A REGIONAL MAGAZINE SERVING GREATER RICHMOND NORTH OF THE JAMES VOLUME 23 No 1/2 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
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Christopher Kilian
is a classical conservative informed by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Edmund Burke and Peaceother great thinkers of the Enlightenment, along with those who spread the fire of Reason to our national soil, men like Madison and Jefferson. Since the year before the new millennium began, Chris has worked, in one capacity or other, at the Virginia General Assembly, from legislative aid to lobbyist, and for the last twelve years as a member of the House of Delegates, representing the 97th District. He was raised in a house in Ashland by three very strong women, including his mother Nina K. Peace, a liberal Democrat in a Republican county, a woman who truly believed in justice for all, a woman removed from the bench where she served as Juvenile and Domestic Relations judge, pushed from her seat of jurisprudence during a witch hunt instigated by Hanover Republicans at the General Assembly. These same men would later help Chris launch his own career in politics. continued on page 14
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2 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • January 2017 TABLE of CONTENTS
6 ESSAY Dog-like Love Moving essay by Anne Jones, dog-lover and writer. She notes: “And so by embracing, dog-like, every little chance we get at love and longing and joy, we are embracing our humanity. And it’s enough.” Happy Valentine’s Day. 10 BUSINESS PROFILE Final Gravity Richmond loves its craft beers. Nationally, per capita, the Richmond area has more micro-breweries than any other city in the country. And they all seem to be doing well. Including one of the newest opened a year and a half ago by beer connoisseur and brewer Tony Ammendolia on Lakeside Avenue in the Northside. 8 WHAT’S NEW Demi’s: A Mediterranean Kitchen Bellevue is now home to an ample slice of Mediterranean cuisine—Turkish, Spanish, Greek, Italian. Long-time owners of Dot’s Back Inn, recently opened Demi’s just across MacArthur Avenue. What a restaurant. And what food. Fit for the gods and goddesses who dwelt in those warm countries bordering Mare Internum. 12 COVER STORY Christopher Kilian Peace: The Conscience of a True Conservative Chris Peace is a classical conservative who has worked, in one capacity or other, at the Virginia General Assembly for the past seventeen years, as legislative aid, lobbyist, and for the last twelve years as a member of the House of Delegates, representing the 97th District. He was raised in a house in Ashland by three very strong women, including his mother Nina K. Peace, a liberal Democrat in a Republican county, a woman who truly believed in justice for all, a woman removed from the bench where she served as Juvenile and Domestic Relations judge, pushed from her seat of jurisprudence during a witch hunt instigated by Hanover Republicans at the General Assembly. These same men would later help Chris launch his own career in politics. 20 HIDDEN HISTORIES The Kansas State Industrial Farm for Women Between 1917 and 1942, approximately 5,000 women were imprisoned at the Kansas State Industrial Farm where they lived and worked alongside other female criminals. Prior to 1917, it the industrial farm prisoner population was twenty. 21 COLUMN Rainbow Minutes Three Rainbow Minutes by Judd Proctor and Brian Burns. In the Navy; Valentines Through the Ages; Audre Lorde, The Warrior 22 BOOK REVIEW The Hidden Life of Trees Author Peter Wohlleben explains that natural forests are things of genius: young trees grow very slowly under the shade of their mothers, and this slow growth allows them to develop into healthier, longer-lived trees. The trees we plant in our yards or those who live in thinned out forests grow fast, but are not as strong.
COVER PHOTO by REBECCA D’ANGELO
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Independently owned and operated. editor/publisher NORTH of the JAMES® magazine is published CHARLES G. MCGUIGAN every month. Letters to the editor are welcome, but become the property of NORTH of the JAMES® art director magazine. Letters may be edited for clarity and DOUG DOBEY at Dobey Design length. Although we invite unsolicited manu- contributing writers scripts, we cannot be accountable for their return. The publisher is not responsible for errors. Copyright DALE M BRUMFIELD 2017© by NORTH of the JAMES magazine®. BRIAN BURNS All rights reserved. Views and opinions by our writ- ORION HUGHES ers do not necessarily represent those of NORTH of the JAMES magazine®. NORTH of the JAMES JACK R JOHNSON magazine® is not responsible for claims made by our ANNE JONES advertisers. For media kits and ad rate information, CATHERINE MCGUIGAN write or call: JUDD PROCTOR ® FRAN WITHROW NORTH OF THE JAMES MAGAZINE contributing photographers PO Box 9225 REBECCA D’ANGELO Richmond, VA 23227 editorial: [email protected] (804) 218-5265 advertising: [email protected] www.northofthejames.com January 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 3 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR More David Hudson Letters I was a parent at Linwood Holton hood. Isn’t it unreal what can hap- courages and has never said, “no” to We are writing this letter in support when it first opened in 1999. I was pen to a community school and sur- me. And if I am being perfectly can- of David Hudson, principal of Lin- there for the first two principals and rounding neighborhood when one did, I have heard “no” from plenty of wood Holton Elementary School. then when the decision was made to man or woman sets out to do the others over the years. In fact, just like As a member of our community for hire David Hudson. Mr. Hudson’s arduous work of caring about each MANY others, he has given me his well over ten years, he has been an transformative leadership moved Hol- and every human being in his or personal phone number and said to integral part of the students’ lives as ton from being a good school to being her midst? call if I need his help. I hope that man well as that of the neighborhood and a great school where every child is safe, Patti Williamson has an impressive cell phone plan! He business community. He is a strong nurtured, and is given the opportunity Former Holton parent & thrives in difficult situations and he is and ardent supporter of the neigh- to reach their fullest potential. I feel Northside resident the ultimate problem solver. I speak, borhood and the merchants, raising privileged that my children have been on a regular basis, with students and awareness among the student body able to have the experience of attend- parents OUTSIDE of the school where and their parents about all of our I am not a political person, but I ing such a wonderful school. they are free to say whatever they want local businesses. am a parent. Specifically, I am the Kim Gray, about whomever they want and the mother of a 5-year old autistic boy Mr. Hudson has been principal at Hol- 2nd District City Council member name they consistently come up with and a 5-month old baby girl. At the is “Mr. Hudson” encompassed by ad- ton for more than a decade now. He risk of sounding cliché, being a par- jectives like “amazing, remarkable, took over at time when the school was We looked at Holton for Charlie, our ent changes you… and in light of re- inspiring, one-of-a-kind, intelligent, failing on so many levels. Under Mr. oldest. I remember visiting the school cent news, I felt compelled to share nurturing, kind, caring, hard-work- Hudson’s leadership, the school was way after hours and on a Saturday. Mr. my feelings about Linwood Holton’s ing” and nouns like “problem-solver, completely turned around within six Hudson was there and my thought was principal, Mr. David Hudson. I work high expectations, role model, and months. He is a tireless worker, and the “does this man live here?” Surprised as the children’s associate at the Gint- people person.” As the parent of a school and students have prospered the school was open, we thought we’d er Park Library and am proud to say child with special needs, I understand, and grown under his strong leadership. sneak in, check it out and set up an ap- what a strong relationship the library on a new level, how important advo- He has insured that the school and pointment for later. has with Holton Elementary students. cates for our children are, and I strong- students have been a very large part Not only did Mr. Hudson make us feel I wish I could take all the credit for ly believe Mr. Hudson is an advocate of our two big events in the neigh- welcomed, he toured us around the that, but the truth is, the success I have for all his students and an asset to this borhood - National Night Out and entire school. He unlocked classroom achieved with those children is largely community. Christmas on MacArthur. The due to the Holton staff, parents, and doors. Charlie was two days shy of the Tori Nunnally students, teachers and parents partici- the one and only, Mr. David Hudson! kindergarten cut-off but David told us, Children’s Services, Richmond Public pate in the Christmas on MacArthur Mr. Hudson inspires and wants his if you want to send him to kindergar- Library, Ginter Park Branch parade every year. ten he would make it happen. students to achieve on all levels. He understands the reality of “summer The business community has worked We sent him to pre-school because slide,” a term for the tendency for stu- Cannot say enough about this with Mr. Hudson to sponsor events I wanted one more year with Char- dents to lose achievement gains, par- incredible man. We feel so lucky to with the Richmond Police Department lie. The year with Mrs. Ragland flew ticularly in reading, they made during have him as our principal. So car- to promote safety and to allow the stu- by. Mr. Hudson always called me the previous school year. Consequent- ing and so approachable. Who gives dents to get a chance to meet the of- “Charles’ Mom” and always asked me ly, he encourages ALL to participate in their cell phone number out to eve- ficers that serve and protect them. We how my pre-schooler was doing! He’d Richmond Public Library’s Summer ryone on the first day of school? This have worked together to have a Safety say that he saw him in the classroom Reading Program each year. He has man! Hands down best principal Day at Holton and are working on hav- and that if I had any questions to call welcomed me into his school, asked in town! ing more of these events in the future. or come by. me to attend various school events: Alanna Fuessel Mills, Holton parent The Bellevue Merchants Association He is the reason we sent Charlie. We fall festivals, literacy fairs, after-school could