The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-08-31
WOODLEY
CONTINUED from Page One)

the old ways. 1t is plain to be und-
erstood, when he talks about the
old times and says that he wishes
he were young again, that he thinks
it was far better to live in the
days of his youth than to live
wadays. People lived better,
then, he believes-and they even
lived longer: ''Why, mister, sixty
five isn't old, or it wasn't then
though they think it's awful old
now"
"ManteO When 1t Wasn't"
He can remember Manteo "when
it wasn't"-when there were just
four houses within what are now
it's limits. His father and brother
and he cut trees off the land where
the courthouse now stands.
That none Of his family has ever
been "up in the courthouse" is a
matter of pride with the good old
man. And, if none of the Woodleys
ever got in trouble, that was due,
Henry thinks, in large part to the
honesty of his father and the stern
way that he dealt with any of his
children's wrongdoings. His father
was never guilty of spelling a child
by sparing the rod when he thought
the rod was called for. There was
an apple orchard on the Woodley's
place that was kept well trimmed
by his fathers habitual use of
apple houghs for disciplinary pur-
poses.
Last Watermelon" Tale
Henry's story of "the last wat
ermelon ever stole" will illustrate
the effective use the senior Wood
ley made of the orchard.
Henry admits with a chuckle
that when he was a lad of eight or
nine he found the tempting water
melons raised by Stephen Gaylord
too much to resist. So he fell into
the habit of making off with sam
pies of Mr.. Gaylord's crop now and
then. One day he came across a ire
mendous specimen, and, because he
could neither carry the melon away
nor had means to cut it up, he
threw caution to the winds and
got up and stamped on the prize
till it split. He had eaten the heart
of the huge melon and was about
to abandon the rest and slip away
when a huge hand caught him
from behind. He was as frightened
as ever a boy caught in a melon
patch could be as Mr.. Gaylord
marched him up to his house. Gay
lord called Mrs. Gaylord into the
yard and said, "This boys been
stealing watermelons. What shall
do with him, kill him."
Henry thought his last hour had
arrived, but Mrs. Gaylord said, "No
Not this time. You can kill him the
second time you catch him. Lei
him CO."
He was safe-but not for long:
someone told his father what he
had done. Daddy took off all my
clothes and tied my hands behind
me, tied my feet together and
laid me over a chair. Then he
took one of them apple sticks
and gave me so ticks across my
back. I couldn't hardly move
when he was through. But
that was the LAST watermelon
l ever stole, yes, sir, it was!"
Uncle Henry's wife died in 1887
two months after they had cel0
brated their golden wedding an
niversary. One of his three chill
dren, too, is dead, a daughter
After his daughters death, thu
Woodleys took her five children anC
raised them ais their own. His tive
sons were put through school b!
their father. The elder son, Oscar
now 65 years old, is mail carrier
in Norfolk; he was formerly prin
cipal of the colored school here
The younger, Jim, 55, is employed
by the Pullman Company and live
in Maryland.
The sons and their families visi
the old man at frequent intervals
and both have repeatedly urge
him to come to live with them. Blu
he won't leave his own home, say
ing that here, where he has spen
his life, is the place he wishes II
live out his years. He might hav,
someone come to live with him, bW
he'd rather live alone than shar,
his house with the kind of yount
folks, he says, "who don't think O
anything but drinkin', cussin' ant
fightin'." He wants to keep hi
place to himself, so that he can b.
sure that his friends are "treate'
right" when they come to call Of
him.
He pays a woman to "buy hi
groceries and medicine" and do tn
work around the house that he
no longer able to do. He must de
pend, on his friends to help hin
with many tasks. ~ can't even tot
a bucket of water into the house
or bring in wood for the fire an,
more /" and Of course. he can n