ELLENBORO -
If you live in Ritchie County, you may not know the name of your sheriff, prosecuting attorney, or even your neighbor's first name.
But you definitely know who Jack Reed is.
"He's a sweetheart. He'll make your day," said Sue Britton, who's known Reed for years.
Reed's been making people's days for years.
"He can be seen waving and stuff down under the underpass and down by McDonalds," said Janell Payne, Postmaster at the Ellenboro Post Office.
"We have made him our town greeter," Britton said.
"I wave at people for them with the love in my heart," said Jack Reed, the unofficial Ellenboro Town-Greeter.
Reed suffered two brain aneurysms in 1990. This month, he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. His community is now stepping up and returning the kind greetings.
"Jack's been getting a lot of mail. Probably more than everyone in here. Enough to fill his box up and then at least one of these a day that's filled with more cards," Payne said.
Reed gets nearly 100 cards a day from friends, neighbors, kids, even strangers.
And each one of those signatures means the world to Reed.
"Every man, woman and angel children have wrote to me and prayed for me. It makes me feel so wonderful," Reed said.
Reed spends hours reading each of his cards. And each one brings a tear to his eye.
"Oh will all of my heart, I love these," Reed said.
You can send Reed a card to this address:
Jack F. Reed
P.O. Box 324
Ellenboro, WV 26346
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WBOY. All Rights Reserved.
