Strides

Sunday, feb. 24, 2013

Reasons we love

Suffolk

Strides

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Table of conTenTs

InsIde strIdes

Suffolk Art League Executive Director Linda Bunch says Suffolk abounds with artists and arts appreciators. You may not be aware that your neighbor, lawyer, accountant or business associate is a painter, musician or thespian.

abundanT arTs15

finding a place To call home

Andy Damiani, Mr. Suffolk himself, has been many places — from Richmond to New York to Paris — but only one was worth calling home. He says that he found his permanent home and good friends in Suffolk and that you can, too.

27

land spread ouT so far and wideThere is an abundance of country living avail-able that adds to the city’s appeal. A certain group of Suffolk residents wake up to that every day.For them, and many in Suffolk, it’s all about country living.

26

EDITORIALR.E. Spears III

Editor

Tracy AgnewNews Editor

Matthew A. WardStaff Writer

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Strides25 Reasons We Love Suffolk


Suffolk’s Cultural Arts Center Showcases Top Performers

Birdsong Peanut is proud ofSuffolk’s History and

Excited About Suffolk’s Bright Future.

Serving The Area’s Agribusiness CommunitySince The Early 1900’s

Pride in Suffolk’s Future

BIRDSONG PEANUTS

539-3456 SUFFOLK, VAA Division � Bir� ong Corporation

At home in SuffolkThere is much to love about Suffolk,

this city we call home.When we began making plans for

this annual Strides edition last year, we quickly settled on the idea of focusing its content on the reasons we love this great city. The problem, we soon realized, would be narrowing down the list of topics.

Especially for those of us who have lived in Suffolk for most or all of our lives, choosing just 25 reasons we love Suffolk would be a tall order.

There were, of course, some obvious things: Schools, his-tory, rural life and the like were on everybody’s short list of the city’s most beloved characteris-tics. But we wanted to be sure that we’d given due consider-ation to some things that might

not have been so obvious to us on South Saratoga Street, so we opened up the nomination process to our readers, posting notices on our social networking sites and in the newspaper that we wanted to know what our readers love best about Suffolk.

Your responses proved invaluable to this special section. From the recreational

opportunities provided by the YMCA and the Great Dismal Swamp to the family connections that give life here its meaning to the community organizations that strive to improve the lives of Suffolk’s people, your suggestions provided the framework for this entire project, and we appreciate the thoughtful replies we received to our inquiries.

We also appreciate the time and effort spent by those whom we asked to provide personal reflections on Suffolk for this sec-tion. From the beginning, we wanted this edition of Strides to be a community effort, so we selected five people who represent a broad cross-section of interests in Suffolk to tell us, in their own words, what they love about the city. They found, as we did, that the challenge was to narrow their topic sufficiently to space we had allotted them.

In any effort such as this, there are bound to be many obviously worthy top-ics that just could not be fit within the space available. Limiting ourselves to 25 reasons we love Suffolk meant that some people, organizations, concepts and quali-ties would, unfortunately, not be included in this edition.

If we’d had room for 50 reasons we love

Suffolk, we surely would have included discussions about the educational oppor-tunities to be found at Paul D. Camp Community College’s Hobbs Suffolk Campus, about the city’s fine array of restaurants, about its great resiliency as highlighted by the recovery from the tor-nado in 2008, about some of the dedicated people who work behind the scenes to make the city a better place to live, about the peaceful-ness of pad-dling a kayak along the Nansemond River and about so many other things that have always made Suffolk home for me, no mat-ter where I happened to live at the time.

For me, that’s the No. 1 reason to love Suffolk — because it’s home.

Res SpearsEditor


A festival for peanutsstory by Tracy Agnew

Suffolk may not be a county, but it has something even better than a county fair — a Peanut Festival.

The peanut, which put Suffolk on the map, was first officially celebrated in Suffolk in January 1941. It included a parade, dances and balls and the coronation of a queen, with about 10,000 in attendance at the activi-ties. The event was so popular that organizers decided

to hold a similar one in October of that year.

In 1978, the festival became an annual event celebrated downtown, and it included dances, concerts and a hot-air balloon festival. It moved in 1981 to the municipal airport, where it has remained ever since.

Held each October, the modern Peanut Festival attracts 125,000 people from across the country for con-certs, amusement rides, competitions, midway games, agricultural and historical displays, truck and tractor pulls, a motorcycle rally, fireworks and the demolition derby, which is arguably the most popular event, filling the grandstands every year.

With all this fun lined up (and the usual cooperation of the weather), it’s not hard to figure out why people love the Peanut Festival, said Lisa Key, executive direc-tor of Suffolk Festivals Inc., which produces the festival.

“I just think it’s the biggest outdoor event in Suffolk,” Key said. “They enjoy the rides and entertainment. It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold. It’s an annual event they look forward to.”

The festival, which had record attendance on the Saturday of its 2012 edition, enters its 36th year in 2013. The tradition and low cost of attendance allows visitors to remake memories year after year, Key said.

“They get to see friends and family they haven’t seen in a while, and they get to get outdoors and have a good time,” Key said. “There’s no fee for admission, and you can do some things that don’t cost anything. In that way, it’s not expensive.”

The festival in past years has cost only $10 for park-ing. Many of the special events, including the demoli-tion derby, truck and tractor pull, fireworks and con-certs, are free.

“It’s like a hometown county fair, and who doesn’t love that,” Key said.

Others seem to agree. The festival has garnered national accolades, including a mention in Parade maga-zine in 2011.

“Trust us — you haven’t lived until you’ve seen the world’s only peanut-butter sculpture contest,” the magazine raved in its feature “Eat Your Way Across America: 50 States, 50 Fabulous Food Festivals.”

It isn’t just the four days of the festival that makes people fall in love — a number of pre-festival events include a parade, the Queen’s Luncheon and the Suffolk Ruritan Shrimp Feast, which raises thousands of dollars for local community projects.

25Peanut Fest

story by Titus Mohler

For fishermen who don’t want to be limited to one or the other when it comes to freshwater and saltwater

fishing, don’t like to settle for a narrow variety of species to fish and don’t like to

take even one season off, Suffolk is a rare and special place to be.

Park Ranger Sergeant John “J.R.” Ruggiero of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation talked

recently about the fishing opportunities that are available to folks who live in Suffolk.

“The Nansemond (River) and James (River) are two major tributaries of Chesapeake Bay that both are located in Suffolk,” he said.

The rivers, extending through neighbor-ing cities, offer Suffolk residents ready accessibility to saltwater fishing. But the point could be argued that the city’s fresh-water fishing opportunities make saltwater

trips something of an indulgence.“I think Suffolk is mainly known for

its freshwater fishing due to the variety of freshwater lakes that we have within the city,” Ruggiero said.

The eight primary freshwater bodies, many of which are owned by other cities, but are located in Suffolk, are Lake Burnt Mills, Lake Cohoon, Lake Drummond, Lone Star Lakes, Lake Meade, Lake Prince, Speights Run and the Western Branch Reservoir.

“Suffolk will suit any style of fishing, no matter what level of expertise, from the very beginner to the avid, big-water fish-erman,” Ruggiero said. “We have some-where in Suffolk to accommodate (each of) those needs, which makes us unique.”

Smaller boats work well for the lakes, while larger vessels can troll the rivers.

Suffolk resident Billy Williams has lived and fished in the city for 38 years and is now semi-retired. He enjoys the diversity of quiet, relaxing opportunities to go for a few hours on a given day.

“The key thing is there’s a lot to fish for and lot of little different places that

are real close by, and it’s a year-around thing,” he said.

In the winter, he will fish for crappie in the lakes and catfish in the Nansemond River with longtime friend Roy Butler, also of Suffolk.

“This time of year, we fish for speck-led perch,” Butler said, referring to an opportunity found in the Western Branch Reservoir, one of his favorite lakes.

Come spring, Williams said, both rivers offer croaker, while the lakes start to yield largemouth bass and sunfish called shell-crackers. Ruggiero said the shellcrackers are very popular, and several state-record catches have come out of Suffolk’s lakes.

In the summer, Williams fishes for puppy drum in the rivers, and white perch comes into season in the lakes. Both rivers also have spot and striped bass in the fall as the lakes continue yielding largemouth bass and crappie.

