$18K raised for Beaufort’s ‘wavin’ man,’ who needs a new house. How to help
Beaufort’s “wavin’ man” needs a hand.
For 17 years, Thomas Allen Sr. has been a fixture during the morning commute along Highway 21 just north of Beaufort, where he waves at morning commuters. In 2016, he told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet, “Jehovah God wants people to see how His love works through me.”
The small but positive gesture has blessed countless motorists who have passed him over the years. “You can’t help but smile when you see him! He’s just so happy and for no reason at all,” one driver told the newspapers.
Now it is Allen who is being blessed by the Beaufort community after he put out the word that his raggedy old trailer on Stuart Point was falling apart. A fundraiser ensued after a former Beaufort Mayor Bill Rauch wrote a column about Allen that included his housing situation in the Island News.
As of Friday morning, more than $18,000 had been pledged to the GoFundMe, just shy of the $20,000 goal set by “friends of Tom Allen.”
“We are overwhelmed with the generosity of the folks whose lives have been touched by Thomas Allen and his calling to spread joy simply through smiles and waves -- no matter what the conditions,” his friends wrote on gofundme.
Beaufort’s unofficial greeter, the ‘wavin’ man’
On Friday morning, Allen, as usual, was seated on a stool on the side of Highway 21 across from Whale Branch Middle school. Allen wore a red tank top and shorts, white sneakers and a hat with earflaps to protect him from the sun. He waived and blew kisses as people drove by doing 55-60 mph. “I see you,” he said occasionally.
Allen 73, calls himself the “wavin’ man.” Others call him Beaufort’s unofficial greeter. Three days a week, from about 6 -9 a.m., he waves. He’s been at it this for 17 years, since Aug. 10, 2009.
It’s God’s will, he says simply, when asked why. God, he says, shows the love and caring he has for his children through him. He says he tries to bring people to a more positive or caring state with his waves.
‘They really appreciate me’
Allen grew up in Stuart Point. He spent most of his working years in construction — drywall, plumbing, sheet metal, carpentry. Now he lives on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income.
He used to walk from his home on Stuart Point Road in Seabrook to the Marine Corps Air Station, which is 6 miles one way, he says. A knee injury keeps him closer to home. On Friday, he sat at the intersection of Highway 21 and Northfork Road.
When he waves, drivers honk. An unspoken communication passes between them. “Gloriously,” is how Allen says passersby respond to his gestures. “They really appreciate me,” he says.
How to help
Click here to donate to a fundraiser set up to help Allen’s living situation.
