A ROAD LESS TRAVELLER • LAST MAN STANDING VOLUME 26 No 7 JULY 2020

Home , Anne Holton, Lewis Ginter, Linwood Holton, Traveller (novel)

Charles Brandon Rapp

McGuiganis now a man. This past June, my son graduated from high school, and in the fall, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will take a gap year before going to college. In his middle school years, he was bullied in extreme ways. It was sometimes blatant, sometimes subtle, but always mean-spir- ited. Charles could have allowed anger to fester into aggression. But he didn’t. Instead, he chose creativity and compas- sion. During a commencement ceremony, Principal Joshua Lutz said this of my son: “His academic skills, his creative drive, and his passion for others are unrivalled. Charles has always been one to step up for the little guy or for somebody he feels is marginalized by society, and that is a character trait that you can’t teach. It has to be within you.” continued on page 12

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2 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • July 2020 TABLE of CONTENTS

4 MONUMENTS Monument Avenue Soon To Be “A Road Less Traveller” When the monuments began to come down last month, they were like bowling pins, falling in slow motion. A massive ball of outrage, molded from centuries of racism and inequity, struck the pocket perfectly—no spare; just a resounding, if protracted, strike.

9 HIDDEN HISTORIES How the Irish Dealt With Offensive Monuments On the 50th anniversary of Irish independence, a gentleman named Liam Sutcliffe, took it upon himself to relieve the Dublin skyline of an extraordinarily high monument to the British Admiral Lord Nelson—for whom the Irish had no overwhelming affection.

10 MONUMENTS A.P. Hill Monument: Last Man Standing Recently, the Hermitage Road Historic District Association voted unanimously for the removal of the A.P. Hill monument, under which Hill is interred.

11 BOOK REVIEW Lush Hope in Dire Times “Deep Creek” is Pam Houston’s exquisite collection of essays centered around ★ her ranch in Colorado. A traumatic childhood eventually leads Houston to 4030 MACARTHUR AVENUE 266-3167 develop a deep love for nature, and culminates in her eventual purchase of a 120-acre home. Though Houston travels for much of the year, the ranch in sparsely populated Creede, Colorado is where her heart is. Pre-Order and Curbside Pickup 7 Days a Week, 11am-8pm 12 COVER STORY Charles Brandon Rapp McGuigan Menu on Our Facebook Page Is Now a Man This past June, my son graduated from high school, and in the fall, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will take a gap year before going to college. During a commencement ceremony, Principal Joshua Lutz said this of my son: “His academic skills, his creative drive, and his passion for others are unrivalled. Charles has always been one to step up for the little guy or for somebody he feels is marginalized by society, and that is a character trait that you can’t teach. It has to be within you.”

20 SCHOOLS The Dandelion Garden: An Outdoor Classroom Back in mid-May, I met up with three women who nurture The Dandelion at Holton Elementary School. Two of them—Ellen Shepard and Susanna Raffenot, the OGs, or Original Gardeners, as they’re sometimes called—planted the initial seeds. The other woman is Kate Lainhart who now works as the garden educator at Holton Elementary School.

COVER IMAGE: Photographed by Rebecca D’Angelo

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July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 3 MONUMENTS Monument Avenue Soon To Be “A Road Less Traveller” by CHARLES MCGUIGAN

