Keswick Life

Lifestyles in Keswick and its environs

Keswick Life

COMMUNITY: New President for Wahoowa

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Adapted by Keswick Life

The three living presidents of the University gather for a photo with the president-elect: from left, Robert M. O’Neil, Teresa A. Sullivan, Ryan and John T. Casteen III.

The University of Virginia Board of Visitors on Friday unanimously voted to name James E. Ryan as the University’s next president. A widely respected and accomplished educator and legal scholar, Ryan earned his law degree from UVA and previously served on the School of Law faculty. Since 2013, he has served as dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Charles William Eliot Professor of Education.

“Jim Ryan brings an exceptional blend of talent, experience, energy and vision to the University of Virginia at a time when the institution stands ready to chart a course for continued excellence into our third century,” said Frank M. “Rusty” Conner III, rector of the Board of Visitors and co-chair of the special committee leading the presidential search. Ryan’s transition will begin in summer 2018, with his official term as president beginning on Oct. 1, 2018.

“The University of Virginia has occupied a special place in my heart since the day I first stepped on Grounds,” Ryan said. “Returning here to continue playing a role in the extraordinary work of this University community is deeply humbling, and an opportunity that I will strive every day to honor.”

He will succeed Teresa A. Sullivan, who in 2010 became the University’s first woman president and guided UVA to new heights with the development and implementation of a new strategic plan, the completion of a $3 billion capital campaign and the continued strengthening of the University’s academic and research enterprises.

Sullivan announced in January her intention to retire as president, and requested the Board of Visitors at that time to begin the search process.

“The University warmly welcomes Jim Ryan back to Grounds,” Sullivan said. “The University of Virginia will be in good hands. I am grateful for the opportunity to have served the University, which holds such an important place in higher education, particularly among those with public missions.”

Ryan, 50, earned his bachelor’s degree in American studies summa cum laude from Yale University in 1988. He was a first-generation college student, and earned his J.D. from the UVA School of Law in 1992, attending on a full scholarship and graduating first in his class.

In 1998, Ryan joined the School of Law faculty after finishing a fellowship and clerking for the chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and for then-United States Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. During his time at the Law School, Ryan served as the Matheson and Morgenthau Distinguished Professor of Law and as the academic associate dean. In 2009, he founded the Program in Law and Public Service, which gives law students training and mentoring for public service careers.

Ryan’s courses at UVA proved immensely popular and, in 2010, he was named recipient of an All-University Teaching Award. That year, Ryan also argued before the U.S. Supreme Court for a client of the School of Law’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic in a case dealing with federal firearms laws. He also has written about Supreme Court litigation, education law and policy, and constitutional law.

In 2011, Ryan was the recipient of an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Previously, he received the McFarland Prize for Outstanding Scholarship and the Black Law Students Association’s Outstanding Service Award.

Ryan’s writing often focuses on the intersection of education and law, including topics such as school finance, school choice, desegregation and education standards. He is author of the acclaimed “Five Miles Away, A World Apart,” which examines the modern history of how law has shaped educational opportunities, using two Richmond-area schools to illustrate the story.

Ryan’s career has been distinguished by service-oriented assignments and volunteerism. The U.S. Secretary of Education appointed him in 2011 to the Department of Education Equity and Excellence Commission. He previously served on the board of The Tapestry Project in New York, the Maya Angelou Public Charter School in Washington and the Legal Aid Justice Society in Charlottesville. Ryan also has volunteered with the Special Olympics and as a youth sports coach.
At Harvard, Ryan has continued to explore the connection between law and quality education. He has emphasized the importance of research – and reasoned debate of its findings and evidence – as an effective path toward influencing and improving education policy. Ryan said his guiding principles as dean have been to better understand how students learn, to determine how to help more students succeed and to expand educational opportunities.

William Goodwin, former UVA rector and co-chair of the presidential search committee, said Ryan deeply impressed committee members with a depth of experience, insight and clear commitment to the mission of higher education in service to the commonwealth, nation and world.

“Jim Ryan is a person of great integrity who embodies the values at the core of the University,” Goodwin said. “I’m delighted that he will be representing UVA and leading this great university to even bigger and better things for the future.”

Goodwin also praised Sullivan for her leadership and contributions to the University. “No one worked harder than Terry Sullivan to advance this great university,” Goodwin said. “I know I speak on behalf of the entire Board of Visitors in thanking her for her service and for representing the University of Virginia with such grace and professionalism.”

