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FORWARD
I have always heard that the squeaking wheel is the one that gets oiled. Our lives are full of ups and downs that evaluate too many squeaks that need oil. We need God’s healing power and guidance for whatever squeaks we face in life. Through our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are oiled. Praise God for His divine touch, guidance, healing, and oiling of our lives.
The people mentioned in this book did not all live in Comans Well, Sussex, Virginia but have affected the lives of someone who has lived in Comans Well. I am the longest living resident of Comans Well. I am a squeaking wheel of Comans Well, Sussex, Virginia who has been oiled by God’s grace, mercy, and healing power.
I thank Gary M. Williams for his help in recalling the history of Comans Well. I grew up with oral tradition of the history of Comans Well. Through the reading of his book Sussex County, Virginia: A Heritage Recalled By The Land, I have been able to put dates and events in order. Gary happened to come into the Sussex, Virginia Post Office when I was mailing the first rough draft of this book to the Hoppers. He said I could use his book as a source and asked for a copy of the rough draft to read. Gary has been the Clerk of the Circuit Court since 1976. The records of Sussex County have been in good hands. I have been in and out of the office researching for the book. I am amazed at his skill in researching the records to reveal the history of our county.
When I was ordained as a Baptist Minister in 1979, I was in no hurry to get my license to perform weddings. A couple came up and wanted to get married right away. I came to the Clerks Office and Gary handled it in time for me to perform the wedding.
DEDICATION
I am blessed and have been by many people in my life; my deceased parents, siblings, wife, extended family members, neighbors, Sunday School teachers, preachers, teachers, professors, doctors, friends, and churches. There are two people through God’s leadership that truly adjusted the course of my life. I was a Christian at the time. I felt called to the ministry as a pastor. I had no resources or direction on how to accomplish the task. In my teenage years, I would watch Gospel Music on TV before going to church. I had never been to a gospel sing other than local preachers or local church choirs. I felt called to preach at the age of sixteen
. Musically I was a fan of rock and country music. Pauline and John Kennedy invited a gospel group to our church. I went to support the Kennedy’s and our church. We were a small church and I hated for no one to be there. I was surprised to see the church packed. I had to sit in the balcony. That night God adjusted my course. God began healing a depressed young man through the ministry of gospel music. I bought albums as I left that night. I started listening to Claude and Connie instead of Sonny and Cher. The “Hopper Brothers and Connie” were my favorite group on the TV programs on Sunday morning when I was a teenager. I do not remember their name, but I remembered that the brothers sang, and a lady sang and played the piano. Not only did they minister through the music, but they financially helped me through college and seminary. They became true friends.
I dedicate this book to Claude and Connie Hopper and thank you and God for changing the course of my life.
ANOTHER AUTOBIOGRAPHY!
HUGH MAYES’ Squeaking Wheels of Coman’s Well, Sussex, Virginia
(Published in 2020 by Trilogy Christian Publishers, Tustin, CA
Though this autobiography offers more than a tad of historical information pertaining to what was once the largest village in Sussex County, it is essentially a testament of one man’s faith in God. The reader cannot help but be amazed by the author’s resilience, through a strong faith, in dealing with a multitude of daunting and persistent challenges which have plagued him since early childhood. He was hospitalized for pneumonia at the age of three months, then came recurrent migraines, hepatitis C for over thirty years, a collapsed lung at age 19 , a stabbing of both him and his wife in 2015 and seemingly an unrelenting procession of encounters with bad luck in between.
Mayes was born in 1948, the fourth child of Lewis and Elaine Mayes and the “squeakiest wheel of all.” In that description of himself, Mayes alludes to the supposition that it is the squeaking wheel that gets the most oil, and the oil he has so desperately needed has been supplied by his faith.
The book is so much more than a testament to one’s faith. It also gives a glimpse of life in Sussex County as it was in the 1950s and 1960s. –Sussex County Historical Society
