Keswick Life

Lifestyles in Keswick and its environs

Keswick Life

COVER STORY: Juniors in the Hunt Field

By

Inspiring a Passion for the Future of the Sport

Story by Colin Dougherty, Photography by Warner Garande

Keswick Hunt Club held it’s Opening Meet for the 2020-2021 Hunt Season on October 23rd, on a beautiful fall morning at Cloverfields. It was a great day to be in the Keswick countryside. All of this is only possible by all the generous landowners and, on this day, the Coles and Barnes families’ kind support at Cloverfields. The usual hunt breakfast of ham biscuits and ‘hunt coffee’ to warm the insides for those that needed it was not offered in accordance with county regulations in place due to the pandemic.

Juniors Gabrielle Shriver (l) rides alongside India Mooney (r) 
with KHC mentors Sandy Rives, ex-MFH and Honorary Whipper-In (l) 
and Rory McClendon, Honorary Whipper-In (r). 

Living in Keswick for nearly twenty years, I have concluded that fox hunting is best described as a passion. Many of my neighbors are immersed in the excitement and challenge of this age-old sport. This ancient countryside tradition was developed by the British during the 16th Century into an aristocratic sport. Today, a wide range of riders from all walks of life put aside the day’s responsibilities and gallop across fields and over fences that they may never have had the opportunity to roam. Fox hunting is one of the few sports that binds people to horses, horses to hounds, and all of us to the land. When it is absolutely perfect, it is totally out of control, the hounds are screaming, and hooves are pounding the terrain. The horn is blasting as riders are streaking across land many wouldn’t otherwise have the courage to cover at a wide-open gallop.  

As a hunter, if look back at your first time in the field, you may recall the excitement felt the first time you heard the ‘moving off sound’ of the huntsman’s horn blow, or perhaps as a young junior how your pony started to dance in anticipation as the hounds opened on a line. You knew something extraordinary was about to happen; your heart is pumping in the joyful anticipation of a fun day of sport. At the very least, a day in the countryside away from the chaos of real-life in the pandemic-world we live in is downright refreshing. 

A smiling India Mooney at the recent Juniors day, on her chestnut mare with her ears pinned looking straight at the camera – such sass.

Fox hunting grants the unique opportunity for a real connection with your horse, absolute immersion in the pack mentality of hounds, and to test your skills in navigating challenging terrain. Following an organized pack of hounds as a member of a hunt club whose activities affect the entire community, not just you, while participating in a sport you enjoy as the result of a twelve-months-a-year program which has been carried on continuously for generations here in Keswick, it sinks in how important it is to inspire youngsters to embrace and carry on the traditions.

For those families with the ability and passion for the fox hunting lifestyle, they may include their children at a Keswick Hunt Club meet. First, remember that fox hunting, unlike other equestrian sports, is purely for fun and that the last thing any hunt club wants is to make the introduction to the sport something less than fun. Nevertheless, there have to be some do’s and don’ts, but rest assured, the knowledge and expertise available to these young riders of the Keswick Hunt is unprecedented. The opportunity to experience true camaraderie among your fellow sportswomen and men in the field is ideal at this moment in the club’s history. The Juniors are essential for the club’s continuation as they are the future members, volunteers, staff, and perhaps masters of the hunt. Inspiring these youngsters to become our prospective supporters, land conservationists, and land owners keep these traditions alive for generations to come.

Gunner Marks.

At the Keswick Hunt Club’s Opening Meet, India Mooney, daughter of KHC member Kelsey Mooney, was riding Spring Ridge Willow, a Welsh small pony. Now seven, India began riding at age three and has since fallen in love with the sport, especially hunting. She enjoys showing in the short stirrup and hunting with KHC as often as she can. Kelsey adds, ‘a good pony and rider can do both and would benefit from enjoying both worlds.’ Willow and India are a perfect team, each knowing their role and keeping each other safe, making them a fantastic pair for fox hunting.  

At a recent KHC Junior Meet, Gabrielle Shriver, daughter of KHC member Mary Shriver, joined India with mentors Sandy Rives, ex-MFH and Honorary Whipper-In and Rory McClendon, Honorary Whipper-In. Sandy says ‘we all soak in and enjoy seeing the enthusiasm that the juniors bring to our fox hunting field.  The juniors are so excited to hunt with the hunting staff on junior days and we all love making it possible.’

Paul Wilson, Huntsman KHC with hounds and Gavin Marks KHC Honorary Whipper-In, at the KHC Opening Meet.

Gabrielle was riding a small pony mule by the age of two, beginning her formal lessons at the Glenmore barn on their string of super school ponies. After completeing her first hunter pace at age six she had to take a year off from riding while recovering from brain surgery treatment for epilepsy. She started hunting with Oak Ridge at age seven and hunts regularly ever since earning her buttons at Oak Rridge and four Fairly Hunted Awards from the MFHA. She began hunting a small pony, moved up to a small large (in photo), Princess, courtesy of Sally Lamb. The pair won first place in the junior division of the Shenandoah judge trail ride competition this summer. They also earned a blue at the KHC fall hunter pace Junior division. They enjoy and are members of MSPC and Deep Run pony club. As well as a junior member of Farmington and Keswick Hunt Club.  Gabrielle trains currently at Millington stables under the watchful eye of professional Chanda Boylen.  In the future she wants to show a bit and learn how to piaffe in dressage but in the meantime,    she loves to trail ride and ride bareback. Fox hunting is her absolute favorite. Having other children in the field makes hunting that much more fun for her, as a buddy always does.

Fox hunting is a pursuit, something you work on, and in this work, the real pleasure is discovered. Keswick has held many events over the years geared to getting Juniors involved and encouraging their participation. Learning how it ‘gets done’ is essential and a vital role of the club’s adult hunting members. In part, by the example of the members, the club must teach juniors the fox hunting formalities such as going to the meet, arrival, moving off and in the field, turn out for various stages of early cubbing, formal hunting with and without colors, and even in frigid weather or rain. The more experienced ladies and gentlemen can show the juniors how it is ‘being done’ at the Hunt Breakfast, matters of attire and the collective knowledge shared on etiquette points, precedence in the field, and various courtesies. 

Third flight, with the Juniors at the KHC Opening Meet.

It is a fox hunt; it is not a race or competition. Riders enjoy the challenge on any level while others will follow on foot. The more experienced may enjoy the eager chase, the caught scent with hounds at full cry, maintaining a gallop to keep as close to the hounds as they can, leaping over fixtures and creeks along the way. At any age, a fox hunting beginner should pick a good teacher, someone you know, and stick by their side, riding in a flight that best suits your comfort and ability. This guidance will enhance the experience and keep the junior or adult beginner safe, on a solid mount.  

I read recently something that stuck with me – in a world where you can be anything, be kind. Encourage a young junior or a beginner of any age to get out and hunt. Amid all these changes in 2020, embrace this endeavor, share your experiences, and even offer to mentor. You never know what opportunities it may bring into your life and the passion you can cultivate in fellow horse lover. Our children are the future of the hunts, and it doesn’t hurt to get outdoors, meet new friends, see new country and just maybe, they come to the realization of how important land is and to inspire these juniors to protect it for future generations.

WHAT’S COOKING: Easy Cranberry Chutney

By

By Stuart Burford – Stu Pots Book of Recipes

This sweetly tart chutney makes an excellent spread for Christmas turkey sandwiches, provided there’s any left. 

Step 1: Peel, core, and dice 

  •    3 tart apples and 
  •    2 slightly ripe pears 

Step 2: Add

  •    2 lbs. cranberries
  •    1 cup yellow raisins
  •    2 cups sugar
  •    1 cup fresh orange juice
  •    2 tablespoons grated orange rind
  •    2 teaspoons cinnamon
  •    ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Step 3: Mix all of the above, bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes uncovered until thick.  Add ½ cup Cointreau or Grand Marnier at the end.