Pamela Sutton-Wallace, CEO of the UVA Medical Center and a member of the search committee, said, “Jim Ryan impressed the search committee with his fierce intellect and a proven ability to establish rapport with a variety of stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff and the broader community. On a personal level, he is able to quickly make connections with others in an approach that projects genuine humility, warmth and an engaging sense of humor.”

Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust said UVA was fortunate to have Ryan rejoining its community, this time as a leader for the third century.

“Jim Ryan elevated the Harvard Graduate School of Education with an effective combination of academic passion and organizational expertise. He excels at developing institutional vision, aligning strategies with their resources and, most importantly, inspiring others to join together to make it happen,” Faust said. “He will be greatly missed at Harvard, but we look forward to following his successes at UVA.”

Friday’s vote was the culmination of an extended search process launched in January with the formation of the Special Committee on the Nomination of a President. The 22-member committee – which included Board of Visitors members, students, faculty and staff members, and alumni – conducted nearly 50 outreach sessions throughout the nomination and review process and gathered comment through an online survey as well.

Ryan will begin his tenure at a pivotal moment for the University of Virginia, which is consistently recognized for its academic quality and value. UVA continues to commemorate its bicentennial by celebrating and exploring its history, while charting a course for its third century that sustains academic, research and health care excellence while positioning the University to play a leading role in global higher education.

“As it has for 200 years, the University of Virginia will pursue ever-higher ambitions,” Ryan said. “UVA’s third century should be marked by its continued rise as a model of higher education for the world. It is a public institution in its truest sense, educating citizen leaders in service to our democracy, and improving the lives of people everywhere. I’m thrilled to be a part of it again.”

Ryan is married to Katie Homer Ryan, a staff attorney for the Education Law Clinic and Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative at Harvard Law School, and an adjunct lecturer in education. Katie Ryan is a 1987 graduate of Dartmouth College and, like Jim, earned a J.D. from the UVA School of Law in 1992. The Ryans have four children: Will, age 20; Sam, 18; Ben, 16; and Phebe, 11.

Jim and Katie Ryan are accomplished runners, each having completed the Boston Marathon for the last seven years. Jim’s other interests include skiing, mountain biking, fly-fishing, surfing and cooking.

HORSIN’ AROUND: Good Night Shirt Honored

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Adapted by Keswick Life

Two-time Eclipse winner Good Night Shirt (Concern — Hot Story, Two Punch) was recently inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. The chestnut gelding, bred in Maryland by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman, is owned by Harold A. “Sonny” Via Jr.

Bred in Maryland by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Good Night Shirt (Concern—Hot Story, by Two Punch) was owned for the majority of his career by Harold A. “Sonny” Via, Jr., and trained by Jack O. Fisher. Good Night Shirt joined Fisher’s barn in 2005 after beginning his career as a flat racer. He went on to win 10 graded stakes races, including eight Grade 1s.

In 2007, Good Night Shirt won the Iroquois, Lonesome Glory and Colonial Cup — all Grade 1 events — to earn the first of his consecutive Eclipse Awards. As a 7-year-old the following year, Good Night Shirt raced exclusively in Grade 1 company. He won each of his five starts, taking in succession the Georgia Cup, Iroquois, Lonesome Glory, Grand National and Colonial Cup. Good Night Shirt’s 2008 earnings of $485,520 set a single-season record, surpassing the previous mark of $314,163, which he set in 2007.
In his 2008 Lonesome Glory victory, Good Night Shirt set a Belmont Park track record of 4:24 for 2½ miles over jumps. He received 168 pounds in the National Steeplechase Association Theoretical Handicap in 2008. Only Lonesome Glory was given a higher impost (170 pounds in 1995) among annual highweights in NSA history. The NSA Theoretical Handicap has been in place since 1992.

As an 8-year-old, Good Night Shirt began his 2009 season with a victory in the Grade 2 Carolina Cup — securing his 10th career graded stakes win — before finishing second in the Iroquois. He was then retired because of an ankle injury with a career record of 14-5-3 from 33 starts and earnings of $1,041,083, joining Lonesome Glory and McDynamo as only the third steeplechaser to surpass $1 million in career earnings. Good Night Shirt is also in the elite company of Lonesome Glory, Zaccio, Mistico, Moonstruck and Alajmal as the only horses to win both the Carolina Cup and Colonial Cup in their career.

After a career on the flat with trainer Elizabeth Hendricks, Good Night Shirt went to steeplechase trainer Jack Fisher’s barn in 2005 and flourished, winning eight Grade 1 stakes in two years. He claimed back-to-back Eclipse awards in 2007 and 2008 and set a track record in ’08 in the Lonesome Glory at Belmont Park (N.Y.). At the time of his early retirement in 2009 due to an ankle injury, Good Night Shirt was one of three steeplechase horses with career earnings over $1 million.