not ask for a better partner or only left for the top priority for us programs, end of the year programs, Mr. Hudson is the type of princi- advocate for the community as a whole. pal that you can leave a message on which was a Catholic school educa- etc. and makes sure I visit classrooms Bellevue Merchants Association tion. We ultimately wanted a Catholic to talk about the importance of litera- his personal cell phone, have him education to complement what we try cy and about how the library is a won- call you back, and then cry to him to instill at home. derful resource right here in the com- because you’re worried about your EDITOR’S NOTE: munity. Throughout the entire city of child!! He is an amazing principal who It was hard to leave. I hand-wrote a let- We encourage all letters to the editor. Richmond, for several years in a row, goes out of his way to make everyone ter of explanation and thanks. I know Submit letters to the editor one of three the school with the highest numbers feel heard. why I didn’t get a response right away. ways: Go to northofthejames.com/ of completers of the summer reading Mr. Hudson was so invested that he Erin Prather Gray, Holton parent contact; respond on our g-mail ad- program has been Linwood Holton! took it very personally if you left his dress at [email protected]; In what can only be called “lean finan- school family. I totally understood and or send a letter to: North of the James, cial times” libraries have had to work We have the most amazing principal it made me sad at the time to realize P.O. Box 9225, Richmond, VA 23227. with smaller and smaller budgets and, and are so lucky that he helped with that he may have thought that I had as a result, program funding has been special services for Madeline when Letters must contain the writer’s name taken any of it for granted. We were cut. In most recent years, the city, as she was diagnosed with dyslexia, and for verification and authentication. The happy to support our neighborhood well as the country, has seen a real Ryder when he was diagnosed with publisher reserves the right to edit for public school with the kind of pas- decline in summer reading program a processing disorder. He is truly clarity, or withhold from publication sion that I too saw in Evette Conte and participation in public libraries. How- the most caring man/administrator any letter for any reason. Letters to the many others. Defensiveness is refresh- ever, Mr. Hudson has always made and goes out of his way for every sin- editor become the possession of North of ing when well-placed. I get it. sure any flyers or information about gle student. the James. Published letters reflect the With all of this said Mr. Hudson has library programming is disseminated Vicki Bray, Holton parent opinion of their writers and not North changed the face of our neighbor- to his students and parents. He en- of the James, or its staff. 4 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • January 2017 Wonderful food, best Wonderfulbrunch in Richmond. food, best brunch – Urban in SpoonRichmond. – Urban Spoon Serving locally farmed produce, poultry, and Servingmeat with locally vegetarian, farmed produce,vegan, & poultry, gluten free and Wine Tastings Every Friday Night! Valentine’s Day meatoptions with available.vegetarian, Tasting, February 10 Wonderful food, best OPENvegan, 11am & -10pmgluten Mon-Fri free One of the most extensive wine Chocolate Fountain & Strawberries brunch9am - 10pmin Richmond. Sat & Sun options – Urban Spoon available. and beer selections in Richmond… Special Pricing on Champagnes DINE IN • TAKE OUT & I Love You Prosecco something to fit every wallet. 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January 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 5 ESSAY Dog-Like Love by ANNE JONES
WASH MY APPLE WITH open heel that makes them look like soap before eating it, sometimes teddy-bear shoes – so sad? Why did a twice. I scrub the outside of a glimpse of the squinty, confused face cantaloupe because the knife my husband made when the sun hit might pick up salmonella and his eyes for an instant at the dog park carry it through to the meat make me love him to the core and feel of the fruit. I Clorox the coun- unshakably connected to him, even ters every day, maintain a hierarchy though he’d abandoned our 30-year Iof kitchen sponges based on what marriage just two weeks prior in a they’ve touched, wear latex gloves for slow, determined march of blind mis- chicken prep, and can’t eat my cereal if communication? the bright sun is shining on my nearly- And why do the lone, ethereal guitar frozen rice milk. You get the picture. notes and heart-wrenching voice of But when I get in bed at night, all bets Bill Kirchen (my all-time musical hero are off. It’s there, under warm sheets and and a first-rate life-grabber) on his a cotton blanket, that I savor the rot- cover of Dylan’s It Takes Alot to Laugh, ten breath, breath so putrid it brings to It Takes A Train to Cry sound like all mind the sewery stench of every filthy the sadness and joy in the world, all gas station bathroom along I-95 be- the grief and love and happiness of a tween South of the Border and Daytona life, nailed down to a few pure sounds? Beach, mixed with old clams. I don’t And why do those sounds both para- care. Bring it on. Bring on the muddy and big star paws, and Flagger, my 50- they can. It’s also somehow loosely, lyze me with the piercing melancholy feet and the crusty scents, the wet sneeze lb, long and sleek and self-important, cosmically, related to what Ethan Ca- of perseverance and make me want and the loud burp, the dirt specks and clownishly over-sized and officious nin described so perfectly in his story to wrap my arms around the entire the occasional flea. Bring on my two dachshund. Flagger’s always been the “Emperor of the Air” when his narra- planet in comfort and joy? Because af- squatty, lumpy, short-legged, goofball, boss of Jeffro because he was here first, tor explains: “…certain moments have ter all, aren’t all the good songs about adoring black and tan dogs. I could so when Flagger stopped to eat grass, always been peculiarly moving for loneliness, as Lewis Nordan asks practically make out with them. Jeffro sat down to study him, and then me…Standing out of the way on a fall in Music of the Swamp,“and the defeat began to eat the grass too, as if Flagger evening, as couples and families con- To me, every single thing about them, of loneliness, and the heartbreak if it was a genius who had come up with a verge on the concert hall from the ra- and most all dogs, is utterly, viscerally could not be defeated, as probably it brilliant idea. I swear at that moment diating footpaths, has always filled me never could?” and purely appealing, every lovely, fur- I would have given him a kidney. with a longing, though I don’t know And then there’s this: why did Chuck ry inch of them, especially that whisk- And that’s how I know it’s pure love for what...the spectacle of a thousand Berry’s brush with the law for being on er-sprouting bump that sits mid-chin. – there is no understanding of it, human beings organizing themselves the wrong side of a peeping-tom hole It’s not just their most popular, clichéd no sudden epiphany about the true into a single room to hear the quartets make me love him all the more? Why traits that get me, the unconditional meaning of it to be had, in my book. of Beethoven is as moving to me as did I feel happier than I had in weeks love and the earnest devotion in their There’s only recognition, and mystery. birth or death.” when the older black lady at Starbuck’s eyes: we all know all about that. It’s also It’s just there, here, and everywhere. I We all know it’s loving and noble to called me Boo? All tiny, significant, that dogs are such huge slobs; they’re don’t know jack about it. I don’t know make sacrifices for your children, take moments that make life and love too rude.They like disgusting things. That how to hold onto it or let it go, fall into care of a sick parent, do good works messy and full to understand, except makes me love them all the more; I’m it or out of it, stop it or start it. I don’t for those closest to you. But the real to know somehow that it’s worth it. not sure why. Maybe it’s connected to know if it’s patient, or kind, or a rose, their being 100% in the here-and-now, mystery of love’s meaning is the seem- Because it’s not to understand. None or if it hurts, or is a many splendored ing inevitability of it in the face of our so guileless and joyful about it. Life- thing, or dares not speak its name, or of it makes sense. I think it has to do grabbers. Maybe it’s because they seem broken human nature, the longing with flaws, vulnerability, and inter- even if it will keep us together. Walker illuminated by the brief, infinite mo- to know what’s important and true in Percy said, “there is no cheaper word.” connectedness. And I think thinking this life, oblivious to the masks and ments that grab your heart and make about it in those terms is the closest I do know that the moments of real trappings of civility. My god, have you it impossible to ever let go. I’ll ever come to understanding its love in a real lifetime aren’t necessar- ever just sat and stared at the back of a Take Flagger. I picked him out of 100’s true meaning, which is not very. And ily the big ones, the births and deaths dog’s head– the slope of their domes, of photos of rescued dogs, not because I think I agree with Jonathan Franzen and special moments and red-letter the fall of their ears, and the thick he was the cutest or prettiest to me, he who comes as close to explaining it as days. Instead they happen all the time, curve of their smooth necks? It’s heart- wasn’t; but because I loved him at first anyone with this: “Because the funda- in a heartbreaking instant, and they rending. Because what are they think- glance, as if I’d known him forever. I mental fact about all of us is that we’re have something to do with people be- ing about? I don’t care that it’s probably couldn’t look for a cuter one because alive for a while but will die before ing most lovable when they are most just a sausage or a nap. Of course it is. I felt he was in some way already ours. long. This fact is the real root cause flawed, maybe like dogs at their rud- They’d be the first to tell you so. And I didn’t have a choice. Take my father. of all our anger and pain and despair. est. It’s why people seem appealing to yet it might not be a sausage or a nap; it Why is it that one night driving home And you can either run from this fact me when they’re not thinking things might be longing, or figuring out how I sobbed for him, all because when I or, by way of love, you can embrace it.” through, when they’re in the midst of to do the next right thing. left his house he had fallen deep asleep And so by embracing, dog-like, every plunging into life as it presents itself, in his chair with a huge, unwieldy Na- little chance we get at love and longing I was on a walk with Jeffro, my John grabbers-of-life, dog-like. Not care- tional Geographic map spread out be- and joy, we are embracing our human- Belushi-ish dog with the head of a less, these life-grabbers, just open to fore him? Why are my mother’s tennis ity. And it’s enough. Rottweiler and the body of a corgi, seizing beauty and mystery wherever with stubby legs and leathery elbows shoes –sturdy little blue Keds with an
