Suffolk Living September-October 2020

suffolklivingmag.com

Local Bounty NORTH SUFFOLK FOODWAYS PAST AND PRESENT

september/october 2020 • vol. 11, no. 5

2 suffolk living

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suffolk living 3

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE IN US....

37

Discover Suffolk’s small town atmosphere, waterway excursions, quirky shops, art galleries, award-winning eateries, guided tours, weekly events and so much more. Plan your weekend adventure at VisitSuffolkVa.com or call us at 757.514.4130. /VisitSuffolkVA

CANOING | KAYAKING | BOATING | FISHING | RIVERFRONT CONCERTS | WATERFRONT GOLF COURSES

FEATURE

16

Eclipse may seem like a village out of the past, but the food production going on there still keeps the folks busy.

CONTENTS sept - oct | 2020 11

WHERE AM I? | Think you know Suffolk well? Then see if you can identify this photo.

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Subscriptions are $20 annually in-state; $25 annually out-of-state; $30 for international subscriptions.

Please make checks payable to Suffolk Publications, LLC P.O. Box 1220, Suffolk, VA 23439

12 In the News

Advances are being made at The Port of Virginia.

ON THE COVER suffolklivingmag.com

Local Bounty NORTH SUFFOLK FOODWAYS PAST AND PRESENT

A Honey Legacy

22 David Spencer has beekeeping in his family tree.

september/october 2020 • vol. 11, no. 5

Photo by Troy Cooper

editor's note sept - oct

2020

Foodways and fall in Suffolk The magazine you’re holding in your hands is the third edition of Suffolk Living we’ve published during the COVID-19 era.

We thank all of our loyal readers, advertisers and distribution locations who are still supporting this publication even during the difficult times we are all enduring. We’re also so

EDITORIAL Tracy Agnew Editor

grateful to the many sources who have had their stories featured during this time.

Food production doesn’t happen just at large-scale farms.

It’s also happening on small boats traversing small rivers,

Jen Jaqua Photographer

lone beehives, small vegetable gardens, kitchen-level canning

Jimmy LaRoue Writer

world but also in Suffolk.

news@suffolklivingmag.com

from a honey producer in Respass Beach to folks growing their

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own fruits and vegetables and plying the waterways in Eclipse to

Earl Jones Marketing Consultant Lindsay Richardson Marketing Consultant Amanda Gwaltney Marketing Consultant sales@suffolklivingmag.com

PRODUCTION Troy Cooper Designer

ADMINISTRATION Betty J. Ramsey Publisher Hope Rose Production

operations and so many other small ways, not just around the This issue is heavy on North Suffolk-area food and foodways,

supply locals with crabs and oysters.

And though there is a storied history in this area and its foodways, local-scale agricultural production in North Suffolk isn’t relegated to the history books; this is all happening in the present. You can read about it in the pages that follow.

Fall in Suffolk won’t feel quite the same this year. Sure, there will be shorter days, crisp evenings, falling leaves and our favorite foods. But there will be no Peanut Fest as well as many other favorite local traditions; however, we hope you’ll hang in there with us and look for brighter days ahead.

We’re always looking for your submissions to help us make Suffolk Living better. We need you for story ideas, submissions for the Through The Lens and On Vacation features, guesses for the Where Am I? feature and any other suggestions you may have. Please contact us at news@ suffolklivingmag.com, and connect with us on Facebook.

