GLENARVON MEMORIES. The telephone was ringing its insistent sound, penetrating my consciousness and

Transcription

1 GLENARVON MEMORIES I Th tlphon was ringing its insistnt sound, pntrating my consciousnss and forcing m to swim into wakfulnss. I pickd up th rcivr with a slpy hllo and a mal voic, hsitant, almost rluctant to spak said that Pop Warrn O Brin had did. I opnd my ys with a start and ralizd I had bn draming. Gorg was slping quitly nxt to m and I hatd to wak him but th dram was mor than a dram. It smd ral. I pokd Gorg awak and told him I couldn t slp so w wnt downstairs into our cold kitchn to warm som milk. I don t rmmbr fling sadnss or vn far whn w trudgd up th stairs to bd and I wnt back to slp immdiatly. Th nxt morning, childrn off to school and Gorg off to work, th tlphon rang. Answring, a man askd if Gorg wr hom and whn I answrd no h, with som hsitation said that his nam was O Brin, h livd nar us in Winntka, and h had mt Rnni som yars ago in th Caribban. Rnni had misplacd our numbr and calld this O Brin in th hops h might know us. Mr. O Brin offrd to call us. H had sad nws, h said. Pop O Brin did th day bfor of a hart attack. I calld Gorg right away, w contactd Rnni and mad plans to fly to Gln Arvon immdiatly. I had always bn nrvous about flying but somhow this flight smd so ncssary, I forgot any fars. I can t rmmbr who mt us at th airport or how w got from Richmond to th farm but whn w drov up th circular drivway I flt th old familiar tug at my hart as I lookd up at th four larg pillars. I had nvr sn Gln Arvon in th Wintr, th normous trs, thir branchs silhouttd against a cloudlss

2 sky, th hills covrd with laflss trs now showd thir roundd curvs. And vn th hous smd diffrnt. Biggr somhow. W walkd up th sid stairs to th door of Pop s study. Francs cam to th door as w opnd it. Oh, you cam, sh said. I wouldn t not I answrd in a silly phras w both knw, and sh was abl to smil. Th nxt day was xtrmly cold. W walkd up th road in th morning, th dirt and lft-ovr snow crunching. Francs had wantd th short srvic to b in th front room of th hous. Thr was no caskt. A ministr, probably from th Episcopal Church in Brmo Bluff said a fw words and w thn put on our coats to driv ovr to th small gravyard on th hill nxt to th church. Pop was burid nxt to Rv Figg. (W all thought this was funny and wondrd if th good clric would kp Pop from his bottl). I rmmbr th sky was vry blu and a bird sang as th ministr finishd his homily. Th bird mad m cry. W drov back to th hous as th day darknd. Evry room had a fir in th firplacs and suddnly thr wr gusts vrywhr. Plats of food wr passd, and vryon s glass was wll filld. Th convrsation was not sad. It was mor lik a party whr any momnt w would s Pop, drink in hand, smiling and grting frinds, patting a man on th back and throwing back his had to laugh. Thr wr storis. On woman said that Pop had mt a woman vry wk at night on th dg of som woods both on horsback, sh said. I was surprisd to s so many Black popl thr. I didn t undrstand th rlationship btwn Black and Whit in Virginia. Som told m how Pop had workd with thm, hlping to birth littl lambs, gtting in a crop. I knw that Pop and Junius had an arrangmnt about buying whisky but of cours that was not brought up at th tim.

