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Page 2 July 2021
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Editor’s Note Showing Community Spirit
R
ichard Haymore was in high spirits just before the cover picture was snapped. He loves playing tennis even if it’s with a painting! It sounds crazy but it’s true. Read his story on page 7. Carla Minosh is always in good spirits because she views every calamity in restoring a house as a test that strengthens her soul. Read more on page 25. Mack Williams keeps the spirit of his father alive in his mind while
Photo by Michelle Dalton Photography
Evince Magazine Page 3
walking through Ballou Park. See page 30. Barry Koplen reminisces about his father’s thoughtful spirit on page 23. Dave Slayton found a way to combine liquid spirits with community spirit on page 10. You must read it because “Doing Good Is Just a Sip Away”. As you flip through this issue, you will read the names of many people and businesses in our community who have the right spirit and are being honored with the 2021 Spirit Awards.
Congratulations! Individually, you are powerful. Together, you have created an impressive community spirit of which other cities can only dream.
CEO / Publisher / Andrew Scott Brooks Editor / Joyce Wilburn (434.799.3160) joycewilburn@gmail.com Copy Editors Jeanette Taylor, Larry Wilburn
Sincerely,
Credits: Amber Wilson: hair; Catherine Saunders: skin care and makeup; Genesis Day Spa & Salon, 695 Park Avenue, Danville. Janelle Gammon: nails; Salon One 11, 111 Sandy Court, Danville.
Contributing Writers Sandra Adams, Diane Adkins, Robert Bartlett, Lewis Dumont, Helen Earle, Kimberly Eaton, Scott Jones, Barry Koplen, Telisha Moore Leigg, Linda Lemery, Josh Lucia, C.B. Maddox, Kevin Mattheson, Carla Minosh, Bernadette Moore, Dave Slayton, Cheryl Sutherlin, Joyce Wilburn, Mack Williams, Sonya Wolen Art & Production Director Demont Design (Kim Demont)
On the Cover: Photo of Richard Haymore by Michelle Dalton Photography
July 2021
Content 3 Editor’s Note
11
Doing Good Is Just a Sip Away
Finance Manager Cindy Yeatts (1.434.709.7349)
26 Book Clubbing Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted
by Dave Slayton
12 Spirit Awards 27 Trivia Night 23 Spotting Exceptional Customer
by Suleika Jaouad review by Diane Adkins
Service
by Sandra Adams
& 7 Richard Neda Haymore Playing Tennis with a Mural by Joyce Wilburn
8 Calendar 10
The Yin and Yang of Decluttering by Linda Lemery
Is There a Left-Handed Shovel?
25
Testing the Human Spirit
Strengthens the Soul by Carla Minosh
Kenny Thornton Jr, Account Executive (434.250.3581) kenny@showcasemagazine.com Kim Demont Graphic Design, Marketing (434.792.0612) demontdesign@verizon.net evince\i-’vin(t)s\ 1: to constitute outward evidence of 2: to display clearly; reveal syn see SHOW
Editorial Policies
The Son and the Father Fiction by Telisha Moore Leigg
Lee Vogler Director of Sales and Marketing (434.548.5335) lee@evincemagazine.com
Deadline for submission of August stories, articles, and ads is Tuesday, July 20, at 5:00 p.m. Submit stories, articles, and calendar items to joycewilburn@gmail.com.
by Barry Koplen
24
Marketing Consultants For ad information contact a marketing consultant listed below.
28 Photo Finish Danville Murals Tell Stories
30
Thoughts of My Father in Ballou Park by Mack Williams
Evince is a free monthly magazine with news about entertainment and lifestyle in Danville and the surrounding area. We reserve the right to accept, reject and edit all submissions and advertisements.
EVINCE MAGAZINE 753 Main St. Suite 3, Danville, VA 24541 www.evincemagazine.com For subscriptions to Evince, email info@evincemagazine.com. Cost is $24 a year. © 2021 All rights reserved. Reproduction or use in whole or in part in any medium without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.
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Evince Magazine Page 5
Page 6 July 2021
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Evince Magazine Page 7
Richard & Neda Haymore
Playing Tennis with a Mural by Joyce Wilburn
paintings. His work can be seen at Reid Street Gallery in Chatham and at www.philipramsey.com. • For more information about the Stratford Tennis Club, visit
www.stratfordtennis.com. • To read an additional story about Stratford Tennis Club, visit www.evincemagazine.com. Click “Virtual Magazines” August 2017 issue.
Richard restrings a tennis racket in his basement workshop. Photos by Michelle Dalton Photography.