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January 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 7 WHAT’S NEW Demi’s: A Mediterranean Kitchen by CHARLES MCGUIGAN
ELLEVUE IS NOW spreads menu where you have eight home to an ample slice different choices so you can get two, of Mediterranean cui- three or four types of spreads served sine—Turkish, Greek, with grilled pita bread. Grilled salmon, Italian, Spanish—from pork marsala, Spanish seafood stew, Adana kebabs to sou- sautéed shrimp and chorizo, chicken vlaki, from calamari to picata.” And there are pasta dishes shrimp Santorini, even empanadas. and kabobs, soups and salads, and B four mussel dishes that would please Jimmy and Danniella Tsamouras, any Mediterranean palate. long-time owners of Dot’s Back Inn, recently opened Demi’s (which Jimmy When I comment on the moderate calls, a Mediterranean kitchen) just pricing, Jimmy says, “I like to keep across MacArthur Avenue. things reasonable.” What a restaurant! And what food. “We give you a lot of options,” he adds. Fit for the gods and goddesses who “I would say our entrees run from ruled those warm countries bordering $12 to $22. Our dinner specials will Mare Internum. run from $14 to $28. That will give us the option to do higher end seafood When the owner of the restaurant like your groupers and dry packed that previously occupied the space on scallops.” MacArthur Avenue decided not to re- With Dot’s Back Inn just up the street, open after returning from a vacation Above: In the foreground, Danniella Tsamouras with patrons at the bar in Greece, the Danniella and Jimmy I wonder if Jimmy and Danniella are seized the opportunity. Below: Jimmy Tsamouras with his kitchen staff competing with themselves. “My husband said, ‘Well if somebody’s “I don’t think so,” he says. “I think I’m going to go in there, why not us?’” ess station created by Danniella. “My “And a lot of people came in and then giving people in the neighborhood Danniella tells me, seated at the bar, wife’s very artistic,” says Jimmy. “She we figured it out. We did about 130 something different. Something else one stool down from Jimmy. “And has a very nice vision.” covers last night.” to go to, maybe, something they crave. then on October 31 he came home Mati is literally Greek for “eye” and the Jimmy is a seasoned chef who cut his It’s nice that’s it’s so close, to tell you the and said, ‘Well we bought a restau- mati growing from the tree are ma- teeth while still a teenager, washing truth, so I can run back and forth. It’s rant.’ Had my husband had his way he tiasmas, talismans of a sort made of dishes at The College Deli in Wil- a completely different venue. Dot’s is would have opened the first day that glass with a dark center or pupil, sur- liamsburg, a restaurant owned at that open from nine am till midnight. You we had the keys. But I felt we owed rounded by white, and a final ring of time by his parents. can go in there and eat from three to the community more than that. We eighteen dollars, a wide variety menu, cobalt blue. “It’s to keep the evil away A couple years out of high school needed to take our time. I think the from you,” Jimmy tells me. “It’s kind of serving breakfast all day long. Demi’s community expected more out of us Jimmy attended what is perhaps the is much more of a dinner concept. It’s like a good luck charm. It’s a very big world’s premier culinary college— than just a turnkey restaurant, and we thing in the Mediterranean. It’s a big more of a full-service restaurant. It’s needed to make it our own.” the Culinary Institute of America in more casual upscale.” thing in Turkey.” Hyde Park, New York. After gradua- Which is exactly what they did. Dan- They are both taking a short breather tion, Jimmy plied his trade and honed Each dish that comes out of the kitchen niella had a vision for the front of the after last night’s soft opening—which his skills in Hawaii, Scottsdale, Hilton at Demi’s was prepared from scratch house—Modern Mediterranean. With turned out to be not that soft--and Head and New York, before return- in the kitchen at Demi’s. “Everything a keen aesthetic eye and an inventive getting ready for the grand opening ing to Richmond, and later buying is fresh,” says Jimmy. “We make every- mind, began tackling the interior rehab this Thursday. About 80 people had Dot’s Back Inn. thing in-house, as we do at Dot’s.” on November 13, and within a month been invited to the soft opening. “And Both wife and husband, in addition had transformed the space, utterly. He sees Demi’s as a place where he can then my husband said, ‘Come on in spread his wings further, soar to even to their responsibilities at Demi’s, “So my very generous husband gave and we’ll figure it out,” says Danniella. loftier heights, a modern-day Daeda- each runs another business. For Jim- me a very limited budget, and we lus. ”The idea for the menu comes my, of course, it’s Dot’s Back Inn; for worked with what we had,” she says, from my Greek background, my Med- Danniella, it’s Spa 310, her success- smiling over at Jimmy, who returns iterranean background, my culinary ful medical spa salon at the corner of the smile, and adds a nod. “We repur- experiences, and being able to cook Nansemond and Cary. “I started my posed the existing furniture and fix- Italian food, Greek food, and we want- practice the same year he bought Dot’s tures, and did some painting and a lit- ed to be able to incorporate Turkish so we both started business ten years tle bit of carpentry work and used our and Spanish as well,” Jimmy says. “We ago,”Danniella says. “And, ironically imaginations. We pulled it all together kind of have a little bit of each flair.” enough, our official opening night in a month with love and long hours of here is January 5, and that was my work from family members.” He ticks off entrees and appetizers as opening day at Spa 310 in Carytown.” I follow with him from the hard copy There’s a large mosaic mural of a mati of their impressive menu. “Empana- “Numerology,” Demi suggests. tree in the dining room, which was das—beef, vegetable and cheese, we For years Daniella had worked in the crafted by Jimmy’s sister Angie Blank- have quite a variety of vegetarian dish- restaurant business, and then decided enship, and another above the host- es,” he says. “We have a whole dips and on another career route. “I went to
8 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • January 2017 MAIN STREET LAW OPEN HOUSE John G LaFratta Tuesday, January 31, 9-11 am Criminal Law Traffic Violations Estate Planning Family Law EDUCATION: University of Richmond, TC Williams School of Law, JD University of Richmond, Robins School of Business, MBA North Carolina State University, BA PROF ESSIONA L The new interior ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS: aesthetics school and got my master’s Richmond Criminal Bar in aesthetics and started Spa 310,” she Association says. “I’m a medical master aestheti- Virginia Bar Association cian. I sit on the Board of Barbers and Cosmetology for the state of Virginia, Richmond Juvenile Bar and I formerly chaired it for two years.” Association Managing both businesses can be Caroline County Bar challenging for both Daniella and her Association husband, but by sharing the workload at Demi’s, and having great personnel [email protected] at their other businesses they’re able to 804.355.1800 pull it off. “I was fortunate enough to find great people for my kitchen and we’ve got excellent people in the front of the house,” says Jimmy. “And my staff at All Saints is an accredited pre-kindergarten through eighth Dot’s have it covered over there.” grade Catholic school of high moral expectations and academic Daniella nods. “I’ve got great people rigor located in Richmond’s vibrant Ginter Park. It is a parochial at Spa 310,” she says. “And for Demi’s school that values all cultures, creeds, religions, and races. we hired some seasoned servers from the community. I am overseeing the front of the house, and my daughter’s helping out. She’s still at Dot’s one day a week, but I might need her a little more here in the beginning.” Paul’s Place ALL SAINTS OFFERS: As they prepare for their second night, High school credits in Algebra, Spanish and Science Daniella says, “I haven’t slept in forty- Antique Lighting Award-winning LEGO Robotics program eight hours,” and then quickly amends and Furniture that to, “I haven’t slept in six weeks.” Technologically integrated classrooms, curriculum 1009 Overbrook Rd., and activities Jimmy tells me they named their new restaurant for their five-year-old Richmond, VA 23220 Emphasis on music and visual arts daughter, Dimitri. “I wanted some- Thursday-Saturday 9-5pm Emphasis on conversing and writing in Spanish thing that was simple, easy for peo- Sunday 12-5pm Emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, ple to remember,” he says. “I wanted Closed Monday-Wednesday Engineering, and Mathematics) something that was personal and Emphasis on Environmental Sustainability something that was Mediterranean. Architectural Salvage for We call our daughter Demi for short.” Repairs and Renovation Wide variety of extracurricular clubs and sports “I’m really excited and I’m also very Iron Gates and Fencing Structured After School Care tired,” says Danniella. “I think right Bricks, Slate and Stone now we’re both running on adrenaline Visit us and discover why All Saints is an and excitement.” Lighting Repairs and invaluable investment in your child’s future “And nerves,” her husband says. Restoration CALL TO SCHEDULE A TOUR: Demi’s 804 329-7524 Tuesday-Thursday, 5-10; Friday and 804-228-9999 Saturday, 5-11; Sunday, 5-10 www.paulsplaceonline.com All Saints Catholic School 4017 MacArthur Avenue email [email protected] 3418 Noble Ave. Richmond, VA 23222 Richmond, VA 23227 www.allsaintsric.org (804) 525-4576
January 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 9 BUSINESS PROFILE Final Gravity: A Dream Come True by CHARLES MCGUIGAN
