The Book
Coming March 2026 to Amazon in Paperback and Kindle.
Bethlehem … to Seagrove is a memoir of the life experiences of Jack C. Lail from birth in a partial log cabin in Alexander County, North Carolina, through his business and civic leadership in Seagrove, North Carolna.
The book is an intimate and moving memoir that chronicles his 93-year journey.
His life is defined by quiet resilience, hard work, and an unwavering commitment to family and community. Born in 1933 into a large farming family in Bethlehem, North Carolina, Jack’s story begins in the shadows of the Great Depression. As the tenth child in a family facing the foreclosure of their farm the very year he was born, his earliest lessons were in the grit required to survive and eventually thrive in rural Western North Carolina.
The narrative follows Jack from the hard-scrabble fields of a Duke Power rental farm to the rigorous discipline of the U.S. Navy. Enlisting in 1952, he served as an aviation electrician aboard aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean—a period of his life that expanded his horizons far beyond the banks of Lake Hickory. This service not only provided technical training but also solidified the values of duty and precision that he would carry into his civilian life in the plastics industries.
Central to the book is Jack’s professional ascent as an influential entrepreneur. After years in the plastics industry, he went on to co-found Mid-State Plastics. His leadership shaped the economic landscape of southern Randolph County for decades, as he built a successful business from the ground up, grounded in the same assumptions of integrity that he learned as a young boy in Bethlehem.
Beyond the business success, this memoir is a deeply personal history of the Lail family. It captures the essence of a man who is “slow to speak but careful to listen,” painting a portrait of a leader who prioritized his employees and his community. It is a story of roots—from the red clay of Bethlehem to the thriving success of Seagrove—and the legacy left for his children, grandchildren, his community and the many lives he touched along the way.
Rich with local history and personal anecdotes, Bethlehem … to Seagrove serves as both a family legacy and a testament to the American spirit. It is an account of a life lived with purpose, documenting the transformation of a rural North Carolina boy into a respected community leader. This memoir ensures that the stories of the Lail family, and the values that guided him for nearly a century, are preserved for generations to come.
About the cover
The farm house on the cover of the book is a photograph of a painting by Betty E. Lail of the “Bowman Farm” in Alexander County, North Carolina, where the family eventually settled and operated a dairy farm for many years.
About the Team
- Jack C. Lail – Author
- Sandra Lail – Project Manager & Editor
- Jack D. Lail – Editor & Website Creator
- Betty Edwards Lail – Cover Artist
- Sue Spencer – Proofreader