The guy with the Wabash degree, and doctorate and postdoctorate work at Berkeley is a bit of a card.
He studied under 1961 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry Melvin Calvin.
He owns two homes in California: one in Yuma, Arizona, and two in Nevada— including Las Vegas.
He calls the car in his garage a "sonofabitch." It’s a DeLorean, parked in a cluttered, old, wood-frame garage behind a 1978 Jaguar.
C.J. Ludlow ’62 has been a tractor salesman, a mink salesman, done research and development work on herbicides, done sales training, and the list goes on and on. He also wears a baseball-type cap with an attached long grayish-white ponytail that matches the color of his hair.
But the man who grew up a "poor farm boy" near Hillsboro, Indiana, built a business and made a fortune selling seed in the salad bowl of the world—California’s Salinas Valley.
He developed an interest of the heart and pocketbook in antique automobiles. He calls his fleet of 30-plus collectible cars his retirement plan.
"I need a little cash, I’ll just sell a car," he explains.
C.J. Ludlow hangs out with the good ol’ boys at the local coffee shop. They were stunned to hear of his plant biochemistry degrees. He spends time with his antique cars as a retired gentleman might with his old buddies. The 30-some cars stored in a beautiful "garage," overlooking a valley near Angel’s Camp, California, are his sanctuary.
And C.J. Ludlow can spin a darn good yarn. His life’s journey is an irresistible Wabash success story.