“It’s cool having a horse in the Racing Hall of Fame, although it made me look back and really wish he hadn’t gotten hurt,” said Fisher. Good Night Shirt was the first horse trained by Fisher to receive the honor, and the Monkton, Md.-based trainer said the event in Saratoga felt like a hometown party.“It was cool — all the support that was up there at the ceremony for Tom and Good Night Shirt. I think half of Monkton was up there,” he joked.

BOOKWORM: Creepy Thrills

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By Suzanne Nash

I love the fall and especially October. The air is crisper and school is back in session….and Halloween is right around the corner. I love the fresh apples and pumpkins seen in all of the stores. The smell of cinnamon in the fall recipes fill the air and it’s the perfect time to curl up with an eerie tale…so here are a few selections to give you some creepy thrills.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry has the flavor of a Victorian gothic tale in the style of Shelly, Collins or even Dickens. It’s 19th century England and Cora Seaborne has just lost her husband…which in her case in not something to mourn. She is a naturalist at heart and once she has her freedom she throws aside Victorian convention and goes around wearing pants and digging in the dirt looking for fossils. She leaves London with her unusually obsessive 11-year-old son, Frances, and they decamp to Colchester where she begins to become intrigued by the tale of the Essex Serpent that roams the marsh and allegedly had taken the lives of multiple people in the past. This monster is back and the people of Colchester are afraid. Cora doesn’t believe in magic or religion…she is a practical person who thinks science will explain the Essex Serpent…she believes it may even be a lost species and she wants to be the one to present this new specie to the world. Follow Cora’s foray into the marshes of Colchester and discover if she is right.

If you are looking for some witchy fun try The Witches of New York: A Novel. The author, Ami McKay, discovered during her research for this book that one of her relatives had been hung for witchcraft and that made this book even more personal for her. She describes the work as “part Victorian fairy tale, part penny dreadful, part feminist manifesto” and that really captures the atmosphere. In 1880 New York there is a tea shop called Tea and Sympathy run by two very unusual women, Adelaide Thom and Eleanor St. Claire. They are looking for an assistant and 17-year-old Beatrice Dunn seems to fit the bill. Adelaide and Eleanor help their clients in multiple ways and seem to have a knack of knowing what is needed. The curiosity of the age has made séances a very popular entertainment and the public clamors to know more about science and magic. On the other side of the coin there is public hysteria about dark magic that is stoked by the sermons and guidance of the Reverend Francis Townsend. He and his followers are on the lookout for witches and his dark ideas are violent and misogynistic. It is into this world that the innocence and spiritual gifts of Beatrice are tested. This is the perfect tale for the month of October.

What says spooky haunted house more than gargoyles? The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is a very unusual love story. The narrator remains unnamed but the reader learns of his descent into hell, after a horrifying car wreck that leaves him unmanned and burnt beyond recognition. Into this hell comes a beautiful slightly crazy sculptress of gargoyles, Marianne Engle, who leads him through hell and out the other side. Yes, Marianne has a similar role as Beatrice did in Dante’s masterpieces if you are familiar with them. Marianne explains that she and the narrator have been together for many lives and that their love is eternal, spanning the world from Japan, Italy, England, Iceland and Germany. But time is slipping away and she has very little time left to save him.

If you are looking for a far more modern spooky tale then look no further than The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckly. Ann Brook lives in Ohio with her daughters, Maddie and Katie and her husband, Peter. Peter is a professor studying avian bird flu and the possibility of a pandemic in the USA. If you don’t know anything about H5N1 Influenza, it’s a highly pathogenic virus that can infect migratory birds and it is very possible that is could cause a widespread pandemic in the United States. In this story, the pandemic occurs and what ensues is chaos and fear, where choices have to made that will affect everyone’s future. Ann and Peter’s marital problems become less of focus for them as they try and deal with the life-threatening situation that forces them to lock their doors and try and keep from coming into contact with anyone who might infect them. There really is a surveillance of migratory birds ongoing in the USA so this is a very real threat. Buckly has done a wonderful job making the science of this threat very readable. It definitely had my heart thumping as I turned the pages and I think if you want something that strikes a bit closer to home this book will do the trick.

So, make sure you pick up some ghostly stories this fall. Happy Haunting this Halloween!

