Comments on: COMMENTARY Legal Followup on Selling a Pie to Your Neighbor

By: Dana Lascu

Dana Lascu — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 06:46:00 +0000

Yup, you’re right, things have changed. Say goodbye to the past — the community that was and the unspoiled landscape are never coming back. Luckily, slavery isn’t coming back either. But let’s not be dismissive of the great community we continue to have on the Shore. The entrepreneurial venture that Karen Gay is promoting is, in a way, an attempt to create community — different than the specific narratives of the past, yet it is no less compelling.

By: Stuart L. Bell

Stuart L. Bell — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 03:51:11 +0000

Thanks for helping to explain. You were never known to mince words. It would be fun to hear what John Eddie would have to say on this topic.

By: Deborah Bender

Deborah Bender — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 23:15:11 +0000

Well said Janet!

By: Janet Sturgis

Janet Sturgis — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 02:16:59 +0000

Stuart Bell, I may be a “come here” to some, but I like to think of myself as a “return here”. You see, my roots stretch back to the early 1700’s when a branch of my Mother’s seafaring family decided to sail further south from ESVA and become farmers.
When I first moved to the Eastern Shore in 1980, one could literally lay in the middle of Rt. 13 in February and take a nap, as there was no car traffic. There was a traffic light at Cape Charles, one at T’s corner and one as you came off the bridge to Chincoteague. The engine and cars of the Eastern Shore Railroad would stop on the tracks in Melfa every morning in front of the Wayside, and the crew would cross the road and have breakfast. In the spring and summer, one could buy flats of freshly cut asparagus and strawberries, bushels of peas, etc. for reasonable prices, or go pick for yourself for even cheaper. Farmers allowed gleaning, when their harvesting was done. This was a good source of free nutritious food for the poor, and meant some extra income when sold on the side of the road. There were no fears of law suits, or permits required from the highway department for these activities. I attended the local church, even though not a Christian, because that was the center of Eastern Shore life and society. There was an independent grocery store or market in almost every town, where fresh local produce and seafood were sold, and the butcher would accommodate your every whim (even a standing crown rib roast).
The Eastern Shore has turned into something I hardly recognize either, Mr. Bell.
Gentrification and rising property values are making it almost impossible for “natives” to live here. The small independent markets gave way to chains, succumbing to what I call “across-the- bayitis”, as customers discovered you could spend twenty dollars and save fifty cents; anything sold by a native Eastern Shore merchant had to be inferior.
People buy property next to a farm and complain about dirt blowing through their windows. They demand something be done about the horses next door, when the horses and their manure were there long before they were. They bemoan the fact that that they have to haul their own trash and recyclables to the collection center, instead of having curbside pickup. They wring their hands and fret over the water quality in the Chesapeake and the fate of the waterman, yet continue to throw fertilizers on their lawn and complain of the smells and noises associated with the fisheries industry on the creeks and bay. They complain about the ramshackle house on the road, or the trailer on the way to their waterfront home without thinking that is all the occupants can afford. All that feel good, highway adoption, clean the beach day, sustainable agriculture, food freedom, back to the earth crap cannot make up for the sense of belonging and the love of community that has been lost.

By: Karen Gay

Karen Gay — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 20:27:23 +0000

Stuart, you couldn’t force me to drink KoolAid, but I could be persuaded to enjoy a nice cold bottle of kombucha which will raise my spirits. You should try it!

By: Stuart L. Bell

Stuart L. Bell — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 13:58:50 +0000

Sorry Karen, it is apparent from the words you chose, that you have ingested far too much KoolAid for me to attempt to reason with. Trust me, driving through Cape Charles and Onancock is disturbing. The Shore and the Way of Life I knew are Gone.

By: Karen Gay

Karen Gay — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 19:53:37 +0000

Stuart Bell, you sound so sad about what has been lost. I am a very happy to be here “come-here” and would like to know more about your perspective. Does your unhappiness stem from the fact that there has been conflict in the discussion or is it related to a preference for one of the points of view discussed here? Could you tell us what has been lost so that perhaps we can try to recapture some of the magic of times past?

By: Stuart L. Bell

Stuart L. Bell — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 14:18:08 +0000

I have been reading articles and comments on this site and others like it for the last eight years that I have been gone. I do not know what is happening, but it is not the Eastern Shore that I was raised on. It saddens me to read the attitudes and views that have and will make it unrecognizable. I hope you all understand what you have done and what you will do. But, you know the rest of this country is going in the same direction. It is sad. Funny how “Come-Heres” are being allowed to change things into something that they were trying to escape. The Good Times are Over for Good!

By: Linda Sue Gardiner

Linda Sue Gardiner — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 15:30:59 +0000

I am no expert, just a mom, but the concept of a two tier approach sounds reasonable and thoughtful. If there could be a system where a small home-based operation could be inspected by a local authority for cleanliness and sanitation without the requirement for a more commercial infrastructure (the triple sinks and impermeable walls for example) then that would seem to be very appropriate.

It would appear that the revitalization of the entrepreneur is the way our economy needs to go to get back on its feet. It makes more sense to give it sensible guidelines than to deny or dismiss it out of fear. Encouragement rather than frustration would be the hallmark of good leadership by our government in this endeavor. I’ll keep my prayers going and fingers crossed for this effort.

…and some artisanal cheese and home-made frozen dinners sound delightful after one of those days of running flat out….

By: Karen Gay

Karen Gay — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 14:32:58 +0000

As I stated in the above article, I advocate a two-tier system of regulations. One for corporate entities and another for the farm and home cook. In my opinion, there should be no regulation for the farm and home cook provided they sell to individuals and not resellers. Regarding raw milk, under this law, consumers would need to seek out the product at the farm. A label would be on the jar of milk stating that it had not been inspected. I don’t see the reason why people can’t do this especially considering that pasteurized milk is dangerous too. In May and June of last year fully inspected Marva Maid milk sickened many students in Henrico County and the milk was recalled.
Link to health department site: http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/health-department-schools-hospital-reported-bad-milk/26310852.

As Wayne implied, the crux of the matter is where one would draw the line for regulation. The articles I’ve written are not news, rather they express my opinion. And I hope I’ve made it clear what my opinion is! Other people reading my articles might draw the line a little or a lot further back, even favoring inspection for foods prepared in home kitchens for currently exempted non-profit or church events. That is the pleasure of being able to express one’s opinions freely in an online paper and to have some debate about the matter.

Stay tuned for Monday’s edition of the Wave. I’ve written an article about how it all turned out!