2015 Pride Section I by Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Monday, September 21, 2015 Pride I 1

Four Seasons

Snapshot Selfies Pride 2015

Profiles of individuals living throughout Four Seasons Country

Staff photo by Blake Stowers

Crystal and Raymond Pruitt are both majors at the Salvation Army in Princeton.

A team effort Salvation Army husband-wife duo provide love, support to those in need By BLAKE STOWERS Bluefield Daily Telegraph RINCETON — A Salvation Army husband-wife team is working together to provide love and support to those who need it in the community. Crystal and Raymond Pruitt are both majors at the Salvation Army in Princeton. The husband and wife duo share responsibilities within the realm of the Salvation Army world. “It’s different at every location,” Major Crystal Pruitt said. We’ve been doing this almost 30 years. Sometimes it’s a lot of youth work, because that’s what needs to be built up. Sometimes it’s a lot of fundraising. It’s always a little of everything. Under our hat we have youth work, senior citizen programs,

summer camps, and year round social services.” Both Crystal and Raymond are ordained ministers. “We both preach, we’re both ordained in the Salvation Army so we can do funerals and weddings and things like that,” Crystal Pruitt said. “Really it’s a lot of combination of things. The focus is different for things.” Major Raymond Pruitt said there is never a dull moment at the Salvation Army. “We never know who’s going to walk through the door,” Major Raymond Pruitt said. “Or what they may need. We do our best to respond to that need. A lot of times people think of us as the people who ring the bells or the place where you take your used stuff. But it really is about meeting human need wherever that is.” Major Crystal Pruitt said

the key thing for her and her husband is ministering to others in the name of Christ. “We’re Christians, we’re a church and everything we do flows out of that,” Major C rystal Pruitt said. “When people need clothes or they need food or the child that needs to have a program off the street. Or teaching a Sunday school class or preaching a sermon on Sunday morning, that is part of what we do.” According to Crystal Pruitt, there are four training schools in the country for being an ordained minister in the Salvation Army. “First off you have to be a member of the Salvation Army at your church for at least a year, which is called a soldier,” C rystal Pruitt said. “And you have to be in good standing. And be willing to go through an application process. If

you’re accepted the Salvation Army sends you to the school that is the closest to you.” C rystal and Raymond attended the school in Atlanta. “And for two years we trained there and learned Salvation Army policies, you take bible classes, homiletics, speech, a street mini s t ry,” Crystal Pruitt said. “You just do a lot of different things. And in two years you become an ordained minister if you make it through the two. Some do, some don’t, then you have the rank of lieutenant for five years. They usually give you an appointment to help someone run a Salvation Army unit or your on your own like we are here.” C rystal Pruitt said they filled her and her husband with a lot of good information during their course of study

in Atlanta. “We cover a lot of subjects in two years, and a lot of good experiences,” Crystal Pruitt said. “You go out and keep on learning and keep on ministering.” Raymond Pruitt said that working with your spouse can be interesting. “As much as you try to separate work from home you really can’t do it to the degree that you would want to do it,” Raymond Pruitt said. “As much as you try for it not to happen, issues do spill over. Stuff that you take home and stuff at home you bring here, I mean, we’ve been married 26 years and we’re still trying to figure out how to balance the two.” Crystal Pruitt agreed with her husband that working with the Salvation Army is a balancing act. “In some ways it’s really great cause you’re a team,” Crystal Pruitt said.

