Martin Monroe Mackie was born in Yadkin County in 1899. His parents were John Henry and Nancy Mackie, and he was next to the youngest child in a family of 10 children.
Although his family was oriented toward farming, he decided at an early age that he preferred to work with machinery, and was particularly attracted to a new method of transportation, the automobile.
During his lifetime, he learned the ins and out of automobiles and buses. He moved to Winston-Salem in the 1940s, and lived at 1212 S. Hawthorne Road. He worked for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System where he made it his special mission to keep school buses running safely.
After his retirement, he worked part-time at Shore Brothers Gulf on First Street as a mechanic, working on all types of automobiles. He was happiest when he was diagnosing and repairing problems that occurred under the hood of an automobile.
He was a member of the Winston-Salem Friends Meeting on Broad Street, where he sang in the choir with his wife, Verna Branon Mackie. He and Verna had three children, and four grandchildren who affectionately called him “Pop.”
Martin passed away in 1978.