COVER STORY: Huntsman Arrives at Keswick Hunt Club

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By Keswick Life Staff

Keswick Life | August 2017 | Cover Story | Huntsman Arrives at Keswick Hunt ClubPaul Wilson was born in South Shields (near Newcastle) in the northeast of England, his wife Yvonne was born in a small town some 40 miles north in the small town of Ashington (close to the Scottish border) and last but not least, Giacomo, who was born in Rome, Italy. Paul always had Terriers and Sighthounds from an early age. Most weekends, and when not at school, were spent with the dogs and ferrets hunting rabbits and rats and any other critters they could find. He also loves to fish, being brought up on the coast of the North Sea. Fishing since a child and more recently learning to fly fish. When not doing that, Paul enjoys photography and also likes to draw (less so in recent years, much to his wife’s chagrin).

His Border Terriers and Whippets have been successful in the show ring, having achieved Best Puppy in Show at the prestigious Purina National (the Canadian equivalent of Westminster). The same dog has gone on to be a multiple Best In Show winner. Paul and Yvonne ship terriers all around the world, most recently, two dogs that went to Finland have done very well showing.

Yvonne and Giacomo are both crazy about Eventing. Yvonne has worked for some of the top Eventing Yards in the UK and has also worked for the Aga Khan in his breeding facility when we lived in Ireland. She has competed to Intermediate level and is a very good natural horsewoman, Whipping-in to Paul for the last 17 years — she loves her hunting! Giacomo also loves to event and has competed at lower levels on a paint horse he made himself and also his mother’s old horse, Bebe. He too loves to hunt and is a good little rider.

Keswick Life | August 2017 | Cover Story | Huntsman Arrives at Keswick Hunt ClubPaul whipped-in for several packs as a younger man learning his trade, starting with the East Devon Hunt and then the Modbury Harriers, from the southwest to the northwest to the Vale of Lune Harriers. They hunt hares in the Lake District and Lancashire. Great little active hounds and beautiful stone wall country. From the Harriers, then Whipped-in to the most northerly registered pack of Foxhounds, the Fife where he learned a lot from the Huntsman Marc Dradge who went on to be Ben Hardaway’s Huntsman at Midland. Then Ireland next, to the Kildare. The country was very challenging to cross, lots of double banks and ditches!
In Rome , Paul had his first Huntsman’s position which was a fantastic life experience. The country was varied and trappy, you needed a good horse to get you about the Campagna Romana. The hounds in Rome were “unconventional” in that they weren’t English hounds. They had some English but also, had some Bloodhound/Foxhound crosses, as well as Anglo-Francais. Paul loved the Anglo-Francais, they remind me very much of the American Foxhound — fabulous cry, and accurate noses.

From Rome, he went to North America where he had a brief spell in Pennsylvania, followed by two great seasons at the Hamilton Hunt, and ending up in London where he has been for ten seasons, having some of the best hunting he has ever had. However, as much fun as hunting coyotes has been in big, open, arable countryside, Paul yearned to hunt foxes back on grass, which has now come to fruition.

ONLY IN KESWICK: How Thankful

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By Tony Vanderwarker

Keswick Life | August 2017 | Only In Keswick | How ThankfulWe were not here when the chaos unfolded on that Friday and Saturday. We watched on TV as outsiders marched through our university, chanting noxious slogans, their torches giving off not light, but hate. And as we watched the horrific events play out, culminating in a death and the injury of many, we began to wonder, “What will the world think of us after all this? Will they see us as a community embracing the Confederacy and all it stood for?

Our question was partially answered by an email from Airbnb guest who asked us before he arrived, “Will it be safe for us to go into Charlottesville?” It occurred to us: will we become another Sandy Hook, another Columbine, another place whose identity derives only from a unspeakable tragedy?

Sunday night’s rally began to sketch in an answer. The thousands who showed up on Grounds carrying candles brought light and hope, singing “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine”, they gave us hope that our community could become in the eyes of the world what it has always been, a beacon of forgiveness and strength, resilience and grace.

And then on Monday and Tuesday, generals, politicians, business leaders and media began to stand up for us, to condemn those who refused to step up, rallying to our defense in defiance of a president who seemed more interested in calling his own shots than in denouncing bigotry and hatred. The spirit and courage of a town that had given the world Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence began to be recognized. We became the catalyst for renouncing white supremacy and neo-Nazism and for recognizing tolerance and diversity as keys to our democracy.

And the world began to recognize Heather Heyer as our symbol. The Economist, a globally-distributed magazine, devoted its entire back page to an obituary for Heather.

