Keswick Life

Lifestyles in Keswick and its environs

Keswick Life

WHAT’S COOKING: Poke Style Tuna Salad

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By Sam Johnson, Deputy Director of Cullinary | 1776

These hot summer afternoons and evenings. Call for a great recipe and super easy. It’s a fun take on Poke sure to please the taste buds and hungry dinner guests. I love serving it with a  great toasted baguette and a glass of rosé.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cans solid white tuna
  • 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 C soy sauce
  • 2 T sesame oil
  • 1 T honey
  • 1 T rice wine vinegar
  • 1 T furikake rice seasoning
  • 1 C cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 english cucumber, halved and    thinly sliced
  • 4 C mixed greens
  • 1 C fresh herbs (mint, basil, Thai basil, cilantro)

Ginger-Miso Dressing

  • 2 T miso paste
  • 2 T ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove
  • T rice wine vinegar
  • T water
  • T sugar
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 T vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

  1. Drain tuna and flake into bowl, add scallions.
  2. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, vinegar & rice seasoning to blender, blend until combined and pour over tuna. Mix tuna, scallions & soy dressing until well combined. 
  3. Set aside or chill until ready to serve.
  4. For ginger dressing; combine all ingredients in blender, puree until smooth.
  5. To serve, mix greens, herbs, tomato and cucumber.
  6. Top with reserved marinated tuna and Ginger-Miso dressing.

BOOKWORM REVIEWS: Social Distance, Masked Up – Reads

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By Suzanne Nash

While we are stuck social distancing and masking up every time we go out in public, one of the benefits of CoVid is that we have more time to be creative and work on our pile of books that have built up by our bed. Reading doesn’t require being near anyone and you can enjoy it without a mask!  Here are a few more good choices to enjoy during these long summer days.

Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank is a great summer read that takes place in the North Carolina low country in a place called Sullivan’s Island. Librarian, Holly McNee Jensen, lives on the island, quietly keeping her bees and looking after her mother who rules the roost.   She is finding herself drawn to her widowed neighbor, Archie and his two boys.  Suddenly the peace comes crashing down when her sister moves back to town after her husband reveals his dream to be a female impersonator. Funny and sure to entertain, it’s a wonderful pool side escape.

I loved Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert when it was first published, so I just had to read Gilbert’s latest book… City of Girls.  In it, a young girl named Vivian enters the bright world of New York City’s Theatre in 1940s. Kicked out of Vassar, she is looking for meaning and fun at the Lily Playhouse.  It is a coming of age novel that has loads of sex and a bit of intrigue.

In a completely different vein, Catherine House by Elizabeth Thomas, is a spooky tale of an unusual private university, where you spend three years with absolutely no contact with the outside world. Young Ines doesn’t have a problem with being sequestered away when she is issued an invitation for entrance to this exclusive learning establishment.   Ines is on the run from something or someone and as she settles in and finds a few friends, she starts to wonder if maybe coming to Catherine House might prove to be a lot more dangerous than her former troubles.

All Happy Families is a wonderful and revealing memoir by debut author, Jeanne McCulloch.  In 1983, in the East Hamptons, a wedding is being planned and all of the guests are arriving…but there is a problem…the bride’s father is dying. Instead of cancelling the wedding Jeanne’s mother pushes everyone forwards, and so begins the story of how Jeanne went through with her wedding in the midst of grieving for her father.  The family dynamics play out with the beautiful backdrop of the Hamptons’ shoreline and their family home.  The differences in backgrounds between Jeanne and her husband are explored and her longing for a more wholesome and homey family life explains how she is drawn to her in laws, even though she doesn’t always understand them.  It is a very poignant look at how the desire to keep up appearances can cause lasting effects that take a lifetime to deal with.

So stay safe and healthy and keep your mind active and alert this summer by reading loads of interesting books!

KESWICK SCENE: New Life Rising Up

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Keswick Hall Construction Update: Never Once Waivering in the Face of the Challenges, Owners are Committed to Excellence on the Renovations, Legacy Project Built to Stand in the Community for a Lifetime

By Colin J. Dougherty

The new Jean-Georges restaurant construction, alongside the existing Keswick Hall member’s clubhouse.

Recently whenever I drive through the gates, I couldn’t help but notice the significant progress made on the renovations at Keswick Hall – our beloved community touchstone. A message sent recently to the public simply said, “With Spring upon us, the Hall renovation and expansions are well underway. In the coming months, we look forward to the completion of the Hall, Horizon Pool, and Jean-Georges at Keswick Hall.” Brief and to the point, it continues to thank the community for the patience throughout the project and expresses, “looking forward to welcoming you to the new Keswick Hall.” 

I couldn’t wait to know when, so I picked up the phone and called John Trevenen, Managing Director of Keswick Hall. For starters, they answer the phone a bit differently with a shortened name, simply ‘Keswick Hall’, no more ‘and golf club’ or resort, etc., just plain and simple. John explained the return to this tried and true designation was just the tip of the iceberg for the owner’s unwavering commitment to getting the transformative job done right and to perfection. The name encompasses the entire experience, the hotel, the club, the spa, golf, tennis, and the great new dining experiences coming to the property, a staple in the Keswick environs. 


The club’s existing patio renovations underway with new construction of the member’s patio adjoining the new restaurant, Jean-Georges at Keswick Hall to the club.

