An 'era passing'

 

From a clock that blasts out a different tractor roar with each passing hour to an early morning diet that includes plenty of milk but no coffee, Roy Bledsoe of Philadelphia has personified the life of a dairyman and cattle farmer for the better part of 65 years.

But his 48 years of continuous service on Loudon County Commission, and 20 as the board's chairman, will cement his public legacy as he prepares to pass on the gavel, having led the county through some of its most consequential years of growth and change.