YMCA Moment — Y records part of history

In anticipation of their upcoming Centennial milestone later this year, on Aug. 8, members of Cannon Memorial YMCA staff met at the Kannapolis Visitor’s Center for a special video filming project. Brett Crosby, associate executive director, facilitated. He described the event as, “just a conversation among friends” that celebrated the YMCA’s long history here in Kannapolis and Cabarrus County.
<!–more–>Present for the filming was Bill Fesperman, Martha Rutledge Macon, Ed Tyson, Paulette Lambert and Ray and Claire Waller. Paulette Lambert has been on staff at the YMCA since 1964 and serves as the human resources specialist in the YMCA corporate office.
Bill Fesperman was the YMCA’s director at the time the YMCA chartered independently from Cannon Mills in 1987. His father, William Fesperman, was the YMCA executive director for 30 years, including the years that  YMCA Camp Elliott was the summer pastime for many Kannapolis young people.
Martha Rutledge Macon, the daughter of the late J. Carlyle Rutledge, shared stories of growing up at the YMCA. Macon is a former staffer and long-time participant in YMCA aquatics programs. YMCA stories were shared by all.
Ray and Claire Waller met when they joined the staff of the Kannapolis YMCA in 1952. At that time, both served in the aquatics department. Ray served as the men’s aquatics director, while Claire served as the women’s aquatics program director. They met and fell in love and were married in 1954. They told stories of raising their children at the YMCA’s Camp Elliott. There are many Kannapolis adults who were YMCA children in the 1950s, and learned to swim from Ray Waller.
He also told the story of the day that A.L. Brown drove his Cadillac into Cannon Lake and drowned, a day those present will never forget. He was one of the ones who went into the water and pulled Brown out. Several others had tried before him to rescue Brown, to no avail.
Even Walter Safrit Sr., the YMCA’s former executive director, had dared the cold water in an attempt to rescue Brown. Waller remembers lifting up the fully dressed Brown from the water and the sight of the partially submerged Cadillac in the lake. It is speculated that Brown may have had a heart attack before driving into the lake. Waller is still on staff today in the health services department of the local YMCA.
The Cannon Memorial YMCA here in Cabarrus County has 100 years of history to celebrate and honor. Over the next few weeks, watch for more stories that tell of that history.
For more information about YMCA programs visit www.cannonymca.org. or call 704-939-9622.