During its heyday the Roberdell community had the county’s first high school, an elementary school, post office, doctor’s offices the Roberdell Manufacturing Company and 800 residents.

“It was a vibrant place and piece by piece it kind of came apart,” said Dr. Jim McGee, a former Roberdell resident and author of “Roberdell, A Village of Grace.” Unlike some residents, McGee spells the village’s name with two L’s.

Tonight, from 6-8 p.m. McGee will be at Roberdell United Methodist Church signing copies of his book.

“The high school closed, then the elementary school and life changed after that,” he said of the once thriving mill village. “I was fortunate to come along at the right time.”

McGee said his new book, published by Deacon Press out of Charlotte, is all about the history of the mill village from the time of the Civil War until the late 1950s, early1960s.

“People there were always so kind, engaging, honorable, it was a great place to be a kid,” McGee said. “It was an idyllic place to grow up, sort of like Mayberry.”

McGee said he grew up in Roberdell from the time he was 4-years-old, until he married and moved away to the far away City of Rockingham.

“My wife and I both grew up there, both of our sons were born there ... my Dad died in 1998 so we had the homeplace for about 50 years,” he said. “I tell people I crossed that bridge many times, but my heart never crossed it.”

McGee said Roberdell has a lot of history people just don’t know about and said this was likely the first time anyone had written about it in any detail.

“A lot of people that grew there felt good about the village,” McGee said. “But a lot of people outside of it didn’t really know anything about it. I think this a book anyone who grew up in a small town or mill village will enjoy.”

McGee, who is now the president of Wingate University, and has been for the past 18 years, started his career in education at Richmond Community College and later went on to serve as the assistant president at Gardner Webb, vice president of Meredith College and vice president of Furman University in South Carolina.

“It’s really kind of nice to do what I do now and stay so close to home,” McGee said. “I live in Monroe now but I get down there every chance I get.”

After the book signing, McGee will have some signed copies available at Medical Center Pharmacy.

Staff writer Eren Tataragasi can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 19 or at etataragasi@yourdailyjournal.com.