Keeper of
the Flame
Koing Tom's brother Is a full-time
job for Fred Wolfe.
By NANCY C. WYLIE
"Tom, you can come home again.
They've been good to you, boy. Tom.
are you listening?"
The event evoked drama — and Fred
Wolfe rose to the occasion with fervor
characteristic of Asheville's fabulous
Wolfes. With this apostrophe, he be¬
gan his speech at the dedication of the
Thomas Wolfe Memorial as a national
historic site.
Fred Wolfe (cast as Luke (Jam in
Tom’s classic Look Homeward, Angel)
accepted the plaque designating their
childhood home as a registered national
historic landmark. Surely this was one
of his finest hours in the years of ac¬
tivity devoted to preserving the image
of his famous brother.
As he spoke to the visitors assembled
in front of the Wolfe Memorial last
year, it was evident that Fred is
Tom’s biggest fan. This affable brother
is voluble — on one subject — Thomas
Clayton Wolfe. As he talks, listeners
are reminded of the novelist. Like
Tom, he is tall, with bushy hair, has a
vigorous manner, and stutters a bit.
Fred's speech at the dedication was
original and natural, livened with hu¬
mor and imbued with pride. He told
his audience that Tom "made history"
for his family and for the city of Ashe¬
ville, adding. "We were bom hillbillies
and we’re proud of it."
He said that Tom made him stutter¬
ing Luke in Look Homeward, Angel.
"In a large family." he continued,
“where one has a spark of genius,
somebody has to be the damn fool.”
You can't stop him
Varied and colorful has been the
life of genial Fred Wolfe. It is quite an
experience for an interviewer when the
subject is Tom's brother, over in Spar¬
tanburg, South Carolina. When you be¬
gin writing your story, if you need addi¬
tional data — write, don't call. A simple
question evokes a gush of words com¬
parable to those that poured from
Tom’s pen. Fred says. "I turn myself
on. but I can’t turn myself off." A
friend adds. "It's no trouble to get Fred
started; you just can’t stop him."
This older brother of Tom’s fills his
days answering letters, taking tele¬
phone calls, receiving visitors, talking
to groups. . . . Asked about his early
years, he says, "I had a checkered ca¬
reer before I settled down in Spartan¬
burg." (Here he lives on Otis Boule¬
vard with his attractive wife, Mary.)
He likes to surprise a reporter by
saying that Luke is Georgia Tech’s
enigma, adding. "I entered Tech in
1912 and graduated in 1922, with a
four-year degree in engineering."
His blue-gray eyes twinkle as he
laughingly continues, “But during that
time. I went to Tech awhile, spent 19
months in the Army, attended Carnegie
Tech in Pittsburg one semester, worked
in a steel plant, worked for Dclco, went
back to Tech. You know Tom says in
his book — writing about Luke — ‘The
damn fool wouldn't study.' Well, a
good part of the time. Fred Wolfe
didn't study."
Fred laughs freely, though not with
Tom’s celebrated guffaws. He says he
is no public speaker, enlarging on this.
"I am unorganized, undisciplined, and
unpredictable. Tom knew where he was
going; he had something to say. I just
give the facts about Tom."
The Wolfe Collection
This devotee of Tom's retired from
business in 1962 (four years after his
sister Mabel had passed to him the
torch) — that is. he retired from any
business other than that of being Tom
Wolfe's brother. Since he has been
flooded with inquiries about his famed
brother, he has found that answering
them is a full-time job.
During the last quarter of a century.
Fred Wolfe has made countless visits
to Pack Memorial Public Library, there
on the square in Asheville, Tom’s
Ahamont of "Look Homeward.
Angel." He and his late sister Mabel
contributed letters, newspaper clip-
a
THE STATE. March 1974
