Ann Asks: How you started going to Topsail Island, NC

Our first summer at the beach was in 1985, the year after our fathers died. (Harold Pedelty and Richard Francis Millen) Ann was four years old and John was one. Warren Southerland (running buddy) and Alice Southerland were familiar with Topsail Island, NC through Alice’s family. Alice’s family was from nearby Burgaw, NC, and used to go to Topsail with some frequency.

In 1985 Warren proposed to the core group of running buds that we rent a large beachfront house on Topsail Island for a week together. I think the group was the Carter, Lowrie, Southerland, and Millen couples plus their two kids each. We rented a 6 bedroom house. The adults got the four bedrooms on the main floor and the kids were bunked in the two bedrooms in the basement. (Connected by an outside walkway) I think John stayed in our bedroom because he was so young compared to the other kids. Jennie Southerland may have watched over Ann overnight with the other kids. Each of the four master bedrooms opened onto a large common room and kitchen where we all gathered for meals and beverages.

The idea was the guys would run in the morning before it got really hot, and then everyone would hit the surf throughout the day between meals.

It worked really well and everyone had a great time, but it wasn’t quite as much fun for Jean and I as it was for the other couples. We were the youngest couple and the only ones with munchkins. Ann was 4 and could walk, but wasn’t old enough to swim out in the surf. John was one year old, new to walking, and had to be watched constantly. Both had to be watched every second (a failure on my part) while all the other kids were old enough to take care of themselves. So if Jean wanted to hang-out with the ladies, I had to watch the kids, and if I wanted to body surf with the guys, Jean had to watch the kids.

In the summer of 1986 we rented a house at a New Jersey beach. My brother Bill was living in Trenton and made the arrangements. Brother Al and wife Joan and their munchkins Ida and Ray came. So did my mom. A good time was had by all, but I surely noticed how much colder the water was up in NJ.

One year (1988) we rented a duplex on the beach with the Southerlands and invited the grandmothers to come. Jean’s mom (Reva Pedelty) and my mom (Gladys Millen) came, and Warren’s mom (Billie Southerland) was also there. THAT was a vacation! TWO built-in grandmothers to help watch grandchildren and lend a hand in the kitchen is a REAL vacation.

It was either the next year or the year after that the Southerland’s had had enough of the beach and bowed out. Jean and I still loved Topsail Island, so we invited my brother Bill and Jean’s uncle, Carl Willford, to join us along with the Grandmothers. That remained our annual beach contingent through 1999, our last year at the beach.

Jean went through our inventory of pictures and it looks like we went to the beach in –

85 with the running buddies
86 in NJ with the Millen brothers and grandma M (Gladys)
87 with grandmothers
88 with grandmothers and Southerlands
90 with grandmothers and Bill
91 with grandmothers, Bill and Carl
92 with grandmothers, Bill and Carl
93 with grandmothers, Bill and Carl
95 with grandmothers, Bill and Carl
97 with grandmothers and Bill
98 with grandmothers and Bill
99 with grandmothers and Bill

89 was Jean’s 20th HS reunion in Iowa and Tom’s 15th Coe reunion in Iowa
94 was short trips to Chattanooga aquarium, Rock City, Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls and Chatooga river rafting
96 was the Olympics in Atlanta (Carl died in December)


In 2000 Ann graduated from high school and headed off for summer training at West Point soon thereafter. Also, John had just finished his first year of high school in 2000 and his Dynamo swim coach, Hugh, said “Swimmers of John’s caliber don’t take vacations.” So Ann’s departure for West Point and John’s swim coach ended our trips to Topsail Beach. At that point our vacations turned into repeated trips to see Ann up at West Point, and following John to swim meets all over America.