M
ost people have to visit public spaces to view murals painted on the walls of buildings. Richard and Neda Haymore aren’t like most people. They simply walk down a flight of steps into the cool, air-conditioned basement of their home in Danville. At the far end of Richard’s man cave is a mural of a tennis half court and net painted by professional artist, Phil Ramsey. “I’m a tennis fanatic,” admits Richard with racket and ball in hand ready for action. “The first thing I did when looking for a house to live in was to go downstairs and hit a ball off the wall.” In 2005, they found the perfect house in Forest Hills and bought it. Neda continues the story: “We painted the concrete walls blue, but I wanted to make it more fun and decorative.” That’s when Phil Ramsey was invited to add the mural. Admiring Ramsey’s work, Neda comments, “It makes you feel like you’re outside. Phil did a good job for us. However, he wanted to make sure we told people that the net would not be the perspective you’d have at half court, but this mural is a teaching tool and the net needed to be taller.” Slipping into instructor mode, Richard says, “If you can hit off
this, you can learn to play tennis. This mural is mainly for ground strokes. If you stand closer, you can volley off the wall, hitting the ball before it bounces.” While talking, he demonstrates each stroke with complete accuracy. Richard taught Neda to play when they married fifty-three years ago and the two enjoy playing the game often. “But I like to pick up ideas from Roger Federer,” she jokes, referring to the Swiss professional tennis player ranked number eight in the world. The indoor tennis mural is used frequently at all hours of the day and night for practice, but nothing compares to a traditional outdoor clay court. That led Richard to become a founding member of the Stratford Tennis Club, a facility established in 1977 off Piney Forest Road where they both play. On days when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate with the sports enthusiasts, however, nothing beats walking downstairs to a climate-controlled tennis court in your own basement. • Artist Phil Ramsey painted forty or more murals and decorative wall paintings in Danville and Southern Virginia. The former resident of South Boston now lives in Blacksburg where he is close to his grandchildren. He no longer paints murals but enjoys painting representational portraits and impressionist oil
Another indoor mural is located in the home owned by the Haymores’ daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Lanny Dietz. In 2019, they commissioned Harry Aron, owner of Harry’s Tattoo Shop, to create this wall painting under a curved stairway in preparation for Danville Historical Society’s Holiday Tour. It depicts iconic places in Danville: Dan River Mills, downtown Danville, the Riverwalk Trail, Sutherlin Mansion, and the Dan River waterfall near Union Street Bridge. The Dietz’s house is located in the middle of the mural with their three boys running in the yard. Above the door is the palette Aron used when working on the mural.
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July
Calendar of Evince Abbreviation Key
• AU=Averett University, 434.791.5600 www.averett.edu • DMFAH=Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History, 975 Main St. 434.793.5644 www.danvillemuseum.org • DSC=Danville Science Center, 677 Craghead St. 434.791.5160 www.dsc.smv.org • PA= Piedmont Arts, 215 Starling Ave., Martinsville 276.632.3221 PiedmontArts.org
The Hypothetical House Band Steely Dan Guitarist Jon Herington & Dennis Espantman
Ongoing
Guided Walking Tours: Millionaires Row, Holbrook Street and Tobacco Warehouse District. 434.770.1974 www.danvillehistory.org DMFAH: self-guided audio tours Camilla Williams Exhibit: Features her opera costumes including Madame Butterfly. DMFAH Danville Civil Rights Exhibition: The Movement. DSC: Learn about “Water”--its chemical makeup, the power it can generate, and the ecology of the Dan River. “Go!” highlights the intersection between the physics of machines and the biology of the human body. The J.T.-Minnie Maude Charitable Trust Creativity Lab is a makerspace offering hands-on access to craft and design tools.
Music of America” 7:40pm followed by fireworks at dusk.
July 5 thru August 9 July 1 thru August 28
Timothy Duffy - Blue Muse: Gallery Space, 536 Craghead Street, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays noon8pm; Sundays noon to 5pm DMFAH
July 3
First Saturday Outing: Dan River Basin Association’s 3.5 mile hike on the Smart View Loop Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway, mile marker 154.5 Meet at 9am in the public parking lot. Bring lunch, water and hiking poles. Wear hiking boots or walking shoes. Dress in layers and be prepared for wind or rain. free From the intersection of Rt. 8 and the Blue Ridge Parkway, turn north on the Parkway and drive 10.5 miles. Turn right to access the parking area. 540.570.3511 www.danriver.org.
