Western Tidewater Living Spring 2017

Western Tidewater

Living

Popping Bug King

Walt Cary has earned a unique reputation with his craft

Busy Bee

Tammy Malkin keeps her retirement clean and sweet-smelling

SPRING 2017 • vol. 8, no. 1

Often the

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4 western tidewater living

Western Tidewater

Living

Spring! Already?

Yes, it’s true. No sooner did we get done with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, then it was time to think ahead to the spring edition of the Western Tidewater Living magazine.

Welcome.

Speaking of the holidays, one of our features is about Ivor Baptist Church, which last November presented food baskets to people they learned about who had a need for a helping hand with groceries. As Pastor Don Roberts Jr. explained, he wants to lead his congregation outside the sanctuary of church walls and into the community to which it belongs.

No matter what time of year, Don Williams of Windsor likes to paint, especially if it’s his style of art. More recently, he’s been experimenting with what he calls abstract realism. Inventive techniques to create new textures or shading add to his desired effect.

When it comes to getting a result, Walt Cary in Courtland has been making his fly fishing lures for several decades. His “poppers” or “popping bugs” are made with specific fish in mind. Cary’s reputation is such that he’s known nationally as Virginia’s “Popping Bug King.” It’s a title he can wear proudly.

We caught up with Frances Keene, formerly of Courtland, who has her own reason to be proud. In December,

introduction she received her doctorate degree after nearly five years of intense research, study and writing her dissertation.

There to witness the happy moment at Virginia Tech were her husband, Bill Keene, originally from Hunterdale, and their children, Emerson and Mary Helen. Dr. Keene believes that all the work on the degree has made her a better educator.

When Tammy Malkin of Ivor finished her own career as a teacher, she sought a new productive outlet for her abilities, and found it in making fragrant and also unscented soaps, lip balms and salves. One of the ingredients she uses in balms is beeswax. To help her with that supply, she has a hive, which will be increased to two or three when the weather stays warm. Then she and husband Jim will be as busy as the bees to meet demand.

As is tradition with each magazine, naturally there’s an assortment of photos featuring people at public functions.

Strangely, we didn’t get anyone to submit a guess for our “Where am I” feature. But, we’ve a somewhat tasty new one for readers to ponder.

We hope you enjoy this issue, and welcome your ideas for consideration.

Stephen H. Cowles Staff Writer Western Tidewater Living

western tidewater living

contents spring 2017

Cover photograph

by Stephen Faleski

ON THE COVER: Walt Cary demonstrates how to attach feathers to a popper.

Western Tidewater

Living

Tony Clark Publisher Stephen Cowles Staff Writer Stephen Faleski Staff Writer Merle Monahan Contributing Writer Ryan Outlaw Lead Designer Loretta Lomax Designer

INSIDE THIS EDITION

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PARTY PIX

Residents of Western Tidewater celebrate Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras in style.

THE POPPING BUG KING Walt Cary of Courtland is known as Virginia’s “Popping Bug King.” Find out why and how that happened, and what exactly are popping bugs.

22

Crystal Parker Designer Mitzi Lusk Advertising Director Sameerah Brown Advertising Representative Rachel Parker Advertising Representative Michelle Gray Office Manager Western Tidewater Living is published four times a year by Tidewater Publications, LLC P.O. Box 497, Franklin, VA 23851 757-562-3187 Advertising rates and information available upon request to ads@tidewaternews.com.

Subscriptions are $20 annually in-state, $24 annually out of state and $30 annually overseas.

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K E E N E Dr. Frances Babb Keene at Virginia Tech would most likely have become a doctor no matter what profession she had chosen.

The Courtland native recently said that while an undergraduate at The College of William and Mary she was thinking of going into medicine, but soon came upon a stumbling block.

“I didn’t like chemistry at all,” Keene said, adding that clinical psychology was another consideration, and so went on to earn a psychology degree.

