Woolbright Drive, Beverly Hills, Cebu City
The street is named after Edgar "Eddie" Ray Woolbright, the builder and planner of the first wellplanned land development in Cebu City, the Beverly Hills.
Edgar, more known as Eddie, was born on March 18, 1920. He was the son of Nell Sanders and Ray Woolbright of Oklahoma, United States of America. Eddie was part of the thousands of Americans who landed in Leyte led by Gen. Douglas McArthur. Woolbright was a Second Mate in the Merchant Marine. After the war, he decided to stay in Tacloban and there engaged in buying and selling of surplus equipment. Woolbright had a junkyard in Palo, Leyte and a restaurant in Tacloban. Eddie then left Tacloban for Cebu in 1949.
Woolbright then opened a restaurant called "Eddie's Log Cabin Coffee Shop" and a store he called "Eddie's Auto Supply" near the Cebu City Hall. His restaurant became the meeting place of politicians and diplomats.
On May 29, 1969, the Cebu City Council passed a resolution authorizing the Cebu City mayor to accept, for and in behalf of the City of Cebu, the donation of the improvements incurred by Mr. Edgar "Eddie" Woolbright, owner and operator of the Beverly Hills Subdivision, in Salvador Extension passing through Lot No. 1986 towards the sea by grading and placing the necessary filling materials of the Beverly Hills Subdivision, City of Cebu, without cost to the City Government of Cebu City. The chairman of the City Council's Committee on Public Works was Councilor Bienvenido B. Tudtud.
When Martial Law was declared on September 21, 1972, Mr. Woolbright was arrested by the Philippine Constabulary (on November) , when he was tricked to come to the headquarters on the pretext that he was invited for an afternoon party, when there was none. Dan Sullivan, the American Consul came to the help but the Philippine Constabulary refused to release him and brought him to a stockade. But he was given special privilege, since no charge was filed against him he was allowed to leave the stockade almost every day. Upon the prodding of friends he sent a cable to the First Lady, Imelda Marcos, whom he knew when the latter was still a teenager in Tacloban. Within two hours after the cable was sent to Manila, he was released into detention.
On August 12, 1996 the Cebu City Council passed a resolution extending the Cebuanos' deep condolence and empathy to the bereaved family and friends of Mr. Eddie Ray Woolbright "An Adopted Son of Cebu" (through Cebu City Council Resolution No. 1963 passed on February 20, 1995) who died on August 6, 1996 at the age of 76.
On January 4, 1990 the officers and members of Beverly Hills Subdivision moved to amend City Ordinance No. 1316 naming a street from Gorordo Avenue traversing Beverly Hills as Doña Modesta Gaisano. The petition prayed that the name of the street within the Beverly Hills Subdivision as Woolbright Drive be maintained and that the renamed road extends only from the Gorordo Avenue up to the entrance of the Beverly Hills Subdivision.
Eddie sired 9 children, the eldest, (1) Rick Enga (married Jenny Hendricks), a long time prosecutor in Hennepin and Dokota counties and who was appointed as Special United Nations Prosecutor in Kosovo. He died on September 2005 at the age of 59.
Next was, (2) Marc Cantil Woolbright, whose half sister, Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye (the Gorre's are from Cebu) became the 28th Chief Justice of the State of America. She was sworn into office on January 3, 2011, his other half sister is also a lawyer, Atty. Kim Cantil. Another child, (3) is Kathy Avalon Woolbright, married to Christopher Lhuillier Darza, then (4) Atty. Kristina Woolbright Conner, (5) Alice Corrales Woolbright (her mother, Anne Corrales was Miss Philippines 1957) married to Dr. Ricardo Fernandez, then (6) Juanita Woolbright, (7) Gilbert Woolbright married to Arlene Monteclar, then (8) Joy Marie Woolbright who married Giancarlo Gamboa Sotto, son of Senator Vicente Castelo Sotto III (grandson and namesake of Senator Vicente Yap Sotto) and Helen Gamboa, an actress, a son of the young couple is named Vicente Woolbright Sotto IV, nicknamed Hugo and the ninth, (9) Dr. Karen Woolbright.