Cooperative Living May 2018 - 33

Bobby Parks, who paints houses during
the week and preaches from the pulpit on
Sunday mornings, adds, " It's easy to form a
bond when we get together in a place like this.
I know a lot of people go to the fast-food
places to gather and talk, but here you've
got your own coffee cup and your own
chair. You don't get that everywhere, " says
Parks, attired in paint-splattered clothes
this Saturday morning.
Stewart Jenkins, another Coffee Club
member, adds, " Yeah, we try to solve the
problems of the world, but we leave here
more messed up than we came. "
Jenkins doesn't mean the men are
imbibing by any means, because the
Huffmans sell many products not found in
most stores, but no beer or cigarettes.
An open Bible rests on a table where the
men meet, and Huffman will often be
found reading it from his easy chair. " We sold
beer when we first opened the store, but
one day in church God laid on my heart,
'Billy, get rid of the beer.' When I told Evie
that's what I wanted to do, she said, 'I've
been praying for a year you would do that.' "
The Huffmans say the demand for local
products offsets the loss in beer and
cigarette sales. By early March of this year,
they had sold 1,500 pounds of Hayman
potatoes and 1,100 pounds of chocolatecovered
peanuts, in addition to locally made
cornmeal, molasses, coleslaw, chicken salad
and pies. On a recent morning Huffman
was busy cutting up a bunch of apples, and
there will be fresh produce galore once the
growing season arrives. The Huffmans also
sell eggs hatched by local chickens. One
customer will buy only eggs from a certain
hen that produces blue eggs, because of
their superior taste.
Lunchtime at the store is busy, because
almost every tradesman or truck driver within
driving distance will stop by to order what is
known by many as " the best cheesesteak
sandwich around. " The sandwich's large size
is more than even a hungry worker can eat
without wanting to take a nap in the easy
chairs at the back of the store.
People help each other in Pungoteague
On a wintry night in March, the Rev.
Bobby Parks was the featured speaker on
the last night of a three-day revival at a
nearby church, proclaiming in his folksy
manner, " Born in the country, raised in the
country and surrounded by people who care. "
That special bond cited by Parks at
Village General Store and from the pulpit
was evident when Huffman found he had a
10-pound tumor resting on his kidney in
2006. With no health insurance and facing
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huge medical bills, his outlook was bleak
until the community held fundraisers to pay
his bills.
" Bobby Carroll Huether asked me if it was
okay to hold some bake sales to help with
the bills, " says Huffman. " One man dropped
a $50 bill in the jar for a single cookie. I
will never be able to express my gratitude
for how the community helped me out. "
Huether, the pastor of Pungoteague
Community Church for the past 12 years,
says things like helping Huffman is simply
what his church does. " We have a heart for
our community. Our focus is outreach and
helping those in need. "
In addition to bake sales, his church
members organized hymn sings and car
washes and contacted the medical
community to lower Huffman's medical
bills, ultimately covering almost all the
considerable expenses.
Formerly a Methodist church founded in
the 1830s, the church became independent
in 1999. In the early years, Huether says,
they had about 20 members. Today, they
often have that many youth attending
Sunday services and the congregation
continues to grow each year.
The church supports a self-help center
in Pungoteague, which provides supplies,
clothing and household furnishings to
families in transition, whether it be
following a fire, taking on a new job or
moving to a new house.
Twice a month, the church members set
up a food pantry in the old Pungoteague
School building next door, handing out
food to a long line of people able to request
items they will use.
Neither Huether nor any other church
official draws a penny for their efforts. " We
want all our funds to go toward helping the
community, " says Huether.
A Community Rich in History
Pungoteague is a virtual treasure trove
for historians. It is the oldest town in
Accomack County; the court of the newly
formed county first met there in 1664.
A year later, " Ye Beare and Ye Cubb, "
the first-known English-speaking
drama ever performed, in America, was
staged in Fowkes Tavern. A historical
sign at the edge of town states,
" Probable site of the Fowkes Tavern
where the first recorded play in English
Pungoteague is small enough that
almost all the town can be seen in
this aerial photo. In the distance,
Pungoteague Creek and the
Chesapeake Bay can be seen.
May 2018 | Cooperative Living | 31
America was performed August 27, 1665. "
Records of the play exist because the writer
and two actors were hauled into court on
charges the performance was indecent. When
the play was performed again in court, the
judge found the men not guilty and ordered
the man who brought charges against the
three men to pay all court costs.
Pungoteague also boasts the oldest
church on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, St.
George's Episcopal Church. Services at St.
George's began about 1636, but the first
church was erected on the site about 1676.
Today's church building dates back to
about 1738, although only a portion of the
original structure remains.
The church contained exquisite, handcarved
woodwork and a mahogany pulpit
before Union soldiers used the building to
stable their horses during the Civil War.
The building the Episcopalians reclaimed
about 1880 was an empty shell, and not all
of it could be salvaged. However, a wall still
stands that bears the initials of Union
soldiers with the date 1864.
Following a restoration, the church has
been in continuous service with communion
silver sometimes used inscribed with the date
1734. Dan Meisenhelder, senior warden for
the vestry, says a plaque at St. George's states
it is the third-oldest church in the country.
Next door is St. Paul's A.M.E. Church,
founded in 1866 with the current building
erected in 1886. A school for AfricanAmerican
children was operated at the
church beginning in 1867; classes were
eventually held at an adjacent building.
Joan Wilson grew up in the church and
attended elementary school at Pungoteague
School, which had only two teachers,
including one serving as the principal, for
seven grades. It closed in the 1960s when
Eastern Shore schools were desegregated.
" Our foundation was formed here, " says
Wilson, who today is a trustee at St. Paul's.
" Many of our members feel like they are
coming home when attending services here. "
RAY GEFKEN PHOTO
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Cooperative Living May 2018

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