Recognizing that graduate school

was next, she headed to the University of Virginia and enrolled in a counselor program. There were three community mental health tracks offered: community mental health; a school counselor for secondary education students; and then one for higher education, the latter of which called to her.

An assistanceship became available in an orientation program for students — helping them to understand their purpose and guide them in their college years. She herself benefitted from such counselors back in Williamsburg.

31

Catching up with former Courtland resident Dr. Frances Babb Keene, who has grown in her profession of education by earning a doctorate degree.

F R A N C E S

Photo by Jud Froelich

story by Stephen H. Cowles

ABSTRACT REALIST

“I struggled academically at William and Mary — I didn’t really do well the first and second years. Those people really helped me turn around,” said Keene, who realized she could have a career in this area and earned a master’s degree in counselor education.

What brought her to Virginia Tech was her first job, which came through a grant with the Department of Justice.

She helped to resolve complaints by women on college campuses who said they were victims of sexual assault and harassment.

People say, ‘Paint what you know.’ In the case of Don Williams of Windsor, he knows abstract realism and uses different techniques and unconventional means to express his vision.

BUSY AS A BEE

Tammy Malkin of Ivor has found that in her retirement she works as much — if not more so — than the bees in her backyard.

In addition to creating soaps, Malkin will their beeswax this year to make salves and lip balms. Sweet!

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western tidewater living

27

western tidewater living

where am I? In each edition, our magazine staff provides a challenge of sorts for readers, testing how much of Western Tidewater they really know. We photograph a scene in Western Tidewater that is visible to motorists or pedestrians.

Whoever can identify the location pictured above will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.

A VERY LOVING CHURCH’

With guidance from the pastor, the congregation of Ivor Baptist Church reaches outside the sanctuary walls to aid the community in times of need.

So, if you discover where this edition’s photo was taken, let us know. If you’re right, you could be a winner. Email your answers to magazine@tidewaternews.com Get out there and enjoy Western Tidewater!

For the winter edition, staff writer Stephen H. Cowles took this photo of a sign for the General Federation of Woman’s Club in Sedley. Nobody guessed.

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Tell us where our photographer took this photo and get a chance to win a gift certificate.

party pix

6 western tidewater living

Valentine’s Banquet Top left: From left are Axie Fulcher, Jane Bailey and Ann Cross at the Valentine’s Banquet at Ivor Baptist. Top right: Russell and Jenny Britt. Bottom left: Ivor Volunteer Fire Chief Carl Garner and wife, Sharon. Bottom right: Jennica Walker and Tony Fox PHOTOS BY MERLE MONAHAN

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Mardi Gras Chamber of Commerce Awards Top: From left: Dameon Rhoads and Chris Rice of Music Makes You Happy and Thomas and Darlene Brown. Music Makes You Happy provided lighting and DJ services for the event. Thomas works at The Village at Woods Edge. Darlene works for Senior Services of Southside Virginia. Below, left: Davida Fenner of Courtland Health and Rehabilitation Center. Below, right: Judy and Collin Pulley of Nottoway House Furniture. Bottom left: Amanda Bulls, David Rabil and Lori McNair tend the bar at the 2017 Franklin Southampton Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet. Bottom right: Pastor Nathan Decker, Rodrick Shannon and Southampton Schools Supt. Dr. Gwen Shannon PHOTOS BY STEPHEN FALESKI & MITZI LUSK

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The Bug

western tidewater living

e Popping g King story and photos by Stephen Faleski

When Courtland resident Walt Cary made his first fly fishing lure in 1957, known among anglers as “poppers” or “popping bugs,” he did so by carving the body out of a champagne cork and gluing a hook and dropped feathers from his mother’s chickens to it.

He had recently enlisted in the Navy Reserves after finishing a tour of duty in Korea with the Army, and didn’t feel he could afford to spend the $1.25 for a quality lure, which Cary says was fairly expensive at the time. Since then, he has never needed to purchase another lure. Now, anglers from across the country use his designs, resulting in his being known nationally — and affectionately — as Virginia’s “Popping Bug King.”

