Each morning at the downtown Washington restaurant, Shep’s, there is a group of men who gather for breakfast. These men have made many major decisions at this table that affect Washington, the state and the world, which are never talked about on television. Even athletic events have been won or lost before they are even played and many coaches have been fired or hired. Sitting at that table and being the youngest has taught me much. Please let me describe the table for you, and who is normally there each morning.

Larry Jones gets there early and prepares the table and sits at the head. Men such as Carl Jones, Jerry Alligood, Ronald Alligood, Charlie Alligood, Jack Mitchell, Jimmy Fortescue, Herbie Perry, Dr. Fred Howdy and Bobby Roberson then arrive. Harold Byrd will slip in later since he is Diamond Jim’s financial advisor. There is one real legend in the midst, Bill (Little Boy) Outland. He was called Little Boy by his mom at an early age and the name stuck.

Bill was raised in Kelford, North Carolina, which is located in Bertie County, and he claims to be the largest landowner in the county. He lived in a mansion and even had a train which pulled into Kelford and unloaded the circus in his front yard. Bill has done everything, or so he claims. He attended Wake Forest on a preacher’s scholarship, was chief coroner for the county, CEO at First South Bank, jumped both the Berlin Wall and the Grand Canyon. In his spare time, he is now a lawyer without a degree. While in the Army, Bill set the world record for the fastest time running in the sand with full gear and boots on. When I first met Bill, he told me of the time he ran against Sonny Jerguson when he was at Duke. The stories could continue but I do not have enough room in this one column to write about his heroics — one such, I have left out!

I mentioned those sitting at the table and those of you that know Jack and Carl understand where these stories came from. The two have a way of embellishing many of Bill’s stories and sometimes even “stir the pot.” We all know that Jack and Carl enjoy picking on Bill, and sometimes he agrees with their stories. They make stories up about Bill and he tries to defend them but, no luck against those two.

Bill Outland is a really good person and seems to take all the stories in stride and with humor. There are not many people that could take these stories with a smile like Little Boy. Bill is a retired banker and has done much for our community since his retirement, and we hope he continues.

I thought that Washington had lost some of the characters that were around when I was growing up, but at this table, I have found out that they still exist, just with different names. This is what makes Washington so special! Bill Outland is one of the characters in our community, and he will never be forgotten, even if he did put Jimmy Fortescue out of business. He is another character that I will write about later.

They were the best of times with the best of friends and in the best of places, Washington, N.C.! The Original Washington!

 

— Harold Jr.

Harold Robinson Jr. is a native of Washington.