“So you carry the teamwork where ever you go. Yet because of different styles of leadership and personalities it can be a real challenge sometimes. Sometimes we’ve moved our offices far away from each other, just so we can get along better. Other times, we’ve moved our offices closer.” Crystal Pruitt said that the two try to divide and conquer the tasks at hand. “Raymond helped with a funeral on Friday,” Crystal Pruitt said. “I teach one of our teen bible study groups. He takes care of property and I take care of the program. That’s mostly how we do it. If it comes to employees that’s mainly him. I can be nice to them. The reprimanding goes to him. I may work with training the Sunday school teachers.” — Contact Blake Stowers at bstowers@bdtonline.com

2 Pride I Monday, September 21, 2015

‘I love growing plants. It’s fun watching stuff come up. And there’s always that time in there you think did I plant it at the right time, and you know you did because you wrote it down the year before. It’s fun to watch people come in excited over stuff. I enjoy it.’ — Helen Dodd Co-owner of Bloomin’ Idiots greenhouse

Greenhouse co-owner helps beautify surrounding counties By BLAKE STOWERS Bluefield Daily Telegraph BLAND, Va. — One local woman is helping to beautify the counties around her. Helen Dodd, co-owner of B l o o m i n’ Idiots greenhouse, operates out of Bland, Va. “A greenhouse is a structure that will let you grow, before the outside seasons will let you grow plants,” Dodd said. “So, when it’s snowing two feet outside, we can be 75 degrees inside. It gives you a head start. We start planting the second week of March. Our stuff starts to be ready to sell in late April.” Bloomin’ Idiots has been open for 12 years. “We’ve enjoyed it,” Dodd said. “A lot of our stuff plants from seeds. Which is real easy. You fill the cups with dirt and you drop the seed. One seed in a thing. Some of it’s cuttings that we have to start roots on. Plant those and a few of those come in as little plugs and we put those in the dirt. It (the plug) is a little root bulb about the size of my thumb.” Dodd said that people come from all over the country to visit the greenhouse. “It’s been surprising, we’ve had them down out of North Carolina, Winston Salem, past Bristol, Beckley, up above Roanoke,” Dodd said. “Word of mouth has done

real well for us. We only advertised the first year, and one other year.” Dodd made an estimate that about 300 to 400 cars come in to visit the greenhouse yearly. “It does real well,” Dodd said. “There’s times that there are 25 to 30 cars in the parking lot.” Dodd said there are four green houses at her establishment. “One is 24 by 72 and the smallest one is 16 by 60,” Dodd said. “And then there are 28 by 68. Pretty good size. We heat them with wood and propane.” Dodd said that heating the structures can be difficult. “We don’t start till March,” Dodd said. “You’re basically heating outside, so when the cloud goes across or the sun goes down, it’s basically the same temperature as outside without the heat. We heat two houses with an outside wood furnace and then we heat the other house with propane.” Dodd worked for a greenhouse company for about 20 years. “They didn’t grow stuff, they were like the middle man broker. I’ve always liked growing stuff. We started with one, had to throw up another one the first year and then the next year we put up the other two.” The first greenhouse Helen built came from

Tazewell, Va. “We dismantled it, numbered all the parts, took it apart, put it in the cattle trailer, brought it home and put it back together again. That was our biggest house.” Dodd grows a variety of plants in her greenhouse. “We grow hanging baskets, perennials, vegetables, herbs and annuals,” Dodd said. “Pretty much everything. We don’t do shru bbery, but we do pretty much everything else. We do geraniums, wave petunias, impatiens, begonias, And if anybody comes in and says hey I wish you had this, we write it down and the next year we try to have it.” There is an art to growing plants. “We just keep an ongoing list,” Dodd said. “And then adjust what we grow to what we sold the year before. More of this, less of that.” Dodd enjoys working with the greenhouse. “It’s pretty fun,” Dodd said. “I love growing plants. It’s fun watching stuff come up. And there’s always that time in there you think did I plant it at the right time, and you know you did because you wrote it down the year before. It’s fun to watch people come in excited over stuff. I enjoy it.” The interesting name for the greenhouse, “Bloomin’ Idiots,” was an idea given to Dodd by a friend. — Contact Blake Stowers at bstowers@bdtonline.com

Staff photo by Blake Stowe r s

In Bland... Helen Dodd, co-owner of Bloomin’ Idiots greenhouse, said that people come from all over the country to visit the greenhouse.

