Eva Frady Liles at Lake Myra in early 1940s
Eva Liles, Rebecca Hinton featured at Annual Meeting
Eva Frady Liles will be featured in a 20 minute film as our second installment of the Zebulon Memory Project at our Annual Meeting on October 1.
Eva Liles was the first patient in Zebulon to have a root canal in the late 1940s. “Dr. (Jesse Franklin) Coltrane had his dental shop over top of a drug store, and he did my root canal procedure and it’s never given me any trouble,” she recalls.
Eva and Jack Liles were one of the first in Zebulon to own a television. “Neighbors would come over just to see it and watch it.” She also enjoyed listening to Zebulon’s new radio station, WETC, located between Zebulon and Wendell on the other side of the river.
While she served as a Town Commissioner, Eva was selected to throw the first ball at the Mudcats’ first game on July 3, 1991. “I didn’t get the ball to home plate,” but was pleased to be selected for the honor.
She won the Citizen of the Year Award in 1991. Eva was also Director of Zebulon’s Chamber of Commerce for 10 years, from 1995 to 2005. She is best known for her coordination of the annual Zebulon Christmas Parade.
These are just a few excerpts of her memory highlights. The full story of Eva Frady Liles from an excerpt of the upcoming book “Legendary Little River Locals” by MaryBeth Carpenter, will be posted on our PZ website soon.
Our Annual meeting will also include our third installment of the Zebulon Memory Project, a film on Rebecca Horton Hinton, Zebulon Matriarch. Next month in this newsletter we will feature excerpts from the story of Rebecca Horton Hinton.
Our Annual Meeting will also include a peek inside of a private, restored antebellum house, first time opened to the public; a BBQ Chicken dinner at outdoor pavilion presented by sponsor Tommy Massey; and our Preservation Zebulon Year recap and plans for 2021. Our event will be at a private, pristine, large and beautiful Zebulon farm with plenty of wide open space for social distancing.
We thank our overall event sponsors David and Jill Hicks and Tommy and Marsha Massey.
Due to social distancing and limits on gatherings, we have limited attendance and our Preservation Zebulon Annual Meeting has sold out. We have a waiting list for people interested in attending. Send an email to info@preservationzebulon.org to be placed on the list.
Rebecca Horton Hinton in 1949.
Tommy Massey
Meet our Board
Tommy Massey
Tommy Massey is owner of Wakefield Landscaping Inc. which has offered services as a lawn & garden center since 1977, in the Research Triangle Park area and Eastern Wake County.
He was named as Zebulon’s Citizen of the Year in 2019. Tommy has been a board member and sponsor of Preservation Zebulon for the past three years. Born and raised in Zebulon, his Massey family was one of the early settlers of the area, and has been in the Little River area for over 260 years since before the Revolutionary War. Tommy and his wife Marsha also operate two farms in the Wakefield area of Zebulon.
“Preservation is important because if some organization does not take a lead, historical buildings will disappear. Some have already disappeared. I’m thrilled to be involved in Preservation Zebulon and to have seen the things that have come to pass,” he states.
“We have lost a lot of historic buildings, the train station for one, and things destroyed and torn down that should never have been destroyed but should have been preserved. If our group was involved this would not have happened. I look forward to continuing to work with Preservation Zebulon in the future on other projects that come up to highlight our town’s culture and past.”
MEMBERSHIPS
Preservation Zebulon is a member-based organization fully operated by volunteers. Please renew your membership today. Cost is $40 for individuals, $50 for a family, and $250 for a corporate partner membership, which includes a sponsorship to our Annual Meeting. Please donate or renew your membership today at www.preservationzebulon.org or by mailing a check to the address below. Thank you for your support and participation!