COUPLE YEARS back, shortly after gun-toting, torch- bearing, flag-waving, Nazis, white suprema- cists and neo-Confed- erates descended on Charlottesville like a plague, murder- Aing one woman and injuring many others, my brother Chris and I were texting one another about the fate of Confederate monuments in Rich- mond. At that time, Chris and his wife lived in a tiny Maryland village called Keedysville, less than five miles away from Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg. Chris and his wife, Mar- garet, had raised their two children there in an 18th century log and stone house they had meticulously restored over the course of some twenty years. Chris, who is among other things, a sculptor, an architect, and a black- smith, spent most of his career with the National Park Service. His specialty was historic preservation. “What will they call Monument Av- enue when the monuments come Marcus-David Peters Circle surrounds the Lee monmument. down?” he typed. Jefferson Davis had already been top- seem to worship. bend, in any way, the extreme parts. “A road less Traveller,” I responded. pled by protesters back in mid-June. Work crews rose on the fenced plat- His legs are sticking out, and his boots, The statue lay face up on the asphalt, and his saddle bags. We just need to “Well-played,” Chris replied, which form of an articulating boom lift, a sort its torso coated with pink paint that make sure every piece of stays intact as meant a lot to me. Chris possesses a of cherry picker that can move in any called to mind a negligee, perhaps he comes down.” rapier wit. direction. Once at the hooves of Little a reference to the legend that Davis, Sorrel, Jackson’s horse, the team of hard- Throughout the afternoon, the crowd When the monuments began to come a month after the Surrender at Ap- hat-clad men began carefully securing swelled along Arthur Ashe Boulevard down last month, they were like bowl- pomattox, had dressed in women’s harnesses sheathed in anti-chafing gear and Monument Avenue, and each ing pins, falling in slow motion. A mas- garments to avoid capture by Union at key points around the forelegs and time a harness was secured, there rose sive ball of outrage, molded from cen- troops, who ultimately arrested him hind legs of the bronze horse. The op- a chorus of chants. “No justice, no turies of racism and inequity, struck just outside Irwinville, Georgia. The eration would last for a few hours, and peace.” “Black lives matter.” “F*** that the pocket perfectly—no spare; just a former president of the former Con- there was reason for this. statue.” And so on. resounding, if protracted, strike. One by federacy was unceremoniously loaded one they fell, torn from their pedestals on to the flat bed of a tow truck and Acting as a sort of consultant, Jil- A massive crane, towering above by protesters, or removed by profession- hauled away into the night. A group of lian Holland of Round Hill, Virginia, the monument, would groan and als with the aid of portable circular saws protesters cheered and chanted. sporting a harness and a hard hat, screech when the tension on the har- that cut through bronze bolts that had accompanied the crew on several of nesses tautened, and it seemed at any Two weeks later, I stood among more secured them to their lofty heights for their expeditions up to the bronze moment the machineries would lift than a thousand people, the vast ma- more than a century. The monuments statue, and made recommendations. the statue from its perch. But time jority wearing masks, who formed a ended up, some have said, at the City’s She knows a fair amount about large dragged on. large circle thirty feet from the cen- sewage treatment plant down on South- bronze sculptures. Jillian herself is a tral island of the rotary at the junc- By late afternoon, clouds had begun side. Just a temporary holding place be- metal worker, whose media include ture of Arthur Ashe Boulevard and moving in, white at first and then fore their final fate is decided. steel, aluminum, iron and cast bronze. gray, and to the South a steep bank of Monument Avenue. Rising from that What’s more, she’s often assisted Rich- On July 1, the very day a state law went clouds turned dark as ancient pewter. island, atop a stone pedestal, was a mond-based sculptor Paul DiPasquale into effect giving municipalities the You could see bolts of lightning in the massive equestrian statue of Thomas in the assembly, installation, and deliv- power to remove Confederate monu- darkest of those clouds, and I over- “Stonewall” Jackson, who, in the eyes ery of his work. ments, Mayor Levar Stoney began of many Confederate devotees, is just heard the man operating the crane tackling the statues along Monument one rung below General Robert E. Lee “Once lowered,” Jillian told me. “It yell up to his compatriots at the top of Avenue with all deliberate speed. in that strange pantheon at which they has to be laid on its side for transport. the monument to hurry up. “You can We have to make sure that we will not see it coming,” he screamed, and the

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July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 5 MONUMENTS