July 7 -21
Readings on the Lawn: Smokestack Theatre Wednesdays free DMFAH 6pm
July 8
Music at the Market: Wayne Euliss Elvis Tribute: 629 Craghead St Danville free 7pm Bring a chair, blanket and a picnic basket. 434.793.4636 Steely Dan Guitarist Jon Herington’s Hypothetical House Band: no cover charge 2 Witches Winery and Brewing Co., 209 Trade St. Danville 6:30pm featured opener: The Trevor Percario Project. www.jonherington.com Franks + Dranks: a cookout party with music, yard games, beer, wine, and all the hot dogs and fixin’s you can eat. cash bar Bring a chair or blanket. $20 tickets at PiedmontArts. org. DMFAH Free Admission
July 10 thru 31 July 4 thru September 26 Wanderlove: A Stitch in Time Exhibition: Riverwalk in Danville; DMFAH
July 4
Independence Day Celebrations: 13th Annual Patriot Challenge at Anglers Park, 350 Northside Dr. 8am 4-mile run 434.793.4636. July 4th at the Crossing, 667 Craghead St. 6pm entertainment, arts, crafts; Danville Symphony Orchestra concert “The
Summer Art Camp: Grades 3–5 9-noon $80 member/$90 nonmember PA
July 15
Music at the Market: Sahara Reggae Band free Bring a chair, blanket and a picnic basket. 7pm 629 Craghead St. 434.793.4636
July 16
Community Game Night: All ages free board games, puzzles, mandala coloring Main Street Art Collective, 326 Main St. Danville 434.602.2017
July 9
July 10 & 11
July 1
Chatham Concert Series: This lively program will feature American composers performed by Kevin Matheson, violin, and Judith Clark, piano. Hear Gershwin’s “Three Preludes” and “An American in Paris”, Copeland’s “Hoe-Down” from Rodeo and Joplin ragtime, Broadway songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and others. Outdoor reception provided by Chatham First. Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 66 North Main St. Chatham. 7pm www.classicalstringsduo.com Music at the Market: West End Mambo 7pm 629 Craghead St. Danville
Forms in Clay: pottery class on Mondays 6:30-9pm $95 for DMFAH members; $105 for others. 434.792.5355 to register.
July 12 thru 16
Attic Sale Drop Off: DMFAH Saturdays 10am-noon Email davidc522@comcast.net or call Helen Earle 305.766.2979 for drop off appointment & information. Firefly Yoga on the Lawn: free DMFAH Saturdays Register at www.fireflydanville.com
July 10
Steely Dan Guitarist Jon Herington’s Hypothetical House Band: no cover charge Crema & Vine, 1009 Main St., Danville featured opener: The Trevor Percario Project 7pm www. jonherington.com
July 17
Cars & Coffee: hosted by Old Dominion Classic Sports Car Club. See classic cars, sports cars, muscle cars, and more in the parking lot at Crema & Vine, 1009 Main St. Danville 9-10:30am 434.548.9862
July 22
Music at the Market: Blue Drive Band 7pm 629 Craghead St. Danville 434.793.4636
July 29 thru August 1
The Entire American Revolution (In 40 Minutes or Less!) Smokestack Theatre Summer Youth Production at DMFAH. All ages. Tickets on Eventbrite.
July 29
Music at the Market: Island Music Trio 7pm 629 Craghead St. Danville 434.793.4636
Evince Magazine Page 9
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Page 10 July 2021
The Yin and Yang of
Decluttering
by Linda Lemery
I
’m not sure I’m cut out for the yin and yang of decluttering. I tell myself that eventually decluttering will yield more free space, but at this rate, I may need to view the free space from inside a cremation urn. What came in this month? When I saw a five-pack of disinfectant wipes at Sam’s Club, my first sighting in fifteen months, I grabbed them. I also fell hard for torenia (delicate purple flowers) on sale and bought four containers, only to note that torenia are shade-loving. Our yard has no shade. I sunburned the first one, gave away three to reluctant recipients and revived the sunburned one by keeping it on the porch.
I also went to yard sales and bought an Ab Lounge 2 Chair to give me rock-hard abdominal muscles. It’s not working, even though every time I come through the door, I yell, “Gimme 10” and throw myself into the chair for crunches. I also bought a floor lamp that even my husband Steve couldn’t fix, five DVDs we haven’t watched, and a kitchen conversions dish towel (as a gift for people who don’t know how to convert teaspoons to tablespoons) and songbird food (for those who don’t know how to attract backyard beauties). To complicate the decluttering, Steve is moving the contents of his work office into our home. On television, this involves bringing
Ten years of mending projects were consolidated into one gargantuan pile. Photo by Linda Lemery.
in one little box. Not true. So far, he’s squirreled away twelve big boxes of office stuff in our house’s nooks and crannies. More arrives daily. To his credit, Steve has made at least a dozen trips to recycling and has given four more boxes to colleagues. I looked in his work office recently. It appears just as cluttered as ever, and all that stuff is eventually coming home. For years, Steve has suggested that I have a reverse yard sale. Instead of buying things, he wants me to haul our stuff to each yard sale I visit and give it to them to sell. The notion is appealing. What went out this month? Condiment packets from takeout restaurants. I made two batches of baked beans using sixteen ketchup packets, eight mustard packets, one syrup packet, six malt vinegar packets, ten cans of different kinds of beans, four packs of frozen sausages, and other stuff including twenty-five soy sauce packets for stir-fried zucchini and onions. I wrote fourteen thankyou notes and gave away three buckets of garden plants because I had to jam the new composter somewhere in the garden. I mailed three boxes of clothes to New Jersey and gave to thrift
shops one old floor lamp, nine capris, seven long pants, three dresses, one pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and five work shirts. I went to a wonderful seminar earlier this week, asked a woman who had bought her first house what she needed, and she’s coming to look at leftover fencing and stakes. I also consolidated ten years of mending projects into one gargantuan pile. More went out than came in. Woo-hoo! Lessons learned on reducing clutter: 1. Give away or eject more than you acquire (yin/yang dualism). 2. Count everything you eject so that you can make your personal decluttering quota. 3. Don’t buy plants you cannot use. Share what you have. 4. Don’t bring the contents of an office home. Take it all to the North Pole. 5. Customize the “reverse yard sale” idea to your situation. 6. Keep going. Thinning your belongings will liberate you. About the Author: When she’s not muttering a mantra-like Lesson #6, Linda Lemery (llemery@averett.edu) works as Circulation Manager, Blount Library, Averett University, Danville, VA. She welcomes reader comments.
