A Small Town Love Story: Colonial Beach, Virginia
Sherryl Woods
To that old gang of mine:
Mike Gill, Sue Gill, Mike O’Neill, Marge Owens
and gone far too soon—Patti O’Neill and Bob Owens
Those were, indeed, the days!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A LOOK BACK: A COLORFUL PAST, A QUIRKY PRESENT
A Story of Family and Farming: Mildred Grigsby
A Lifetime of Friendship: Jackie Curtis and Jessie Hall
Serving Community and Country: Carlton Hudson and Pat Fitzgerald
Changing Times: Burkett Lyburn
Right Side of the Law: Michael Mayo
A Whole Different World: The Sydnors
A LOAF OF BREAD, PENNY CANDY…AND FREEDOM
A Long Line of Merchants: The Densons
From King Cotton to Penny Candy: Marguerite Staples
Business Reality: Potomac Sunrise
THE TOWN’S WELCOME MAT: FROM GRANDEUR TO COZY B AND Bs
Make No Mistake, It’s a Motor Court, Not a Motel: Ellie Caruthers
BY THE SEA, BY THE SEA
A Life Built Around Oysters: The Curleys
Sand in their Shoes: The Mears Family
A Fish Tale: Alberta Parkinson
A Come-Here Who Stayed: Diana Pearson
Building Boats…and a Future: Mary Virginia Stanford
Muskrat Ramble: Mike Stine
Creating a Small-Town Atmosphere: The Potomac River Festival and More
THE OYSTER WARS
A Night That Ended in a Hail of Bullets: Pete and Sugie Green
FOOD FOR THE SOUL
A Name Synonymous with Seafood: The Wilkersons
LAS VEGAS ON THE POTOMAC
Gambling on a Dream: Sandra Conner Scroggs
A COMMUNITY’S SPIRIT
Drifter Pride: Wayne Kennedy and Steve Swope
AFTERWORD
PHOTO CREDITS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’ve had a lifetime to get to know the people of Colonial Beach, but never have I had more fun and met more characters than in the months when I was working on this book. I need to thank Kitty Norris, head librarian at the Cooper Branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, who started me on this journey by mentioning that there were so many stories in town that needed to be recorded or written down. She provided endless assistance and cheerleading to get this job done, as did so many of the people you’ll meet in these pages: Ellie Caruthers, Jackie Curtis, Jessie Hall, Alberta Parkinson, Diana Pearson and Mary Virginia Stanford, who were always ready with a bit of town history, a new name for our ever-growing list of possible interviews and a whole lot of laughter. A special thanks to Frank A. Alger Jr., who recorded many of our sessions and created an oral history of Colonial Beach that will provide a lasting resource for those who come after us.
I couldn’t possibly have gotten to everybody on our list, including some dear friends who are incredible storytellers in their own right—my favorite electrician, William Hall, and his wife, Joyce, the Reverend Ron Okrasinski, longtime pastor of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (who’s so great at eulogies, residents often seek him out to do theirs no matter their denomination), Larry and Andrew Groves, who entertain me with stories on a regular basis, childhood friend Marge Owens and her mom, Mary Burnley Owens. Marge played Drifters basketball, and Mary Burnley worked for the Texaco distribution company owned by John Ware for many, many years. The list is endless.
Even though there are so many more with stories to tell, I hope this book captures at least the essence of what makes Colonial Beach so unique and special for me and for many of those I spoke to.
Even more, I hope it will resonate with many of you who long for a simpler lifestyle. Most of all, perhaps, I hope it will encourage you to talk to those in your family or in your town who have wonderful stories to share. Get them down before they’re lost.
In the meantime, welcome to my world.
FOREWORD
I grew up in Arlington, Virginia, the very large suburb of Washington, DC, but I was blessed from the age of four by the privilege of spending my summers at a beach cottage in the very small town of Colonial Beach, Virginia. Our house had a wraparound porch, and what I remember most from those early years was riding my tricycle off the edge of the side porch, out of the view of my parents. Or not.
So