The owners, Molly and Robert Hardie, and their experienced team lead by Trevenen, are no strangers to the highs and lows of real estate rehab and construction. Still, time and energy up on the hill, first built upon in 1912, sometimes takes a particular set of skills, patience, and late afternoon walks in the Estate to decompress and avoid exhaustion while dealing with all the surprises that continued to creep into the project.  Keswick Hall has certainly tested their endurance, but Trevenen reports that there is nearly no stone left unturned at this point of the project, the hurtles of approvals are behind them, and there is now a clear path to completion.

“Molly and Robert have had a consistent voice at every turn,” Trevenen says; they made their desires very clear.  He added, “never once did they waver in the face of the challenges, and did not step back from the responsibility” they embarked upon when closing the doors on the infrastructure problems of past on New Year’s Day 2018. Getting it right above all has caused time delays and questions on when will it all be finished. These comments don’t worry the team, they are building at a very high standard of excellence and creating a Hardie family legacy to last a lifetime – a gift of significant improvement for all, especially for the Keswickian community. 

The 1912 historic ‘house’ side of the hotel structure was wrought with decades of patched up repairs that were never meant to stand the test of time, especially Albemarle County’s summertime humidity, deluges of rain, and icy winters. The right steps have been taken to ensure the best outcome when it would have been much more manageable to tear down large portions of the hotel. The more expensive and time-consuming choice was made to restore it to the original masonry substructure and rebuild to preserve the historical features that would have otherwise been lost. 

The Palmer Room, at the member’s clubhouse, dining space, an experience adored by generations of club members, will remain a special part of Keswick Hall. The members have expressed they like this space generally the way it is, as many have their favorite corner to meet with friends or grab a quick meal. To tie in the existing club spaces with the new Jean-Georges restaurant just above, there is a new transitional hard space area adorn with new patios, fresh rehab of the existing porches, along with a new fire pit with outdoor fixtures and furniture.  With all the changes coming to the clubhouse, one thing stays the same, the membership at Keswick Hall is a cherished and vital part of the business model going forward for the Hardies. 

The tennis courts have had significant investments made for improvement over the past months. Leading the way, stewards Tristan and Gabriella, bring us into a new era of local tennis club play with brand new Cremonini red clay from Italy covering the courts. The lighting system is engineered and executed in the same type used for the US Open Tennis tournaments. The courts are open for bookings, lessons, and the pro-shop is ready for equipment consultations and repairs. 

The Jean-George restaurant is an excellent advantage for the Keswick community, hotel guests, and puts the Keswick environs amongst an exclusive list of destination dining places. The new design is elegant, with a focus on easy, casual, and relaxed dining. The days of complicated menus and over-attending staff at Fossets are now gone! We will soon be welcomed to an enjoyable new dining experience of modern cuisine with a perfectly framed view in the main seating area, or perhaps an outdoor table in the courtyard with a freshly made pizza of the day. The courtyard at Jean-George features a Petanque court, French-style Bocci Ball, where a pre-dinner game can be enjoyed with a cocktail in-hand. Petanque, the ball game that is played on a flat court surface about 12 x 3 meters, has just a few simple to follow rules and is enjoyed between two players or teams.

When you sit back and take in what is happening at Keswick Hall, all at one time, you quickly realize how it will all be so great. John Trevenen, and the Hardies, are personally and deeply involved in the project, fostering this creation of ‘our house’, more of a palace – a place for gathering, great food, drinks with friends and leisure activities. It is the local spot to rest your head, regroup and enjoy a spa treatment, hit some balls, or relax by the pool. Stay tuned, for great things are coming soon! 

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

TRAVEL: Lockdown Reminiscences

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By Charles Thacher

The Coronavirus lockdown is in its eleventh week. Recently I read an opinion piece asserting that we should charge reparations to China for creating the virus and exporting it to our shores. It made me wonder if Spain paid reparations for creating the worst pandemic of modern times – the Spanish Flu of 1918, which killed between 20 million and 50 million people worldwide, depending on whose statistics you believe. So, being flush with time, I decided to do a little research. 

The first entry on Google was from the History Channel, a seemingly dependable source. This is the story: 

The most likely origin of the 1918 flu pandemic was a bird or farm animal in the American Midwest. The virus may have traveled among other animals, then mutated into a version that took hold in the human population. The best evidence suggests that the flu spread slowly through the U.S. in the first half of the year (the first known case was reported in early March at a military base in Kansas), then spread to Europe via some of the 200,000 American troops who traveled there (in March and April, 1918) to fight in World War I. By June, the flu had mostly disappeared from North America, after taking a considerable toll. One of its first stops abroad was in Spain, where it killed so many people that it became known the world over as the Spanish Flu, although the Spanish believed the virus had come from France, so they called it the “French Flu.”.

Based on this account, not only did the 1918 Flu start in the U.S., but we let Spain, a major victim, take the blame for it. COVID-19 has a similar history –starting in China, but with the U.S., thus far, suffering the greatest damage. Under the standards of 1918, it would be called the “American Virus”. But, the rest of the 1918 story is even worse. After virtually disappearing, the Flu came back with a vengeance in September (the “second wave”), and between then and the end of the year over 600,000 people died from it in the U.S. (when our population was 30% of today’s), and tens of millions worldwide. By early 1919, without a vaccine, the Flu had again virtually disappeared. I know that COVID-19 is not a flu, but given the history of 1918, I sure hope that it knows it.

