Spring Lake post office to be named for Howard Pate

SPRING LAKE — Mildred Pate said her late husband, Howard B. Pate Jr., would be honored to have the town post office named for him.
“He would probably think it’s not necessary,” she said, “but he would think it was wonderful, really.”

The post office at 225 N. Main St. is scheduled to be named for Pate, a town historian and former postmaster, in a ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday.

“As any Spring Lake resident will tell you with a smile, Mr. Pate was a pillar of the community and a dear friend,” U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson said in a news release. “It’s a privilege to work with the town of Spring Lake to rename the post office after such a great man.”

Hudson, who wrote the law naming the post office for Pate, will be the host for Friday’s ceremony.

Pate, who died Nov. 14, 2016, at age 90, lived in Spring Lake as a child while his father was stationed at Fort Bragg. He joined the Army in 1944 and served in the 506th regiment of the 101th Airborne Division and the 82nd Airborne Division. After World War II, he served in the Reserves.

In 1951, Pate was named Spring Lake’s postmaster, a job he would hold for 31 years.

In 1994, Pate was named town historian, a title he held for the rest of his life. He served as a deacon, elder and trustee with the First Presbyterian Church of Spring Lake and was active in the Spring Lake Chamber of Commerce and with the Boy Scouts of America.

Mildred Pate said she met her husband in 1951 at an American Legion dance. They were married the following year.

She said her husband wrote a book about the town titled “Spring Lake, N.C.: A Brief History.” He remained active until near the end of his life, and even walked the Appalachian Trail with his oldest son when he was 60 years old.

“He was into everything,” she said. “I really don’t know how he managed to do all those things.”