God bless, Tracy Agnew, Editor

Suffolk Living is published six times per year by Suffolk Publications, LLC. P.O. Box 1220, Suffolk, VA 23439 www.suffolklivingmag.com • (757) 539-3437

suffolk living 7

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8 suffolk living

what to do Send us your news To submit your calendar or news item, simply email it to: news@suffolklivingmag.com

Van Gogh Paint Party SEPTEMBER 19

Spend an evening with Suffolk Tourism and Paint Me Purple Studios for a Van Gogh Paint Party! The fun will take place starting at 6 p.m. at the Suffolk Visitor Center Pavilion (located at 524 N. Main Street in downtown Suffolk). Participants will have the opportunity to get creative and paint their own version of Van Gogh's famous painting, "Irises." The cost is $25 for adults and $20 for children ages 5-17, which includes all the supplies to create your masterpiece. Space is limited and advance reservations are required. Purchase by calling Paint Me Purple Studios at 757-773-4175.

suffolk living 9

what to do SEPTEMBER 17

Sticky floors. Stiff seats. Sneaking in your own drinks. How many midnight movies have you seen? September's virtual pub trivia from Suffolk Public Library is all about classic cult movies. Now's your chance to prove to your dad that art degree was worth it!

Winner receives a $10 Amazon gift certificate, runner up gets $5.

Register for the program in advance. The Zoom room will open at 6:30 p.m. for socializing; the program will run from 7 to 8. Some content may not be suitable for children. You do not need to be a library member to attend. Register in advance at tinyurl.com/ y3qbqhr2.

3,108-acre bowl-shaped lake located near the center of the Great Dismal Swamp. Guided kayak excursions are facilitated by a water adventures outfitter with years of experience. All equipment is included with registration fee. Sunscreen, insect repellent and comfortable clothing recommended. Participants must be at least 10 years of age or older; anyone 17 and younger must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. You are encouraged to bring a snack and bottled water. The tour will take place from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. The cost is $40 per person; call 514-4130 for more information.

SEPTEMBER 19

Suffolk’s citizens, like in most other American localities, have served and sacrificed in the name of freedom. The 60-minute Hometown Heroes of Cedar Hill Cemetery walking tour highlights and honors the graves and memorials of soldiers from Suffolk and old Nansemond County who died in combat during the two World Wars, Korean War and Vietnam War. Advance reservations required. Participants will meet at the porch of the Seaboard Station Railroad Museum, 326 N. Main St. The tour is from 11 a.m. to noon. The cost us $7 for adults; $5 for seniors, military and children. Not recommended for children under 12.

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10 suffolk living OCTOBER 24

Suffolk Art League’s annual Juried Exhibition will be on view from Oct. 24 to Dec. 4 at the Suffolk Art Gallery, 118 Bosley Ave. The opening reception and awards presentation will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Oct. 24. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Call 757-925-0448 or visit www. suffolkartleague.com.

NOVEMBER 5

Join the Suffolk Art Gallery, the Suffolk Art League, and host Nathan Richardson for this Open Mic event.

Poets, writers, musicians, spoken word, and more are welcome. Present your own original works, or favorites by others. Not a writer or musician?

Come listen to others, enjoy a slice of pizza, and visit the gallery in a relaxed, open, and comfortable environment. Registration online is available in advance and at the gallery, 118 Bosley Ave., before the event. The event will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Call 757-925-0448 or visit www.suffolkartleague.com.

Guided kayak excursions

suffolk living 11

where am I?

I

n each edition the Suffolk Living staff provides a challenge of sorts, testing how much of Suffolk you really know. We photograph some location in Suffolk that is readily accessible and open to the public, and see if you can tell us where it is.

If you know where this photo was taken, submit your answer, along with your name and contact information to news@suffolklivingmag. com. If you’re right, you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to any one of our partner advertisers.

So, if you know where this is, let us know. If you’re right, you could be a winner.

Go out and enjoy Suffolk!

12 suffolk living

in the news

Port of Virginia Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director John Reinhart, left, and Gov. Ralph Northam survey the work under way at the Port of Virginia in July.

State gives money for new cranes at port Story and Photos by Jimmy LaRoue

T

he state will give the Port of Virginia $14 million to buy two new electric ship-to-shore cranes at Norfolk International Terminals and add electric container tractors, while the port will kick in another $10.1 million as both look to advance a clean energy economy.

The money will also be applied at Richmond Marine Terminal to deploy all-electric yard tractors and charging infrastructure there, using that as a testing ground to possibly use at other terminals in Hampton Roads.