Historians and journalists love to draw insights from historical comparisons, and many have written that the American public’s behavior in the aftermath of COVD-19 may mirror it following the 9-11 attacks. That makes no sense to me, as one is a discrete incident, fortunately not followed by subsequent incidents, and the other is a continuing pandemic. But reading the analogies got me thinking about the 9-11 attacks, and how I remember them. For us older folks, the attacks are notable, perhaps along with President Kennedy’s assassination, in that most of us can remember precisely where we were and what we were doing when the horrific events took place. For 9-11, I was in Mongolia.

Mongolia, a country about the size of Alaska, with only 3 million people, is on the bucket list of many fly fisherman who enjoy traveling to exotic destinations. Getting there is a haul. On September 9, 2001, I flew from New York to Chicago, over the North Pole to Beijing, then on to Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbataar, I planned three nights there – to look around – before a 4-hour helicopter ride to the fishing camp in the north, close to the Russian border. An odd thing happened when I was passing through security for my flight from Beijing. A Chinese security guard pulled me aside, asked me to follow him into a private room, then confronted me with a serious folding knife that he had removed from my backpack. I remembered that, as I was leaving my home, I saw the knife and cavalierly threw it in my backpack, thinking that I might need it to ward off a wild animal or an attacking fish. When I passed through security in Chicago, no one had noticed it. But, in Beijing, it was a big deal. I finally convinced the security guard that I was not a threat, and he confiscated the knife, telling me that I could retrieve it when I passed through the airport again on my way home. Yeah, fat chance! But the incident may have been a harbinger – though I didn’t consider it then.

I arrived in Ulaanbataar and checked into my hotel, one of a few modern ones in the City. The next day I spent walking around the City, visiting a museum and prominent Buddhist sites. Most Mongolians are Buddhists or non-religious (a vestige of the Communist days). That night I met two other American anglers – a father and son – who would be joining me at the fishing camp. They had been visiting a tourist camp in the Gobi Desert for five days and had a fascinating story. On their second day, former President Jimmy Carter arrived at the camp. It was his first trip to Mongolia, and there would be many others, as he became a fan and leading advocate for the Country. On the third day, billionaire George Soros arrived. They said that he had never met Carter, but the two immediately became fast friends. Of course, Soros subsequently became a major supporter of the Democratic Party and its policies, and the favorite piñata of the American Right. Who knew that it all started in the remote Mongolian desert?

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant, then moved to the bar to shoot some pool. There was a television in the corner tuned to CNN. A bit before 9PM (Mongolia is 12 hours ahead of New York), a flash news announcement said that what was believed to be a small private plane had accidently flown in to the North Tower of the World Trade Center. About twenty minutes later, the second plane hit the South Tower, and it became clear that these were no small planes or accidents, and all hell broke loose. Needless to say, we were glued to the TV until late that night and throughout the entire next day, skipping our planned tourist activities. When I heard that the hijackers had used box cutters as weapons, I thought how ironic it was that the security agents in Chicago had overlooked my knife, which was a much more dangerous weapon than a boxcutter, but the agents in Beijing had considered it a serious security threat. Was that a one-off, or was it a sign that we were courting disaster? Surprisingly, the Hotel had internet service (remember, this was 2001 in one of the world’s most remote countries), and I was able to contact my wife, Ann. She was supposed to fly to Beijing to meet me after I returned there from fishing, for an extensive tour of China, but all flights were shut down indefinitely, and also she was in no mood to leave the carnage and despair in New York City, so our Chinese trip plans were kaput. I would return home as soon as I could.

The second day after the attack, we were scheduled to take our long helicopter flight to the fishing camp. We learned that we could not fly home for at least a week and probably longer, and decided that we might as well go fishing. Looking back, since I was so far from New York, in such a completely different environment, it’s clear that the emotional impact of the event was less than it would have been had I experienced it at home. That realization hit me, when I eventually returned, and I saw how melancholy, yet resilient, Ann and our many New York friends were regarding the tragedy and its aftermath.

The camp was in a beautiful narrow river valley lined with forests of pines and hardwoods, but away from the valley, nearly treeless steppes extended for hundreds of miles. There were four of us staying there, plus two American guides and a small staff. It was built and operated by a company owned by the three Vermillion brothers from Montana, who had come to Mongolia about a decade previously to check out the fishing. They obviously liked it. The camp was adjacent to a small settlement of nomads (most Mongolians outside of the capital city are nomads), who were at their summer quarters with many sheep, goats and horses. We stayed in two spacious and comfortable gers – hide-covered movable dwellings prevalent throughout rural Mongolia, often called “yurts” elsewhere. A large elevated barrel of water was heated by a fire each afternoon, to provide showers. There was a cabin where we ate our meals and could sit around to have drinks and socialize. Meat, typically mutton or goat, was served every night, usually with vegetables and fried dumplings or noodles. The beer was Mongolian, the wines were Australian, and Mongolian vodka was always available. The nomadic peoples also drink prodigious quantities of a homemade alcoholic drink called airag, made from fermented mare’s or donkey’s milk, which we sampled but never fully adopted. Mongolia is one of the coldest countries on earth, and the mid-September daytime high temperatures were 55-60 degrees (always sunny) and the nighttime lows 25-30 degrees. There was a wood stove in the center of the ger, and an attendant came by just before dawn to start a fire so we could wake to a warm ger. The air in Mongolia is pristine, and never have I seen stars as clearly as those that appeared in the night sky, compensating me for the need to step outside to relieve myself in the sub-freezing temperatures. 