The last paragraph reads: “She was not an activist herself: there wasn’t much time to be. She wouldn’t have dreamed of, say, marching with Antifa behind a banner reading, “The Only Good Facist is a Dead Facist”. She didn’t march with Black Lives Matter, either, or wave LGBTQ flags, though she supported them all. Her way was to stand up loudly for them, and to ask anyone who disagreed why they believed that? And how could they think of that? But the sheer size of the white nationalist rally planned for August 12 made her feel, for the first time ever, that she really had to get out there on the street. She and her friends could try to spread a different message, that Charlottesville was a place of love.”

We are exemplified by a young lady who had the courage to stand up against hate and bigotry. Now the world knows who Heather was, what Charlottesville is, and what we all stand for. And for that, we should be thankful.

LIFE, MAKE IT HAPPEN! Lottie – The True Hero In My Story

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By Mary Morony

My story starts in Charlottesville many many decades ago. Before polls in travel magazines rated Charlottesville’s happiness factor, the place exuded charm. Being a bit more of a quiet backwater known only to a select few then it was a good thing. My father used to crow about Albemarle County’s rank as the third richest county in the country in per capita wealth. You just can’t see it he delighted in adding—long before conspicuous consumption. How he knew that fact he never said. And like what topics were taught in school, I never thought to ask just took what I was told as the gospel.

It is hard to know where Ethel, the main character in the first two books of my Apron Strings trilogy starts and Lottie, my negro–her word– childhood caregiver and family’s maid, ends. Memory tends to devolve towards fiction as facts fade into the mist of time.

Since the Lee statue controversy crawled out into the light of day and dragged with it the inherent racism of my upbringing, I’ve been trying to remember, to conjure, or to channel what Lottie/Ethel’s wisdom how might spotlight the events of this past weekend. One thought come through loud and clear, “Ain’t nothin’ new here.”

At the age of six, I lived with my family across the street from the Unitarian Church on Rugby Road in Charlottesville. The torching of a cross on the church’s front yard by a white supremacy group called the Seaboard White Citizen’s Council scared the hell out of the grown ups in my world. It had to conjure images so much more dreadful and loathsome in Lottie’s mind.

Kept from viewing the incident, I remember the disruption it brought to what little peace existed in our not so peaceful household. I wish I could say my mother had enlightened views on race relations. Like many people of her age and geography, she was a mixed bag of beliefs on the subject. While she and my father pointed fingers and lobbed righteous indignation about like tether balls, Lottie held fast to one notion; love has no color. She didn’t throw shade on the misdirected minds that burned the cross. With a quiet grace, she went about the business of her life, which gratefully included taking care of me.

Children are blessed with an uncanny sense of recognizing love when they experience it. Despite the events going on next-door Lottie’s love for me and mine never wavered. At no time did I feel adrift in a loveless world; a feeling, I can assure you, I would have recognized the feeling if had it been present. I can’t even guess at the horrors the flaming cross evoked for her but she remained steadfast in her conviction.

Despite Lottie’s shining example, I didn’t arrive into adulthood without a lot of unconscious racism. On a recent trip to Uganda, on several occasions, I found myself the only white person in a throng of Africans without fear. I hadn’t realized how my white privilege spawned such a deeply seeded dread of the other; like it was in my bones.

Up until recently, I honestly thought the statue debate just a silly political aside. With the help of a leading edge therapist who’s new psychological modality enables her clients to examine thought patterns that have a “charge” around them; I have freed myself of a lot of useless emotional baggage. The Lee statue came up in a session this past spring as an aside. I found myself vehemently reiterating my history lesson. You know the one, the fallen hero, the great leader, the reluctant slaveholder. When I looked at the intensity of the emotions surrounding my story I realized I had a lot of work to do. For me to move on in a healthy way I had to dismantle my own Southern icons that served only to make me separate from the other.

The process started by questioning my beliefs. How does Southern define me? Why was General Lee so important to me? In the process, I uncovered a fun fact. When I was going to school Virginia history was taught in the fourth grade, the eighth grade, and the tenth grade with a heavy dose in the eleventh grade under the guise of U.S. history.

I bet you can guess whose star rose around the 1850s Virginia sky. That’s right, General Lee’s. What child brought up in the children-are-seen-not-heard world questions what they are taught in school? It wasn’t until I did some independent thinking on my own and then some investigating, did I unearth the truth. What I was taught in regards to Virginia history was a myth. My fourth-grade teacher corrected us when we referred to the American Civil War as anything other than The War of Northern Aggression. I remember being told by another teacher that it was a pernicious Yankee lie that the war was about slavery. The conflict was over states rights.

For a week or two, I mourned the loss of a childhood hero as I set about redefining what it means to be Southern. Taking Lee off his pedestal allows me to appreciate maybe for the first time the true hero in my story, Lottie and her constancy in a world of anything but.