Evince Magazine Page 11
Photo by Dave Slayton.
Doing Good Is Just a Sip Away by Dave Slayton
a member of the Master Court of Sommeliers
D
oes your favorite wine (or beer) have community spirit and give back to the community? The answer is probably yes. Over the past several years, 2 Witches Winery & Brewery, 209 Trade Street in Danville, has partnered with the Train Wreck Brewers Club, an unorganized organization for local home brewers. 2 Witches has up-scaled a beer chosen from the home brewers internal competition. The winning beer in the October 2020 competition, Trainwreck S’mores Porter, was put on tap at 2 Witches in March. For every pint of Trainwreck S’mores Porter sold, $1 went to the Danville Pittsylvania Cancer Association. Since this project began in 2015, over $1,600 has been raised. 2 Witches also works with numerous other non-profits assisting with their fundraising efforts. Across the state, Virginia Tourism Corporation reports that Blenheim Vineyards just south
of Charlottesville has released a limited-edition white wine, On the Line. All proceeds from its sales are donated to Frontline Foods Charlottesville and the World Central Kitchen known around the globe as Food First Responders serving millions of meals each year. On The Line’s unique label was designed by vineyard owner, Dave Matthews, the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the Dave Matthews Band. On the other coast in the Oregon area, a program was started in Yamhill County to benefit a nonprofit organization serving local children and families. The wineries sold mixed wine packs featuring wines from more than thirty winegrowers. They wanted to help the nonprofit because its fundraisers were cancelled during the coronavirus pandemic. Let’s toast these wine and beer makers and all the others who support their communities with good community spirits. Cheers!
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Exceptional
Customer Exceptional Service Community Spirit Allocca Law Animal Medical Center Bankers Insurance Cherrystone Veterinary Hospital Computer Bookkeeping and Tax Services Debra Fugate Harris, Harvey, Neal & Co. Haymore & Holland OB-GYN Associates of Danville Poole Plumbing Rhonda Johnson Esthetics Satterfield Insurance Agency Schoonover Insurance Group Spurrier Orthodontics Townes Funeral Home
Exceptional
Blush and Bashful Carter Craig Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History First Citizens Bank Hairston Insurance Middle Border Forward Office Plus Paul Grekos DDS PRA Group River District Association Solex Architecture Southside Urology & Nephrology Supple Resources W&W Limousine Service Woodall Auto
Community Exceptional Involvement Products American National Bank Arc of Southside Averett University Daly Seven Danville Science Center Danville Toyota Danville-Pittsylvania County Community Services Dewberry Epic Health Partners Gateway Health Habitat for Humanity JJ Hogan Towing Movement Mortgage URW Community Federal Credit Union Wilkins & Co.
Clearview Glass Danville Women’s Care First Piedmont Corporation Four Seasons Pest Control Furniture Depot Gingerbread House Hardy Petroleum JW Squire & Co. Karen’s Hallmark Nature’s Essentials Ocassions on the Go Premier Aesthetics Revitalization Station The Bra Lady Boutique The Brick
Evince Magazine Page 13
WHO IS PRA GROUP Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, PRA is a global leader in
Thank You! We are so grateful for this wonderful honor. We could not be prouder to be a part of the Danville community!
the consumer lending industry. We return capital to banks and other creditors to help expand financial services for consumers, helping them on the road to financial recovery. Founded 25 years ago with a goal of doing things differently, we’ve built a company that treats customers fairly and with respect, meets high levels of compliance and reliability, creates rewarding careers for its employees, and is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
PAY I N G I T F O R WA R D B Y G I V I N G B AC K Our corporate and employee giving spans nonprofit categories from health and human services to youth development, financial literacy, and the arts. It is our greatest hope that this award is a testament to the impact we have been able to have over the years. We want to thank every individual who has partnered with us, reinforced PRA Group’s mission, and our dedicated employees for supporting our efforts to strengthen the communities where we work and live.
Learn more at P R A G R O U P . C O M
Page 14 July 2021
Member FDIC
A community isn’t just a place. It’s the people who call it home and the things they do to make it a better home for all. At First Citizens, we’re proud to support those who do so
Local pride. Forever First.
®
firstcitizens.com
much to support the communities we serve. First Citizens Bank. Forever First.
Evince Magazine Page 15
Page 16 July 2021
Right coverage. Right price. Right here in town.
