Bay Heritage
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PEOPLE, PLACES AND TRADITIONS 1(6*'.19'40146*'400'%-#0&/+&&.'2'0+057.#2019 JIM & PAT CARTER REAL ESTATE Matching People and Chesapeake Bay Homes Since 1957 ,WDOOEHJDQRYHUVL[GHFDGHVDJR,QZKHQP\SDUHQWV-LPDQG3DW&DUWHURSHQHGDUHDOHVWDWH¿UPLQ:KLWH6WRQH7KH1RUWKHUQ1HFNZDV only a couple of dozen years removed from when steamboats came calling, moving people and cargo in the time-honored, centuries-old way – by water. 7KH&DUWHUVRSHQHGWKHLURI¿FHLQWKHFHQWHURIWKHYLOODJHRI:KLWH6WRQH-XVWDPLOHRUWZRDZD\WKH5REHUW21RUULV%ULGJHDWZRPLOH VSDQDFURVVWKH5DSSDKDQQRFN5LYHUDOVRRSHQHGUHSODFLQJWKHROGIHUU\VHUYLFH7KHEULGJHPDGHWKHORZHU1RUWKHUQ1HFNPRUHDFFHVVLEOHE\ road, but still the deeply historic peninsula remained a land apart. It developed slowly as a destination locale. Few people detoured from major KLJKZD\VVLPSO\WRSDVVWKURXJKEXWWKRVHZKRGLGZHUHOLNHO\WRUHWXUQ -LPDQG3DWIHOOLQORYHZLWKWKHFKDUPDQGEHDXW\RIWKH1RUWKHUQ1HFN±LWVEHDFKHVDQGGHHSZDWHUKDUERUVLWV EURDGULYHUVDQGPHDQGHULQJFUHHNVLWVIRUHVWV¿HOGVDQG¿QHKRPHV7KH\UHVSHFWHGWKHKLVWRU\RIWKH1RUWKHUQ1HFN WKHELUWKSODFHRIIUDPHUVRIWKLVGHPRFUDF\8QLWHG6WDWHVSUHVLGHQWVDQGPDQ\RWKHUVZKRVKDSHGRXUFRXQWU\¶V history. 7RJHWKHUWKH\H[SORUHGHYHU\FRXQWU\URDGRIWKLVSHQLQVXODZKLFKLVGRWWHGZLWK¿QHO\SUHVHUYHGKRPHVDQGHVWDWHV IURPDOORIRXUQDWLRQ¶VHUDV7KH\HYHQUHVWRUHGRQHRIWKHDUHD¶VHDUOLHVWKRPHV0XVNHWWRH3RLQWH)DUPIRURXU ever-growing family. 7RGD\RYHUVL[W\\HDUVODWHU-LP 3DW&DUWHU5HDO(VWDWH,QFUHPDLQVDIDPLO\RZQHGERXWLTXHFRPSDQ\/RQJ NQRZQDVDSUHPLHUUHDOHVWDWHEURNHUDJH¿UPLQWKH&KHVDSHDNH%D\UHJLRQ-LP 3DW&DUWHU5HDO(VWDWH,QFLVGHHS RQH[SHULHQFHDQGZHOOSRVLWLRQHGWRVKRZWKH¿QHVWKRPHVHVWDWHVDQGSURSHUWLHVLQWKLVVSHFLDOUHJLRQDQGWRKHOS match them with your desires. Please visit and share our tradition. EMILY CARTER 349 CHESAPEAKE DRIVE, WHITE STONE, VIRGINIA 22578 804-436-4949 ECarterCountry.com FEATURES 2019 6 22 Safe Haven Young and The migration Determined of Tangier watermen 1969 baseball champions 12 28 Potomac A Past With Pilothouse A Presence Restoring a relic Windows to our heritage On the cover Photo by Lisa Carol Rose From left, Lacy Rose, Jr. and son, Captain Shawn Rose, harvest wild 16 native Rappahannock River oysters from the Lady Lindsay. This family of watermen harvest in the Rappahannock, Great Wic- omico, York and James rivers as well as Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds Rooted during the public oyster season which occurs October through February. The Lady Lindsay was built in 1979 by Kenneth Hall of Gloucester. Farming through generations Rose purchased her in 2005 and since had her overhauled at Jennings Boat Yard in Fairport. Lisa Carol Rose, a fifth generation waterman and avid photographer from White Stone, captured this photo of her brother and father in their element while she was working aboard another vessel. Historical photos from Middlesex, Lancaster and For years, Lisa worked alongside her family harvesting oysters and Northumberland counties appear throughout the catching crabs. Recently, she and her boyfriend, Captain Tony Ferguson publication. of Poquoson, opened Miss Mary Seafood in White Stone. Fresh seafood Photos courtesy of Larry S. Chowning, Kilmarnock Museum, right from the boat is featured daily. More of Lisa’s photographs illustrat- and Northumberland County Historical Society ing life on the water can be viewed at Miss Mary