The river that the camp overlooks is large, 40-50 yards across. The fish we were after is called a taimen. It lives in the rivers and lakes of Mongolia and Eastern Russia, particularly in the rivers that flow into Lake Baikal in Russia, which is, if measured by volume, by far the largest fresh water lake in the world – a mile deep in places and estimated to hold 20% of the world’s fresh water. Most of the Russian rivers flowing into the lake have been cleaned out of taimen, but the fact that most Mongolians have no interest in eating them has saved their fish. Oddly, the only other place that taimen exist is in Europe, primarily in the Danube River drainage system, where they are called huchen. A taimen looks like a brown trout, and is genetically similar, but grows much larger. A typical example is 10-20 pounds, fish of twice that size are not rare, and examples of well over 50 pounds have been caught. Even in a big river, fish that large need a lot of territory to hunt, and are very spread out. So, the camp used jet boats that could cover many miles of river in a day. It’s impressive that such expensive boats and engines (including several extras for emergencies) had been transported from the U.S. to such a remote location. Another fish that was available in the rivers was the lenok, which looked and behaved much like a rainbow trout, and could weigh up to five pounds. But, like all anglers traveling to Mongolia, we sought the fish that eats the lenok. 

Taimen, like trout, will feed on small fish and other creatures that live on the river bottom, but also will come to the surface to eat almost anything that might be swimming there, such as a mouse, lemming or duckling. Anglers can fish deep for them with streamers, or on the surface with big hairy floating flies. I chose floaters –lemming patterns about five inches long – because a taimen attacks the fly ferociously, creating great excitement. They are the absolute rulers of their domains, and if they miss a fly, they will continue to attack it all the way to the boat. There were days that I had as many as eight strikes, and one day had none. But the constant anticipation that, at any moment, a huge fish might attack my fly, was exhilarating. We fished with heavy salt-water weight rods, and casting a large bulky fly all day, with a lot of wind resistance, was tiring. At the end of the week, two of us who had fished exclusively with dry flies, had casting hands that were very crimped from holding the rod so tight in order to push it through the wind. The largest taimen that I landed was about 25 pounds, and the largest in the camp that week was about 40 pounds.

Each day on the river we would occasionally see men hanging out along the bank. The Mongolians are great horsemen, and will ride across deep rivers, but our river was too deep, even for them. Sometimes they would wave to us to take them across, and invariably our guide would accommodate them. Since we had the only two boats on about 60 miles of the river, and there were no bridges, we wondered how they ever got back. Apparently, they didn’t share our concerns. One morning, a few days after the 9-11 attacks, we saw three men listening to a short-wave radio. They motioned to us, and we pulled up to take them across. They were very drunk. Of course, we couldn’t speak to them, or they to us. About midway across, one of them grinned at us and blurted out “Osama bin Laden, Osama bid Laden”, then laughed convulsively. We were taken aback, thinking that perhaps he was an adherent, or taunting us, but then we realized that he probably felt anxious to say something that he thought we could understand, and all he could think of was the name of the terrorist that he kept hearing about on his radio. It was likely an innocent expression, but we didn’t laugh with him.

After dinner on our last night, the camp manager, a charming and capable young Mongolian lady, brought her mother, who lived in the nearby nomadic community, to describe a woman’s life in Mongolia. Her mother, who was only in her mid-fifties but to me looked older, spoke no English, so her daughter translated her comments. She painted the following picture:

The four of us looked at one another in wonderment. How difficult it must be to lead such a dull and arduous life, without choices, and to candidly describe it to foreigners who have so much, which they take for granted. I hope that over the nearly two decades since my trip, life has improved for these Mongolian women.

The next morning, we took the helicopter back to Ulaanbataar, then flew on to Beijing. I was pleasantly surprised when I got to customs and a security guard took me to a storage room and returned my knife. I spent four interesting days touring the City, and visiting the Great Wall, before I was able to fly on to New York, where nothing had returned to normal.

WHAT’S COOKING: Peppered Filet Mignon + Crab Oscar

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By Sam Johnson, Deputy Director of Cullinary | 1776

I recently had the pleasure to create this meal for great friends of mine. They were celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary. Well, COVID-19 cannot stop a great meal. I was able to package it and drop it off for them. Be sure to remember friends and family during these challenging times. We all have favorite things fi you know your friends or family thing it can be packed up in cute bags, and be dropped off on the porch. Just little things to let them know you care, and fun little surprises.

Ingredients

Peppered Filet Mignon

  • 2 filet mignons
  • Coarse salt
  • Very coarsely ground pepper
  • 2 tsp. olive oil

Crab Oscar

  • Tablespoons butter
  • 1 small onion (chopped)
  • 1/4 cup celery (finely chopped)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 pound crab meat
  • 1 large lemon (juiced)
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons Duke’s Mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions

Beef: Season filets very generously on both sides with salt and pepper (especially pepper), patting in firmly. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high. Cook filets until desired doneness, 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove strings from filets, and top filets with Crab Oscar. Put under broiler until Crab Oscar melts over filets.

