NRV Magazine Mar-Apr 2022

NRV’s Premier Lifestyle Magazine

New River Valley

nrvmagazine.com March/April 2022

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NRV MAGAZINE

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Search. See. Love.

Find a place to hang your heart. Explore all homes on the market today and leverage the insight of our agent network.

Darin Greear REALTOR®

540.320.5859 Darin@RinerVa.com www.RinerVa.com

Wendy Swanson REALTOR® 540.797.9497

swansonwm@gmail.com www.wendymswanson.com

Brenda Woody REALTOR®

Priscilla Morris REALTOR® 540.320.3586

540.257.0281

Priscilla@PriscillaMorris.com www.PriscillaMorris.com

Brenda.Woody@LongandFoster.com www.longandfoster.com/BrendaWoody

of Long & Foster Real Estate

Kerry Gillispie REALTOR®

Mike Weber REALTOR®

kerryggillispie@gmail.com www.longandfoster.com/KerryGillispie

MikesYourRealtor@gmail.com www.longandfoster.com/MikeWeber

540.320.1684

540.250.6727

Long & Foster was named “America’s Most Trusted Residential Real Estate Brokerage”

by Lifestory Research.

Visit www.longandfoster.com or download our mobile app today!

3601 Holiday Ln. Blacksburg, VA 24060 | 540.552.1010

Trust. Family. Excellence.

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N E ST R E A LT Y

2021

NEW RIVER VALLEY ANNUAL REPORT JUST LA NDED!

Embark on your 2022 real estate goals with a clear understanding of the New River Valley real estate market.

NestMarketReports.com NEST REALTY NEW RIVER VALLEY 118 Country Club Drive SW, Blacksburg, VA 24060 800.325.NEST HappinessNRV@NestRealty.com NestRealtyNRV.com

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CONTENTS March/April

2022

Past ure Talk

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N RV Home 10

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Real Est ate P hoto g raph y 16 Hom e Styl e ' In Fo c us' 20

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Canopy of Tre e s 24 Wor l d Wi d e Ed uc at i on 28 Wal l y Thrasher 32

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1 9 69 Do d g e C harg e r R/ T 3 6 Ear l y Ed uc at i on 40

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Fo o d Fare 44 Coffe e S hop s 46

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Ad ve r t i se rs Ind ex 46

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Ryan Stenger

Steven Bowman

Deanna Dickerson

NMLS 568834

NMLS 914459

NMLS 712947

(540) 375-7780

(540) 266-3248

(540) 266-3423

Meet Your Mortgage Loan Officers.

Freedom First has been serving the Roanoke and New River Valleys since 1956, and we recently grew our Mortgage Team in the NRV! If you’re looking to buy a home or refinance your current mortgage, our expert Mortgage Team is ready to help you. Contact them today for more information on how to get started, or visit www.freedomfirst.com/mortgage to check today’s rates and get pre-qualified.

Federally insured by NCUA. 8

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Pasture Talk

NEW RIVER VALLEY M

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P. O. Box 11816 Blacksburg, VA 24062 o: 540-961-2015 nrvmagazine@msn.com www.nrvmagazine.com

PUBLISHER Country Media, Inc. Phillip Vaught MANAGING EDITOR Joanne Anderson ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Kim Walsh DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Dennis Shelor WRITERS Joanne Anderson Karl Kazaks Emily Alberts Jo Clark Becky Hepler Nancy Moseley Kameron Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS Kristie Lea Photography Kevin Riley Tom Wallace Billy Bowling Photography Nathan Cooke Photography

© 2022 Country Media, Inc. Country Media, Inc. will not knowingly publish any advertisement that is illegal or misleading to its readers. Neither the advertiser nor Country Media, Inc. will be responsible or liable for misinformation, misprints, or typographical errors. The publisher assumes no financial liability for copy omissions by Country Media, Inc. other than the cost of the space occupied by the error. Corrections or cancellations to be made by an advertiser shall be received no later than 5 p.m. the 20th of each publishing month. No claim shall be allowed for errors not affecting the value of the advertisement.

Paid advertising does not represent an endorsement by this publication. Content cannot be reproduced without written consent from Country Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Real Estate advertised in this publication is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.

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There are many things which define a friend, a really good friend, the kind of friend who shares her rhubarb and lets you ride her horse. When Boaz’s feet hurt on a ride last fall, I dismounted and walked with him for a while. As we faced the last mile, my friend Summer suggested I ride her stunning blond Haflinger, Winnie, and she would walk my horse.

When we had to pull off the trail for bicycles to pass, I glanced at her head more closely and realized she didn’t even have a bit in her mouth. Yet the most gentle of a signal caused her to step into the woods and wait patiently.

That’s when another friend, Leslie, snapped this photo.

Helen Keller, who lived her life in darkness and silence for being blind and deaf, once wrote perceptibly: “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” She has to be one of the most inspirational people to have ever lived. I have an original letter she typed and signed, in her block-y print signature in pencil, and in that correspondence, she wrote this to a friend: The new balcony up among the tree-tops outside my window gives me a chance to take a brisk walk every morning. Thus I, who may not venture alone on the road, can still enjoy freedom in the open sunshine, and sit down again to my work with a light heart. No matter how narrow my life

may be, I have many blithe hours and know not that all is dark and still about me.

Whatever challenges you may be facing today, give thanks for a good friend. Be a good friend. Treasure your sight and your hearing. Think for a few minutes what in your life would change – dramatically - if you lost one – or both – of those senses. So much of our outlook comes sharply into focus with perspective, seeing the big picture and not getting mired in small, mundane, relatively trivial issues which can steal our joy.

It is such an exciting time of year, all about renewal and regeneration in nature, and we can embrace it as well for us and our homes. This issue is one of our most popular for the home improvement articles and advertisers. We love it when you decide to engage in some home improvement and turn these pages to find an advertiser who can do the job. After all, it is because of these paid ads that you get a free New River Valley Magazine six times a year! Let them know you saw their ad and have a need that fits their business. You can play an important part in keeping the local economic engine turning.