3 So Pop was gon and Francs lft to carry on for 30 yars mor until sh too, lft Gln Arvon but in th hat of August. II Th Gln Arvon I rmmbr bst is th farm in summr, th dusty road, trumpt vin crawling on th bushs in th drivway or honysuckl nar th gust hous with its wondrful pungnt scnt and Francs hrbs and graniums in th dining room windows. Pop O Brin cam to Wilmtt to s us in H had calld to say h was going to visit his mothr in California and that h would mak a stop-ovr to s us in Wilmtt. Gorg was to pick him up at th train station and would rcogniz him by th St.Cyr brt h was waring. Pop arrivd about 5:00 in th aftrnoon and announcd that h was taking vryon out for ic cram. My protstations wnt un hdd as h and th kids pild in th car to go down to Hammonds. H won thir harts, of cours. Pop told us about skiing with Edith at th ski lodg at Hus outsid Mulous in Alsac. I found som old albums I had savd (stoln?) from Thron Wright s hous whn Edith did and showd Pop th photos littl things with th popl barly discrnabl. On photo with th nam Andr Kochlin writtn at th top mad him stop and point, Thr h is, h said, Oh wll, sh was always too much for m. I had no ida what h was saying about th figur waring a raccoon coat laning against a vry fancy 1920 s car. I was about 6 months prgnant with our youngst at that tim and Pop suggstd that th child I was carrying was a boy and I could wll nam him Warrn. Indd, Frank Warrn was born Novmbr 21 st on day bfor Pop s birthday (Pop askd why I hadn t pushd hardr).

4 Th Spring of 1961 h suggstd that w tak our wk s vacation and visit him and Francs at Gln Arvon. Whn Edith was aliv sh had oftn urgd Gorg and m to visit Pop and Francs but somhow th tim wnt by and w nvr did. Pop had contactd Gorg from tim and tim and had snt us a chst for our flatwar for a wdding prsnt. Finally in th summr of 1961 w mad our first of many visits to Gln Arvon. W drov down partially on th Blu Ridg parkway w had always wantd to s, down through Winchstr, Culpppr nams I lovd to say and on to Orang, (th Big T burgr) Zion Crossroads, Boswll s Tavrn all xciting, xotic placs with falling down gas stations, vry fw cars and th hat shimmring on th filds. Whn w got to Fork Union thr was a grat dal of xcitmnt in our Volkswagon bus. Thr was th Fork Union Acadmy, th drug stor across th strt, small houss and thn th gravyard whr w wr to turn lft. Scrubby pins, low on ach sid of th road gav way to tall pins, and dciduous trs with vins of poison ivy crawling up thir trunks. W saw littl cabins hr and thr and prtndd to th childrn on or th othr was Pop s hous. Entring a wood, a small gravyard on th right with bright plastic flowrs, w saw th sign W.F.O Brin. A whoop from th kids. Th road wnt on and on it smd and thn to th lft w could s through th cdar trs on ach sid, th outlin of a brick hous, th pillars whit in th distanc. Th road was dry, dust kickd up and followd us. Cdar bcam boxwood as w cam nar th hous. Th cntr circl had spyra and forsythia not blooming in summr but I was to s latr th yllow flowrs on th branchs many tims in arly spring lining th road down to th barn. Dogs barkd as w drw up to th hous. Pabst, brown and whit and Happy with whit short fur pantd

5 thir grtings. Thr wr always dogs to grt visitors at Gln Arvon though thy changd ovr th 30 yars w mad th trip thr. That first yar w had vry littl tim only four days, as I rmmbr and I had th fling I must mmoriz vrything in th hous all at onc. Francs mt us at th front door (latr w always wnt to Pop s study door) and I knw I would lov hr. Sh was slim and whit haird with a gnrous mouth and glasss. Shrwd ys that saw vrything. Sh had a wardrob of lily drsss pink and yllow and blu always with a pin at hr shouldr. Gorg and I wr to slp in th front bdroom in th larg four postr that had (w soon found out) a mattrss that sunk dangrously into th middl. Littl Warrn slpt in a whit crib nxt to us. Wndy and Robin had th twin bds in th njoining room with Rogr in a cot in th sam room. Latr Francs had th childrn in th gust hous and w stayd in th main hous much th initial disgruntlmnt of th kids! David was in mdical school in 1961 and Jon was working in Richmond. Rnni was in Cap Cod and w did not mt him until latr. David and Jon cam to th farm to mt us and wr xtrmly frindly. David was a slight young man with dark hair and dark blu or brown ys and his brothr Jon was lightr skinnd with brown hair and blu ys. Both wr young and halthy looking in thos days. It was hardly noon th day aftr w arrivd whn Jon calld up anyon want to crack a br? W stayd up most of th night (this bcam a tradition for svral yars) and thr was a lot of gnial kidding about my nursing Warrn who was about 6 months old. Rain pltd th hous th 2 nd day w wr thr and I thought as I sat in a rockr with Warrn in th front bdroom that I would always rmmbr th sound of watr dripping from th vs, th mist ovr th rivr from th upstairs bathroom.

