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GOP inducts Lopp into
Hall of Fame
By ERIC FRAZIER
The Dispatch
Lifelong Republican Cliff Lopp was honored Saturday night at the
Davidson County Republican convention with his induction into the countyīs
GOP Hall of Fame.
David Faust, outgoing party chairman, called Lopp to the stage, presented
him with an engraved plaque and praised him for his "outstanding service and
loyalty" to the Republican Party.
"It was a complete surprise," said Lopp. "It feels good. I have always
worked for the party and for the good of the party."
Lopp is a retired insurance salesman who was born and raised in Lexington.
He worked for E.B.& J.B. Craven Insurance Co. for many years. G.W.
Mountcastle Insurance acquired that firm a few years before Lopp retired.
He grew up on East Sixth Avenue, and Loppīs family lived next door to Sim
DeLapp Sr., a legend in the party. DeLapp was inducted posthumously into the
party Hall of Fame some years ago.
"He was `Mr. Republican of North Carolina,ī" Lopp observed.
DeLappīs son, Sim DeLapp Jr., is a former Davidson County GOP chairman, a
former district chairman, and is still active in the party. He attended the
convention Saturday night.
One of Loppīs earliest recollections of party involvement dates back to
1936. Lopp recalls handing out campaign badges shaped like sunflowers for
presidential candidate Alf Landon from Kansas. Lopp was 11 years old.
"My daddy was a Republican. My granddaddy was a Republican. I thought
everybody was a Republican," said Lopp.
Lopp served in many capacities over the years, including terms as Lexington
township chairman. That position, which no longer exists in the party, was
responsible for about a dozen precincts.
During World War II, Lopp served in the Army Air Corps and has been active
in the VFW since the end of the war. Lopp has been a stalwart member of the
burial squad that conducts military honors at funerals for veterans since
1947.
After the war, Lopp said the GOP ran a GI ticket that swept the county
commissioners for the first time in 20 years.
In 1968, Lopp was instrumental in the election of Davidson County Republican
Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell to the U.S. Congress. Lopp served as Mizellīs
campaign chairman.
Lopp said his biggest thrill was when the party elected Jim Holshouser in
1972 as the first Republican governor in North Carolina since
Reconstruction.
Today, Lopp lives on Duke Drive in Lexington with his wife Eloise. They have
four grown sons: James, 54; Paul, 46; Clifford Jr., 41; and Philip, 37.
March 24. 2003 10:58AM
Eric Frazier can be reached at 249-3986, ext. 226, or at
eric.frazier@the-dispatch.com
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