Satterfield Insurance Agcy Inc David Satterfield, Agent 534 Westover Drive Danville, VA 24541 Bus: 434-835-1300
Here’s the deal. The right insurance should help you feel confident and comfortable. I’m the right good neighbor for that. Call me today. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®
State Farm Bloomington, IL 2001290
Evince Magazine Page 17
ROBERT WOODALL AUTOMOTIVE
WANTS TO THANK THE COMMUNITY FOR THEIR SUPPORT. WITH EVERY VEHICLE PURCHASE, YOU’LL RECEIVE THE WOODALL WAY! • AT-HOME TEST DRIVES & SALES DELIVERIES ON ANY NEW VEHICLE • 10 YEAR 100K POWERTRAIN WARRANTY ON ALL NEW VEHICLES • LIFETIME VA INSPECTION ON NEW VEHICLES • FINANCING FOR ALL CREDIT SCORES - OVER 50 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT
V I E W O U R S E LE C TION TOD A Y ! WO O D ALLA UTO.C OM RIVERSIDE DRIVE, DANVILLE VA CONTACT US (434) 766-0027
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STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES AND
IMPROVING QUALITY OF LIFE Pictured Above: Center for Manufacturing Advancement, Danville, VA
www.dewberry.com
Page 22 July 2021
The Dan River Region’s First Choice in Real Estate... We’re Here When You Need Us! Residential…
Property Management & Rentals… Representing buyers, sellers PMS 731 PMS 7623 PMS 576
and first time home buyers
Commercial… Sales and leasing
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Homes, condos and apartments
Auctioneering…
River City Auction Company Real estate and personal property
www.wilkinsandco.com Danville Office 428 Piney Forest Road • 434.797.4007 River District Office 541 Bridge St., Unit 2 • 434.483.2889 Chatham Office 12413 US Hwy 29 • 434.432.3009 Property Management • 434.797.4009
Evince Magazine Page 23
Spotting Exceptional Customer Service
Is There a
by Sandra Adams Roger Wood
I
would like to give a shout-out to Roger Wood, owner of Wood’s Menswear, 165 Holt Garrison Parkway, in Coleman Marketplace Danville. Although customer service seems to be in short supply nowadays, you will find an abundance at this haberdashery. I cannot say enough about the exceptional, personal service and attention we received from Roger when I took my eighty-fiveyear old dad in for a new suit.
Roger treated my dad with the utmost respect as if he were his own dad. Roger was very accommodating in putting together just exactly what my dad needed. He also took into consideration my dad’s inability to stand for long periods of time and made him comfortable while measuring for the necessary alterations, which, by the way, are done in-house. Wood’s Menswear has it all from small to tall including exceptional customer service.
Evince wants to encourage and recognize exceptional customer service. When someone gives you exceptional service, please let us know. In 300 words or less, tell us what happened. Email your story to joycewilburn@gmail.com.
LeftHanded Shovel? by Barry Koplen
hen I think about my father’s quiet creativity, his openness to new ideas, I’m often amazed that no one seemed to notice or to comment on just how radical, in a good way, they were. That’s why I thought about him when I thought of this question.
W
Although I don’t know the answer, I have a feeling that my dad may have. In large part, that’s why he was successful. When it came to new ideas, he was usually first in line. Even so, the only people who noticed only noticed because they benefitted from his vision. I saw it year after year when he was in the business of selling menswear. Items he purchased had nothing to do with what he wore in style or quality. He was able to sense or imagine what his customers wanted. At that, he was a huge success. Perhaps that’s why I wasn’t surprised when, late in his life, he learned how to build a stained-glass window, a huge 8’ x 4’ window made completely by him in his tiny basement shop. Because he spent three and a half years building it, I was impressed with his vision as well as his perseverance. No one but my dad had imagined the need for such a window. No one else in our Jewish community knew how to build it. So Dad learned as he built. When finished, his window replaced the ordinary window at Beth Sholom Temple. Many years later, it’s still there. I think of
Photo by Barry Koplen
it as one of the Seven Wonders of Danville. Dad may have thought of it as something more necessary than novel and that brings me back to the question at hand. Because my younger brother is left-handed, I have to wonder whether or not Dad ever considered that he might need a left-handed shovel. Dad was that thoughtful. Of course, my seventy-four-yearold brother probably never asked Dad for one of those, but, if he had asked, Dad would have found one. That’s why I miss him as much as I do. He was always there for us even when our ideas were as cockamamie as a lefthanded shovel. I wish he were still here so that I could ask him to consider that idea. “Let’s talk about it,” he would say. I would listen with rapt attention.