6 I rmmbr som of how th hous was furnishd. Thr was a carpt runnr of maroon wool in th downstairs hallway, up th stairs and into th uppr hall. Thr was a round tabl nxt to th curving stair that hld an ashtray mad of th coppr plat of Francs and Pop s wdding stationary and a lamp (th last to b turnd out at night). Of cours th hug mirror was thr in th hall, a stt(?) for thr with a carvd back, a chst whr th gams wr kpt and th glass shlvs at th back windows holding th colord bottls. Thr was a print of Lincoln and his family on on wall and clos by th front door a swt portrait of a child. Pop s study or offic had book shlvs along on wall as now. His kn hol dsk sat btwn th windows. Thr was a braidd rug on th floor. Ovr th bookshlvs wr at last two black and whit drawings of industrial Amrica popular in th 20 s. Thy wr quit wll don. Pop s prid and joy wr th woodn picturs carvd I think, in Alsac. W calld th room that was onc a dining room, th pool room bcaus thr was a hug pool tabl in th middl on an old rd, Orintal rug. Francs chair was on th lft sid of th firplac. Ovr th firplac for many yars was a marvlous painting by Ofr (?) two Indians mting in a dsrt stting. Th Kachina dolls wr on th book shlvs on ithr sid of th larg doors and th lovly Kachina watrcolors wr abov on th walls. Whn th pool tabl was takn out, w always sat in this room at cocktail hour and watchd th nws at 6:00 Francs in hr chair, I sat on a small couch and Gorg in th Morris chair. Across th hall Francs had a portrait of Gorg Washington ovr th firplac, thought to b an unfinishd Gilbrt Stuart and on th mantl blow, a small china box (for his tth). Th rug was an orintal mostly in blu. Francs always sat on a Victorian couch on on sid of th fir upholstrd in vlvt in wintr and covrd by a natural colord cotton covr in summr. Th two living rooms wr dividd by a larg Chins scrn that fit part

7 way across th opning. Thr was an upright piano on on sid of th window, a cornr cabint on th othr cornr. A pncil portrait of Pop looking lik a movi star (Francs didn t lik it) was on on wall and a lovly oil of Francs about ag 16 ovr th firplac. Francs had two craft tabls with glass tops. Thy hld pics of jwlry, not of any grat valu xcpt ach pic had a story ths arings from on wdding this braclt worn at crtain danc. Thr wr many wondrful things in all ths rooms, but you gt an ida lovly fabrics and antiqus and th fling of grac and lganc. I usd to run up th stairs at ach visit, wondring how long I would b abl to do this as th yars passd. Upstairs th thr larg bdrooms wr vry comfortably furnishd. Th four postr in th on front bdroom had intricat carvings on th footboard. I rmmbr (prhaps inaccuratly) that th foot-board had bn found in a fild whr a farmr was going to us it for a fnc posts). Th othr front room was usd as a drssing room that Francs had dcoratd in a Frnch mod drssing tabl, day bd, som lovly pics on th mantl. Hr bdroom had twin bds and lots of family picturs (David has ths). Pop and Francs also had a Fddrs air conditionr. Pop usd to announc rathr arly in th vning that h was going up to s Mr. Fddrs and th kids thought thr was a littl man in his bdroom. Pop wnt to bd arly and ros arly Francs stayd up vry lat. Th back bdroom had twin bds, with high, dlicat postrs (also trribl mattrsss w put on th floor somtims), Victorian drssrs and a fairly modrn baby crib. Th basmnt was usually fairly wt in summr th kitchn much th sam as now. Th dinning room hld a hug tabl and sid board and in th window wlls Francs had th most dlicat fingr bowls from Italy ach on colord diffrntly. W always at in th dining room in th arly days whr Ethyl cookd and srvd. Mals wr

