The House & Home Magazine: May/June 2020

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your complete home resource guide and lifestyle magazine Essex • Northern Neck • Middle Peninsula • Gloucester • Richmond • Williamsburg

Middlesex MOMENT A PERFECT

MOTORCYCLING FREEDOM HARNESSING THE WIND HEMP FARMING

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A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

A N E W K I N D OF S PR I NG

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ever have I experienced a springtime as unusual as this one. While we’ve all had some downtime to observe the unique sights, sounds and scents of spring in our small corner of the world, we’re also giving thought to how we continue to keep ourselves and our businesses vibrant in a time of great uncertainty. I’ve never seen so much creativity and resolve to soldier on under difficult circumstances, to lend a helping hand where it’s needed and to find quiet pleasures in everyday life.

Yep … I’ve had more than my normal share of quiet time lately to ponder life’s ironies. We’re trying to maintain social distance, yet still working to maintain social connections. We’re trying to stay in, while still striving to get out into fresh air and sunshine.

We’re trying to stock all the daily supplies we need, while making sure we leave enough to keep others supplied as well.

I began this season as always, delighted by daffodils. I simply adore those cheerful harbingers of spring — planted in mass beds or in smaller bunches within a landscape. But I’m particularly charmed by those random patches of daffodils which seem to appear in the middle of nowhere — by the side of the interstate, near the woods’ edge along a country road, beside a hiking trail or even alongside a strip mall parking lot. How in the world did they get there?

I did some “digging” and found out that while daffodils can self-seed, it usually takes a determined gardener and about five years to produce a bloom.

So I like to imagine that those patches of daffodils were planted by human hands long ago when the land looked very different. I dream up images of

those bygone gardeners who, with great care and optimism, placed their daffodil bulbs in the perfect spots to highlight a driveway, a front porch or a garden path.

But time marched on and so did those long-ago gardeners. Progress moved in; land changed hands; roads were built and widened; shops, stores and parking lots showed up. And yet, those arbitrary plots of daffodils stubbornly refused to go away. They persevered. Year after year, in spite of wind, weather and benign neglect, those tough little wildlings pushed their brave faces through the frosty soil to greet the springtime sun.

What could be more encouraging than that?

Their presence never fails to put a smile on my face. As we’re negotiating the complexities of our time, let’s make sure to appreciate life’s unexpected gifts of grace. Let’s be more like daffodils and thrive where we’re planted!

In the meantime, while you’re planning your great escape, be sure to consult this issue of The House & Home Magazine — we’re focusing on fresh air and good health. We highlight the many pleasures to be found in Middlesex County, and we look to the open road with a story about motorcycles. We celebrate brisk breezes with an article about windmills. We present to you some articles with recipes to help you live to be 100 and recipes to make you feel like a healthy gourmet. We’re also investigating the recent buzz about hemp farming. Come along with us on our journey through a different sort of spring and read on!

I’ve never seen so much creativity and resolve to soldier on under difficult circumstances, to lend a helping hand where it’s needed and to find quiet pleasures in everyday life.

JANET EVANS HINMAN 6

May/June 2020

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PUBLISHER James L. Blanks EDITOR Janet Evans Hinman CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kim Boisvert Gene Hinman Janet Evans Hinman Harmony Hunter Jackie Nunnery Dianne Saison Deb Weissler ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER Kirstin Canough ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE James L. Blanks: 804-929-1797 JLB Publishing, Inc. P. O. Box 2564 • Tappahannock, VA 22560 Office: 804-929-1797 • Fax: 1-888-747-2267 thehouseandhomemag@gmail.com

The House & Home Magazine is a free, four-color publication that specializes in providing home ideas, real estate, and lifestyle articles.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from JLB Publishing, Inc. The information contained herein are opinions of sources and interviews.

JLB Publishing Inc. claims no reliability or accuracy to any information contained within. The House & Home Magazine is published for reference purposes only and is not materially responsible for errors.

The House & Home Magazine is published bimonthly and is distributed at over 500 locations throughout Essex, Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula, Gloucester, Richmond, and Mechanicsville as well as subscriptions, direct mail, and trade shows.

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May/June 2020

Contents

The House & Home Magazine • May/June 2020

14 Freedom!

The spirit of motorcycling

20 The Intriguing Indian Banks

The mystery and beauty of one of Virginia’s oldest homes

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52 The Versatile Legume 58 A Perfect Middlesex Moment

62 Open Up and Say Ahhh

Dental health is an important part of your total health

26 Harnessing the Wind 32 The Blue Zones 70 Fine Properties Recipes for longevity sing Technology to 40 Superstitions We Love 78 UFulfill the Mission Legends, luck and lore

46 The Buzz

About Hemp

To our readers: In the article “Poplar Grove and Its Tide Mill” (February/March 2020), most of the general description of the history and technology of tide mills was taken from the 1999 book The Tinkham Brothers’ Tide-Mill by J. T. Trowbridge, edited and with commentary by Richard A. Duffy. JLB Publishing regrets that Mr. Duffy’s original scholarship was not properly attributed to him.

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By Gene Hinman

NO LONGER RESTRICTED TO YOUR SPACE OR HELD BACK BY FEAR, THIS WAS YOUR MOMENT OF FREEDOM AS YOU FLEW DOWN THE STREET UNRESTRICTED WITH THE WIND IN YOUR HAIR AND OPEN ROAD AHEAD.

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there are an unlimited number of reasons why we ride, each one of them meaningful.

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ew things in life offer the promise of sweet freedom like the modern motorcycle. All one has to do is to observe the wonder, excitement and joy on the face of a five-year-old kid (or a 45-year-old kid) when a motorcycle roars past to understand that something other than mere transportation is going on here.

Somewhere around the end of the 1800s, the horse, which had been man’s faithful partner in travel and adventure, was on the brink of being replaced (as a mode of short distance transportation, if not as a faithful companion) by the bicycle.

There was an ongoing worldwide boom in pedal cycles, which offered a novel and relatively inexpensive form of transportation. For many, the bicycle became a great form of sport and recreation, with indoor board track racing becoming hugely popular. Of course, it wasn’t long before mechanics and inventors around the world began fitting bicycles with small clip-on engines.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, William S. Harley and his next-door neighbor Arthur Davidson became fascinated by the efforts of the various individuals and companies around the world involved in motorizing bicycles. In 1903, the pair officially joined forces and combined their names to create Harley-Davidson, which was to become the most famous motorcycle brand in history. In the spring of that year, their first prototype motorcycle emerged into the light of day and the world has never been the same.

From these humble beginnings the motorcycle has grown into an industry with worldwide sales of approximately 60 million units in 2019 and remains an enduring symbol of freedom.

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So, really, what is the attraction? Why do millions of us ride and millions of others want to? Of course, in many countries the motorcycle still offers an efficient, cost effective mode of transportation, but that doesn’t begin to explain the allure. A new Harley-Davidson CVO Limited has a list price of more than $44,000, while a KIA Rio has a starting MSRP of $15,850. And all you have to do is take one ride in the wind, rain, sleet and freezing temperatures to dispel the myth that the motorcycle is safe, comfortable and convenient compared to the automobile. Nonetheless, the motorcycle endures. It clearly means more to us than transportation. It clearly means something different to different people. In today’s motorcycle scene, there are as many varieties of motorcycle as there are reasons to ride them. They are classified largely based on their intended use and whatever motorcycling means to you. There is certainly one which is just right.

SO, WHAT DOES MOTORCYCLING MEAN TO YOU? Clearly, for many, motorcycles represent a form of rebellion.

Hollywood capitalized on this theme time and again with such classics as The Wild One in 1953 starring Marlon Brando, and Easy Rider in 1969 starring Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper. Let’s face it, few mothers longed to see their pride and joy tearing down the street on a motorcycle, and even fewer fathers were delighted to see their daughter’s date pull up to the house on a Harley-Davidson Sportster.

Nonetheless, this image appeals to many of us. If the “Bad Boy” persona resonates with you, the “cruiser” category is probably your choice. “Cruisers” like the Harley-Davidson Fat Boy (the bike made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator), the Indian Scout and the Triumph Rocket 3 are styled after 15

BMW touring motorcycle Vintage WWII-era BMW

Ducati sport bike Ducati dual-purpose bike

Indian cruiser

BELONGING — FRIENDSHIP AND A SHARED INTEREST IS WHAT DRIVES MANY MOTORCYCLISTS

Honda dirt bike for motocross

Triumph custom café racer 16

American machines from the 1930s to the 1960s and value individuality — looking and sounding “cool” — above more practical considerations like comfort, nimble handling or fuel economy. A good platform for artistic expression, these bikes lend themselves to extensive customization, often sporting one-of-a-kind custom paint jobs and lots of chrome (although totally “blacked-out” versions are popular as well). “Choppers,” as popularized by Peter Fonda in the film Easy Rider, are a type of cruiser. These are the type of bike you are most likely to see lined up outside a local bar or at a local “bike night.”

For others, speed and thrills are the attraction. For those riders, motorcycles are like legal drugs that give them an incredible adrenaline rush with just the flick of the wrist. This thrill keeps them coming back for more. These riders are likely drawn to the “sport” bike segment. “Sport” bikes like the Kawasaki Ninja, the Yamaha YZF-R1 and the Honda CBR1000 are optimized for speed, acceleration, braking and cornering on paved roads at the expense of comfort and fuel economy as compared to other street bikes. No doubt this category exists primarily for the thrill of speed. Who can forget Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun saying, “I feel the need — the need for speed”? Not surprisingly, when not in a fighter jet, Maverick rode a Kawasaki Ninja.

Seeing the world is a powerful draw for many motorcyclists.

These folks have a passion to get on their bikes and go see beaches, mountains, deserts, national parks and thousands of other landmarks and will devote a good amount of time, energy and money to doing just that. You are most likely to see this crowd on “touring” bikes. “Touring” bikes like the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide, the Honda Goldwing and the BMW K1600 are specifically designed for long-distance touring and typically have large motors, large gas tanks, fairings and windshields to protect the riders from wind and rain and have generous saddlebags to carry gear. These characteristics are designed specifically to facilitate the rider’s ability to cover large May/June 2020

distances and see as much of the country as possible.

Nostalgia plays a big part in the psyche of many motorcyclists. For some, it’s the memory of when Mom or Dad first let go of the back of that first bicycle, and you peddled away all on your own. No longer restricted to your space or held back by fear, this was your moment Harley Davidson custom Heritage softail of freedom as you flew down the street Artistic paint on a unrestricted with the wind in your hair and Harley Davidson open road ahead. Of course, nostalgia can take many forms, and yours may lead you to any type of motorcycle based on your own experiences.

But if, like me, the memory of your first bicycle is the compelling factor, you are likely attracted to the “standard” segment. “Standard” motorcycles such as the Ducati Monster, the Triumph Bonneville and the Honda CB650F are versatile, general-purpose street motorcycles recognized primarily by their upright riding position. Standard motorcycles, also referred to as “naked bikes” or “roadsters,” tend not to have fairings, windshields or saddlebags. The most basic type of motorcycle, the standard is popular for its simplicity, reliability and versatility. This category had nearly died Highly polished lineup at a Harley Davidson rally out as buyers opted, more and more, for specialized alternatives, but a recent resurgence has occurred, fueled to some degree by nostalgia for the time when a motorcycle was just a motorcycle.