two men near the legs of Little Sor- rel, looked to the South, and then got back to their work of cutting through the bronze bolts. Just then, the skies opened. Globs of water, each a puddle unto itself, fell hard, and were quickly followed by sheets of rain. Once that final bolt was severed, and after the Wonderful food, best two men descended, the crane peeled The Mill is open the statue away from its stone base. As Wonderfulbrunchfor curbside in Richmond. food, pickup best the statue rose, there was a long peal brunch – &Urban carryout in SpoonRichmond. only. of thunder that rolled along like the report of distant artillery, ending in a For your safety we’ve updated – Urban Spoon final clap loud as the voice of God. At Servingour systems locally to now farmed include the same instant, a man and a woman produce,contactless poultry, payments andand crossed over to the large bell of a near- online ordering. by church and began ringing it. Servingmeat with locally vegetarian, farmed The graffiti on the stone base, the produce,vegan,Order & poultry, gluten Online: free and crowds, and their chants and their ap- themillonmacarthur.hrpos.options available. plause and their cheers, and the toll- meat withheartland.us vegetarian, ing of the bell, reminded me of foot- Wonderfulvegan, & glutenfood, best free age I had seen on TV thirty years ago OPENbrunchYou can 11am download in Richmond. -10pm the Mon-Fri mobile when the Berlin Wall came down. The 9amoptionsordering - 10pm available. app Sat here: & Sun throng on Monument Avenue was retailsystemsinc.com/heartland- – Urban Spoon jubilant and thoroughly soaked by a DINEguest-app-download IN • TAKE OUT pummeling rain, a showering baptism. And they were people of all colors, OPENServingTo 11amDELIVERY keep locally our-10pm staff farmed Mon-Friand ages and genders. “Who’s street?” they produce,community9am - 10pm poultry,healthy, Sat &all Sun CDCand asked in unison. “Our street,” they an- swered as one voice. meatCovid-19 with guidelines vegetarian, will be DINEfollowed.ENJOY IN At • thisBRUNCH TAKE time, we OUT will The following day, without much fan- vegan, & gluten free fare, the statue of Matthew Fontaine beSat limiting & Sun the number10am-2pm of people options available. Maury came down (the globe would allowedDELIVERY in the restaurant for be removed a little over a week later). pickupWeekly — in-house Specials: dining is On July 7, J.E.B Stuart, the last of the OPENNOT Sun currently 11am • Specialty -10pm available. Burgers Mon-Fri A face city-owned Confederate statues on 9amcovering - 10pm5pm or -mask close Sat will& Sun be Monument Avenue was removed. All requiredENJOY Mon • Vegetarianto be BRUNCH worn &by Vegan all who that now remains is the largest monument, which resides on state land. DINEenter the SpecialsIN restaurant • TAKE all day (patrons, OUT A court injunction has temporarily SatTues &• Family Sun Style 10am-2pm Pasta Night staff, vendors,DELIVERY etc). No mask = barred its removal. no problem;6pm when - close you get here Lee stands alone now, the only mem- toWWed pick • Wingup your it Wednesday order just ringw/ Weekly Specials: ber of the pantheon still towering Top: Matthew Fontaine Maury globe freed from its orbit. the bell$5 andwing we’ll specials come out above Monument Avenue. He is crip- HappyENJOY Sun Hour • Specialty •BRUNCH Mon Burgers- Fri 3-6pm Above: Stonewall Jackson just before his removal. Sat & Sun5pmto you.10am-2pm- close pled in his power much as he was during the Civil War: his right arm (Stone- stood on Monument Avenue defend- is his natural and normal condition. MonThursday • Vegetarian - Saturday: & Vegan wall Jackson) is gone, and his eyes and Located in Richmond, VA's ed human bondage, and the rape, tor- This, our new government, is the first, WeeklySpecials11am Specials: - all 8pm day ears (J.E.B. Stuart) have been plucked ture and murder of enslaved Africans, in the history of the world, based upon historic Bellevue District at away and punctured. The white marble Tues Sun • Family • Specialty Style PastaBurgers Night and their descendants. Just read the this great physical, philosophical, and Serving4023 Brunch 5pmMacArthur - onclose Sunday Ave only: pedestal on which the gelded Traveller articles of secession from each of the moral truth.” 6pm - close stands has been converted into a rain- Mon • Vegetarian10am - 3pm & Vegan rebel states that would form the Con- Here’s another fact: Each one of those bow canvas, and the median strips ad- (804)Specials 716-1196 all day federacy. Slavery, and its preservation, Confederate leaders once memorial- CLOSED:WWed • Wing Monday-Wednesday it Wednesday w/ jacent it have been turned into a sort of Tues • Family Style Pasta Night is mentioned over and over again, as is ized on Monument Avenue attended www.themillrva.com camp for protesters, an army of them, $5 wing specials the notion of white supremacy and the the U.S. Military Academy at West The owners6pm and - close staff would who seem intent on holding their Happy Hour • Mon - Fri 3-6pm inherent inferiority of people of Afri- Point, and broke his solemn oath to WWed • Wing it Wednesday w/ ground until this three-dimensional like to thank you all for your can descent. “support and defend the Constitution $5 wing specials memorial to white supremacy is re- continued support and Consider this excerpt from what is of the United States against all en- Happy Hour • Mon - Fri 3-6pm moved, until they achieve victory. The understanding as we look often called the “cornerstone speech” emies, foreign and domestic . . .” circle itself has been rechristened Mar- Located in Richmond, VA's delivered on the eve of the Civil War forward to seeing and serving cus-David Peters Circle in honor of a In terms of their history, Confederate by Alexander Stephens, vice president historicLocatedour community Bellevue in Richmond, District again! VA's at 24-year-old Black man shot and killed monuments like those erected in Rich- of the Confederacy. “Our new gov- historic4023 Bellevue MacArthur District Ave at by Richmond police two years ago. mond served two other purposes, one ernment is founded upon exactly the being a revisionist, and often romanti- 4023 MacArthur Avenue Those who want the monuments to 4023 MacArthur Ave opposite idea,” he said. “Its founda- cized, history of the Confederacy and stay often cry a chorus of “History and 804 716 1196 tions are laid, its cornerstone rests, the myth of the “Lost Cause”. The oth- (804) 716-1196 heritage”. upon the great truth that the negro is (804)www.themillrva.com 716-1196 er reason for their placement in Rich- www.themillrva.com Every one of the Confederate figures not equal to the white man; that slav- mond and elsewhere in the country is represented by the statues that once ery subordination to the superior race even more disturbing. They were sym-