Happy Spring!!

Joanne Anderson ManagingEditor

jmawriter@aol.com

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When Curiosity Takes We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

- Walt Disney

Text by Joanne M. Anderson Photos by Kristie Lea Photography 10

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You Home

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It was simple curiosity, along with a career in the housing industry, that brought Cassidy Jones and her family to their unusual home. “We actually lived down the street when this house came on the market,” she explains. “We walked by it from time to time, and since it sits back from the road, I was always very curious.”

Her position as lead designer with Slate Creek Builders almost assures that she has a passion for housing. “I especially gravitate toward unique and distinctive architecture. My first love was Frank Lloyd Wright, mostly his Usonian style houses, and that evolved into a love of mid-century modern designs.” Usonian is a uniquely Wright concept and refers to “a simple, stylish, small house of moderate cost designed especially for the American middle class.”

As an occasional adjunct instructor of Design and American Housing for Virginia Tech, Cassidy uses lots of Blacksburg neighborhoods to drive through, showing students different housing styles. When the “for sale” sign went up on this house, Cassidy asked Jeremy Hart, principal broker at Nest Realty, to get them in for a showing immediately. “It was just to satisfy my own curiosity really,” she relates, “but after one viewing, I told my spouse and Jeremy that we had to buy it! Jeremy definitely had his work cut out helping us make it happen.

It feels like our own treehouse because of the amount of glass and gorgeous wood interior details.”

Completed in 1960, the home was designed by Leonard Currie, a well-known, award-winning architect. His personal residence, the “Currie House” is up the street and on the National Register of Historic Places. This house came complete with original sketches, photos while under

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construction and myriad care and maintenance details.

The home was built for a man and his mother, thus, the lower level contains a full apartment.

Cassidy was drawn to the house for its floor plan, architecture and setting. “The floor plan is immensely livable,” she states. “The main level is composed of two squares. One square includes the living room, dining room, kitchen and powder room. The second square houses four bedrooms and two bathrooms. The lower level has a large rec room under the main square, and

the apartment and utility spaces are under the bedroom square.”

The architecture is unique, nothing like the Jones family had ever seen. Each square is supported by one structural center post, and the ceiling planes inside the house are lower at the post and higher in the corners.

None of the walls is a structural support. The ceiling at 12

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the walls is high enough to accommodate a large row of windows around the entire perimeter of the house. Since there is no room in the ceilings for ductwork, radiant heat was originally installed in the ceilings. Heat rises, so that’s not an especially efficient way to heat a house. Another owner installed baseboard heaters. “The house is cold or hot, depending on the season, and never the temperature we want,” Cassidy adds.

A large fireplace and the stairwell are the center anchors of the 3,600-square-foot home. The lot is around ¾ of an acre, large and very private for being in a neighborhood.

“The previous owners were apparently hobby horticulturists, so the landscaping is gorgeous.”

The house had been vacant a few years, and there were some things which required attention. They went ahead with some projects, including [but not limited to]:

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• • • • • • • • •

Replaced aging galvanized plumbing with PEX piping Covered asbestos kitchen flooring Remodeled the powder room Took out wall-to-wall carpet to reveal original hardwood floors Painted most of the main level Replaced kitchen counters and backsplash Cleaned and restored original kitchen cabinets Converted fireplace to gas Installed new boiler and hot water heater

Homeownership is a big responsibility, and the Joneses have more work to do on the horizon. Big things like replacing the exterior siding, renovating the master bedroom and converting part of another bedroom, which has no heat 14

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or lighting, to a master bath, as the current one is “insanely small and dated.” And little things like Cassidy’s dream of custom metal railings with a great modern detail for the stairwell, since it’s so prominent in the interior of the home.

This house, now loved and adored by the Jones family, won recognition for being a spectacular example of affordable architecture and innovation. The construction cost was less than $50,000, and once finished, it was described as creating “curiosity and consternation.”

So, curiosity has played a unique role in this house since the beginning. And its uncommon style, fascinating construction and enchanting design are sure to lure even more curious and inquisitive house aficionados for decades to come.

Instagram account for anyone who wants to follow along (@bradleyhousestory).

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Tom & Christy Wallace

~ Real Estate Photographers

Text by Jo Clark Photography by Tom and Christy Wallace

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Google “real estate photography classes,” and you will find 2.8 million results. “Real estate photography courses” will net you 1.5 billion results (yes, that is billion!) Why the huge interest in taking pictures of real estate? The Internet! The face of the real estate industry has changed.

“Agents have discovered that quality photography makes for a crucial first impression and listings featuring professional, visually pleasing photography receive more views, shares and sales,” declares professional photographerTom Wallace.

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Right Place, Right Time

Eleven years ago, an encounter at church with a house-hunting friend planted the seed. Their friend pointed out the horrible images of homes in the Sunday newspaper.

She flat-out said Tom could take much better photos and should start taking them for realtors.

Always the student, Tom researched and discovered an underserved market. Hmmm … maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea! A tax analyst, Tom became one of the area’s first real estate photographers. He took shots on the side for five years while crunching numbers in his day job. The

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He has extensive knowledge of photography principles and techniques that made him successful taking wedding, high school senior and family photos. He applied all that proficiency to houses and hotels. He took online classes in real estate photography and joined several industry associations.

Change Is the Name of the Game

Two years ago, covid settled over the New River Valley (and everywhere else), eliminating a critical component of real estate sales—the open house. Even now, homeowners aren’t thrilled to have strangers tramping through their homes. This led to a need for 3-D video tours and floor plans. Buyers were looking at photos, taking virtual tours and buying houses. The business grew, requiring an additional employee to handle all the work. Enter wife Christy, who, of course, had been working every spare minute anyway.

Christy Wallace is also an award-winning photographer and had her own camera when the two met.

She enjoys seeing the character of different houses. She focuses on capturing the interiors, Tom on the exterior. Tom says Christy is too modest. Her attention to the “little things” can make or break a shoot. She does a walk-through and spots things that create a distraction or the places that need a little something added for aesthetics.