BOOK WORM: Escape as you Prepare for the Holidays

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By Suzanne Nash

I don’t know if anyone else has had this problem since COVID raised its ugly head, but I have to admit that I have had trouble reading since about March. It seems to finally be getting better, but the trouble has seemed to be an issue of focus.  The written word has been difficult for me to follow and this is devastating as reading has always been my way of dealing with anxiety.  Normally I can get through five books in a week but lately it has taken a month to read one.  I have compensated by using audible books to keep my mind occupied, but it isn’t the same. September marked the break from this difficulty, and I have finally been able to sit quietly and absorb the written word once more. What has arisen out of this is a greater appreciation for the ability to read and absorb information….I find myself gorging like a starving person desperate for food and the only frustration is that I still have other work to do and I can’t spend all my time between the covers of a good book.

Here is a selection of books that I have discovered both through audible as well as my latest print reading material and I hope they will inspire you to read more as we move into the Holiday season that is well on the way! Next issue will be my Christmas list issue so get ready for lots of ideas for Christmas gifts!

First up is a wonderful book by local author, Liza Taylor Nash.  Etiquette for Runaways is the perfect solution if you are looking for something that touches on the familiar.  It is filled with loads of familiar local spots and touches on the famous bootlegging that occurred in the area during the 1920s.  May Marshall has to run to escape the legal noose her father’s moonshine business has slipped over her neck and finds herself in New York, assuming a new name and a new story of her life. Carefully she crafts her new persona and uses her sewing skills to become part of New York’s Jazz Age Theatre scene.  Along with the opportunities come the temptations of the big city and addiction slips into May’s life as she crosses the ocean to the glorious glow of Paris. Will May fall through the rabbit hole and end up losing her family and former life or will she find a way to pull herself back to the home she loves.  This is a great gift to send to your friends who want to experience a little bit of Keswick through a fictional narrative.

The next two books have similar titles but are very different in their subject matter. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames is a family saga focusing on the life of one woman who is either blessed or cursed, depending on your perspective. Stella has dementia but her sister Tina begins to tell the curious tale of her sister and how she came to the USA and how she survived. Death weaves itself throughout the tale like a character unto itself as Stella fights for independence in a world that conspires to keep her tied up in responsibilities and stereotypes. This is a fight that pits Stella’s love of her family and her struggle to survive despite the constrictive expectations that are constantly foisted upon her.

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turtin is a very different sort of mystery.  At first, I was a bit unsure what was going on.  The male narrator seemed to be a bit confused, not knowing who he was, but after a while I realized this story played with time and the narrator was jumping from different people inside the story.  Each time he wakes up as a different person he has the opportunity to discover who is going to murder Evelyn Hardcastle.  The ominous figure of a masked individual serves as his guide and explains to him the rules of this very macabre game.  He must solve the murder if he is ever going to escape this day and this estate.  It is a race to the end to solve the mystery before someone else does.  I loved this very original storyline and I did not figure it out until the very end.  It is very clever and well written. This is the only storyline this month with a male protagonist.

If you enjoy fact rather than fiction, then I think you will enjoy the next two books. 

In The Reporter Who Knew Too Much, author Mark Shaw takes a look at the life and mysterious death of investigative reporter Dorothy Kilgaller. A force to be reckoned with, this amazing petite woman was the star of What’s My Line and a media icon, whose radio program kept her American audience riveted during the 50s and 60s. It is a wonderful and exciting read that will make you start thinking about conspiracy theories in a whole new way. Dorothy had been investigation the death of JFK and she claimed to be getting close to an explosive reveal.  But then she dies mysteriously and all of her notes, including an inclusive interview with Jack Ruby, goes missing. Once you start reading all of the facts that Shaw uncovers, you too will start to wonder about what really happened!

Jason Fagone also explores the life of a strong and determined woman in The Woman Who Smashed Codes.  This is the true story of the American cryptography pioneer, Elizabeth Friedman.  Never heard of her?  Well that should come as no surprise, as J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI took credit for all of her work and he did everything he could to wipe out her contributions to history.  It was only when her notes and letters were discovered that it was revealed how much she did to win World War II.  She triumphed over 3 Enigma machines and personally decoded over 4000 Nazi messages during her time working with the US Coast Guard Intelligence Division.  She and her husband met while working at an eccentric textile tycoons enclave called Riverbank Laboratories. At the time cryptography was a relatively new field and she and her future husband, William Friedman became experts in their field. This is such an amazing look into the life of a woman whose legacy is embedded in our lives today through coded cell phones and WIFI. It certainly didn’t make me like Hoover any better than I did before. 

The next few books take place over seas.

Anatomy of a Scandal by Sara Vaughan takes place in England, where Sophie finds herself defending her husband James when he is accused of a terrible crime.  Sophie’s perfect life begins to crumble as she starts questioning things from James’ past. Kate is the lawyer hired to prosecute the case and she is positive that James is guilty.  Why is she so sure of his guilt?  These character’s backgrounds begin to come to the forefront, as the past comes back to haunt them all. It is a very good thriller that might remind you of The Girl on the Train and it will keep you guessing as page by page you are handed clues like a drip feed. 

 At The Water’s Edge begins in Philadelphia in 1944, but moves swiftly to the UK when Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, run away to Scotland after a New Year’s Eve party proves disastrous to their reputations.  Ellis’ father has cut them off financially, so the feckless husband and wife, along with their friend, Hank, take off across the pond, in an effort to regain their legacy by proving the existence of the Lock Ness monster, a feat Ellis’ father had very publicly failed at years earlier. Maddie is left on her own in a village that doesn’t really welcome strangers but slowly she befriends the villagers and falls in love with the area. Her relationship with the villagers changes her as she realizes how much of a struggle survival is for so many people.  Her life has been charmed and her privilege had blinded her to other’s needs. She begins to see that her values are a bit skewed. Slowly she begins to see the real monsters just beneath the surface of her world.

 And finally, I suggest The Women in Black by Madeline St. John, which was written in 1993 and takes place in 1950’s Australia.  I just love this little book.  As I read it, I realized it is also a movie I had watched on Prime Video, but as is often the case, the book is better than the movie which is called The Ladies in Black.  Goodes Department Store in Sydney, Australia provides beautiful clothing for the discerning woman and the ladies who work there are the main characters of this sweet book. There is thirty-year-old Patty who is married to the quiet, stern Frank.  Then there is Fay, who can never meet the right guy but keeps looking for love, and Magda, who is the glamourous Slovenian overseeing the high-end gowns department.  All of the women working in the clothing department are required to wear black, thus the name of the book. Each of them has thoughts about their workmates but none of them are true friends who feel loyalty to each other.  They are wrapped up in their own dramas and struggle each day to keep from letting their problems overwhelm them. When a naïve young girl named Lisa comes on board as part time help before she is to head off to University, these women suddenly find a common bond and the story develops into a wonderful tale of transformation. Their lives begin to intertwine and what blooms is a beautiful friendship between ladies who find their strength through each other. 

I hope these lovely little books will give you lots of escapism during the next few months and get you ready for the Holidays.