Family fun is frequently stated as the reason many folks take up motorcycling as a hobby. It’s been said that anything that gets your blood racing is worth doing and motorcycling certainly does that. And, it’s an outdoor sport that gets families outside in nature while providing its thrills. This appeals to many families, and these folks most often participate in the “off- road” segment. “Off -road” or “dirt bikes,” are specifically designed for off-road action and are rarely street legal. Most of us learned to ride on a dirt The House & Home Magazine

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bike. This is actually a very wide category with multiple subcategories based on the bikes intended use. “Motocross” bikes like the Kawasaki KX250 or the Honda CRF250F are meant to be raced on short, closed-off road tracks with a variety of obstacles, including jumps. “Trail” or “Enduro” bikes like the KTM 350 EXC-F or the Yamaha WR250F are specifically designed to ride in the woods or on trails or to compete in longer courses with fewer man-made obstacles such as big jumps. And, of course, there is a wide variety of minibikes for the kids in this segment, like the KTM 50 SX Mini, the Yamaha TT-R50 and Honda XR80.

Belonging — friendship and a shared interest is what drives many motorcyclists. It may seem counterintuitive that something long associated with the “lone wolf” or the rebel, and long considered a symbol of individuality, is also the foundation of so many groups. Many people’s first thought is of the highly publicized “outlaw” groups. In reality, the vast majority of the groups of bikes you see is more likely to be involved in a charity event, of which there are thousands each year, than in some antisocial activity.

With spring upon us, you will soon see large groups of riders cruising through towns on any nice weekend. While these groups of riders are most often seen on Harley-Davidsons and most often of the touring variety, the camaraderie enjoyed by these groups is far from limited to a particular segment. All that is required is a shared interest, and there are certainly groups for every type of motorcycle from cruisers to sport bikes. There are even groups dedicated to segments as narrow as Classic British Twins (basic twocylinder motorcycles from the 1960s) like Triumphs and Nortons.

So, there are an unlimited number of reasons why we ride, each one of them meaningful. Whether for you it’s freedom, artistic expression, stress relief, thrills or camaraderie, there is a motorcycle that’s just right for you. I hope to see you out on the road! H 18

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Photo courtesy of Janssen Andrews

the Intriguing Indian Banks

The Mystery and Beauty of one of Virginia’s Oldest Homes

By Dianne Saison

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n remarkably beautiful land, surrounded by ancient trees and boxwood walks, stands one of the oldest homes in Virginia and a stunning example of colonial-era estates at their finest. Surrounded on three sides by water — the Rappahannock River, Lancaster and Morratico creeks, Indian Banks is a manor abounding in beauty. With a history of epic proportions, the home has withstood native attacks, every American War since the Revolution, tales of murder, hidden secrets and seen the abiding love of family.

Although some questions surround the actual date the home was built, earliest records indicate that Indian Banks was built in 1699, a claim bolstered by inscribed bricks — cut with that year and placed under a window beside the front door facing the river. It is the ancestral home of the Glascocks, wealthy tobacco farmers who rubbed shoulders with nearly every important American founding father, including George Washington, the Lee family, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson, to name just a few. The history of the land on which Indian Banks was built, however, goes back even further, to when Captain John Smith first charted the waters of the Rappahannock River looking for trade routes.

Indian Banks sits upon what was once the principal village of one of the Powhatan Tribes, the Moraughtacund Indians. Smith twice visited the tribe in 1608 during his second exploratory voyage, noting the location on his map and including that it was a permanent “Indian King’s” village.

The archeological importance of the site is renowned, with recovered artifacts including a tomahawk, arrowheads, deerskinning knives, part of an Indian pipe, and moccasin molds.

In the mid-1600s, the region was being divided into large tracts, as settlers loyal to Charles II were granted the Northern Neck territory. The land quickly became a source of power, with huge holdings and vast wealth being accrued, mainly in tobacco farming. Plantations quickly replaced hundreds of small Indian villages, and within just a few decades, the area was unrecognizable from Smith’s era. It was a golden age for the region, from farming to trade, those lucky founding families soon became the shapers of the new world as they flourished in their new, fertile lands.

In 1643, Thomas Glascock came to Virginia with his wife, Jane, and their two sons. In 1652, he was granted rights to the Indian Banks land, and in 1699, the manor home was erected.

At a time when most homes were smaller dwellings, Indian Banks was built in the tradition of the grand river estates. Dark red and bright green glazed bricks “shimmered” alongside each other. A projected belt course between floors was adorned with decoration. Between the two, tall interior end chimneys, the home is a mixture of Jacobean and Georgian architecture, with a dash of medieval style added by the L-shaped rear wing and hipped roof. The lumber used in the construction was white oak and over the riverfront entrance are bricks molded in a wavy pattern known as a Scrolled Soffit or Jack Arch. The rare design is one of only two known examples in Virginia. Uniquely, beneath one window is a brick The House & Home Magazine

Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison

Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison

Photo courtesy of Janssen Andrews

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Photo courtesy of Janssen Andrews

Photo courtesy of Janssen Andrews

Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison

Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison

Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison

INDIAN BANKS HAS WITHSTOOD THE TESTS OF TIME, AND WITHOUT A DOUBT, ITS BEAUTY GROWS WITH EACH PASSING YEAR.

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bearing the initials “GW” with a Masonic symbol, perhaps the work of George Washington, whose cousin, Esther Ball, married Captain Thomas Glascock in 1728. Washington is rumored to have stayed at Indian Banks while he courted Lucy Grimes, who instead married Henry Lee, becoming the grandmother of Robert E. Lee. The lower exterior walls are 26 inches thick on the ground floor, and 18 inches thick at the upper levels. The floors are wide planks, and the woodwork is paneled in mantles, doors, and gorgeous deep built-in window seats.

The hinges, locks, and many other features are decorative at Indian Banks, and an interior curved chimney in the main living room adds more stately charm. The rooms are ample and gracious, but lack the pretension of many of that period’s homes, instead embracing warmth and coziness. Although the home has seven fireplaces, one specifically has become the object of fascination and study. The beautiful living room fireplace has a large space unaccounted for, and according to legend hides the entrance to an escape tunnel which leads out to the Rappahannock River — used perhaps as a means to flee Indian attacks. Including the living room, the main floor plan includes the front entrance, a library, large kitchen wing with a screened porch, and a spacious dining room.

Upstairs are three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Numerous outbuildings at Indian Banks include a turn-of-thecentury livestock and hay barn, an early nineteenth-century building which was used as a granary, a late nineteenthcentury stable and a carriage shed.

There is also a more recent garage with a workshop and apartment above, as well as a guest cottage. Perhaps the views from the home are the most astounding, with the breathtaking Rappahannock and confluent creeks offering an unadulterated vision from nearly every window, enhanced by the towering trees and verdant gardens.

While the home is stunning and bright, there is, alas, a darker side to Indian Banks’ history. In 1723, a murder at the residence shocked the region, causing fury and a following trial the likes of which had not been seen at that time. In November of that year, respected Northern Neck surgeon Dr. William Forrester had made a house call to the Glascock residence, and while the reason for the call has been left to speculation, what occurred after was not. Records show that Thomas Glascock, grandson of the initial Glascock immigrant and a respected member of the community, stabbed Dr. Forrester to death. Thomas and his son, Gregory, fled the scene, traveling by boat from Farnham Creek out to the Chesapeake Bay, heading south. A widespread search was conducted, with no immediate results, and a warrant and reward for capture was issued by the Governor of Virginia: “… after one Thomas Glascock of Richmond County in Virginia, Planter, for having barbarously murdered William Forrester of the same County, Surgeon, by secretly stabbing The House & Home Magazine

Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison

Photo courtesy of Janssen Andrews Photo courtesy of Janssen Andrews

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(above) Photo courtesy of Janssen Andrews, (upper right) Probable date house built, (center right) Small piece of green glazed brick recovered at Indian Banks contrasted with the deep red brick, (lower right) Possible George Washington’s initials. Photos courtesy of Dianne Saison

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him with a Knife, as he entered the House of said Glascock to which he was invited in the Business of his Profession, and of which wound would he instantly died…there is promised a Reward of Forty Pounds Sterling, to any Person or persons who shall apprehend and secure the said Thomas Glascock so as he be brought to Justice. He is a Man of middle stature, about 50 years of Age, well set, his Face bloated, of a pale Complexion, and much Wrinckled, his Hair dark coloured and almost streight, his Eyebrows large and a more than usual winking with his Eyes, his Beard growing in Patches and of a grayish hue, his Legs large and swelled with the Dropsie, his Garb uncertain, having taken several Suits of Cloths with him. Also, he carried with him his son, Gregory Glascock, about 21 Years of age, a lusty Wellset Fellow, with streight brown Hair, a swarthy Complexion and pretty much Freckled. It is also earnestly recommended to all Persons… who shall see or hear of the said Glascock, that they use their utmost endeavour to apprehend and secure him, that so notorous a Criminal may be brought to Justice.”

Nearly a month after the murder, Gregory returned, claiming no knowledge of the whereabouts of his father, and no motive for the crime. A trial was held, and Gregory was charged as an accessory to murder; however, without his father there for conviction, the case was dropped, and Gregory was released. Thomas was never heard from again, although some rumors exist of his having fled to the Carolinas to start a new life. His wife, Sarah, was left alone to raise their six children. She died two years later, followed by her daughter, Elizabeth, and son, Thomas. Although Indian Banks and all of its land was forfeited to Colonel Robert “King” Carter, of Corrotoman, he decreed in his will that the land be deeded back to the Glascock descendants, should his heirs deem it to be reasonable, and that is just what happened.

Through sheer determination to overcome their history, the Glascocks of Virginia went on to become patriots of the Revolutionary War and productive citizens of the Northern Neck. They served as local leaders and also stood by the likes of Patrick Henry, George Mason and Thomas Jefferson on May 17, 1769, during the Virginia Assembly adopting the ‘Nonimportation Resolutions,’ addressing English tyranny and restricting the import of British goods.

Indian Banks remained in the Glascock family until 1822, when it was sold, along with 342 acres, to Thomas Dobyns.

The present owners, Sandy and Dean Garretson, bought the house in 2004 and fell in love with both its history and its beauty. They were determined to not only preserve it, but also to restore what had fallen into disrepair. The previous owners, James and Connie Durham, replaced the old, crumbling brick basement with cinderblock, and the Garretsons personally dug a two-foot trench around the entire foundation to remedy leaky water. The Garretsons also extensively renovated the overseer’s house, which according to historical documents, predates the 1699 Indian Banks house. Ballast found on the property was used to construct new entrance steps to the stately manor.

“We fell in love with Indian Banks instantly, our kids fell in love with it instantly, and we have been proud to have been its keepers,” Sandy Garretson said.