BOOKWORM: Solstice for Recent Unrest

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By Suzanne Nash

Well it has certainly been an interesting and disturbing August in Charlottesville and I have found it a bit more difficult than usual to concentrate and focus on things…even my beloved books. It was uncanny how I had just finished reading two books that really seemed to fit the current events aptly, so I thought I would share them with you.

Keswick Life | August 2017 | Bookworm | Hillbilly ElegyThe first is Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance. Not only is this an illuminating memoir but it is also a social analysis of his Appalachian roots and all that culture brings with it. Vance gives a glimpse of the white underclass that fueled the Trump campaign and why that Appalachian demographic moved a Democratic vote to become strong Republican voters. Raised in Middletown, Ohio and with ancestors from Breathitt County Kentucky, Vance has the background and experience to take an unapologetic look at the values which define this culture. Loyalty and patriotism are an important part of his background along with violence, verbal abuse, alcoholism and drug use. He points out how the abuse of the welfare system has led to resentment by those who work hard for little to no benefit. His family’s misfortunes rest not so much on the economic insecurities they face but more on their lack of work ethic and their learned helplessness. This is a story of despair and frustration. While Vance managed to crawl out of his situation it was through determination and a sense of personal responsibility. His is a tale of tough love and perhaps gives us a bit of a glance into some of the mindset of those who descended on Charlottesville weeks ago.

Keswick Life | August 2017 | Bookworm | American FireAmerican Fire: Love Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse recounts a true crime story from the coast of Virginia. I didn’t know much about this story until reading this book but it was a fascinating read. The Eastern Shore is a tight knit community and a very different way of life. It is also a community which has fallen on hard times, with very little industry and many abandoned buildings scattered throughout a sparsely inhabited region. It’s the perfect place for an arsonist to exploit and in 2012 and 2013 that’s exactly what happened….sending the community into a fearful frenzy. It was a five month arson spree set in Accomack County that centered around a love affair gone wrong. There were sixty-seven arsons in all before an arrest was made and a trial followed. Hesse takes the reader through the entire process.

Keswick Life | August 2017 | Bookworm | Radio GirlsIf you are looking for a bit more in the way of escapism, and who can blame you right now?
Radio Girls might just fit the bill. Author Sarah-Jane Stratford became interested in Hilda Matheson who was the head of TALKS for BBC around 1929 and based her historical fiction around a young secretary, Maisie Musgrave who becomes Hilda’s secretary. Maisie discovered that Hilda is seeking to uncover how some corporations are supporting the fascist movement in Germany and she starts to investigate herself. The independence of the BBC soon becomes threatened and these two women must fight to uncover the conspiracy and fight for all voices to be heard. It’s a wonderful story full of intrigue and romance.

Keswick Life | August 2017 | Bookworm | The Mambo KingsAn oldie but a goodie. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos was a Pulitzer prize winner and even inspired a musical. If you haven’t read it now is the time to read it before the cold weather hits. 1949 is the era of the mambo and two Cubans travel from Havanna to New York to make their fortune. This epic tale follows the Castillo Brothers as they journey through life in America. Poor Nestor longs for his lost love “Maria” to whom he constantly writes ballads. Cesar is his older, wilder, sex mad brother for whom Hotel Splendor seems to be the major setting. I found the atmosphere to be decidedly masculine. This novel is filled with sex, heat and rhythm so pull up a lounger, put on some mambo music and pour a mojito. Prepare yourself to travel back in time to the days of Dezi Arnez, hot night clubs and bongo drums!

Whether you are interested in real life right now or would rather shut out the world this month, I hope my selections will fit the bill and you can find some peace over the next month.

COVER STORY: Train Spotting at Keswick Station

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By Keswick Life

On July 17th, 2017, for the first time in 55 years, the southbound Amtrak train from Washington, DC to Charlottesville, stopped at the former Keswick Station, actually Hunt Club Road. Two of Keswick Hall & Golf Club’s repeat guests “de-trained” and were greeted by staff, friends and Keswickians Mr. Donald Skinner, a 37 year employee with Amtrak arranged the historic stop.

He was recently described by Dave Harris, retired Amtrak, as “not only dedicated, but tenacious, detail oriented whole never forgetting to take his eye’s off the “big picture” concerning his responsibilities of the position entrusted to him”. He continued, “Don is definately on of my best [Amtrak Heros]”.

Mr. Skinner told friends and Keswick staff if he was going to end his 37 years with Amtrak, he wanted to end it here with us. Mr. Skinner and friends have been frequent guests of Keswick Hall and Golf Club for over 16 years.