Monday, September 21, 2015 Pride I 3

Miller aids those with special needs By BLAKE STOWERS Bluefield Daily Telegraph PRINCETON — One local teacher spends her days working with special needs students at a local high school. Karen Miller, who spends her time working with special needs students at Pikeview High School, said that there are several strategies that can be used in the classroom when working with special needs students. “One good strategy to use is task analysis,” Miller said. “Task analysis is breaking down into parts. Say for example a student is trying to learn how to tie their shoe. As a teacher, you want to determine the first step for that student. You want to break it into steps and continue down until the last step. You can do that with a lot of different things.” Miller also works with the kids on cooking. “It’s just like cooking,” Miller said. “Whatever it is we have a recipe. They have to follow it step by step for the food to come out the right way.” Miller teaches three different courses in her classroom. “In my class I teach three subjects,” Miller said. “I teach functional academics. Basically that is the writing, the reading and the spelling, the grammar, math, science. We also put in phonics as well, so it’s a variety of things we work on in functional academics.” Along with functional academics, Miller also teaches prevocation. “Learning about careers and learning to do different kinds of jobs,” Miller said. She also teaches independent living. “It’s just various things that you need to be able to do in your life to be independent,” Miller said. “That’s grooming, all kinds of different areas. Everything

Staff photo by Blake Stowers

In class... Karen Miller, who spends her time working with special needs students at Pikeview High School, said that there are several strategies that can be used in the classroom when working with special needs students. you would need to know to be successful in life to eventually live on your own, we talk about it. We talk about everything.” Miller also teaches from the drivers education book. “Several are working towards eventually taking the test,” Miller said. “We got through the drivers ed book and discuss information

about that. Independent living is anything we may encounter in life. We will go over it.” Miller trains her students with hopes that they will get a job following graduation. “When they graduate, these kids if they want to be successful they can possibly get a job,” Miller said. “If they so desire. I’ve got one student

that graduated this past year. He’s finding jobs through several different agencies. He has excellent work habits and that’s very important.” Miller teaches several important concepts in her classroom. “When you’re working stay on your job,” Miller said. “Stay focused to complete the job. If your job is to sweep

the floor in here, going back to task analysis, pull the chairs out, sweep under, around, around the edges. Step by step.” Miller’s schedule also involves conducting community services. “We do a lot of jobs here (Pikeview High School),” Miller said. “We enjoy going out and doing anything and

everything for Pikeview. Tomorrow we’re going out and pickup trash. It’s like a community service type thing. They’re doing a job and they’re doing a service as well. They enjoy doing that.” According to Miller, different children learn at different levels. “And you have some kids that learn better visual by looking at the board,” Miller said. “Some learn by hearing and some learn by hands on. Some learn better by starting and completing a task. You have to work your lesson styles around the learning styles of each kid.” Miller said that her kids work better under direct instruction. “Our kids have to have direct instructions,” Miller said. “So direct instructions is very important for them to understand what they have to do. And through this they have to listen and follow the directions in anything they have to do. In whether it’s a job or an assignment. It’s very important.” Miller’s main expectation for her students is for them to become better readers. “I’ve got one kid when they come in here could not pronounce words. So she’s about to graduate this year. I want them to become better readers. Better math students. I hope that they become a better citizen in their community. Special needs students can attend school until they are 21-years-old. “And then when they walk out of here I want them to become a better citizen in society,” Miller said. “So, that’s what I expect. It makes me feel good when they finish high school.” Miller teaches grades nine through 12 at Pikeview High School. — Contact Blake Stowers at bstowers@bdtonline.com