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Photo courtesy of Janssen Andrews Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison

Indian Banks has withstood the tests of time, and without a doubt, its beauty grows with each passing year. Time seemingly slows down once you cross the land’s threshold. It is a place deeply rooted in American history, its foundation built with hard work, love, and the dedication to overcome even the darkest obstacles. Indian Banks is more than just a home; it is an icon of perseverance.

The House and Home Magazine extends its sincere appreciation to The Garretsons and The Richmond County Museum for their gracious help in the research of this article. H

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Yorktown Windmill.

Courtesy of Art

TO STORE IT WAS

IMPOSSIBLE; TO HARNESS IT WAS A

CHALLENGE.

HARNESSING

By Deb Weissler

W

the

ind.

Here on the coast the air is rarely still.

Our weather is defined by wind and without it the bays and ocean would lie still and languid. Captain John Smith was one of the first to document our region’s capricious winds during his 1700 mile voyage of discovery along the Chesapeake Bay in 1608. For Smith and his companions, the wind could be a biblical hell.

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Wind

“The wind and waters so much increased with thunder, lightning and rain that our foremast and sail blew overboard. Two days we were forced to inhabit these uninhabited isles, which for the extremity of gusts, thunder, rain, storms and ill weather we called Limbo.”

Between the Southern Appalachians and the coastal plain, there is nothing to brake the speed of the westerly winds.

Eastward, nothing dampens the blows that sweep from across the Atlantic. For coastal dwellers, winds can be beneficial, refreshing, annoying, or destructive.

The power of wind was well known in ancient times. The early colonists first understood the beneficial aspects of the May/June 2020

wind as it propelled their sailing ships westward towards the New World. As the early settlements became villages that later grew into towns and cities, residents relied on the wind to grind their grains and pump their water. The strength of the wind was ever-changing. To store it was impossible; to harness it was a challenge.

Flowerdew Hundred Plantation English post mill. Photo courtesy of the Prince George Regional Heritage Center.

HARNESSING THE WIND When we think about the windmills of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, we may see them as quaint relics, but those first windmills were machines that helped herald the change from an agrarian society to the industrial age.

The first practical windmills were called panemones, which used sails that rotated in a horizontal plane around a vertical axis. Such windmills were widespread across the Middle East and Central Asia, eventually spreading to Europe and China.

Up until that time, grain was ground by hand using mortars and pestles or by rude hand mills called quernes. Some of these hand mills were still in existence during the American Revolution and were called samp mills.

In other parts of the world, grain was ground between stones powered by a rotary mill drawn by horse or donkey walking round in a circle. Examples of animal-powered mills have been found in the ashes of Pompeii, which was destroyed in 79AD. None of these methods could process grain in large batches and so most households relied on quernes for their daily needs.

When those earliest colonists arrived in 1607, they had been raised primarily on Northern European wheat, barley and oats. It wasn’t long before they learned that nothing sustained WHILE THE WINDMILL IS NOT THE them like Indian corn or maize. Well-suited to the climate, productive and easily grown, corn not only kept the settlers CENTRAL FOCUS OF THE PAINTING, fed, but while it grew it also provided the colonists the extra ITS INCLUSION SHOWS THAT THE MILL time needed to cultivate the labor-intensive tobacco crops that SURVIVED IN ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION FROM made the Virginia experiment financially ITS CONSTRUCTION IN 1711 THROUGH THE successful.

Despite the abundance of game and END OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. fish, the seventeenth century working class relied on cereals rather than meat, fish or vegetables for their protein. It was a diet we would find meager and monotonous. Though some colonists loathed corn, others embraced it, finding new and novel ways to diversify their dishes: hoecakes, grits, cornbread, pudding, porridge and chutney.

Regardless of whether one was grinding wheat, oats, barley or corn, all this grain had to be crushed or ground by hand. Using a quern, one person would spend up to two hours a day grinding grain for the average family. The benefits of mechanization were all too obvious.

Ironically, the first windmill was not constructed in Virginia until 1621, when Governor and Captain General George 1784 painting by Charles W. Peale entitled “Washington and his Generals at Yeardley constructed a vertical English Yorktown” shows the windmill in the background. Photo courtesy of Walt Akers, post mill on his Flowerdew Hundred Yorktown Windmill Project.

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Plantation in Prince George County.

By now, the vertical windmill had been in use in northwestern Europe since the twelfth century. The post mill is so named because of the large upright post on which the mill’s main structure is balanced. In this way, the mill can rotate to face the wind direction, an essential requirement for windmills to operate economically in regions where wind directions are variable. It was the ideal mill for the New World. With points of land jutting out into the Chesapeake Bay and the broad waters of tidal rivers providing unimpeded wind flow, these spots were ideal for vertical mills with tall sails.

While the earliest mills were generally small and tended to be located on private plantations, before long English post mills were common in many communities grinding meal and pumping water.

During the late seventeenth century, commercial mills began to flourish as farmers grew wheat and exported flour.

The establishment of windmills frightened the Native Americans, who dreaded the rotating sails and described them as “their long arms and great teeth biting the corn in pieces.” Many tribes attributed the turning of the wheels to evil spirits.

WINDMILLS IN AMERICA There were construction variations of vertical windmills that developed over time as regional preferences and technology changed. The early post mill could operate economically in coastal Virginia where wind directions are variable. In Williamsburg, the restored Robertson’s windmill on nearby Great Hopes Plantation is a fine example.

A variation on this design was a hollow-post mill, the post on which the body is mounted was hollowed out to accommodate the drive shaft. Hollowpost mills driving scoop wheels were used to drain wetlands for farming.

In contrast to the post mill, only the cap of the masonry tower mill needed to be turned into the wind, so the main structure can be made much taller, allowing the sails to be longer, which enabled them to turn even in low winds. Tower mills came with a growing economy that demanded larger and more stable sources of power.

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Robertson’s Windmill prior to relocation and restoration. Photo courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

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The smock mill was an even later development, where the heavy masonry tower was replaced by a wooden framework, called the “smock,” which was often thatched, boarded or covered with other regional materials. The smock was commonly of octagonal shape, though there are examples with different numbers of sides. The lighter weight made smock mills practical in areas where soil was less stable or sandy.

The windmill in Yorktown was an example of a smock mill.

The earliest documented image of the Yorktown Windmill is from a drawing produced by an officer aboard his ship in the mid-1700s. The artist meticulously detailed the landscape on both sides of the York River, and the waterfront windmill is clearly noted.

The 1784 painting by Charles W. Peale is entitled Washington and his Generals at Yorktown and depicts Washington and his commanders following the siege of Yorktown. While the windmill is not the central focus of the painting, its inclusion shows that the mill survived in its original location from its construction in 1711 through the end of the American Revolution.

Windmill Point Road in Lancaster County is mentioned prominently on road signs and historical markers. Assuming a windmill must have existed on a point of land where the Rappahannock River empties into the Chesapeake Bay, no evidence of it remains.

Robertson’s Windmill on jacks being lifted and transported to its new location on nearby Great Hopes Plantation September 8, 2015. Photo courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Gears inside Yorktown Mill. Courtesy of C Watts.

THE MILLER Of course, no windmill could function without the miller.

Often portrayed as an uneducated oaf with more brawn than brains, millers and millwrights possessed a variety of skills. The miller’s detracting image came about in medieval times.

Written between 1387 and 1400 in England, Geoffrey Chaucer’s bawdy Canterbury Tales is a collection of fictional stories presented as part of a story-telling contest among pilgrims on their way from London to visit Canterbury’s martyred Saint Thomas Becket’s shrine. As Controller of Customs, Justice of Peace, Clerk of the King’s work and member of Parliament, Chaucer was an esteemed public official. Canterbury Tales draws heavily upon negative stereotypes regarding the lower and working class, including the miller. Like Chaucer, much of the upper class looked down on those who provided bread for their butter.

In fact, windmills required not just strength but practical experience of complex and demanding machinery, knowledge of the wind and weather and the ability to calculate and regulate the flow of various grains to the millstones. There were no gauges or dials to assist him as he constantly adjusted the various mechanisms. The miller often relied on his senses — smell, sound, touch and taste — for signs of trouble. When the mill was idle, the miller was not. Instead, he was replacing and repairing the sails, training his apprentices, and doing the bookkeeping.

WESTWARD HO!

Windmill Point historic marker in Lancaster County.

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As nineteenth-century settlers moved westward, they discovered a flat landscape where rainfall declined and was unreliable. The land was fertile however, and ideal for growing May/June 2020

grain and feeding livestock, if only they had water. Along the riverbanks, water lay not far underground, and so early wells were dug by hand 8-30 feet deep and the water drawn up by buckets. This soon proved laborious and costly.

Compared to the humid coast, The Great Plains is a region of high winds. So, smock mills were built to take advantage of prairie winds, but on the treeless plains wood to construct them was expensive. The credit for making the first steel windmill is ascribed to a patent granted in 1872 to J.S. Risdon of Genoa, Illinois. The ‘Iron Turbine’ reached the market in 1876 and had a profound impact on American windmill design and manufacture. While the number of wooden mills continued to increase until WWI, afterwards steel mills quickly surpassed them. Soon, American windmills were being exported all over the world.

When it became clear that the world’s coal and oil deposits were finite, alternative sources for generating electricity were sought. The oil crisis of 1973 renewed interest in wind energy as the price of oil skyrocketed. As far back as the 1890s, scientists had been experimenting with windmill-powered generators. One of the first places where windmills were connected to the electrical grid was in the Netherlands.

As the price of oil fluctuates, modern on and off-shore wind turbines are once again proving that harnessing the power of the wind may again touch off another industrial revolution as the world struggles to free itself from fossil fuel dependency. H

those first windmills were machines that helped herald the change from an agrarian society to the industrial age

With a fresh coat of white paint, the restored Robertson’s Windmill. Photo courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

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The Blue Zones RECIPES

for LONGEVITY

By Janet Evans Hinman

Rena Bianca Beach, north Sardinia island, Italy

“

If you want to live to a healthy 100, eat like healthy people who’ve lived to 100.” That’s the advice from Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100.

He should know, he’s made a long-term study of the subject. About 15 years ago, in conjunction with National Geographic, Buettner set out to discover a formula for longevity. Working with renowned doctors and experts, he identified the places around the world where people live the longest and drew a blue line around each area, thus creating “blue zones.” Throughout the life of the project, he observed the habits and diets of the people who lived in these zones and chronicled the set of characteristics that have produced the world’s longest-lived people. Their secrets can help us all live longer, better lives.

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In Sardinia, Italy, the researchers found the world’s longestlived men in a string of mountainous villages. On the South Pacific Islands of Okinawa, there were villages that produced the world’s highest percentage of centenarians — mostly women.

In Ikaria, Greece, they found the “Island Where People Forget to Die” — 10,000 or so residents who not only live long lives, but also suffer the world’s lowest rates of dementia. On Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, they located an entire population likely to reach a healthy age of 90. And, in and around Loma Linda, California, they discovered a group of Seventh-day Adventists who live up to a decade longer than other Americans.

“They don’t live longer because of supplements, pills or antiaging serums. They do so because their surroundings nudge them into the right behaviors,” Buettner wrote. The people in these zones live active lives, physically and mentally — they walk, visit, labor, gather and volunteer.