Gov. Ralph Northam, at NIT with port Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director John Reinhart for the July 10 announcement, called it “a significant step forward for the state’s economy and the environment.”

“The Port of Virginia is an important economic driver for our state and a critical player in our transportation system,” Northam said.

The state’s portion of the money comes from its $93.6 million settlement in 2017 with Volkswagen, with it coming out of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust.

That came out of the company’s violations of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, related to its marketing, advertising, distribution, sale and lease of diesel passenger vehicles that had software set up to get around federal or state emissions standards.

Reinhart outlined a number of port initiatives to reduce emissions, including the addition of 26 new truck lanes to reduce idling and speed up traffic going in and out of the terminals. More than 480 trucks, through the Green Operator Program, have been retrofitted to be cleaner and more environmentally friendly, and it has replaced aging diesel cargo handling vehicles with hybrid shuttles.

A barge service between Hampton Roads

and Richmond has also reduced truck traffic by about 45,000 on Interstate 64 between the two areas, saving 20 percent on emissions, Reinhart said, while using electric cranes will reduce by 75,000 gallons the amount of diesel fuel used every year.

“The port is trying to be holistic in its approach on how we move freight, move the economy of Virginia, but do it responsibly,” Reinhart said, “and do it in an environmentally friendly way.”

NIT, located on more than 550 acres along the Elizabeth and Lafayette rivers, has 14 shipto-shore cranes now, and according to Reinhart, is expected to receive two more cranes late this year. The new cranes just announced would likely be ordered in the fall and come to the port about 18 months later.

“Then you can put three, ultra-large container ships along the berth at one time,”

suffolk living 13 Reinhart said. “And you can work with four or five cranes apiece.”

Combined with deep channels that can handle the largest of the world’s ships, the tall cranes that can handle 10 containers above and below deck like some it has already, it will allow the port to speed up the turnaround times to get ships in and out of the port more quickly.

In switching over to electric versus diesel, the port has spent upwards of $800 million — with help from the state and the port’s own bonding capacity — over the past four years.

Northam also announced that another $20 million would go to pay for the Clean Air Communities program to make government fleets electric across the state.

“As we fight this global health epidemic, we are reminded daily that we must prioritize public health in a way we have never done before,” Northam said. “Through this investment, we are investing in the health and wellbeing of all Virginians.”

The latest announcement is the fourth time the state has used money from the settlement. Last year, Northam announced a $20

An overview of The Port of Virginia, where millions of dollars have been spent for upgrades in recent years. The state will give the Port of Virginia $14 million to buy two new electric ship-to-shore cranes at Norfolk International Terminals and add electric container tractors. million initiative for electric school buses, and another $14 million for electric transit buses.

In 2018, $14 million from the settlement went to develop the state’s electric vehicle charging network.

Reinhart, who showcased port operations to Northam while on the platform on top of

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NIT’s operations tower, said the port wants to be a catalyst for commerce around the state.

“We will continue to replace diesel and other emissions-driven technology,” Reinhart said, “permanently reducing pollution at the port facilities and improving the quality of life in nearby communities.”

14 suffolk living

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16 suffolk living

An Eclipse totally of the heart Story by Jimmy LaRoue Photos by Jimmy LaRoue & Troy Cooper

I

f you think of Eclipse as a sleepy village, you’d be missing the point.

To those flying up and down Bridge Road in North Suffolk, it might be easy to roll through the intersection with Eclipse Drive and not give it another thought as they cross the bridge over Chuckatuck Creek.

But you’d miss Ed and Mary Milley’s house, its backyard close enough to hear the roar of progress rolling across the bridge above. (Psst: Don’t get Ed started about the bridge, though.)

You’d miss their beds of oysters by the dock — an oyster restoration project, as the shellfish is in the midst of a resurgence in the creek after nearly dying off due to a pair of diseases in 1988. You’d miss their fig and apple trees near the bridge, and you’d miss their efforts to preserve the land they live upon.