‘It makes you feel needed; It’s a good feeling’ Local nurse works with retirees at Glenwood Retirement Village By BLAKE STOWERS Bluefield Daily Telegraph RINCETON — A sweet spirited nurse works with retirees at Glenwood Retirement Village. Alice Shrader has been working at Glenwood Retirement Village for nearly 30 years as a licensed practical nurse. “It’s a nurse who has gone through vocational training,” Shrader said. “We go through a twelve month vocational education instead of the two years of college. The R.N.’S have more education. But we are trained in the signs and symptoms and medications. Shrader works as a medication nurse. “Mostly,” Shrader said. “At times I do work as a treatment nurse. On night shift I have worked charge. They are the nurses who are in charge of the floor. If anything were to happen or the powers at be need to be notified, the charge nurse usually takes care of it.” Shrader gave a brief overview of Glenwood Retirement Village. “It’s a nursing home, it’s an assisted living facility, it’s an independent living facility,” Shrader said. “We have skilled residents that take more care. We have assisted living residents that require some help with their activities and daily activity. Then we have the residents who live out in the apartments and town houses that are independent living. Generally we are here for them if they need us. For the most part they do for themselves.” Shrader said it felt good to be helping people at Glenwood. “It makes you feel needed. It’s a good feeling.” Shrader has had several mentors over the years. “I’ve had several nurses that took me under their wing over

Staff photo by Blake Stowers

Best part of the job... Alice Shrader said the best part of her job is when a resident thanks her. ‘When a resident calls me by name and says I’m glad you’re here,’ Shrader said. ‘It’s nice. It makes me feel like I’m doing something right.’

the years,” Shrader said. “They’re all retired now. They taught me well.” Shrader said the main thing her mentors taught her was respect. “They taught me that this is their home and that we are coming into their home,” Shrader said. They’ve taught me some skills. But for the most part respect. We have certain skills we l e a rn in school, but in the actual nursing home setting you have to refine them. They helped me to refine them.” Shrader said the best part of her job is when a resident thanks her. “When a resident calls me by name and says I’m glad you’re here,” Shrader said. “It’s nice. It makes me feel like I’m doing something right.” Shrader said there are tough aspects to her job. “When one of our residents passes away, that’s hard and you have to learn to deal with it. We get attached to our residents. It’s an adjustment.” Shrader said that there was one particular woman who touched her heart over the years. “There was a lady many years ago that I took care of and every time I had a day off, she would have a fit,” Shrader said. So finally I gave her my phone number and between 10 and 11 a.m. on my day off she would always call me and we would talk for a few minutes and she was fine for the rest of the day. That broke my heart when she passed away.” Shrader said there are mentally challenging aspects to her job. “Sometimes you have to deal with a confused resident,” Shrader said. “Sometimes it’s anger issues. Sometimes you feel overwhelmed, but you just have to get passed all of it and do your job.” Shrader had words of

wisdom for those considering working at a nursing home. “First, the nursing home setting is not for every nurse,” Shrader said. “There are just some nurses that are not cut out for the setting. There are some nurses like myself that this is my niche. I’m a geriatric nurse. This is where I want to be and where I want to retire. Encouragement. Work hard. And try not to get overwhelmed to much and respect your residents.” In the healthcare unit, where Shrader serves, there are 67 beds. “When I first came here they had the apartments, the assisted living and the healthcare,” Shrader said. “Over the years, in 1988 they added more rooms, the atrium, and then later on they built the townhouses.” Shrader is constantly monitoring her residents health. “As I go down and give my medications I make sure that my residents respond to me the way they usually do. I observe them and see if they’re having any pain. And then I’m making small talk with them. If I have something I can give them, then I take care of it. If not, I let the doctor know, and see what he has to say. We do monitor them and try to get them back on the right track. Shrader went over the keys to being a good nurse. “You need to know your patients,” Shrader said. “You need to be respectful. You need to know what you’re doing. Be as kind as you can.” Shrader attended the Mercer County Vocation/Technical school. She graduated in 1985. — Contact Blake Stowers at bstowers@ bdtonline.com

4 Pride I Monday, September 21, 2015

Staff photo by Blake Stowers

Excellent example... Dustin Pennington is a senior football player at Bland County High School. Pennington is involved with several organizations that conduct volunteer work in the community.