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July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 7 MONUMENTS

bols of white supremacy to let Blacks know that despite the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union victory, the adoption of the Civil War Amend- ments, and a hundred years later, the Civil Rights Movement, they, as a people, would never be equal to whites. The vast majority of the Confederate monuments erected in public places began in the mid-1890s just as Southern states began enacting the egregious Jim Crow laws which were created to disen- franchise Blacks and and re-segregate society after three decades of integra- tion. These laws and this rapid construction of Confederate monuments lasted well into the 1920s, a period that saw the SUNDAY - THURSDAY, NOON - 7PM lynching of Black men in unprecedent- ed numbers, and a massive revival of the domestic terrorist group known as the Ku Klux Klan. Many of these monu- FRIDAY & SATURDAY, NOON - 9PM ments were sponsored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. It’s worth noting here, too, that the WE REGRET THAT WE HAVE HAD TO white supremacist who massacred the Charleston Nine, had visited Confed- erate monuments throughout South TEMPORARILY CANCEL WINE TASTINGS AND Carolina shortly before he went on his rampage. So, it would seem, these symbols do incite the most hideous MOVIE NIGHTS, BUT THEY WILL RETURN kind of racial violence. Returning to Monument Avenue and its inception. Real estate developers WE THANK ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS FOR selling lots there claimed in advertise- ments at the time that “no lots can ever THEIR LOYALTY AND THEIR PATIENCE be sold or rented in MONUMENT AVENUE PARK to any person of Af- rican descent.” That’s historic fact. WE THANK EVERYONE FOR WEARING Only real history can save us from ourselves. Not a sanitized version of it either, one FACE MASKS AND PRACTICING SOCIAL that glorifies just those moments in our past when we did act in exemplary DISTANCING TO KEEP YOU AND OUR ways. It must be a history that exposes all of our failures and shortcomings, an acknowledgement and an acceptance STAFF SAFE of our imperfections, those critical moments when we succumbed to our baser instincts, and forsook our loftier ideals. INQUIRE ABOUT SURGICAL MASKS FOR SALE All great fiction must confront painful pasts. Literary works that do otherwise, fall short, and end up in bargain DON’T MISS OUR ALEC BRADLEY bins or kindling boxes because they are two-dimensional tales at best, lack- ing any real depth. CIGAR SPECIALS Even when examining the novels of our own lives, the histories of our past deeds, we can never inch forward to a greater truth unless we are able to ad- CALL 804 726 9463 mit our own mistakes, and confront them, and learn through their correc- tion. There is something gratifying in coming clean with it all, even those 4009 MACARTHUR AVENUE things that in the past might have plagued us. Without lies to obfuscate, all things become clear.

8 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • July 2020 HIDDEN HISTORIES How the Irish Dealt With Offensive Monuments by JACK R JOHNSON

PPARENTLY, BEING rid of unwanted monuments is not as easy as it sounds. As Rich- mond, Virginia suffers legal wrangling to be rid of the Robert E. Lee monument, we might take note of how Athe Irish handled a similar situation. On the 50th anniversary of Irish independence, a gentleman named Liam Sutcliffe, took it upon himself to relieve the Dublin skyline of an extraordinarily high monument to the British Admiral ing time, and he was the last to leave. Lord Nelson—for whom the Irish had no overwhelming affection. “At 1:30 am, a huge blast sent Nelson and tons of rubble on to the quiet It was not an easy task. A group of stu- street below, damaging a taxi - the only dents tried and failed to burn Nelson casualty of the night apart from Lord down in 1955, but by the time 1966 Nelson. The driver escaped injury. rolled around, Liam Sutcliffe thought he was ready. According to Diarmaid “The government officially denounced Fleming of the BBC, “the idea was to the attack, though it’s said that President place a bomb made from gelignite and Eamon De Valera called the Irish Press ammonal on the viewing platform at newspaper, owned by his family, to sug- the top of the pillar, with a timer set to gest the light-hearted headline: “British go off in the early hours of the morn- Admiral Leaves Dublin By Air.” ing when the street would be empty.” But that’s not all. Sutcliffe says he took his three-year- In the explosion, Nelson’s granite head old son with him to avoid raising sus- was separated from his body and that picions. morning it was picked up off the street how's that home office “If the Special Branch had their eye and taken to a municipal storage yard. working out? on the Pillar and seen me going in Ten days later students from the Na- on my own with a bag under my arm tional College of Art and Design stole they might have become suspicious - it, looking for a way of paying off a Stu- but with the young lad with me, they dent Union debt. wouldn’t pay any attention.” Nelson’s head turned out to be just They planted the bomb and left – but what they needed. The granite head by 2 a.m. nothing had happened. appeared on stage with the Irish band, The Dubliners, and in TV and maga- Apparently, the infamously damp Irish zine ads - including one for women’s weather fouled the timer. So Sutcliffe tights - and people paid for it to be dis- realized he had a problem. There was played at parties. a bomb in the center of busy Dublin that might go off at any time. According to the BBC, the police finally tracked Nelson down and today, Sutcliffe had to retrieve the unexplod- the Admiral’s head “sits in the corner ed ordinance. of a library in Dublin, largely ignored.” So, according to the BBC, “The next Someday soon, perhaps, Lee’s statue #PuttingTheSweetInHome morning, as soon as the pillar opened will be suitably re-contextualized, sit- again for tourists, Sutcliffe went back ting in a corner of the American Civil to collect it. He redesigned the timer, War Museum where onlookers may he says, and planted the bomb again a pass by mostly ignoring the old Con- week later, on 7 March, this time with- federate general’s intrepid gaze. out his son. Again it was just before clos-