Page 24 July 2021
The Son and the Father fiction by Telisha Moore Leigg
“K
indness and Love,” --first words on the billboard out there by Creighton’s Farm Allan, Your mother never liked me, hateful old lady, and that’s what you yourself mumbled about her. You didn’t much like her either. Inside my head and sometimes in a whisper or slightly louder I’ve called her worse, and now deep in her dementia she sometimes answers. I know it’s not kind. It’s petty. But there are different
levels of kindness, some we can’t reach, like a pool you dive as deep as you dare before you think you’ll drown. But your father was kind. For thirty-five years he was an electrician, then one day he says the light of God (and I suspect a bunch of volts of electricity) hit him fixing a kitchen light and installing a GFI outlet for a family that couldn’t pay. Two days in the hospital for the shock and one for the tests that couldn’t find anything wrong, and Martin Ross came up shouting and turned reverend, turned into
a store-front Holiness minister on dead-end Monroe Street. He never had more than twenty in his congregation, sometimes just him alone gripping his Bible in that former hair salon, a sink in the vestibule, just him, the gospel and that kindness. He married us that first time even after we had the baby. Okay, maybe because of the baby, when our Sara was just walking. But that was years ago. He’s gone now, years gone now, and there is just, your mother, Bitty--who would not come to see her son marry some half-colored girl--her words even in late 90s. She’s still with us, even after the divorce, even before we remarried a few months ago. She’s done worse to me. I try to let it go, but, I guess it’s, I mean I know it’s your father I want to talk about….him, fathers, you, and I guess also the billboard out there by Creighton’s farm. Sometimes, when I give Bitty her bath in her apricot-and-babyblue tiled bathroom (tub is blue too) with the gardenia liquid soap from that fancy store she likes from Ruskin Street, I put her hair in pin curls, and read to her from any old Better Homes and Gardens magazines I find at yard sales but don’t subscribe to. Bitty just nods like she understands, and sometimes we make it to the end of two or three pages before she asks, “Where’s Martin?” your father long dead. I try to redirect; they call it redirecting. She will get angry when I cannot get him, then tears slightly muffled, then she begs. Elizabeth Jane Caruthers Ross begs for him then for me, saying she doesn’t want to be alone, and she reaches for me, the girl she laughed about when I was in labor and scared
during that storm when Mandy Blue and Mean Keisha couldn’t get there yet, but I hold her. I tuck her in and hold her hand while the television plays her to sleep with episodes of MASH on Channel 23, until you take my shift at midnight so I can watch the girls until school. We’ve been doing this for years, and so when I see what you put up on the billboard, the first thing you put up on the billboard, I at first get angry. I mean isn’t it our billboard and the I of our we wouldn’t have wanted her picture up there even if your father’s image was there with her. Even though folks thought it sweet you had a large picture put up of your parents, I hated it. It was the same picture, the one in that church on Monroe Street, the one that sat under the one of Jesus--Martin and Bitty’s wedding photo. But Bitty never saw it there because she never came to the church. She attended the big and old Methodist church on Powell, and tittered at, as she said, Martin’s hobby. But when she stopped being able to drive and your father could, he still dropped her off every Sunday and went to his service--again, sometimes just him, alone and praying. That is the woman on the billboard. I want to slam the dishes in the sink today, but I don’t, because you will just come and wash them for me. And you will stand beside me, almost about to hold me, tell me that kindness is a muscle. Your father would have said something like that. Something kind. So, I say nothing, I don’t want to be a Bitty asking a ghost for love. --Fallen
Evince Magazine Page 25
Testing the Human Spirit Strengthens the Soul
Lessons Learned During 20 Years of House Renovations by Carla Minosh
I
nvesting in an historic home is a decision that we did not take lightly. We spent time going over finances and evaluating the time necessary to successfully see each undertaking through. We knew that restoration required commitment and attention and were sure that we had both of those in addition to the funds it would take. We were so smart, calculating, and clear-minded and so naive! We completely forgot to factor in the one major component more important than all the others— the aggravation factor! Restoring an old home is a series of small aggravations punctuated by occasional immense aggravations. It is a true testament to the ability of the human spirit to endure. In fact, our very first experience was a negotiation at the closing to compel the bank to follow through on its promise of delivering a home that was “broom cleaned” and not the home containing a full-sized dumpster of junk that no one wanted at the final auction: broken appliances, closets full of homemade canned food, and a mountain of plastic Christmas ornaments. We agreed to pull everything out of every cupboard and drawer and place it in the center of each of the twenty rooms. They agreed to pick it up and haul it away. It was three days of frantically opening every single closet, drawer, and built-in cabinet, and piling the remains of generations of discards and castoffs. It was an exhausting welcome present and
a foreshadowing of what was to come. Every plan had kinks, every project brought disappointments, every step forward inevitably led to a step back. Yet, there were successes, completed projects, forward momentum, and ultimately the loveliest and most elegant interior spaces and the handsomest of facades. We have made lifelong friends and learned valuable skills and life lessons. The most valuable thing of all, however, was the one investment we never intended to make — the investment in ourselves and in our own resilience. If wrinkles and scars give one character on the outside, hardship and stress build character on the inside. Without fully realizing it, each disappointment, each moment of shock, every frustration, and even small inconveniences have each left a mark, strengthening our souls. Recent years have been particularly difficult with world events, life accidents, and career challenges, but we have been oddly unaffected by the same things that we see bringing others to their knees. We were musing about this inner fortitude when we both realized that with every hardship, every hurt, we compared it to some disaster or disappointment we’d experienced at the house. We found ourselves saying things like “at least it’s not as bad as carbon monoxide poisoning” or “thank goodness it wasn’t a fire — just a flood” and “well, we lost a good
worker, but remember how when Joe left, Robert showed up and he was so much better” or “at least we caught it early — it’s not like there were termites on all three floors.” We find ourselves using the crises of our house projects as the high water marks, and it is so reassuring to know that we will get through this just as we got through those. There
is comfort and calm in knowing that we will endure! Because ultimately, hearing, “It’s the entire foundation, and the entire house needs to be jacked up and secured before it collapses in on itself” are words that I am not likely to hear twice in one lifetime, and everything else just seems like no big deal when compared to that.
