Pungo Tales is a series of books by the Rev. Walter A. Whitehurst [1933-2020] that contain stories about life in and around Pungo village in Virginia Beach, Va., as recalled by or told to the author.
The books generally compiled anecdotes told with kindness and wit, and some volumes relayed historical information about rural communities. Whitehurst was a Methodist minister who grew up in the village and, after a long career in ministry and mission work, retired there to a home built on the same site of his childhood house.
The series began in 2011 as a collection of stories entitled simply Pungo Tales, and then it continued as people brought stories to him, according to his wife, Betty Whitehurst. Following Walter Whitehurst’s death in 2020, she said, “He said that he never dreamed that he would end up writing five of those books, but each time that he wrote one, people would come up to him and say, ‘I have a story, too. You’ve got to include mine.'”
The fifth and final volume included personal reflections on Whitehurst’s childhood in Pungo and his life thereafter, including time away in ministry and his return to his hometown. In 2015, speaking about his subject and muse, Whitehurst said, “I guess I’m just an advocate for Pungo.”
The books were published through Headlight Press in Statesboro, Ga., and sold by local businesses and by the author himself during community events such as the Pungo Strawberry Festival. They remained available for sale online in 2020.
Books in the series:
- Pungo Tales [2011]
- Pungo Tales Two: Some Old, Some New [2011]
- Pungo Takes Three: People, Pets, Places [2013]
- Pungo Tales Four: Then and Now [2014]
- Pungo Tales Five: My Story and More [2016]
Sources:
- Doucette, John-Henry, The Princess Anne Independent News, “The teller of tales who records Pungo’s small town moments” [Dec. 30, 2015]
- Holloman Brown Funeral Home, “Walter A. Whitehurst obituary” [Accessed Aug. 30, 2020]
- Rowe, Jane Bloodworth, The Princess Anne Independent News, “Walter A. Whitehurst, pastor and author, crafted tales about the village that was his beloved home” [Feb. 9, 2020]
- Whitehurst, Walter A., Pungo Tales Five: My Story and More [2016]