T’S THE YANG, TO ORIGINAL “So, if you come in with a group of Gravity’s yin, Final Gravity be- friends, we want everyone in the ing the finished product, which group to be able to find at least one is beer in its infinite varieties. beer that they can drink and enjoy,” he OG and FG are housed under says, then begins talking about some a single roof at Peter Francisco’s of their more popular beers. “Let’s start Lakeside Towne Center, one off with our blond ale called Stepping of Northside’s booming commercial Stone, it’s got a light crisp taste,” he says. Istrips located just a healthy stone’s “We have Fire Station 5, which is our throw away from Lewis Ginter Bo- gold-medal winning amber ale in the tanical Garden. Virginia Craft Brewers cup. I’m very Richmond loves its craft beers. Na- proud of that, and I’m also very proud tionally, per capita, the Richmond that we won a total of four medals, and area has more micro-breweries than you could submit only five beers. We any other city in the country—about got another gold medal for Venus Ris- eighteen of them, at last count, in the ing, which is our double IPA, and we greater metro area. And they all seem got a silver medal for our stout, which to be doing pretty well. is called Irish Goodbye, and a bronze medal for The Message, which is an- Tony Ammendolia, a careful business- other double IPA.” The Doppler Ef- man, saw that trend, and back in July fect, another original recipe, won first of 2014 rented a space large enough to place in the local RVA Blind IPA Chal- contain both a micro-brewery, and his lenge. “We won not only first place by established beer-brewing and wine- the judges, but also people’s choice,” making shop. What’s more, the store- says Tony. “I’m just going to brag here.” front was three buildings down from his first shop, Original Gravity. After There are many other beers to choose extensive renovations (really more like from, including a hoppy American a complete facelift, which included red ale called Ruby Falls; a rotating deep tissue surgery), on August 27, hop IPA named Love TKO, after the Teddy Pendergrass song; a Belgian 2015, Tony poured his first beer for dark/strong called the Big Pay Back, the public. coming in with a whopping nine For Tony this is realizing a long-time percent alcohol content; and Pablo’s dream. In his twenties he was bit- Goodbye, a variation of Irish Good- ten by the home-brewing bug. “Just bye, flavored with chocolate, chili about anyone who starts home brew- peppers and cinnamon. ing very quickly thinks this would be Currently, the two-pronged business really cool to open a brewery,” Tony occupies some 5,000 square feet. Of says. But starting a brewery is an that total, 3,330 square feet is devot- expensive proposition, so Tony pur- ed to the sales floor, the brewery, the sued other things. grain room and the tasting room. The “I was in the natural foods business remaining 1,700 square feet is com- for years,” he says. “I was at Ellwood mitted to storage. The finished beer is Thompson’s for eleven years, and I kept in a walk-in cooler back there, as worked my way up from a part-time, well as yeast and hops, lots of bags of entry-level position cooking in the grain, and assorted backup stock for deli to when I left there as the director in Woodland Heights and for years he “There’s a little bit of a lunch crowd, Original Gravity. of operations for the company.” After kept a fairly extensive vegetable garden and then usually around four o’clock In the not-too-distant future, Tony that he moved out to Whole Foods where he grew crops year-round. “For people start coming in, and we get a hopes to expand the front of the house. where he was an “associate store team a little while I entertained the thought much busier tasting room crowd at “I would like to get a bigger brew house leader”, which means he was the assis- of becoming an organic farmer, do- that point,” Tony says. “Fridays and which would enable us to brew larger tant store manager. ing market gardening” he says. “Over Saturdays are our busiest days, and batches,” he says. “And I would like to the last seventeen years it ranged any- we do a decent business on Sunday. “I’ve always been a foodie, even before expand our tasting room so that we where from 100 square feet to 1200 We’re already selling the beer as fast as I ever heard the word foodie,” says could seat more people there. I mean, square feet. You name it, I was growing we can make it, and sometimes faster Tony. “When I was ten years old I told we’re at the point where we need this. it. This year is the first year I don’t have than we can make it. ” my parents I wanted to be a chef and This weekend we were really busy, and a garden. Now, I’m always brewing, so thought I was going to be a chef un- There are always twelve taps available, were running out of room.” Currently, I don’t have time for that anymore.” til my early twenties when I thought I something to appeal to any palate, the tasting room seats about fifty, and wanted to be a rock star.” Almost from the moment that first and a number of Tony’s creations have more on the patio when the weather Tony and his wife Jessica Harris live keg was tapped, business boomed. won awards. cooperates. “Right now I’m working
10 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • January 2017
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January 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 11 ChristopherKilianPeace You know you’re in Hanover County, lege system under the late Governor Mills Godwin. He took the young Chris Peace aside and said, in reference particularly in its rural reaches, when you begin seeing the large handmade signs to what was happening to Nina, “Don’t let it get to you.” with red and black type against a field of Gadsen yellow. Slogans are generally Outside the General Assembly building, Chris had earlier encountered another Hanover Republican, attacks on liberals, or perceived liberals (Eric Cantor not long ago), and many the grand lion of the Party, Delegate Frank Har- grove, a man known for his civility and gentlemanly suggest democracy may be on the verge of collapse. One reads, “How many times demeanor. Later, he approached Chris in the lobby will you pass this sign and do nothing for your Country? WAKE UP AMERICA!” and said, “You should always defend your mother, no matter what.” You sense pent up anger-turned-to-rage in these messages, not unlike the written Frank Hargrove would later take Chris under his rants scrawled on placards by participants in another movement a few years wing and guide him through the sticky and intri- cate web of Virginia state politics. Whenever Chris back called Occupy Wall Street. In all I count a total of sixteen yellow signs was home from college he would visit Frank at the from the point I cross the Chickahominy on Meadowbridge Road till I make General Assembly. “Frank actually ended up getting me my very first job out of college working for Herb the turn off Old Church Road down a gravel drive to the home of Chris Peace. Bateman who was a 1st District Congressman and a Virginia gentleman, and kind of a moderate at the It’s a mid-nineteenth century brick house that has un- “My first exposure to the General Assembly was time,” Chris remembers. dergone a complete architectural renovation, and Chris essentially 1996 and my mother’s unsuccessful re- walks me in to a room with a hearth scooped out of a appointment (as juvenile and domestic relations After college, Chris, who took to politics like a bird to bygone era. When we settle in for this interview, and court judge),” he says. “I was a junior at Hampden the sky, applied to law school, but he was wait-listed. another one at his law offices in Mechanicsville, Chris Sydney College and I remember going to one of the “I probably had too much in college,” he says with starts his story at the beginning. Tempered in the cruci- large hearings and walking in the General Assembly a smile. So he worked for Herb Bateman for a year, ble of his own experiences, Chris Peace would emerge building and seeing posters with my name with a big and then as legislative aid for Eric Cantor, who was a as something of an anomaly, a thoughtful conservative red line through it. It was hard for me at that time to delegate at the time. “In my first interview with him, with a deep love of Constitutional law, a student of his- understand that there might be people who would he brought up my mother and said, ‘A lot of people tory, and a man of compassion. feel that way about my mother, knowing her as I did. might find it curious that you are a Republican and It was a great lesson.” that you are your mother’s son. And I said, ‘Well com- The three women who raised him in the modest ing from my family it’s really not curious because we Cape Cod in Ashland were Janie, who stayed with When I ask him if he believes these hearings were are all very independent. We were raised to be edu- him while his mother was at work and would be- politically motivated, Chris nods. “I would say it was cated and to think for ourselves.’” Chris worked for come his “best friend”; his grandmother, Nina Kath- political,” he says. “I would say that my mother prob- the Delegate Eric Cantor until he ran for Congress. ryn Kilgour Himmelsbach, a great friend and advi- ably could have mitigated a lot of that unpleasantness. sor; and, of course, his mother, Nina Kilian Peace, an She chose to take the stand in her defense and I think “I peddled my resume on the Hill, met Ted Kennedy, independent woman, a lawyer, a judge, a supervisor, any good criminal attorney would recommend not got a job offer from John Warner, and declined it,” and something of a force of nature. At age 25, Nina doing that. She was not going down without a fight, says Chris. He’d finally been accepted to law school. Peace graduated law school and won the Democratic and unfortunately that episode only reinforced what He spent his first year at Regent University, and his primary for the Ashland District seat on the Hano- her accusers were saying which was ‘a lack of temper- final two years at University of Richmond, his moth- ver County Board of Supervisors. That same year she ament and demeanor.’” He pauses momentarily, then er’s alma mater. was made assistant to the dean at T.C. Williams, her adds, “That’s always an easy out though with a female. His decision to go into law did not sit well with his alma mater, and later that fall became the youngest Even now people talk about a woman’s temperament mother. “She didn’t want me to become a lawyer,” he and only (at that time) woman ever elected to the and demeanor not being judicial. We had a female says. “She said, ‘It’s become more of a business as op- Board of Supervisors in Hanover. that was appointed to the 9th District General Dis- posed to a profession or a calling.’ She said, ‘It’s not She had found her home in Ashland, absolutely trict Court, the first female from my district to be ap- what it was when I started.’” adored the county, and was bound and determined pointed, and she’s a tough lady. That was the criticism While still in law school, Chris worked as a part-time to protect it. As the only liberal, and a woman at that, through the process. Does she have the demeanor? It lobbyist, honing his skills, and ultimately going to on the good-old-boys Board of Supervisors, Nina was really an old boy network rising up to protect its work for McGuire Woods Consulting. And though had her work cut out for her. It was a joy to watch turf and keep it in house. It shouldn’t happen.” he graduated, it would be some time before Chris be- her debate, running circles around the men who of- Chris returns to 1996 and that day at the General As- gan practicing law. ten looked confused at the end of it all. She employed sembly. Among those he met that morning was Sumpt- “I took the bar the summer after I graduated law her acid wit, impeccable logic and dagger tongue, and er Priddy, a legendary lobbyist from Hanover, who was school,” he says. “But I didn’t do my due diligence in gladly locked horns with fellow supervisors. After her instrumental in establishing Virginia’s community col- the bar exam, and I didn’t pass.” departure from the Board, the meetings lost much of their fire. Editor’s note: Chris recalls a critical moment in both his life, and These interviews with Delegate Chris Peace were conducted two weeks before the presidential election. his mother’s career. It exposed him to the underbelly of partisan politics, to the ruthlessness and venge- ance sometimes employed by politicians. by CHARLES MCGUIGAN photos by REBECCA D’ANGELO
