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By Judith Forrest
Special to the Observer
OFFA LOU JENKINS (1918-1997) During Women’s History Month let us take a moment to remember someone who made a difference in the town of Littleton. Offa Lou Jenkins, one time mayor of Littleton, set in motion events which still affect our town.
Although Offa Lou only served one term as mayor, she was instrumental in obtaining a municipal water system for Littleton, bringing the town up to standard with most other cities and towns in the country. According to Littleton resident Sue Skinner, as mayor, Offa Lou could be seen in her office almost every day, just as though it was a paying job.
She was also largely responsible for getting a new roof on Person’s Ordinary, the last remaining stagecoach inn on its original site in North Carolina. She arranged for a major extermination project to get rid of termites and power post beetles, which threatened the very existence of the Ordinary.
For a number of years Littleton’s Independence Day parade has been said to be the best in the area. “The parade is in memory of Offa Lou” stated her former neighbor, Doris Dickens. She said that Offa Lou was responsible for organizing the first parade. Doris Dickens remembers that Offa Lou served refreshments that day, assisted by residents from the local Community Center.
She was the founder and Executive Director of the The Towne Center (formerly McPherson Business Complex, where the oil portrait pictured in this article was photographed. Promotion of Littleton was Offa Lou’s primary goal.
A tireless worker in every area that might benefit Littleton she wrote a number of successful grant requests. According to Doris Dickens, she was particularly supportive of The Lakeland Theatre and Cultural Arts Center. On the evening she died she was on her way to attend a town meeting and was the victim of a traffic accident.
Offa Lou Jenkins was a native of Warren County. She graduated from high school in Littleton and was a 1938 graduate of Greensboro College and Kings Business College. She received a master’s degree in education from William and Mary College and obtained a PhD in Special Education from the University of Virginia.
As a member of a large family, completing her education to the doctoral level, required great effort and sacrifice. According to Doris Dickens she was an excellent student and worked hard to excel at whatever she attempted.
Littleton resident Dorothy Stansbury’s husband, Willie Ben, was a cousin of Offa Lou. Dorothy said that Offa Lou was a very dear friend. She said, “I always admired her mind. She had an excellent mind and it never rested. She was always helping people.”
Dr. Jenkins both taught and was principal at a number of schools. She was a director of the rehabilitation center at the University of Virginia. She was Professor of Special Education at Marshall University in Huntington, WVA, and Chairperson of the Special Education Department at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, SC.
But, despite her impressive career, Dr. Jenkins never forgot her roots. When she retired she came home to Littleton. She served as a member of the board of directors of Lakeland Cultural Arts Center, where her funeral was held. She was a member of the Littleton Woman’s Club, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Lake Gaston Ladies’ Club and the Halifax County Board of Education. She served on the Council for Exceptional Children, and was a former member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Roanoke Rapids.
Dr. Offa Lou Harris Jenkins was married to Melvin Allen Jenkins, who died in 1991. She was the mother of two sons, Melvin Elwood Jenkins of Columbia, SC and James Allen Jenkins of Fresno, CA. She was a member of St. Albans Episcopal Church in Littleton, where she served as a lay reader and Chalice bearer.
She did it all. She was an educator, leader, organizer, manager, politician, wife, mother and active in her church. She was and is indeed a woman to remember.
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