Even the private ponds around Suffolk give anglers a chance for a little variety, Butler said, noting that he enjoys the opportunity to go pole fishing in them without a reel.

Drop a line

Both fishermen and women take advantage of the opportunities to do saltwater fishing in the James River from the Bennett’s Creek pier.

Get Ahead

Paul D. Camp Community College


The fishing’s fine in Suffolk’s rivers and lakes

25Fishing Spots

The Goldilocks schools

Dr. Deran Whitney, superintendent of Suffolk Public Schools, describes why the school system is loved by the community. The district, he says, has maintained full accreditation at most schools, has a community feel, offers students a well-rounded experience and institutes progressive policies.


story & photography by Matthew A. Ward

Suffolk Public Schools Superintendent Deran Whitney says that maintain-ing full accreditation at most schools

is the district’s biggest achievement of the past year.

“Out of our 19 schools, we have 17 schools that maintain full accreditation,

and they have maintained that over the last four, or maybe even five years,” Whitney said.

King’s Fork and Lakeland high schools didn’t make full accredi-tation due to the new

Standards of Learning math assessment, he said.

“Looking at the progress that we’ve made per test, per school, is encouraging. We have roughly 35 SOL tests that we admin-ister on a yearly basis, and roughly half of those increased as far as a percentage of students passing the test,” he added.

“Overall, Suffolk Public Schools stands for continuous improvement. No matter where the student is, no matter where the school is, we strive to improve. To improve that pass rate, to improve the school, to improve individual students as well.”

Whitney described the district’s size in Goldilocks terms: It’s “not so large that we don’t know everyone,” and “not so small that we have to wear so many hats that you don’t have time to maintain a personal touch.”

“Administrators within our school system are very personable, to where parents feel

comfortable approaching them,” he said. “We still have somewhat of a community-type environment to where everyone’s in it all together.”

School administrators encourage a pro-gressive district. For instance, they’ve introduced a community-service graduation requirement — a first in Hampton Roads — and they are allowing electronic devices in the classroom at King’s Fork High on a trial basis.

“It’s a matter of recognizing the fact that our classrooms look a little different than they did — much different than they did — 10 years ago, maybe even five years ago,” Whitney said.

“We know that technology is here to stay. Our job is to show them (students) how to use it appropriately.”

While academics remain the core con-cern, in recent years, the district has worked to get more students involved in extracur-ricular activities, Whitney said.

“I think it’s important we talk about the academics, that that stays at the forefront, but we also need to realize that when we’re preparing students for the 21st century, we want them to be able to maintain that balance where they can keep their grades to their potential, and work on the social aspect to where they are getting along with others on a club, on a team or just … being a spectator at a team event,” he said.

“Football teams recently have done markedly better, and I think part of that is because we brought back middle (school) sports and students are working together more as a team. All of that plays a role when we are talking about the whole child.”

SPS: Big enough to be diverse, small enough to care

25Public Schools

VISIT US DURING OUR OPEN HOUSE

MARCH 6, 2013


Suffolk’s people and places give it a rich historyColumn by Sue Woodward

What I love most about Suffolk, of course, is the history. Here are six pieces

of it that I love:

The waTerwaysHow beautiful! I forget sometimes

how lucky we are to have all this beauty around us. The Nansemond

River was the first highway in what is now Suffolk. John Smith explored part of it in 1608, bringing it into written history.

The creeks were also early highways. Shingle Creek was even named for the product it most often moved, those cypress shingles from the Dismal Swamp. Chuckatuck Creek was the reason for the ancient village that bears the

same name.

Colorful namesI love the colorful old names

that often tell histo-ries themselves, like Pitchkettle Road, where there actually was a huge kettle for cooking pine to make pitch or tar; Bennett’s Pasture Road, which was on part of Richard Bennett’s large land

grant in the 1600s; and Sleepy Hole, which I’ve never figured out.

rooTsSo many families have such deep

roots here. I love knowing four gen-erations of many families. Our neigh-bors’ ancestors and my husband’s ancestors have been neighbors for

most of the last 200 years. I like that.

The Train whisTlesI love the train whistles, but not

the long wait for long trains to go through town (at 10 miles per hour). Once there were six railroads, with passenger service as well as freight. Those railroads truly shaped the his-tory of Suffolk, creating the villages of Driver, Holland and Whaleyville and smaller ones. Those railroads helped Suffolk claim to be the World’s Largest Peanut Market.

The model at the Seaboard Station Railroad Museum tells some of the story.

The village of somerTonThough it is a shadow of its origi-

nal self, this village is probably the one least changed by modern life. Somerton was bypassed more than 50 years ago by the road that is now

U.S. Hwy. 13. The village was left to live life at its own pace.

The Washington Smith ordinary or inn still stands. It is where General Lafayette, great French hero of the American Revolution, stopped for refreshment on his triumphal tour of the United States in 1825. The inn is still owned by Smith descendants. I really love that.

Cedar hill CemeTeryThis serenely beautiful spot tells

much of the history of Suffolk and old Nansemond County. Though it is downtown, families from all over Nansemond County are interred there. Two generals, a governor, a lion trainer from a circus, people who represent all walks of life are laid to rest there.

They are all the people of this place, this town that we love.

Lion trainers and ordinaries

25HistoryWoodward


story & photography by Tracy Agnew

About six years ago, a group of Suffolk

citizens attended an interest meeting for people who wanted to help protect the city’s animals.

That group, and many others who have joined during the ensuing years, now is known as the

Suffolk Humane Society, a force of about 60 active volunteers who have joined together to help animals in

Suffolk.“I think that peo-

ple love us because we are a diverse group of people,” said Michele Thames, interim

executive director of the society. “We all have different ideas on how to make Suffolk a better place for animals.”

From that interest meeting in 2006, “it just snowballed from there,” Thames said. Now, the society focus-es on a trio of priorities — adoption programs, low-cost spay/neuter pro-grams and humane education.

The society partners with Suffolk Animal Control to run adopt-a-thons to encourage animal adoption. Dozens of volun-teers also foster animals that are up for adoption to help the animals get more social-ization and expo-sure to potential adopters.

The society also brings low-cost spay/neuter pro-

grams like the Virginia Beach Neuter Scooter to Suffolk several times a year to encourage Suffolk pet owners to get their animals fixed — one of the best ways to solve the pet over-population problem and prevent more animals having to be euthanized because they could not find homes.

Finally, the society conducts humane education programs to teach children and adults about responsible pet ownership.

“I’m trying to create a place where if you have a problem, if you ask us, we’re going to try to help you with-out judgment,” Thames said. “That’s something I’d like to work on in the future.”

The society funds all these pro-grams through its annual fundraiser, the Mutt Strut, as well as individual donations throughout the year. It also hosts one of the few pet-friendly 5K races in the area and is trying to develop more events where animals are welcome.

“We kind of highlight how much fun having an animal companion can be,” Thames said.

Thames said the Humane Society has built partnerships with many organizations and businesses in Suffolk and surrounding cities.

“We’re in a lot of places,” Thames said. “We’re at Chesapeake Square (where the organization’s foster cats are up for adoption). You see

our logo in vets’ offices. It’s all about working for the greater good.”

It’s all worth it to help the ani-mals, she said.

“They bring so much to our lives, and they don’t ask for anything,” she said. “It’s the least we can do to make sure they’re not treated cru-elly.”

The Suffolk Humane Society sponsors the BARKS (Books And Reading for Kids in Suffolk) program to help children become more confident readers by reading to therapy dogs. Top, Riley Gregory, 8, reads to Ginger Owen’s dog Ella, and above, 8-year-old Ciara Patton reads to Robin Smith’s dog Mocha.

Organization advocates for animal companions

humane group

‘They bring so much to our lives, and they

don’t ask for anything. it’s the least we can do

to make sure they’re not treated cruelly.’

Michele ThamesintErim ExEcutivE dirEctor of thE Suffolk

humanE SociEty

25Humane Society



Citizens of Suffolk don’t have to drive far to experience an authentic hometown festival —

the village of Driver is just down the road.

Last year’s festival in October was the 19th Driver Days, which was origi-nally started by villager Craig Parker

to capitalize on a hunting and fishing show that used to take place at Sleepy Hole Park.

“He (Parker) wanted to get the traffic that was

going that way,” festival organizer Ken Parsons said. “That’s when he stood outside in a gorilla suit and start-ed what he called ‘Driver Days.’”