“I’ve made over 90 different patterns,” Cary said. “Some worked, some didn’t.”

The determining factor in whether a popper works or not is whether the desired

Photo submitted Walt Cary

species of fish an angler hopes to catch will be fooled into biting the popper, which in fly fishing is used in lieu of bait. Each popper is designed to imitate a type of insect various fish species eat, such as his colorful Fire Tiger lure, intended to snare bluegill

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20 western tidewater living A collection of Walt’s poppers. - Photo submitted by Beau Beasley

Walt Cary uses hackle pliers in preparation to attach feathers to a popper.

and bass.

“He’s a marvelous person and a real icon in the Virginia fly fishing community,” said Beau Beasley, the founder and coordinator of the annual Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival, at which Cary has been a regular exhibitor for years. This year’s festival will be on the weekend of April 8 and 9, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Meadow Event Park in Doswell.

The only tool Cary uses to make his poppers, other than his hands and some lacquer for glue, is hackle pliers, which he uses to wrap hackle feathers around his poppers.

Hackle feathers come from a special breed of chicken raised specifically for fly fishing.

“It’s not hard to do, but you’d be surprised how many people think it is,” he said, adding that the last step in the process is to poke the dried lacquer out of the tiny hole through which fishermen thread their lines.

Cary receives royalty fees for his designs from the Solitude Fly Company, based in California, and frequently receives calls late at night from people around the country wanting to buy or distribute his poppers, or inviting him to speak at events, which has led him to try and keep a low profile since

western tidewater living

moving to Courtland in 2013.

“A lot of people think I’m a celebrity; I’m not, just an ordinary person,” he said. “I got invited this year to go to Dallas, Texas, and Missouri. I’m not going, I’m staying here.”

He added that he intends this year to be the last year he plans to exhibit at the Fly Fishing and Wine Festival, citing issues with the nerves in his hands. However, he doesn’t intend to give up fishing anytime soon.

“Whenever it’s warm, I go out,” he said.

Cary moved to Courtland following the death of his wife in 2012 to be closer to his daughter, having lived previously in the

towns of Broadway and Fort Royal. He also lived in Virginia Beach for 26 years during his Navy career, from which he retired in 1979 as command master chief of an aircraft carrier.

He has been fishing since age 5 and has caught thousands of fish over the decades, most with his own poppers. In September of 2016 he was inducted into the inaugural Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians Hall of Fame, which was held at the Southwestern Community College Swain Center just outside of Bryson City, North Carolina, where the museum is located. 

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Windsor artist's abstract realism brings unique perspective to landscapes story and photos by Stephen Faleski

Twenty-three years ago, Don Williams, who now lives in Windsor, wandered into the Virginia Beach Cultural Arts Center to pass the time while waiting for his car to be serviced. He had always been interested in art, but never had much in the way of formal instruction. So when he saw that the center would be offering painting lessons, he signed up.

Since that day, Williams has taken classes and private lessons from several other artists, including one who taught him Chinese watercolors, and now has cultivated a distinctly different style of painting from traditional realism — and some very nontraditional tools of the trade.

“I’ll use plastic wrap, wax paper, bubble wrap, various things to get various textures, lights, darks and depths,” he said. “If you use bubble wrap, you’ve got the darks in the center, and where you have the bubble around that center, you have the lights, which will give you the depths. It makes your picture move and it becomes very interesting.”

Williams describes his current style as abstract realism, which combines techniques of realistic and abstract or nonrepresentational painting.

“You can see that there’s mountains or sky, but the colors are different,” he said. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s shapes, lines and visual balance. Balance is very important. In most of my pieces, people can say, ‘I can feel the movement.’”

Williams added that he switched to abstract realism when he felt that traditional realism was no

'I can f the movem

western tidewater living

feel ement'

Windsor artist Don Williams puts the finishing touches on “Sailing Above.�

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longer a challenge for him.