12 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • January 2017 THE CONSCIENCE OF A TRUE CONSERVATIVE
It was a bleak time. “Do I go back to Ashland?” Chris “It was called Exile and I was there and this girl walks want to date unless it leads to something,” Chris told said to himself. “I failed the bar exam, my mom’s a into the church and I said, ‘That girl looks familiar. her. “Would you have any problems being a minis- lawyer, she’s been kicked out of a judgeship, our fam- How do I know this girl?’ And then it came to me, ter’s wife or a governor’s wife?” ily must suck. You start telling yourself this narrative she was at Blockbuster.’” “No,” she told him. “I wouldn’t have any problem of what other people think about you.” Chris approached her and told her that he was not with either one of those.” Chris would take the bar exam the following Febru- a stalker. He asked if by any chance she had been at “Good,” said Chris. “Either way you’re living in pub- ary, and again, he would fail. “I was O for two,” he says. Blockbuster with her boyfriend two nights ago. She lic housing.” nodded, but said, “Oh no, not my boyfriend.” And But in between those dark clouds of failure there Her name was Ashley. After dating for seven months, appeared a silver lining that would light the way Chris pounced on the opening. “Great, let’s go out sometime,” he said. the pair were engaged. Nina threw a river party for for Chris Peace. It started as a chance encounter in them just before Hurricane Isabel struck. It was fol- Carytown. Alone, on a brisk November Friday night, “It was a leading question,” Chris says, recalling the lowed by an engagement party hosted by Chris’s future Chris did what a lot of lonely men and women would incident. “It was the only time up until that point that in-laws. All through their courtship, the pair would do, in those days, at week’s end. I used my law school education, and it worked out.” drive up to Chevy Chase, Maryland and visit Chris’s “I was still living on Monument in this apartment That Tuesday night they went out and talked for grandmother. Nina would drive up separately. They at Sheppard, and I went to the Blockbuster in Cary- hours, hit it off, and before Chris went to visit his fa- did the same thing on a cold night in late February. town,” he says. “I see this girl with this guy and I’m ther in Georgia a couple days later, he left flowers at “And so we went up,” Chris says. “We had a great by myself, and I’m like, ‘I’m such a loser.’ So I get the young woman’s house. In Georgia, Chris got a call dinner out at the country club on Friday night, went two movies and go home. I didn’t talk to her, I was from her. She told him she was in Northern Virginia home and went to bed.” like, ‘Well maybe it’s her boyfriend, maybe it’s her visiting a guy she had been dating. “I don’t know why brother, and maybe it’s her gay friend and she’s not I’m calling you,” she said. “But I just broke up with On Saturday, Chris joined his mother, grandmother dating anyone.’” him, and I want to see you when I come back.” and fiancé for a day of shopping. His mom insisted that all the women in the wedding party wear the But the image of this young woman would not leave The two met up at the White Dog, and again talked same kind of shoes, and they found just the right ones. his mind. Although a cradle Episcopalian, Chris at- for hours. Turns out she was from Hanover, and tended other churches. “So, on Sunday night I was though she had never met Nina Peace, she knew a lot “It was a long day,” Chris recalls. “At the end of it we going to this thing at WEAG (West End Assembly about Chris’s mother. were all kind of tired so we ordered Chinese, and of God) which was like a GenX meeting,” says Chris. watched the Matthew McConaughey movie ‘How to “I’m tired of fishing expeditions, just dating, I don’t Lose a Guy in 10 Days’.”
February 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 13 On Sunday morning, Chris left the message on his cell phone. It was from house early, and as he pulled the door Nina. “Hey guys, I’m just calling to tell shut behind him, jiggling the knob you I love you, and how good it was to to make sure it was locked, a warmth be with you guys this whole weekend,” spread through him when he thought she said. of the three women in the house, still After returning to their apartment on sleeping, safe and secure. Monument Avenue and unpacking, After church, as they were making Chris and Ashley returned to their car ready to leave for Richmond, Chris for night services at WEAG. On the and his mom talked in the front yard sidewalk, an inexplicable wooziness of his grandmother’s house. He told washed over Chris like the first wave her that he and Ashley, born a Catho- of a panic attack. He felt as if his knees lic, had disagreements on where they were going to buckle. He was light- were to be married. They weren’t click- headed, sensed he might faint. Chris ing on it. It wasn’t anything major, not had never experienced anything like a deal-breaker, but it concerned Chris. it, before or since. Nina hugged her son, and said, “No They attended services, and on their matter what you do, no matter what way back down Monument Avenue, gave Ashley a file and said, ‘If anything had had the flags lowered to half-mast you decide, I will always support you.” Chris received a call from Ed, Nina’s should ever happen to me these are in honor of Nina Kilian Peace, who That was the last day of February 2004, husband at the time. “Your mom’s all the things I want for my funeral’,” had spent much of her professional life a leap year. had a heart attack,” Ed said. “You Chris says. “So that was amazing, and at the courthouse complex, whether As Ashley and Chris crept along the need to go to the hospital.” By the time it was all good stuff and really helped representing her constituents at the Beltway, merging south at the Mixing Ashley and Chris arrived at the hospital, because we were losing it.” Board of Supervisors’ meetings, sitting Bowl, which was still under construc- Nina was dead. It was congenital heart The next thing Chris and Ashley had on the bench of the Juvenile and Do- tion, they could see the red running failure, not induced by lifestyle; Nina’s to do was tell Nina’s mother what had mestic Relations Court, or represent- light of Nina’s car in front of them as heart had literally exploded. happened. They didn’t want to call her ing clients, many on a pro-bono basis. they approached the Springfield exit. Unbeknownst to Chris, Nina had on the phone, so the next morning Once Ashley and Chris arrived and His cell phone rang, but Chris decided done two things over that final week- Chris’s future in-laws drove the couple told Nina’s mother about her daugh- to let it ring over. The traffic was- un end in Maryland that seemed to indi- back up to Chevy Chase. As the car ter’s death, the family began making godly, so they got off the interstate, cate she had a sense she was not long proceeded north on Route 301 and funeral arrangements for the next Sat- and made their way over to Route 1 for the world. passed Hanover Courthouse, Chris’s urday. At some point during that week, where the traffic thinned. Chris pulled heart fluttered in gratitude. Hanover Ed, Chris’s stepfather, called and told over to the shoulder and checked the “Without my knowledge, my mother Circuit Court Judge John R. Alderman him he had gone to Nina’s law office on
The Honorable Chris A. NorthsideHilbert 3rd Voter District 2013Councilman, Richmond MEETINGS City Council Northside 3rd Voter District Northside 3rd Voter District 2017 MEETINGS All Northside 3rd Voter District Residents invited to attend! 4th Thursday of each month January 27, 2017 Locations vary February 24, 2017 6:00-8:00 p.m. March 23, 2017
