(Some Wilson County History)
What is special about these two glasses? They were a gift in 1954. - almost 70 years ago. They came from Carter’s Jewelry Store which was on Nash Street in Wilson. Jill Boykin owned and managed the store. She later opened an upscale dress shop (Canterbury House). The reason these glasses are so valuable to me is that they were a gift from one of the wisest, smartest and kindest people I ever knew. He was like a second father to me. The gift was from W.D.P. (Bill) Sharpe, Jr. He was an Attorney and I worked in his law offices right out of high school and was a country bumpkin. His law office was located on Tarboro Street in the Trueblood Building. I worked down the street at BB&T and then at his law office after banking hours and on Saturday. Every day was a learning experience. His law practice was winding down due to his health and he chose the cases he really wanted and they were not the ones for which he could charge big fees. He had already done that and was one of the most successful criminal defense attorneys of his time. He told me about playing baseball at University of North Carolina. He said he attended his first years at UNC like a rich kid. His father was Sheriff of Wilson County and a landowner of property near Pender’s Crossroads. He came home and told his father he had been accepted at Yale or Harvard (can’t recall which) and he wanted to go. His father lowered his head and said, “Son, I am broke and can’t even send you back to UNC. I have mortgaged the farm.” Bill Sharpe had also received an offer to play baseball for the New York Yankees. Pro ball didn’t pay much back then so he told his father not to worry and he would go back to UNC and go to work. He worked in the cafeteria, he scrubbed floors, worked in the library, and washed dishes. He graduated from UNC Law School and came to Wilson. He rented the front office of the Trueblood Building. It is the same building he spent his entire career. He told me he started with nothing but a law degree, a bucket, a mop and two law books. He paid off all his father’s debts, He had quite a journey. Some interesting characters came through those doors. I remember he told me a story about when he was a young attorney some Mafia guys came to his office asking him to represent them and when the attorney fee was brought up one of the men reached in his vest and brought out a stack of hundred dollar bills. The guy started shuffling the bills onto the desk and said “Say When.” Mr. Sharpe said, “I couldn’t say a word.” He chose cases of folks now who needed help but had no money. He had many friends and the ones he seemed to enjoy most were not Wilson’s finest (meaning the wealthy). His closest friends were mostly rural and were both black and white. One was a tough guy who came by every Friday and brought BBQ chicken that a group of guys cooked on the bank of the Tar River. This guy liked to go to the County Fair and get into the cage with a bear and wrestle the bear. He was a scrapper and landed in jail on many weekends and Mr. Sharpe would bail him out on Monday.
Bill Sharpe was an amazing person and I watched his kindness lift spirits of so many. He was quite a philanthropist. A lady came in to his office one Friday seeking help. She had a baby in her arms and two other young children. She shared details of her situation. Her husband and father of her children had left and she had no money or food and was asking what she could do about getting help from the father for the children. Mr. Sharpe called Silas Lucas (Wilson County Solicitor at the time) and asked him to stop by the law office on his way home. Mr. Lucas said he would start the child support process but it would take some time to locate the father and do necessary paperwork. Mr. Lucas left the office. The lady and her children were still there. What happened next tells what a great human being Bill Sharpe was. He said to the lady: “We are going to get you some help but in the meantime these children have to have food.” At that time Colonial Store was next to the law office. He called Colonial Store and spoke to Mr. Nunnery, manager, and said he was sending a lady with three children to the grocery store and to let her have whatever she needed and he would take care of the bill. The lady did shop and went home with food and all she needed for herself and the children for days. Mr. Sharpe paid for the groceries. This story had a good ending. The children’s father was located and support for them was set up. As I remember it, the couple worked out their differences and the children were provided for. A few months later the same lady came to the office to thank him and to offer some payment. He did not take her money but told her to just keep taking good care of those babies. That was in 1955. It had been a pretty quiet afternoon when a tall well dressed man came to the office. He had a mean look on his face and he immediately said in a loud and commanding voice, “Where’s Bill?” In my best manner I replied that Mr. Sharpe wasn’t here but would be in later today and I would give him a message. The tall man said in a strong gruff voice, “Tell him Jack Jackson from Jacksonville is here and I just killed a man.” The offices were four rooms deep and each room had a lock. I went to the very back room locking each door as I went. Walter Pittman, who was on U.S. Congressman L. H. Fountain’s staff, had a key to that back office and used it when he was in the area. Walter Pittman wasn’t there that day