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BUETTNER SET OUT TO DISCOVER A FORMULA FOR LONGEVITY. HE IDENTIFIED THE PLACES AROUND THE WORLD WHERE PEOPLE LIVE THE LONGEST AND DREW A BLUE LINE AROUND EACH AREA, THUS CREATING “BLUE ZONES.”

STRATEGIES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: WHAT WORKS? One secret to blue zone-style longevity is to move naturally every 20 minutes. Walk to a friend’s house, out to eat or to work. Stand up at work whenever possible. Enjoy the great outdoors. Play. Dance. Take the stairs. Do more things by hand — tinker, grow a garden, landscape the yard, prep food, knead bread. Get physical.

Also, blue zone residents have eaten the right foods and avoided the wrong ones for most of their lives. Ninety to 100 percent of their diets consist of whole, plant-based fare. They eat this way because fruits, vegetables, tubers, nuts, beans and whole grains are affordable and accessible. Their kitchens are set up so it’s easy to make these foods; they spend time with people who eat the same way; and they possess time-honored The House & Home Magazine

recipes to make healthy food taste good. Taste is the most important ingredient in any longevity recipe.

While the standard American diet is full of processed, calorie-laden, drive-through-style food, in the blue zones, people eat much like their ancestors did — with recipes and culinary traditions that are often centuries old. They eat meat and sweets mostly as celebratory food — usually no more than four servings of meat, dairy, fish or eggs per week, often less.

Everyday meals consist of simple fare made with fresh, plantbased ingredients, most of which are inexpensive — beans, whole grains, seasonal vegetables and herbs. The blue zones destroy the myth that you need to be rich to be healthy.

The researchers point to other non-dietary factors that contribute to longevity. A sense of community permeates the blue zones. “People in these localities aren’t lonely, because it simply isn’t an option,” Buettner writes. “If after a few days, 33

people don’t show up to the town festival, church, or even the village cafe, someone will check on them.” Electronic gadgets haven’t taken over. People talk face-to-face instead of digitally. The folks in blue zone areas lead healthy, energetic lives because they avoid overuse of the conveniences of modern life that conspire to keep us sedentary and isolated — computers, smart phones, home entertainment, and home delivery services.

COOKING TIPS FOR LONGEVITY Use fewer ingredients. Blue zone diets tend to use the same 20 or so ingredients over and over. Experts say less variety may help keep people from overeating and keep the immune system strong.

Add cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. These crunchy high-fiber vegetables are known to help protect the heart, stave off cancer and lower oxidative stress (a major cause of premature aging and a host of agerelated diseases).

Make beans a staple protein. In America, much culinary effort focuses on meat; in the blue zones, beans are the stars of the show. They’re cooked into soups and stews, flavored with savory spices and complemented by grains and vegetables. Nuts, beans and grains are a healthy source of protein, full of fiber and complex carbohydrates. They’re inexpensive, versatile and allow subtle flavors to shine through.

Finish dishes with olive oil. In blue zones, room temperature olive oil is drizzled over breads and vegetables and added to soups and stews. When cooking with olive oil, don’t heat the oil beyond the smoking point of about 375 degrees Fahrenheit — olive oil’s beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids break down quickly when heated beyond this threshold.

Supplement with fresh herbs and spices. Rosemary, oregano, sage, mint, garlic and turmeric all possess welldocumented medicinal values; they also add flavor while imparting healing properties. People in blue zones often get their herbs from a kitchen garden, which doubles as a live medicine chest.

Fiber is more important than we thought. Grains, greens, nuts and beans not only contain the protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals that keep our hearts healthy and our 34

May/June 2020

minds sharp, and prevent cancers, they also feed the eight pounds of bacteria living in our digestive systems. The good bacteria produce compounds that reduce inflammation, regulate our metabolisms, and fuel our immune systems. Bread isn’t a bad word — but sourdough or 100 percent whole wheat breads are preferable. Traditional sourdough breads actually lower the glycemic load of meals, making them healthier, slower-burning, easier on the pancreas, and more likely to make calories available as energy rather than stored as fat.

Drink mostly water, but coffee and tea are good too, since they’re rich in antioxidants. Also, have a glass of red wine. We’ve heard about polyphenols and antioxidants which are more plentiful in red wine than in white wine. But, according to Buettner and his researchers, red wine combined with a plant-based diet, almost triples the absorption of antioxidants.

IT’S NOT ONLY WHAT YOU EAT Blue zone residents’ lives are infused with a sense of purpose. Their brand of purpose includes a deep feeling of responsibility for their communities, families and future generations. In Okinawa, the word “retirement” doesn’t exist in the native dialect, instead, they refer to ikigai, or “reason for being.” A strong sense of purpose is associated with about eight extra years of life, Buettner says.

“In our exploration, we found that food was never just fuel, but a ritual to cement family ties, to consolidate friendships, or to share hospitality,” he notes. It’s not uncommon in the blue zones for meals to include family, friends and neighbors. In Sardinia, one such gathering brings locals together over dinner to resolve disputes. The meal may begin with a glass of red wine and end with a timeless Sardinian blessing: “Akentannos! — May you live to be 100!

And may you be here to count the years!”

One centenarian in Nicoya, Costa Rica, offered his advice for longevity: “Start your day with fruit; eat beans at every meal, and practice absolute honesty.”

To read more on the subject, check out The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100, by Dan Buettner, or visit bluezones.com. His other books on the subject include The Blue Zones, Thrive, and The Blue Zones Solution.

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IKARIAN LONGEVITY STEW Makes 4 servings

Ingredients: • 1 cup dried black-eyed peas (or 8-ounce can, drained) • 1 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided • 1 large red onion, finely chopped • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped • 1 fennel bulb, chopped • 1 large ripe tomato, finely chopped • 2 teaspoons tomato paste, diluted in 1/4 cup water • 2 bay leaves • 1 bunch dill, finely chopped • Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Directions: If using dried black-eyed peas: Cover with water and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for an hour. Drain and rinse. If using canned beans, skip this step.

In a large pot, heat half the olive oil over medium heat and cook the onion, garlic and fennel, stirring occasionally until soft, about 12 minutes. Add the black-eyed peas and toss to coat with oil. Add the tomato, tomato paste, and enough water to cover the beans by about an inch. Add the bay leaves.

Bring pot to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until the black-

eyed peas are about halfway cooked (if using dried peas).

Check after 40 minutes, but it may take more than an hour.

If using canned peas, skip to the next step after 10 minutes.

Add the chopped dill and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Continue cooking until the peas are tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and discard bay leaves. Drizzle in remaining olive oil. Stir and serve.

HUMMUS WITH PARSLEY From Ikaria, Greece Makes 6 servings

Ingredients: • 1-pound dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked until soft (or three 15-ounce cans, drained) • 2 to 3 cloves garlic • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped • Salt to taste (optional)

Directions: Put chickpeas and garlic in a food processor or high-powered blender and blend until roughly pureed. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with parsley and salt to taste.

Serve with raw vegetables, pita, or good, crusty bread for dipping.

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May/June 2020

HEARTS OF PALM CEVICHE From Nicoya, Costa Rica Makes 3 Servings

Ingredients: • 1 cup hearts of palm, sliced into small rounds (use fresh, canned or jarred) • 1 small red onion, finely sliced • 2 small sweet red pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice • 1/4 small habañero pepper or 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro • Juice of 1 to 2 limes • 1 teaspoon salt • Pepper to taste (optional)

Directions: In a medium bowl, combine ingredients through cilantro.

Drizzle ingredients with lime juice and add salt; toss to combine. Season with pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Enjoy as a stand-alone appetizer or with tortilla chips.

VEGGIE CASSOLA From Sardinia, Italy. Serves 4

Ingredients: • 1 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice • 1 large onion, chopped • 2 large red or yellow bell peppers, chopped • 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped • 1 Italian eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch dice • 1/2-cup extra-virgin olive oil • Salt and pepper (optional) • 1 bunch parsley, washed and chopped • 5 basil leaves • 1 sprig thyme, stemmed and minced • 1 sprig oregano, stemmed and minced • 3 bay leaves

Directions: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, toss all vegetables with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss with herbs, then spread out evenly in a large roasting pan. Roast for 1 hour. Remove bay leaves and garnish dish with sprigs of parsley, thyme or oregano. Serve with crusty sourdough bread.

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ROASTED POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS WITH MUSTARD DRIZZLE From Loma Linda, California Makes 4 servings

Ingredients: • 1/2-pound fingerling potatoes, halved or quartered • 3 cloves garlic, sliced • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or herbs of choice • 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (or canned, drained and rinsed), patted dry with a paper towel • 1/2-pound green beans, washed, trimmed and dried

For the dressing: • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard • 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar • 2 teaspoons honey • Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

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Directions: Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, toss potatoes with garlic, herbs and half of the olive oil. Place in a single layer in a roasting pan and roast for 25 minutes, stirring once or twice.

When potatoes are tender and starting to brown, add the chickpeas and green beans. Roast for another 10 minutes. While that roasts, whisk together mustard, remaining olive oil, vinegar and honey to form an emulsified dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the roasted vegetables and beans to a platter and drizzle with dressing. Serve warm.

May/June 2020

CHINESE FIVE-SPICE BANANA ICE CREAM WITH ROASTED PINEAPPLE From Okinawa, Japan Makes 4 servings

Ingredients: • 4 ripe frozen bananas, sliced • 4 to 5 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice powder (usually a blend of cinnamon, cloves,

fennel, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns) • Coconut or nut milk, as needed • Roasted pineapple (recipe to follow)

Directions: Combine bananas and spice in a food processor and blend.

Occasionally scrape down the sides and continue to blend until smooth, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. If you need to thin the mixture, add a couple teaspoons of coconut or nut milk at a time, making sure not to add too much.

Scoop into a bowl and enjoy immediately as soft-serve ice cream. Or, for firmer ice cream, place in an airtight freezersafe container and freeze for at least 1 hour.

Top with roasted pineapple.

ROASTED PINEAPPLE From Okinawa, Japan Makes 4 servings

Ingredients: • 8 pineapple rings, sliced about 1/2-inch thick • 1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the slices of pineapple on a foil-lined cookie sheet and top with brown sugar (use more or less, depending on the ripeness of the pineapple).

Roast for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with banana ice cream. H The House & Home Magazine

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SUPERSTITIONS WE LOVE

and

By Harmony Hunter

T

he trouble began over some pigs.

Jane Kent wanted to buy some, and Mr. Chamblet had two to sell. The problem was that Jane didn’t have the cash, and Chamblet wouldn’t sell them on credit.

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Spiteful Jane Kent retaliated by bewitching Chamblet’s five-year-old daughter, causing her to swell all over, turn colors, and die. Or so it seemed to those close to the family — the year was 1682, and witchcraft was a common nuisance.

Believing his wife to be similarly cursed and

May/June 2020

‘WITCH BOTTLES’ WOULD REVERSE THE SPELL AWAY FROM THE INTENDED TARGET AND BACK UPON THE WITCH Photo courtesy of The Justified Sinner fearing for her safety now, Chamblet combined a quart of his wife’s urine, some of her fingernail clippings, and a bit of her hair in a small jug and boiled them all together.