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14 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • February 2017 England Street in Ashland to search for for the funeral planning, but she had who represented the 97th District. “I his mother before him, hang his shingle her will. He came up empty-handed. thought to take the will from her of- said, ‘Carpe diem’,” says Chris. “Mom’s and create a lucrative law practice. “Listen, buddy,” Chris told him. “I’m fice and put it in the only place that not here anymore. What else do I have Many years ago, Chris’s grandmother, focused on all this other stuff, I don’t we would find it. Isn’t that eerie and to lose?” Kathryn Himmelsbach, who just died know why you’re focused on that strange. She was really well when we And then a funny thing happened. a couple years ago, imparted sage now. And I don’t know why you know visited, and we had a great time, and Virtually every one of Nina Peace’s advice to her grandson. “I try to be where it is because I don’t know where then she goes home and dies. That was political enemies offered Chris assis- somewhat measured,” he says. “A lot of it is. We have to let that go for now; almost supernatural. When you start to tance in his desire to be elected. “Kirby that developed out of my experience we’ll figure it out later.” think about all these things, who you’re Porter (Hanover commonwealth’s at- with my mother’s judgeship and my surrounded by, whose input, what your Nina Peace was buried in the family torney) was the very first elected offi- grandmother, who was a great friend life trajectory is. I have a very unusual cial to host a fundraiser for me for my of mine, advising me that, ‘Your moth- cemetery in Hillsboro, just off Route 9, name. Christopher, bearer of Christ, in Loudon County. On the way back first election at his home,” Chris says. er’s a wonderful person, she’s brilliant, and Peace. The blessed life, the experi- “Frank Hargrove, as I said, helped me she’s very capable, but she can be her to Chevy Chase from the graveside ences, the women, the failures to perse- surface, a rainbow appeared, span- get my first job, and Bill Bolling en- own worst enemy.” vere and to overcome, the redemption dorsed me for office. Bill was probably ning the road like a bridge. Back at stories. All of these thing, and my wife Chris has earned a reputation at the his grandmother’s house, exhausted the catalyst, if not the vehicle, to have General Assembly as a leader who will has always said: ‘We have some calling, my mother not reappointed as judge. and drained, Chris, with his fiancé, some future calling, some destiny to work with his peers across the aisle. retreated to the bedroom his mother And Stuart Cook (Hanover sheriff) “Jennifer McClellan and I are very fulfill.’ All of these things can’t just hap- ended up endorsing me as well.” had grown up in. He sat on the edge pen out of nothing.” good friends,” says Chris. “We’ve done of the bed, his head lowered. “I don’t When I ask him why this was so, Chris education reform, we’ve done domestic think we’re going to find that will,” he Adjustments were hard with the pass- says, “I sort of think that nature tries violence. We carried the marriage bill said, turning to Ashley. ing of his mother, but Chris got back in to seek some balance, and I just won- this year that changed the legal mar- the saddle. “I just carried on,” he says. der if people’s conscience weighs on riage age. And I didn’t see it as Dem- And then he looked across the room at “I started my own lobbying company. a chest of drawers topped with a mir- them, or they see it as an opportunity ocrat or Republican, although that’s I had an office down on Main Street. to make something good out of some- there. We’re frankly different in every ror. Tucked between the frame and the I got a great job at McGuire Woods glass were several sheets of yellow legal thing that wasn’t. There is sort of this way on paper. She’s an urban delegate, Consulting. Ashley and I were mar- redemptive thing.” I’m a suburban delegate; she’s black, I’m pad paper, tri-folded. He rose from the ried and we built a house in Hanover.” bed, removed the papers from the mir- In the special election held that fall, white; she’s a woman, I’m a man; she’s ror, unfolded them, then began to read. Then in 2005 an opportunity to run for Chris Peace was elected delegate, win- a Democrat, I’m a Republican. But it’s “This is her will,” he said to Ashley. House of Delegates arose when State ning by 220 votes. He’s held the seat ever not strange or foreign to me because of Senator Bill Bolling ran for lieutenant since. And, incidentally, Chris would the home I grew up in. My newsletter is “It was so bizarre,” says Chris. “So she governor. His vacated seat would be called the Peace Progress.” had not only given Ashley the file ultimately pass not only the Virginia sought by Delegate Ryan McDougle, bar, but the D.C. bar, as well, and like He takes to heart what his constitu- Diamond DOG HOUSE
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February 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 15 ents, through their votes, have entrust- sion on Youth, I could go on and on, urged us to avoid entangling alliances, and secure again. It’s like the person ed in him. “I’m conservative and I’m housing and homelessness, some of to avoid political faction, and to join a who goes into the hole with the lights not,” Chris says. “I think the labels are my colleagues actually perceive me to national federal movement. So instead on and thinks they’re enlightened. It’s kind of irrelevant. Because the policy be a moderate, and it’s not just when I of us offering universal education like the opposite of Plato in ‘The Republic’. is what’s important, and the people wear bowties.” New England was, we didn’t and we He talks about the light that will lead are what are important. We should be Chris mentions a book he’s currently were illiterate by and large. People who man out of the cave.” solving problems and we should be reading, “Dominion of Memories: came through Virginia during that peri- The picture he paints is grim. “Well, recognizing what the problems are.” Jefferson, Madison & the Decline of od were impressed by the lack of books the light of enlightenment, there isn’t In recent years, he has seen a steep rise Virginia”, by historian Susan Dunn, and libraries.” that right now, there doesn’t seem to in Tea Party supporters, and the use of which traces the decline of the Com- He looks at Virginia’s history in incre- be,” says Chris. “I think we’re retreat- one symbol to supplant another. “It’s monwealth, which had produced the ments of 50 years. “Start at 1860 and ing to the cave in many respects, into pretty clear, and I’ve commented on brightest luminaries of the Repub- then you’re in the teens and you have tribalism and that really endangers us.” it many times,” says Chris. “In areas lic—Washington, Jefferson, Madison, the suffragist movement, you’ve got One of his favorite Civil War heroes of the state where prior to Obama’s Monroe, Mason, Marshall, and so on. Jim Crow, eugenics,” he says. “Fifty was James Longstreet, a man much election there were Confederate flags, “It’s the second or third generation af- years later you’ve got massive resist- maligned because he challenged a veri- immediately after (the election) every ter the Founders, and every time those ance and civil rights. And then an- table deity in the minds of many white single one of those became a yellow second and third generation people other fifty years and here we are. And Southerners. “He was a Confederate one because it was more politically ac- are faced with significant questions you wonder, what are the questions general, but he was willing to question ceptable, and that’s a tribal issue.” about whether we progress or whether today? And the most dominant voices a god essentially, (Robert E.) Lee, in his Despite his support of conservative we retreat, we chose the wrong thing,” in the public square right now are to decision-making,” Chris says. “After issues and his endorsements by con- says Chris. “Whether that was build- progress or go backwards.” the war he goes to Mexico, he becomes servative groups some within his own ing a canal to Ohio which never came Retreat is commonly caused by fear, of- a Republican, and he helps to essential- party have dubbed him moderate. “I to fruition because the General As- ten very real fear. “This notion of Make ly establish the Union, and also fights have an A-plus NRA rating, I’ve had sembly stopped the funding. Whether America Great Again is a romantic no- for equal rights for African-Ameri- close to 100 percent from the Fam- it was having rail that couldn’t con- tion,” Chris continues. “I think we’re cans. Jubal Early and others lambasted ily Foundation, I was endorsed by the nect because the gauges were different overly romantic. So you think of things him and he was the scapegoat post-war CPAC group,” Chris says. “All the con- throughout the state. Whether it was from 2008—international conflict cri- when people were writing the narra- servative credentials one could want, abolition in 1831 which failed and actu- sis, funding of wars, domestic econom- tive of the Lost Cause.” along with the voting record, but be- ally solidified slavery as an industry. You ic collapse, no peace and insecurity, Politicians like Longstreet have a par- cause of the way I carry myself and know, all of these things compounding both abroad and at home, civil unrest, ticular appeal to Chris. “I’ve always some of the issues I pursue like mental and getting us to 1860. You look even at Ferguson, etc. All of this stuff. It’s un- liked that type of person,” says Chris. health reform, foster care reform, do- Calhoun. 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16 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • February 2017 Bush. I loved Kaisich for that very rea- nee for president, and the movement the surface, not to stoke them further.” son. One of my favorite political people that has propelled him. “I think that Within his own party in Virginia, he is John Danforth, Here’s a guy who was the rise of this movement has more in has noticed changes that prevent both ambassador to the UN, he’s an Episco- common with the French Revolution sides from working together. “I had pal minister, he was attorney general than the American Revolution,” Chris an interesting conversation when Tim of Missouri, US senator, a Renaissance says. “The American Revolution was Kaine was selected [as Hilary Clin- man. And people say he’s a moderate. not a populist movement. The other ton’s running mate],” Chris says. “My Not really. In his AG’s office in Missouri one was based on mob rule, hysteria, experience with him as a person has two of his deputies were John Ashcroft inflaming passions, and they wanted always been very positive. He conducts and Clarence Thomas so hardly a lib- to blame someone. I mean we have himself well. He was the first governor eral, hardly a moderate. Moderate now similar arguments now, Occupy Wall I served with and he did everything means weak and squishy.” Street, the Tea Party, who are not po- the right way in the mansion in terms A man of considerable faith, Chris litically, totally dissimilar. And so you of courtesy, respect, hospitality. No mentions a sort of foundation em- know what I would be concerned controversy, so scandal, no criminal braced by his religious denomination. about? Where do we go from here? Do action, and we disagreed on policies “The Episcopal Church believes in we have a storming of the Bastille, are because he wanted to raise the gas tax tradition, reason and experience, the we going to turn inward against each when I was running; I was opposed three-legged stool,” Chris says. “And other because of fears of what is out- to that. Those were his principals and side the gate. And the concern is how so those all need to shape our politics, He hopes there comes a time when ideology from a political perspective, our discourse.” do we react to it? Do we react posi- but I never questioned him as a person Republicans will embrace the notion tively and move forward and perse- But those legs that support the seat of of not alienating