Alex Porter has done what most working people hope to do — turn a hobby into a career.
Porter, 59, does wood work, most notably restoring and refurbishing historic structures around the community.
“There’s always some kind of special problem that has to be solved,” he said. “I like that.”
Porter is challenging Concord City Councilman Jim Ramseur for the District 2 seat in the 2007 municipal elections.
Porter’s interest in wood work and design began when he was young.
“When I was a kid, my dad had a cabinet shop, and I used to go in to do work,” Porter said. “Then, I worked on rental property. But I wasn’t mean enough to be a landlord.”
The current project that has consumed Porter is the restoration of Kannapolis’ H.J. Peeler House, a 1923-built craftsman and colonial revival hybrid.
Porter is doing the entire project solo, which has led to Porter putting some work on hold.
“I’ve got some other things lined up, but people wait for me,” he said.
Even beyond his love for working on historic buildings, Porter has a fondness for the history of Concord.
Porter, who graduated from the Citadel in Charleston, S.C., lives in one of downtown Concord’s historic districts, just blocks away from the house in which he was reared.
He fondly recalls adventures as a kid, exploring downtown’s now-demolished old Tribune building and the nearby wooded gully.
“We used to just ride the elevator,” said Porter, who lives with his wife Teresa and has two grown children.
Both the aforementioned locations were put in jeopardy by the county’s downtown jail project, which has ignited Porter’s interest in local politics and is partly responsible for his candidacy in the District 2 race.
“Ever since I’ve been old enough, I’ve voted in every election,” Porter said. “But I pay more attention to government now than I ever did.”
Alex Viola, a Hendersonville resident, first met Porter 10 years ago when he hired them to do work on his 1815 farmhouse outside Kannapolis.
“He’s an absolute craftsman,” Viola said. “And he’s a meticulous thinker. He thinks through everything. He’s taken on projects that seemed impossilbe with great patience.”
— Eric C. Deines