The Keswick Hall & Golf Club team decided to capture this special moment for Mr. Skinner and presented the video at his departure. We thought you might enjoy as well.

Looking Back at Keswick Station

The building Little Keswick School uses as a dining hall was once the Keswick train station. The train tracks used to pass close to it and curve around like the highway does. You can see the old track bed on Vicky Collins’ property. You can see the foundation of the old bridge across the creek, across from David Ordel’s. I believe they straightened out the tracks to their present line shortly after WWII. In the movie Giant, shot in the mid 1950s, the train stopped at the “new” depot, the cinderblock building across from Springdale.

Charlotte Rafferty told me, and I’ve also read in newspaper articles, that the train would stop next to the lower ring (the upper ring wasn’t built until the 1950s) to pick up and drop off spectators in the show’s early days.

– Barclay Rives

Mary Barbin called Peggy Augustus’ mother and told her she would be passing by Keswick on the train  and would like to see the horse that they had for sale. As the train slowed, Mary Barbin was standing on the rail of the back car, and after catching a glimpse of the horse “Captain Lawton”, she called to Peggy’s mother “Ill take him”.   Another time, Peggy remember a group of Texans had rented a train car and when the train passed the Keswick Horse showgrounds (which at that time was only located at the lower ring ) , the  Texans saw the horse show  and made the train stop to go see horse show.

– Peggy Augustus

HAPPENINGS: This Bud’s For Virginia: Beer Company Updates Bottle Labels For Summer

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By Keswick Life

On July 6 the company announced their new look saying, “Our new state bottles and cans celebrate the homes of our breweries and the communities that support them,” said Ricardo Marques, vice president, Budweiser. “Since 1876, Budweiser has been proudly brewed across America, and this summer, we’re inviting local consumers to raise a cold one with us.”The bottles and cans with special packaging are specific to California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas and Virginia.

Budweiser is paying tribute this summer to the 12 states where its beers are brewed, including Virginia. Starting this month, and through September, specially-packaged Bud bottles and cans will carry the names of states that are home to breweries. Budweiser has a large brewing facility in Williamsburg, Virginia, the Williamsburg Anheuser-Busch brewery.

For the special summer packaging, “Budweiser” on cans and bottles has been replaced with “Virginia.” The center medallion “AB” monogram has been replaced with the state’s initials, and “King of Beers” has been changed to the Virginia state motto, which translates to “Thus Always to Tyrants.”

The company’s Williamsburg brewery will also hold its first-ever open house on Sept. 16. Visitors can take photos with its world-famous Clydesdales and take a tour.

“Our new state bottles and cans celebrate the homes of our breweries and the communities that support them,” said Ricardo Marques, vice president, Budweiser. “Since 1876, Budweiser has been proudly brewed across America, and this summer, we’re inviting local consumers to raise a cold one with us.”

State-centric packaging the summer has also been rolled out in the 11 other states where Bud brews, including California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Texas.

You can find the Virginia branded beer on shelves until September as they are a part of Budweiser’s summer packaging Anheuser-Busch’s Clydesdales will make an appearance in Williamsburg on Sept. 16. (Photo courtesy of Anheuser-Busch).

September 16th | 11:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.

Please join us at Budweiser’s Williamsburg brewery in a celebration of local community. Get a sneak peek into the world of brewing our Great American Lager and sample some of the freshest Budweiser in the nation. Come on by to learn about our one-of-a-kind brewing process from the Brewmasters themselves, or just to enjoy ice cold Budweiser, live music, local eats from our premium food trucks, and a special appearance from our world-famous Clydesdales. FREE ADMISSION: All ages allowed — must be 21+ to enjoy Budweiser responsibly. Food and beverage also available for purchase.

HORSIN AROUND: from in and around the Keswick environs

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By Keswick Life

Ceil Wheeler Rides Away with Tricolor at Roanoke Shenandoah Valley Horse Show

The Roanoke Shenandoah Valley Horse Show returned to the Virginia Horse Center on Wednesday, June 21, for the second year in a row. Exhibitors took to the Coliseum ring to compete for top honors, with championship pinning taking place throughout the weekend.During this year’s competition, Ceil Wheeler and her own Callaway’s Brioni took home the tricolor in the ASB Ladies Five Gaited Championship. The reserve champion was presented to Phyllis Brookshire aboard Man on the Move for the class. Suzanne Wright and Fort Chiswell’s Wild Kiss earned the ASB Five Gaited Show Pleasure Adult championship, with the reserve championship going to Jennie Garlington riding Kalarama’s New Moon.