The festival, which usually attracts upward of 7,000 visitors, has some-thing for the whole family.

“I tried to get beer incorporated into

it five years ago,” Parsons said. “One of the big things that I heard was no one wanted it, because it was a fam-ily oriented event. It wasn’t like the Peanut Fest and every other place that has the beer tents around. We decided against it, to keep the family atmo-sphere.”

With a car show, a motorcycle show, bounce houses and other amuse-ments and activities for the children, cornhole games, music, crafts vendors, a blacksmith demonstration, Civil War re-enactors and more, visitors to the festival can have a hard decision on how best to invest their time.

“Our goal is more toward the chil-dren,” said Parsons’ mother, Joan Mayo, proprietor of Knot Hole Station.

“People start calling in the sum-mer, ‘Do you have a date for Driver Days?’ The biggest one we ever had was when we had (popular ‘50s-style Virginia Beach band) The Rhondels.”

The only thing in the area that comes close to the country, hometown atmosphere of Driver Days, accord-

ing to Parsons, is Pungo Strawberry Festival.

“The major attraction is the old-town charm that we have,” he said. “It’s people seeing people; I don’t think any attraction (at the festival) has been better than just the social occa-sion.”

The festival seems to get new attrac-tions every year. This year it was the “Space Ball,” a gyroscope-like con-traption into which folks are strapped and spun in three different directions at once.

One staple of the festival, the street parade, gives local schools and com-munity groups a chance to reach out beyond their usual domains.

“Everybody said it was the best parade this year,” Mayo said.

While the hunting and fishing has been canceled and gorilla suits are no longer the main attraction, Driver Days has continued to endure.

For many Suffolk families, it’s an annual ritual that wouldn’t be missed for the world.

This year’s Driver Days, like every year, attracted a large crowd of folks to the village center. A popular lineup of entertainment seems to bring people back year after year.

Driver Days gives visitors a taste of the past

A hometown festival

25Driver Days


story & photography by Titus Mohler

The Suffolk Youth Athletic Association is a non-profit, charitable, volunteer-run program that provides year-around

sports opportunities for children ages 6-18 in Suffolk and the surrounding areas. It was founded in 1981 and has since grown into one of the largest privately operated youth sports organizations in Virginia.

“It’s a way to give back,” SYAA President Rod Taylor said.

Between 1,600 and 1,800 kids register to play sports through SYAA each year, which includes fall and spring seasons of soc-cer, baseball and softball and a winter season of

field hockey. More than 25,000 volunteer hours are required annually to make SYAA work.

“It’s been an amazing situation when you look at — for 30 some odd years, every time a game is played, every trash can that’s emp-tied, every hamburger that’s cooked — (it) is all volunteers,” Taylor said.

Referees and umpires are the only paid positions related to the association. Volunteers occupy all the other positions, including board members, commission-ers, and the people who provide and utilize equipment during the summer to mow — twice weekly — the 45 acres and 25 fields the organization owns.

Susan Brayshaw of Smithfield oversees the intermediate field hockey age group (9-12), and she also coaches and has a 13-year old daughter who plays in the league. Her description of the league’s appeal could be said of all the sports that SYAA offers.

“The best thing about it, I think, is that all the girls of any abilities can come out here and play,” she said.

“There’s not a limit to who can and who can’t play any of the sports,” SYAA soccer commissioner Stacy Pauley said. “We won’t ever turn anybody away.”

“If they’re not real strong players, they feel comfortable playing here, and then they can develop a love for the sport,” Bradshaw said.

As players develop more skill, they can graduate to more challenging levels of play within SYAA, or they can take advantage of opportunities like training to be referees or giving pointers to younger players. Real friendships can also come out of SYAA, like the one that Shelbi Holloman of Suffolk and Dana Crocker of Smithfield have experi-enced.

“We’ve become really close just doing this,” Holloman said of refereeing. “And we’re on the same team for the senior league.”

“I’ve got three or four girls in the Suffolk community that I call ‘my’ girls,” President Taylor said. “Every time I see them, I get a big hug, because I coached them. We’ve met some amazing people up there. We’ve devel-oped friendships that will last a lifetime.”

MICHAEL CLARK PHOTO

Top, children from the SYAA Shetland league cling to the chain link fence before to a game of T-ball. Above, Arylee Clark of the SYAA Dolphins Pinto softball team waits for a good pitch.

Training camp

Youth of all abilities enjoy sports through SYAA

25SYAA

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Some Suffolk families have been here for centuriesstory & photography by R.E. Spears III

Nothing beats a stroll through a community’s old cemetery to help one connect with the names

of the families that built the community. In Suffolk, that hallowed ground can be found at Cedar Hill Cemetery in the

downtown area.Scattered

amongst the thou-sands of tomb-stones and monu-ments there, one will find many of the names that are

repeated on street signs and in the names of buildings and lakes and geographi-cal features throughout the city: Prentis, Kilby, Riddick, Pinner, Meade and many other names are etched on those stones.

According to Sue Woodward, president of the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society, some of the most famous of those names have disap-

peared from Suffolk as actual families, now surviving only as appellations for landmarks whose significance newcom-ers might never know without a trip to Cedar Hill.

Historic Prentis House on North Main Street, for example, was named for a family that arrived in the small town of Suffolk in the early 1800s, she said, but the family is gone. The Meade and Kilby families, which both have lakes now bearing their names? “Gone long ago,” she said.

“A lot of the oldest families have dis-appeared,” she said.

But not all of them are gone.The Norfleet family has been in

Suffolk since 1656, she said, and the family held a big reunion here some time back that brought members from as far away as Brazil.

The Williams family tree has branched many times since Capt Thaddeus Williams led the Nansemond Guards, a Confederate company serving under Col.

William Mahone’s 6th Virginia Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.

Williams’ descendants today, she said, include Suffolk Treasurer Ron Williams, but the family’s DNA, if not its name, can be traced to current Suffolk fami-lies with names like Brothers, Pretlow, Duke, Cross, Webb and others.

The Riddick family is another prolific one with deep roots in Suffolk.

“Everybody whose family was here 200 years ago has Riddick connections, I’m willing to bet,” said Woodward, whose husband’s family has lived in the same block of Main Street for most of the past 200 years.

The Godwin family of the Chuckatuck area goes way back in Suffolk’s history, she said, and its most famous member was the late Mills E. Godwin Jr., who served two separate terms as governor of Virginia and now has a North Suffolk bridge that bears his name.

The Rawls family of Holy Neck has dwindled in its Suffolk presence in

recent years, Woodward said, but one of its forebears was a doctor and founder of Lakeview Hospital, now Lakeview Clinic.

The Pruden name is familiar to those who travel Route 460 — Pruden Boulevard, which passes the Pruden Center for Industry and Technology — and it dates back to before the Civil War, she said.

One of the things Woodward said she finds most interesting about the families of Suffolk is their interconnectedness.

“Everybody who’s been here for very long is related to somebody else,” she said.

The family name

25Heritage

‘a lot of the oldest families have disappeared.’

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Isle of Wight County Schools and Suffolk Public Schools


Column by Linda Bunch

One of the things I love about Suffolk is our vibrant arts com-

munity.It all begins with the active

visual and performing arts programs in all of our schools

— public, private and home school. Our school administra-tions seem dedicated

to continuing these programs. Like many leading business professionals, they recognize the need to develop creativity and encourage expression of ideas.

We also have the good for-tune to have dedicated educators who are willing to share their creativity and enthusiasm for the arts with their students. This

serves to build a community of adults who understand the value of creativity and how vital it is to our prosperity.

Suffolk abounds with art-ists and arts appreciators. You may not be aware that your neighbor, lawyer, accountant or business associate is a painter, musician or thespian. Artists in our community decorate the locally owned restaurants, sing in our church choirs, perform at municipal events and share their talents through teaching.

We have numerous venues to enjoy the arts — both traditional spaces, galleries and theaters, and some not so traditional. They include not-for profit organizations, municipal facili-ties and locally owned busi-nesses. Without leaving the city limits, you can view art exhibi-tions, take in a show or join the cast of a play, participate in

open-mic music and poetry nights or explore your talents through classes and workshops.

