THE WATERMELON CASE Maybe someone on the Eastern Shore of Virginia can tell me how “The Watermelon Case” came out in the Fall of 1980.
Certainly anyone who lived in Northumberland or Accomac County during that time, must remember when the Rev.. Alvin G. Reid, brought charges against Phillip R. Custis, owner of one of the largest farms whom he accused of having “unlawfully destroyed some of Reid's watermelons by running a pickup truck over them.”
Reid and Custis each operated produce sales stands along Highway U.S. 13. Reid said that Custis had asked him to move his stand and when he refused to do so, Custis destroyed his watermelons.
I know about this case because I used to keep notebooks about strange little quirky twists in the news which I might someday wish to write about it in these pages. The last notation I have was a short newspaper clipping dated
August 8, 1980 from Eastville, Virginia telling all persons interested that
the pending “Watermelon Case” would not be heard by Judge Wescott Northham who had declared himself disqualified. One of three other judges of the General District Federal Court.
I have often wonder why the Judge thought the case to be of sufficient notoriety to make excuse himself from hearing it. I found that the judge was in a partnership with State Senator William E. Fears, a Democrat who had to beat off a challenge from Custis, a Republican nominee for Fear's seat in the Senate the previous year. During that campaign Custis had accused Fears of “cronyism” in getting Northam appointed to the General Court bench over a sitting judge.
That made sense but I wondered at the time where they would find a judge who wasn't in some way with the long long vines watermelon cases so commonly put out when growing.
I never heard anything more of the celebrated “Watermelon Case” of the Eastville vicinity. To me, it seemed to have the basic element the feuds in Scotland or among the Appalachian Mountain descendants of quarreling Scot Highlanders. Did it come to trial? Did it amount to anything ,or like the Reverend Reid's truck-tire treated melons simple die on the vine?
Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 9-9-06 [c378wds]
