mr. robert gray shipley senior. mr. shipley was born in valley cruces, north carolina, on june 23, 1912. growing up on his parents' farm, his aat this tude for agriculture and ranching was evident from a young age. he put that skill to use working his way through college milking cows, judging livestock competitions, and maintaining records in virginia polytech nique institute's dairy department. he began teaching upon his graduation from virginia tech in 1933 and aside from the time he spent in the united states air force as a gunnery instructor on b-24 bombers, teaching agriculture in an innovative and hands-on manner is what he did for most of his professional life. in fact mr. shipley counts among his many students, my husband, tom. today if you take a trip down there, evidence of mr. shipley's involvement in the community is everywhere. he helped organize roy tauga -- wautaugahereford organization, he taught sheep shearing, meese he's a member of the north carolina state fair hall of fame, the western north carolina