Working together allows the pair to capture twice the homes in a day. Or, when necessary, they can go in opposite directions for shooting assignments.

Professional Photos – An Agent’s Secret Weapon

opportunity was there, and he wanted to offer quality work and excellent customer service as the business grew.

Tom has had a camera in his hand since he was a youngster—the family even had a darkroom installed in a bathroom. He was in the middle school photography club and yearbook editor. His love of shooting grew in high school, and he was editor of the high school yearbook.

A Pulaski native, Tom spent childhood summers in Charleston, S.C. At the age of 9, he took a picture of his 4-year-old cousin feeding ducks at Charlestown Landing— and entered and won his first photo contest.

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Usually, listing agents contract for photography services. Professional pictures make the property look good, so the house sells faster and for more money.

Times have changed in another way; buyers used to call and request to see five or six homes from the Sunday listings. Now, after seeing online photos, buyers narrow down their choices and want to see one or two. As the market continues to change, real estate professionals have little inventory, and homes sell sight-unseen in person. That early bird is quick to hop on the worm.

Depending upon property and house size, agents receive 30 to 40 images and more than 100 for large properties. Tom strives to edit all the photos from shoots within 24 hours, having the package to the agent the following morning. Likely he burns a lot of that commodity known as “midnight oil!”

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Although photographers are not required to be licensed, they are bound by the same ethical requirements as agents. Photographers can enhance a photo (making a cloudy sky blue or making the grass look greener.) But they cannot remove permanent objects like power lines, street signs or other eyesores.

Things to Come

The future will include aerial shots and videos to complement still shots. Agents are looking for images to showcase a property as well as show off the neighborhood and nearby amenities.

The absentee home builder is another market that seems to have found the Wallaces. Not the construction company, but the future homeowner. A weekly photo diary showing construction progress is sent to the client, allowing them to spot potential problems or changes that need to be addressed.

Adding equipment and learning new technology isn’t cheap. Just one camera lens can come with a $5,000 price tag. Tom and Christy have received diplomas from certified flying programs in drone photography. To take commercial drone shots, the FAA requires a license. And taking the exam is $170 (each attempt).

Primarily, the photographs are featured in real estate agents’ marketing materials. They are shared on Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia and print advertising. The 18

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Wallaces also shoot for hotels, builders, developers and even restaurants (those drool-worthy food photos just may have been taken by Tom or Christy!)

You can take a peek and do some dreaming on their website, www.RealPixs.com.

Tips for Beginners • • • • • • • •

Learn your camera’s settings Purchase the best equipment you can afford and learn how to use it Investigate the best time of day for photos Experiment and learn how to use interior lighting Practice and find the right camera angles to get the best-looking shots Get the shot right in the camera to eliminate need for post processing Learn to use post-processing software to edit photos Develop a 'Home Prep Instruction Sheet' for clients before the shoot

Jo Clark is a freelance writer and photographer as well who earned her MBA at Radford University. Her first camera was a Kodak Brownie received on her 6th birthday.

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T HE E WI NG C O MPANI E S

BUILDING | REMODELING | CABINETRY Custom Residential Projects Are Our Specialty.

Visit our showroom: 1701 S. Main St., Blacksburg, VA 540.951.0544 • EwingBuildingAndCabinets.com

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Fe at ure

Putting Home Style “In Focus”

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris Text by Joanne M. Anderson Mary Kate Gaines’ first bedroom style makeover occurred when she was in first grade. “My bedroom was my happy place,” she recalls, “and even at a young age I had an opinion of what I wanted it to look like. My mother was my greatest champion and agreed to the green and white gingham check fabric with pale yellow walls. Mom sewed curtains and a window seat cushion. I loved it and felt proud of what I created.”

From there, she went on to paint furniture and rearrange all the rooms at home. “I grew up in a busy, cluttered home full of love, creativity and unfinished projects. The microwave was a favorite place to stash things 20

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when company arrived.” It may have been this crowded, relatively disorganized home that imprinted Mary Kate with a passion for order and harmony.

Around age 14, Mary Kate found a saw and cut a hole in the outside wall of a loft apartment over their garage. “The space simply needed more light,” she explains.

“My very sweet and handy grandfather found a little antique window and, with a huge grin on his face and not saying a single word, fixed my mess and completed my vision.”

After working a decade and a half as an optician and restyling her own house from a dark lodge 1980s March/Apri l

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Before Vision Board

everything look to a bright, attractive home, Mary Kate decided to launch her own home design business, In Focus Interiors. The approach she finds most effective is through vision boards that pull the whole look together. “I use an inspiration piece to capture each client's general design style. Then I find shoppable links to products they can buy on their own, order and DIY install. Or, I install and give them an HGTV style reveal, incorporating what they already have, which is what I really love!”

For a recent master bedroom makeover for Danny and Meredith White, the inspiration anchor was photos of their children at the beach. This offered Mary Kate the color NRVMAGAZINE.com

scheme and a light and airy beach theme. For this project, the homeowners let her buy everything and do a 1-day installation and final reveal of the finished space.

“Our budget was $2,500 to $3,000,” says Meredith.

“As working parents with four children, I was happy to let Mary Kate do everything.” Meredith is a photographer and the founder of Valley Classical School, which blends homeschool with classroom time. Danny is a senior associate athletic director at Virginia Tech. It’s a crazy busy household. In the end, the White’s bedroom incorporated beachy colors with a new headboard, bedside tables, lamps, rug, art, decorative accents, pillows and throws, an armoire Mar/Apr

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• • •

(NRV Magazine cove r

NovDec 2017)

from a local antique shop and the bench. The greenery was already there.

Cassidy Jones, development manager and lead designer for the Blacksburg design-build-remodel firm Slate Creek Builders, has worked with Mary Kate on several projects. One was a remodel project in her own home and others included team work for new construction as well as renovations. “I cannot speak highly enough of her vision, creative eye and ability to design to a wide variety of styles and price points,” Cassidy says. “Her passion for creating warm, comfortable interiors shines through, and she understands the value of curating one's surroundings to create homes that her clients love.”