whole demographic and would say that he was a class act. vere? Or do we blame each other, turn And I got a lot of blow back for that, that stool seem to be weakening. “We voting blocks. “The Republican Party against each other, and divide?” are falling to the lowest common de- now, I think, can also take a lesson and people questioned my bona fides nominator now, which is easier, it’s from the past in terms of how it posi- He pauses for a long time. “We’ve seen as a conservative and as a Republi- more comfortable,” says Chris. “It’s tions itself to grow by inclusion rather that happen before, and it was very can. You can’t say anything nice about harder in the grey, people want to have than the opposite, which is where we costly,” says Chris. “I would hope that somebody if they happen to be on certainty. That’s why the tribalism has are now,” Chris says. “People may think does not happen again. The Civil War the other side of the aisle, and I think emerged post-recession. People were a lot of things about Carl Rove, but I was the biggest example of it. And that’s unfortunate.” very vulnerable. They lost their homes. don’t think anyone will not deny that we’ve had political disagreements and As Chris Peace sees it, the Republi- They lost everything in many cases. he’s a political genius, and in 1999 and discourse and there have been rough can Party needs to build out its base. And so they wanted things to go back 2000 he positioned George W. Bush as campaigns throughout American his- “We have to build by inclusion and to where they were—predictable, cer- the compassionate conservative.” tory. But I think our leaders also bear coalitions,” he says. “You can still be a tain, safe, and so it’s understandable.” responsibility to know that when pas- very strong conservative, pro-family, He considers the Republican nomi- sions are inflamed, tempers are close to The Hermitage: A Nice Place to Visit, But … … It’s even better, when you live here! Come see what the excitement’s all about at The Hermitage — the only Richmond continuing care community without an entrance fee. At The Hermitage, our residents are as busy as they choose, enjoying interesting activities and plentiful outings. And our central location makes it easy for family and friends to drop by. See for yourself the fresh new spirit at Richmond’s landmark retirement community.
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February 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 17 pro-life, anti-tax and all those things, Monticello, Stratford Hall, all of these COME DANCE WITH US! and still reach out to communities of are part of the Road to Revolution.” need, communities that have been op- Chris is currently working on a trib- pressed, communities that have low ute to a group of Virginians often ne- socio-economic standing, and build glected by the powers that be. He has bridges there. So whether it’s home- worked with his good friend Chief less advocacy, or domestic violence, Ken Adams of the Upper Mattaponi or foster care and youth issues, or the on this project. “Ken came to me af- environment. There are so many op- ter the Civil Rights monument was portunities for our party to grow and erected and said Virginia Indians are to achieve, except for the fact that we missing here at Capitol Square and so have people who will say, ‘Well, you’re I put up a resolution set up a commis- not a real Republican if you do this.’ sion and in 2007 we did an inventory It’s not something you can speculate of all state capitals and what they do to about, it is a real phenomenon. If recognize native peoples,” he says. “We you’re thought of as thoughtful, com- visited every reservation we visited passionate, reasoned, reasonable, will- every tribe.” ing to work with people, compromise, those are all bad words.” This will be different than any of the other monuments in Capitol Square. For years, in one way or other, Chris “One it should be a tribute, it shouldn’t has been an historic preservation- be a memorial, because Virginia In- (Natalie and Audrey) at ist. He was executive director of the dians are still living and contributing Historic Pole Green Church Founda- so it’s not looking backwards, it’s con- tion. “Pole Green Church was where temporaneous and forward-looking, SCOTT BOYER TEACHES DANCE Patrick Henry learned about religious and that tribute should be reflective freedom,” he says. “During my time of their spirituality, of nature, and re- Ages 3 to adult, priced from $210. we raised well over several million dol- spect for the Creator,” says Chris. “So lars. We built the visitors’ center, we ac- the landscape architecture installation quired the birthplace of Patrick Henry, will be built into the slope going from 804-798-9364 Studley.” And then Chris created the the Bell Tower towards the Poe statue Road to Revolution Heritage Trail con- along Ninth, and it is as though you necting all the historic sites in Hanover. sliced a nautilus shell in half and it’s the [email protected] “Ultimately we expanded that to the spiral, and in the middle will be a con- entire state,” he says. “Mount Vernon,
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18 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • February 2017 stant flowing basin with Virginia river like eternity. That’s when the door on names on it. So we’ve raised a little over the caboose opens and a man dressed in $300,000 and our goal is $500,000.” a suit and bowtie makes his way across HermitageGrill He considers the three women who the narrow platform. He grabs the rail raised him and instilled in him a sense that is festooned with red, white and A NORTHSIDE DINING EXPERIENCE of justice, and a love of the rule of law. blue bunting. He begins talking to those These three women—the two Ninas who have gathered, hearkening back to and Janie—are now all dead. “I’m cer- old-time political campaigns, to can- tainly no Ted Kennedy,” Chris says. didates like Lincoln and Truman, men “But I’ve now had to give a homily who always sought common ground or eulogy for all three of the women and reached out to the people in their who helped raise me. My mother, my own towns and villages. Across the grandmother and Janie.” tracks, and just to the south, in front of the Dick Gillis Library, sits the bronze And he thinks of his wife, Ashley, and bust of Nina Kilian Peace that seems to their daughter, Nina Camden, and the stare over at the bronze likeness of Jay family dog, who also happens to be fe- Pace, the voice of Hanover County for male. “The women of my life,” he says generations, a journalist’s journalist, an and adds. “In an age of conflict, in an editor’s editor, a man who honored the age of strife and polarization, and frac- fourth estate and worked diligently to turedness and brokenness, don’t you keep government transparent. And to need peace? Isn’t that what you need? the north of the caboose there is the col- Peace be with you.” Chris entertains lege—towers to secondary education, the idea of one day running for a high- buttresses that ensure the health of a er elected office. republic. Flanking the tracks, both sides He invites me to imagine a train pull- of this wide street are packed with suc- ing into the old Ashland depot on cessful, privately-owned, independent Bigger & Better Than Ever Railroad Avenue. As the engine grinds businesses, the economic prowess of a Tuesday-Friday 11-11 • Saturday 3-11 • Sunday Brunch 9-3 and hisses to a halt, the Shiloh Baptist free market economy. Church Choir begins to sing “He’s Done “I love the Cat Stevens’ song,” says 6010 Hermitage Road Enough”, slowly building momentum in Christopher Peace. “Can you imagine? Carry Out & call and response until reaching the re- Get on the Peace Train. So, how good Catering Available 264-7400 sounding crescendo that transcends the would that be?” world itself. And then there is a silence
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February 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 19 RAINBOW MINUTES
by BRIAN BURNS and JUDD PROCTOR In the Navy
7th Annual HE DISCO-ERA SINGING In their 1979 song, “In the Navy,” they Bluegrass Festival group, The Village People, sang of the joys of being in the Navy Saturday, February 11 formed in 1977. Their en- with other young men. semble included an Amer- 1-8 pm The U. S. Navy even considered using ican Indian, police officer, “In the Navy” in its recruiting advertis- cowboy, construction ing campaign on TV and radio and al- Live Music worker, biker and military lowed the music video for the song to be Vendors • Food man - all macho types that attracted shot aboard the USS Reasoner FF1063 Ta gay male audience. Their appeal at the San Diego Naval Base, complete Tons Of Recovery Fun! quickly spilled over into mainstream with cute Navy recruits as extras. pop, with the general public quite una- ware of the hidden meanings of their But for some reason, the campaign BRUNSWICK STEW SALE was cancelled. To pre-order stew at $10 per lyrics and attire. quart, contact Alden Gregory at [email protected] or Valentines Through the Ages (804) 249-1845 Throughout history, Cupid’s arrow In 1865, poet Walt Whitman became has found its way to straights and gays smitten with longtime companion Peter HATCHER MEMORIAL alike. Of course, many stories of same- Doyle in the cozy confines of a horsecar. sex lovers have been silenced. In the early 1900s, author Gertrude BAPTIST CHURCH The Christian Church destroyed re- Stein and Alice B. Toklas fell in love for 2300 Dumbarton Road cords about the ancient Greek poet Sap- a lifetime. pho, who was overcome with passion And in July of 2005, Emilio Menendez Richmond, VA 23228 for another woman named Anactoria. and Carlos German became the first Around 320 B.C., Alexander the Great gay couple to marry in Spain, a tri- and his lover Hephaestion were in- umph of common sense and the state separable, whether it was on the bat- of law. tlefield or in their private quarters. Here’s to all the sweethearts of 2017. Audre Lorde, The Warrior The prolific writer, Audre Lorde, is a and mastectomy, though in the role tough act to follow. She proudly identi- of warrior rather than victim. In 1981, fied herself as a “black feminist lesbian the book won the American Library mother poet.” In 1991, she was named Association Gay Caucus Book of the Poet Laureate of New York State. Year Award, and became a lifeline for One of Lorde’s major prose works was others with cancer. The Cancer Journal, one of the first Just before Lorde lost her fight with books to give the viewpoint of a lesbi- cancer in 1992, she ceremoniously an of color. Comprised of her journal took the name Gambda Adisa, which www.mcshin.org entries and essays, the book chronicles translates to, “Warrior: She Who her experiences with breast cancer Makes Her Meaning Known.”