Seafood. September 26, 2019 :Wl HERITAGE ß3 eritage and history are synonymous. Our heritage includes valued objects Hand qualities such as traditions passed down from generation to generation, items valued enough today to save for tomorrow. Our history includes events that determine our present and will shape our future. Within the pages of Bay Heritage, the newest supplement from the Rappahannock Record and Southside Sentinel, we explore the culture of living local and celebrate it by paying homage photo by Robyn Charles to what makes our area special. We highlight the industries at the heart of our heritage: seafood, farming and tourism. And honor the people, places and history of the Northern Neck and :Wl HERITAGE is published jointly by the Rappahannock Re- cord, P.O. Box 400, Kilmarnock, Va. 22482, (804) 435-1701, and the Southside Middle Peninsula. Sentinel, P.O. Box 549, Urbanna, Va. 23175, (804) 758-2328. Email: editor@rap- We hope you enjoy the in-depth stories about precord.com or [email protected] the fabric and roots of our community, the pro- files of the people that have shaped our culture News Tom Hardin and Robert D. Mason Jr., editors; Larry S. Chowning, Tom Chillemi, Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi, Megan Schiffres and Jackie and the businesses that have endured. Nunnery Our heritage and history make our rural, water- Advertising Jessica Bell and Hannah Abbott managers; K.C. Troise, front community more than just a place to live, Marilyn Bryant, Susan Graves and Gloria Abbott but make it a place to proudly call home. Production Joseph Gaskins, Susan Simmons, K.C. Troise, Amy DeWolf, Stephanie Feria and Ray Rose Publications Coordinators Susan Simmons and Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi [email protected] & [email protected] & Lisa Account Managers Geanie Longest and Lisa Donant Publishers Fred and Bettie Lee Gaskins 4 ß:Wl HERITAGE ½September 26, 2019 CARTERS CREEK CONTEMPORARY COLONIAL ON 1.6 LANDSCAPED ACRES, WHITE STONE $739,000 C-:1+;36;93?)15:)15-,C $6.'):-8865:)/-C #= -,86649 ):09C#7)+16;9"6649= 8--2"6640-.91:+0-5C -<-39C$018,-<-3#:;,1668 ;52"664C)8/- )8)8)/-C#1:-6+):165.68;:;8-!66359:)33):165C 6+29 “LITTLE FLORIDA” LOCATION! RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER COTTAGE WITH BEACH, RICHMOND COUNTY $499,999 C593)5,312-644;51:?C #= -,86649 ):09C;13:65!1315/9:6)>1 41@-5+8-,1*3-&1-=9C)15-<-3 ..-89 7-51<15/8-) -,86649 ):09C6.: ;-9: -,8664 ;52"664 ):065#-+65,-<-3C'):-891,-6<-8-,!68+0C ;:,668#06=-8 A BOATER’S PARADISE EXCEPTIONAL HOME ON THE CORROTOMAN RIVER, WEEMS $879,000 C)8<-36;98+01:-+:;8)3-:)139$086;/06;:C +8-9= $1,)3!65, 6+2C #= -,86649 ):09C66291:+0-5 18-73)+- #7)+16;9)9:-8C'):-891,--+2 !):16 C6=-8-<-3')326;:= 18-73)+- ):0C ##:;,1668-,1)"664C <-891@-,)8)/- SPORTSMAN OR NATURE LOVERS RETREAT #$$ %"( 54 ACRES ON THE GREAT WICOMICO RIVER, HEATHSVILLE $1,200,000 C'):-8.6=3--8'13,$;82-?C!81<):-'):-8.865:6476;5,= $ '):-8865:)/- C #C -,86649 ):09C 3,)8406;9-$66C #:68?)8)/-= !)8:1)3 ):0#-+65,3668.68'6829067 1<15/#7)+-C6):06;9- !1-89= 1.:9C;9:9-- Sandra Hargett CHESAPEAKE BAY PROPERTIES 804-436-3454 )+06..1+-1915,-7-5,-5:3?6=5-,)5,67-8):-, SandraHargett.com [email protected] Top Producer 25+ Years | Kilmarnock, Virginia B.?6;=)5::6256=-<-8?:015/)*6;:)73)+-?6;)92)36+)3$0):=6;3,*-4-D Safe haven The Tangier Island migration in 1933 led to generations of