What I love the most is the people who are involved in the arts in Suffolk. They are pas-sionate about what they are doing, whether working in a studio, rehearsing in an audi-torium, painting on the kitchen table or working to make sure opportunities to create and share the arts are available. They pour their souls into making what they do the best.

I hope to see you enjoying the arts in Suffolk.

Linda G. Bunch is the executive director of the Suffolk art league, which is located at the Suffolk art Gallery at 118 Bosley ave. She is a clay artist and a board member of the cultural alliance of Greater hampton roads. call the Suffolk art league at 925-0448.

Abundant creativity

25The Arts


The scene: Along the Nansemond River.

The year: 1863.It’s the siege of Suffolk, and the

Confederacy is fighting to regain con-trol of the area. With a river and mul-tiple railroads lacing the rural backdrop

surrounding the town of Suffolk, neither army can ignore the area’s logistic impor-tance.

A Confederate ship rounds a bend on the river near modern-day

Pitchkettle Road’s Boston community. Suddenly, from the banks of the river, comes cannon fire.

The Union troops are firing from an earthen fort that will come to be known as Fort Rosecrans. The simple hill of dirt is actually quite sophisticat-ed, with deep valleys on the shore side to allow cannons to be rolled to the top of the hill and a low moat and steep hill on the riverside to make an attack unattractive.

It was a scene that likely played out over and over again, up and down the

river, throughout the war, said local Civil War buff Fred Taylor, an attor-ney and member of the Tom Smith Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

“Basically everywhere along the river where there’s a bend, there was a cannon,” Taylor said. “For as many (forts) as there are left, there’s prob-ably as many or more that have been destroyed.”

The earthen forts — being, after all, merely earth — are susceptible to ero-sion and other forces of nature, as well as development. Fort Rosecrans was probably protected because the city of Portsmouth owns the water and sur-rounding land there in Suffolk, and the old fort has been shielded from devel-opment, Taylor said. Furthermore, the fort’s sheer size and heavy tree cover have protected it from erosion.

“Most of them that are out there have begun to deteriorate,” Taylor said. “Fort Rosecrans is probably the most well-preserved earthen fort in the entire Hampton Roads area, (and it) probably comes close in Petersburg and Richmond.”

Fort Rosecrans is among the most inconspicuous Civil War sites in

Suffolk, the kind that hides in plain sight unless an observer with a trained eye takes a 10-minute hike through the woods. But it’s far from the only important site in Suffolk.

There’s the artillery locat-ed at modern-day Cedar Point Golf Course; Riddick’s Folly, whence Union Gen. John J. Peck occupied Suffolk; the Confederate Memorial in Cedar Hill Cemetery, and indeed the entire cemetery, where many Confederate soldiers are buried; and many more.

And a battle that changed the course of naval history took place right at the mouth of the Nansemond River, with folks standing and watching it from Pig Point, a North Suffolk point of land at the confluence of the

Nansemond and James rivers. The Battle of the Ironclads technically might not have taken place within Suffolk’s borders, but people from Suffolk and Nansemond County would have witnessed it directly, and news of it spread quickly throughout the Hampton Roads area.

Taylor is biased, but he believes it is a privilege to live among so much history.

“Suffolk was sort of a key in several ways,” he said.


Suffolk had an important part in the Civil War

War on the home front

Above, local Civil War buff Fred Taylor stands on top of Fort Rosecrans, a manmade embankment designed to shelter cannons and soldiers who could attack ships along the river. Top, the view of Fort Rosecrans, barely visible as a mound of earth with trees growing on it, from across the river.

25Civil War History

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Path to ‘another world’

COuRTESY OF THE u.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERvICE

The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, a large portion of which rests inside Suffolk city limits, offers visitors a chance to reconnect with nature through activities like hiking, biking and canoeing on Lake Drummond.

story by Matthew A. Ward

The Great Dismal Swamp offers Suffolk citizens nature, history, recreational opportunities and,

above all, a convenient chance to escape to another world.

“The Great Dismal Swamp is a snapshot into a different time and place — when wilderness far sur-

passed civilization,” Suffolk’s tourism development man-ager, Theresa Earles, wrote in an email. “Parents enjoy intro-ducing their children to nature and learn-

ing about the ecology, wildlife and history of the Great Dismal.”

Along with biking and hiking the various trails, birders at the swamp “especially love the sheer quantity and diversity of birds,” according to Earles.

“Such a mysterious place, the swamp is always changing and evolving. (It’s) a unique ecosystem right here in our own back yard.”

Earles doesn’t expect the swamp’s enchanting wiles to wane any time

soon. “I expect that the Great Dismal Swamp will continue to attract visi-tors for generations,” she said.

The Great Dismal Swamp, which even has a craft beer named after it, extends into northeastern North Carolina.

The more than 112,000 acres of forested wetlands, including Virginia’s largest natural lake, the 3,100-acre Lake Drummond, have been attracting Suffolk day-trippers for generations.

The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was established when pulp and paper company Union Camp, which had acquired it from the George Washington-formed Dismal Swamp Land Company, donated its swamp holdings to The Nature Conservancy in 1973.

Refuge manager Chris Lowie says that in his experience, Suffolk citizens either have never visited the swamp or have an interesting story to tell about it.

“When I go to groups (such as Rotary, to talk about the swamp) … there’s always two or three people that have a story,” he said.

“Either people have never been

here, or people feel they have a connec-tion to the swamp and a story.”

These two differ-ent reactions, Lowie says, attest to the fact that those who visit the swamp often fall in love with it.

The swamp “allows people to reconnect with nature, which is what we used to do before … urbaniza-tion,” he said. “It has this intrinsic value to people. It takes people away from the hustle and bustle of the urban environ-ment.”

“It’s a unique environment that’s right here in Suffolk,” he added. “It’s gives you solitude, because even though we get 70,000 visitors a year, that’s really not a lot when you spread it across 365 days.”


25Dismal Swamp



Suffolk is the biggest city in Virginia in terms of land, but its population is still small

enough that one gets a palpable sense of com-munity at a cross-town basketball game. When Suffolk plays Suffolk on the court, it’s a big deal.

“I think Suffolk has always prid-ed itself in its high school basket-ball,” Nansemond River head coach Ed Young said. “That was before I got there (in 1983) and will prob-

Cross-town rivalries highlight sense of community

The Big Gameably be long after I’m gone.”

The excitement explodes when the team records are good, and is still present even when they are poor.

“Plus, there’s a strong underly-ing overall allegiance to Suffolk,” Young said. “I like to think the majority of Nansemond River fans will root for a King’s Fork or a Lakeland if Nansemond River is out. And of course, if King’s Fork is out, those fans will jump on board of a Nansemond River or a Lakeland.”

King’s Fork head coach Josh Worrell underlines the special importance that basketball games hold with local sports fans.

“They want to plan in advance to make sure they’re there,” he said.

Lakeland head coach Clint Wright notes that for students at all three public schools, “one of the great aspects is that all of these kids grew up with each other.”

He recalled the same thing of his days playing at the old John Yeates High School.

“Those community-type basket-ball games, it was almost family-centric,” he said.

Tony Smith, an assistant coach at Lakeland and a former Suffolk High School star, remembers the atmo-sphere.

“Coming up during my time, dur-ing the ’84 to ’88 years, the crowd, it was just huge,” he said. “You fed off their energy, especially (at) the Christmas tournament.”

Wright described the feeling of playing in a cross-town game.

“It actually went fast, because you had so much fun, things were

going 75, 80 miles an hour, and it was one of the greatest feelings,” he said.

The motivation to play well is built in, because the stakes of city bragging rights are so huge.

“Every kid messes up in every game, but I tell them, ‘Hey, you can mess up and the whole city’s going to know,’” Worrell said.

Young was surprised by the level of passion for local teams that can be found in area barbershops.

“I’ve got a couple former players that cut hair and they tell me when it’s a big game — boy, that’s all they talk about, and the arguments are unbelievable,” he said.

Worrell said this community pas-sion creates a special platform for his current players who were avid spectators themselves while in junior high.

“Now they’re in that moment,” he said. “It’s a neat concept. It’s something I wouldn’t give up for the world.”

A large crowd at Nansemond River High School takes in a recent showdown between the Warriors and their cross-town rivals from Lakeland High School.