8 dlicious all th vgtabls wr grown on th farm and Ethyl was a grat cook. W had stacks of pancaks for brakfast and sh always mad lmonad for lunch, which w at on th back trrac with cram chs and oliv sandwichs. Two storis about Ethyl com to mind. On summr w stayd in th gust hous and at bd tim smlld th most awful odor it was smoky and w wr afraid thr was a fir somwhr. W dashd down stairs to find Ethyl in hr room (bottom right as you fac th hous) sitting outsid on th bnch smoking hr pip. Apparntly hr tobacco was calld Micky Twist changd in a mor nlightnd ag from Niggr twist. Th othr story was on Francs told about bing in th hous with Puss in wintr whn suddnly th lctricity wnt off. Ethyl was in th lvator at th tim caught half way btwn floors. Francs and Puss wnt into th basmnt and shouting ncouragmnt to th unflappabl Ethyl, turnd th larg whl by hand slowly taking Ethyl havnward. Apparntly Ethyl continud changing shts upstairs as though nothing had happnd. I can imagin Puss and Francs laughing as thy sttld down for a glass of shrry aftr thir labors. W usually drank a small glass at noon. III GHOST STORIES: Although Lowr Brmo was supposd to hav a ghost (a littl lady drssd in gray), Gln Arvon was not thought to b hauntd in any way. B that as it may, it did sm w snsd som odd prsnc from tim to tim. On on of our arly visits, our whol family was staying in th gust hous. I bliv Nicky Watts was thr with daughtr Emily as wll as Rnni, Sandra and Grg. It had bn spitting rain all day, misty and cold. Somtim during th night w both awok fling a clammy cold. Warrn was fussing but not rally awak and th nxt day all our childrn said thy had

9 awakd from tim to tim. Rnni said that Grg was crying and would not sttl down. Th fling was that thr was somthing or somon outsid th gust hous. A vry scary night that w all agrd was not plasant. W dcidd, basd on nothing, that Boswll s ghost had bn roaming. Jon told us that h was burid whr th kitchn gardn usd to b but w did not know whr that was. Svral yars latr, Wndy said sh was waknd in hr bd in th gust hous. Sh claimd a coupl wr pushing hr out of hr bd. Wndy and Nil s daughtr Sarah said sh saw a littl dog in th uppr hallway of th gust hous running through th closd door into th bathroom. On of Jon s kids said h saw a small dog in th hallway of th big hous that disappard aftr a momnt. Who knows?? Probably th most touching story was at th tim of Francs dath. W had bn down to s Francs on th advic of hr doctor who was fairly sur sh would di vry soon. Sh was confind to hr bd but was abl to sit up and whn w arrivd, sh was sipping shrry and looking quit lgant and hr satin nighti. W wr both working at th tim and could not stay long so as w wr laving, I told Francs I would b back. Sh said, You hav nvr told m anything you did not do. I knw I would rturn. Francs Jr. (Dav s scond wif) had bn taking car of Francs hlping th 3 nurss but Jon and Rnni did not lik hr and Jon s gun by th sid of his bd frightnd hr so sh lft saying sh would not rturn. Whn th Dr. calld about on wk bfor Francs did, I flw down to th farm and found that th nurss taking car of Francs wr warm and loving to hr. David cam sldom, Jon would stand at hr door and grt hr in th morning (h was living at th hous and had th front bdroom air conditiond. Whn Pussy cam to b with Francs svral wks bfor, sh told m h was not gracious nough to giv hr his room. Th hat that August was almost unbarabl.) Rnni cam