“I’ve always had an inkling to do abstract,” he said. “In fact, my realism work would go toward abstract, and I enjoyed that.”

Williams exhibits his work at several local shows and galleries, including Norfolk Academy, the Arts Center @ 319 in Smithfield, the Suffolk Art Gallery on Bosley Avenue and at the annual NansemondSuffolk Academy exhibition.

He is a board member of the Isle of Wight Arts League and a member of the Elizabeth River Arts League, which covers the territory of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Isle of Wight and Suffolk. He is also trying to establish a greater arts presence in Windsor.

“In Windsor, they really don’t have a lot to do with art,” he said. “There is a church where an older lady gives lessons, but there’s a lot of people here who go to Smithfield and Suffolk to fulfill their art needs.”

Last year, he discussed the possibility of establishing an arts center in Windsor with Sheila Gwaltney, the director of the Arts Center @319, which would be under the umbrella of the Isle of Wight Arts League.

“I know four to five artists in Windsor who would definitely join,” he said. “Being under the Isle of Wight Arts League would save a lot of money.”

One possibility for such a facility he suggested was to use the Windsor municipal building once the new town hall is built. Windsor Town Manager Michael Stallings said there are no concrete plans for repurposing the existing building and that there have been talks of everything from selling the building to turning it into a library.

Williams works out of a home studio, which he created after retiring from Grand Furniture, where he had worked for 40 years, with his last position being general manager of the Greenbrier facility.

He plans to host the Elizabeth River Arts League at his home on the banks of Lake Burnt Mills this spring or summer for an outdoor painting session, also known as plein air painting. 

“Glimmering Shoreline” is the title of this work by Don Williams.

“Wandering Marsh” is an example of what Don Williams refers to his as abstract realism.

Don Williams’ “Tranquil View”

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western tidewater living

s a y s u B a ee b

story by Merle Monahan photos by Stephen H. Cowles and Jim Malkin

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28 western tidewater living When Tammy Malkin retired from teaching after 30 years, she knew she’d have to find something to occupy her free time.

“So, one of the first things I did was to take a couple classes in soap-making, which included making lip balm, salves and foot scrubs. It was interesting and relaxing,” she said. “I really enjoyed it.

“In fact, I liked it so much that I continued to make the products for my own use at home.”

As Malkin enjoyed her new-found passion, she began to think about ways to expand.

“I thought, this would make a great business,” she said, “one that I could easily handle at home.”

Shortly afterward, the “Two Cairns Soap Company,” named after the family pet terriers, was born.

Debuting from her home on Doles Road near Ivor in October 2016, she said business has far exceeded her expectations. She sells at events such as craft shows and bazaars, as well as online and averages from two to three shows a month. This number increases during the holiday season.

Malkin said she has indeed found what she needed to fill her free time.

The young teacher and her husband, Jim, a military veteran, moved from Virginia Beach to their present home in 2000. She then commuted to her job at the beach until her retirement.

“We just got tired of city life,” she said. “Our place here is wonderful, so quiet and peaceful. We love it.”

“It was in January 2016 when I started making the soap,” she went on, adding that it is an easy process. “Of course, I make small batches at the time, but it only takes just over a month from start to finish.”

Explaining the process, she said she first mixes lye and water, then mixes in her oils and fragrances. This mixture is then poured into molds and left for 24 hours.

“At the end of this process, the soap is removed from the molds, cut into bars and left for four weeks until all moisture has evaporated,” she added.

Other products, like the lip balm and salves, are made with slightly different ingredients, she said. For instance, beeswax is used in the salves and, at present, she purchases this along with her other ingredients.

Above: Tammy Malkin demonstrates that fabric bonds with the soap to serve as an added texture.

Below: Bees such as this one gather the nectar that helps them produce beeswax and honey.