COVER STORY: Shop. Sip. Eat. Play. Local. Shadwell // Keswick // Cismont

By

By Colin Dougherty

 IN VINO VERITAS – Wine & Gourmet Shop

Need some wine for the changing season? We’ve got you covered! Try the Fall Case Mixed Varietal Special – $159.00/Case

For the better part of a decade owner, Erin Scala worked in New York City at several Michelin star restaurants, notably JoJo, PUBLIC, and The Musket Room. In 2014, she returned to her home state of Virginia to run the wine programs at local downtown restaurants, Fleurie & Petit Pois. Today, she is the sommelier at Common House social club in downtown Charlottesville, and since 2017, she’s owned In Vino Veritas Fine Wines, a wine retail shop in Keswick, Virginia. 

Erin writes the thinking-drinking wine blog, produces audio essays for the I’ll Drink to That wine podcast, and consults about wine privately and commercially through her company, ThinkBev. Her articles about wine have been published in The Washington Post, Wine & Spirits, Wine & Country Living, and Knife & Fork magazine. For several years, she covered the Virginia wine scene in a column for her local paper, The C-Ville Weekly. 

Named one of Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 wine professionals to watch, her wine list at Fleurie won a Wine Spectator “Best of Award of Excellence” in 2016 and 2017. Erin received a James Beard Rhône Rangers Travel Study Grant to study Rhône varieties in California in 2016. She competed in the Sommelier Scavenger Hunt held by Wine & Spirits Magazine to find delicious Pinot Noirs in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA in 2017. In January 2018, the I’ll Drink to That podcast was written up in the New York Times. 

This Italian Snack Pack includes two recipes and a few Italian-made treats, includes Garganelli pasta, Arborio risotto, Little Gina’s pizzelle cookies, and lemon marmalade – $27.00, shipping available for social distancing gift giving!

Certified as a Certified Sake Professional, and also with the WSET Diploma of Wines and Spirits, she believes that fermented beverages are a unique and dynamic communion with time and place and that often the best beverages come from small vineyards, orchards, and breweries using products farmed by passionate families who believe in minimal intervention.

IN VINO VERITAS – Wine & Gourmet Shop

Located: 3015 Louisa Road ~ Keswick // Phone: ​434-977-6366

Email: [email protected]

CURRENT HOURS // Monday – Thursday 11am-6:00pm, Friday 11am – 7:30pm, ​Saturday 11am – 6pm, Sunday closed

 COUNTRY HOUSE ANTIQUES – Go Shop

So many great treasures inside, absolutely worth a visit.

Country House Antiques offers art, antiques, and décor for the country house and garden. Nancy Parsons, the owner, specializes in antique and unique equestrian pieces related to foxhunting, polo, and racing. The shop also offers 18th and 19th century English, French and American furniture and lovingly curated vintage pieces. Check out a display of handmade rugs with access to a larger inventory of rugs upon request. Many items are consigned from area farms and estates – it is undoubtedly a treasure hunt!

On any given day, you might find a wonderful 18th-century highboy, a vintage needlepoint pillow featuring horses, hounds, or foxes, or an antique sculpture of a whippet for a special place in your garden. Recently, some unique midcentury modern pieces have come in. New inventory arrives every week, and the best pieces go quickly. She posts on Instagram or Facebook to see the new arrivals. Nancy comments, “I’m so grateful to the Keswick community for supporting my shop, now in its fifth year! We are open every weekend, and we hope to see you soon!”

COUNTRY HOUSE ANTIQUES – Go Shop

Located: 5447 Gordonsville Road, Keswick // Phone: ​434-295-0616

CURRENT HOURS // Saturday and Sunday 12pm – 5pm or by appointment.

 STOKES OF ENGLAND – Blacksmithing

An artisan butterfly bench for sale, Stephen puts the finishing touches, $1,800.00. Seasonal horseshoe pumpkins, make sweet gifts, priceless!

Founded in 1981 by Joe Stokes and oldest son Stephen Stokes, first commissions were for knives, swords, furniture, hardware, and fire screens, but eventually included gates railings, lighting, and balconies. Their work has been featured in many prestigious publications over the years, including Architectural Digest, Southern Living, Home and Garden, and Shropshire Magazine and being written about in the New York Times and Washington Post and many local publications, including Keswick Life. 

Stephen and his team of skilled craftsmen work directly with their clients. Recently, Stokes of England was commissioned to make all the hand-forged iron gates and balconies for the new business school at William and Mary College in Williamsburg, VA. Stokes of England operates a showroom and gallery where a wide variety of artisan pieces are offered, including furniture, lighting, hardware, and traditionally made wooden doors with iron strap hinges and hand-forged locks. Custom orders available; also, make an appointment to tour the forge and watch the blacksmiths at work on the forges and anvils.

STOKES OF ENGLAND – Blacksmithing

Located: 4085 Keswick Rd, Keswick  //  Phone: ​434-295-9848

CURRENT HOURS – Flexible but by appointment.

 TASTING ROOMS – Cidery & Wineries

Three tastings rooms come to mind in the immediate area of Keswick, first is an apple cidery, Castle Hill Cider, which offers their extraordinary grounds and tasting room Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from midday to 6 pm, with light fare on Fridays and a full lunch menu on the weekends. Just down the road, you will find Keswick Vineyards, with the tasting room open every day from 10 am to 5 pm, reservations not required but suggested on the weekends. Next, to the opposite end of my tour, around the Shadwell horn, across the river, towards Monticello, you will run across Jefferson Vineyards, open midday to 6 pm Thursday thru Sunday. Don’t miss the Simeon Market while you are on this side of Keswick environs – they are stocked up on picnic baskets, picnic blankets, and all other great goodies to fill those baskets!

 GREGORY BRITT DESIGN – Create

Visit to shop, call Gregory to plan a party, decorate for the holidays, or just for some sheltering at home fun!

Gregory has a knack for creating inspired flower arrangements, dream weddings, lovely cocktail parties, and a myriad of events. He can design your gardens, style your photoshoot, and decorate your home for any holiday. 

The design studio, turned shop, is an excellent addition to the area. The space is charming and vibrant and packed with interesting plants, vases, pottery, vintage, retro, gifts, antiques, one of a kind finds, and treasures, many from Gregory’s collection.

Ok, the holidays are coming, and you might be thinking about decorating, have no fear; this team can help! Holiday decorating and parties with wreaths, garlands, and styling are available at the end of November.

Gregory began gardening while growing up in Indiana. During college, he studied art history and painting.  He worked in small florist’s shops and event design companies. After college, it was to New York City, free-lancing for all of the design stars, while simultaneously working on his painting. In 1999, the business Gregory Britt Design was born. After acquiring some fantastic clients, Gregory was fortunate to travel and create celebrations for them worldwide. The charming village of Washington, Virginia, was the next adventure. The world-renowned Inn at Little Washington welcomed Gregory as their floral and event designer, and then after ten years, he ventured to Keswick. Gregory lives in Keswick on a farm with dogs, cats, horses, and of course, gardens.

GREGORY BRITT DESIGN – Go Shop, Plan a Party, decorate for any reason.

Located: 5445 Gordonsville Road, Keswick // Phone: ​540-522-0531

CURRENT HOURS // Saturday and Sunday 12pm – 5pm or by appointment.

 LEGACY MARKET – Convenience Store

Choose from a wide array of specialty sandwiches or build your own; most everything is $5.99 and up.

One recent visitor was skeptical about food from a gas station, but Legacy Market did not disappoint! Everything is made fresh with quality ingredients. The sandwiches and sides are delicious. Our reader’s favorites were the custom sandwiches, the Mulberry, Washington, and Louisa. “It was damn good, especially with the added tomato slices he requested!” he exclaimed.

This C-Store sits at the gateway to Keswick and Cimont areas. It is essential for me to fill up on Exxon products and quickly get the propane tank for my patio grilling – literally just a 1/4 mile down the road for me. The nightly dinners, featuring southern comfort food specialties like fried chicken or fried catfish, with two sides, are a weeknight value at $6.99. 