Crab: Mix all ingredients in a bowl and mix then, top the steak. Place the steak under a broiler until Crab Oscar is golden brown.

BOOKWORM REVIEWS: Bookworm Reviews for April 2020

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By Suzanne Nash

Sometimes when you read as much as I do, you forget which books you have written reviews for. You stumble into some really amazing books and can’t wait to write about them and then you put them aside for something new. I actually had to go back and check to make sure I hadn’t already written about this month’s offerings because I read them in December and loved them and thought that I had certainly already shared them with you… but I hadn’t… so you are in for a treat!

I loved, loved, loved The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and have been meaning to tell you about this wonderful historical fiction by Kim Michele Richardson. In the 1930’s President Roosevelt created a Pack Horse Library Project to serve those people living in the Appalachia area who wouldn’t normally have access to libraries. This novel follows the story of Cussy Mary Carter who was one of the lady librarians working on the Pack Horse Project. The fact that she was a woman who was holding down a job back then was amazing enough but to add to that she was “colored”… but not in the way you might expect. She was a blue Kentuckian… which I thought was just something made up by the author, but in fact there were a group of people living in Kentucky who were actually blue and shunned because of their unusual hue. The 1930’s in Kentucky, things were hard. People struggled to put food on the table and reading was considered a luxury that few could afford. Many in the town did not like the idea of the Pack Horse Project and went out of their way to make things difficult for the librarieans. If you were a young woman you were expected to get married just as soon as you could and Cussy’s father was no different to most of the men in that town. He expected his daughter to entertain suitors by the light of the courting candle. Cussy, however, wasn’t interested in getting married again after her first husband abused her. She loved the freedom and challenges of taking her books through the mountains to those people who lived far beyond the road system. While she was frustrated by the color of her skin and how that impacted her life, she didn’t see any way to move past it. Fighting against all of the prejudice, Cussy shows how books have the power to transport and transform you. This book will do just that. I highly recommend it!

The Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute is a classic written in the 1950s and you may be familiar with the author from his more well-known book, A Town Like Alice, or even The Far Country. It was published after Shute’s death in 1960 and if you are someone with an engineering mindset, then this is the book for you. Keith Stewart is a very sweet humble technical journalist who lives with his wife in England and he is pretty happy with his quiet life and spends most of his time focused on small scale precision machines. When his flamboyant sister and her husband die in a shipwreck off the coast of Polynesia and leave their 10 year old in the care of Keith and his wife, Keith must make a decision what will pull him out of his comfort zone. He knows the secret hidden in his brother-in-law’s boat and he must somehow get to it before it is lost forever. It is serious when it comes to the engines and parts it talks about, but it is also poignant and lovable, and I didn’t find the engineering talk off putting in the least, but actually endearing because of the joyful glee of the people discussing them. This is the story of a modest man who is amazed by the esteem others hold him in and it is just wonderful as the story unfolds. It also really puts into perspective the idea that simple joys are sometimes the best joys.

So, if you are looking for a book that addresses some of the pitfalls of our time, Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress by Christopher Ryan may be just the book you are looking for. I read this in January before really facing the crisis we are currently in. I may just reread it with a different mindset. Ryan asks the question, “How do myths and lies become the truth?” We believe that civilization is humankind’s greatest accomplishment, but is it? Perhaps progress isn’t inherently good. He asks, “Were pre-civilized dangers more dangerous than what we face today?” …Wow, that is certainly a loaded question right now! He writes that maybe we should move backwards to create a better tomorrow and argues that “progress” is a lot like an advancing disease. His arguments are fascinating, and he makes some very interesting points that are worth exploring. I found myself being swayed by many of his premises and also ended up looking some of the anthropological data he quotes because it was compelling. If you like debating and playing devil’s advocate with your friends, and I do, this this will give you a lot to talk about at the next Zoom gathering!

Lanny by Max Porter is a fantasy read mixed with the environment of an English village. For me, when I am looking for escapism, there is nothing better! This is a powerful story of the land and nature and the forces that hide within it. The author can write you into a child’s head in a truly magical way and Lanny is a child like no other. He is unusual and connected to the land around him and he spins his path around the village. His parents struggle to keep track of him as he wanders the village and wild spaces and he puzzles the adults and children alike with his strange questions and thoughts. When Lanny goes missing the world turns upside down for his parents and the village gossip becomes bitter and vile. This is not a sweet little English book that spins a dreamy version of the village life. No, it grasps and tugs out the words and thoughts of the neighbors, who spy and connive and lie, always judging and comparing. I think the language in this book is spectacular, especially the whispering of the green pagan spirit who shape shifts and go as by the name Dead Papa Toothwort. He seems to suck in the murmurings of the different conversations occurring in the village around him and the dialect and dialogue are delicious in every way. I think spring is the perfect time to read this novel because it is green and growing and you can feel vines curling around your fingers as you read. Just don’t let them choke you before you finish the book!

COVER STORY: Who’d a Thunk?

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Thoughts by Tony Vanderwarker

If you’re old enough to remember the Cold War days, you probably recall air raid drills. A siren would go off and school kids would have to scramble under their desk and hide until the siren stopped. The thought of multiple ICBMs with nuclear warheads obliterating American cities was too much to bear. They horrifying scenes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, great cities flattened by the awesome power of a mushroom cloud were chilling. They were brought home to me when a group of hideously maimed and burned Japanese kids visited my junior high school. They were our ages but the difference between my classmates and the Hiroshima kids were stark. We were fine because our nation had dropped the bomb. They weren’t because the Japanese were the ones it had fallen on.