Photo by Jim Malkin

western tidewater living

Above: A large variety of soaps have already been made and set up on display racks in a workroom. Below: A rack pulled from a hive reveals how industrious the bees are in maintaining their colony.

Photo by Jim Malkin

However, her husband already has one beehive and plans to add two more in the spring in order to provide this item for his wife.

In addition to her line of “people” products, Malkin has several for pets, including shampoos and salves.

“Our ‘Paws so Soft’ salve is to condition and protect the paws,” she said. “Our dogs, Scuff and Chaise, love it. After all, our company is named after them,” she said with a smile.

Although Malkin considers the business a family affair, she is the one who makes the products and handles the packaging and labeling. Her products can be seen at her shows, which are all held within a radius of 100 miles of her home, from Chesapeake and Virginia Beach to Williamsburg and Richmond.

“Please stop by one of our shows and look over our soaps and salves,” she said. “Once you’ve tried a bar of Cherry Almond soap, or Rosemary Mint salve, you’re going to love it!”

Find her at 757-859-2158 or on the web at www. twocairnssoapcompany.com 

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Along with her supplies, there’s a ready stock of soaps already wrapped and ready for display and sale.

Mechanic’s Salve includes eucalyptus, olive oil and beeswax to smooth out skin made rough by hard work.

These are some of the ingredients Tammy uses to give her products such appealing scents.

western tidewater living

F R A N C E S K E E N E

Photo by Jud Froelich

story by Stephen H. Cowles

Dr. Frances Babb Keene at Virginia Tech would most likely have become a doctor no matter what profession she had chosen.

The Courtland native recently said that while an undergraduate at The College of William and Mary she was thinking of going into medicine, but soon came upon a stumbling block.

“I didn’t like chemistry at all,” Keene said, adding that clinical psychology was another consideration, and so went on to earn a psychology degree.

Recognizing that graduate school

was next, she headed to the University of Virginia and enrolled in a counselor program. There were three community mental health tracks offered: community mental health; a school counselor for secondary education students; and then one for higher education, the latter of which called to her.

An assistanceship became available in an orientation program for students — helping them to understand their purpose and guide them in their college years. She herself benefitted from such counselors back in Williamsburg.

“I struggled academically at William and Mary — I didn’t really do well the first and second years. Those people really helped me turn around,” said Keene, who realized she could have a career in this area and earned a master’s degree in counselor education.

What brought her to Virginia Tech was her first job, which came through a grant with the Department of Justice.

She helped to resolve complaints by women on college campuses who said they were victims of sexual assault and harassment.

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“My job was to help them in using the student conduct process to handle their issues,” she said. “I loved that work.

I also got to meet with students who made mistakes — grades, for example, or more serious issues.”

Keene continued such work for 10 years in helping students grow, as she put it, eventually becoming director of student conduct.

Five years ago, Keene became the chief of operations and deputy to Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Frank Shushok.

“I really love Virginia Tech and working with students,” she said. “I knew if I wanted to advance in my career and continue to learn how to be an effective counselor, I needed doctorate.”

So she got started.

“It was a crazy thing, in hindsight, but that’s what I did,” Keene said laughing.

“It taught me a lot, such as patience. I have a good support network. There’s a lot you can’t do when you’ve got homework. My husband is a saint.”

He’s Bill Keene, originally from Hunterdale and, like his wife, also a 1996 graduate of Southampton Academy in Courtland. He also studied at Virginia Tech, and now supervises the grounds of the golf course at a country club. The couple has two children, Emerson, 9, and Mary Helen, 7.

The work of earning a doctorate was indeed a challenge.

“Basically, I was gone to collect data for three weeks,” said Keene. “I think I knew it would be harder. The dissertation was much harder for me.”

Fostering self-authorship in the student conduct environment became her focus of study.