You’d miss Wayne Martin and his wife Myra, who cans what they grow in their yard that backs into the creek. And you’d miss the story of how he made a living off the water during the good years, and took a job outside the village in the bad.

You’d miss Johnson and Sons, where they sell soft and hard shell crabs and oysters that come from the creek. Before that on the same property, there was J.R. Dixon’s Oyster Company, owned by Claudia Holland’s greatgrandfather and a place where she hung out as a child.

You’d miss the life teeming on the water and in the gardens, and what lays shimmering on the surface — its heart.  Mary Milley and her husband Ed moved into their house 12 years ago, coming from the Ghent area of Norfolk, and they have been tending to the oysters in her three oyster beds in the water of the creek next to the bridge for the past eight years.

Like those who’ve grown up in Eclipse, they appreciated immediately the view of many there as its idyllic nature.

“We took a motorcycle ride to this neighborhood and we saw bikes in the yard,” she says. “People were waving, and we’re like, ‘Had we gone back in time or something?’ And that’s what started it.”

Recently, they began planting live oaks in their yard, they started a raingarden and they have American beauty-berry growing, too.

In the marshy area at the edge of the creek and her yard, they’ve been See ECLIPSE page 18

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Clockwise from left, oysters raised

by Ed and Mary Milley; crabs at Johnson and Sons Seafood; and canned goods at the home of Wayne and Myra Martin. All of this food comes straight from Eclipse.

18 suffolk living Mary Milley unloads oysters on her creekside dock.

ECLIPSE continued from page 16

taking out the tall, non-native Phragmites a section at a time. In areas where they’ve cut them out, the natural grasses have started to make a comeback.

As the sounds of the cars on the bridge over the creek take hold — “We have this,” she says, pointing above her. Though it gets Ed’s scorn, she adds, “You get used to it.”

And they’ve made themselves at home.

“We feel blessed, we really do,” Mary Milley says. “It’s amazing.”  While few work in the creek and the nearby rivers now, it wasn’t the case decades earlier,

and especially before the late 1980s when diseases about wiped out the oyster population.

“When I was growing up, you had the entire industry in this neighborhood,” says Claudia Holland, the fifth generation of her family in Eclipse, living on Rivershore Drive. “I mean, you had some men that worked in the Navy Yard, but most of the men worked in the river when I was growing up, and we were pretty much self-sufficient back in those days.”

This year she grew tomatoes and pickles, a smaller reminder of the big gardens her parents had.

“That’s all we did all summer,” Holland says.

“We picked, pulled weeds and either froze or canned (what we grew) all summer. We canned anything that came out of the garden.”

Though Eclipse might not have to be as self-sufficient as it was decades ago when tolls on the bridges kept folks from venturing out of the village as much, the people in the village tout their resilient and independent, yet sharing spirit.

Evidence the many gardens, the people who can what they grow and the resurgence of the oysters and crabs that keep Johnson and Sons humming at a good pace.

“The tolls kept us isolated for a long time See ECLIPSE page 19

suffolk living 19

Wayne Martin worked the waterways for decades and still keeps the tools of the trade on display on his shed.

ECLIPSE continued from page 18

because people didn’t want to move here because they didn’t want to pay the tolls every time they went somewhere,” Holland says. “We stayed isolated a lot longer than we probably would have, and before the bridges were built in 1928-29. Before then, it was like a world to itself.”

Before Johnson and Sons, there was J.R. Dixon’s Oyster Company on the same spot along the creek. It was a place Holland’s greatgrandfather, John Robert Dixon, opened in the 1920s, and all four of his sons were oyster-

men and watermen. Her grandmother worked there as a bookkeeper.

“My granddaddy (George Dixon) had a big pile of oyster shells in the yard, and he’d go shuck them. And we used those as coloring books, really. I mean, we took them and painted them and, they were like our toy.”

And oysters and other fish from the creek and river were a staple of her family’s diet.