With a mission that embraces insightful design, useful décor and beautiful delivery, the business offers this convenient 3-step process: Reveal your story Restyle your space Relax your stress

In Focus offers restyling and staging for kitchens and baths, but does not do remodels in these spaces. The name In Focus Interiors comes out of Mary Kate’s years in the vision business, and certainly, figuratively, we want our homes in focus with our lifestyles and comfort zones.

Another generation is on board with Mary Kate’s interior vision, as her 9-year-old daughter (on the cover of NovDec 2017) recently texted this unsolicited job application: Hello,

I would like to be hired for your business In Focus Interiors. I am only 9, but I love designing homes and helping people see their homes as beautiful as they should be. I think you are very creative and great at picking out colors. Your vision boards are incredible! I would love to work there, so please can you hire me and I get paid a little, too.

Sincerely, Evelyn Gaines

Decorating tips courtesy of In Focus Design:  Find artwork for each room that tells a story or provokes an emotion.  Hang artwork so the center of the piece is 60” off the floor.  If you don’t love something or if it makes you anything other than happy and inspired, donate it.

Donating is so freeing. If you walk in a room and it just feels off, or uncomfortable, or sad, chances are there are things in there not reflective of who you are today.

Someone else will love it, and you will have taken one step closer to that comfortable, confident feeling.

www.Infocusinteriors.com 22

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Under Cover

keeping a canopy of trees happy, healthy and hardy

Text by Nancy S. Moseley Photos courtesy of Extreme Tree Company Some trees are famous enough to be named.

There's the "Keffer Oak," commanding a section of the Appalachian Trail just east of Route 42 in Newport. Virginia Tech maintains a Big Tree Registry, documenting the largest trees of each species in the Commonwealth.

For Josh Swift, certified arborist and owner of Extreme Tree Company, they may not all have names, but they all have stories. There's the giant tree he saved on Airport Road, the one his son first independently ascended off Tall Oaks Drive; there's the 8-foot-diameter tree with sentimental value in Radford, and the 110-foot hickory tree nicknamed "Frankenhickory." After 15 years in business, 24

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Swift's own personal registry is impressive. He drives by his favorites at least once year to visit.

"I knew I wanted to do work up high. I love rope work and searched for what to get into that would let me do that. Being involved in Vertical Rescue Training gave me a great foundation for using ropes at height."

Swift grew up reading his grandfather's engineering books and tinkering with ropes and pullies. Still today, his favorite part of tree work is the problem solving, the required focus and the ever-changing challenges. And, of course, "the element of danger, of cutting apart something you're attached to. It's just you and the tree and a chainsaw, March/Apri l

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Josh Swift

and you have to take it apart in the right order."

It's a business built on observing, with a scrutinous eye, how trees respond to their surroundings. When given time and space to flourish, trees will thrive. However, like any living thing, they are also vulnerable and can change from something at which we gawk in respectful awe, to something that makes us cringe in financial fear.

Swift advises homeowners to inspect their property's trees at least once a year. This can be as simple as looking for dead limbs, especially those overhanging or touching residential structures. If there's any doubt in judgement, call the experts who can add perspective with aerial assessments. "Sometimes there are things you NRVMAGAZINE.com

just can't see until you get up there and inspect from the canopy itself," Swift offers.

Overall tree health is directly linked to soil quality.

The fastest way to kill a tree is to disturb the roots.

Excavating, putting in a driveway, routing utility lines, consistent tire traffic will all contribute to this. It's best to mulch around the trunk as wide a circumference as tolerable.

Root-damaged trees can take five to seven years to completely die and will start their demise from the top down. If autumn leaves don't actually fall off the tree, it's a telltale sign. Cell activity in a dead tree stops, so the Mar/Apr

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message to shed dead leaves no longer transmits from the roots.

Hollow trees tend to be a bit weaker and require a more attentive eye, particularly if they are leaning a certain way. Also be aware of insect damage, recognizable by the appearance of sawdust gathered at the base of trees. A lot of tree diseases are treatable, while others can be fatal. In our area, for example, the emerald ash borer - an invasive beetle - has been slowly killing all of Virginia's native ash trees.

Dead trees and limbs are recognizable any time of year, but foliage-bare winter is the easiest season for complicated removal. Ten to 15 years ago there weren't many companies manufacturing tools specifically for arborists, an extremely niche group of people. So tree professionals borrowed the use of pullies, screws, cables, winches and ropes from bigger markets like sailing and rock climbing.

Extreme Tree Company recently acquired a crane.

It’s not like a crane you typically see on construction sites, with one big steel boom and cable. Swift's crane has two sections that have four to five tubes each that extend out like a telescope. On the end of the crane is a claw with a chainsaw. From as far as 100 feet away, Swift can reach out, grab a limb, chop it off and get it to the chipper, all with a remote control. He is the only such crane operator

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in the area, and people often stop and watch.

For the strength and structure of a tree, always let it grow tall. Making a tree shorter will expose areas where decay can invade. Sometimes tall trees will require a little help in the form of support cables and rods. Though don't worry about aesthetic value. Swift assures: "Trees react really well to steel. They'll grow right around it."

Where many living things whittle away with time, trees become more magnanimous. Quite often, if a tree dies off, a neighboring tree will grow to fill in the space, personifying a duty to keep our tomorrows covered.

Joyce Kilmer, in her famous poem, "Trees," muses: "Poems [and articles!] are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree."

Nancy S. Moseley is a freelance writer who doesn't foresee having a problem getting hoisted up a tree (rock climbing also seems like a good time). It's the "getting down" part, from a tree or cliffside or other, that causes quite a bit of pause.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a wealth of information on myriad topics including trees. They publish a handy dandy guide on Planting Trees, as well as a 2-page calendar on best times of the year to prune different kinds of trees.

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World Wide Education

from pen and paper to keys and screens

"Mystery at the Dinosaur Museum Escape Room" "Essay Writing for High School" "The Magical World of Fungi Part 2" "What's in Your Brain?"