The parking is tight, it is what it is, so you’ll have to be patient. The staff is always warm and friendly – the coffee fresh and hot!

LEGACY MARKET – Convenience Store, Exxon Fuel, Propane Tank Exchange

Located: 3008 Richmond Rd ~ Shadwell  //  Phone: ​434-245-0315

CURRENT HOURS // Monday – Thursday 4:30am-10:00pm, Friday 4:30am- 11:00pm, Saturday 4:30am – 11pm, Sunday 6am – 9pm

 THE CLIFTON – Sleep, Eat & Drink

One word comes to mind – staycation! This local spot is a favorite for the socially distanced these days as the Clifton does a beautiful job of keeping us all safely separated. 

The original 1799 building is full of history, modern charm, and seven newly renovated and luxurious bedrooms and suites. The different but equally beautiful views from these rooms include the Monticello Mountain, the cascading waterfalls of their superb pool, and the beautiful lawns and gardens. All rooms offer the finest of rural and modern amenities. 

Try a weeknight local-staycation, swim in the heated pool, enjoy a dinner – you’ll remember how it is like riding a bike but with a mask.

With its sun-drenched veranda and an enclosed patio with stunning views of the Virginia countryside through floor-to-ceiling windows, the restaurant ‘1799’ is one of the most romantic restaurants in the area. The seasonal menu highlights dishes showcasing local ingredients—with many sourced from the chef’s garden—to create distinctive regional food. The cuisine is perfectly complemented by inventive cocktails and an extensive wine selection featuring Virginia’s most celebrated wines and ciders, along with vintages from around the world.

They serve breakfast (yes, locals can be seated without being a hotel guest) and dinner daily, but lunch is performed only on the weekends, but do call ahead to be sure they aren’t closed for a wedding. Guests of the hotel enjoy complimentary continental breakfast each morning of their stay. 

Located just off The Clifton Lounge is The Copper Bar, a sophisticated and chic cocktail bar, aka the local Pub. It features a modern quartz bar with copper trim-lined oak shelves and mirrors on one side with lush velvet banquettes on the other. The space offers a hushed, intimate vibe for guests to savor original and inventive seasonal libations.

THE CLIFTON – Sleep, Eat & Drink

Located: 1296 Clifton Inn Drive, Shadwell // Phone: ​434-971-1800

Email: [email protected]

CURRENT HOURS // Cocktails & Dinner by reservation, Breakfast daily, Lunch on the weekends but do call ahead.  Lodging and visit arrangements, best to call.

CISMONT MARKET & DELI – C-Store

As an early morning patron, I am typically greeted by Judy and Gregory, a friendly welcome and willingness to put up with my ‘custom’ orders with a smile while we are all still waking up.  This convenience store stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, tobacco products, over-the-counter drugs, toiletries, newspapers, and some gifts suitable to not let you walk into a host’s home empty-handed. They even have some NFL gift apparel and gear right now, heavy on the Eagles, of course – makes me happy as I am originally from Philadelphia.

They have great BLTs, double bacon cheeseburgers, and fried chicken – some say it is the best they have ever had. Still, the Cismont Market hands down set themselves apart by offering Diesel fuel, a rarity these days in the Keswick environs. Don’t miss this long-standing Keswick staple; every out-of-towner must stop in. You just haven’t been here unless you have visited this Keswick environs classic.

CISMONT MARKET & DELI – Convenience Store, Exxon Fuel, Diesel Fuel

Located: 5412 Louisa Road ~ Keswick //  Phone: ​434-295-1866

CURRENT HOURS // Monday – Saturday 5am-10:00pm, Sunday 6am – 9pm

WHAT’S COOKING: Fisken’s Pork Sliders with Slaw

By

By Brock Fisken

  • 2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend (McCormick Montreal Poultry Blend)
  • 1/4 cup Tamari dark soy  
  • 1 tablespoons honey  
  • 1 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes 
  • 1/4 cup Cilantro
  • 4 large cloves garlic, chopped (more garlic = better)
  • 2 teaspoons toasted (dark) sesame oil, 
  • 2 scallions, finely chopped  
  • Vegetable oil, for drizzling on the grill 
  • 2 pounds pork tenderloin
  1. Marinade for about an hour, if you go longer or lose the pork flavor – grill to perfection, nice and reddish on high heat. Let cool and slice razor-thin with your kitchen knife. Grab your favorite small slider roll and top with the pork and a heaping amount of an excellent Asian slaw.
  2. Here is my go-to Asian slaw: 1 bunch (6 large) scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced; 2 each of shredded head of green and shredded red cabbage; 1 small red onion, thinly sliced, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, two tablespoons grated fresh ginger (from about a 1-inch piece), two tablespoons white vinegar, two tablespoons dark brown sugar, two teaspoons Asian sesame oil, two teaspoons sesame seeds, optional, one teaspoon salt, 20 grinds black pepper.
  3. Rough up the scallion slices a little with your fingers so all the tiny layers of the scallion whites separate. Toss the coleslaw mix or both kinds of cabbage, the red onion, and scallions together in a large bowl until everything is thoroughly mixed. You can make the slaw up to this point up to a day in advance as long as you keep it refrigerated. Before serving, bring the slaw back to room temperature, make the dressing, and toss. 
  4. Stir the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl until blended, then pour over the vegetables. Serve within 1 hour of dressing, or the cabbage will get wilty and sad.

BOOKWORM REVIEWS: Cozy Fireside Reads for Crisp Fall Days

By

By Suzanne Nash

What a strange summer we have had, but the cool weather of fall is here, and the smell of apples and pumpkin bread are starting to fill the air. It’s time for crisp days and cozy nights by the fire and it’s also time to get ready for Halloween – so here are a few tales to set the mood. Some are older releases, and some are newer finds. So, I hope these take your minds off some of the turmoil around us.

Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver was one of New York Times best books of 2019 and is a bit of a gothic mystery that takes place in Edwardian Suffolk. If you like creepy old houses, this is the novel for you. It is 1906 and a manor house sits at the edge of Fens (which happens to be a wilderness of water with whispering reeds). Nice creepy setting isn’t it? In this Manor house called Wake’s End there is a young girl, Maud, who has grown up without a mother and under the thumb of a repressive father. As you move through the story you cannot decide what is real or supernatural and there is a overriding feel of psychopathy present. The beginning of the book sets the tone with a historian named Edmund Stearne using an ice pick and geological hammer to kill someone. He spends the rest of his life in an asylum. Why did he do it? Maud takes the reader through the unraveling of this mystery and keeps a tension between the supernatural and religion. There is a focus on a painting in the areas church called a DOOM painting which were often painted on church walls during the 12th and 13th centuries to depict the last judgement. It was generally the last thing people viewed as they left the church, so they were reminded of the fate that awaited them if they didn’t mind their Christian duties. Most were destroyed during the reformation but in this tale this painting provides the fodder for a descent into madness.

The Loney is another English gothic story which debuted in 2015 and explores superstition and religion. Author Andrew Michael Hurley takes us to the seaside to follow the lives of the Smith family who, along with their parish’s new priest, travel to the Loney for the “cure.” Hanney Smith, the eldest son, is a mute and the mother hopes for a cure during the Easter Service there. The narrator is Hanney’s younger brother, who is nicknamed Tonto by the priest. The Loney is in the area of Morecambe Bay in northwest England, described in the text as “that strange nowhere between the Wyre and the Lune” and it is indeed whole character unto itself. This wild and unearthly landscape shapes the tale and the Catholic faith seems to be a battle with nature, as the reader struggles to determine what is supernatural and natural. Hurley admits that the landscape and atmosphere of this particular coastal area of England affected how he wrote the story and you can see how his prose matches the wilderness of the scene. It will pull you in and is the perfect read on a chilly fall night with the lights down low!

