Henry Whitley left the family grocery business, Whitley Specialty Co., to pursue his dream of building houses. The year was 1958, and Whitley had just a few carpenters on the payroll of Suburban Real Estate. But his product — 1,000-square-foot homes for less than $10,000 — drew buyers in West Smithfield, Four Oaks and Clayton.

“He was building for the average person,” said Henry “Whit” Whitley Jr., son of Henry Whitley. “My dad had a great reputation as a hardworking, earnest guy who got people into homes who didn’t know they could otherwise get into a home.”

Whit Whitley, who eventually inherited his dad’s business, worked on a carpentry crew with his father during summers and school holidays. After graduating from Wake Forest University, Whit joined his father’s business in 1969 and became a licensed Realtor one year later. He started the brokerage side of the business while his dad continued to build homes.

Opportunity came knocking for Suburban Real Estate seven years later. Whit and his father decided to become a franchise of Century 21.

“I felt this was the trend, this was the answer, this was the way things were going,” said Whit, a graduate of the N.C. Realtors Institute.

Whit said some folks were skeptical of a small-town company joining forces with a national firm. “I was the young guy who was competing against the gray-haired and white-haired people in this business,” he said. “Why would people believe me [over them]? I had a feeling they would say: ‘This little guy isn’t even wet behind the ears. His hair is still black.’”

But for more than 38 years now, Whit has been the driving force behind Century 21, which also has an office in Clayton. Of course, he’s had plenty of help. His father kept building until his retirement in 1988. Whit’s wife, Cindy, does the bookkeeping. His daughter, Lydia Moore, is secretary and treasurer, and her husband, Andy Moore, is vice president. Janice Ennis has been the secretary and receptionist for more than 15 years.

Whit’s daughter, who joined the company more than 15 years ago, said real estate runs in her blood. She filed papers, stamped checks and helped around the office as a youngster in the summers.

Now, she sits in the office that once belonged to her grandfather. And if Lydia needs anything, her father is only a few steps or a holler away.

“I definitely wanted to work with my dad because he is such a great teacher,” she said. “He is a wealth of information. He takes time to help and is still very hands-on with management. If you need him to hold a tape measure in a house or stick a sign in a yard, he will do it for me and anyone else.”

With the company’s longevity, why not grow it to include dozens of Realtors?

“We are a small office, but I can tell you we are a small office for a reason,” Whit said. “I’ve never had the desire to be a ‘big’ company. My philosophy is I want us to be recognized for the professionalism and integrity we have brought to the real-estate brokerage business over all these years. We can do that without having hoards of agents.”