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION by DOUG DOBEY July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 9 MONUMENTS A.P. Hill Monument Last Man Standing by CHARLES MCGUIGAN

HEN MY SON “Please remove this homage to white su- Charles attended premacy immediately and give our city Linwood Hol- a real opportunity for the healing that ton Elementary we are so in need of at this time.” School, it always For the time, though, things have been struck me as odd stalled. The same day the globe of the that his Black Matthew Fontaine Maury monument classmates, every came down, and a statue of Joseph Wsingle day, had to look at a statue to a Bryan and a cross to Fitzhugh Lee man who fought to preserve the en- were removed from Monroe Park, slavement of Black people. It’s a par- Richmond Circuit Court Judge Brad- ticularly odd dichotomy when you ley B. Cavedo granted an anonymous consider the school was named after plaintiff’s request for a temporary in- a progressive white governor who ef- junction to prohibit the removal of any fectively ended massive resistance and other Confederate monuments from the white supremacist legacy of seg- city-owned property. The only one re- regation, while shattering the demon maining is A.P. Hill. Byrd machine. By the way, Black students make up more than sixty per- Back in June, Cavedo granted an in- cent of Holton’s student body. junction prohibiting Governor Ralph Recently, the Hermitage Road Historic Northam from removing the Lee mon- District Association (HRHDA) voted ument which is owned by the state. unanimously for the removal of the Cavedo, incidentally, resides in the A.P. Hill monument, under which Hill Monument Avenue Historic District. is interred. There’s this, too, as reported by Brad “Some of the members of the associa- Kutner for Courthouse News Ser- tion brought up at a normal business vices: Back in 1977, Cavedo, who meeting whether or not we should take attended University or Richmond, a position on the monument because wrote an op-ed piece for the col- it’s actually located in the district,” says lege paper. Caved wrote, “I will be HRHDA president Bob Balster. “So I leaving the solicitous paternalism appointed a committee to look at the of the federal courts, which among issues and they came back with the other things nearly wrecked my AP Hill Monument and the remains of And then on Independence Day, the unanimous recommendation that we high school education by instituting General Hill interred therein. Historic Brookland Park Collective support the removal of it.” Shortly af- a massive busing plan that caused sent out this letter: ter that, the association held a Zoom “We concur with the Monument Ave- more upheaval in my school and life meeting. “The vote was unanimous to nue Preservation Society that “we have “I’m sure that you’re aware of the change than most people could imagine.” remove the statue,” Bob says. overlooked the inherent racism of these in the landscape of our city in the past few Cavedo had attended Thomas Jeffer- monuments” and their grandeur has months. In these tumultuous times people son High School in Richmond. The removal of the unwanted monu- blinded us “to the insult of glorifying are demanding change and are not wait- ment will also rid the Northside of one It should be noted that A.P. Hill was orig- men for their role in fighting to perpetu- ing for the power elite to give it to them. of its worst intersections, the scene of inally buried in Hollywood Cemetery, ate the inhumanity of slavery.” If there many accidents. “We had talked about “Richmond being the former capital of among twenty-five other Confederate is an assumption of past silence regard- the removal before, sometimes in the the Confederacy is a place where systemic generals, which is where the monument ing the AP Hill Monument from our context of the traffic hazard that the Hill racism permeates the soil. The biggest ex- that now stands in Northside was to have neighborhood as implied acceptance, monument posed,” says Bob. “You’ve ample of that is the odes to white suprem- been placed. It was Major Lewis Ginter we hope this statement and our future probably heard about the problems acy in the form of numerous Confederate who spearheaded the move to relocate actions prove otherwise. there with that intersection. And with statues covering our city’s landscape. Hill’s remains. And Hill’s family members were none-too-thrilled with the idea. G. everything going on the way it is, it was “We are asking that the Mayor and the “That being said, we the Historic Brook- time for us to take a positon on it. It was City Council of Richmond create a plan Powell Hill wrote: “I was not favorable land Park Collective are in full support to the second disturbance and removal an issue whose time had come.” to remove the monument and remains of the Hermitage Road District Associa- expeditiously. We understand the rein- of the General’s remains, and I believe So the association drafted the follow- tion’s efforts to remove the AP Hill Monu- ternment process may take more time, such were the feelings of a majority of his ing letter on June 26: ment and the remains buried within it. surviving relatives, as we believe it was so we ask that the statue itself be re- Located at the intersection of Hermitage “The Hermitage Road Historic Dis- wholly unnecessary and furthermore, we moved as soon as possible. Road and Laburnum Ave, it is not only trict Association stands for justice and think it would have been far more desira- “We look forward to being a part of creat- an eyesore but a traffic hazard that needs equality for all people. We are com- ble had the monument been erected over ing a new vision for this intersection that to be removed immediately. Our children pelled to take action in support of this the grave in the most beautiful God’s Acre serves as a gateway to our historic district are subjected to this racist imagery daily belief. Our Association and its Execu- in his native State, and where he has been and other Northside neighborhoods.” as they enter their school building. tive Board support the removal of the sleeping for nearly a quarter of a century.”