“I knew that student conduct was more than just people who broke the

Dr. Frances Keene with her husband, Bill, and their children, Mary Helen and Emerson after Frances had received her diploma that certified she had met all the qualification of earning a doctorate in education. Frances, who is from Courtland, and Bill, who is Hunterdale, are both 1996 graduates of Southampton Academy. She works at Virginia Tech as chief of operations and deputy to the senior associate vice president for student affairs. — Photo submitted by Anne Ashby Babb

rules,” she said. “We develop not just our brains but also our intellect: ‘How I know what I know? How I have a sense of values?’”

Another part of her thesis was figuring out how some offices do such a good job at helping students, such as in personal development, not just punitive.

“Although sometimes you still have to do that,” she added; getting rid of stalkers, for example.

At her previous two schools it was much easier to negotiate a semester at a time, she recalled. “[Now] I had to create my own deadlines and studies, and then I had another child [Mary Helen]. The dissertation work was harder than I thought. It took

time to come up with a thesis. I struggled more than I expected.”

In retrospect, the dissertation process is an academic exercise, Keene said.

“You’re learning to ask questions and rigorously find the answers,” adding that once in that mindset, it became a matter of asking a thoughtful question and design how to answer it.

In addition to her family’s support, Keene benefited from “Really good advisors. The main one was Dr. Joan Hirt.

She’s really great as an advisor.”

Colleagues also stood with her, such as Shushok her boss, who was described as “really flexible” when it came to her balancing work, doctoral studies and family.”

western tidewater living

“I tried to quit a couple of times,” said Keene, who stressed that her supporters were quite serious that she should persevere. “There were people who really just cared about me and cared about my success.”

Looking back, Keene believes she’s done more than earn a doctorate, she’s become a better educator.

“It was really encouraging me to be back in the role of student counselor.

You forget that [after awhile.] It reminds me what students are experiencing.

That’s developmentally hard work,” she said. “It’s made me a more empathetic educator.”

Thinking back on her own personal evolution, Keene sees how she started school and found a way to be promoted.

“Now, it’s more how to be more effective, more dedicated,” she said.

Speaking of dedication, Keene noted that her mother, Anne Ashby Babb of Raleigh, North Carolina, earned her master’s degree in education at Regent University around the time Frances was at William and Mary. Her father is Emmett Babb of Chesapeake; Elizabeth Babb Munn of Raleigh is her sister.

“I have a lot of respect for her [Anne] doing that as an adult,” said Keene.

As for her own family, she noted that

33

her children would sit down with her doing their homework while she did her own.

“I’m hopeful as they grow they see that education is important to me and my husband,” she said.

The graduation ceremony took place this past early December, and with the accomplishment comes the possibility of moving onward and upward. But Keene is quite happy being where she is at the school.

“I really love Virginia Tech, also to just be with such great colleagues. I can’t imagine not working here.

They’re the best of the best.” 

THE TRAVELING FOODIE’S

Restaurant Guide

34 western tidewater living

‘They’ll know we are Christians by our love’ Ivor Baptist pastor, congregation reaches out to their surrounding community story and photos by Stephen H. Cowles

A church is a building where the faithful come to worship their Lord and to fellowship with one another as a way of support. Speaking of which, the place can also serve as a base for outreach to people whether they belong to a congregation or not. That seeking out is a particular mission for Don Roberts Jr., who is pastor at Ivor Baptist Church.

This was exemplified when he and five deacons gathered on a Saturday morning in mid-November to dis-

tribute a little over a dozen baskets of food to people in and just outside of town limits.

Names came after asking around about those in need; perhaps illness or maybe a personal setback had prevented them from getting to a grocery store. Donations were taken up to buy the food, not all of it necessarily for Thanksgiving.

“They were put together with love,” deacon Colis Bryant said that morning about the boxes lined up on

western tidewater living

Randy Rock, left, a deacon at Ivor Baptist Church, and Pastor Don Roberts Jr. organize boxes and sacks of food. These were distributed last fall to help families needing supplies close to the Thanksgiving holiday. Roberts emphasized that the donations were given to a mix of people, such as widows or those who had been either ill or recently unemployed.