25Community

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The Western Tidewater Free Clinic has never had to advertise for clients — so great was the need for its services, it has had a waiting

list since before it opened.“The word had spread like wildfire,” said devel-

opment director Stephie Broadwater. “As soon as our telephone number was up and running, people were call-ing.”

The clinic provides medical, dental and prescription services to clients who have no insur-ance, live at or below twice

the federal poverty level and reside in Suffolk or Western Tidewater.

Obviously, people who receive services love the clinic, as testified to by the people who work there.

“They’re almost surprised at how much we care about them,” said clinic coordinator Pam Witt. “Caring is one of the cheapest interventions you can do for somebody.”

“I always hear, ‘You spend so much more time with me than my last doctor’s appointment,’” Dr. Patricia McNulty said.

“The people that we see are so appreciative,” Dr. Ernest Knight, the clinic’s dentist, said.

People who receive services pay nothing, although they are invited to make minimal, option-al donations — usually $5 per visit and $4 per three-month supply of medication.

But the services, while free to clients, aren’t free to provide. The clinic is funded by private donors and foundations like the Obici Healthcare Foundation and the Virginia Health Care Foundation.

“We are completely dependent on the support of the community,” Executive Director Miriam Beiler said.

The support it has received from people who don’t even need its services shows the community also loves the Western Tidewater Free Clinic.

“I think part of the reason people value it is that people are concerned about their neighbors,” Beiler said. “They care about the people around them. That means something to them, even if they don’t have that need themselves.”

There’s also a strong contingent of volunteers demonstrating their love for the clinic daily, work-ing in every capacity from seeing patients to orga-nizing files to caring for the grounds at the Meade Parkway facility.

“You could pick any one of our volunteers,” Broadwater said. “They’ll tell you they get back a lot more than they give.”

WTFC and Suffolk take care of each otherThe Big Game

Dr. Patricia McNulty consults with employee Kathy Alldaffer on a patient’s chart at the Western Tidewater Free Clinic. The clinic provides a range of medical services to patients in Suffolk and Western Tidewater who have no medical insurance.

Special handling

25Free Clinic

story by Matthew A. Ward

From government installations to defense contractors to Navy families, the military has a strong

presence in Suffolk, whose citizens appreciate its contributions to the com-munity.

One of those Navy families is the Purkeys of Burbage Grant. Donna Purkey’s husband, Navy warrant officer Woodrow “Keith” Purkey, returned from his last overseas deploy-ment in January.

“The ship that he’s on is scheduled to deploy again in February,” Donna Purkey said, add-ing that, “thank-fully,” her husband is transferring to a new role and won’t be on board

this time. “(But) it’s kind of like six months out and seven months home.”

Purkey, whose children attend Northern Shores Elementary, has writ-ten a children’s book to help families cope with overseas deployments, titled “Miss You To Pieces.”

Like so many other military fami-lies, the Purkeys, who moved from Hawaii six years ago, get a lot of support from the wider Suffolk com-munity.

“That’s one of the reasons we moved (here),” Donna Purkey said. “We knew a lot of neighbors would

be military and, if nothing else, they would understand our situation. Military are good neighbors.”

A vice president for one of the larger defense contractors in Suffolk, James D. McArthur Jr., of Lockheed Martin, says the company “strategically” locat-ed its Center for Innovation to the city.

Suffolk allows the organization to “leverage an ideal proximity to Hampton Roads’ multiple U.S. defense locations and the many joint and allied military commands involved with national security,” he stated in an email.

“Our location here, along North Suffolk’s technology corridor, affords our researchers and tech-nologists unique and exceptional opportunities for collaboration with decision leaders who hold responsibil-ity for devising the operational con-cepts and articulating the current and future defense capabilities that help guide defense strategies.”

Suffolk has small-town charm with big-city amenities close by, according to McArthur. “These attributes make working and living here a wonderful experience. The frequent flow of visi-tors to the Lighthouse (as the center is known) comment favorably of the area’s nearby hotels and restaurants, and their experience is an important barometer of the area that Suffolk’s citizens can take pride in.”

The Purkeys, meanwhile, were on a military base in Hawaii, and Donna

Purkey now appreciates living in a civilian environment. With its strong military ties, however, Suffolk still offers support and under-standing to military families, she says.

“You feel a little more normal, because you’re not on-base. But then you still have that connection with your neighbors who you know are military. It’s a comfort,” she said.

One thing military families in Suffolk definitely appreciate are the military discounts many businesses offer, she said.

Purkey says storekeepers, sales assistants and wait staff often respond favorably to her keychain, which fea-tures her surname stitched in block

let-ters on a piece of camouflage fabric, as if cut from her husband’s uniform.

“When I get my keys out, they know I’m connected to the military,” she said. “(Another) big giveaway is the decals on our car.”

“It’s almost like we get a little extra respect,” she said. “A pack of people come up to my husband and hug him and thank him for his service, com-plete strangers. I’ve had people say to me, ‘Tell your husband, ‘Thank you.’”

Above, the Joint and Coalition Warfighting Center in North Suffolk is the prime military installation in Suffolk. A range of military contractors and other ancillary institutions, including many military families, surround it. Top, the Purkeys, mom Donna, Ryan, 6, dad Woodrow, and Leanne, 5, are a military family from North Suffolk. Donna Purkey says the Suffolk community offers military families support and understanding, while still allowing them to feel “more normal.”

COuRTESY OF DONNA PuRKEY

Suffolk is home to a growing military community

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25Military

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Suffolk feels like home for transplanted family

Column by Bob Stephens

“Home is where the heart is.” That’s an enduring state-ment that we often use to

express our heartfelt thoughts about a place or person we love.

For the purpose of this writing, the term best describes why my family and I love Suffolk, for at the center of this expression is family — immedi-ate and extended.

Nearly seven years ago, my fam-ily relocated to Suffolk from the Washington, D.C., suburbs of Laurel, Md. Prior to claim-ing Suffolk as

“home,” during visits with relatives, we had always felt an affinity for the slower pace of life, the warm, cordial and friendly folks who seemed to be like family and the small-town feel-ing of being connected with others.

This family-oriented environment,

along with the appeal of a safe, nur-turing and established community, are but a few reasons we have come to love Suffolk.

For context, you should know that relocation to Suffolk was a “quality of life” choice, prompted by two sig-nificant health events, which dictated a lifestyle change.

Living and working in the D.C. metropolitan area did not support my personal need for a more tranquil setting; nor did it provide the educa-tional and social support system that we wanted for our son.

We have come to love Suffolk, as it provides a lifestyle that allows us to be close to aging relatives and imme-diate family, to enjoy holidays with-out travel, to connect with extended family and to constantly make new friends — who are likely to also be family. (Since most folks we have met seem to be related, we now assume that they probably are!)

Because our professions and occu-pations still keep us connected to the

rest of the world, Suffolk provides the “home” to which we love to return. (Karen commutes every week to her job at a law firm in Washington, D.C.)

Finally, we love the Suffolk com-munity, because it has given our son extraordinary opportunities and has provided an empowering environment during his critical development years, where having access to his grand-mother, aunts, and numerous cousins and friends is an enriching and mean-ingful experience.

Along with its rich offerings of cul-tural, historical and ever-present com-munity events and programs and its natural beauty of long country roads, waterways and tranquil environments, Suffolk provides a lifestyle that gives our family the best of all worlds.

And as a family, Suffolk is the “home where our hearts are.”

RoBeRT STephenS is president and general manager of Genesis development & consulting llc. Email him at [email protected].

Where the heart is

COuRTESY OF BOB STEPHENS

Bob Stephens and his wife, Karen, and son, Fletcher, moved to Suffolk from the Washington, D.C., area seven years ago.

25Family


North Suffolk supports many diverse lifestylesstory & photography by Matthew A. Ward

From entertainment, shopping, dining and modern industry to sleepy little villages and

waterways, North Suffolk is seen as a jewel in the greater city’s crown.

Developer Bob Williams says that the Harbour View precinct has some-thing for everyone.

“We’ve got amusements with the theater and, for sporting, with the golf course, and

we have shopping and we have eat-ing establishments,” he said. “Most people in their life like to enjoy amusements, enjoy playing golf, and just about everybody shops and eats out.”

The planned community is a short drive for most people in Suffolk and the rest of Hampton Roads. As well as entertainment, it also offers “starter and move-up homes,” Williams said, along with job opportunities with defense contrac-tors and installations, large com-panies like Sysco and the Virginia

Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center.

