Noah David Lail was Mr. Bethlehem.
His devotion to Bethlehem was contagious, and many people in the small community across the river in Alexander County shared his determination and energy.
Lail died Wednesday.
Born in Caldwell County, Lail was a building contractor, Realtor and postmaster during his long career.
He would object to Mr. Bethlehem, because he recognized the community’s success hinged on the efforts of many, and he regarded himself as one player in a large cast of important characters.
But we cannot overlook Lail’s tireless promotion of Bethlehem and his ardent service to the public.
He was among the first members of the Bethlehem Community Development Association. He was on the first board of directors for the Bethlehem Fire Department.
When the Northwest North Carolina Development Association started its annual development contest, Bethlehem’s growth and public commitment took center stage.
For the first eight years of the contest, Bethlehem won first place in the rural non-farm division for Alexander County and won first place for the entire 11-county organization. It’s still a winner.
Lail was one of the community leaders who launched the annual lighting of the Bethlehem Star.
A former president of the Optimist Club, every newspaper and television station within a hundred miles knew when the star-lighting was scheduled — every year, just like clockwork — courtesy of Noah Lail.
He was postmaster of the tiny post office later in life and welcomed the truckloads of mail from people around the world who wanted their Christmas cards postmarked “Bethlehem.”
One of his crowning achievements came as a founder of the Disaster Response Committee of the N.C. Home Builders Association. The group provided everything “from hammers to bulldozers” to help disaster victims rebuild.
One of the first tests was the fearsome Red Springs tornado in eastern North Carolina in 1984. Lail and the group poured a lot of labor and materials helping the many victims recover.
Lail and all the participants were called heroes.
Lail was true to his country (he was a soldier in World War II), true to his faith, and true to his community.
“All the things that Bethlehem has accomplished are not theresult of any one person or any small group,” Lail once said. “The progress ... is the result of all the hard-working people in it.”
That’s true. But Noah Lail worked as hard as anyone for Bethlehem, and he trumpeted every positive stride. His aim was that everyone knew about Bethlehem, period.
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