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36 western tidewater living

Mrs. Sue Garner welcomes Deacon Dave Bennett as he brings in a box of food. benches in the fellowship hall.

“I brought this with me,” Roberts said about establishing this practice, though he didn’t know if the congregation had done anything like it before coming to Ivor 3 ½ years ago. Deacon Dave Bennett later added fruit baskets were mostly done in the past.

••• Previous to Roberts’ arrival 3 and ½ years ago, he was ministering at Colerain Baptist Church in North Carolina, which was his first pastorate. His life hasn’t always been in the ministry, though. Roberts was in the Navy for 22 ½ years; afterward he went to Northrop Grumman and then into civil service for the same branch.

The short answer, as he put it, to his becoming a preacher started in 1999 while he was in the deacon’s ministry at the church his family was attending.

“Shortly after I felt the Lord calling me to a pastoral ministry,” he said. But career and family had precedence in his life at the time. Instead of answering the call, Roberts took another course of ac-

Boxes and sacks of food were labeled simply by alphabet before distribution. tion: “I ran.”

Soon after he noticed that doors to whatever hopes or plans for the future started to close.

“One time an evangelist told me that God had laid it on his heart to ask if I ever considered becoming a pastor,” Roberts said.

Such similar encounters happened several times, he added. The clincher came while attending his son’s high school wrestling match. Two pastors approached saying they each felt led to talk to Roberts about the same possibility.

That’s when he decided: “I quit.”

Quit running from God, that is. So Roberts took action to attend a seminary, but even then wasn’t sure that leading a congregation was for him.

“I knew my limitations and feared the pulpit,” he said.

Cut to May 27, 2007, and he was giving his first sermon at a church in Tappahannock. Before Roberts knew it, he

was assigned to be the pastor at Colerain.

The arrival at Ivor came on April Fools Day in 2013.

••• “I want to focus a lot on getting the church back into the community,” Roberts said. “Sharing Christ and showing His love.”

One way is to meet people’s physical needs, such as through the food baskets.

“It’s where churches have always succeeded,” Roberts added.

Further, taking down walls and any barriers better enables people to “truly see the love of God.” Earlier this year, they provided handicapped ramps in Waverly after the tornado in February 2016. Love offerings to specific families have been collected on a case-by-case situation.

If someone approaches with a problem that Roberts cannot help solve, then he and others will seek out aid from other agencies or people.

Roberts said of his congregation, “It’s a very loving church.” 

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Wed. & Thurs. 5:00-9:00 Fri. & Sat. 5:00-10:00 Sun. Lunch & Dinner 11:30 - 9:00

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King’s Landing Shops • 252-287-8542 117 E. Main St., Murfreesboro, NC Open 10a-4p except on Wed. & Sun.

38 western tidewater living

what to do FRIDAY, MARCH 31 Windsor High Class Reunion: The class of 1991 and 1992 will have their class reunion on Friday, March 31 through April 2.

For more information, email cscott99ma@ gmail.com.

TUESDAY, APRIL 4 College night: A free college planning event, sponsored by Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) will be hosted

by Paul D. Camp Community College on Tuesday, April 4, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at the college’s Regional Workforce Development Center, 100 N. College Drive, Franklin. Get college planning tips, a chance to win one of three $500 scholarships, and enjoy free pizza and beverages. Entrants must be in grades 9-12 and present to win scholarships.

Tentative agenda includes: Career exhibits and information sessions from 5 to 6 p.m.; free pizza and beverages from 6 to 6:30 p.m.; college planning presentations from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and scholarship drawings from 8 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit www. collegenights.org.

Bingo Night

FRIDAY, APRIL 7 Legal aid: The Virginia Legal Aid Society will hold a community forum for Isle of Wight County on April 7 from noon to 2 p.m. in the DSS building of the county courthouse complex, and another forum for Franklin on April 12, also from noon to 2 p.m. at the Ruth Camp Campbell Memorial Library. The purpose of the forums is for the Legal Aid Society to receive input from citizens on what their priorities as an organization should be.

