43
211 Racine Drive
2,820 sq.ft. office on first floor
For Lease: Only $14.75 /sq.ft.
Full service; net electric & janitorial
Great location with quick access to College
Road and Market Street. Surrounded by
professional offices and major retailers.
Arboretum Center Condo
Convenient location near Wrightsville Beach.
$2,470 +/- sq.ft. office
Lease Rate: $15 /sq.ft. (includes CAM)
Purchase: $375,000
Also available at Lumina Station
672 sq.ft. corner office
Lease: $1,295 /month (includes CAM)
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
bulkhead that was patched and painted almost
every summer.
Keeley Wrightsville Beach memories are a
string of pictures that the families share: the
fresh-baked blueberry muffins that greeted all
the fishergirls and boys at Grandma’s big yel-low
table; peeling the piles of shrimp — at the
same table — with the grown-ups; the fish fries
at Papa and Nanny’s; the blackberry wine from
Papa’s wine cellar, the gaping holes between
wooden planks at Johnnie Mercer’s Pier threat-ening
to claim little legs if they weren’t careful
(and the pier‘s gentle sway in strong winds);
the time Uncle Bob and Doctor dyed their hair
jet black; all the boyfriends of the Keeley girls
that Doctor tried to scare off; thousands of
breakfasts at MOI; and Ms. Cross at Roberts
Market.
“I‘ll never forget the time I got to the check-out
counter with a basket full of groceries
and realized I’d forgotten my wallet,” Uncle
Bob says. “I told Ms. Cross I couldn‘t pay;
I‘d have to come back. She just handed me a
hundred-dollar bill and said to come back with
my wallet when I could. That doesn‘t happen
everywhere.”
Wrightsville Beach was the place that the 15
Keeley kids roamed the beach, and now it’s the
place that their kids do the same thing. “That’s
one thing that hasn’t changed,” David says.
“This place is just as charming as it’s always
been. A lot of us live in Roanoke and don’t see
each other unless it’s at church or at a family
function. The beach brings us together. This is
the time and place for family.”
Watching the family gather around a table
filled with enough food to feed 100 or more
people, it really doesn’t feel much different
than the same scene 20 years ago, though
Doctor has since passed, and the house on
West Atlanta Street is gone. The ukuleles that
were played by the many musical Keeleys are
now guitars, and many of the old voices are
new voices belonging to the next generation
of Keeley children, who sing as loudly and
proudly as their parents.
But the voice that echoes in my mind
belongs to the man whose birthday we are
celebrating. Uncle Bob Keeley and Aunt Nina
created more than a big family. They created a
legacy of love and togetherness at Wrightsville
Beach that endures to this day.