Nuclear war was too gruesome and frightening to even begin to comprehend and fortunately, it did not happen. We did not blow each other off the face of the earth, people filled with their air raid shelters and we put the Cold War behind us. But a new and even more frightening enemy is upon us. This time there’s no mushroom cloud, no disabling radiation, instead the enemy is a bit of protein smaller than 1/1000 of a human hair. It’s not even alive, it’s just organic matter but it has the power not only to kill millions but to cripple economies and even unseat a president.

We have seen in the past three weeks the strongest economy in our history shrunk to a Depression-era level, unemployment soar to an unheard of height, our healthcare system overburdened to the point that dying patients are being refused treatment. This is not one hydrogen bomb but an insidious, unseen force that attacks us not because we are its enemy but because we are human.

Being human we like to get together, laugh, joke, pay each other on the back and tell stories. We like to go out to dinner, go to parties, baseball games, movies, hang out in bars, we’re social animals and that’s what the enemy attacks. If we don’t want to catch the nasty virus, we have to practice what’s euphemistically called social distancing, we are forced to stay apart. Instead of shaking hands, we’re now supposed to do an elbow bump. If we don’t, we risk being strapped to a gurney in an emergency room waiting for hours to be treated. Or if we’re too old, left to die—alone—because the risk of infecting family is too great.

So we have to abandon our habit of getting together, of going to church, of watching the lacrosse team bring home another national championship and the basketball team defend their title. Wimbledon has been cancelled, opening day of baseball has been delayed, the Olympics put off, the political conventions pushed back. Instead of the Country Music Awards being staged on a showy set, performers will play and sing from their rec rooms. All the events that make up our lives are no longer there and are left alone in our homes staring at our TV screens.

Annie and I went shopping at Wegman’s today. We wore masks she’d sewn out of dishrags. I felt alternatively like I was a bank robber or Hopalong Cassidy but I’m sure my fellow shoppers just thought the guy with an orange dishtowel over his face was just an odd duck. The checkout lady told us to stand behind the line, “Please stand behind the line while I ring up your items.” I have always stood exactly where I wanted to at checkout but no more. Now I have to stand behind the line.

So I ask myself, will life ever go back to normal? Will we return to shaking hands, crowding into a lively bar, sitting packed in the stands at a football game? Or are we in a new reality, has the little bit of protein reduced us to loners, people who are so fearful of ending up in the ICU that we won’t behave like people any more. When someone used to sneeze we used to say, “Gesunheit.” Now are we going to snarl, “Jesus Christ, are you trying to kill me?”

Can you imaging keeping social distance at Thanksgiving? Are we no longer going to have a couple drinks and go out on the crowded dance floor and make idiots of ourselves? What are we going to do on Easter, sing hymns to each other across the dinner table? Are we going to wear latex gloves to break apart and share the matzoh on Passover? How can we line dance with our friends when we have to stay six feet apart? Are we going to have to give up everything that makes life worth living to avoid dying? That’s the question, and right now I’m not sure we have the answer.

WHAT’S COOKING: Salmon & Kale Salad

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Salmon

I love this recipe it’s so fresh and inviting all your guests will love this dish. I have enjoyed making this over the years. Always a crowd pleaser and super easy. Keswick put this on your next dinner menu. Cozy up with a nice glass of wine and this dish.

  • 4 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups of white wine

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place salmon in a greased 15x10x1-in baking pan, skin side down. Combine remaining ingredients, spread over fillets. Pour white wine around the salmon. Roast to desired doneness, 15-18 minutes.

Kale Salad

  • 1 bunch of kale, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups of sundried tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 cups black olives
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

Combine oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Whisk together. Pour over remaining ingredients. Toss together. Serve over salmon. Fun tip: add a little crumble of feta on top!

BOOK WORM: March 2020 Reviews

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By Suzanne Nash

Greetings from London! When I left Keswick in early March, I expected to be home by now, but COVID-19 caused some unexpected changes and as I write this, I am sitting in a flat in Westminster on lockdown. What’s the best thing about lockdown?? Why reading, of course! For someone like me, telling me I have to stay in and not go out… it isn’t really a hardship… I just look on my kindle, my iPod and my bookshelves and start reading or listening to a book on tape. Use this opportunity to catch up on all those lovely books that you have been wanting to read! The first thing I do when I come to London is to head to my local bookstore. This time was no different and luckily, I managed to get in before all the stores were ordered to close.

I always choose books that will enrich my time here and so I wanted to share my choices with you…

84 Charring Cross Road and The Duchess of Bloomsbury are two offerings in one lovely book written by Helene Hanff, and the first selection is a classic, written years ago. If you have never read 84 Charring Cross, it is really a series of letters that were mailed from the author, Helene, to a small bookshop called Marks and Company in London beginning in 1949. Her correspondence with Frank Doel is just wonderful. Over the years you see their relationship grow and warm as they discuss books and Helene’s generosity extends to mailing packages to all of the staff of the bookstore to ease the strain of rationing in London at the time. It is such a beautiful example of how the love of books can bring people together and create unexpected relationships. I really love this book so much, not just because of Helene’s wonderful taste in used books and interesting subject matter but her thirst for knowledge for knowledge sake. Her love of beauty in the form of leather-bound, gold gilded pages makes her a woman after my own heart! Add to that her imaginings about London and her love affair with a city she had never visited, and I am hooked. The second half of the book is The Duchess of Bloomsbury and this follows her as she finally realizes her dream of visiting London and what she finds there. I will not give anything away because you really must read this and find out what happens, but I will tell you that I return to this book again and again as it always makes me smile. I keep a copy of it at the flat in London and always try and read it when I am in the city. If you love books, literature and anything BBC, this book is for you!