The horse show welcomed exhibitors and spectators to this year’s event with “A Grand Celebration,” an inaugural evening filled with cocktails and delectable hors d’oeuvres. Guests had the opportunity to mingle with community business leaders and influential government officials on the concourse of the Waldron arena. Held during the second night of the show, guests enjoyed an open bar while watching USEF Saddlebred, Roadster, and Hackney action. They also had the chance to hone their skills in the judge’s box with “Be the Judge,” a special opportunity to rate competitors and present historic trophies to the winners at center ring. The night concluded with great music at the lively after party.

Ceil Wheeler and Callaway’s Brioni. Photo courtesy of Shiflet Photography

Emma Jolly of Keswick, VA, and Mischief Managed rode to victory in the $10,000 USHJA Pony Hunter Derby, the highlight of the first annual USHJA Foundation Pony Spectacular at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC). Jolly and Mischief Managed secured a two round score of 335 to capture the win. Leigh Ashby of Lincolnton, NC, and Onyxford’s Blue Magic finished in second place with a two round score of 326, while Erica Felder of Lenoir, NC, and Elegance secured third place with a final score of 320.Jolly and Mischief Managed, owned by Rhiana Hughes, performed brilliantly together throughout the two rounds, earning a 167 in the first round, before taking the win with a 168 in the handy. Emma is fifteen-years-old and trains with Brooke Kemper of Culpepper, VA, “This was such a fun experience. I think it really got the ponies and the riders ready for the finals later this summer. The big ring let you get them out in front of you, but then bring them back in,” said Jolly. “It was a great atmosphere to relax and just have a blast.”

Making just her fourth start and first attempt at the stakes level, Unchained Melody the daughter of Smart Strike was in control at every point of call in the $250,000 Mother Goose Stakes (G2), as she turned back six challengers in gate-to-wire fashion at Belmont Park July 1.Bred by Hare Forest Farm, which owns her in partnership with Hidden Brook Farm, Unchained Melody came into the Mother Goose off  a two-length win a 1 1/16-mile allowance test at Belmont June 1.  She broke her maiden first time out at Gulfstream Park March 19 and came in second going six furlongs at Keeneland in April.”The (grade 1) Alabama (Aug. 19) would be the next step, I think,” Lynch said. “We’ll give her some time and set her for that. I think she’s certainly stamped her card in that direction today.”

Hunt Tosh of Milton, Georgia, and Flamingo-K, owned by Ceil Wheeler, finished as the winning pair in the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at the Tryon International Equestrian Center .The duo were tied for second place after the first round with a combined score of 177 and turned in another strong performance in the handy round, earning a score of 200, for a total score of 377. “He is very new to us,” Tosh explained. “The Wheeler’s bought him for me at Devon this year because they have been looking for that special derby horse. I showed him in one other derby before this, so I am really just getting to know him.”Flamingo-K only started competing in the hunter discipline this year, originally coming from the jumpers, and his transition to the hunter derby ring has been flawless.

Photo Hunt Tosh

The $50,000 Grand Prix of Michigan CSI2* highlighted Week Two of competition at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF) on Sunday. Twenty-four international athletes went head-to-head in the Grand Prix Ring, but it was Sloane Coles who took home the first win for the United States during the first week of FEI competition at GLEF with Esprit, owned by The Springledge Group. Course designer Manuel Esparza of Mexico challenged horses and riders over a 13-fence serpentine in the first round, but only seven were invited back to jump-off after going clear. Twenty-one-year-old Kaely Tomeu (USA) and Gentille, owned by Siboney Ranch, produced the first double-clear round of the jump-off, stopping the timers in 40.930 seconds as second to go in the order.It looked as though Tomeu would take the win as the only exhibitor to go clear in the tie-breaking round, as faults were collected throughout the next four rounds, until Coles and the 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding entered the ring as the final combination to jump-off. The pair galloped around the shortened track, adding no faults to their name, and crossed the finish line in 40.450 seconds to clinch the blue ribbon.In addition to her winning title and prize money, Coles took home a bottle of wine, courtesy of Black Star Farms, and a gift certificate for a free custom portrait from Kristi’s Canvas. Coles was also presented with one of Bloomfield Open Hunts’ historic trophies, the Wayne State University Grand Prix Trophy from the historic Motor City Horse Show, by Dean and Wendly Groulx

Photo Sloan Coles

In winnning the Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on July 30th,  Stellar Wind now has 10 wins from 15 starts and more than $2.3 million in earnings. The Virginia bred, out of the Malibu Moon mare Evening Star, was bred and raised in Keswick at Peggy Augustus’ Keswick Stables.