Kip was born and raised in the Lansing area, a legacy of his grandfather, James Ellis. The elder Ellis migrated north from his native Tennessee along with tens of thousands of others who left Appalachia after World War II for brighter futures in the booming auto industry.
Kip fondly recalls the stories told by his grandfather about growing up on a farm in Tennessee and struggling to fit in up north, where he said he was treated like a hillbilly. James Ellis didn't finish fifth grade and could write little more than his name, but he made good money and eventually bought 1,000 acres of farmland in Tennessee, where he lived out his life.
When James Ellis retired from GM, he earned $7.75 an hour — about 50% more than the average pay of all private-sector workers that year.
By comparison, at $15.78 an hour, the new workers at the GM plant in Spring Hill will be making almost $4 an hour less than the average private-sector employee today.
At that pay rate, Ann Ellis doesn't see how a family can manage without two full-time incomes.
"They'll be able to provide for themselves, but will they be able to enjoy the finer things in life?" she asked, such as a cruise that she and Kip took for their 12th wedding anniversary. "They'll have to work very, very hard."
don.lee@latimes.com
