At the conclusion of this item, I shall describe what I think must be an historic first for the Northern Neck. The story begins with the arrival last week of my cousins from Arizona. Wanting them to experience as much of the Northern Neck as possible in less than three days, we undertook an itinerary that involved constant movement.
We began with the mandatory visit to Christ Church, an excellent beginning to understand the dynamism of the past in our midst. From there we took the scenic byway from Kilmarnock to Wicomico Church, pausing to visit the grave of Richard Lee the Emigrant at Cobbs Hall, then to see the two largest cypress trees in the Commonwealth, and on to the Shiloh School and Hughlett’s Point. We passed many of the historic homes along the way, and then on to Burgess and Reedville to see the mass of great Victorian architecture.
The next day we headed up to Merry Point to cross the Corrotoman River on the ferry, and on to see Saint Mary’s White Chapel, in the cemetery of which are the graves of Margaret Sullavan, the actress, and H. Ledyard Towle, the artist/designer who developed and introduced the two-tone car for Walter P. Chrysler.
In Warsaw, we visited the tomb of Congressman William Atkinson Jones, who first proposed the independence of the Philippines, and the grave of his grandson, Colonel William Atkinson Jones III, the Air Force Congressional Medal of Honor awardee, the latter being of special interest to my cousins, both of whom are retired U.S. Air Force colonels
We went on to Montross, where I told them that Richard Henry Lee once had been held in debtor’s prison, albeit briefly, probably not much longer than our stop there. Ultimately, we arrived at Stratford Hall where we got to see the archeological excavation of the east entrance, and to speak with the archeologists from Williamsburg, who are undertaking the research. The former brick entrance that was designed by Fiske Kimball in the 1930s has been removed with the plan of replacing it with one more historically accurate.
From Stratford, we headed to Hague to visit the Burnt House Field, the brick-walled enclosure that contains the grave of Richard Henry Lee. We went on to Heathsville to see Rice’s Hotel/Hughlett’s Tavern and I described the work that began on February 29, 1992, when seven of us began the task of clearing the underbrush to save the building that had been built in 1795.
Leaving Heathsville, we followed the back way to see the Howland Chapel School, which was built in 1867 by the Abolitionist, Emily Howland, to educate the children of the newly emancipated enslaved people of Northumberland County.
Thus, the tour ended, I fear having left my cousins agog with the volume of the coverage. The last evening, they kindly hosted us for a stupendous dinner at The Tides Inn, which led to the presumed historic first. All aspects of the meal were great, from the food, to the server, to the ambience, culminating in sumptuous desserts. Our pace at the table had been leisurely interspersing delicacies with lots of catch-up conversation leading up to the dessert course.
We each had something different, but after a few bites of hers, my cousin said she had no room left for the rest of the dessert. The server proceeded to remove our plates, when I experienced a brainstorm, and I asked if I might have a box to take my cousin’s unfinished dessert home to my pet goose. She willingly brought the box and home it went.
Early the following morning, I took it to the barnyard and served the treat to the fowl. Esmerelda took one small bite, before being chased off by Gladys, who picked it up, went over to a corner, and “morseled” away. Normally Gladys gulps her meals down, but this time she consumed in small tastes, clearing relishing and savoring each bite. Except for Esmerelda’s initial tiny peck, no one else got any of it.
Although I cannot substantiate the claim, I am confident that this occasion marks the first time in history that part of a meal from The Tides Inn was served to a goose.
