Spotlight
Oldie But Goody Goody
For over 30 years Ida Mayhew, now 83, has been running Wilmington’s famous breakfast spot, the Goody Goody Omelet House.
She wakes up at midnight each day and rides her stationary bicycle for five miles before going to the diner to prep all of the food, from pancake batter to the eggs for its signature “fluffy” omelets. When the restaurant opens at 6 a.m. she transitions to work the cash register until 2 p.m. when it closes.
“Might as well stay busy,” Mayhew said. “I love getting up and doing this every day.”
Mayhew and her husband opened the Goody Goody Omelet House after running Wilmington’s first Krispy Kreme for 35 years. Their intention was to leave it to their son Ernie, who now helps her run the restaurant. -Samantha Freda
NOTES FROM CAPITOL HILL
Last March, former UNCW vice chancellor for information technology, Debra Saunders-White, was selected by the Obama Administration to be the new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education programs for the U.S. Department of Education. She now oversees about 60 programs that encourage low-income, first generation and minority students to pursue post-secondary education.
“The pace is unbelievable,” she said. “It is extraordinary to help make education possible for all Americans, especially the most vulnerable among us.”
When asked what she misses most about Wilmington, she said, “Wilmington has beautiful beaches and great weather, but what makes it special are the people you meet and how they touch your life.” -Samantha Freda
COL. LEADS USO's 70th
Heading the Wilmington Celebrates committee of the USO’s 70th anniversary is Colonel Jeri Graham, U.S. Army Retired of Carolina Beach and Southport. As a certified nurse midwife in the 1970s, Graham completed her clinical work at Fort Campbell, Ky., where she was so impressed with Army healthcare that she joined the service at age 35. Commissioned as a Major, she served until 2002 when she retired and began looking for a place to live that was military-friendly, charitable and intelligent.
“This community is resplendent with retirees and those who have served and have chosen to come here for the same reasons I chose it,” she said.
-Teresa A. McLamb
COBB NAMED PENDER COUNTY SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT
The Pender County Board of Education recently named Terri Cobb as the county’s new school superintendent. The former chief of staff for Wake County Public Schools for the past five years, began her new job here on Jan. 2.
Previously, she served as a middle school teacher, guidance counselor, assistant principal, principal and in various administrative posts across the state.
Cobb was one of 28 applicants selected for the post vacated by former Superintendent Allison Sholar, who left the position in June to lead Currituck County Schools. -Jamaal O’Neal
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR COMES TO UNCW
Best-selling author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” Rebecca Skloot, will offer a free lecture at UNCW on March 26 at 7 p.m. Her book explores the true history of “HeLa,” the first immortal human cells, which were surreptitiously taken from a poor, African American woman, Henrietta Lacks, during cancer treatment in the 1950s. Lacks’ cells helped scientists develop the polio vaccine, uncover secrets of cancer and viruses and led to medical advances like cloning, gene mapping and in vitro fertilization. However, her family received no compensation from the multi-million dollar industry HeLa created. Skloot documents the role these cells have had on modern medicine and the effect their discovery had on the Lacks family. For more info on Skloot’s lecture at UNCW, call (910) 962-3500.
-Samantha Freda