“They basically ate out of the river most of the time,” she says.

Not her, though.

“Unfortunately, children can be very obstinate and stubborn,” Holland says. “I can’t believe that back in those days I wouldn’t touch an oyster.”

Holland has noticed the oysters returning in recent years.

“I sold some oysters off my ground a couple of years ago, which I probably hadn’t had any moving oysters on it in probably 30 years,” she says. “And I’m hoping to sell some more off this year. I was letting the little oysters grow. I don’t have a very big keep so it’s not like I can See ECLIPSE page 20

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Canned goods prepared by Myra Martin come straight from the garden she and her husband, Wayne, maintain at their Eclipse Drive home.

ECLIPSE continued from page 19

harvest them off this year and then go somewhere else next year and harvest.

“The oyster industry is coming back. Hopefully the pollution won’t kill it this time.”

How are they now?

“Right now, they’re absolutely delicious,” she says, laughing.  The patriarch of Johnson and Sons Seafood, Robert Johnson, can speak well to the upand-down nature of making a living off of the water, as he has done for more than 40 years, and being able to do so with his sons, Ben and Jacob. It’s why he’s quick and effusive with praise for his wife, Lisa.

“I’ve been extremely fortunate that I have a wife that has put up with all of this,” Johnson says. “Put up with all the ups and downs, the good times and the bad.”

Even with the yo-yo nature of making a living on the water, Johnson enjoys what he does — most of the time.

“When things are going good, it’s good.

And when things are going bad, it’s bad,” Johnson says. I think that’s the same for anything and anybody. I’ve been lucky. I’ve had a lot of

good friends that have helped us out. We’re very lucky we deal with good people and that’s all been a big plus for us.”

Johnson, who has lived all his life in the nearby village of Hobson, sells hard, softshell and steamed crabs, as well as oysters.

He wouldn’t say their oysters and crabs are the best, though they hold their own with anyone’s.

“I won’t say they’re the best anybody could have, but we’re lucky that they’re always, generally, as good or better than anything else on the (Chesapeake) Bay.” What they have is plenty good enough for acclaimed chef Harper Bradshaw at Harper’s Table in downtown Suffolk, as well as Smithfield Station, among others — both recently gave shout-outs to Johnson and Sons on their Facebook pages.

“This year has been a different year for us,” Johnson said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. Normally a bad year might mean fewer crabs or oysters caught to sell. “But we’re holding our own.”  Wayne Martin was the sixth generation of

watermen to work in his family, and for more than 400 years, his family has lived within 15 miles of Eclipse.

At his home on Eclipse Drive, Martin sports an exact replica of the boat he used to dredge oysters, the Mary T, and outside, hanging up, the tools of the trade.

“With the crabbing and the fishing and the oysters, it always had its ups and downs,” Martin says. “You had good years and you had bad years. You prospered on the good years and didn’t do so well on the bad years.”

Those bad years tended to coincide with diseases that adversely affected the catch.

“I was off and on with the water,” Martin says. “I had to leave it when Kepone took effect.”

Kepone was produced by Allied Signal Company and LifeSciences Product Company in Hopewell, with the potentially cancer-causing chemical dumped into the James River during the 1960s and 1970s. It’s taken more than 40 years for that chemical to subside in the water.

He had to leave it again in 1988 when Dermo and MSX hit the oysters, causing See ECLIPSE page 21

suffolk living 21

Crabs at Johnson and Sons Seafood are sold to individuals and restaurants throughout the region.

ECLIPSE continued from page 20

large-scale mortality, and there were also limits placed on shad fishing.

“That pretty much wiped the oyster business out for several years,” Martin said. “But recently, it’s started to come back, I guess, six, seven years ago, and now that they’ve come back, they’ve come back with aggression now. … It’s probably better now than it was before the diseases hit, as far as the reproduction of the oysters, the new growth. The (James) River’s full of just small baby oysters like it used to be back in the ’50s.”