and I was wishing he was. I was alone with a gruff acting man who told me he had just killed a man, so I quickly called Mr. Sharpe at home and gave him the message. Mr. Sharpe could hear the fear in my voice. He said, “Don’t worry. That’s just Robert Farris. Tell him I will be at the office in about 30 minutes.” Of course, Robert Farris was just having some fun scaring me. Robert Farris was a young attorney at the time and wanted to talk with Bill Sharpe about one of his first murder cases. When Mr. Sharpe came in they talked and referred to law books. We pulled files on murder cases and they discussed evidence and strategies for a couple of hours. Robert left the office and as he walked from the Trueblood Building on Tarboro Street to Nash Street, Mr. Sharpe pulled his glasses down on his nose and peered above them, watching Robert until he turned left on Nash and was out of sight. He said, “There goes the best lawyer to hit this town since the day I started practicing. He is going to be alright if he can just keep his nose clean.” Robert Farris did become a great attorney and he also became a Wilson legend. Over the years I came to know Robert and he laughed about scaring the Bejesus out of me with his Jack Jackson act. He was only scary if you were an opposing attorney in the Court Room. It was a cold day in the winter of 1954 when a shabbily dressed, small frail looking elderly woman came in the law office and said she was on the way home and just came in to get warm. He told her to have a seat and made her feel welcome. In a few days the elderly woman came back and sat for a while and left. She came in several times on the coldest days and he asked her if she was ok. She said that she lived in an apartment on Vance St. and her heating oil was out and she was waiting to be able to get the tank refilled when she could. Mr. Sharpe asked her for her address. He told her that she would have oil that day. Then he called Frank Nabers (I believe he owned Wilson Oil Company). He gave Mr. Nabers the address and asked him to fill the tank and send him the bill. He also added to keep that tank filled and don’t let the oil give out. The elderly lady lived for several years after that day and he paid for her oil until she died. I don’t believe he even knew her name. One of his clients was a lady who owned and operated a house of prostitution. At that time that was not at all unusual in Wilson County. Liquor houses sold liquor by the drink long before it became legal. Poker houses also offered a place for gamblers to spend their paychecks. These businesses operated throughout the county and it was no secret. Some were easily identified on main roads such as US 301 and others were hidden throughout the county. US 301 was a major highway and the prostitution houses/motels were well known and operated openly. I remember her as being a pleasant person. She was short, had dark short haircut and she was a bit overweight. In magazines the madams were usually somewhat glamorous. This lady didn’t fit that profile but conversation came easy to her and I was a little wary of her at first but she was nice and she was no different from most people. She was interesting to talk with. The last time she came in the office it was to change her Will. She left all her money and property to her husband on the condition that he could not bring another woman into her house. Mr. Sharpe explained about putting conditions on real property but she persisted. I remember he said to her that she wouldn’t be around to protest. I don’t remember all their conversation but I do remember him asking hera “Who is going to argue that point from Hell”? Mr. Sharpe said she was a good human being and was a good business woman. There was a lot going on in Wilson County in the 1950’s and 1960’s and not all of it within the law. I expect it was the same in most places. Bill Sharpe and my father were cousins and about the same age - he always introduced me as “My Little Cousin, “Miss Montress.” His mother and my great grandmother Wiggins were sisters. The glasses just brought back memories. Not that I needed the glasses as a reminder because I think of something he told me about every day. His son, W. D. P. Sharpe lll, was Principal at Gardners School. (near Pender’s Crossroads) W.D.P. Sharpe IV is living in New York City and is in theater and entertainment. I saw him a couple of years ago and he is a delightful person. I believe his grandfather would be very proud of him. W. D. P. Sharpe,Sr. was Sheriff of Wilson County in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The stories from that law office of W. D. P. Sharpe, Jr. are a book. Maybe my next one. Some of the things he told me: He told me if I ever had to go to Court as a witness to Sit straight in the witness chair Rest arms on the arm rests Keep feet flat on the floor Lean slightly forward Look the questioner in the eye Speak clearly Tell the truth If you don’t know, say I don’t know If you don’t remember say I don’t remember. THAT is what I did He said if you tell tales don’t call names, and if you call names don’t tell tales. I could list a hundred things he told me. I did not and do not practice all of it but I was given the information and still remember most of this advice 70 years later. That’s why these glasses are bringing a tear to my eyes and also a smile to my lips. W. D. P. Sharpe, Jr. died in January 1962. RIP He is truly a WILSON LEGEND.
Montress Greene
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