggers
(Left) Curtis outside of the auditorium
(Right) Mariette Winkler, Willy Light, Susan Casey, Ingrid Brown and Wally Light
Southern Accent: 2 My most interesting story on Southern accents happened to me when I was in college at Appalachian State University - around 1974. I was in a math methods class and I was teaching a lesson to demonstrate my teaching skills on a particular math subject. After a short while, my professor raised his hand and asked me a question. He asked, "Do you have a lot of those where you come from?". I said, "Excuse me?". He said, "Those 'rats' you keep talking about?" It took me a minute or so, but I finally realized what he was talking about and I went into the self-correcting mode. I said something like, " you need to take this number 'rat' here - I mean 'right' here - and put it 'rat' there - I mean 'right' there...." The professor wasn't being mean, he was just having a little fun, at my expense, and in the process he did help me to recognize and correct one of the things I was saying with my southern accent. Sometime before Christmas of 1974, I handed Carolyn an envelope with a note inside. When she opened it and pulled out the single sheet of stationary, the only thing on it was the date "June 7, 1975". She asked me, "What's this?" I smiled and said, "I'm too bashful to say!", but eventually the meaning of the note became clear. I was asking Carolyn to marry me after I graduated in June 1975. The Wedding Proposal
The inside of the card
At first we hoped to get married at Greenway Baptist Church in Boone where we attended church, but we found out they wouldn't let us because we weren't members. Since my Dad, Sam, wasn't able to travel because of illness, we decided to get married in Catawba at my home church, Mathis Chapel - knowing that our plan was to live in that area. I guess it was our first big mistake, because Carolyn's mother, Viola, and brother, Sid, refused to come to the wedding. Two years earlier, Carolyn was the first of our group of friends at ASU to meet a "Wessell". Dan Wessell was a student in the Spanish class at Watauga High School in Boone, NC, where Carolyn was serving as a student teacher in 1973 in the Spanish class of Anita Epley. A friendship developed between Dan, Carolyn and I when Dan came to the ASU campus to be part of one of the Christian organizations that met there - P.O.W. (Peace One Way). As the friendship grew, we were soon invited to Dan's home. After only one trip to his home, we decided we REALLY liked his parents, John and Betty. As the weeks and months passed, we spent lots of time at the Wessel home - and I really mean lots of time. Dan became a "little brother" and Betty (she spelled it "Bettie" at the time) was like a second mother to us for those last two years at ASU - and beyond. To see more about us with the Wessell Family - CLICK HERE
Curtis, Carolyn, Dan and Ann take a Spring 1974 outing to Price Park and Price Lake
on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Blowing Rock, NC (Carolyn took the photos and wasn't in any of them)
One of the many cards I gave to Carolyn when we were at ASU
The inside of the card
The back side of the card
cj (carolyn janet),
until june 7th, my heart remains ever faithfully yours.
i love you ... i want to share my life and name with You.
cd (curtis dean)
On one weekend when the group had gone home with me
we did a picnic at Connor's Park & The Bunker Hill Covered Bridge in Claremont, NC
To see the photos - CLICK HEREIn October 1974, I took a group of my college friends home with me for the weekend. The evening skies were beautiful and clear and I had heard that there would be a meteor shower with a lot of shooting starts, so we decided to lie on our driveway beside of the main highway. Don't ask me why we were so close to the road - who knows! We did indeed see a lot of shooting stars but we also noticed a police car driving really slow as he went by the driveway. I went inside the house for some reason and as I walked in the door I heard Dad pick up the telephone. On the other side of the line was the police department - they were asking questions about the "bodies" out at the road. Dad told them, "It's just these crazy college kids home for the weekend watching shooting stars". To commemorate the event, we had to pose for a photo the next day. Carolyn, Curtis, Bill Shearin, Bill Mitchell and Patty Canady at Curtis' home in Catawba
(Left) Enjoying the snow outside of Gardner Dorm in the winter of 1974-75
(Right) At home in Catawba - Yes, I did like that shirt!
Sitting at the piano in Mom & Dad's "Living Room" - same shirt
(Left) Curtis on the porch of his brother Bill's home on Rock Barn Road in Conover, NC
(Right) Curtis wearing a pair of his Dad's overalls
Carolyn at Curtis' house in Catawba
Southern Accent: 3 Carolyn loves language. She taught middle school and high school Spanish for many years. She always prided herself when native Spanish speakers would tell her that she spoke like a native herself. She and I spent many years learning Hebrew and she was thrilled when she was told that she had no accent while speaking Hebrew. She did, however, have to correct me frequently on my Spanish and Hebrew over the years. Southern Accent: 4 The two words that Carolyn used to correct me on all the time when we were first married were "color" and "collar" - because I pronounced them both exactly the same way, as "collar". Finally I just started self-correcting. After I said it incorrectly, I'd realize it and then would say it right.
Curtis & Carolyn in the "Living Room" of his parent's home in Catawba
Curtis - ASU Senior Year Photo
After Carolyn's mother refused to come to the wedding, Betty Wessell took Carolyn under her wing while she was still at ASU and provided the mothering she needed. She took Carolyn shopping and bough three nightgowns for the honeymoon, as well as a Betty Crocker Cookbook (which we still have). Since Carolyn's father was no longer living and her brother Sid wasn't coming, John was the one who gave Carolyn away at our wedding. Bettie stood in for Carolyn's Mom - and Dan was one of my Ushers. Curtis: ASU Graduation
After my graduation from ASU on Sunday, 01 Jun 1975, Carolyn and I both moved back home with my parents. We had already purchased new bedroom furniture and Carolyn used the bedroom while I slept on the couch for the next week. Curtis & Carolyn in his converted home bedroom - they purchased their first bedroom suit
Carolyn made the red velvet (lined) window curtains in their bedroom
Southern Accent: 5 Sometimes I think I don't have a southern accent - but I guess I really do - I just don't notice it. I can, however, turn on a much "thicker" southern accent when I want, too! It used to really aggravate Carolyn when I'd walk around the house talking with a deep Southern accent - and sometimes because of my mischievous nature, it just made me want to do it even more. Be Sure to Check out All of these Pages
Go to the HIGH SCHOOL YEARS (1967 - 1971)
Go to the COLLEGE YEARS (1971 - 1975)
Go to the WEDDING (1975)
Go to the TEACHING YEARS (1975 - 2005)
If you have additional photos or information contact me at