Now of course since Halloween is at hand, we have to have witches so I thought The Witch Finder’s Sister might be a good choice. This story by Beth Underdown is based on real events. It’s 1645 and Alice Hopkins returns to Essex after the death of her husband. In her absence, her brother Matthew seems to have climbed the ladder and acquired a great deal of power. He has become obsessed with finding witches and putting them on trial. Now Matthew Hopkins was indeed a real person and a “witch hunter” during that time. He may have had a sister and this story revolves around the premise that his sister may have had a different view of his rise to power and the consequences of his obsession. Matthew travels throughout England in his search to root out evil and just as it was in Salem, Massachusetts, it is chilling to see how quickly people can turn on each other.

I read The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, while on lockdown in London but immediately thought it was a good Keswick Life fall choice. In 1617 near a small Norwegian Island called Vardo a group of men are out fishing when a sudden storm comes up and all of the island’s men are lost at sea, save the priest. Vardo now becomes an island of women and together they have to figure out how to survive this tragedy. Eighteen months later a Scotsman named Abslom Cornet is sent with his new wife to the island to be their commissioner. When he arrives, he finds something rare in that time, a land filled with independent women. He becomes intent on rooting out the evil he finds in this place and all of those who he deems to be witches will soon face his wrath. Maren is one of the narrators along with the commissioner’s wife Ursa and together they tell a story of rebellion, customs, and headstrong determination. Once again, this story is based in the reality of the storm and of the 1621 witch trials. Of particular note is the discrimination against the Sami, who were the indigenous people of Lapland. The Sami customs and beliefs came up hard against the Norwegian religious traditions and there are many cases of Sami being brought to trial and killed for being witches in Norway. I was fascinated as I knew very little about the Scandinavian or Lapland history.

The Darkness is a mystery set in Iceland and is the first in a series by Ragnor Jonasson. Detective Hulda Hermannsdottir works for the Reykjavik police. At 64 years of age she is being forced into early retirement and during her last two weeks she is given a cold case to investigate. The body of a young Russian asylum seeker has washed up on a remote beach. She soon discovers that the original officer handling the case was inept and that this is not a suicide as was previously reported. When Hulda discovers another similar death, she begins to piece together the connection to sex working in the area and find the lack of concern by local authorities disturbing. Hulda was always considered difficult to work with but as more and more people refuse to open up about the murders, she becomes more determined to solve this case before her time in the force is finished. The author is considered a master of Icelandic thrillers and CBS has just struck a deal to create an eight-part series of this book so read it before it comes to your TV screens!

The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meig Wiking

In keeping with the Scandinavian bent of the last couple books I thought you might also enjoy this one. It’s the perfect little introduction to the idea of Hygge, which will help you transform your world into a cozy place of calm this fall and winter. It is one of my favorite little books to help you feel snuggled up and comforted in a world of craziness!

I hope you all enjoy the fall weather as much as I do and are able to eat loads of apples, take lots of walks, and read loads of books! I promise I will be getting more to you soon.

TRAVEL: Tenderfoots in The Bob

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By Charles Thacher

It’s August and the Covid hunkerdown continues unabated. I’m sitting here in Keswick, listening to the muscular roar of the bikes as they bust out of  the Cismont Store parking lot – which is giving me a hard case of Sturgis-envy, especially when I see pictures of all the bulging biker-babes in their red baseball caps and tattooed bods, ridin’, drinkin’ and playin’ hard, while all the while, standin’ by their god-fearing men. But, even for them, life has gotten tougher. Two years back they permanently lost the Testicle Festival in Montana – a stopover of sublime debauchery for those cruising toward Sturgis from the west – and now they have to risk their lives to pursue the god-given pagan ritual that’s as American as apple pie. But bikers are nothing if they are not tough, and those that survive Covid will return, keeping America great.   

Crossing the tributary.

For me, it’s the first year that I haven’t planned a trip to fish the West in almost 40 years. I may yet, but Covid, combined with two cracked ribs from separate klutzy mishaps have, so far, shut me down. When I think back to my first occidental angling excursion, and how it started, perhaps it’s surprising that I ever took another. I had been dabbling at fly-fishing for a couple of years in early 1982, when I read an article about a trip to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area (called “The Bob” by locals and afficionados) in Montana, that combined nearly two days of riding horses and a bit more than four days of floating on the South Fork of the Flathead River, through a pristine and remote area. I knew enough about fly-fishing to know that Montana was considered American Nirvana for pursuing it, and decided that this was the trip for me to get properly introduced. 

The Magnificent Chinese Wall

The Bob is one of the largest wilderness areas in the U.S., slightly smaller than the state of Delaware. By law, it has no roads, but nearly 2,000 miles of trails, limited for use by people and stock. The South Fork begins in the southern part of The Bob, and travels northerly for nearly 100 miles (including the enormous Hungry Horse Reservoir) to join the Middle Fork and the North Fork, and form the main stem of the Flathead River, which flows into the Clark Fork of the Columbia, and ultimately to the Pacific Ocean. 

I contacted the author of the article to get information about the outfitters that he had used for his trip – it was Gene Lee, assisted by his son, Cameron. The Author said that they were the only outfit running fishing trips in The Bob. I tracked Gene down on his ranch at the southern end of Hungry Horse, to get some details. He said that he would take two rafts accommodating at most four anglers, and that there was a narrow window of about six weeks to go, from late July through early September. Before that the spring runoff made the river too high and off-color, and after that the chances of snow and freezing weather were too great. The anglers didn’t need to be skilled riders, but they did have to be willing and able to sit on a horse for about 40 miles (35 going in and five coming out), sometimes over rough terrain. That was more miles than the total that I had ridden in my lifetime, but being intrepid or, more likely, lamebrained, I booked the first week in August and set about recruiting some friends to join me. Fortunately, Deliverance was still fresh in everyone’s mind, and I found three guys who, like me, pictured themselves as Burt Reynolds, although probably we all secretly thought that at least three Ned Beattys were among us. Doug was an old friend and an experienced and skilled outdoorsman. Tom a fishing friend, and Mike a lawyer and business associate. I was The Organizer, which would become important.

The happy anglers

The trip started on Saturday, and the day before we stayed in Kalispell, Montana. That evening we went to see and fish the South Fork where it emerged below the dam that formed the Hungry Horse. OMG! It was the coldest river that any of us had ever encountered – about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  We only had light pack waders, and couldn’t stand in the river for more than a few minutes. Plus, we caught no fish. We were all neophyte anglers and had no idea that water being released from the bottom of a dam would be much colder (and support fewer fish) than that in the river above the reservoir. We figured that we had made a really bad choice of a river that we could not walk into, and that seemed devoid of fish. The Organizer caught some abuse at dinner, which soon became a pattern.

Saturday we were up early to take the 60-mile or so drive to Gene Lee’s ranch. The rough dirt road along the Reservoir was slower than expected, but we got there by 10AM, the appointed meeting time. A woman answered the door, introduced herself as Gene’s wife, and told us that he was out “looking for his horses.” 

“Didn’t he know that we were coming to start a week-long trip today?”

“Yes, he knows, but the horses that he normally takes on his trips escaped overnight, and he and Cameron are flying around in Gene’s plane to see if he can find them. He should be back soon. Why don’t you have some sandwiches while you are waiting”. I don’t know what surprised us more – that our guide lost his horses or that he had a plane.

Having no better choice, we lunched. After a couple of hours, The Organizer started to get the glares from the other three, similar to the night before. Gene finally showed up at about 1PM, in a foul mood. He looked to be about 60 years old, seemed more than a bit cantankerous, and was very grizzled. His wife asked him about the lost horses. 