Magical remedies like these were known commonly as “witch bottles” and came into wide use in England in the 1600s.

Variations on the witch bottle included contents like bent nails or felt hearts pierced with a pin, sometimes a bone or tooth fragment. All witch bottles shared a common purpose, no matter what was inside. Heating the victim’s urine would draw the witch close, and the bent nails served the dual purpose of conducting heat to the brew and snagging the witch. This method would reverse the spell away from the intended target and back upon the witch.

Superstitions like these traveled from England to America with the first colonists and persisted as late as the Civil War era, as a recent discovery on Interstate 64 between exits 238 and 242 in York County attests. In 2016, during excavations prior to a road-widening project, archaeologists uncovered a curious blue glass bottle filled with bent nails beneath a brick hearth in a wartime fort called Redoubt 9.

In the twenty-first century, witchcraft occupies a smaller portion of our day-to-day lives, but many of those Old World habits have stuck with us.

If you’ve ever crossed your fingers, knocked on wood, thrown salt over your left shoulder, or held your breath as you passed a graveyard, you’re participating in a tradition as old as civilization itself: looking for good luck.

Some superstitious types like to hold their good luck charms as close as they can get them, around their homes and in the walls themselves. The phenomenon of concealed shoes would have been familiar to denizens of British and other European countries from the 1500s through the 1900s, where it was common practice to board up a shoe in a house’s walls, inside a chimney stack, or under floors.

Tucking a single shoe — often a child’s shoe — beneath the boards and between beams of the home was an everyday procedure for invoking protection against ghosts, witches, goblins or other forms of evil. Scholars speculate that the trend might have originated from the belief that one could

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attract malicious witches via the pungent human scent left in the shoe by its wearer, and then trap them within the walls.

Other lore warns against placing shoes on a table, lest death be tempted into a home.

A common good luck charm employed around rural homes is the horseshoe. Mounted above the entrance to a dwelling, the horseshoe brings good fortune. The origins of the practice are unclear, with folklorists divided among theories that include the evil-repelling powers of iron and a witch’s preference to travel by broom rather than horseback. No matter how it began, most agree that the horseshoe’s tips must point up, to prevent the good luck from spilling out.

Small but mighty, acorns hold their share of folklore. In Greek mythology, the oak — born of the acorn — is said to be the wood used to construct the handle of Thor’s hammer. A connected belief says an acorn in your windowsill will protect your home from lightning, which is Thor’s wrath. Carrying an acorn is thought to protect the bearer from pain and imbue luck and strength.

Also from the natural world, licorice-scented fennel leaves a wake of legend. Place some in a keyhole and ghosts will be prevented from entering the home. As recently as 1842, it was lauded for its ability to restore eyesight, and some still hold that chewing its seeds increases focus and stays hunger pangs.

We’ve all been warned not to walk beneath a ladder, which might have as much to do with common sense as good luck.

Early Christian belief regarded the triangle as a holy shape, representing the trinity of father, son and holy ghost. A ladder leaned against a wall forms a triangle and walking beneath

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May/June 2020

it would break that bond. Luckily, a simple remedy is available. If you find you’ve accidentally trespassed through its triangle, you can walk backwards through the ladder again to absolve yourself.

Common wisdom holds that it’s unlucky to open an umbrella indoors but why? This tradition might have one foot in the practical and one foot in the metaphysical, as well. First, it’s a bad idea to open an umbrella in a small confined space, since its metal arms and spring mechanism could cause any number of unfortunate outcomes to any unprotected eyes or nearby breakables. The negativity following these events is bad luck in itself and easily prevented.

The humble broom plays an important part in protecting the home.

Ancient tradition advises us that one should never bring an old broom to a new home. Symbolically, this prevents carrying negativity, sorrow or past hardships into the fresh space. In a practical sense, this precaution might also have been useful in discouraging transmission of insect infestation in times when lice and fleas were impossible to eradicate. A new broom brings good luck and sweeps away the bad, and it’s not bad for housekeeping, either.

A homeowner’s new broom might further be put to use in sweeping up salt, if the family followed the practice of sprinkling salt across the threshold.

This habit has long been regarded as a standard protection, preventing evil spirits from entering the home.

Reverence for salt as a pure substance intolerable to evil beings comes from salt’s life-giving status. Salt is a critical nutrient in the human body, and it further sustains life by allowing the preservation of food. Salt can provide protection and promote wound healing, defeating some types of bacteria by drawing water from bacterial organisms and killing them.

Indeed, salt is so precious that spilling some accidentally is a great risk. Different cultures express the consequences of this kind of clumsiness in varying ways. The Greeks hold that he who spills salt will shed the equivalent amount of tears needed to wash each grain away, while the Germans believe spilled salt creates an enemy. In America, we throw a pinch of spilled salt over the The House & Home Magazine

43

left shoulder to hit the Devil in the eye and distract him from further evil efforts.

Mysticism and the mundane cross paths once more in this superstition, where cautionary tales of the great cost of wasting salt help remind us of its everyday indispensability.

On the porch, superstition tells us that leaving a chair rocking invites bad spirits into the home; while a rocking chair that rocks on its own might already be inhabited by one. A blue-painted ceiling wards against evil spirits. Anyone who shares a potted plant must be acknowledged with the phrase “much obliged,” because saying “thank you” will cause the plant to die. As the entrance to the house, the porch has extra prominence: one should always enter and leave through the same door to bring good luck.

Mirrors are rife with meaning, from visiting bad luck on those who break them to confusing spirits on their journey to the afterlife. We can thank the Romans for the familiar “seven years bad luck” consequence of a broken mirror.

To them, the mirror’s reflection of the body represented a reflection of the soul, and to break the mirror was to injure the soul. Romans believed that life renewed itself every seven years, hence the duration of this particular sentence.

After a death, mirrors in a house are draped to indicate mourning and respect for the dead. The origin of this tradition comes from an old belief that a soul leaving the body and traveling to the afterlife could be confused by seeing its own reflection and become trapped in a limbo between this life and the next.

Covering the mirrors was a kindness for the departing soul but may also have prevented the mourners’ thoughts from straying to considerations of their own appearances.

Also at a death, clocks are stopped at the time of passing to indicate the timeless state into which the departed would transition. In the churchyard, another clock comes into play: the bell.

The toll that normally kept time in a small town became a note of mourning during a funeral. Not surprisingly, both clocks and bells are now closely associated with superstitions around hauntings and ill luck.

Not surprisingly, superstitions surrounding death and dying are many.

This is particularly true of the era when 44

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death and mourning took place in the home. A corpse was always removed from a home feet first, to prevent the deceased from looking back inside and tempting another soul to follow.

This arrangement still prevails today, though a coroner might tell you that it has the added benefit of being the easiest way to maneuver a body that might have become stiff.

We follow countless superstitions without a thought, so ingrained are they in our collective consciousness. Who among us hasn’t knocked on wood to prevent a jinx? This action reaches back to Celtic and German tradition, when magical beings were believed to reside in trees. Knocking on wood had

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the literal effect of knocking on the spirits’ door, whether to ask them to them listen or to distract their attention.

Habits like these are the cautionary tales of civilization, reflecting an era’s values, fears, and teachings. Known collectively as “apotropaic magic,” these small protective gestures help humans make sense of a confounding world and invoke some protection through their own agency. As they are handed across cultures and down through generations, their power persists, even if some of their meaning has been lost.

We might not always know why we do them, but we know it doesn’t hurt. H

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HEMP THE

ABOUT

By Janet Evans Hinman

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May/June 2020

WHILE HEMPBASED PRODUCTS ARE SOARING WITH POPULARITY, USING THEM WAS TABOO LESS THAN A DECADE AGO.

I

t’s hard to browse a news feed, turn on the television or read a magazine without coming across headlines about hemp and all its many uses. It’s generating serious buzz. Really.

Hemp is a variety of the plant species Cannabis Sativa; another variety is

using them was taboo less than a decade ago. For nearly a century, hemp was outlawed throughout the United States. Yet, this crop was a source of food, rope, paper, clothing and medicine for our ancestors who settled in this country.

The hemp and human connection dates back as far as 8,000 BC. Archeologists recovered hemp cloths in regions associated with ancient Mesopotamia (present-day

Courtesy of Hanover Hemp

marijuana. Marijuana has been bred for its potent, resinous glands which contain high amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the cannabinoid most known for its psychoactive properties, producing the “high” for which the plant is famous. Hemp, on the other hand, is a term used to classify a Cannabis Sativa variety that contains only trace amounts of THC (0.3 percent or less, by dry weight). While the legal definition had not been legitimized until the federal Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 had passed, “hemp” has generally been used to describe non-intoxicating Cannabis that is harvested for processing into a multitude of beneficial products.

Touted for its agricultural, industrial and commercial potential, hemp is useful in products ranging from feed to fiber and fuel, pharmaceuticals, building materials, cosmetics and clothing. Cannabidiol (CBD) oil, extracted from hemp without THC, is a homeopathic remedy gaining momentum in the health and wellness community and available in a variety of forms — gummies, lotions and tinctures. CBD oil is thought to help alleviate a range of health issues, including inflammation, pain, anxiety, sleep disorders, epilepsy, nausea and many other ailments.

While hemp-based products are soaring with popularity, The House & Home Magazine

Iran and Iraq). Indigenous people used durable hemp fibers to create textiles. Meanwhile, those who lived in present-day India, China and Taiwan used hemp seeds and oil for food sources, as well as to make pottery and medicine. Hemp was held in such high regard that ancient texts originating in India, The Vedas, referred to it as one of the five essential plants, along with soma, barley, rice and one other. The last of the five is obscure and ancient, difficult to decipher. Hemp, or cannabis, was called “sacred grass.” Really.

Although hemp flourished in areas that we know today as Asia, the hardy plant can be grown in a variety of climates. As our ancestors migrated west, they brought hemp along with them to make shelter, sails, food, and eventually, medicine.

Hemp made its way to the new world in 1606. Once Jamestown was established in 1607, the first line of action was to transform some of the fertile soils of Virginia into robust hemp fields. In 1619, because it was such an important resource, it was illegal not to grow hemp in Jamestown, as well as in colonies in Massachusetts and Connecticut. During the 1700s, subsidies and bounties were granted in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the New England states to encourage hemp cultivation and the manufacturing of cordage, cloth, canvas 47

Courtesy of Hanover Hemp

Courtesy of Hanover Hemp

Jonathan Flagg. Courtesy of Hanover Hemp

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and paper. Hemp was the fiber of choice for maritime uses because of its natural decay resistance and its adaptability to cultivation. Each warship and merchant vessel required miles of hemp line and tons of hemp canvas. Most of the fiber grown in the New World was destined for British markets, although at least some was used for domestic purposes.

Hemp fiber was so important to the young republic that it was considered a patriotic duty for farmers to grow it. It was even considered legal tender — farmers could use hemp to pay their taxes. The first drafts of the Declaration of Independence were penned on hemp paper. George Washington grew hemp and encouraged all citizens to sow hemp widely. Thomas Jefferson bred improved hemp varieties and invented a special mechanism for crushing the plant’s stems during fiber processing. Throughout the nineteenth century, America continued to rely on this durable plant. Congress went as far as enacting a law in 1841 that required the U.S. Navy to purchase hemp from domestic farmers.