10 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • July 2020 BOOK REVIEW

Lush Hope in Dire Times by FRAN WITHROW

HERE ARE SOME books that are so gor- geously written, so thoughtfully and master- fully crafted, that I close the last page with a sense of helplessness. How can I review this book in a way that does Tjustice to the author? Just such a book is “Deep Creek,” Pam Houston’s exquisite collection 1221 Bellevue Avenue Richmond VA 23227 of essays centered around her ranch in Colorado. A traumatic childhood 804 553 3866 eventually leads Houston to develop a deep love for nature, and culminates TueSDAY-FriDAY 7am-1pm Saturday 7am-Noon in her eventual purchase of a 120-acre home. Though Houston travels for much of the year, the ranch in sparsely EARLYBIRDBISCUIT.COM populated Creede, Colorado is where DARK BROWN LIGHT BLUE-GREEN her heart is. PANTONE 4625 PANTONE 324 In a simple yet compelling voice, Hou- both utter joy in the earth’s incredible ston talks about her beloved animals: beauty as well as sorrow over what we her deeply devoted dogs, her sheep, are doing to destroy our home is per- her ancient horses, and her spunky fectly painted. mini-donkeys. She also unites her Houston repeatedly acknowledges the deep appreciation for the grandeur of dichotomy between being alive in this the mountains around her with her world and destroying it: observing the ClassicTouch love for the native wildlife who share heartbreaking beauty of aspens grow- her space. ing among the charred forests as well The chapter about the six-week forest as the potential demise of polar bears. fire that rages through her area is one How does one live with such a juxta- of the longest sections of the book, but position? Houston ponders how one Cleaning I raced through it, engrossed. Would finds hope for the earth that may be Simplifying Lives her ranch fall to the flames? What facing its end days, or “at least of the about her sheep and her chickens? earth as I’ve known her.” One House Interspersed throughout the main How indeed. sections of the book are shorter es- Her deep respect for the land she lives At a Time! says: her “Ranch Almanac,” which fo- on as well as for the larger world shine cus on specific ranch animals. I found through each page. There is an under- these more personal musings abso- current of lush hope and love for life lutely riveting. running throughout the book. From Houston loves her ranch, but also trav- saying goodbye to her beloved dog els regularly to teach and to travel to Fenton to digging a path through the the wilder parts of the world. She says snow to get to her horses, Houston’s appreciation for all creation is power- it is in these more untouched places Residential Cleaning that she feels truly at home. Her ac- ful. Her writing makes me realize that count of a “once in a hundred life- I need to cultivate more intentional 1229 Bellevue Avenue times” sighting of a migrating group awareness of, and gratitude for, this of narwhals and her paddle boarding planet we call home. Richmond, VA 23227 experience with a gentle manatee are Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the heartwarming. High Country (804) 262-6979 As she travels, Houston repeatedly By Pam Houston E-mail: [email protected] bears witness to the dying earth. She 288 pages realizes that just by being alive, she is $29.95 Website: www.classictouchcleaning.com contributing to our planet’s demise. W. W. Norton Company Yet her description of how she finds

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION by DOUG DOBEY July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 11 CharlesWORDS Brandon AND DEEDS Rapp McGuigan From the time he was an infant, Charles had the bluest of eyes, luminous and wide, and they scrutinized the world around him, and he stored away all the images he had gathered. Out on walks with him, in a stroller, or on my shoulder, he would watch everything around him, studying all things with care, and something like devotion. And well before he uttered his first words, his ears were trained on every conceivable noise from the faintest tick of a distant clock that no one else could hear to a clap of not-too-distant thunder that could deafen the deaf. He absorbed these things, not so much as a sponge, but as a strong suction that pulled in the entire world. By paying such careful attention to everything around him, including human emotional responses, Charles became extremely empathetic. He also developed an uncanny ability to synthesize experiences and sensations, and began to tell stories through paintings and drawings, through music and words. These things became his passion.

