The Little Cottage that Launched a Big Life
In its nearly 70-year history, Glen Lennox has been home to thousands of people – including a handful who went on to find fame. One such former resident is Ty Boyd, the man behind one of North Carolina’s most recognizable voices.
Before his broadcast and public speaking career took off, Ty Boyd attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 1950s and lived on Glen Lennox’s Audley Lane. During that time, he worked at local radio stations WCHL and WDNC.
“I had just moved into radio at Chapel Hill and I was the luckiest guy in the world.”
Not only was Ty getting his foot in the door as a broadcast journalist, he had also begun seeing his future wife.
“I do remember when we were dating, Ty had a party [at his cottage] and everyone was having a good time. We wanted to go hug and kiss,” his wife Pat recalled with a laugh. “So we went into the bathroom of his little tiny place and crawled out of the window and left the party.”
After a six-week whirlwind courtship, Pat and Ty were engaged, and they said their “I do’s” just six weeks later. The newlyweds settled into Ty’s Glen Lennox cottage in October 1959, and a year later brought home their first child, Anne.
“People who focus inward never get to look outside. There’s nothing wrong with being one way or another, but if you look outward, the whole world is your oyster.”
The Boyds remember Glen Lennox as a close-knit neighborhood with other young couples and single people of all ages.
“It was lovely. There was always something going on,” remembered Pat. “It was a great area to live in because you had a grocery store and pharmacy, an ice cream store right across the street.” The Boyds also enjoyed meals at The Pines restaurant across NC-54.
By 1961, Pat was pregnant with their second child and Ty received a job offer from WBT in Charlotte, so they packed up their growing family and moved a few hours west. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave their beloved Chapel Hill, but Charlotte afforded Ty the opportunity to become the new morning man at WBT. The move ultimately paved the way for his career to blossom, eventually becoming one of the city’s best-known media personalities, guest hosting The Arthur Godfrey Show and emceeing the Thanksgiving Day Parade for CBS.
In 2018, Gov. Roy Cooper inducted Ty into the Order of the Longleaf Pine, which recognizes people who have made significant contributions to the state and their communities. Also a member of the N.C. Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Ty and Pat continue to live in Charlotte.
Ty and Pat remain grateful and fond of Glen Lennox, a place where they began to build a big, expansive life from a tiny cottage.
“People who focus inward never get to look outside,” advised Ty. “There’s nothing wrong with being one way or another, but if you focus outward, the whole world is your oyster.”
To learn more about the legacy of Ty Boyd, and his public speaking coaching, visit https://tyboyd.com.