By 1850, hemp was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia.

In this important historical text, medicines derived from hemp were listed for the treatment of everything from hysteria to gout and tetanus. It wasn’t long before hemp was included in many over-the-counter products.

Ultimately, hemp’s use as a crop was crippled by politics when a nearly century-long prohibition went into effect. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the United States experienced a cultural shift, with Americans leaning more toward conservative values. Also, there was no reliable technology to distinguish between hemp and marijuana.

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Further complicating the hemp issue was that it was a competitor of cotton and pulpwood, and a few powerful industrialists lobbied loudly against it. This led to a propaganda movie in 1936 called Reefer Madness, which portrayed cannabis as the most dangerous drug in the world.

In 1937, following the end of alcohol prohibition, the federal government passed the “Marihuana” Tax Act, which placed a hefty tax on the sale of cannabis and effectively made hemp cultivation not worth the cost. This law turned over the regulation of hemp production to the Department of Revenue, which was then responsible for licensing all hemp growers. In 1970, with a national mindset fixed on “the war on drugs,” hemp farming was banned altogether in the U.S. with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act, in which hemp was included as a Schedule 1 drug (a substance with a high potential for abuse). THC concentration was irrelevant; all cannabis growing was illegal. The punishment was comparable to that of the possession of heroin, LSD and cocaine.

Eventually, however, as America’s interests gradually turned to developing renewable, cost-effective resources for fuel, feed, fiber and pharmaceuticals, interest in hemp as an alternative crop re-emerged. The hemp industry in the U.S. received a boost with the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, which allowed “institutions of higher education” and state agriculture departments to grow hemp under a pilot program, as long as state law permitted it. Additionally, the 2014 bill established a definition of industrial hemp, officially setting the THC threshold in the U.S. at 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. Within Virginia, James Madison University, University

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of Virginia, Virginia State University and Virginia Tech began research programs.

Other universities followed with research of their own. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) was tasked with testing the hemp grown by universities.

The Virginia General Assembly established a program in 2018 that allowed farmers to grow industrial hemp without being associated with a university research program.

Registration with VDACS made the crop a legal product. The 2018 Industrial Hemp Grower Registrations authorized growing the crop in 55 Virginia jurisdictions, indicating the potential interest in the agricultural community. The focus at the time was on producing the fiber in the stalk and the potential use of the oil in the seeds for biodiesel fuel. VDACS did not permit farmers to grow hemp in order to extract cannabidiol (CBD) and sell it for distribution to those without a state registration. The state was unwilling to allow the growers to produce CBD to supply the stores selling CBD-infused products.

However, later in 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill), which confirms the legalization of hemp and provisions for its cultivation, transport and sale. States were then allowed to license farmers who planned to grow hemp for CBD, so long as the plant contained less than 0.3 percent THC. A product containing CBD derived from licensed hemp growers, and processed consistently with all state and federal regulations, was no longer classified as a Schedule 1 substance. In 2019, Virginia adopted legislation to conform with the farm bill.

The legislation went into effect in time for the June to October growing season and was adjusted to include hempderived extracts (like CBD oil) intended for human consumption as approved food additives, subject to food safety inspections. State law today, states that: “To legally possess hemp plants, viable hemp seed, hemp microgreens, hemp leaves, or hemp flowers in Virginia, you must be a registered Industrial Hemp Grower, Dealer, or Processor, or an agent of one of these registrants for the purpose of growing, dealing or processing.�

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Justin Flagg, Duke Diamond, Jonathan Flagg, and Walter Smith.

Courtesy of Hanover Hemp.

Legalization initially created a challenge for state officials.

Virginia State Police had a laboratory test to determine if the plant had a THC concentration below 0.3 percent, but no field test that could distinguish industrial cannabis from intoxicating cannabis. If a person with a grower, dealer, or processor registration was caught with a product above the legal limit, or thought to be marijuana, it could be sent to a lab for testing and if the THC concentration exceeded the legal threshold, the person could be charged with drug possession. At the very least, the farmer’s product was destroyed. However, testing methods have improved, and there are currently facilities available so that farmers can test their crops throughout the growing season. VDACS oversees the system.

Most farmers are exercising caution and choosing to start small, although there are a few who have thrown caution to the wind and have gone all in. At the beginning of the 2019 growing season, more than 800 growers had registered with VDACS. If growers’ estimates were accurate, it would have amounted to more than 8,500 acres of hemp planted for the season.

Jonathan Flagg of Hanover Hemp is one local pioneer in the hemp industry. He and his partners, brother Justin Flagg of Greenfield Landscaping and cousin Walter Smith of Edgewood Farm, all with Virginia Tech backgrounds, took a measured approach to the emerging hemp market. Coordinating with university research advisors, the group planted eight acres their first season and 14 acres this past season. Their focus was organic hemp cultivation for CBD oil extraction. After one small harvest initially, their latest yield was two pounds of dry weight per plant, and they called it a success. They tested every two weeks to make sure they were maintaining the THC limit of 0.3 percent. They sent samples out to offsite labs and The House & Home Magazine

usually got results within seven to nine days.

Even with expert guidance, “It’s a brand-new crop, and there’s very little information to go on right now,” Jonathan Flagg said. “We’re working by trial and error. It’s a tough market to maneuver at the moment.” He added that, “Virginia has been very responsive and good at getting a lot of things fast-tracked and approved.”

Although hundreds of farmers decided to take a chance on the crop, experts say there’s still much to learn about hemp and how best to grow it in Virginia. Ironically, despite its potential as a commodity crop for feed, fiber and flowers, research has found that hemp’s versatility may in fact get in the way of a smooth rollout of the plant as an important new crop. Each type of hemp product requires a different mode of cultivation, testing and processing by the farmer. In general, hemp stems and stalks are processed for fiber and related products, while leaves and flowers are processed for CBD oil and medicinal products. Hemp seeds are ground for oil extraction and as healthy food additives. And the list goes on.

Like all farmers, hemp pioneers have dealt with price fluctuations, storms, bugs, disease and anything Mother Nature decides to throw their way. Other challenges include the availability of processing facilities, the price of seeds, crop yields, and what varieties of industrial hemp are capable of thriving in Virginia’s different regions. “We’re working with a whole new crop in a new region,” Flagg said. “It’s one big experiment.”

Although the prospects for hemp farming in Virginia look promising, the issues facing growers require balancing the possibility of great rewards with plenty of risk. Opportunities exist for cashing in on hemp as an alternative or supplemental crop, but only time will tell the tale. H 51

THE

VERSATILE

By Kim Boisvert

THEIR MANY FORMS AND ABILITY TO THRIVE IN DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEMS ENABLE THEM TO GROW IN ALMOST EVERY REGION OF THE PLANET 52

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egumes belong to a family of flowering plants called Fabaceae (also called Leguminosae) which has over 18,000 known species.

Leguminosae is an older name for the plant family and refers to the fruit which are called legumes. It is the third largest family of flowering plants and includes commonly known beans such as kidney, soy, lima, green and garbanzo as well as peanuts and peas. Some ground cover plants such as clover and alfalfa are also legumes. In fact, since there are so many species within the family, there is great variety of form among legumes. For instance, the tualang tree, one of the tallest tree species in the plant kingdom, Wisteria and fenugreek are all legumes. Their many forms and ability to thrive in different ecosystems enable them to grow in almost every region of the planet with the only exception being Antarctica.

humans cut for fodder. Some species of legumes are grown as green manure, meaning they are tilled back into the ground to add nitrogen from the plant’s roots into the soil. The non-food uses of legumes are just as diverse. For instance, lupins are grown for their blooms, making them a popular addition to gardens. In addition to all of soybeans’ food uses (soy sauce, tofu

The abundant uses of legumes make them an economically important plant family. They are grown for human consumption, forage for livestock and for green manure, as well as for industrial purposes and for timber. The two broad types of legumes grown for forage are those that are sown in the pasture for grazing, such as alfalfa, clover and vetch, and woody shrubs or trees that livestock break down or

and tempeh), the beans are also used as an adhesive in making plywood and in the production of biodiesel fuels, hydraulic fluids and crayons. Leguminous trees are industrially farmed for natural gums which are used in the food industry as a thickening agent.

The sap of an Acacia tree is used to make ink, glue and cosmetics, and the Brazilian rosewood tree is used to make musical instruments. These are just a few examples of the versatility of legumes.

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LENTIL SOUP Serves 6

Ingredients: • 2 tablespoons olive or avocado oil • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 1/2 cup white onion, diced • 4 large carrots, thinly sliced • 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced • 2 cups baby red potatoes, cut into bite size • 6 cups vegetable stock • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano • 1 cup green lentils, rinsed and drained • Salt and pepper to taste • Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions: In a large pot heat the oil then add the garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Sauté 4-5 minutes until just tender. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the potatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Add the broth, thyme and oregano and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Stir in lentils and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes until the lentils and potatoes are soft. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add more broth if the soup is too thick. Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

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In addition to the copious and diverse uses of legumes that already make them an important part of our culture, they also have a special ability called nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen is essential to humans and animals in the body’s ability to make amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. While nitrogen is present in the atmosphere, it is not in a form that living organisms can use. It must undergo a conversion in plants making it available to humans and animals through food. In addition, plants cannot absorb nitrogen from the air. They get it from the soil.

Many legumes have a symbiotic relationship with a bacteria called rhizobia, which can absorb nitrogen from the air. The roots attract rhizobia which then creates nodules on the roots housing rhizobia colonies. The bacteria then absorbs the nitrogen from the air in the soil around the roots and converts it to a usable form for the legume to build proteins. The process of nitrogen fixation makes legumes one of the best sources of plant protein for consumption.

It also makes legumes a natural choice for crop rotation in both traditional and organic farming practices. Whereas with most crops, depletion of the nitrogen in the soil is an issue, legumes do not deplete the soil. In addition, when the plant is left to die in the field, the nitrogen is released and becomes available for other plants.

There are conflicting interpretations of archeological evidence concerning the history of legumes. Some evidence supports the belief that lentils and garbanzo beans were being grown in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago, and Peruvians were cultivating lima beans and peanuts 8,000 years ago. Other evidence suggests that it was only 5,000 years ago that peas were being grown in the Mediterranean region.

Regardless of the differences in opinion, it is clear that early civilizations recognized the nutritional value and prolific uses of legumes. As a food source, they are a staple in many cultures. Legumes are valued as an inexpensive meat alternative due to their high protein content. They are also a significant source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and essential minerals. It turns out all of the mothers through the centuries who admonished their children to eat their peas were right! Try a new recipe on the next meatless Monday, and it just may become your favorite night of the week.

May/June 2020

EASY SPICY EDAMAME Serves 4

Ingredients: • 1 pound frozen edamame • 2 tablespoons avocado oil • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 1 teaspoon chili powder • Red pepper flakes • Salt

Directions: Prepare edamame according to package directions.

