LINDEMAN
Building Community One Conversation at a Time
“We’ve got to get back to the garden.”
By BRUCE LINDEMAN
October 5, 2012
I often wonder why I like to dig in the dirt. Most of my friends my age don’t enjoy gardening, or at least don’t want to admit it.
It’s not like I even consider myself a “gardener.” I couldn’t tell you the names of many of the plants in our garden, which my wife and I recently inherited with the purchase of our Tazewell Avenue home.
What I do know is that I enjoy it.
For some, however, gardening is a solitary affair: a chance to be alone with one’s thoughts. To escape the other, more mundane chores that await them back inside, to even get a little bit of exercise or to feel the warmth of the sun against their face. The reasons why people garden are about as varied as the shells you might find walking the shoreline of Smith Island.
For me, working in the yard has always been a chance to do all of the above – and to be social. Gardening is not usually a social activity, such as playing golf, or attending a dinner party. It’s usually different with me.
At some point during my yard work, a conversation with someone typically ensues. Oftentimes, a neighbor strolling down the street might toss out a “lookin’ good!” or even a “love what you’ve done with the place” and keep walking. Sometimes, such comments lead to a return of “thanks” and other times, it begins a 20-minute conversation about any variety of topics.
Often, I simply need a break from the work and find an unsuspecting neighbor to walk over to and chat. Such was the case last weekend.
My wife and I live in a wonderfully friendly block of Tazewell and striking up a conversation is never a challenge. But I realized this weekend when our conversation with our neighbors had ended and we went back to working in our respective yards, that there is such a more visceral need for such conversations than we might realize. As much as we may like gardening and the results it yields, we also like to commune. Commune, of course, is the root of the word, community. [Read more…]
20th Annual Harvest Festival Again a FEAST-A-FULL
Victor Abrahamian from Cape Charles wore Native American dress to Wednesday’s Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce Harvest Festival at Sunset Beach. He was promoting the theater production “Piece of Eden” scheduled for November at the Palace Theater. (Wave photos)
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
October 4, 2012
“You have to go at least once to the Harvest Festival.”
And so we did, and had a great time.
The weather behaved, and I did too —
by keeping my promise to my 60-year-old stomach not to try to get my money’s worth by eating $40 worth of food.
Because the Harbor Festival is not just all about the food.
(That’s a lie — it IS all about the food.)
But there’s a county fair spirit about it all, along with a see-and-be-seen atmosphere.
The weather was fine (hot and humid beats rain),
the food was par excellence,
and spirits were high.
And Sunset Beach is the PERFECT place for a few thousand Shore folks to gather.
So what’s not to like?
See you back next year! [Read more…]
THURSDAY 10/4: Tall Ship Tours at Cape Charles Harbor
Tall Ship Harvey Gamage has called at Cape Charles Harbor and is offering tours to the public. [Read more…]
PLANNING COMMISSION: Beach Club Gets Building Permit
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
October 3, 2012
Two large construction projects are on the drawing board in Cape Charles, with one of them nearly underway.
Bay Creek Resort received a building permit yesterday authorizing construction to begin on the Beach Club and Fitness Center at Bayside Village in the Bay Creek golf course complex.
The members-only facility will include a 3,000 square-foot member lounge, cardio area with exercise equipment, indoor and outdoor pools, snack bar, and children’s game room.
Bay Creek spokesman Oral Lambert told the Wave last month he expects construction to take about eight months.
The other project is even more ambitious but still in the early planning stages: Eastville-based South Port Investors LLC envisions a Cape Charles Yacht Center, with yacht repair, manufacturing, and sales.
Cape Charles Town Planner Tom Bonadeo reported to the Planning Commission last night that South Port has submitted plans for permit updates, including wetlands mitigation.
The plans must be approved by the Northampton County Wetlands Board and others. South Port hopes to begin work this fall along the wetlands near the harbor, Bonadeo said. [Read more…]
ECHELON COUSINS: Cape Charles, Meet Chatham
Echelon Resources has contracted to pay $10,000 for the former Chatham Elementary School and plans to convert it to luxury loft apartments. (Star-Tribune photo)
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
October 2, 2012
Most folks in Cape Charles probably have never heard of Chatham, Virginia — and vice versa.
The town has nothing to do with Machipongo’s Chatham Vineyards. The Town of Chatham is in south central Virginia, a little north of Danville. Its claim to fame is as the home of Hargrave Military Academy.
But residents of Cape Charles and Chatham have more in common than they might expect:
— Chatham’s population is 1,300. Cape Charles is about 1,100;
— Chatham hosts a new state prison, which has led to upgrades in their water services. Cape Charles Town Council sought a prison in the 1990s, with hopes of upgrading sewer service as a consequence.
— And, most recently, Chatham’s Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted in May to sell the old Chatham Elementary School to Echelon Resources, Inc., for $10,000. Cape Charles Town Council voted in June to sell the old Cape Charles school to Echelon Resources for $10. [Read more…]
TUESDAY 10/2: Planning Commission to Discuss Harbor District Density and Sign Ordinance
The Cape Charles Planning Commission will meet 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 2, at Town Hall. The public may attend but not speak. [Read more…]
Long-Time Resident Brings Business Home to Cape Charles
Barbara M. Brown (with Barney) is a licensed professional counselor and marriage and family therapist with 25 years in private practice.
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
October 1, 2012
Any uptick in Cape Charles business activity is welcome news.
So the Wave is pleased to report that Barbara Brown has opened a professional counseling office at 221 Mason Avenue.
Brown is a long-time Cape Charles resident, but until recently she conducted all her practice on Rogers Drive in Nassawadox. That worked well for clients on the northern end of the Eastern Shore, and she is maintaining her office there. But in response to “many requests from people down at this end for something closer,” Cape Charles now has a resident psychotherapist.
“Some day I would love to work here full time,” Brown says. “My office is located almost directly across from the medical center. If you look up to the second floor you will see a balcony with a green and white striped awning. It is two doors to the right of Dr. Titcomb’s eye office and is my office balcony. So I have a view of the harbor and town. [Read more…]
Daniel Lee Marshall, 77, Hog Island Native
Daniel Lee Marshall, 77, husband of the late Orma Jean Marshall and a Townsend resident, passed away Saturday, September 29.
A graveside service with Masonic Rites will be held Tuesday, October 2, at 11 a.m. at Capeville Masonic Cemetery with the Rev. Elizabeth A. Lutz officiating.
Family will join friends Monday evening from 6 to 7 p.m. at Wilkins-Doughty Funeral Home in Cape Charles.
A native of Hog Island, he was the son of the late Nevelle Thomas Marshall and the late Fairy Stevens Marshall.
Mr. Marshall was retired from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel District and a barber. He also worked for the VA Ferry Corporation. He was a member of Capeville United Methodist Church, Capeville Masonic Lodge 107 AF&AM, and was a U.S. Air Force Veteran. [Read more…]
