CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1304590
22 November 2020 M ilton "Levi" Underwood will tell you that, always, it pays to start with a firm foundation. "You have to start right, from the ground up," he said. "You have to keep everything level and plumb and with a straight edge. If you do that, you can't go wrong." at's how you build a house. It's how you build a life. ose were Levi Underwood's beliefs throughout his long career as a brick mason and as owner of Underwood Masonry Company. He retired in 2017 aer 34 years of hard work and crasmanship, a dedication to detail that allowed him to provide a comfortable life for himself, his wife of 51 years, Deborah, and their three sons. He wasn't sure what to expect when he decided to try to share his knowledge and his belief in diligence with others. He launched his first Bricklayer Training Course in a vacant lot off Murchison Road, with the help of construction materials donated by businesses such as D.R. Allen and Son and Adams Products. His mission was to help others learn that a good life doesn't always require four years of liberal arts classes. "But we didn't think anyone would take the course," Deborah Underwood said. "We were thinking that if six or eight showed up, that would be good. "at first day of registration," she said, "we had 21 to show up." Some 40 students have since graduated from the course. For the $50 fee, they leave fully prepared to show up for their first day of work, including with a set of specialized masonry tools that they receive at their graduation ceremony, down to a protective hard hat and safety vest. His students' progress has oen led to poignant moments for Underwood. ere was the 89-year-old man who completed the course so that he would have the ability to oversee the construction of barns on his property. A couple of females also have completed the course. ere was the student who now makes a good living building elaborate brick mailboxes in Greensboro. And then there was the student who hadn't graduated from high school but was proud to have made his way through Levi Underwood's course. "He asked if his mother and grandmother cou ld come to IT ALL STARTS WITH A FIRM FOUNDATION Fascinating Fayetteville