“I go to the (River Stone) Chophouse when I want a steak,” Williams said. “The Mexican restau-rants (La Parrilla and Casablanca) offer something a little different. The Japanese restaurant with hiba-chi grill (Ninja) … their lunchtime things are excellent. I also go to lunch at the Broken Egg Bistro and the Panera Bread. I move around a lot; I try to patronize them all.”

Away from the vibrancy of Harbour View, residents of villages like Driver, Hobson and Chuckatuck prefer the peaceful and nature-lov-ing side of North Suffolk.

Karla Smith, president of Suffolk River Heritage, lives in the back section of Hobson on Chuckatuck Creek, and enjoys nothing more than taking her kayak out for a paddle.

“I would just as soon be out on a boat sometimes than anywhere else,” she confided.

North Suffolk’s villages, she said, have a strong sense of community and “neighborliness.”

“Within the little pockets of North Suffolk, there is a real pride in liv-

ing in that semi-suburban, rural atmosphere,” she said.

“I believe the fact that we do know our neighbors, in many cases … makes a difference. You look out for your neighbor and know the young people in the community.”

North Suffolk often draws back young folk who, for whatever rea-sons, had decided to leave, she said.

Suffolk River Heritage, through book projects like last year’s “Peninsula in Passage,” works to connect new residents of North Suffolk’s proliferating subdivisions with the area’s history and cultural and natural heritage, Smith said, helping overcome the commuter suburb mentality.

Other community-service groups in North Suffolk like Rotary and the Ruritans are also proactive in build-ing stronger communities, she said.

Meanwhile, North Suffolk is always moving ahead. Williams said more restaurants, shopping, educa-tional opportunities and rental apart-ments are coming to Harbour View in the foreseeable future, including 1,300 jobs with three military cyber-commands relocating from Virginia Beach.

Something for everyoneAbove left, Defense contractors like Lockheed Martin are large employers in North Suffolk and also contribute to the community through involvement in things like the u.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign. Above right, Regal Harbour view Grande 16 is a popular place of entertainment at North Suffolk’s Harbour view.

‘within the little pockets of north

suffolk, there is a real pride in living in that semi-suburban, rural

atmosphere. i believe the fact that we do know our neighbors,

in many cases … makes a difference.

you look out for your neighbor and know the

young people in the community.’

Karla SmithprESidEnt of Suffolk rivEr hEritaGE

25North Suffolk

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Suffolk’s rural culture nourishes many memoriesColumn by Nathan M. Richardson

What I like most about Suffolk is the rural culture and picturesque

landscape of the farms throughout the city. I am particularly fond of the old barns that still dot the

countryside.I grew

up in the Buckhorn section of Suffolk and

spent my evenings after school and summers exploring barn lofts and fields on many of the farms in the area. One of the roads I frequently traveled on by bicycle was Indian Trail Road.

The barn pictured here has been standing on Indian Trail for as long as I can remember.

The red barn sits on the old Perry Farm. The property is now owned by Indian Trail Electric. The family operating the com-pany has restored several old

structures, including the original two-room clapboard house, built in the late 1800s.

Another nearby unpainted barn sits on the Ashburn Farm. Park Ashburn Jr. continues to farm the land today, in the tradition set by his father Park Ashburn Sr.

naThan RichaRdSon is a renowned poet who frequently holds workshops and readings around Suffolk. Email him at [email protected].

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ode To a BarnBy Nathan M. Richardson

throw open those doorsbefore the hinges rust away.catch those long shadowsthat mark the end of the day.

patch that tin roofbefore it rains and the hay gets wet.prop up that post before night falls and we forget,

Where Grandpa’s tractor sitsstill hitched to the plow,Where his swing blade and grubbin’ hoeand the stall where that mean old sow

once broke free and chasedus children clear back to the house.and the hogkillin’ that fall, when Grandma turned her into souse.

oh paint me a picture,oh take me a polaroid,oh do it before they fall,and my recollection is void.

Copyright 2008Nathan M. Richardson25Rural

Living


Public safety agencies focus on preventionstory & photography by Tracy Agnew

Whether it’s a couple get-ting robbed in their home, a woman having a sei-

zure, a man whose home is on fire or a child who got bit by a dog,

Suffolk citizens know they will get help when they need it.

The Suffolk Police Department and Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue

are a 500-strong force that helps protect the city’s residents, visi-tors, animals, personal property and roadways. They also work with numerous volunteers in volunteer fire departments around the city, as well as the Nansemond-Suffolk Volunteer Rescue Squad.

“I think most people believe when they dial 911, they’ll get

help, no matter what their needs are,” interim Fire Chief Ed Taylor said. “That makes people very comfortable.”

The departments’ primary duties include enforcing the law, putting out fires and responding to medical emergencies. But they also conduct many behind-the-scenes activities including continuous staff improve-ment, youth and community educa-tion, crime and fire prevention and more.

For the Suffolk Department of Fire and Rescue, teaching fire pre-vention to the community starts with its youngest members.

“We try to work with our youth as much as we can,” Taylor said. “We feel like that is a good start. Kids learn young, and they take it into their adult lives.”

In addition to visiting schools to teach about in-school fire safety,

the department sponsors the Fire and Life Safety Camp annually for children to learn about fire safety and the firefighting profession. The children take home the lessons learned and teach their parents, Taylor said.

The department also goes to civic leagues and other groups to edu-cate adults, Taylor said. Members emphasize the importance of a fire escape plan and, above all, a work-ing smoke alarm, which Taylor says is the most important thing homeowners can do to increase their families’ chances of surviving fires.

As the fire department focuses on preventing fires, rather than fighting them, the Suffolk Police Department focuses on preventing crimes, rather than just investigat-ing them.

“Overall, we had a good year

last year,” Police Chief Thomas Bennett said. “We would have been down double digits this year (in major crimes) if it wasn’t for larce-nies in retail stores.”

Larcenies rose, Bennett believes, partially because of the economy. But burglaries, a high area from the previous year, were down 26 percent after the city devoted two detectives to burglary investiga-tions.

The police department also works with young people through its CSI camp, which helps young people separate fact from television fiction.

The two departments also coor-dinate on the Youth Public Safety Academy, which serves young people who are at-risk because of disabilities, disciplinary problems, living in a single-parent household or other factors.

Protecting and servingSuffolk requires more than 500 employees to keep the 430-square-mile city safe and secure around the clock. From left are firefighter Chris Strong, fire medic Manny Franco, police officer Antonio Diggs and animal control officer Katie McLendon.

25Public Safety

Protecting and serving


Protecting and serving

A private education

Colley W. Bell III, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s head of school, pictured with “Bear,” says the school focuses on helping students reach their full and unique potential.

NSA students encouraged to achieve

First Baptist Christian School becomes Suffolk Christian Academy


Nansemond-Suffolk Academy takes pride in forming students into well-rounded individ-uals and takes a unique approach to educa-

tion, Head of School Colley W. Bell III says.“It unto itself is an unbelievable commu-

nity. It’s a very special place,” he said.Bell said he believes NSA is one of

Suffolk’s true regionally diverse institu-tions, with students traveling to the Pruden Boulevard campus from Smithfield, Franklin, Windsor, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and even from Edenton, N.C.

“There are not that many schools that have that kind of diversity,” he said.

NSA was founded on a strong sense of commu-nity, he said, adding, “It has a community outlook as a school. So with that, these families that have come from far and wide actually complement and meld into our mission.”

NSA parent Dee Williams said the school gives her children, ninth-grader Cole and sixth-grader Samantha, the opportunity for a quality education.

“It has a warm and friendly feel,” she said. “It’s just like being around friends and family when you are out there.”

Bell said that a new head of Upper School this year has instituted a new advisory program to track student achievement in a more personalized way. “(It’s) having an adult who’s a real mentor and works closely with students, so it’s a holistic

approach; it’s not just simply classroom teachers, it’s somebody who binds that all together,” he said.

New Chromebook computers have been intro-duced in the Middle School, and in the Lower School, all students have started learning Spanish every day, he said.

“The whole field in education has changed so significantly in the last five years,” Bell continued. “We have to deal with technology, hybrid class-rooms, blended classrooms.

