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orchard crews. For fun they swam in the river at Rock Mills and went to the “all day dinner and meetings on the church grounds on Sundays.”
In later years they went into partnership to breed Charolais cattle. Now Mr. O’Bannon hs given up farming except for a large garden. Jimmy Falls rents the land that came from Mrs. O’Bannon’s family.
; “He’s a very outgoing person and he’s not looking for a lot of recognition,” said Mr. Falls. “He’s just a good fella, that’s all.”
“He’s one of the best givers in our little church down here, and one of the best friends a person can have,” said Woodville farmer Raymond Johnson, a longtime friend. “I don’t know of any person I have more respect for than Maurice O’Bannon.”
Supervisor and former Sheriff Charles K. “Pete” Estes travels sometimes with Mr. O’Bannon on buying trips. “He knows all the good places to eat between Atlanta and New York on the East Coast and west to Ohio,” Mr. Estes said.
“He’s basically a farmer at heart,” he added. He said Mr. O’Bannon constantly comments during the trips about the livestock and crops they see along the way.
He notes that Mr. O’Bannon provides employment for many local people. “He provides a second income for families that enhances their standard of living,” he said. He notes that customers attracted to the Emporium also add to the tourist business in Sperryville.
“He has a knack for knowing what people will buy,” he said. “He holds it up to his imaginary yardstick and says, ‘That will sell.’ ”
He adds that usually Mr. O’Bannon is right, but sometimes it doesn’t sell. “There is a certain amount of risk in buying all that stuff. It might sit on the shelf and have several birthdays,” he said.
When they take off on a buying
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