10 vry day, sat on th bd with his mothr and was vry swt to hr. Francs had thr round-th-clock nurss, all of whom wr xcllnt. On was Linda Powrs who had a Ph.D. in psychology from Grmany. Sh said sh and Francs had som good convrsations whil Francs was abl to stay awak much of th day. Dorothy was anothr womn who had livd nar Gln Arvon all hr lif. Sh told m that as a child sh was afraid to go into th bdroom that hld Mr. Bons. Mr. Bons was a sklton (kpt in a woodn cabint) that had bn givn to David whn h was studying mdicin. Francs told m Mr. Bons was a Mxican man that I bliv, hr fathr, Dr. Corbusir had purchasd. Hospic workrs cam from tim to tim and lft brochurs for m which wr hlpful. Francs slippd away gradually slping mor and mor and finally all day and night. Hr littl poodl, Gorg, was vry upst and kpt running in and out of th room (I had to opn th door for him vry tim bcaus it was air-conditiond) Francs had about 2 days of bing rstlss although sh was not at that point spaking. Sh hld to th sids of th bd as though to stay in this world. W spok to hr oftn and strokd hr arms. Som tims Dorothy (nurs) sang to hr. Whn Francs sttld down, no longr hld to th mattrss, th poodl also sttld nxt to hr bd. I was slping in th twin bdroom and about 3:30 a.m. th night nurs cam to tll m Francs had did in hr slp. I wnt to hr, opnd th window (which smd to bothr th nurs for som rason), wok Jon and h calld Rnni. Jon was quit fficint calld th undrtakr and calld David. Rnni was vry upst and tarful. Jon was not. Th undrtakr cam almost immdiatly. H askd m to pick out a drss, undrwar, shos tc. which smd bizarr to m but I found a prtty flowrd drss. Thy askd m to tak Francs rings from hr fingr which did bothr m a but I was abl to do this.

11 At about 9:30 a.m. I calld Gorg at th offic so h could mak plans to com down and thn calld Wndy who was at our hous in Brnardsvill. Sh told m that hr son Bn had com downstairs just momnts arlir and said that h had sn Francs. H said sh was sitting in a chair in his bdroom and said nothing to him. Sh was waring a flowrd drss and hr hair was a bit mussd which was unusual. Som momnts latr Wndy s daughtr Sarah also cam downstairs and said sh had dramd that Francs was sitting in th chair in th bdroom (th kids shard a room) and that sh had said, Wll, I hav to go now. And disappard. This was all bfor I calld Wndy and Nil to tll thm of Francs passing. That vning th undrtakr calld to say that th woman who had drssd Francs hair for many yars had told him sh was unabl to do this. Crtainly Bn had sn and Sarah had hard hr. Popl cam to th hous with food and flowrs. Th funral was vry simpl. David, Jon and Rnni askd m to rad a pom writtn by Francs mothr. Our sons, Rogr and Warrn cam to Gln Arvon as did David s sons and Dana and Prston, Jon s daughtr and husband. I can t rmmbr if Rnni s sons wr thr. Francs was burid with a short crmony nxt to Pop in th Episcopal gravyard in Brmo Bluff. W had prpard a lunchon (Gorg did most of th work, ordring chss and mats and h cut out an normous watr mlon and filld it with fruit.) Again th hous was full of popl. Dorothy (th woman who had workd at Gln Arvon for yars and rmmbrd bing takn thr by hr mothr who was a maid thr) had bn on of Francs nurss at th nd. Gusts had finishd th various juics and soft drinks on th tabl. I was in th kitchn whn Dorothy flw in and said, W ll just hav to put som bottls on th tabl. Sh thn lookd up at th ciling and said, Sorry, Mrs. O Brin. Francs did not lik bottls on th tabl and our childrn wr always fascinatd with th fact that sh had