Leading by example Bland County gridiron athlete volunteers in community By BLAKE STOWERS Bluefield Daily Telegraph BLAND — One local athlete is making a difference in his community by volunteering. Dustin Pennington is a senior football player at Bland County High School. Pennington is involved with several organizations that conduct volunteer work in the community. “I’m in FBLA, FCLA, FCA, and 4-H,” Pennington said. Pennington has been in FBLA since the 8th grade. He has helped the FBLA conduct food drives to help support the Bland Mission. “We picked up trash last year,” Pennington said. Pennington is studying “the basics” at Bland County High School. “Sciences. Stuff like that,” Pennington said.

Recently, the Bland County Mission held a Christian rock concert called Bear Jam. Pennington helped with the set up of the stage. He’s also helped with a host of other projects in Bland County. “I’ve helped set up the stage at the Bear Jam they had this summer,” Pennington said. “I set up the wrestling stage for the thing they had a couple of months ago at Relay for Life. I’ve picked up trash. I’ve picked up food at Sam’s for them. I’ve unloaded stuff. I’ve helped at the fair and the festival of leaves. I’ve helped the art teacher move stuff.” Pennington said that a successful volunteer has a desire to help the community. “You just have to help your community,” Pennington said. “If you help your community, your community will help you.” Pennington is also a captain

on the Bland County Football team. “Left tackle on offense and left defensive tackle too,” Pennington said. This is Pennington’s tenth year playing football. He’s been playing the sport since the 3rd grade. “Can’t beat it,” Pennington said. “I just always liked sports as a kid. I decided to try it in the third grade and I loved it. I’ve been here ever since.” Pennington moved from Mercer County to Bland County when he was 5-yearsold. Pennington has trained a few of his friends in the art of volunteering. “Sometimes I get my friends to come,” Pennington said. “My sister. Just anybody that’s free, willing to help. I bring them along.” Pennington leads by example on the football field. “Lead by example,” Pennington

said. “Be positive. Don’t be negative.” Pennington said, if somebody asks for help, then he’ll do his best to get there and help them. Pennington said it feels good to be a student athlete who helps out in the community. “It’s a good feeling,” Pennington said. “It’s just good to know you’re helping other people. And not just worrying about yourself.” Pennington started volunteering at a young age. He currently helps out at Bastian Union on occasion. “It’s just something I started at a young age and kept doing it,” Pennington said. “From your parents getting you to help with church and stuff. I never really stopped. I just kept helping out. I’ve just been everywhere.” Pennington said the Bland County football team is look-

ing good this season. “We did good at our scrimmage on Saturday. It was a good start. It was the best one I’ve had since I played here. We played Northwood, Patrick Henry, and Roanoke Catholic.” Pennington said that to be a successful student athlete, school has to come first. “First it’s school,” Pennington said. “You gotta get your school first. If you don’t start at school, you might as well give up. If you’re not making the grades, you’re not going to be able to play. You have to be a good student. You can’t just try to be a good athlete. Being an athlete only lasts so long, the student part is what carries over. After your playing career is over.” Pennington keeps a good attitude on the field when working with teammates. “We’re not mean or pick

when people mess up,” Pennington said. “Someone at the same position works with it and fixes it as soon as it happens so they don’t keep doing the wrong thing. Players and coaches both, nobody gets looked down on when they mess up. It just gets fixed and just improve.” Pennington said that a tough loss will make you work harder in practice. Pennington has dreams of pursing a career path within the environmental science field. “I’m not sure what job,” Pennington said. “I just know I’m going to focus on the field. You can be a game warden. Conservationist. It doesn’t sound like a very broad thing, but the list goes on and on.” Pennington lives in Bastian, Va. He’s considering attending UVA Wise for college. — Contact Blake Stowers at bstowers@bdtonline.com