“Couldn’t find em.”

I muttered, “What are we going to do?”

“What d’ya think we’re gonna do? Only got one choice. Take the reserves. They haven’t done this trip in about three years, but they’ll have to do. Let’s get started. We’re late.” I didn’t think that “we” were late, but kept that inside. 

Gene and Cameron loaded the ten horses (six for riding and four packhorses) into some trucks and we drove about 15 miles to the Spotted Bear Campground, where we would start. Three wranglers on horses met us there, with the rafts and the other equipment. They would ride with us for the 35 miles over two days, set up the first night’s campsite en route, drop off our equipment at the headwaters of the South Fork, ride back to Spotted Bear with the pack horses, then meet up with us again when we pulled out of the River at the end of the float, pack up, and we’d all go back to Spotted Bear.

The wranglers took the pack horses aside and started loading them with equipment. Gene said “I’ll ride the big bay mare, cause she’s pregnant and is like to be in a foul mood. And she ain’t been ridden in a few years. He put the saddle and bridle on, walked around with her for a couple of minutes, speaking to her in the soft, dulcet tones of a horse whisperer, then he mounted her. Holy s..t! Her hindquarters went four feet in the air, Gene flew about six feet and landed on his butt with a thud! The horse continued jumping around and snorting fire. Cameron quickly grabbed about ten feet of rope with a loop on one end, he put the loop around her neck, and tied the other end to a small tree. The big horse started running in circles around the tree until the rope got so short that she flipped over and was lying on her back – feet kicking up into the air and still snorting. Cameron walked up to her and, with his metal toed boot, kicked her as hard as he could, smack in middle of the head. Her eyes started dancing around in the sockets, looking as whacked out as Kid Sheleen’s steed in Cat Ballou. Then they went blank, and she passed out. We had placed our lives for six days in the care of Curly from City Slickers, and his scary son. We were terrified.

Meanwhile, Gene was back on his feet. Cameron threw a bucket of water from a stream on the recalcitrant mare’s head, and she revived. He loosened the rope, helped her up, and Gene mounted her again. She dejectedly hung her head, and began docilely walking up the trail. Doug finally worked up the courage to mount his horse. No problems, and we all climbed on without incident. We started up the trail with Gene ambling along in the lead, followed by the four of us, then the pack horses, all watched by the wranglers, and Cameron bringing up the rear.

The peace was short lived. The pack horses were tied to one another in a line, and the second pack horse started nipping at the butt of the first, and a wrangler gave him a bit of the lash. But he wouldn’t quit, then the third pack horse started nipping at the second horse’s butt. Gene said don’t worry, that these horses, being reserves, had never been in a pack together and that a pack horse had strong beliefs about where he rightfully belonged in the pecking order. The nipping horses resented being behind the imposters ahead of them. We took his word for it, until we were riding up a steep and narrow stretch of the trail, and the first horse finally lost his patience and spun around to bite the nose of the second horse, who promptly did the same to the third horse. In a nanosecond the whole pack train slid off the side of the trail and about thirty feet down into a ravine. The packs came apart and we could hear the sound of horses whinnying and smashing stuff. Holy s..t again!  

Gene started screaming expletives at the pack horses, which seemed futile, while the wranglers and Cameron went down to untangle the mess. Amazingly, none of the horses were hurt. Only a spare oar, a net and some other equipment of minor import was broken. It took over an hour to re-assemble the pack train. While our leaders were doing that, our group had a meeting, the gist of which was “you’re The Organizer, so how the hell did you ever find these people?”. I deflected all responsibility, pointed out that logistically and financially we had no option other than continuing on, and the others begrudgingly accepted their fates. We all pondered how we could survive six days with these Keystone Kops. To our relief the wranglers re-ordered the pack horses and, sure enough, the pack train never had another incident.

In short order we came to a spot where the trail, maybe seven feet wide, bent to the right, and followed for several hundred yards in a semi-circle next to a high wall on our left. Gene said that the wranglers and the pack horses would turn left before the wall, and take a detour on the other side of it, which was about a half mile longer. As we approached the wall, we saw why. The trail alongside it overlooked, on the right, a sheer cliff with a straight vertical drop off of perhaps 400 hundred feet. Whoa! 

Tom asked Gene, “do you really want us to go on this trail?”  

“Yup, always do. But if you’re too scared, you can go with the wranglers.” 

He was challenging our manhood, but Tom was not embarrassed, and promptly joined the wranglers. I will admit that looking over that cliff from three feet above the top of a horse gave me that unpleasant feeling deep in my bowels, or some male place in that vicinity, that I get only from peering straight down from great heights. Apparently, I wasn’t alone because Mike got off his horse and said that he’d walk with his horse behind us. Doug and I proceeded, but our horses kept leaning toward the drop off and looking directly down. That scared the bejesus out of us, and we tried to pull the horse’s heads back toward the wall, which they wanted no part of. Gene lost it. 

“What the hell are you morons doing? Don’t you know that your horse doesn’t want to go over that cliff any more than you do? If you stop him from seeing what’s there, he may accidentally go over it. Let him look and he won’t. That’s just common sense.”

My solution was for me to stop looking and stare at the wall. Soon we were at the end of the wall and the cliff, and feeling pretty good about ourselves. Foolishly, because we were just sitting on top of a horse. After the cliff incident, things became pretty normal. Mike decided that he liked walking with his horse, and never re-mounted for the entire thirty miles or so, in and out. Tom liked Mike’s idea, and walked most of the rest of the trip. Doug and I wanted to get our money’s worth, and rode all of the way. The price for me was sore thighs and walking bowlegged for a few days – well worth it.   

We came back down to the river for the first night’s camp. Our group fished while camp was being set up, and dinner prepared. It was our first River sighting up close, and it was the most beautiful that I had ever seen, and still is today. The water was crystal clear, with long riffles and deep pools, where I could clearly see stones on the bottom, 15 or 20 feet down. I was really a beginner fly fisher, having been a few times and never taken lessons. The river was perfect for my skill set, as it had wide banks and nothing to interfere with my back casts, which were lousy. In fact, when I dropped the fly in the water on my back cast, normally a bad mistake, frequently a fish would take it, and as I began making the forward cast a trout would go flying through the air. The river had a large population of scrappy Montana Cutthroat trout, and catching fish on dry flies, was simple, even for someone as inept as I was. Most of the fish were in the 10-13” range, with occasional larger ones up to about 17”. The River also had bull trout, which grow very large, but the guides didn’t mention them, and we never fished below the surface, where they hang out. 

The clarity of the water on the South Fork was extraordinary. Looking out at the current, it was easy to seriously misjudge its depth. We learned this the first morning. Tom, who was very tall, but not the steadiest wader, walked out into a current which looked to be about two feet deep, but was actually well over three feet and moving faster than it appeared. When he tried to turn around to retreat (mistakenly facing downstream), exposing the full width of his body to the current, it swept him off his feet and he took two somersaults downstream. It was a very dangerous situation, but he righted himself somehow, and was able to swim and crawl to the bank, remarkably unharmed except for a few bruises. After that, he never waded out in the current again and we were all more respectful of the River’s power. The first night at camp we had a great meal, some beer and booze (before the days that wine was de rigueur), and the four of us settled down to drink and play poker. Gene looked on, and asked if he could join us. Turned out he loved poker and beer, and from then on, the five of us played every night, and he lightened up and became a fine and engaging host. He knew The Bob as well as anyone, and on the second day’s ride we saw some extraordinary scenery, including the famed Chinese Wall – a massive escarpment about 1,000 feet high and 12 miles long – that runs along the Continental Divide. Although The Bob contains many large animals, including black and grizzly bears, we saw only tracks or scat of them, except for a few mountain goats at a natural salt lick. On the other hand, we did not see another human being in the six days.