12 many silvr and crystal condimnt holdrs. (Latr Jon fird Dorothy who had offrd to b a claning womn for him at Gln Avon. I did not undrstand his angr at hr but h was adamant that sh must go) IV PARTIES, GAMES, FLOODS AND FIRES. I hav th fling that Pop and Francs did ntrtain mor whn thy wr youngr than whn w knw thm but thr wr partis from tim to tim. Popl from Fork Union cam for aftr- dinnr partis and oftn I playd th guitar and sang for thm. Whn w driv up to th gravyard to s Pop and Francs I always look for thos from Brmo who cam to th partis Tom Forsyth who committd suicid aftr his attractiv wif did of cancr. I can t rmmbr hr nam right now but sh had a lovly husky voic and thy both gav m th words to th Thr Marys an old English folk song. Various military acadmy popl cam ovr Col. Prkins who sang songs of th 20 s and Kathrin (Montaldo(?) sh marrid a man from Argntina and had bn brought up at Brmo I bliv) sh always said that Francs was abl to r crat th old days at Gln Arvon. Harrit Snad cam always and w had oftn lunchd at hr hous in Fork Union. Harrit was a vry accomplishd artist who drssd in pastl colors. I was fascinatd by th fact that on of Harrit s nics was namd Pocahontas Pocahontas Lipscomb, as I rcall. Sh was nick-namd Hantis. I would guss that Harrit was th clost frind Francs had in th ara. Hr sistr Martha bcam part of th group whn sh movd to

13 Fork Union. Kay Armstrong was anothr frind who ran a farm prtty much by hrslf narby. Thr wr othrs through th yars. I can s thir facs oftn but thir nams ar lost to m. Entrtaining was fairly casual no big dinnr partis. I lovd to go outsid at night whil a party was going on and s th hous bright with light coming through th window and music playing. I could imagin how it must hav bn with th Galts in rsidnc. On night w wr listning to Hrb Alprt rcords and Francs had gottn out th rattls and things sh kpt in th cornr cabint. Sh was a marvlous, gracful dancr and lovd to danc. W would all pranc around th living room having a grat tim. This particular night I thought I d bttr chck on th kids at th gust hous w had no baby sittr that yar and pring into th crib I saw it was mpty. I was trrifid and ran to th hous calling for Warrn. Pop said h would go to th pool and w sprad out indoors and out calling. I was in Pop s offic whn I hard a littl voic. Warrn was hiding undr th dsk. H said h cam ovr for milk and whn vryon startd calling h was scard and hid undr th dsk. W playd all sorts of gams, th favorit was Horsy in th hallway whr w thrw dic and bt. Anothr was a hocky gam and thn thr always wr card gams. Wndy and Robin playd with small itms in th gust hous, making houss of things. Our routin was prtty much th sam most days, swimming with th childrn (aftr th pump wnt on Francs insistd) in th morning. Thn lunch and a rst tim in th hat of th day for 1 or 2 hours. W swam all aftrnoon and had Ta partis with cookis and gingr-al at th pool. Th kids playd in th barn somtims and onc Wndy and Robin got lost walking to th low grounds and Pabst brought thm back. Whn th childrn wr young, thy at arly in th kitchn and w mor formally in th dining room aftr cocktail hour.