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Book Clubbing
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad review by Diane Adkins
I
t began with an itch starts the story of how twenty two year old Suleika Jaouad (pronounced Su-lakeuh Ja-wad) comes to live in two kingdoms— the Kingdom of the Well and the Kingdom of the Sick.
half years of cancer treatment that will include multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. She loses her hair. Beloved friends fall away. Relationships falter. Losses pile upon losses.
The itch grows into deep fatigue. Eventually, Jaouad is diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Words like aggressive, late-stage, a particularly complicated case, wash around her. While she watches her peers move into careers and parenthood, she begins a journey of three-and-a-
At a low point, a therapist tells her she needs to develop an appropriate hobby. She and her family begin what they call the Hundred Day Project. Her mother, an artist, makes decorative tiles for her room. Her father writes the story of his life in one hundred installments, revealing
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339 Piney Forest Rd., Danville, VA 24540
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things Jaouad had never known about him. Jaouad writes a blog. Friends and acquaintances share it widely, leading eventually to an offer from The New York Times to write a column entitled “Life, Interrupted”. Thus begins a dialogue with people all over the world who read her words and respond, sharing their lives and their difficult stories. Once her treatment ends, Jaouad re-reads those emails and decides to take a trip across America to visit some of the people who had written to her. The second half of
the book is an account of that road trip. Though her stated goal is to be self-sufficient, she realizes the value of inviting others in, learning from them that it is possible to embrace uncertainty and construct a new life inside it. The fear that she will die still hovers over every relationship, but she begins reorienting her gaze outward, living life in the present tense. Opening herself to pain and possible catastrophe and yet focusing every day on what and who she loves—that is one of the lessons the trip brings her. In the end, Jaouad sees that grief cracks us and our lives open and those lives are never, ever the same again. The border between the two kingdoms is porous. She also finds comfort in the community she has discovered, and the beauty and love she finds there offer her a new way forward. Diane S. Adkins is a retired Director of Pittsylvania County Library System.
Evince Magazine Page 27
Danville Museum OF FINE ARTS AND HISTORY
July 4 - September 28, 2021
A STITCH IN TIME Community Knit Fiber Art Yarnbombing Exhibition Along the Danville Riverwalk
Fiber Art panels will be installed along the Riverwalk Trail from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge, along the Riverwalk Trail, over the Pedestrian Foot Bridge and back along the other side of the Riverwalk Trail. Areas in the River District will also be installation sites for the Fiber Art/ Yarn Bombing. All 11 Riverwalk entrances will be installation sites for the Fiber Art/Yarn Bombing.
Trivia Night submitted by Scott Jones
9. boy in a diaper swings through the jungle becoming friends with a bear 10. fancy cats who are royalty in cat land.
1. Leader of the Land of Liberty 2. Formica Bloke 3. Vigilantes 4. FE Guy 5. Divine Power of Loud Noises 6. Protectors of the Stars 7. Odd MD 8. Arachnid Guy 9. Onyx Predator 10. Surprise Commander
Bad Reviews of Disney Movies
What is the title of the Disney movie being described? 1. bratty teenager gets her way 2. young entrepreneur gets sidetracked by a slimy amphibian 3. romantic carpet date with a pathological liar 4. bad trip about riding in a pumpkin coach driven by mice 5. son with daddy problems runs away 6. fashion designer tries to steal the young for fabric 7. disabled son accepts a dare and ends up at the dentist 8. absentminded friend helps sisters trace their genealogy
Answers to Bad Reviews 1. Little Mermaid 2. Princess and the Frog 3. Aladdin 4. Cinderella 5. Lion King 6. 101 Dalmatians 7. Finding Nemo 8. Frozen 2 9. Jungle Book 10. The Aristocats
What Marvel movie is being described?
Download the Distrx app (Apple Store) to locate and view installation sites A Stitch in Time
June 1 - August 28, 2021
Marvel Movies in Other Words
Answers to Marvel Movies 1. Captain America 2. Ant Man 3. Avengers 4. Iron Man 5. Thor 6. Guardians of the Galaxy 7. Doctor Strange 8. Spider Man 9. Black Panther 10. Captain Marvel
z
oom in to Trivia Nights on Mondays, July 5 and July 19, at 7:00 p.m. For more information, email scott. jones@richmond.edu.
