1 1 r k k * i " 1 1 le si 1 1 1
THE BRUNSWICK$fEACON
THURSDAY, MAY 28. 1992
D
D
S
44 YEARS AND COUNTING
Mock Phelps Faithful About Weekly Church Services
BY DOUG RUTTF.R
Mack Phelps doesn't pay much attention to folks
who make excuses about missing church ser
vices.
He just doesn't go for people who skip because
they're tired, busy or feeling a little under the weather.
Phelps believes everybody should go to church
every week. But he doesn't just talk about it, he backs it
up with action.
The life-long member of Sharon United Methodist
Church in Supply hasn't missed a Sunday service in 44
years.
"I just like going," he says frankly. "You're sup
posed to go to church. Sometimes 1 went when 1 was
sick, but 1 still went It didn't bother me."
The Brunswick County native has been attending the
church on Holdcn Beach Road all of his life. "It'll be 71
years in December," he says proudly.
Even three weeks in Cape Fear Memorial Hospital
didn't cause him to miss church. Nurses wheeled him to
the hospital service and took him back to his room when
it was over.
In recognition of his enthusiasm, Phelps has a pin
for each year he has attended Sunday school at the
church.
About a dozen of them hang from the ' jpel of his
gray sport coat, including the large one he received after
his first year.
"I ain't got all the pins on my coat," Phelps says. "If
I had them all 1 wouldn't have enough room for it."
Phelps has spent all of his life in the Holdcn Beach
area. He's worked in farming, commercial fishing and
carpentry.
He still messes around in a small vegetable garden
beside his house, and enjoys sitting on his front porch on
hot summer days.
Phelps says he never married, choosing instead to
care for his father who died of lung cancer in 1960. He
has an air of contentment about him and seems to be at
peace with himself.
He's lived in the same wooden house since 1940.
The modest home with white-washed siding sits off
Stone Chimney Road, shaded by a variety of large trees.
Phelps' father built the house when Stone Chimney
Road was nothing but a dirt path through the woods. A
mule cart provided all the transportation the family
needed.
As you can imagine, Phelps has seen a lot of change
in his lifetime. More homes and people pop up each
year, he says.
The front porch of his home lends itself to sitting
and chatting, and he likes waving to passing cars.
"Everybody says I don't look my age," Phelps says
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MACK PHELPS has lived in this house on Stone Chimney Road since 1940.
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STAf F PHOTO BY DOUG IUHH
with a smile. "I get along pretty good for my age."
Pretty good may be an understatement. At 70 years
old, Phelps is the oldest member of Tri-Beach Volunteer
Fire Department.
He was one of the charter members and has been
with the department more than 24 years. From the looks
of things, he doesn't plan on slowing down soon.
"1 help out with the equipment," he said. "1 don't
fight fires too much any more. That's what the young
people are for."
MEET NANCY RHYME
THE CAROLINA? MOST POPULAR AUTHOR
JOHN F. BLAIR, PUB.
cub a> ihc unutiuwiCK bocon
the author of
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BACKROADS
For more Information, call 9B9-841-7380
Nancy Rhync is also the author of TALES OF THE SOUTH
CAROLINA LOW COUNTRY, MORE TALES OF THE SOUTH
CAROLINA LOW COUNTRY, MURDER LM THE CAROLINAS,
and MORE MURDER IN THE CAROLINAS
She will autograph copies of her books
at Lowell's Bookworm
located in Causeway Plaza
Holden Beach, North Carolina
on Saturday, June 6
from 1:00 to 5:DO p.m.
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