14 Th routin was such that it did not vary much ovr th yars in trms of mals vn whn Pop was gon th childrn no longr cam. Evn at th tim of th big Fir w kpt a smblanc of routin. On vry hot aftrnoon a phon call informd Pop that thr was a fir sprading fast into his proprty. H jumpd into th car with Gorg to join th fir fightrs, on man bing Gorg Armstrong. Th aftrnoon smd to drag w could smll smok at th hous and har a loud spakr giving ordrs but could not mak out th words. Aftr som hours, Pop arrivd with Gorg Armstrong. I askd thm whr Gorg Wright was and thy lookd blank, apparntly having forgottn h was out thr. At last anothr hour draggd by and I was gtting frantic. I walkd with Warrn down to th tractor barn and lt him play in th sat, all th tim waiting to s Gorg walking up th drivway. Finally Francs said it was cocktail hour and thr was no rason not to fix drinks but that w would hav thm out at th pool. Finally w lookd out to s Gorg coming up th drivway vry bit lik a Confdrat soldir coming hom. H was covrd with soot. H walkd to th pool and jumpd in w all said thr was a loud SSSS! Th nxt day h was covrd with poison ivy. W drov to th Dr. in Fork Union a nic old guy who had workd thr for yars. His offic had Black, Whit, young and old and whn h saw Gorg h said h had hard about his fir fighting. H gav him stroids strong tratmnt for poison ivy but it clard him up quickly. Th popl in th drug stor calld Gorg a hro apparntly h was known quickly all ovr town for hlping out. I was only happy h was hom safly. Thr wr many storis of floods at Gln Arvon particularly in th arly days. I only rmmbr onc or twic that th low grounds wr floodd and by that tim thr wr no animals.

15 Thr wr a varity of folks working for Pop and Francs. On coupl, th Maulks, wr Mountain popl who smd to cook all day on th wood stov at Chickfild. Th smll of burning wood was marvlous. Thy cam to Gln Arvon unmarrid and lft, a marrid coupl. Ptr and Jani wr Hippy kids, graduats of th Univrsity of Virginia. Thy also marrid having bn at Gln Arvon. Our childrn wr pr-tns/tns whn Ptr and Jani livd at Chickfild and thy adord th coupl. Jani wor long drsss and had a braid down hr back. Thy pickd worms and bugs from th larg kitchn gardn vgtabls rathr than spraying thm and th vgtabls wr dlicious. W all hlpd in that gardn. Thy also mad th bst blackbrry sauc and hom-mad ic cram! Ptr had at last two vry xpnsiv horss h was training and thir frind from Univ. of VA cam onc to sho thm. I hav nvr sn such a handsom man and Wndy was nchantd. Thn thr was Mr. Polo. Mr. Polo was a vry scary guy who lockd th shd and barns and Francs had a hck of a tim gtting rid of him. H had a young man, Bn, working for him and Bn told Wndy that h was litrally a prisonr. Mr. Polo had gottn Bn from a rform school somwhr. Evntually I bliv Francs sud Mr. Polo and I sm to rmmbr that Bn tstifid in court for hr. Our childrn, with typical adolscnt insnsibility, calld Mr. Polo th faggot farmr. I hav always found it difficult to put into words th snsations that Gln Arvon voks in m. Th most poignant mmoris othr than thos of Pop and Francs hav to do with th land surrounding th hous. I lov th smll of boxwood and of old brick in th sun. In th Spring, Lilac bushs lind on brick wall and tiny violts wr sprad all ovr th sid of th gust hous. Wistria wound its way around what was lft of a largrl porch outsid th Frnch doors in th living room. Francs sat at hr dsk in front of thos doors vry morning to go ovr corrspondnc. At night somtims th moon ros rd

