When I was growing up, there was only one restaurant in Engelhard, and the owner, Mr. Ben, had an extremely low tolerance for blacks. Mr. Coleman, a black laborer, decided to open the Town Tavern right across the street from Mr. Ben's cafe to accommodate black people. I was a kid on my bicycle, resting at the front of the Town Tavern when this story occurred. I saw some things and I heard the rest from my cousins and friends who were there.

Mr. Coleman's two sons, George Thomas and Meatball, always had his back. They were tall and slender with voices that would intimidate Floyd Patterson.

George Thomas, the older son, was a prankster and serious intimidator. He typically walked around with his shirt unbuttoned, his hair was always bushy and unkempt, and his vocabulary was essentially a string of cuss words. Meatball, George Thomas' younger brother, was a prankster as well. He loved the ladies and loved fast cars.

Blacks were not allowed to enter the front door of the Engelhard Café to order food. But one Saturday afternoon, my friend Erskine, George Thomas and my cousin Ervin decided that they weren't going to go to the back door anymore. They went directly to the counter to make their order.

Three white hunters from Wanchese looked at the guys. Then the biggest white dude that I had ever seen stood up and slowly said, "Ain't you boys a little lost? The back door is that away."

Another white guy, who was big also, responded with, "You boys better get ... out of here before somebody gets hurt."

At that moment, the front door opened and Meatball entered. He said, "I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I'm tired, and don't think that I won't bust a cap in somebody today, because I will." The waitress hid behind the counter.

The three white guys stood and placed their hands on the handles of their hunting knives. Erskine was slightly intoxicated, but he boldly said, "You don't go to the back, so I'll be ----- if I'm going to the back door."

The largest of the three white guys threw his lime soda in Erskine's face. Meatball didn't hesitate for a second before he pulled out his pistol. He quickly pulled the trigger, but his pistol jammed.

At that point, the two other white guys rose and started swinging. One of the white guys connected Meatball with a hard left to the jaw and Meatball fell against the jukebox. Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" began to bellow out of the speakers.

Ervin grabbed Mr. Ben, and Mr. Ben pleaded, "Please don't hurt me! I've always been good to you people."

Ervin looked at Mr. Ben and said, "You people?! What do you mean by you people?"

Ervin gave Mr. Ben an uppercut to the chin that would have floored Joe Frazier. Meatball had one of the white guys in a chokehold. George Thomas and the guy that he was fighting were exchanging blow for blow.

Erskine was having a difficult time with the white guy that he was fighting. Then the white guy called Erskine a black -----. Everyone on Ridge Road knew that Erskine didn't play with the N-word and name-calling. He grabbed the white guy by the back of his camouflage hunting pants and tossed him through the front glass of the restaurant.

Next page >