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Polymath in the Law - Janet Ward Black - Part 2
Polymath in the Law - Janet Ward Black - Part 2
We are joined by attorney extraordinaire Janet Ward Black of the Ward Black Law Firm.
Law Talk is a non-partisan forum to discuss the law and legislation, developing legal issues, public policy, and practice tips for legal professionals and Lawyers in North Carolina.
We invite speakers from different backgrounds and perspectives to be guests.
Wow. What a wonderful story. Yeah. And he was from Marshall, a little tiny town, also outside of Charlotte. So he grew up in a very small town. His siblings came of age during the depression, and there were no jobs in North Carolina to speak of. So they all moved to Washington DC. And got jobs there. My dad worked sweeping up at a drug store called people's drugs and they still have people's drugs up in DC.
And then he came back to can Annapolis and started the drug stores with his brother. What was it like growing up there? I mentioned that it seems like a million years ago when Charlotte was still small town compared to what we are now, but can Annapolis and Charlotte, while they're very close. Lord knows you don't wanna confuse or conflate cabs county of Macor county.
Although we tend to try to people say I'm from Charlotte and unless heck even Charlotte motor Speedway is actually not in Charlotte, but what was it like growing up can Annapolis is still a relatively small, it's a lovely little town. It's neat little place to drive through. It's the highways have made it harder to go through right now, but what was it like?
It was wonderful. The. Kids would leave at in the morning and come back when it was dinner time. And we were in very safe environments and could play in the neighborhood and it's, it was a great place of just good people. A lot of the people there didn't get to enjoy a lot of education. But they made a good living.
They worked hard, they got to live in the wonderful mill houses that the mill provided for people. And then there were all these small businesses, like my, what my father had that helped support the population that really predominantly worked at the mill Concord and can Annapolis are next to each other.
And so my mother ended up stopping teaching Bible in can Annapolis and started teaching. At Concord high school. So I finished my academic time in public schools in Concord. So Concord and can Annapolis were very close together and I made many good friends in both locations. It was a wonderful place to grow up.
And I don't know if you recently saw that Concord was named one of the best places in the nation to, to live, which is quite a wonderful distinction. I had heard that I have a close friend. And actually lots of close friends love, but Darren Jordan still lives in Cober county. I think it's also one of the fastest growing towns in the nation.
Absolutely. Which I hate to hear, cuz I'm a little bit of a Luddite when it comes to development. Now, given how things seem to be going lately. So did you then, so you did where'd you in high school? so at Concord high school. Oh, at Concord high school. Okay. So then I'll tell you one thing you don't want to go to high school where your mother's the English teacher, because she would end up finding out what my grades were before I did.
And that is not always the best way for things to occur. I actually can feel for you a little bit here and empathize. My grandmother was an administrative assistant in high school for, oh, I'm gonna say 40 years. And I went to the same high school as my. And my mom had seven brothers and sisters, and in many ways I was the youngest and everything got reported back to Nana.
And I had my chemistry high school. My professor in chemistry was my mom's chemistry teacher as well. Wow. And there were no secrets. And I, my, my Nana routed to make me take the bus used to pick me up every morning. I never really realized at the time what a gift that was. I got to spend with her and. She would say we used to call her, my Archer was the chemistry teacher.
My Archer said you were acting up or something like that. I do appreciate it. It was a simpler time even then, so well, and you and I have something in common that way. So I mentioned to you that my dad's first wife passed away. And so I had a half brother, but my dad was 48 when I was. So he was much older and my mother was 32 and my mother was the extrovert.
She was the one who was always out making speeches, just always in the public eye. Whereas my dad was much more introverted, but because of the way the drug store ran, my dad took me to school from the kindergarten till the day I turned 16 and picked me up and never missed a day and was never late once.
And that included him picking me. And taking me to piano lessons and dance lessons and sitting in the car, which was not air conditioned and waiting for me every single year. It most, I think when he passed away, he had a green Ford Pinto before they were declared a health hazard. because of, but now when he would.
Pick me up from school, we would go to the house and have dinner and then he would go back to work until 10 o'clock at night, every other night. And now in retrospect as an adult, I. What incredible sacrifice that was every morning, every afternoon to do that so that he could be, have a really meaningful part in my life.
And I'm very grateful for that. That's what a precious story I actually, I went to high school with my uncle who was a year old. 18 months older than me and the conversations we had back and forth with the car with Nana. And he got to the point where he didn't wanna ride with us. So I did, but I did appreciate the gift cuz it was a bit of a drive where now you would, insult by saying this, but you're a Mo to me, you're a motivated person.
You've always got a plan. You're organized. You're there's you. Do things accidentally, I guess I don't mean that to transcribe you at all, but were you like that growing up or did this some, is this something that you've developed into or no, I think it was innate that I figure if I am some place I'm supposed to do something.