Text by Nancy S. Moseley Above are a few of the classes found on Outschool. com, one of the leading online education platforms offering small, live, à la carte classes for children 3-18 years of age.

Launched in 2015, Outschool is one of many online learning vessels that have experienced a swell of popularity since pandemic times settled in. When our wee ones' eyes went from 3D scenes to 2D screens, the Internet quickly became an invaluable, supplemental resource, if not, to the audible "sighs" of parents everywhere, a bit reluctantly.

Some sites, like Scholastic's "Learn at Home", offer multi-day curriculums that more closely mirror comprehensive units typically found in a classroom. Other sites, like PBS Kids, ABC Mouse, Khan Academy and National Geographic Kids, have answered the cry for content simply by beefing up their long-standing, cherished offerings.

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lessons from Mo Willems himself, beloved author of "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus." But Outschool has outdone itself, hearing those reluctant "sighs" and solving for them by marketing diversity: Diversity of subjects, diversity of educators and diversity of students, all exemplified by the sheer number of class choices - 140,000 and counting. From Fortnite to fractions and cooking to coding, what better way to encourage independence and the joy of learning than by putting the reins in the hands of the end consumer: children.

Teachers and Classes But what about the educators? This new genre of online learning allows teachers to teach the subjects they love to students who love them. The schedule is flexible, and the boggy paperwork is nonexistent. But that's not to March/Apri l

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say teachers are void of accountability. On Outschool, each class has a public parent feedback section, and teachers are vetted for experience and expertise. You do not have to be a licensed educator, but you do need a provable passion and skill set for the topic you wish to teach.

The interface of Outschool allows patrons to filter class searches by age, day, time, subject, price and even language. It is free to join and free to browse with weekly and one-off classes ranging from as little as $5 per class to upward of $25. Private classes are considerably higher.

There are also subscription-based courses that promote engagement with the same peers repeatedly. This fosters deeper relationship building between students at a time when school classrooms have been forced to foster separation.

Screen Time Challenge However, changing the thought pattern from "screens are bad" to "screens provide access to essential education" was a tough switch. The struggle to maintain a certain amount of parental integrity while preaching the wavering mandate that screens are allowed for learning, but not for, say, gaming, is real.

But why can't it be both? If you have kids whose main attraction to screens is for video games, now is the time to capitalize on that curiosity. There are several online companies equipped to teach children the basics of coding, the language that makes what we see and do on our devices amateurishly useable. Giving children a glimpse behind the curtain changes their engagement with the screen from reactive to proactive.

Scratch is a brainchild of the MIT Media Lab, a nonprofit entity offering free coding lessons for those ages 8 to 16. It is "the world's largest coding community for children and a coding language with a simple visual interface that allows young people to create digital stories, games and 30

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animations." Similarly, ScratchJr, allows children ages 5-7 to "program their own interactive stories and games. In the process, they learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer."’

More Coding Options Wonder Workshop, First Code Academy and CodeWizardsHQ are platforms with similar trajectories, all aimed at inspiring children to adopt and absorb the literacy of now and the foreseeable future. They all encourage the use of computational and technological thinking to strategically solve problems in a way that exhibits play. It's visually engaging with fun, gratifying payoffs.

Ultimately computer programming is responsible for making our smart devices, well, smart. There should be no - at this point in the pandemic, familiar - parental guilt using video games as gateway pedagogy. Expanding on an existing foundation of interest can translate to an expertise in not only quickly advancing artificial intelligence, but also authentic intelligence, as well.

Who wouldn't want to enroll in a "Drawing Dragons" class or learn how to program robotic LEGO monsters to attack each other? The next virtual virtuoso just may be sitting in the next room, ready to write code for tomorrow's Sesame Street or perform open-heart surgery from another country. Every stroke of genius used to start with the stroke of the pencil. But learning looks different these days; indicating that the ability to adapt and succeed in ever-changing environments is perhaps the most important lesson of all.

Nancy S. Moseley is a freelance writer from Blacksburg whose 8-year-old son is a video game/technology junkie. So far it mostly comes in handy when she's feeling dumb trouble-shooting hiccups on all her smart devices.

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2022

Some days you just need a play day!

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Wally Thrasher: NRV’s Elusive Treetop Flyer

Thrasher made millions of dollars flying plane loads of pot into Virginia and had several neardeath experiences in the process.

Text by Emily K. Alberts Born on June 27, 1940, Pulaski native Wallace “Wally” Thrasher had Hollywood good looks and the charisma to match. The blue-eyed bandit stood a sinewy six-foot-two inches tall and was elusive on the Pulaski Cougars football field. That earned him the nickname “Squirrel” for his ability to cut back and juke out the opposing team.

Thrasher was also elusive off the football field, when he found his way into a notorious marijuana smuggling operation. He flew planes out of Colombia, Mexico and the Caribbean while keeping the sagging belly of the overstuffed aircrafts just barely above the tops of trees. He maneuvered planes with the same darting energy he displayed on the gridiron, and thus his moniker received an upgrade to “The Flying Squirrel.”

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Thrasher made millions of dollars flying plane loads of pot into Virginia and had several near-death experiences in the process. Ron Peterson, Jr., the best-selling author of Under the Trestle, the 1980 Disappearance of Gina Renee Hall & Virginia’s First “No Body” Murder Trial, has recently written a book about the New River Valley’s own Wally Thrasher, entitled Chasing the Squirrel: The Pursuit of Notorious Drug Smuggler Wally Thrasher. The book tells of Wally’s many daredevil escapades, including surviving two years in a deplorable Mexican prison and the time he wrestled a gorilla!

The book has now inspired a documentary series, “Where’s Wally?” that will feature on-camera interviews with Thrasher’s wife and son, some of his old drug smuggling associates, and even the law enforcement and Drug March/Apri l

2022

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she was later arrested), Thrasher supposedly died in a fiery plane crash in Belize, and his body supposedly burned to ashes. Yet another “no body” case for a Virginia crime.