A book that will get you out of your home and traveling in your mind is another of my favorite authors and again, a classic Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island. This wonderful travel book is considered by the British people to be the book that best represents Britain… and get this… it is written by an American! Bryson is considered to be an adopted national treasure because he has managed to fondly capture the sometimes-hilarious characteristics of this island nation. While it was written in 1995, it is still able to capture the weird, wonderful and strange bits that makes England so quirky. Bryson was leaving his home in Northern Yorkshire to move back to the USA for a few years and he decided he needed to take one more trip around England before he set off for America and this book is the result of his travels. He is so funny and droll that you will laugh out loud, especially if you have been to England or have British friends. When I try to explain to my English husband why I enjoy London and England so much, and why he was so keen to escape it… I have only to open up with this book and it captures it all perfectly. Bill Bryson manages to express all those feelings so well, when my words just can’t do it justice.

I decided to add in a thriller for those interested in something to make the heart race a bit. I picked up The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal while I was here, as it takes place in London in the 1850’s. Iris and Rose Whittle are sisters working in Mrs. Salter’s Doll Emporium. Iris is deformed with a twisted collarbone and believes she is too ugly to love, but she knows she is a skilled painter and is passionate about her art. She is frustrated that all she is painting these days are dolls’ faces. Her sister, Rose, was at one time a beauty destined to marry a handsome suitor, but smallpox ruined her beauty and with it her chances of love. The sisters’ relationship is strained and sad, and Iris cannot understand why Rose is always resentful and cruel to her. Anger and jealousy create an unbearable situation made even worse by Mrs. Salter’s drug abuse and hateful attitude. When painter Louis Frost stumbles upon Iris, he feels inspired by her and asks her to model for him. She agrees on the condition he gives her painting lessons. The choice to model means that Iris must turn her back on her sister and family, as modeling is considered an inappropriate occupation, but the choice suddenly gives Iris more freedom than she could ever have imagined and also puts her in more danger. A second story line threaded through all of this is the character of Silas, who is a taxidermist and collector with a morbid preoccupation with Iris. There is a sordid and seediness of the underground London that MacNeal deftly captures. The Pre-Raphaelite painters are wrapped into the narrative, though their characters are not fleshed out as much as I would have liked. It is worth taking a look at Louis Frost’s paintings as you read this book, so you have a better idea of what paintings are being discussed. The rivalry and friendships between the painters are glanced at but not fully developed, yet I believe reading this book will be a good springboard to other books touching on this subject. The exploration of the art scene as well as the visit to the Great Exhibition give the reader a fascinating look into the bustling city in the 1800’s.

I hope these three books give you a little bit of joy and fun as you hunker down and self-isolate and next month, I will give you another group of lovely distractions!

COVER STORY: The Uhler Effect – Reflections on a Project at Completion

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By Keswick Life

The new barn

On Sunday, October 14th, 2018, the Keswick Foxhounds “Came Home” to their new kennel. A ribbon-cutting followed by a Toast to the Hounds and Keswick Huntsman, Paul Wilson blew: ”Going Home” as he led the hounds into the kennel.

The eight-week renovation of the Keswick Hunt Club Kennels began in mid-August and was completed in mid October 2018. The renovation design was a collaboration between Paul Wilson, KHC Huntsman, and Uhler and Company, design-build. The goal of the project was a complete renovation of the kennels to maximize the square footage within the existing building footprint as required by the county ordinance.  Along with a more attractive roofline with functional venting, construction crews have retrofitted the interior to create more usable and healthier spaces for our hounds along with a new whelping area to the North. Under the wise guidance of Paul Wilson and others, we estimate that our hounds can move into their new home during October. The completed effort is a state of the art facility with new hound kennels, updated fixtures, electric, water and sewer, and a modernized area that can be maintained with minimal maintenance.  The whelping lodges, hot bitch yards, and puppy areas were redone entirely as well as food storage and isolation areas for sick hounds. Washer and Dryer, heated areas and cupola fans were added to improve the overall utility of the buildings

The renderings of the kennels.

Construction crews completed the concrete footings, foundations, and slabs at the club to be followed immediately by the framing and installation of the ductwork associated with the new HVAC. Concurrently, the roofing crew began the removal of the old roof while the structural engineers began the steel superstructure needed to support the building. This represents among the more challenging aspects of the renovation as all of the work took place on the exterior of the building to preserve the interior surfaces precisely as they are. More specifically, construction crews installed steel beams within the walls and exterior tubing under what became the new roof and insulation. These will support the sagging structure and the new weight associated with roof insulation and possible buildup of snow.

Along with new systems and structural support, work continued on the modern bathrooms, kitchen, and covered porch area. These gave our membership additional space for our most popular functions and improved functionality for food preparation. The conversion of what was the old kitchen and storeroom into usable space added seating capacity for approximately 40 people. 