He was able to get back on the water about five years ago, but retired for good in 2018, and now, there’s just a handful of watermen left on the creek. Martin, who was born and raised on the other side of Chuckatuck Creek in Rescue, has lived in Eclipse for 35 years, and he spends his time now tending to the garden, painting in watercolor and framing his own paintings.

He also has built a number of bird feeders that adorn his yard.

These days, he and his wife tend to their garden, canning much of what they have grown, and they’ll put excess tomatoes on top of their fence for neighbors to take. Though she has shelves of canned goods filling her kitchen, they give a lot away also, and donate canned items for fundraisers.

“We all share. If I catch fish or oysters, I’ll share with my neighbors,” Wayne Martin says. “I raised a garden. I’ll share that with my neighbors.”

It’s a way of life in Eclipse, and one that speaks to its heart.

22 suffolk living

A honey of a legacy Story by Phyllis Speidell Photos by John H. Sheally II

W

hen Dr. David Spencer tends his bees in Respass Beach, he is doing more than cultivating honey, encouraging plant pollination and augmenting the diminishing number of wild honeybees. He is also honoring a family legacy.

Spencer still tears up when he talks about his hero in life — his father, Paul Duane Spencer. The senior Spencer passed away almost a decade ago, but his influence on his only son endures.

“My old man was a postman and not, perhaps, the most intellectual man, but he could do anything. As a kid, I learned to plumb, fix cars, build houses and handle electricity — all from him,” Spencer said. “He and I built houses, brick walls and sidewalks. I hated it, but I learned, and I can do them all today.”

The senior Spencer also kept bees. Today, David Spencer still uses some of his father’s apiarian equipment from 60 years ago, combining the older tools with modern technology to tend his hives. Spencer keeps one hive in Suffolk and several more at his cabin in Nelson County. His hives in the mountains produce a honey with a distinctively lighter, less sweet flavor, proving that honey reflects its home source.

David Spencer grew up in the small town of Sebastopol in California’s Sonoma County, with his father's pragmatic interests and skills balanced by the academic emphasis of his mother, Pat Spencer. A California native, she grew up in See HONEY page 24

suffolk living 23

Dr. David Spencer keeps bees at his Respass Beach home.

Here, he removes a frame from a hive to show off the bees and honey.

24 suffolk living HONEY continued from page 22

rural Canada, riding a horse eight miles to school and nurturing a pet moose. She emphasized the importance of a sound education.

"I knew I wanted to be a surgeon from childhood," Spencer said, "I took many of the most advanced classes in high school while I also worked as an assistant manager of a men’s shop. I was a straight C student, but I thought that was OK then considering the courses I was taking.”

He graduated from Sonoma State University in 1983 and, lacking the funds for medical school, enlisted in the Navy — influenced again, perhaps, by his father. Duane Spencer had served in the Navy as a hospital corpsman, on board ship and in Korea from 1948 to 1952.

David Spencer served 20 years in the U.S. Navy, graduated from the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed his surgical internship at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth and his surgical residency at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, Calif. At the encouragement of a close Navy friend and fellow surgeon, Spencer returned to Hampton Roads and the two went into private practice together in 2003.

Since then, Spencer, also a specialist in bariatric and laparoscopic surgery, has been part of several different surgical practices in the local area as well as serving as an assistant professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., and the Eastern Virginia Medical School. Currently he is with Bon Secours Surgical Specialists and settled in his Respass Beach home — a place, he said, he hopes never to leave.

When he is away from the classroom or operating room, he looks forward to donning a protective beekeeping jacket, round hat and veil and connecting with his memories of his father. As he lights his father’s antique smoker and the fragrant smoke wafts out, he offers a quick lesson on honeybees.

The purpose of the smoker, he says, is to replicate the natural environment of a forest fire, encouraging the bees to return to their hive that can host 20,000 to 25,000 bees.

Each bee produces a fraction of a teaspoon of honey, Spencer adds, and while there are more than 500 species of bees in North America, the native bees pollinate but don’t make honey. His bees are honey-producing Italian bees.