Timothy Duffy: Blue Muse Preserving the Roots of the American South Masterful one-of-a-kind tintype portraits of American musicians Gallery Space at 536 Craghead Street in River District Thursday / Friday / Saturday • Noon – 8pm | Sunday • Noon – 5pm
Reading on the Lawn with Smokestack Theatre Co. June-July • Wednesdays • 6pm • Bring a chair or a blanket!
Free Yoga on the Lawn with Firefly Yoga Saturdays • 9:00 am • Bring a mat • fireflydanville.com to register
• Camilla Williams | Danville’s Diva • Tobacco Trade that Built Hearth & Home • The Movement: Danville’s Civil Rights • Danville Between the Lines 1861-1865 Exhibitions
The Civil War
Exhibits at the Museum | 975 Main Street, Danville VA Monday - Friday | 10am-5pm Saturday | Noon-5pm Sunday | 2pm-5pm 434-793-5644 975 Main Street, Danville, VA
danvillemuseum.org
Page 28 July 2021
Photo Finish
Danville Murals Tell Stories
T
ake a short drive around Danville and learn a little history. Photos by Joyce Wilburn
“Unity in the Community” provides inspiration to the residents of Cedar Terrace on Memorial Drive. The design was drawn by Rasheeda “Che Che” Valentine and shows the tree of knowledge with inspirational words and pictures representing the activities that kids enjoy.
The mural at Sacred Heart School, 540 Central Boulevard, was painted by Amy Quinn Whichard. It commemorates the school’s founding in 1953 by the Sisters of Mercy and the U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School Award presented in 2006.
This sixty-foot-long wall at Stonewall Recreation Center, 119 Bradley Road, was painted by Pepe Gaka with the message, “Love Heals, Builds, and Restores”.
This mural painted by internationally known artist Pepe Gaka is on Stonewall Recreation Center in the Camp Grove neighborhood at 119 Bradley Road. It shows children floating off into a bright future.
Rasheeda “Che Che” Valentine, Moneisha Canada, and Miya Anderson designed “Teamwork Can Make Dreams Work” under the guidance of local artist, Billie J. Jones. It is painted on a wall at Cedar Terrace on Memorial Drive.
Evince Magazine Page 29
The Tobacco Heritage Mural at 308 Craghead Street was painted by Wes Hardin. It includes a flue-cured tobacco barn at the top, a man in a bateau transporting tobacco on the Dan River and a tobacco auction.
The Wreck of the Old 97 Mural at 310 Main Street was painted by Alabama artist Wes Hardin. The accident that happened in 1903 was made famous by a song of the same name. It became the first country song to sell over six million records.
This mural at the corner of Spring and North Union Streets remembers Danville’s electrically operated streetcar trolleys that travelled the streets from 1888 until 1936. It was painted by Wes Hardin.
Danville’s newest mural is in Rotary Park on the Riverwalk Trail at the water stop near Dan Daniel Park. The park is a collaboration of Danville Riverview Rotary, Danville Rotary, and Danville After Hours Rotary Clubs and the City of Danville Parks and Recreation Department. The designer, Rotarian Kim Demont of Demont Design (who is the layout designer for Evince!) and over 20 Rotarians and friends helped to make the wall a reality. It depicts a variety of activities that can be enjoyed along the Trail.
This mural at 120 Wendell Scott Boulevard is painted on the door of Scott’s garage. In 1963 at the Jacksonville Speedway, Wendell Scott became the first AfricanAmerican driver to win in the NASCAR cup division. This trompe-l’oeil art on the building at 629 Main Street was created by Phil Ramsey in 2002. Through skillful use of color, shading, and perspective, painted objects appear threedimensional. His signature is to the left of the potted tree.
Page 30 July 2021
Thoughts of My Father in Ballou Park by Mack Williams
R
ecently, while walking in Ballou Park, my thoughts returned to memories of my father, Bernard Williams. He passed away from cancer in 1966 when I was fifteen. He was a wiry man physically, but he wasn’t wiry in his dealings with others. I get my love of jovial conversation from my father and my heart from my mother. My father demanded
respect. When my high-schoolage brother wanted to go somewhere of which my father disapproved, he just removed the license plates on the car. I remember my father sitting on the granite steps of our front porch advising my brother by saying: “Don’t listen to anyone in this life who might say there is no God, because there definitely is!
My parents and brother lived in Danville before moving to Sailsbury, North Carolina where I was born. I remember seeing an old 1940’s photograph taken during the fall of the year. My father was dressed in a suit and fedora and sitting against a tree in Ballou Park. On my regular Ballou Park walks, I sometimes try but always in vain to figure out which tree might be the one, judging the
time that has passed. Whenever I see the city work crews removing an old, large, dead tree, or see an old stump, I wonder if I’ve discovered it too late. If that tree is gone, perhaps it perished from accident or disease, the same overall kinds of things which might cause the death of a man who once sat and leaned against that tree on a beautiful fall day.
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Evince Magazine Page 31
Page 32 July 2021