Recent years have been hard on what might be considered Isle of Wight and Smithfield’s mid-20th century “Old Guard.” Many have passed from the scene in the past couple of decades.

One of them was O.A. Spady, who died in January. O.A., born in 1935, grew up during World War II, and learned, as members of his era did, what service to country and community really meant. 

O.A.’s first name was Obed, but not many people knew that. He was, to all, O.A. — a native and lifelong resident of Battery Park and doggone proud of it.

Well, almost lifelong. He spent four life-shaping years at Virginia Tech and another couple of years in the Air Force, returning in 1960 to Isle of Wight and Battery Park, where he became treasurer of the family business, Battery Park Fish and Oyster Co., and later its president.

Buying, canning and selling oysters didn’t satisfy O.A.’s spirit of community service, however, and soon after he came home, he joined the local Jaycees and dove headlong into civic work and, pretty quickly, local politics.

He wasn’t afraid to confront controversy. That’s how he entered politics. In 1967, he ran against incumbent Newport District Supervisor S. Lane Gwaltney, promising to try to lower property taxes on mobile homes, which were being fully taxed as vehicles in those days. The taxes on them were, at times, higher than on modest conventional homes.

It was a remarkable election. O.A. lost by eight votes, but asked for a recount. In the court-supervised recount, he squeaked into office with a two-vote lead. 

He won the battle for saner trailer taxes, but by then, Newport was just beginning to grow, and controversy became its middle name. “No Mercury Boulevard” became a battle cry among natives and the newcomers alike, and in 1975, a populist movement was latched onto by two challengers, and O.A. lost in the three-way race to William L. Reid, a beloved self-employed auto mechanic.

O.A. took it in stride and continued to be involved through the Chamber of Commerce, the Smithfield Rotary Club and other interests. 

But he was never too far from county politics. Reid found the complexities of county governing more than he had imagined, and resigned before the end of his first term, to be replaced by Richard L. Turner, a farmer and borrow pit operator.

By 1991, Turner was facing the kind of pressure Spady had faced 15 years earlier, as Newport continued to grow, as traffic got worse and people got angrier.

Spady won his old seat back by a comfortable margin and would serve another eight years before retiring from the board in 2000.

During his years on the board, he championed construction of a new Health Department facility in Smithfield, which was done, and was a consistent believer in a central high school, which the county, probably wisely, declined to consider.

Whether on or off the board, he remained active in civic affairs. Though he didn’t live in Smithfield, he was a lifelong supporter of the town and its historic roots. He joined a new nonprofit, Historic Smithfield, in 1989 and assisted in the planning and fundraising that drove the revitalization of Main Street. In 1974, he received the Smithfield Rotary and Ruritan Citizen of the Year award.

And he was known throughout the Chesapeake Bay region as a vocal and effective advocate for commercial seafood interests. He served for a number of years on the Virginia Seafood Council and on the Shellfish Institute of North America. In 1988, Virginia Tech recognized his continuing work on behalf of the school’s marine sciences program.

And while we’re talking about Virginia Tech, let’s not forget O.A.’s passion for the university and its football program. He hosted repeated local Hokie events and, according to family members, you could count on one hand the number of home football games he missed during more than six decades.

On top of all that, O.A. was quite simply a nice guy. He was easy to converse with, knew a huge amount of local history, especially relating to Battery Park and Rescue, and was quick to help with whatever project needed an extra boost in time or money. 

He lived to be 89, what country folk call a “ripe old age,” and he didn’t waste a minute of it.

 

John Edwards is publisher emeritus of The Smithfield Times. His email address is j.branchedwards@gmail.com.