Once most of the hive’s bees have settled down, he lifts out the frames, loaded with honeycomb and clustered with bees, to show the bees’ honey production in progress.

See HONEY page 24

Products from Dr. David Spencer's bees include honey and candles. The honey pictured is mountain honey from Spencer's Nelson County hives.

The candles often wind up as gifts for friends.

suffolk living 25

A disc of beeswax is shown off, above. Below, Dr. David Spencer works with his bees.

HONEY continued from page 24

When it’s time to harvest, he loads the frames into a manual extractor — also an heirloom from his father — which will whirl the honey from the uncapped honeycomb. The honey drains through several sieves to remove bits of comb.

The result is a thick, amber honey ready to top a tender biscuit.

Spencer goes beyond simple honey, however, and produces other bee-derived products including bars of soap and lip gloss made with beeswax, honey and olive oil.

A sideline business? No, the honey and handmade items are destined to be holiday gifts for lucky friends and colleagues.

Andrea Pizzanello, a surgical scheduler at Bon Secours Surgical Specialists, remembers Spencer rolling into the office with a dolly filled with brown paper lunch bags right before Christmas. As he went from office to office tossing out the bags, the staff realized they weren't lunch bags after all. They were collections of his bee products.

"It was one of the coolest things anyone has given me," she said. "And it was from a guy — and a doctor at that!"

The holidays are not the only time he surprises the staff.

They have learned to expect the unexpected, including an occasional good-humored prank, from Spencer. They know he has enjoyed a session of river crabbing when he shares blue crabs with them. He is, Pizzanello said, a professional, well regarded surgeon with the playful streak of a 12-yearold boy.

"He is," she added, "just a cool guy."

As his hero, Duane Spencer, must have been.

26 suffolk living

Above, Dr. David Spencer, his son Ben, and his father, Paul Duane Spencer. Beekeeping is a family heritage for the Spencers. Below left, Spencer shows off a vintage extractor pulling honey from the honeycomb. Below right, one of Spencer's hives.

suffolk living 21 suffolk living 27

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History IN SCHOOL AND IN THE FIELD

Community Garden AND VOLUNTEERS THAT LOVE BOOKS september/october 2019 • vol. 10, no. 5

may/june 2019 • vol. 10, no. 3

Road Warriors KEEPING WARM AND CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY

january/february 2019 • vol. 10, no. 1

Email us: news@suffolklivingmag.com • suffolklivingmag.com

28 suffolk living

through the lens: Amanda Newsome

A

manda Newsome and her husband moved to Suffolk a little over a year ago from Virginia Beach. They originally hail from San Diego, Calif. “Country living suits us wonderfully,” Newsome said. Ever since she retired from her career as an activity director in senior communities, she has taken more time to smell the roses — and taken more photographs, too. She uses her Samsung Galaxy S10 to take photos.

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Last edition’s Where Am I? The decorative accent featured in the July-August edition is on the roof of the First Lady on West Washington Street. Only one reader, Joseph Verdirame, had a sharp enough eye to locate it this time, and he’ll receive a $25 gift card for his correct guess. Find this edition’s challenge on page 11.

where am I?

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n each edition the Suffolk Living staff provides a challenge of sorts, testing how much of Suffolk you really know. We photograph some location in Suffolk that is readily accessible and open to the public, and see if you can tell us where it is.

If you know where this photo was taken, submit your answer, along with your name and contact information to news@suffolklivingmag. com. If you’re right, you will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to any one of our partner advertisers.

So, if you know where this is, let us know. If you’re right, you could be a winner.

Go out and enjoy Suffolk!

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PEANUT FEST: The Peanut Fest presents a whole different scene at night, when the motion of the rides can blur into a fall festival fantasy. This one was taken in 2011, but there will be no festival this year, unfortunately, due to the pandemic.

(FILE PHOTO)

It's a great time to make a move!

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