ack in 2003, shortly after my ent rates.” And this: “Boys are slower than girls.” My son’s second birthday, I began noticing things about daughter, Catherine Rose, five years Charles’ senior, little Charles that didn’t seem quite right. I was reluc- had matured much more quickly. She was walking tant to talk with his mother about these behaviors, by the time she was a year old, talking non-stop by but they were there all the same. They were small age two, dressing herself before she was two, color- things, insignificant, yet they seemed symptomatic ing profusely just over a year and so on. There was no of something dire. When I’d pick him up from his comparison between the two; they were worlds apart. B mom’s house over in Lakeside, I’d notice the same Charles would also do uncanny things. One after- kinds of behavior there as I saw over in our Bellevue noon in the late winter, a freezing Saturday crusted home. Of course, his mother, Diane Rapp, had no- with dirty snow, as my kids and I played on the liv- ticed the same things. ing room floor, secure in the cocoon of our home, Charles would line up his Hot Wheels—trucks and Charles stacked up a half-dozen soft, foam rubber cars—front bumper to rear bumper, place them in puzzle pieces. I didn’t notice anything unusual about a line so straight and unwavering it seemed he had the order, but Catherine called my attention to it. used a ruler to achieve the effect. And he was obses- “You see what he did?” she said. sive about it. God forbid one of them got out of line: A total meltdown would follow and there was no I shook my head. consoling him then. “They’re the colors of the rainbow,” she said. And Of his hands, he would make puppets that seemed to sure enough he’d stacked the puzzle pieces in their be talking to one another, sometimes frantically, and he ascending prismatic order—violet, blue, green, etc. would follow their actions closely with his eyes, squint- I thought, perhaps, it was an accident, so I took the ing, three inches away from them, as if to discern deep- stack apart, scattering the puzzle pieces across the er meaning in their seemingly random movements. floor, and once again Charles mimicked the spec- trum when he reassembled them. He was just over Plus, he wasn’t talking, and he was slow to walk. His a year old at the time and I don’t think he’d ever seen pediatrician said just wait and see; his hearing was a rainbow or shattered light through a prism, yet he fine, his vision checked out. That was reassuring, but seemed to understand the sequence. I still had my doubts. In the corner of our living room, behind the front Charles earlier this year at Many people I talked with about my son’s develop- door, stands a carving of a hornbill, its feathers black his High School graduation. ment said the same thing, “All kids develop at differ-

by CHARLES MCGUIGAN photos by REBECCA D’ANGELO

12 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • July 2020 Charles Brandon Rapp McGuigan

and white, its bill, eyes and feet a garish orange. It was a erator and aquarium pump, so the house again began When he was about three and a half years old, Charles gift from a friend who had traveled to Guinea-Bissau. to hum with a satisfying electric life. I wondered if began seeing a speech therapist, and the results were Charles when he was not quite two, would, on unsta- his brain had somehow perceived the motion and palpable almost immediately. I had been watching ble legs, approach this wooden bird, his approximate energy of electrons along their copper conduits na- him very closely, would spend hours in the even- height, stand eye to eye with it, pet its head, look deeply noseconds before the power was restored. Of course, ing reading to him, sometimes as many as twenty into those orange eyes as if he might elicit a response, it could have just been a coincidence. But still. children’s books at a setting. He followed the words make this piece of senseless wood communicate with My mind lit up with the word autism. I was familiar closely, was insistent on looking at the accompanying him. He would do this every day; it became part of his enough with the disorder, having written a series of pictures, and what’s more he could remember the plot routine, his ritual. His tiny hands stroked the wooden articles in the early nineties about it. Charles seemed lines and would ask questions about the characters. torso, the baby skin of his fingers sometimes snagging to have some of the red flags going for him, but not One Sunday afternoon in the spring, when Cath- on the rough etching that described the feathers. And all of them. For one thing he was always extremely af- erine was off with her mother, Charles and I sat on he would stare into those dead wooden eyes, fifteen, fectionate and easily made eye contact with everyone the living room floor and talked. I asked him what he twenty minutes at a time, trying to coax a response, but he encountered. Sometimes he would look so deeply meant when he used his hands. I’d always assumed the bird remained mute, at least to my ears. into a stranger’s eyes that they would be taken aback these were just random motions. Boy, was I wrong. During a summer power outage, late at night, not a as if he had crossed an invisible boundary, had in- A splayed hand held upward meant “tree”; a splayed wisp of air moving through our house, the kids and vaded a personal space. hand held downward meant “bird”. A fist with the I lay on the bed, drenched in sweat, and I read to A woman behind us at the checkout counter in Uk- thumb protruding was the symbol for “truck”. The them by candle light and oil lamp. I turned the pages rop’s once said to me, “What he looking at?” fingers of his left hand drawn rapidly across is right slowly so Charles could see every picture in “The wrist meant “running”. He went on and on for hours, Clown of God”. By the time I was finished, Cathe- I considered her question. “You,” I said, looking into explaining in detail what every hand movement rine had already drifted off. I blew out the candles, her eyes. meant. I listened and made notes and rudimentary turned down the oil lamp until the flame died. Min- “Well he shouldn’t look so close,” this woman said. drawings. When it was all over—about five hours lat- utes later, Charles sat upright in bed and clapped his er—I had 218 separate hand symbols describing 218 “That’s his way,” I told her, as she gathered her change, hands once, saying, “Lights on.” And immediately different words. A few days later I quizzed him on the keeping her face down, away from the stare of my in- the power, which had been off for three days, came hand symbols and their meanings remained consist- quisitive child. on and with it the lights, fans, air conditioners, refrig- ent. I was amazed and relieved.