25 years of excellence: Local coach keeping his eye on the future By BLAKE STOWERS Bluefield Daily Telegraph BLAND, Va. — Whether it be game to game or practice to practice, one local coach is keeping his eye on the future. Rich Hankins, 51, has been coaching for more than 25 years. He enjoys working with the kids to help them mature and become adults. “I guess the finished product,” Hankins said. “It’s good to see those kids as 7th and 8th graders and then watch them as they grow and mature and graduate as seniors. It’s always been at the top of my list. Just watch them mature and grow. Just watch them turn into good young men. Good citizens.” Hankins said he has worn every hat possible within the coaching department. “I’ve driven a bus, and been athletic director and coached basketball, girls softball for the last 10 years, I even did tennis, once upon a time. Help with the golf team. I’ve done a little bit of everything.” Hankins worked as the athletic director for the school system. “You make out all the schedules, you line up the referees for game days. Basically make sure all the fields are lined off and ready for game day or the activity.” Hankins said that a successful athlete is one that works

Hankins hard. “A successful athlete is one that works countless hours. Is not afraid to put in a little extra time. And in most instances does not receive a lot of credit for it. It seems like our athletes in particular, they work countless hours, but a lot of times they don’t get the recognition and credit they deserve.” Hankins said that a successful athlete in Bland County is also one who plays multiple sports. “And is probably good in the top two or three sports he has chosen to play,” Hankins said. A couple of the games Hankins remembers the most is when a recent team came back facing large deficits. “They were down 16 or 19 late in the third quar-

ter,” Hankins said. “Against both Au b u rn and Peery McClure on back to back nights. And they came back and won both of those games.” Hankins said he remembered one game where a team rallied back from a huge deficit during the 4th quarter. “I can remember years ago, we were down 21 at the start of the 4th quarter to Shawsville. And some how found a way to come back and win that game. I think we outscored them 35 to 9 in the fourth quarter. Those are some of the scores that I kinda remember there.” When asked where he got his love for basketball, Hankins said it was a family affair. “A couple of older brothers, Bill in particular, grew up playing both football and basketball,” Hankins said. “I guess he kind of sparked my interest in playing basketball because he’d get out and flat wear me out as a youngster growing up.” Hankins also had a brother who played semi-professional basketball in Ohio. “(He was) just phenomenal at that time,” Hankins said. Hankins said he recalled a heartbreaking play from the regional finals when he was a player. “Coach Puckett drew up a play for me to take a charge and kind of win the

game at the foul line,” Hankins said. “And I think I wound up missing both foul shots and we got beat in the regionals there.” Looking forward to the future, Hankins said it’s always about what’s coming up next. “You kind of have a tendency to forget the losses. And kinda look forward to the next practice or the next game in particular. I guess I’m getting to the point where I take the losses really hard and kinda don’t celebrate the wins as much as I should. It’s always about the next day or the next practice for me or that next game.” After a tough loss, Hankins said he helps the players bounce back by trying to keep

them on an even keel mentally. “Never get to high and certainly never get to low. As coaches, we have a tendency to hang on to those losses a little longer. I think as a player you want to take something away from that loss and build upon and get ready for that next game or next opponent. If you suffer a tough loss on Tuesday most players are going to be over it before Friday. Whereas coaches, we are searching, trying to figure out why we got beat or what we can do to make us better.” Hankins said that there is some psychology involved in working with a group of athletes. “From a coaching standpoint one of the toughest things we have to do is mesh

and mold those attitudes together,” Hankins said. “And that’s always half the battle. If you got 12 guys that are working together it’s a thing of beauty. When you’ve beaten yourself, you have to become a psychologist and you have to build those kids up in such a way that they are always keeping their confidence up or they’re maintaining some of that confidence.” Hankins works as a physical education teacher for Bland County Elementary School. He is currently the Boys Basketball Coach for Bland County. “I’ve loved every minute of the coaching aspect of it,” Hankins said. — Contact Blake Stowers at bstowers@bdtonline.com