Pat dry. Heat oil, garlic and chili powder over medium heat until fragrant. Toss edamame in the oil to coat evenly. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and salt to taste. Serve warm.

CHICKPEAS WITH SPINACH AND BACON Serves 4

Ingredients: • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained • 3 slices bacon, diced • 6 cups baby spinach • 3 tablespoons olive oil • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes • Salt and pepper to taste ASIAN TEMPEH SKEWERS Serves 4

Ingredients: • 10-ounce package tempeh • 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter • 3 tablespoon soy sauce • 1 tablespoon maple syrup • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes • 2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions:

Directions:

To reduce bitterness in tempeh, boil or steam 10-15 minutes. Pat dry and slice into 16 cubes. Whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, maple syrup, red pepper flakes and lime juice. Taste and adjust if needed. Add the tempeh cubes and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Thread 4 tempeh cubes onto each skewer and grill over medium high heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes each side. Serve warm.

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Remove and drain on paper towels. Leave a tablespoon of the bacon grease in the skillet and add 2 tablespoons olive oil, chickpeas and red pepper flakes, sautéing just until browned, 3-5 minutes. Add the spinach and garlic and sauté until the spinach is wilted. Stir in bacon.

Season with salt and pepper and drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top. Enjoy!

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BLACK BEAN AND CORN STUFFED PEPPERS Serves 4

Ingredients: • 8 red peppers, tops, membranes and seeds removed • 2 tablespoons olive oil • 1 cup onion, diced • 3 cloves garlic, minced • 2 teaspoons cumin • 2 tablespoons chili powder

• 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained • 1 cup frozen corn, thawed • 2 cups cooked rice • 2 cups salsa • Mexican cheese, optional • Cilantro, optional

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook onions in oil over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in black beans, cumin, chili powder and salsa and cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and add rice and corn. Arrange the peppers in a baking dish and fill each one with the black bean, rice and corn mixture.

Bake until the peppers are soft, about 30-40 minutes. Top with cheese and cilantro if desired. Serve immediately.

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PENNE PASTA WITH PEAS Serves 4

Ingredients: • 1 pound penne pasta • 2 cups frozen peas, thawed • 2 cups broccoli florets • 3 cloves garlic, minced • 3 tablespoons olive oil • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese • 1/2 lemon, juiced • Fresh basil, roughly chopped • Additional shredded Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions: Prepare pasta according to package directions for al dente.

Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. Sauté the peas, broccoli and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat until slightly soft. Add reserved pasta water if the vegetables start to dry out. Add pasta, shredded Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and basil and toss to combine. Serve topped with additional shredded Parmesan cheese. H

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A PERFECT

Middlesex MOMENT

MIDDLESEX HAS A TRUE UNIQUENESS THAT CELEBRATES THE PLEASURES OF LIFE ON THE RIVER AND THE OUTDOORS. 58

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Look forward to all the fun your heart can stand!

S

ince you have a little more time on your hands these days, why not dream big and look forward to your perfect Middlesex moment? Middlesex has a true uniqueness that celebrates the pleasures of life on the river and the outdoors. Once the road ahead is open, we recommend trying one or all of these adventures to stimulate your soul.

With 135 miles of shoreline, Middlesex County is situated at the eastern end of the Middle Peninsula and bounded by the Rappahannock River to the north, the Chesapeake Bay to the east, the Piankatank River and Dragon Run Swamp to the southwest. Look forward to the small-town flavor of Saluda, Urbanna, Deltaville, Hartfield, and Topping, where the locals make you feel like you belong.

“We’re waiting for you when the time is right,” says Michelle Brown, economic development and tourism coordinator. “We look forward to your visit when we’re all ready to get out and about. We’re close enough for a quick day trip or a long weekend getaway, so start your advance planning now.”

If you’re in Middlesex, the key is to appreciate the water, and there are plenty of options for getting out on the water.

Capture the morning daylight by boat, and experience one of the wonders of Middlesex ­—year-round fishing. J & W Seafood and Tackle Shop will help prepare your day’s excursion with bait, tackle and a charter plus scrumptious gourmet snacks. Grab a fishing license, boating license or weigh in on the scales to register a citation catch..

Golden Age Charters from Urbanna will take you out on a historical buy boat to watch the sunset, and later you can saddle up to a waterfront restaurant for dinner and cocktails.

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WALK BACK INTO TIME AT THE VINTAGE 1948 DELTAVILLE BALLPARK, HOME TO THE DELTAVILLE DELTAS Have you always wanted to spend the night in a cabin on a sailboat? We’ve got that, too! Norton Yacht’s in Deltaville will help you reserve a captain for a three-to-14-day sailing expedition. They’ll even teach you how to sail.

Jackson Creek Outfitters at Deltaville Marina will set you up with kayaks or paddle boards for some fun exercise. Detox with a dose of the natural wonders of the water life from the bay — ospreys, blue herons, stingrays, ducks and otters to name a few.

Dragon Run paddle tours are only offered twice a year. Starting September 1, reservations will be open for a guided kayak tour of the pristine Dragon Run Swamp to see the virtually untouched habitat of indigenous flora and fauna. These tours help fund the Friends of the Dragon Run to purchase surrounding property and to maintain the natural environment.

Nothing says outdoors like campfires and s’mores. Bethpage Camp Resort and its sister campground, Grey’s Point Camp, offer rental cottages or RV sites where everyone gets around on bikes or golf carts. Make a new friend at a corn hole tournament or kids’ Cow Camp or play a round of miniature golf at the Bethpage Creamery. Campground water sports and swimming fun include paddle boats, water trampolines, waterparks, kayaks, beaches, and fishing. The Cross Rip Campground is located at the tip of the Middle Peninsula overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, perfect for those hammock-style moments, offering tent camping in addition to cabins and RV sites.

Walk back into time at the vintage 1948 Deltaville Ballpark, home to the Deltaville Deltas, a semi-pro baseball team that plays between Memorial Day through July. Eat your hotdogs in the grandstand that’s covered in a traditional crab pot screening.

This wholesome summertime favorite is fun for the entire family at only $6, and kids 12 and younger are free.

Have you had all the quiet and relaxation you can stand?

Virginia Motor Speedway will get your heart pumping! The hum of the cars racing around the dirt track will invigorate your senses. For some extra fun, you can meet the drivers with a Pit Pass. Save the date for October 3 to watch the Fall Mud Bog zaniness.

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See the water from a different view, Coastal Sky Taxi will take you on a bird’s eye view of all the rivers, creeks and marshes.

Fly in a World War II open-cockpit airplane with Bay Aviation, or for those daredevils, opt for the aerobatic flight maneuvers such as loops, spirals and rolls.

If an oyster extravaganza is your fondest desire, Middlesex awaits your arrival. The county occupies a significant spot in Virginia’s River Realm, which itself boasts 465 miles of shoreline and eight small towns, and where local oysters reign supreme.

The region boasts 31 or more commercial oyster farms, $4 million worth of oysters sold annually and 1/2 million pounds of oysters marketed each year. In fact, 92 percent of all Virginia oysters are harvested here. Middlesex County’s most acclaimed oyster nursery is Rappahannock Oyster Company, and their tasting room, Merroir, is a waterfront favorite. Many of the Middlesex oyster farms offer on-line delivery right to your door.

Stroll Urbanna’s picturesque streets with their small-town charm and friendly faces, the best mix of little eclectic shops and eateries. Boutiques dot the streets with upscale clothing, art, home décor and coastal treasures. Be sure to take home a memory of Middlesex. Foodies will want to enjoy local treats like an old-fashioned limeade from Marshall’s Drug Store, a 1950’s-style soda fountain. Try Something Different’s awardwinning barbecue or brunch at Big Oak Café. Local wines and craft brews provide perfect pairings to the tide-to-table cuisine at the many outdoor and waterfront venues. Oysters aren’t the only delicacy — shrimp, crabs and fresh fish are on the menus.

If history is more your element, Middlesex County’s story, beginning in 1668, goes back almost as far as Jamestown. “Museums of Middlesex” is a collaboration of four museums that tell the tales of 350 years of Middlesex heritage.

RELAX WITH A DOSE OF THE NATURAL WONDERS OF THE WATER LIFE FROM THE BAY

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The Middlesex County Museum & Historical Society is a journey through everyday life from the nineteenth century and beyond. Celebrate the county’s military heritage with exhibits featuring soldiers going back to the Civil War, as well as the story of Lt. Gen. Chesty Puller, the most decorated Marine in Corps history.

The Urbanna Museum (also known as the Scottish Factor Store, circa 1766) is home to the Mitchell Map, considered the most important map in American history. When tobacco ruled the economy and the British crown ruled the people, the Mitchell Map changed the course of American history.

The Deltaville Maritime Museum is a place where maritime boatbuilding legend comes to life. History becomes reality with Family Boatbuilding Week, where families join forces to build a Wright Skiff. The 30-acre Holly Point Nature Park provides a natural setting for visitors to enjoy outdoor events such as the “Groovin’ in the Park” concert series and the Holly Point Art and Seafood Festival on October 17.

Colonial Seaport Foundation is building a working replica of an eighteenth-century coastal trading sloop called the Luna, teaching maritime history of the Colonial era.

All of Middlesex’s gracious charms will beckon you to stay a little longer when the time is right. There are overnight accommodations to fit your style and your pocketbook. Chesapeake Inn is nestled in downtown Urbanna and offers guests surrey bikes to ride around town. Dockside Inn is dog friendly, and many affordable Vrbos and Airbnbs on the water include kayaks, porches and spectacular views. You can even sleep on an Airbnb boat for the night!

“We want to be your getaway when the coast is clear,” says Michelle Brown. “Come see us when you’re ready to experience all the fun your heart can stand!”

For More Information go to: VisitMiddlesexVA.org and VirginiasRiverRealm.com. H 61

Open Up and Say Ahhh:

DENTAL HEALTH IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR TOTAL HEALTH

By Jackie Nunnery

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t’s the beginning of the year and if you’re like most, you’ve made a resolution to be healthier.

Maybe it’s eating better, exercising more, or even scheduling a checkup with your doctor. While those are all great steps in improving your overall health, there’s one piece you’re likely missing: a regular visit with your dentist. Believe it or not, ignoring your dental health not only impacts your teeth and gums, it can have significant effects on your overall health.

TWICE A YEAR VISITS: PREVENTATIVE CARE THAT CATCHES PROBLEMS EARLY In addition to brushing and flossing twice a day, the American Dental Association recommends that you see your dentist every six months. During that exam, your dentist may order x-rays to 62

check for tooth decay or cavities, as well as examine your teeth for plaque and tartar build up.

Plaque and tartar: precursors to tooth decay and gum disease Plaque is a layer of soft sticky bacteria that if not removed through regular and thorough brushing can harden into tartar, which has to be removed professionally. So how does it get there?

Bacteria live off the remains of food and drink in our mouths, well after we’ve finished a meal. They thrive off sugars and carbohydrates. All of those cookies and candy you enjoy? So do the bacteria in your mouth.