Floating the spectacularly beautiful river was pretty mellow. There was one short rapid that the guides took by themselves. It wasn’t really dangerous, but this was an angling, not whitewater, trip. We pulled out to return to Spotted Bear just before the dangerous gorge, which is basically impassable (we saw it from about 1,000 feet up on the trail, and were told that it is so narrow, that you would have to swim through with the raft turned on its side). Missing that pullout could be a death sentence. And all day, every day, the fishing was superb. We caught as many fish as we wanted (the first day I counted 70, then ceased counting), and watching them slowly rise to the surface of a clear, azure pool from fifteen feet below to eat a large Royal Wolff or Humpy will be etched in my memory forever. One day we stopped to take a lovely hike to a small lake, catching both great scenery and, in the outlet, the largest fish of our trip.

Today, the trip into the Bob to fish the South Fork is quite popular and, in fact, there are a variety of outfitters, and several different routes in and out for guided or do-it-yourself trips. But the river is still the river, the scenery is still the scenery, there are no vehicles or bikes, the fishing is easy-peasy, and you are in one of the last true wilderness areas in the lower 48. It seems that the cutthroats are a bit larger and most anglers spend at least some time fishing deep for bull trout, that can reach ten pounds or more. It’s a great experience, whether you fish or not. And maybe you can hire Curly.

COVER STORY: DENIED | Supervisors Uphold Comprehensive Plan In Gas Station Denial

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Adapted by Piedmont Environmental Council

A proposal to build a gas station and restaurant at Boyd Tavern was dealt a major setback this month when the Board of Supervisors deadlocked on a vote for the necessary special use permit. 

The Piedmont Environmental Council played a pivotal role in helping protect the character of Black Cat Road by reminding both supervisors and the community at large that the county decided a long time that this intersection should remain rural. 

“This is an expectation neighbors and many residents in the Keswick area have expressed,” said Sean Tubbs, PEC’s field representative for Albemarle County, at the June 17 public hearing. “PEC feels you must take their expectations into consideration.”

Supervisors voted 3-3 on a motion to approve the permit,  which means the permit for the 4,000-square-foot project will not move forward at this time. However, Tiger Fuel has filed a lawsuit against Albemarle, claiming the county’s requirement for a permit process is unlawful. 

Supervisors Bea LaPisto-Kirtley (Rivanna), Ann Mallek (White Hall), and Donna Price (Scottsville) voted to deny the permit. Supervisors Ned Gallaway (Rio), Diantha McKeel (Jack Jouett), and Liz Palmer (Samuel Miller) voted for its approval. 

The site is located in the southwest quadrant of Exit 129 on Black Cat Road and is the only commercially-zoned property in the area. Keswick Hall is a mile to the north. Across the street is the Mechunk Acres neighborhood. 

While zoned for commercial use, the county’s zoning ordinance requires a special use permit for gas stations, restaurants and convenience stores. That’s because the property is not served by public water or sewer and those uses are considered to be more intense. 

The June 17 public hearing was the second held for the permit. Another public hearing was held on May 20 and also lasted several hours. Both hearings were held electronically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At least one resident of the Mechunk Acres said he was not able to access the June 17 meeting. 

County staff recommended approval of the project in part due to a series of conditions, including agreement by Tiger Fuel to turn off lights for at least part of the night. Planners also said the size of the structure would be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan because it would be the same footprint of a country store. 

However, the Comprehensive Plan also includes a policy on rural interstate interchanges that seeks them from being developed. 

“Interstate interchanges in the Rural Area should not be used as tourist destinations or tourist ‘stops’ along Interstate 64,” reads the plan. “The Black Cat interchange has narrow winding roads in one direction and a connection to Route 250 East in the other direction.” 

The Board of Supervisor’s denial came despite a public relations campaign by Tiger Fuel to convince Supervisors to vote yes. 

“I have heard from many of you that the scale of our project is a point of concern so we have worked hard to… address that topic,” said Gordon Sutton, the president of Tiger Fuel. He said the proposed structure would be smaller than a Sheetz or a WaWa. He also hinted that the site could be the new home of a Dollar General if the permit was not granted.

Sutton said he grew up across the street from the site and he did not want to change the rural character of eastern Albemarle. 

“I [am] a lifelong resident of this community and I care deeply about seeing it protected,” Sutton said. “I can think of nothing worse than seeing our beautiful county transformed into strip mall USA you might find in northern Virginia.”  

The Piedmont Environmental Council  agrees with this sentiment, but urged denial of the special use permit because approving it would have been against the Comprehensive Plan. PEC staff analysed planning and zoning issues associated with the proposed project and helped educate the community. This outreached resulted in significant public input which ultimately influenced members of the BOS.

“This will change the expected character of the area,” Tubbs said. “This county’s respect for its citizen-led Comprehensive Plan has made Albemarle such a desirable place to be.”

Supervisor Price said she received over 700 emails on the topic before the second public hearing. 

“What we have is a first-time development of this property, and it will be developed at some point in the future,” Price said. “Are we basically shoe-horning in an application that doesn’t fit within the description of a country market?” 

At the end of her initial comments, Price wanted to know what fellow supervisors thought about whether this was the right location for a gas station, given the Comprehensive Plan. 

Supervisor Palmer said she did not think a Dollar General would locate on the site, but was persuaded to approve the project in part because of the condition requiring turning off the lights at night. Supervisor McKeel also supported the project because she felt the use was appropriate.

“I do think that we need to look at the definition of a country store differently now, “ McKeel said. “We have to look at things as living documents, and maybe our country stores need to change a little bit with the times as well. This is a model of a modern day general store.” 

Supervisor Ann Mallek said the project was inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan’s rural protections. 

“The expectation for the intersection policy was revisited as part of the Crozet Master Plan in 2010, and it was strengthened [in 2015] with the Comprehensive Plan revision,” Mallek said. “It just happens to be that there is an interstate going by. Many of these residents were actually there before the interstate got there.” 

Mallek said a similar gas station outside Crozet was built against neighborhood wishes. In that case, the developer continues to return to the Board of Supervisors to ask to be let out of previously approved conditions. 

Supervisor LaPisto Kirtley said her vote came down to personal experience.

“I go through this corner several times a day,” she said. “Black Cat Road is a rural road. Where the proposed gas station is is on a blind curve. People are speeding around there. You’re now adding a business where people are going in making left turns and right turns. That’s a real problem for me.”

LaPisto Kirtley said she did not think this would be a country store and that advertising for it on interstate signs would attract more than local clientele. 

“The additional traffic from that use would be too great,” she said. “It’s not a small country store for locals, which would be more fitting in with the rural nature.” 

Supervisor Gallaway said he was not concerned about interstate traffic because Exit 129 does not have the commercial activity at Exit 136 at Zion Crossroads.

“I am somebody that commutes from Charlottesville to Richmond every day for my job, and I pass that intersection every single day,” Gallaway said. He said he prefers to use the bigger gas stations because they are easier to access. 

The 3-3 vote came at the end of a four-hour public hearing and discussion.  

The vote does not end the story. Tiger Fuel filed suit against the county last year over the need for a special-use permit, an outcome that results from an ongoing appeal against the county. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled before the Albemarle Circuit Court. 