“Just the way we teach, the way we engage with students, I think is changing geometrically right now.

“Every child from here goes to college — that’s been understood since we were founded. But now we’re literally telling the students (to) look beyond higher education, and that has to do with being able to learn quickly, sort of have a nimble mind, and different approaches, whether it’s with technology (or) whether it’s with a traditional classroom.”

Student self-discovery has always been important at NSA, which Bell said has always focused on individualizing the educational experience.

“It’s not just a grinding out to the colleges or what have you, it’s about the students finding their voice,” he said.

NSA graduates stand out in the community, he said. “From day one … it’s a look-you-in-the-eye, it’s a very personal approach, yes-sir-no-sir, these sorts of old-school approaches,” he said.

“It’s about being decent to one another and being aware of one another.”

story by Tracy Agnew

First Baptist Christian School has been an institution in the community for 25 years, but it’s making some changes lately.

The school is now its own incorporated entity and is changing its name to Suffolk Christian Academy. Three churches — Southside Baptist Church, Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church and Open Door Church — have joined its governance, which also still includes First Baptist Church, which started the school in 1988.

“We’re real excited about it, because it brings a stronger base of support for the school,” said Tamra VanDorn, principal of the school. “The other churches had been asking to be involved for a long time. (First Baptist) felt … like God is moving them toward unifying with the other churches and bringing other people in to help support the school and make it a larger force in the community.”

First Baptist Church started the school in 1988 and initially had only kindergarten through fourth grade. It gradually grew, and grades six through 12 began meeting at Westminster several years ago, because the First Baptist building on North Main Street was becoming crowded. The first senior class graduated in 2010.

The transition was about a year-and-a-half in the making behind the scenes. Each church voted to participate, and the board held monthly or some-times twice-monthly meetings.

“This is a really exciting thing,” said Thurman Hayes, pastor of First Baptist Church. “The dream is to have a state-of-the-art Christian school. We feel like that would meet a real need in the commu-nity.”

VanDorn envisions a stronger school because of the larger base that can help provide support in the form of time, tal-ents and resources, she said.

“This gives the body of Christ the opportunity to work together for a discipleship school in Suffolk,” she said.

Ruffin Alphin, pastor of Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church, said he sees the transition as a good thing.

“We’re trying to broaden its posture, so that it’s not just seen as a one-church school,” Alphin said. “We’re getting buy-in from the community by ask-ing the churches to get involved.”

Stewart McCarter, pastor of Southside Baptist Church, said the move will help the school grow and improve.

“I’m grateful that First Baptist has carried this for so long,” he said. “We’re looking forward to it really strengthening the school and providing a great choice.”

25Private Schools


Land spreadin’ out so far and wide

story by Tracy Agnew

On the brink of the Great Depression, a movement started in the village of

Holland began spreading across the nation like wildfire.

Tom Downing of Suffolk and Jack Gwaltney of Holland formed the

group that would come to be known as Ruritan when they recognized the need for an organi-zation where com-munity leaders could

meet and discuss ways to make their community a better place to live. The first club was chartered in May 1928.

When the Great Depression began

to grip the nation less than two years later, clubs sprang up across the country to serve their communities.

“People needed people helping each other,” said Donald Worrell, whose grandfather was a charter member of the Holland club and who has been a national president in the past. “It’s just amazing how it spread.”

Ruritan is now the country’s lead-ing community service organization.

“I find it amazing something founded in the village of Holland could grow to 29 states and 30,000 members,” Worrell said.

Ruritan clubs don’t just have barbe-cues and sponsor Boy Scout troops, although they do those things, too. In some places, they started volunteer

fire departments and rescue squads, formed local Little Leagues, even started the local water or electric utilities or brought a needed stoplight to town.

“You could just go on and on,” Worrell said. “We are focused on what that community needs. Naturally, each community’s needs differ. That’s what makes Ruritan unique. It’s whatever the clubs feel the community needs most.”

Ruritan clubs hold fundraisers in order to raise money for the com-munity’s needs, sponsoring a diverse range of youth activities, community organizations and other efforts, such as giving scholarships and helping needy families.

Holland and the surrounding area

have continued to contribute heav-ily to Ruritan. Suffolk has given five national presidents to Ruritan, three of them — including former Gov. Mills Godwin — from the Chuckatuck club.

Just last year, area clubs donated more than $77,000 and 24,000 man-hours to the community.

As for Worrell himself, his father is a 64-year member of the Holland club, and his two sons and one of his grandchildren belong to Ruritan clubs, making his family part of a small set of five-generation Ruritan families.

“It’s a great honor to see something that has progressed from a small little village in the middle of nowhere,” he said.


Most of Suffolk’s population is concentrated on a very small part of the city’s land, but

there is an abundance of country living available that adds to the city’s appeal.

A certain group of Suffolk residents wake up to that every day.

Based on the 2010 census, the total city population was 84,585. Scott

Mills, the director of planning and community development, broke that number down.

“We had done some previous analy-sis back in the early fall, and I would estimate that a population of about

17,209 would be in areas that I would consider to be rural,” he said.

“Once you start getting over an acre in size, you’re considered, from a zon-ing category, to be relatively rural,” he said.

Some families have significantly more land than that. Scott and Alison Wilson and their seven children were living in Chesapeake on a tiny piece of property that Scott described as a “one car-length, backyard privacy fence-type area.”

Alison Wilson said they “wanted to have a simpler life, more laid back — we were really in a rat race, gone a lot from home — and for Scott to be able to eventually work his way to being home so we could work together as a family. And a farm kind of pulled all those things together.”

They moved to Suffolk in 2003 spe-cifically to have farm land, and now live on 25 acres off of Manning Road where they own and operate the family enterprise known as Full Quiver Farms. They have developed half the property so far, raising poultry, hogs, turkeys, rabbits and some grass-fed beef to sell meat, laying hens to sell eggs — and they are operating a cow share program to provide milk.

“We direct-market all of our prod-ucts and so being close to the other big cities — relatively close, anyway — we can kind of have the best of both worlds,” Scott Wilson said.

The Wilsons now have nine children who are homeschooled, contribute to the success of the farm and enjoy the recreational opportunities of country life.

Don and Francine Johnson took the opportunity presented by their expan-sive 33 acres on Whaleyville Boulevard and turned it into a disc golf course called Ace Run Ranch, where in years past they have held official tourna-ments.

For the past 13 years, they have also enjoyed the tranquil area “and I like seeing the wildlife,” Francine said. They see foxes, deer, turkeys and pos-sum on their property.

For them, and for many others in Suffolk, it’s all about country living.

Fellowship, goodwill and community service

The country life

Thirteen-year Suffolk residents Francine and Don Johnson stand at the end of the first hole on the Frisbee golf course known as Ace Run Ranch that they created within their 33-acre property. The hole is largely surrounded by a moat that Johnson also created himself.

25Ruritan Club

25Country Life

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Column by Andy Damiani

Why do I love Suffolk so much? For one good rea-son: I’m finally home.

I journeyed from birth to my graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond and then to New York City, where I studied at Julliard. Then I performed with the U.S. Army’s 100th Infantry Division Band in the United States for more than three years and sold bonds to

fund the war.But I never

found a perma-nent home.

When World War II ended, the band was performing at the

opera house in Stuttgart, Germany, and was scheduled for redeployment back home, but I wanted to go see my grandfather, who lived in Paris. Maybe that would be home. It was a rare request to the Army; still, 11 of us were permitted discharge in Paris, provided we agree to attend school there.

I found a temporary home, remain-ing in Paris for nine years.

Then, I came back to the States and to Richmond in 1954. The firm I was working for sent me to Suffolk in 1958. I played string bass in vari-ous bands around Hampton Roads. I met my wife, the late Mary Manos, here.

I realized Suffolk was a nice place to live and to work. My interest in

the city grew. It is part of Hampton Roads, comprising 430 square miles, nearly half the size of Rhode Island and the largest city, land-wise, in the state. I was impressed. It is close to the opera, museums, ballet, Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown.

Major corporations were also impressed. Planters Peanuts, Lipton Tea and General Electric located here. At one time, G.E. in Suffolk made every color television in the world. A population of 47,000 in the mid 1970s has swelled to some 86,000 today. Lots of others have been impressed, too.