The renovated club house.

The Keswick Hunt Club reopened its doors for an opening cocktail party on February 23rd, 2019, navigating the mud with many bringing along an extra pair of shoes. Over 150  enjoyed their favorite cocktail in the fine, old clubhouse for the first time in about a year. It’s fantastic. The core of the building looks the same, except now, there’s no chance that the floor will collapse, and a new roof will stop all the old leaks that were once a problem. 

The kitchen is state of the art, and those using the new ADA compliant bathrooms may mistakenly believe they are at a newly renovated suite up the hill at Keswick Hall. The former storeroom and kitchen have been wonderfully repurposed to usable space. They will now serve as a slightly quieter area, allowing those with failing hearing to understand more of the conversation, perhaps. Plus airconditioning and heating have been installed.

 Most all of the photographs and memorabilia were reframed and “identified” and had been hung back on the walls for future generations to be able to view the history of the Hunt Club. All admired a wall for photos of all of the former Masters and another for the preeminent horses and people from Keswick.

The Huntsman’s cottage was removed and in its place are numerous bushes from  Keswick Hall that will figure in the landscaping plan along with the barn and Huntsman’s cottage.

Rick Uhler came from a family of craftsmen/women, and as a result of working in the field with his uncle, grandmother, and mother, he fell in love with the building process. He intended to become a high-end custom builder from a very early age.

Due to a desire to spend more time together, Rick convinced Darla to learn to build houses as well. With the patience of a saint, Rick taught Darla how to frame, install exterior trim and siding, install interior trim, stair systems, and cabinetry. During necessary weekend workdays, all three kids could be seen on project sites building forts and cleaning up construction debris for extra money.

After many years of working for other builders, they began building custom homes as well as spec homes in the Shenandoah Valley. They quickly learned that the market in Charlottesville was much more suited to the types of houses they preferred to build.

The Uhlers began subcontracting once again for builders in Charlottesville. After many years of subcontracting, Rick went to work as a Construction Manager for two area builders while Darla managed the carpentry crew.

As a result of the recession of 2007-2008, Rick and Darla went back to work in the field together with the idea of starting their own building business once the market turned around. Around this time, their two oldest children came into the business with the same passion for building. In 2010, they built the first of many high-end projects in the Charlottesville area. By 2013, all three children shared the passion and came to work for the business.

Current Family Business

  • Rick Uhler- Design/Operations
  • Darla Uhler- Business/Operations
  • Derek Uhler- Design/Project Managr
  • Rachel Uhler-Pile- Design/Selections
  • Cameron Pile- Casework Production
  • Reagan Uhler- Business/Operations

Uhler & Company currently has 20 employees in total.

After having done some minor work for Paul and Diane Manning, the Mannings approached Rick to do a major renovation on an existing hay barn on their new property. This led to other projects with the Mannings and eventually, the restoration of the Keswick Hunt Club grounds. Rick and Derek worked closely with Peter Taylor and John Markey on the renovation of the clubhouse taking great care to leave it historically intact while bringing it safely into the modern era for events taking place inside of its walls. The engineering challenge on the clubhouse renovations was one of the most difficult they had ever experienced while working within the constraints of an original building. Derek took over the reins on the kennel design with a necessary close eye on budget considerations. He knew he had to build a virtually bulletproof building, knowing that the hounds would destroy anything not made of concrete or steel.

When approached about building the new barn/Huntsman apartment, the design changed and changed again due to budget and member input consideration, as well as the beautiful stall hardware donated to KHC by Jaffrey Woodriff. 

The idea to combine the cottage and barn into one allowed for a higher quality level for each project, and ultimately opened up the entirety of the Hunt Club site instead of cluttering it. The most significant stroke of inspiration came upon researching some of the great historic barns in the past when Derek decided that a Gambrel or split pitch, roof not only made the building much more attractive but also allowed for a more spacious and functional apartment as well. The ability to draw plans in 3D helped to visualize the final product immensely and enabled all stakeholders to get a feel for how it would nestle into the land. 

Upon settling on the final design, Derek enjoyed once again working with Peter Taylor and John Markey to deliver a product that was deserving of sitting next to the historical KHC Clubhouse. Halfway through the project, a curveball was thrown with a notice by the new head of building inspections informing that the requirements for the fire rating between the Barn area and the apartment area were now doubled, effective retroactively. They were thus rendering the initial approval by Albemarle County Building Inspections void until the barn area complied with the more stringent requirements. What initially could have been a detrimental situation, ultimately became a solution that improved the longevity of the barn  By replacing the rough cut wood posts with concrete, the new KHC barn/ Huntsman cottage should stand for multiple generations of Keswick Hunt Club Members. We at Uhler & Company are so grateful to have been a part of this historic renovation, and will always cherish the friendships that have been made among the Keswick Hunt Club Members.

The Keswick Hunt Club is indeed lucky to have its’ generous membership who made the completion of the renovations possible with an overwhelming participation rate in the original fund drive. Thanks to their generosity, the construction of the Clubhouse, the kennels and barns with the Huntsman’s living quarters are completed. This fantastic project will keep KHC alive for many years to come.  

Get ready for the next 100 years of fun!  Keep checking in at Keswick Life for updates on this fabulous restoration of Keswick’s fine old clubhouse, kennels and barn, and Huntsman’s lodgings.