Please write in and tell us your thoughts, questions, concerns, or comments related to this article, by email to [email protected]

KESWICKIAN: A Sweeping Jazz Age Tale

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By Keswick Life

ETIQUETTE FOR RUNAWAYS (Blackstone Publishing; August 18, 2020; hardcover/ e-book/ audiobook) by debut author Liza Nash Taylor is a sweeping Jazz Age tale of regret, ambition, and redemption inspired by true events, including the Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935 and Josephine Baker’s 1925 Paris debut in Le Revue Nègre.

1924. May Marshall is determined to spend the dog days of summer in self-imposed exile at her father’s farm in Keswick, Virginia. Following a naive dalliance that led to heartbreak and her expulsion from Mary Baldwin College, May returns home with a shameful secret only to find her father’s orchard is now the site of a lucrative moonshining enterprise. Despite warnings from the one man she trusts—her childhood friend Byrd—she joins her father’s illegal business. When authorities close in and her father, Henry, is arrested, May goes on the run.

May arrives in New York City, determined to reinvent herself as May Valentine and succeed on her own terms, following her mother’s footsteps as a costume designer. The Jazz Age city glitters with both opportunity and the darker temptations of cocaine and nightlife. From a start mending sheets at the famed Biltmore Hotel, May falls into a position designing costumes for a newly formed troupe of African American entertainers bound for Paris. Reveling in her good fortune, May will do anything for the chance to go abroad, and the lines between right and wrong begin to blur. When Byrd shows up in New York, intent upon taking May back home, she pushes him, and her past, away.

In Paris, May’s run of luck comes to a screeching halt, spiraling her into darkness as she unravels a painful secret about her past. May must make a choice: surrender to failure and addiction or face the truth and make amends to those she has wronged. But first, she must find self-forgiveness before she can try to reclaim what her heart craves most.

LIZA NASH TAYLOR was a 2018 Hawthornden International Fellow and received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. The 2016 winner of the San Miguel Writer’s Conference Fiction Prize, her work has appeared in Microchondria II, Gargoyle Magazine, and Deep South, amongst others. A native Virginian, she lives in Keswick with her husband and dogs.

More on the Author: The farmhouse where Liza Nash Taylor lives in Keswick, Virginia, with her family and dogs was built in 1825, and it is the opening setting of ETIQUETTE FOR RUNAWAYS. She writes in the old bunkhouse, with the occasional black snake and a view of the Southwest Mountains. In 2018, Liza completed the MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Art and was named a Hawthornden International Fellow. She was the 2016 winner of the San Miguel Writer’s Conference Fiction Prize. Her short stories have appeared in Microchondria II, (an anthology by the Harvard Bookstore), Gargoyle Magazine, and others. ETIQUETTE FOR RUNAWAYS is her first novel. Look for her second, a stand-alone sequel, in 2021, also from Blackstone Publishing. For more visit, lizanashtaylor.com.

Early Praise for ETIQUETTE FOR RUNAWAYS

 “Assured, exotic, heart wrenching, Liza Nash Taylor’s Etiquette for Runaways is that rare debut novel that combines a story that sweeps from continent to continent and age to age without sacrificing the deeply personal story of one tormented woman. Taylor’s May Marshall is the new woman of a previous century, a jazz dolly with a scarred past and a hungry heart who wants forgiveness from the only one who cannot give it–herself.” — Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean

“An utterly absorbing tale of the trials of being a young woman of independent spirit during the glamorous but harsh years of post-WWI America, when the yearning for personal freedoms clashed with the heavy hand of prohibition, politics, and social mores. I could almost taste the smoky, moonshine-laced air of the speakeasies, and feel flashes of fringed tassels on my skin as I read. Beautiful and immersive writing!”— Natasha Boyd, USA Today bestselling author of The Indigo Girl

ONLY IN KESWICK: Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

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By Tony Vanderwarker

Okay, remember back in early March when everything was still normal? That was a short three and half months ago. We were looking forward to spring, the stock market was making history, Virginia basketball had a shot at pulling down its second national championship and the lacrosse team was on its way to another great season. People went to movies, ate at restaurants, went to church and hung out in bars. 

Then a microbe snuck up on us and changed everything. We went from not even thinking about going out to cowering in our houses, scared to death about getting exposed to the virus. If you went out and happened to run into droplets, you could be looking at being put in a coma and having a tube shoved down your throat. Going on a ventilator for three weeks is not what you call a party. 

So for the longest time we stayed home, only venturing out a couple times to get groceries or go to Lowe’s, always wearing our masks and carefully dodging around fellow shoppers to maintain distance, always dreading that someone would cough up a cloud of droplets that would put us in the ICU. Strange phrases like “social distancing” and “sheltering at home” cropped up in our conversation and grocery stores put circles and marks on their floors to remind you to stay six feet apart.

We’d been to Lowe’s a couple times as well as the Giant and Wegman’s, wearing our masks and dodging around fellow shoppers to maintain distance, but always fearing some shopper would cough up the haze of droplets that would give us the dread disease.

We hadn’t considered going to a restaurant since that could be like putting your life on the line. Only picking up lunch at Bodo’s or dinner at Orzo or Public through the car window. 

But after two months, sick of being cooped up like caged animals, we decided to take a walk on the Downtown Mall and see if we could find a restaurant that would seat us outside. 

No such luck, it was Father’s Day and the best we could do was a table inside at Hamilton’s.  “We’ll take it,” I said, knowing that we could be signing our death warrants. 

“I’m not sure we should be eating inside,” my wife said.

“C’mon,” I joked, “this is a restaurant, not a gas chamber,” trying to make light of the situation. 

Taking off our masks, we sat down at the table with a bit of trepidation—in the back of our minds was the question: would we recall this experience as the one that finally deported us to the ICU?

Fortunately, our table was isolated from the others and the other diners in the restaurant were all wearing masks. But we kept our eyes peeled for clouds of droplets. If someone had sneezed, it would have sent us diving under the table. 

Now these thoughts and feelings don’t make for a pleasant lunch so we struggled to pretend everything was hunky-dory. 

“The menu looks good,” I said, “what are you thinking of getting?”

Just then, the waitress approached, pulling up six feet away from us, “Good afternoon,” she mumbled through her mask, “how are you folks?”

“I was tempted to say, “Scared s**tless,” but I bit my tongue.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

I ordered a rum cocktail, the wife a Prosecco. 

“So what do you think?” I asked her.

“About what?”

“About being here.” 

“It’s a little uncomfortable, I must admit.”

“C’mon, it feels like being in London during the Blitz, you never knew when you were going to get blown to bits.”

“It does feel risky.”

“Imagine that–here we are sitting in a nice restaurant about to get our drinks and we’re talking about feeling like we’re living in a horror movie, never knowing when a zombie is going to jump out of a wall and start eating your face.”

“That’s what this damn disease has done, taken normal everyday actions like touching your face, shaking hands, air kissing and going to restaurants and turned them into taboos. It’s made us into a bunch of scaredy cats.

The waitress was hovering a social distance away, her pad at the ready. It was time to order.

“I’d like shrimp and grits and my wife will have the beet salad.”

“Thanks, I’ll be right back.”

She was and the food, as always, was good. A second round of drinks made us almost feel normal, like there was nothing wrong with eating in a restaurant. 

But after we finished and took care of the check, as we walked out the door I felt a sense of relief. Like we’d escaped from a threatening situation and lived to tell about it. We hadn’t parachuted out of a plane or faced off against a hissing rattler, all we’d done was have lunch in a restaurant. 

As we walked down the Mall snapping our masks behind our ears, I reflected on how otherworldly the experience had been, how a mundane and routine event like eating out had been transformed into something disquieting and foreboding. My wife summed up the situation perfectly, saying, “Maybe we won’t do this again for a while.”

And I couldn’t help but recall Dorothy’s statement to her dog, “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”