Some believed that he died in the Belize crash, while others believed that he faked his death and may still be alive. Olga did hold a funeral for Wally that November in his hometown of Pulaski. She also ran a paid death notice in the local Roanoke newspaper.

The federal investigation of Thrasher, however, did lead to the largest drug bust in mid-Atlantic United States history in 1986, when more than $150 million in drugs and cash were seized by the DEA, and 13 international traffickers were brought to justice.

Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers who chased him.

Though Wally spoiled his wife, Olga, with a life of luxury, including a lavish second home in Florida that they enjoyed flying to and fro, the couple could not resist the tranquil mountain valley way of life and eventually settled in Little Creek Valley in Bland County, which borders Giles County on its southern side. Though many of the local folks knew the true source of the Thrasher’s massive income, they were treated as if they were local celebrities, and the air of speculation that swirled around them stayed just that, speculation.

Having grown up in Pulaski, Wally of course had many adventures upon the waters of Claytor Lake, including swimming across it on a dare. It is no surprise that he wound up owning property on Claytor Lake as well, and there are still rumors of large swaths of cash hidden in the walls and under the floors of Thrasher’s former lake house.

Though he had always stayed two steps ahead of law enforcement, taking great measures to use fake names and bail on any operation that made him uneasy, his luck eventually ran out in 1984 when one of his planes -- stuffed to the hilt with marijuana -- crashed in a thick fog in Fancy

. . . more than $150 million in drugs and cash were seized by the DEA, . . .

his luck eventually ran out in 1984 when one of his planes -- stuffed to the hilt with marijuana -crashed in a thick fog in Fancy Gap, Gap, leaving more than 500 pounds of pot scattered across the mountain, valued at more than $500,000. This crash caught the attention of local news and national authorities.

Thrasher was listed as the person who paid the hangar and maintenance bills for the aircraft, and there was little doubt in anyone’s mind that he owned it.

Rather suspiciously, just several weeks later, as drug investigators were closing in on him (despite Olga providing them with a falsified death certificate from Jamaica, for which

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Today, Thrasher would be 81 years old, and U.S. Marshals believe he may still be alive, living the good life in a faraway tropical land.

However, the indictment against Wally was dismissed in August of 2015, under the belief that he is likely deceased. Many questions still swirl around the case, most of which may never be answered. If his body burned to ash with absolutely no remains, how was his gold wedding ring perfectly preserved and sent back to Olga from his associates in Belize? Would Wally be able to live out the rest of his life with no contact with his wife and two children?

Some claim to have met Wally, alive and well, operating from Cuba with another fugitive. Some say he is working with the CIA and has been for years. Wally Thrasher is certainly one of the New River Valley’s greatest Unsolved Mysteries.

Emily K. Alberts’s comedic response to the question: “What brought you to Blacksburg?” is often a jab about being in the witness protection program.

March/Apri l

2022

Annual Golf Tournament - September 26 PRESENTED BY

PLAY.

DONATE. VOLUNTEER.

Since 2013, we have raised more than $250,000 in the battle against cancer, with every dollar staying in Virginia.

To sign up a team, volunteer or donate, please visit www.blacksburgbattlescancer.org

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Ultimately, The Gift of Time

Text by Joanne M. Anderson Photos by Tom Wallace You know the old saw: Some people see the glass half empty and others view it as half full. Such was the case with an old heap of a car with no windows which sat in the woods for 15 years in south-central Virginia. It had sustained the damage of Father Time and Mother Nature and was seen by many as a top candidate for immediate relocation to the scrap yard.

Chad Wikle, however, saw things differently. “It would have been perfect for Fred Flintstone,” he recalls. “It had no trunk, no front end, no interior, no engine or running gear. But, hey, this vintage muscle car had a good roof, good frame rails and two doors, basically four parts with redeeming value.”

Wikle’s vision for the 1969 Dodge Charger R/T can be credited to his superior skills and keen eyes for an end result that not everyone can visualize. He has been doing collision repair work since high school, graduated from Nashville Auto Diesel College in Auto Body Repair and is an I-CAR PlatinumTM certified collision technician. He has 25 years of experience in collision repair work, and purchased the Charger from a co-worker who determined it was not a 36

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project he wanted to undertake.

What are you going to do with that thing?

And what better way to justify such a ridiculous acquisition than to buy it for the next generation? Wikle thought it would be a great project for his son! Once he hauled it home, most of his friends and family members queried: “What are you going to do with that thing?”

Across more than a decade of spare time, Wikle relates what he has done with that thing:         

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Rebuilt the entire car Took every bolt off the car Redid all the interior Replaced all the rusty sheet metal Added the vinyl top Painted the bottom of the car to look like the outside’s new paint Put in the engine Added a transmission Upgraded the four-wheel disk brakes.

2022

What did I get myself into?

One of the first tasks at hand was taking what was left of the car and putting it on a rotisserie to identify and track down core components that would make his son proud one day. He has attended auto parts swap meets, junk yards and online vendors to buy one piece at a time. It has taken longer than expected due to the difficulty in finding parts for a car that was only made one year, 53 years ago.

Wikle is still waiting on a couple interior parts that he ordered months before the global pandemic. He faced challenges while sourcing parts and has done lots of networking, which has included getting to know the Mopar® crowd. (Mopar = MOtor PARts. Mopar. com) There have been days when Wikle thought: “What did I get myself into?” His family jumped into the fray wondering seriously if he lost touch with reality when just the floorboards cost more than the price he paid for the vehicle.

Wikle has a body shop with a frame machine and paint booth. “I own all the tools of the trade needed to build cars from the ground up. I have worked in the New River Valley doing collision repair for 25 years. I am a master at my trade, and I am passionate about the restorations that I take on.” Wikle has contributed to many vintage restorations in the region, yet enjoys spending a lot of time in his shop, doing what he does best.

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Did you get that car done?

There were some family conversations around the color the vehicle would eventually be painted. Wikle himself favored a bright color like orange, akin to the General Lee, the ’69 Dodge Charger in “The Dukes of Hazzard” TV show.