Monday, September 21, 2015 Pride I 5

‘Guests come first no matter what’ Longtime waitress, cook Ginger Edwards loves cooking up great flavors at the Last Fountain By BLAKE STOWERS Bluefield Daily Telegraph B L U E F I E L D, Va . — Longtime waitress and cook Ginger Edwards, loves to stay busy at the Last Fountain in Bluefield, Va. Edwards said there are customers that she has known for years that visit the Fountain. Edwards said you have to stay in a good mood if you are going to be a waitress. “You can not be in the public light and not be in a good mood. You will shy your guests away.” Edwards said the key to being a good waitress is liking people. “You have to take pride in your job,” Edwards said. “You have to like your job. And you have to care. You want to make sure that your guests are always pleased.” Edwards cut her teeth waitressing at the Roma III in Mullens. “That was the first one. After I graduated, I went to Roma’s Pizzeria in Mullens, West Virginia. That was the first job there.” Edwards said the main goal of a waitress should be to put the customer first. “The main objective is our guests come first no matter what,” Edwards said. “When they come in they are always to be greeted: good morning, good afternoon, how are you?” Edwards explained step by step what a waitress does when a customer walks in her store. “You give them a few minutes to ponder over the menu and decide what they want,” Edwards said. “Then you take their order very pleasantly. If they’re not quite sure that everything is homemade, the girls kind of

explain that everything here is not from a bucket. It is all homemade. Basically take their order, tell them it won’t be but just a few minutes.” Edwards said that a waitress also makes sure the customer is set up with all the extras they need to complete their meal. “We make sure they get their utensils, their ketchup,” Edwards said. “Whatever they need for what they’re ordering.” Edwards has also been cooking for a long time. “I’ve been cooking since I was 12 or 13-years-old,” Edwards said. “Because I was raised in the kitchen. When I wasn’t in school I was learning how to make biscuits, make pies, make dinner. Since I was old enough to stand on a chair at the counter and cook. Help mom cook. Edwards learned the basics from her mother. “How to put a meal on the table, the whole nine yards,” Edwards said. “Make homemade biscuits, fried potatoes, everything you would normally have at a family dinner.” Edwards said that the customers that eat at the Last Fountain are expecting consistency. “That’s why I make all the salads and everything,” Edwards said. “They’re use to a certain taste. We want to make sure that when they come they know what they’re getting.” Edwards said that people travel from all over the country to eat at the Last Fountain. “They make trips up here,” Edwards said. “I have some people that come up once a month from Tennessee. I have people that come from

Staff photo by Blake Stowe r s

Ini Bluefield, Va. ... Longtime waitress and cook Ginger Edwards loves to stay busy at the Last Fountain in Bluefield, Va. Roanoke every chance they can. They know what to expect when they get here. It’s not like it’s going to be a big surprise to them when they come.” Edwards said that some restaurants will prepare something really really great, but then the customer returns and the meal is totally different. She said customers do not like this. “I think if you know what you’re going to get and you like it, then you’re going to come back,” Edwards said. Edwards was also trained how to take care of a home as she grew up. Edwards loves working in

the small community of Bluefield. “This has been here since 1935,” Edwards said. “All the people are close knit. They come in, most of them we know by name, we know basically everybody’s face. It’s really more like a family because we give them undivided attention. Our guests come first and everybody loves our food.” Edwards also worked in another career path between her waitressing gigs. Edwards started out working locally as an insurance inspector. “It’s home inspections,” Edwards said. “You have to measure the dimen-

sions of their house. You have to do a diagram layout. You have to do the square footage. A lot of different things.” While working as an insurance inspector, Edwards was getting all her work done in a few days. This led to her being very bored. “I was getting all of my work done in four days,” Edwards said. “And I had three spare days. I’m the type of person, I can’t be bored. I applied for part time, well, I’ve never been part time since the day I walked through the door. Then I eventually quit doing inspections and took this as just my one job. But that’s

how I got started.” Edwards said they are constantly getting new customers at the Fountain. Edwards now manages the Last Fountain. Edwards does several different chores while managing the store. “I manage the Fountain, I do the ordering,” Edwards said. “I do all of our food. All of our foods are homemade. I make different desserts. I do all the scheduling. I’m a plumber, an electrician, server, a cook, the whole nine yards. I do it all.” Edwards has been at the Fountain for 9 years. — Contact Blake Stowers at bstowers@bdtonline.com

6 Section I Sunday, September 29, 2013

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