As Suffolk grew, I wanted to be an active part of it. From 1970 until 1991, I was elected to city govern-ment, serving as mayor in the early 1980s. I helped with the consolida-tion of old Nansemond County and the city, accomplished in 1974.

I have said Suffolk was the most misunderstood in Hampton Roads. In 1982, I explained the city is both rural and urban, suburban and vil-lage, agricultural and maritime, rec-reational and industrial. You choose your lifestyle and settle in your own niche.

I found my permanent home and good friends in Suffolk, as have so many others. You can, too.

andReW daMiani, known to many as mr. Suffolk or mr. downtown for his staunch support of the city and its core downtown area, can be reached at 539-1216.

‘I’m finally home’

The country life

MATTHEW A. WARD/SuFFOLK NEWS-HERALD

Andy Damiani salutes veterans near Cedar Hill Cemetery on veterans Day 2012.

25Home


Suffolk boasts 90 holes of golfing funstory by Titus Mohler

There are five golf courses that call Suffolk home, and each brings something slightly

unique to the game.The Suffolk Golf Course on

Holland Road was the first public course in the city, built in 1952. Professional Golf Association Pro

and lessee Eddie Luke said the course is special, because “it’s not built around a hous-ing community, like most of the golf courses nowadays.”

He said people appreciate the course’s hometown feel and that for more than 20 years, many have come to the course for breakfast and lunch with Pam Bradshaw, the res-taurant manager.

“We offer affordable golf to the average working man, and there’s something to be said for that,” he said.

The Cedar Point Country Club on Clubhouse Drive was founded in 1964 and features a private course.

“We are the only full-service country club out of the five golf courses,” President and General Manager Cameron Robinett said. “It’s not just about the golf, it’s about the other services that we offer, from having a restaurant, pool, and the tennis facility. But really more than anything else I think it’s the sense of community that a true country club provides. Everybody knows one another, the staff knows your name, they know your preferred tee time, they know what your favorite drink is.”

Sleepy Hole Golf Course on Sleepy Hole Road has a history

that sets it apart. It opened in 1974 and has on its property the man-sion of Planters Peanuts founder Amedeo Obici, which serves as the clubhouse. The course, mostly secluded from houses, was also host to a Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament for five years in the 1980s. Director of Golf Operations J.T. Belcher shared one of its other claims to fame.

“Every year, we got the ranked number one hole in the state with the 18th hole here,” he said. “It’s a legendary hole.”

The Riverfront Golf Club on River Club Drive was built in 1999 and is the only course in Virginia to be designed by Tom Doak, one of the most renowned designers in the country.

“Our layout meanders through tidal marshes, and you get these spectacular views of the Nansemond

River,” Director of Operations Tim Newsom said. “So, that’s a big part of why people like to play, because it’s just so scenic.”

The other part has to do with the course’s condition, as it’s “histori-cally been probably one of the best-kept golf courses in Tidewater,” Newsom said.

The Nansemond River Golf Club opened in 1999 and features what PGA Professional Mark Lambert calls a playable, championship golf course that consistently hosts major events. He cites the setting as the course’s biggest appeal, holding prime real estate that provides the ambiance similar to a Myrtle Beach, S.C., low-country course.

“We’ve just got a lot of holes on the water itself — that’s very unique,” he said. “It’s a great piece of property, and I think it separates us.”

Above parThis scenic green is part of the private golf course at the Cedar Point Country Club, which its president and general manager Cameron Robinett described as “the only full service country club out of the five golf courses” in Suffolk.

25Golf courses

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The YMCA has become a standard-bearer for positive community impact in Suffolk. The association

known as YMCA of South Hampton Roads has three simple things it tries to inspire in people: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

“I don’t think there’s a Y in this association that meets those three to the depth and level that Suffolk does, and I say that very confidently,”

YMCA district vice president Rick Matthews said.

The YMCA has around 12,000 members averaging 240,000 visits a year to the two main facilities in the city — the Suffolk Family YMCA on Godwin Boulevard and YMCA Camp Arrowhead on Kenyon Road. However, the Y also has a presence at eight differ-

ent schools via its after-school programs, and it also conducts off-site sports activities.

Matthews said he thinks the YMCA is cherished by Suffolk residents because it is able to meet a melting pot of different needs.

“For you it may be fitness, for somebody else it may be childcare, for somebody else it may be sports, for somebody else it may be a safe haven to get away from a spouse that’s abusing them,” he said. “It may be a place for a single mom to send her kids while she works two jobs.”

Operations Director Matt Lewis said that — more than just a gym-and-swim — the Y is “a place where you come and you just feel good.”

When members describe what they like about the organization, they men-tion the uplifting atmosphere.

“Everybody’s friends,” four-year member Arleen Tisdale said. “The members become friends with each other, and the staff becomes friends with

the members, and everybody’s there to help each other out. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody here that I don’t like.”

“You feel like you’ve got your second home,” she said.

“The people that work here and the instructors really make the place,” five-year member Owen Reece said.

Tisdale uses the childcare offered and takes group exercise classes on land and in the pool. Reece is part of the Y-Change program that teaches par-ticipants about nutrition and fitness and includes exercise sessions.

Demetris Scott, 23, has been a mem-ber since he was little and enjoys the positive environment, recreation and the volunteer opportunities the Y has during special events.

“It’s a great place to be,” he said. “It keeps your head focused, it keeps you positive, it’s just great all-around.”

“The members speak for themselves,” Matthews said. “They’re voting with their feet. If not, this place wouldn’t be nearly what it is today.””

Many things to many people

Kendrick Ammons and his mother, Kimberly, participate in Toddler Time, one of the many features of the YMCA that meets the needs of families in Suffolk.

25YMCA

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25Cheer Fund

John Woleben sits among some of the toys that were donated during the 2012 Toys for Tots collection effort in Suffolk. Each year, the Suffolk News-Herald’s Cheer Fund raises thousands of dollars in donations to contribute to the local Toys for Tots program.

story & photography by R.E. Spears III

People with big hearts help fill a community with love, and each year around Christmas — for

more years than anyone can quite recall — Suffolk’s big-hearted residents, busi-nesses and community organizations have banded together in an effort to make sure that even the city’s poorest children have a chance to experience that love.

The Cheer Fund was started by the Suffolk News-Herald sometime last

century — dur-ing the Great Depression, it is believed — and initially provided money for cloth-ing and food for needy Suffolk

residents.Over time, its mission changed to

providing money to purchase toys for children who might otherwise find nothing under the tree on Christmas morning. Money raised through the effort goes directly to the Toys for Tots organization, which purchases and distributes toys to families of boys and girls in Suffolk.

During the 2011-2012 collection effort, more than $33,000 was raised. All but about $50 is used to buy toys, which are then distributed at toy-shop-ping events sponsored by the Suffolk Unit of the Salvation Army to families who have been identified and qualified by the Salvation Army and the Suffolk Department of Social Services. The only non-toy cost for the effort is the expense of an annual filing with the

State Corporation Commission.At the heart of the effort are vol-

unteers like Cheer Fund Board of Directors president Frank Rawls, a Suffolk attorney who has been involved with the project for years. Rawls coordi-nates the campaign to solicit donations through letters, phone calls and face-to-face meetings with potential donors.

“The need is as great or greater than ever,” he said in late 2012, as the col-lection drive began. “Essentially 100 percent of every dollar given is avail-able for the purchase of toys. In terms of bang for your buck, it’s fully there. Please give generously.”

It’s a call to generosity that hun-dreds of individuals and groups around Suffolk take to heart each year, one that results in thousands of smiling children’s faces on Christmas morn-ing. In 2011, the Cheer Fund donated the money that bought toys for 5,260 children.

For John Woleben, a Suffolk insur-ance agent who serves as the Toys for Tots program director for Suffolk and who is also the man who collects donat-ed toys and sometimes distributes them as late as Christmas morning to families that were missed in the original distribu-tion effort, there’s a simple motivation for the effort, which consumes much of his personal and professional time each year, especially around Christmas.

“It’s all about the kids,” he said. “You see the look on the children’s faces when they get a toy at Christmas.”

The Cheer Fund accepts donations year ‘round. Donations may be given by check made out to the Cheer Fund and mailed to the Suffolk News-Herald, P.O. Box 1220, Suffolk, VA 23439.

Cheer Fund helps fund Suffolk Toys for Tots program

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