Discussion ensued, and the family ultimately settled on silver which evokes dignity and contrasts comfortably with the black vinyl roof.

Wikle has all the skills for the complete restoration, and sourcing the necessary parts in good condition proved to be the biggest challenge. Historically, he works faster than others in his industry, but has had to slow down to field so many questions from people asking: “Did you get that car done?”

Well, mostly, yes. It has a 440-cubic-inch big block and a 727 transmission. “It has the characteristic hideaway

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headlights, vinyl top, R/T stripe around the back of the car and 17-inch American racing wheels,” Wikle adds. The coke bottle shape of the car is a notable feature.

The dash and door panel have been autographed

by Richard Petty (7-time NASCAR champion) , Cathryn Bach (actress), James Best (actor), John Schneider (actor), Sonny Shroyer (actor), Tom Wopat (actor) and Ben Jones (actor).

Richard Petty raced Plymouths and Dodges for years during his illustrious racing career.

While Wikle’s son Andrew was often gifted Charger car parts for holidays and birthdays, the entire classic vehicle has now been gifted from father to son. In the end, it’s really so much more than a car, but a treasure with more than a decade of talent and time devoted to it. And, time really is the greatest gift of all.

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Preschool: Pros and Cons of Early Education

T

Text by Emily K. Alberts

The times they are a-changing. “Back in my day,” as my Mom would say, “kids didn’t go to school at all until we were six years old! We stayed home and played with other kids in the neighborhood. We got to just be kids.”

Nowadays the push for education starts early.

Parents feel pressured to enroll their kids in preschool as early as possible, partly because the rosy days of kids running freely around the neighborhood have given way to a more “indoorsy” generation of youngsters. They can be outfitted with iPads and airpods before they can even speak, and having a parent who can afford to stay home is becoming more rare by the day.

But another reason for pushing children out of the nest sooner is because parents think children need to get ahead, lest they fall behind. The budding societal pressure for youngsters to have the alphabet memorized has parents thinking their toddlers need to divide and multiply if they’re ever going to make it in today’s competitive economy.

But what does the data say?

Preschool does provide an opportunity to prepare 40

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kids for the atmosphere of learning: structure, routine, patience. It may give them a leg up on “falling into the fold” of kindergarten, and soften the chasm between the comfort of home and the rigor of school.

However, academically speaking, any “leg up” on academics is not even noticeable beyond the second grade.

Children who did not attend preschool catch up quickly and close the gap.

Special Early Childhood Programs Still, some parents feel the need to provide a dualincome household and enroll their kids early, moreso as an affordable alternative to daycare or hiring a nanny, than as a scholastic advantage. While there are various programs in place to support struggling families who need childcare prior to the start of kindergarten (Head Start, for example), the Virginia Preschool Initiative was created in 1994 to serve atrisk 4-year-olds who are not being served by Head Start.

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safe environment for them to flourish while their home life is anything but. The programs serve an underprivileged segment of the population, and for these children, something as simple as one year of preschool makes a tremendous difference in the trajectory of their lives. From reduced rates of incarceration and lower drop-rates to future happiness and career success, the importance of this program cannot be overstated.

Though only certain families qualify for these state-sponsored programs, there are many other options for parents who wish to enroll their children in preschool.

Whether it is the child who seems to be chomping at the bit to start school early, or the parent who is chomping at the bit to return to work, there are many different preschool options (from half-day to full day to three days a week, etc.) to fit the family needs.

Learning Techniques There are also many different learning models.

The Montessori system fosters self-confidence built on the premise that children should be independent learners and have more control over their learning choices. These classrooms have children of mixed ages, so siblings can be together if desired, and older kids can guide younger kids in a more organic way than if a teacher was always involved. The Reggio Emilia approach also employs a sense of curiosity-led self-discovery within the child, putting the focus primarily on learning through play. Children are all members of the same classroom “society”, and social skills are at the forefront.

It is certainly not a one-size fits all situation. Different children are going to flourish in different environments,

It is certainly not a one-size fits all situation. Different children are going to flourish in different environments, . . . and some children might just thrive the most with a single, dedicated caregiver at home. It is essential for parents to do their homework and find the right fit for the unique needs of their child, and not to be swayed too much by fancy programs and pedagogical jargon. At the end of the day, the greatest benefit to any child is going to be the simple presence of a loving and supporting environment, whatever shape that may take. Manageable classroom sizes and competent, loving teachers will outweigh rigorous instruction and formal programming.

Flexible Preschool Ideas There is a growing movement toward a more natural, flexible preschool experience, and the Forest 42

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School is a great example. This program, catering to ages 2-7, is adaptive and offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves. The school year is composed of regular sessions across all seasons and emphasizes sensory, practical play, outdoors.

Another happy medium between homeschooling and preschool is the co-op experience. Sharing the burden of homeschooling across multiple families allows children to benefit from social interactions with peers, and gives the stay-at-home parent a much-needed break. Each participating household takes a particular day of the week and subject area. These co-ops became even more popular during the pandemic, when many parents were frustrated with the lack of socialization their littles ones were getting when stuck in masks, six feet apart, during such an important time of their social development. Valley Classical School in Blacksburg offers a unique blend of classroom instruction and homeschool.

What the Future Holds The bottom line is that fewer parents are choosing to stay at home with their young ones beyond the toddler years. Almost as soon as children are potty-trained, parents are eying preschools and daycare. Many mothers in America return to work immediately after maternity leave because they cannot afford to stay home. If you are a stay-at-home parent in today’s economy, your family may be making some sacrifices to do so or you have the option of not needing both parents in the workforce. This latter scenario can be a lonely place when playgrounds are empty, and your youngster has no one to play with because all of the other kids are in preschool or daycare. In fact, so many kids are not staying home with a mom or dad that preschool programs are becoming overstretched, with long waitlists and increasing tuition. The teacher to student ratio is widening, and kids are getting lost in the crowd.