Ignoring daily dental care gives the bacteria more time to do damage. Plaque produces acids that eat away at the enamel of the tooth’s surface, leading to tooth decay and cavities. Bacteria can also infect the gums, causing gingivitis (swelling or bleeding gums) or periodontitis (an infection of the gums and/or bone). If left untreated, this can lead to tooth and bone loss. To evaluate your gum health, your dentist will measure how much space is between your gums and teeth. The healthier your gums, the shalMay/June 2020

lower the space will be.

Following the exam, a dental hygienist will perform a thorough cleaning. In a process called scaling, tartar is removed from the surface of your teeth. The cleaning is finished up with a polishing to remove surface stains and flossing to remove debris in between your teeth.

PERIODONTICS: SPECIALIZED TREATMENT OF GUMS AND TEETH REPLACEMENT

REGULAR CHECKUPS, AS PART OF YOUR DAILY ROUTINE FOR ORAL HEALTH, ARE AN OPPORTUNITY TO CATCH PROBLEMS EARLY

Based on the condition of your teeth and gums, your regular dentist may refer you to a periodontist, someone who specializes in the treatment of periodontitis and the placement of dental implants.

There are both surgical and nonsurgical ways of treating gum disease, depending on the severity. Procedures like scaling and root planning can clear bacteria and reduce gum inflammation, but if the disease is more advanced, soft tissue or bone may need to be replaced through grafts or advanced techniques that allow tissue or bone to regenerate and repair on their own.

Dental implants: improving on mother nature There are instances when teeth or their underlying structure can’t be saved. It used to be that the only options available were dentures or bridges (dental appliances that “bridge the gap” between missing teeth).

While these devices help improve your smile and offer some durability in chewing, they don’t offer the security and durability of implants.

Because implants more closely mimic the structure of a tooth and its roots, they provide a permanent replacement for individual or multiple missing teeth. During the first phase of the implant, a titanium post is placed where the tooth root used to be. As it heals, the post fuses with the bone in your jaw, and though it may take weeks or months to fully heal, the implant offers a much more secure fit than dentures or bridges. Once healed, an extension of this post, called an abutment, is added along with a crown that closely matches your other teeth.

Another advantage of implants is the long-term ease of care. Bridges require altering other teeth as part of supporting the bridge. With more intact teeth, unobstructed by a dental appliance, you The House & Home Magazine

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have easier access for brushing and flossing, with improved oral health as a result.

A HEALTHY SMILE: A WINDOW INTO YOUR OVERALL HEALTH

Science has shown a link between a healthy mouth and a healthy body. Gum disease has been associated with other diseases like diabetes, heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

One study from the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry showed that people with gum disease were twice as likely to die from a heart attack and three times as likely to die from heart disease or stroke.

Why? Experts say the mouth provides an easy way for infections to enter the bloodstream, which may lead to inflammation in other parts of your body like the heart.

Just as oral health can affect your overall health, there are certain health conditions that can affect your mouth. Whether over the counter or prescription, certain medications like antihistamines or pain killers often produce a dry mouth.

Because saliva is important to keeping your mouth bacteria in check and remineralizing your tooth enamel, dryness in the mouth can lead to gum disease, cavities or tooth loss if not addressed.

As our bodies age, we need to pay more attention to our mouths. Time takes its toll on many things and fillings are no different. Though it depends on the material used, fillings typically last about ten years. If ignored, bacteria can get under a loose filling and into the tooth, leading to more decay.

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SCIENCE HAS SHOWN A LINK BETWEEN A HEALTHY MOUTH AND A HEALTHY BODY. GUM DISEASE HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER DISEASES LIKE DIABETES Regular check-ups will identify problems fillings earlier before more damage can occur.

Osteoporosis, a bone loss disease most common in women after menopause, can have impacts in the mouth too. When jaw bones lose density, teeth become loose. In fact, women with osteoporosis are three times as likely to lose teeth than women without the disease according to the National Institute of Health.

Aging men have their own hazards. The American Cancer Society says that roughly 50,000 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer. The tongue, tonsils, or gums being the most likely sites. Men are twice as likely as women to be diagnosed and most frequently over the age of 60. Want another reason to see your dentist regularly? The majority of these cancers are discovered during routine checkups.

While anxiety may be keeping you from seeing your dentist on a regular basis, it’s an important appointment you shouldn’t be missing. Regular checkups, as part of your daily routine for oral health, are an opportunity to catch problems early, when they are easier to fix. So keep that healthy smile that greets you in the mirror every morning. It’s a smile that not only affects how others see you, but it also affects how you see the world. H

The House & Home Magazine

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! the straight truth about mail order aligners

By Jackie Nunnery While most discussions about braces tend to focus on the aesthetics of straight teeth, there are also medical reasons for getting braces or aligners.

Misaligned teeth or jaws interfere with chewing, causing jaw pain, headaches or broken teeth. Also crowded, crooked or overlapping teeth are more difficult to clean, which can lead to tooth decay and cavities.

Options in straightening a crooked smile have come a long way since the days of thick metal bands and wires.

Today’s traditional braces have brackets that are glued into place for the duration of the treatment, usually six months to two years. Wires are wrapped around the brackets and strategically tightened to move teeth into their proper positions.

Adults looking to straighten their teeth are moving towards aligners because they are made of virtually invisible, clear plastic. As teeth move toward their correct positions, usually every week or two, a different aligner is worn until the teeth are in their final location.

Costs and time for both options are nearly identical. That is if you use a traditional orthodontist to oversee your care.

But there is a growing number of people who are choosing a different route to straighter teeth at a fraction of the cost.

Mail order companies like SmileDirect promote their aligners as being “60% less than braces.” So how do they do it?

First, you book an appointment for a free 3D image of your mouth at one of their Smile Shops throughout the US, 15 of which are in Virginia. An in-home kit that allows you to make a mold of your teeth is available if you don’t live near one.

Next, a licensed dentist or orthodontist designs your series of aligners which are sent to your home and every 90 days, they check in on you. Sounds great, you say? Not really say most orthodontists.

First, the aligners are typically designed based on an impression made at home rather than a trained professional.

If done incorrectly, this can lead to ill-fitting aligners, which not only means you don’t end up with the results you were looking for, it also leads to tooth damage or receding gums.

Moving teeth is a complex procedure, requiring careful planning and monitoring. Orthodontists typically have two to three years in graduate orthodontic school in addition to four years of dental school to ensure that happens.

Going the direct mail route means giving up many things that ensure a good result. Things like: regular exams and x-rays, accurate molds of your teeth, and attachments that allow aligners to grip and move teeth properly.

The adage “you get what you pay for” is often true.

When it comes to orthodontic care, there is no substitute for the regular, in-person supervision of a trained professional.

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Essex County Museum & Historical Society TAPPAHANNOCK, VIRGINIA

Experience our vibrant history of Tidewater, Virginia in our galleries, filled with treasured objects from the past.

ON THE RIVER: 1608 John Smith’s exploration voyages and early commerce IN THE TOWN: County seat of Essex County is a historic district with structures from early 1700s WITH THE PEOPLE: Native Americans - Rappahannock Tribe, Early Colonists, 5th generation family homes and artifacts

804.443.4690 • WWW.ECMHS.ORG 2 1 8 W AT E R L A N E ,

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P O B OX 4 0 4 ,

TA P PA H A N N O C K , V I R G I N I A 69

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H E A L T H

TO FULFILL USINGTechnology THE MISSION

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echnology affects many aspects of our lives, from banking to how we form relationships.

At Riverside, technology has the potential to massively improve and transform patient care and outcomes. As technologies have improved and even more resources have become available, Riverside Tappahannock Hospital benefits from the use of technology in telemedicine applications, in the equipment used to guide surgery, in state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging systems and even with hospital beds that are “smart” enough to alert staff of patient movement.

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ACCESS TO SPECIALIZED CARE FROM ANYWHERE Telemedicine – which means “healing from a distance” – has been used to extend the provider reach for decades. At Riverside, telemedicine began as a way to bring the specialists and expertise based at one facility to other parts of the system without the need for physical travel.

Dr. Jeffrey Sodowsky, a critical care intensivist, regularly rounds on patients at Riverside Tappahannock Hospital’s ICU. He works in collaboration with hospitalists and specialists in Tappahannock to access patient conditions, adjust care plans and medications and communicate with staff and family. He does this all via robot while he’s physically located in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Sodowsky is with Eagle Telemedicine, a company

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H E A L T H imaging capabilities in the operating room and gives patients the best possible outcome. Most patients can go home the next day.”

ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS THAT ARE COMPREHENSIVE AND MAKE COLLABORATION EASY When Riverside Tappahannock Hospital and all the local Riverside Medical Group offices implemented the Epic electronic health record, patients received a new level of clarity and control over their personal health information. And providers have better access to all the pieces of information that help them develop comprehensive care plans.

Patients can schedule appointments, request prescription refills, see test results and ask their provider a question through Riverside MyChart, the safe, secure patient portal connected to their Epic health record. Some providers even offer video visits through the portal. This expanded access

that currently partners with Riverside to provide remote ICU monitoring.

“A critical care intensivist and on-site hospitalist conduct patient rounds twice daily with the telemedicine robot,” explains Dr. Alvaro Puig, a hospitalist at Riverside Tappahannock Hospital. “We can respond to patient needs in minutes and our ability to consult with a critical care specialist through telemedicine is sometimes even faster than if someone had to physically come from another part of the hospital.”

In addition to ICU care, Riverside Tappahannock Hospital also uses telemedicine for emergency consultation, mental health assessment, or providing stroke assessment.

Telemedicine has become an integral way that the hospital delivers on its mission.

to health information is accessible via computer, tablet or smartphone.

HOSPITAL BEDS SO SMART, THEY TALK BACK

TECHNOLOGY HELPS TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT PATIENTS Physicians and care team members at Riverside Tappahannock Hospital rely on some of the industry’s best and most advanced technology to aid in diagnosing and treating patients every day. Imaging studies from 3D mammography, CT scans and MRIs are provided using the very latest medical technology. And the portability of digital images means that providers in Tappahannock can easily connect, review and share with experts from across the system.

The surgical suites at Riverside Tappahannock Hospital also provide surgeons like Dr. Tyler Wind the ability to perform both routine and complex orthopedic cases with full confidence because the equipment is the same as what you might find in many larger urban hospital centers.

“Our unique offerings like the anterior approach to hip replacement reflect the most advanced treatment options,” explains Wind. “This minimally invasive surgery relies on The House & Home Magazine

One of the primary concerns for inpatient care are patients with a high risk of falling. Patients are often unsteady and, if they attempt to get out of bed unassisted, risk falling and hurting themselves. Riverside Tappahannock Hospital recently invested in beds that have technology that not only alerts staff if a patient attempts to get out of bed, but it is programmed to talk directly to the patient.

When the call button is pushed, the bed tells the patient that the care team has been called. If a patient tries to get out of bed without hitting the call button, the bed actually says, “Please don’t get up, the care team has been called.” The beds are equipped to communicate in five different languages.

The beds also monitor heart and respiratory rates.

They have built in lights at the foot of the bed and patients can adjust the comfort of the mattress based on personal preference.

Whether in person, via robot or over a video screen, technology is helping Riverside team members deliver better health care every day. H 79

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