Oyster Roast

SATURDAY, APRIL 8 Down Home Day: Down Home Day at Southampton Heritage Village/Agriculture & Forestry Museum will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring the sawmill and gristmill in operation, bluegrass music, sheep shearing, petting zoo, etc. as well as a tour of the museum. For more information, call 654-6785. Golf tournament: The 6th annual Child Abuse Prevention Golf Tournament sponsored by the Joyner Gray Yale Ruritan Club and Southampton Social Services will be at Cypress Cove Country Club, 20333 Country Club Road, Franklin. The cost is $75 per player ,which includes range balls, green

Down Home Day

western tidewater living fees, carts and a barbecue dinner served after the tournament. Registration begins at noon with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. All proceeds from this tournament will be returned to the Southampton County community through programs which support child abuse prevention. Pre-registration is due by April 5 and the rain date for the event is April 15. For more information, call Jerry Stivers at 7630-8604 or Michelle Stivers at 556-2623 or 653-3122. For a registration form, email cindy.cotton@ dss.virginia.gov.

call Mike Perry at 642-0833.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12 Oyster Roast: The Chuckatuck Ruritan Club will have its 41st annual Oyster Roast from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Rose Farm on Everetts Road.

Tickets are $35 in advance and are availableat Pretlow/Jackson, P.C., 200 N. Main St., Suffolk, 539-3488; Saunders Supply Company, Chuckatuck, 255-4531; and the office of J. Dwight Bradshaw, 5501-D Bennett’s Pasture Road, Suffolk, 484-1444.

TUESDAY, APRIL 11

THURSDAY, MAY 18

Bingo night: The Walters Ruritan Club will have bingo night on Tuesday, April 11. There will be instant bingo, food and drinks available for purchase. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Games start at 7 p.m. For more information,

We Be Jammin’: The annual concert series is scheduled to kick off with Island Boy. This and all future shows, which last from 6 to 10 p.m., will be on Thursdays at Barrett’s Landing Park on South Main Street in downtown

Franklin.

MAY 25: Blackwater Rhythm & Blues.

JUNE 1: Hickory Knoll JUNE 8: The Entertainmers JUNE 15: Moonshine JUNE 22: Strictly Bizzness JUNE 29: Gary Lowder & Smokin’ Hot JULY 6: Steve Owens & Summertime JULY 13: Feature Attraction JULY 20: Hickory Knoll JULY 27: Jim Quick & Coastline AUGUST 3: Blackwater Rhythm & Blues AUGUST 10: No WBJ for Fair Week AUGUST 17: Hog Bear AUGUST 24: Midnight Allie AUGUST 31: Silver Street

For details, call 562-6900 or visit www. downtownfranklinva.org

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Isle of Wight County

We welcome to you to visit our charming area and our unique businesses

Propane • Premium Fuel Oil • Premium Diesel Heating & Air Conditioning Sales/Service Discounts for Senior Citizens

Tidewater Petroleum Cooperative, Inc.

(757) 942-2145

www.tidewaterpetroleum.com

western tidewater living

where am I? In each edition, our magazine staff provides a challenge of sorts for readers, testing how much of Western Tidewater they really know. We photograph a scene in Western Tidewater that is visible to motorists or pedestrians.

Whoever can identify the location pictured above will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.

So, if you discover where this edition’s photo was taken, let us know. If you’re right, you could be a winner. Email your answers to magazine@tidewaternews.com Get out there and enjoy Western Tidewater!

For the winter edition, staff writer Stephen H. Cowles took this photo of a sign for the General Federation of Woman’s Club in Sedley. Nobody guessed.

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Make Up & Spa Clinic Essential Oils • Wedding Make Up Massages Walk Ins Welcome 10AM-10PM

23 Retail Game Systems On Site

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