Legend of Woods Hole

Legend of Wood's Hole
A never ending love story

For 21 years my grandmother, Tillie Wood packed her things and made the nine-hour road trip from Roswell, Georgia to Pearisburg, Virginia to run Woods Hole Hostel. For hikers, this journey is a little over 600 miles and takes a good 6 weeks. Tillie was like a bird that had to flock north every spring in order to rekindle her love for her husband, along side the service she gave thousands of hikers. Tillie offered Appalachian Trail hikers a place to rest, solar shower, and a southern style breakfast for only $3.50.

    Even when she was diagnosed with a terminal cancer at 89, she sat up in her hospital bed and said, “Eric and I need to leave for the cabin next week.”

    Tillie and my granddad, Roy Wood, discovered the cabin in 1939 on or around about Christmas day. They headed up Sugar Run Valley to find a place to spend the year so that Roy could do his thesis on the study of Elk in Virginia. Neighbors in the valley pointed out a little framed house which was set up for renters. Tillie didn’t take a liking to the place at all. She simply refused to live with “that cardboard wallpaper.” So, they were pointed up the valley to find a worn down cabin that had been built in 1880 by Stoney Holiday. He built the cabin out of chestnut logs from the land. He had hoped to farm the land, but gave up when weather and the rocky landscape crippled his dreams.

    When they found the cabin, it was more in the shape of a barn. Tillie saw something to this majestic cabin. Roy said he could fix it up, granted there was no existing floor and the chinking was falling out. They lived in the rustic cabin for the year: bathing in the stream, sleeping with the mayonnaise in the winter to keep it from freezing, and making their main quarters in the upstairs bedrooms. The folks down in the valley called them "The Wild Woman and The Wild Man" because they didn’t live like normal folks. Roy finished his thesis after a year, paying only $5 in rent after not being able to find the land lord.

    Another year passed when they got a call from the neighbor, Harlow Hoback. “Roy,” he said, “that 100 acres is for sale and it would be cheaper for me to buy the land than build a fence.” Together they bought the 100 acres for $300, ($150 each).

    Several years later Harlow called again. "Roy there's a man interested in buying that land and I'm interested in selling."

    My granddad told Harlow he would pay him what the man offered instead of selling his half. Tillie said they sold the dead chestnuts and paid for the other half of the land with the revenue.

    Over the next 40 years they rented the cabin to hunters, returning for brief over nights. Roy spent those years successfully preserving national forests and state parks through government work. He worked between Atlanta and Washington D.C. He also worked under Jimmy Carter as a Secretary to the Secretary of Interior. Tillie was a teacher of Biology. She was one of the few women from her generation to hold a Masters degree ( in microbiology - mushrooms). They also had three children. If you ever sat to have breakfast with her, you were sure to learn of one of them.

    It was in 1981, they decided to go back to Woods Hole with their grandkids, Neville & Jere for the summer. They spent the next 5 summers restoring and mending Woods Hole. They added a kitchen onto the main cabin using an 1850's log cabin they found in the neighboring valley. They took the spare logs and built the bunkhouse. There son, Jere had the idea. He said, “Dad you should build a barn with the leftover logs”

    Grandaddy’s response.. “Why don’t you!?”

    Uncle Jere did. With some friends help, of course. The bunkhouse started as a workshop for Granddaddy and a playhouse for his grandkids until a friend of theirs said they should open the place to hikers. They were only half a mile off the trail and hikers always wondered down for directions or a cold drink. Roy loved the idea. Tillie wasn’t so sure about inviting smelly hikers into her home. Once she warmed up to the idea, she asked, “What should we serve for breakfast?”

    The only advice he gave was, “Don’t try to fill them up.” Tillie decided on a good old-fashioned southern breakfast of grits, eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy, jam, coffee, and juice for $3.50. She didn’t serve water because that would be "too many dishes."

    In 1986, they opened their doors to Appalachian Trail Hikers.

    Roy passed away in 1987 at the cabin after putting the last step down to finish the renovation. He went to bed singing Amazing Grace only to pass in his sleep.

    Still unsure at first about opening her home to hikers and heart broken over the loss of her husband, Tillie continued to flock north for the spring.

For 21 years Tillie gave hikers a place to rest. She made the drive from Atlanta even after learning that she had cancer. Although I, Neville, had been going to the cabin since I was 3, I started taking her job seriously 2 summers before she learned she had cancer. Tillie’s main worry was "who would run the hostel when she did die?"

I stuck up my hand and said "I will."

She passed away at age 89 in October 2007

I along with my husband and former AT Hiker, Michael, have moved to Wood's Hole in order to continue my grandparent's legend and love story.

Woods Hole Hostel
3696 Sugar Run Road
Pearisburg, VA 24134
(540) 921 3444
woodsholehostel@gmail.com