local watermen by Larry S. Chowning ß:Wl HERITAGE ½September 26, 2019 6 ony, Thomas Lee, Donnie and Ricky Walton and Ross and Henry Payne are fourth generation Urbanna watermen, while Lee, Thomas Lee’s son, and Brian, Tony’s son, are fifth T generation. Their ties to Urbanna go back to the August Storm of 1933 when their grandparents, Avery and Dora Payne, left Tangier Island searching for higher ground and a better way of life for their family. Right after the 1933 storm that flooded Tangier, 13 families and over 30 people from the island moved to Urbanna. The Paynes and others came via a boat convoy with everything they owned piled high inside of several small boats. Upon arriving in town, the Payne family moved in with Henry and Rebecca Dize in a two-story home on Howard Street. The Dizes had moved to Urbanna prior to the storm, in 1928, and had established a home in town. When on Tangier, the Dizes had helped raise Avery and, although they were not biological kin, Avery’s children referred to them as their grandparents. Avery’s mother had died in a cholera outbreak on the island when he was 8 years old. Afterwards, Avery and his father boarded with the Dizes who took young Avery under their wings. Avery and Dora had four sons, Melvin, Ed, Jonesey and Carey, and The late Ed Payne (above) is hauling crab pots in the 1980s on the two daughters, Catherine and Beatrice. They all, boys and girls, grew Rappahannock River with his grandson, Ryan. Ed was 2 years old when his parents moved to Urbanna from Tangier after the August up in Urbanna and worked the water at some point in their lives. Avery Storm of 1933. founded Payne’s Crab House in Urbanna in the 1960s and Catherine and Beatrice ran the business until they retired in 2012. They are both deceased. Catherine’s sons, Thomas Lee and Tony, started their own crab shed- ding and oyster packing businesses and established seafood houses on Old Virginia Street, just outside of Urbanna. Catherine’s youngest son, Ricky, is a full-time waterman and her son Donnie helped his mother at the crab house. Lee and Brian continue to work in the family seafood businesses. Ed’s sons Ross and Henry are also commercial crabbers. Their heritage is steeped in local seafood tradition; anecdotal history has Henry Dize as the first Urbanna waterman to harvest hard crabs with crab pots. For generations crabs were caught on baited trotlines until Dize introduced the pot to this area in 1937. He made his own pots that were laced together with cotton twine and wire…no pig rings and no interior upstairs as used today.* Instead of today’s traditional buoy and line system to mark each pot, Dize set stakes and tied his crab pot lines to the stakes. While Henry worked his 36 pots in the Rappahannock River his wife ran a trotline in Perkins Creek to help increase the day’s catch. Henry Dize kept a double sharp-ended skiff powered by a hand oper- ated sculling paddle on Perkins Creek. He oystered and crabbed in the skiff for years, until he had Rob Dudley of Deltaville build a 38-foot round stern deadrise for him. In a 1987 interview, Henry’s grandson, the late Ed Payne, who was 2 years old when he arrived in Urbanna in 1933, said of his grandparents: “He (Henry) was originally from Smith Island [Maryland] and he had The Charlotte Catherine was built in 2013 Henry and Rebecca Dize at their home in Urbanna.