20 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • February 2017 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION by DOUG DOBEY HIDDEN HISTORIES Hayes Brothers CONSTRUCTION
FREE ESTIMATES 321-2216 The Kansas State • General Contractor • Interior Painting Industrial Farm for Women • Exterior Painting by JACK R. JOHNSON • Roofing • Decks HE PHOTOGRAPHS are hauntingly familiar: row upon row of women facing forward or in pro- file, classic mug shot pos- es. The black and white Pet images that seem as if they could have been snapped yesterday Sitting Tare from the Lansing History Museum Services in Kansas, documenting the inmates of the Kanas Industrial Farm for Women. DONNA DUFFIELD They look like quintessential farm girls, in their late teens and early twen- (804) 397-6720 ties, sun-tanned or freckled. Many of them were plucked on their way from Loving Care where your a dance or a party and sentenced for up to six months or more to the farm pet is most comfortable- for the crime of lascivious conduct, a their own home! euphemism for prostitution. But they weren’t prostitutes. Consider Carry Cox and Mary Walker. The Columbus Daily Advocate re- ported that a doctor with the public board of health had initiated a raid on a dance hall, and Cox and Walker were arrested for violating Chapter 205, a law passed in 1917 to help fight the spread of venereal disease from all the GIs coming home from World War I. After Chapter 205 passed, the popu- lation for the Kansas Industrial Farm more than quadrupled. Women were rounded up wholesale from dance halls and bars and tested for vene- real disease, and those testing positive days had been turned in out of revenge, care of themselves. They just didn’t FOR THE SERIOUS CHOCOHOLIC by their boyfriends, after arguments. have the resources. It’s problematic were quarantined. Those testing nega- Finest Quality Handmade Chocolates tive were released after a few days. “The women would be going to a that they had to turn themselves into a prison to get treatment.” But since county health board super- dance in this town two hours away,” Open Tuesday through Friday, 10:30 till 3:30 Perry says, “and on the way home, they Between 1917 and 1942, approxi- visors and other officials decided who And also by appointment was ‘suspect’ and who they could ex- reported what we would now call date mately 5,000 women were imprisoned amine, young women of a certain age rape. The man drove them out into the at the Kansas State Industrial Farm Find us on Facebook for additional hours were consistently targeted. Accord- middle of nowhere and said, ‘Have sex where they lived and worked along- ing to Jennifer Myers, site supervisor with me or I’ll leave you here.’” side other female criminals. Prior to 1917, it the industrial farm prisoner VALENTINE’S DAY for the Lansing Historical Museum, Some women turned themselves in TREATS & TRUFFLES “They would detain women for a cou- because they didn’t have money to get population was twenty. Myers said that in her research for the museum, ple of days, examine them, do tests to treated anywhere else, so they headed Drop into our shop on Lakeside Avenue see if they had diseases. The tests were to the farm for what was, in the days she could find no man ever charged really inaccurate, so if they thought she before penicillin, ineffective (and often under the Chapter 250 law. THE HUB SHOPPING CENTER toxic) treatment. You can see images from the Lansing might be sexually active, that might be 6929 Lakeside Avenue reason [enough] to diagnose her with “To get treatment for syphilis and Museum Exhibit for the Kansas State syphilis or gonorrhea.” gonorrhea was very expensive, and Industrial Farm for Women at the Richmond, VA 23228 Nikki Perry who has researched the the state did not invest in free public link below: Chapter 250 law for her doctorate at the health clinics during this time, so a lot lansingmuseum.omeka.net/exhibits/ 804-363-6873 University of Kansas said that besides of women didn’t have any options,” show/faces-of-the-kansas-state-peni/ being rounded up in raids, some of the Perry says. “These women were re- faces-of-the-kansas-state-peni www.choccravings.com women who went to Lansing in those sponsible, they were trying to take
KSIF PRISONERS 1422 & 1423, LANSING HISTORICAL MUSEUM February 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 21 BOOK REVIEW The Hidden Life of Trees by FRAN WITHROW
HIS BOOK HAS been on my “to read” list for months. Though it is a slim book, it took me a while to finish it. Con- sequently I pondered what I learned every day as I walked the dogs through my Twooded neighborhood. I confess I have taken trees for granted: sweep- ing leaves off the deck with a sigh, gathering dropped branches after a storm. These silent giants didn’t seem to do much else. Oh, how wrong I was. Author Peter Wohlleben, a forester who lives in Germany and runs an environmentally friendly woodland, has studied trees for years, and the knowledge he imparts is massive. Did you know trees talk to each the fact that it was growing old in other? Trees growing close together relative isolation. stretch their roots out toward one like the way NORTH of the JAMES magazine looks? Here’s another fascinating bit of in- other, and fungi connect those roots formation for you: have you ever in a “wood wide web.” Thus they wondered why tree roots seem to can warn each other about disease, gravitate toward our underground insects and other dangers. Trees are water pipes? Urban soil is so com- supposed to grow close together. pacted that tree roots have a hard Wohlleben explains that natural for- time breathing. The soil around ests are things of genius: young trees water lines is looser, so tree roots grow very slowly under the shade of search out these spaces to make it their mothers, and this slow growth easier to breathe and grow. allows them to develop into health- And how about this: right here in ier, longer-lived trees. The trees we Virginia is the Healing Harvest For- plant in our yards or those who live est Foundation, created to harvest in thinned out forests grow fast, but text 804 980 5604 call timber sustainably and compassion- are not as strong. ately. Instead of using heavy ma- contact DOBEY DESIGN for all your graphic needs In a native forest, the mother tree chinery that damages nearby trees captures most of the sunlight, but and compacts the soil, this group once she dies after several hundred uses horses and oxen, and takes only years, the littler ones, who have the weaker trees. spent years growing slowly but well, I invite you to read for yourself and can make a beeline for the sun. In a find out why walking among de- mere twenty years or so (not much ciduous trees is more relaxing than time in the life of a tree, Wohlleben strolling among conifers, or why notes), a new tree closes the gap and trees can only grow to a certain the cycle begins again. height. If you do, you may, like me, Wohlleben’s descriptions of how never look at trees quite the same trees deal with a wound from a bee- way again. tle or broken branch, why certain The Hidden Life of Trees trees like willows do better close to by Peter Wohlleben a river, or how girdling a tree is tan- $29.95 tamount to abuse, is eye-opening. Greystone Books Who knew? I can tell you that after 288 pages I finished the book I walked down to the dogwood standing all alone in my front yard and apologized for
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February 2017 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 23 NORTHSIDE’S HOME CENTER ON LAKESIDE AVENUE
APPLIANCES On Lakeside
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5418 Lakeside Ave. • Richmond, VA 23228 • 804-266-7621 Hours: Monday-Thursday 8:30 am-7 pm • Friday 8:30 am- 6 pm • Saturday 8:30 am-4 pm • Sunday: Closed www.AppliancesOnLakeside.com