Preschools are racing to catch up and meet the growing demand, but it doesn’t seem to be happening fast enough for many parents. Company-sponsored daycares are a growing trend, and with more work-from-home options today than ever, parents find themselves balancing childrearing with a career. But providing stimulating activities for the burgeoning mind of a preschool aged child can be difficult when you are tied to a home office chair.

Striking the right balance for each child and family is key, and hopefully more options will continue to become available and serve the changing needs of the community.

Freelance writer Emily K. Alberts fondly remembers taking a business call at the Chick-Fil-A play place when her children were pre-preschool ages!

March/Apri l

2022

Looking to build, buy, remodel, or need help with your c urrent projec t list?

You don’t want to miss this oppor tunit y to meet building trade and home ser vice professionals in one great location!

NRV Home EXPO Saturday April 9 9AM - 5PM Sunday April 10 12PM - 5PM Christiansburg Rec Center 1600 N. Franklin St.

Use Code NRV22 To Get

$ 2.00off

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Early Bird Ticket Price of $5.00

E D U C AT I O NA L S E S S I O N S LEGO HOME BUILDING CONTEST T R A D E S E D U C AT I O N A N D L O C A L J O B O P P O RT U N I T I E S

Ticket valid entire weekend 18 and under Free

More Details and Tickets at:

www.nrvhomeexpo.com

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NR V F o o d F a re

Irish Vittles Compiled by Joanne M. Anderson

Honoring the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day is great fun, but we can enjoy Irish food and drink any time. Corned beef and cabbage may top the list of recognized foods, but actually the most popular meal in Ireland is still meat with two vegetables. Simple enough fare.

The Irish are, however, known the world over for boxty, soda bread and Irish stew, which stands apart for using lamb or mutton for the meat. If you have not heard of boxty, then perhaps you are still single, as an old Irish rhyme goes like this: 'Boxty on the griddle, boxty on the pan; if you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man'. Soda bread has a unique texture and often includes raisins, but no cinnamon. It was originally fried in a pan because Irish wheat did not play nice with yeast and rise, so this uses baking soda to react with buttermilk. They are simple breads which go with every meal or no meal at all, simply as an Irish snack food.

Boxty aka Irish Potato Pancakes

1 ½ cups grated raw potatoes 1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup leftover mashed potatoes 1 egg

1 tablespoon skim milk

salt and pepper to taste ¼ cup olive oil

Toss grated potatoes with flour,

then stir in mashed potatoes until combined. In a separate bowl,

whisk egg and skim milk; mix into

the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over

medium-high heat. Drop in potato mixture and form patties about 2

inches in diameter. Fry both sides

until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel.

Serve warm.

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2022

Irish Soda Bread

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour • 1 Tbl. sugar

Whisk 4 cups flour with sugar, salt, baking soda. Work butter

• 1 tsp. salt

into flour mixture with fingers or

• 1 tsp. baking soda

pastry blender and add raisins or

• 4 Tbl. butter • 1 cup currants or raisins • 1 large egg, lightly beaten • 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400°.

rough ball. Shape a round loaf on a floured surface. It will be sticky and look shaggy like biscuit dough.

Place the loaf in a lightly

currants.

greased cast iron skillet or baking

mixture and add beaten egg and

which really looks more like a + sign.

Make a well in flour

buttermilk, stirring with wooden spoon until it’s stiff. Dust your

sheet and score an X on the top,

Bake about 35 minutes until golden brown and bottom sounds hollow.

If skewer comes out clean, it’s done!

Let it cool 10 minutes before slicing.

May the luck of the Irish Lead to happiest heights And the highway you travel Be lined with green lights.

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hands with flour and knead into a

It is best enjoyed warm from the oven.

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java

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No matter what time of day you crave a cup o’ java, you can find something satisfying in the New River Valley.

Max on Main in Pulaski is the newest NRV coffee shop. They serve breakfast, lunch and their alreadyfamous true Liege sugar waffle.

Immersed in art and history, their belief is that enjoying coffee is about the experience – the smells, sounds and tastes of coffee and the people who love it. Also in the southern reaches of the NRV, the Village Coffee Shoppe and Restaurant in Thee Draper Village offers locally roasted coffee, fresh sandwiches, baked goods and desserts. The café evokes a strong sense of community in the tiny hamlet of Draper.

Brugh Coffee Roastery & Brew Lab is a novel micro-roaster of specialty coffee you can order through its own app at brughcoffee.com. They also offer homemade pop tarts and a rotating menu of baked goods. Out in Giles County, Sugar + Flour in Pearisburg takes center stage not only for the coffee, but also for a toddler play area, signature drinks, breakfast and lunch. Hardwood floors and cozy furniture provide an exceptionally warm atmosphere.

Radford Coffee Company was established in 2015 with the goal of serving awesome, small batch roasted coffee and impacting school kids locally and internationally.

The atmosphere is charming, and breakfast is served all day. Bollo’s Bakery & Café in downtown Blacksburg bakes everything from scratch on site and for the gluten-free and vegan crowd, this is the spot to go. Mill Mt. Coffee & Tea was early on the scene in 1990, also in Blacksburg, and its coffee is roasted on site.

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Red Rooster Coffee Roaster and Café in Floyd roasts excellent coffee, sourced from Organic and Free Trade coffees or premium coffee from estates and farms with impeccable reputations. The store offers specialty coffees, tea and smoothies, sandwiches and baked goods to go.

Floyd’s Cocoa Mia has a few indoor seats at the storefront window and offers a tasty Mocha Java along with superior hot chocolate (you can get a sample in a small ceramic cup) and teas. It might be the chocolate and owner’s personality here, however, that keeps you coming back.

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“Choir! Choir! Choir! has grown into a national phenomenon by tapping into a need that people share—and have few opportunities to actually do—joining together, opening their hearts, and raising their voices in song. “ —Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Saturday, April 23, 7:30 PM

CHOIR! CHOIR! CHOIR! Free; registration required PERFORMANCES l EXHIBITIONS l EXPERIENCES 190 Alumni Mall, Blacksburg, VA 24061 | 540-231-5300

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