16 ovr th rivr and spcially in th wintr, th stars wr vry bright. Oftn w sat in lawn chairs at th pool to watch falling stars and to mak wishs. It was not as quit at th farm as I had thought it would b a dog was usually barking off and on through th night, vry noisy trains rumbld past, cows would wandr undr th windows and Moo at unlikly tims of th morning. During th arly days vry shp had its own BAA. Thr was always birdsong. I lovd to walk down th road at twilight haring th birds bfor thy quitd for th night. Th sun was vry orang in summr as it disappard from th filds and thn bhind th trs. As for th hous, in my mmory it is always cool. W didn t hurry vr, and thr was nothing prssing for m to do. Whn Sally or Mary Cory ( Summr girls) cam to tak car of th childrn, thr was a lot of tim for rading and slow convrsation. Francs and I always had somthing to say to on anothr. Gorg would run to Stat maintnanc with Rogr and all th childrn amusd thmslvs in various ways. Francs and I stayd up until all hours. Pop cam down on night, stood in th doorway of th pool room and rantd and ravd at us w had a laughing fit! Of cours thr wr som changs whn Pop did. Som of th hlp disappard and only Ethyl was thr to cook. Thn sh too, wnt somwhr I think to work in a wlfar offic. I rmmbr making brakfast and lunch and I suppos Francs and I cookd dinnr nithr of us likd to cook much so it was prtty casual. Th first tim I hard th song, Amazin Grac was whn Pop askd a woman who had com to hlp in th kitchn if sh would sing for us. Sh had gottn a scholarship to Juliard as I rmmbr, but could not afford to tak advantag of this. Sh bcam a tachr. Sh sang th old hymn without accompanimnt and w sat in th living room to listn. Somhow thr was a crtain irony thr that I only barly flt at th tim.

17 Th town of Fork Union has changd and grown ovr th yars. Whn w first arrivd, th building across from th Acadmy was a drug stor with a soda fountain. Th local Doctor had his offic with a sparat ntranc. Th strip mall furthr down th road on th sam sid as th drug stor may hav bn thr in th 60 s. If not, it was built shortly aftr w bgan to visit. Thr was a rstaurant, clothing and hardwar stor. Latr th strip mall across th strt was built. Th charactr of th town smd to chang with ths nw structurs and th gas station on th cornr was th final blow! Driving down toward Wst Bottom thr wr vry fw houss. Evntually small trailr homs wr built and wll kpt. I don t rmmbr stop signs from Gln Arvon to Fork Union and Francs tor up th road, dust flying. Th littl Wst Bottom church was vry busy in August with rvival mtings. On maid at Gln Arvon said to m that thos rvivals wr what hld hr togthr throughout th yar. Tabls wr st outsid, and on could smll dlicious food. Thr was a lot of singing. On Sunday mornings familis could b sn walking up th roads, th mn in suits and tis, th womn with larg hats and th childrn always smd drssd in whit, th littl girls with hats and glovs. Whn w drov along th road, vryon always grtd us with a wav. Across th road from th church was Gorg Vowl s stor. Pop told us Gorg Vowl was th mayor of Wst Bottom. Th stor was almost cool in summr and vry dark. Th ic in a back room was covrd in straw and on wondrs how clan th ic was that w usd in our drinks. Whn Gorg Vowl lft his stor or did, th structur land furthr and furthr to on sid, th vins wound around to covr it and it finally collapsd. Th yllow mtal sign sank into th ground, I suppos. I always rgrt that I

18 did not tak a photo of th stor and sign bcaus thy would b a rmindr of an arlir ra. Thr wr svral othr scns I wish I had capturd on film. W did photo th old barn on th low grounds and our son-in-law did a small painting of it. Francs changd th gardns in th back from tim to tim but basically sh grw hrbs ru and lavndr. Th gust hous was paintd whit ovr th brick at som tim but that is rturning to its formr slf. Harrit Snad did an xcllnt watrcolor of th gust hous that Gorg askd to hav as a souvnir Vry arly photos of th larg hous show it bar of shrubbry. Whn Francs did, Jon had much of th shrubs and trs cut down and although it lookd a natr plac, sadly th scnt of th wild growing things rmain only in my mmory. Whn our son, Warrn was living in Arlington, h and Jnnifr brought Nick down for a wknd. Thy took movis with a camcordr mostly of Nick with th farm as backdrop but it is a rcord of sorts. W hav old 25 mm movis that I had transfrrd to vido and that too may srv as a rcord. My rcurring dram of a shabby Gln Arvon surroundd by apartmnt houss has for th most part ndd with your car of th plac, Bill and Sayr. Th proprty, onc th ralization of th Galt s dram, rmains productiv and bautiful, and thanks to you, a havn for thos who lov it. Jun, 2004