THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502090209
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOHN HARPER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 138 lines
IT'S TIME to come clean about Laundromats: Are they or are they not the meeting place for singles in the 1990s?
Ann Landers and Dear Abby think they are. They place self-service laundries just behind churches and grocery stores as prime meeting spots.
Think about the romantic possibilities. A man and woman can skip the small talk; the couple have something in common right from the start - dirty clothes.
Who knows where a discussion of fabric softeners may lead? In the dim fluorescent light, a man and woman can gaze longingly into each other's eyes as they share a cup of detergent.
And think about the time factor. It takes one to two hours for a couple of loads of clothes. There can be actual conversation - discussion of likes and dislikes, family, politics, music, movies, sports. A man and woman can actually get to know one another. By the time the washer is in its second spin cycle, the couple are no longer strangers in the night.
It happens. Mark and Ali Hood first made eye contact in the Wash and Dry Laundromat in Nags Head. Mark and Ali didn't speak that night three years ago. But an hour or so of goo-goo eyes lit the spark of romance.
A year after that soapy night, Mark and Ali got together. They're married now and have a 2-year-old son. Mark says a laundry setting is perfect for starting something new.
``You're just sort of stuck there,'' Mark Hood says. ``You have to talk.''
Patrons pass the time by talking, reading and making acquaintances in self-service laundries throughout the Albemarle, and each location has its own personality. On a recent Friday night I visited Nags Head Speed Wash.
And love was in the air.
Joe and Mary Pool own and operate Nags Head Speed Wash. They didn't meet there, but most of their waking hours over the last 30 years have been spent in the den of suds and duds.
The Pools opened their first coin-operated laundry in Manteo in 1965. It was something Joe had dreamed about. Growing up in Elizabeth City, Joe was always tinkering with things. While the other boys dreamed of cars and boats, Joe dreamed about washing machines.
``I've always had a fascination with anything mechanical,'' says Joe.
Joe earned a degree from North Carolina State University. He taught industrial arts at Manteo High School and was still teaching when the couple opened their first laundry. In 1971, the Pools opened the Nags Head Speed Wash. That was a love story.
The property in Nags Head was expensive. It would take a sizable investment to get the business started. Mary remembers the day they first looked at the property: ``I thought, how are we going to pay for this with quarters?''
But Mary believed in Joe. They secured the property, and from 1971 to 1974, the Pools operated two laundries. They lived in Manteo then, driving back and forth between the properties. The strain was too much. The Pools sold the Manteo operation and moved into an apartment above the Nags Head business. They're still there.
Joe and Mary's marriage is good. And Joe's passion for his work shows. All the washers and dryers work. The place is clean. Joe handles all the maintenance.
``I pride myself on everything working,'' he says.
Not only is Joe a spin doctor, keeping his machines purring, he is also the Outer Banks wash-and-dry historian.
Who else would know that the first such laundry in Dare County was in Kitty Hawk? The place wasn't exactly self-service: An attendant took the quarters, and the customer loaded the washer and dryer.
Other fun facts from Joe Pool:
The first self-service laundry in Dare County was the Cavalier in Nags Head.
The first dollar-bill changer was in the Pools' Manteo laundry in 1967.
Does Pool think the laundry is a good place to meet someone?
``Well, there certainly is a change in the ratio of men to women since I first started in the business,'' he says. ``It used to be about an 80/20 ratio of women to men. Now it's 50/50.''
It's a regular love-in at the Nags Head Speed Wash. There's Joe and Mary. And there's a man and his machines.
``They need a little tender loving care,'' says Joe.
My next stop is the Kill Devil Hills Coin-Operated Launderette. This is the only 24-hour such operation on the Outer Banks. On a recent Sunday night, the joint is jumping. Every washer and dryer is in use. There's a lot of conversation. A young man tells a friend about his recent arrest for possession of drugs.
``He must think he's cool,'' says a young woman who also is an acquaintance of the man.
The young woman is reading a book on Tarot. I ask her if she can read my future.
``I could, but it would be wrong,'' she says. She goes back to her book.
This doesn't feel like the love connection. It feels like a soap powder opera.
Twenty-four-year-old Erica Gabrielson of Kill Devil Hills is here to wash her boyfriend's clothes.
``He's a taxi driver,'' says Gabrielson. ``He had to go on a run.''
Gabrielson is a dreamer. She says her dream is to go cross-country on a bus.
``You can learn a lot about people by riding on a bus,'' she says.
Also in the house on this Sunday night is the Pittman family. Ben and Candy wash and dry their clothes here once a week. Their daughter, Tiffany, helps with the folding. The Pittmans believe in sharing the household responsibilities.
``This is our quality time together,'' says Candy. ``It's an hour a week that we are together.''
The Pittmans didn't meet at the laundry, but both say it is a good place for meeting people.
``It may not work out for romance,'' says Candy. ``Both people would have to be in the same cycle.''
Maybe Candy can work up a whole monologue for next week.
It's a quiet Tuesday afternoon at the Mr. Clean laundry in Manteo. Fran Hooe of Wanchese has come in because her washer at home is not working. Cheryl Reber of Wanchese is finishing her wash. The two are seeing each other for the first time since they worked together three years ago.
Another customer, 45-year-old Joe Julian, is in town for a week. He's from Petersburg, Va. The man is a philosopher. He says he's never owned a washer and dryer.
``A man is rich in proportion to what he can do without,'' Julian says, paraphrasing Benjamin Franklin.
This man loves coin-operated laundries. Although Julian says he rarely starts conversations, he finds plenty to do while his clothes are washing.
``I read the Wall Street Journal or I watch the clothes spin in the dryer,'' says Julian. ``Some of the spin cycles are better than some TV shows.''
What's my spin on all this?
Well, Ann and Abby could be right. Maybe we are looking for love in all the wrong places. Mr. or Ms. Right could be just a rinse cycle away. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on cover
Staff photo by DREW C. WILSON
Cesal Cabrales, 68, a vacationer from Equador, gets comfortable
while doing laundry in Nags Head.
Photos
Shannon Beasley, 10, of Colington, practices cartwheels while her
parents do the wash.
Fran Hooe, left, and Cheryl Reber, both of Wanchese, socialize at a
Manteo laundry.
by CNB