Mr. Etta Vaughan Wells

When asked how Wells got his nickname, "Ham," acquaintance Ken Yancey replied, "I believe it was because of the size of his hands.
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Wells was born in Dinwiddie County on Aug. 17, 1908, a son of the late William Archer and Etta Vaughan Wells.

He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and in 1928 began a 12-year career with the Virginia Department of Highways as a surveyor and engineer.

In 1940, he was appointed city engineer of Radford, Va., shortly before that city's population doubled during World War II with the construction of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant.He was named city manager of Radford in 1944 and served until 1947, when he became city superintendent of Harrisonburg.

In November 1949, he became city manager of Waynesboro shortly after its designation as a city.
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Wells co-authored the 1950 City Code and, over the next seven years, the city improved its services by building new roads, schools, fire department building and sewage-treatment plant.

During that same period, the city cooperated with the Waynesboro Community Hospital to develop and build the hospital on Oak Avenue, where it opened in 1955.In addition, Mr. Wells proposed acquiring real estate for what became Ridgeview Park and, with private contributions, the building of the War Memorial Pool.

In 1956, he resigned as city manager to establish W.T. Wells Co.Inc., a construction firm specializing in excavating and road and highway construction.He retired from active business in 1974.

In 1960, Mr. Wells was elected a member of Waynesboro City Council and served until 1963.He was for many years an officer and part owner of the former Southern Industrial Savings and Loan.He served as a member of the Waynesboro Planning Commission, the Augusta County Planning Commission, the South River Watershed Flood Control Commission.Wells was a board member of the Waynesboro Community Hospital and YMCA, and served as chairman of the Waynesboro Flood Control Authority, the Industrial Development Authority, the District Home Board and the Headwater Soil and Water Conservation District.

Wells took time in his busy career for his family and church.
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Wells was a member of First Presbyterian Church, where he served as a deacon for more than 50 years.He was a member of Mason Lee Lodge No. 209 and a member of the Waynesboro Lion's Club and Shriner's Club, and the Waynesboro Country Club.He was a former member of the Waynesboro East-Augusta Chamber of Commerce, the International City Managers Association, the Society of American Military Engineers, and the Virginia Ready-Mix Concrete Association.

In 1973, he became the sixth recipient of the Book of Golden Deeds Award, bestowed by the Waynesboro Exchange Club upon "a leading citizen for activities other than occupational or professional" in recognition of his 24 years of service on the District Home board and 16 years on the Waynesboro Community Hospital board.

In October 1999, to mark the 50th anniversary of his becoming city manager, Waynesboro City Council passed a resolution honoring Wells for his "great diligence and dedication" in helping "to transfer Waynesboro to a city of the first class" for "service to all its residents, its commercial activities and the industrial plants."

On Oct. 30, 1937, Wells married Ella Patteson Lewis, who died on Oct. 29, 1953.