July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 13 A week later, I met with two social low, peaceful, content, his mind finally workers at the child development at ease. Some nights as he slept and center Charles attended at the time. dreamt he would laugh out loud. “I They had been observing Charles and love you with all my heart and soul,” I had come up with a preliminary di- would say to my son. There were times agnosis. I waited. “We believe Charles that he roused briefly from his sleep has high functioning autism,” one of and said, with his eyes still shut, “I love the women told me. “Or Asperberger’s you too, Daddy.” syndrome,” said the other. For a mo- We were lucky to get Charles into Hol- ment, I was speechless. ton Elementary School. No school I Later, I took Charles to see Dr. Pas- know of was ever run better. All thanks quale Accardo at Children’s Hospital. to David Hudson and his hand-select- He spent well over an hour with my ed teachers and other staff. The first son, putting him through a battery of teachers Charles had there—Christal tests, asking him scores of questions. Mark and Ricky Gay—taught him for Charles flanked by his sisters Miranda and Catherine At the end of it all he told me Charles a total of three years. had clearly fallen under the rather Viewed through the right lens, life re- archives of the brain to be recalled in I did every morning when he was wide reach of the autism umbrella, but veals itself as an unending series of vic- at its very edge. He might also have less than the blink of an eye in dreams with me—through the rear doors of tories, each one a call for celebration. or reveries. And how those small drums Holton Elementary. Once inside, we Attention Deficit Disorder. Charles, it Just consider the eruption of spring out turned out, had the intellect of some- within our ears allow us to hear every were greeted by safety guards, lime of the sodden earth, transforming the conceivable sound—from the sub- green bands crossing their chests, who one twice his age, but didn’t have the world overnight from monochromatic ability to express his thoughts and feel- tle nuances of the human voice to the lined the halls at intervals, keeping the blur to polychromatic mural. Think of blessings of all music. Each a victory, a trooping bands of kids in line, saluting ings, which is why, as Dr. Accardo put the first steps your son or daughter took, it, “He created his own sign language.” small accomplishment, worthy of ac- them with a very formal, but pleasant, or the first words he or she uttered. The knowledgement and celebration. That “Good morning.” Late at night, I would sometimes look way your legs respond when you take was always the approach of Christal And at the door to the classroom, at the faces of my children in slum- a walk, ride a bike, jog a distance. How Mark and Ricky Gay. ber. I would look at Charles, his eyes your eyes capture every visual event in Christal Mark and Ricky Gay wel- shut against the world, mouth open, the universe like a camera, only better, On a Tuesday morning twelve years comed my son. Charles wangled out head resting in the cradle of the pil- depositing each image instantly in the ago, I walked my son Charles—as of his backpack, unzipped it, removed EXPERIENCE A NEW KIND OF JEWELRY STORE

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14 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • July 2020 a marbled notebook and yellow folder, do for a living—both would tell me at placing them in a wire mesh basket, various points during a series of inter- and then zipped the backpack up and views I did with them. Teaching, as hung it from a hook in his cubby. He you might have guessed, is not about took his seat at a small table across money, it’s about molding young from Charles McIlwain. minds and teaching critical thinking. That was an extra special day for the The hours both Ricky and Christal children in the classroom: in a little had put in each day, and the intensity over an hour they, and students from of the work they performed, blew me Ms. Prentiss’ room next door, were away, and does to this day. headed over to the Ukrop’s Supermar- Our experience with every teacher at ket at Brook Run Shopping Center for Holton was the same. They were all a field trip. committed to the well-being and edu- “The trip to Ukrop’s will correlate with cation of their charges. David Hudson a number of SOL requirements,” said enforced a policy of “no bullying”, and Charles fishing at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Christal. “In mathematics we’ve been it was a success. Middle school proved to be the exact opposite. working with buying and selling and bound instructor. of the week thanks to the good graces coins and their value. We’ve also been Those years frankly are something of of the owner and her entire staff of talking about community workers. a blur today. There was constant fear Ultimately, Charles was assigned a string of homebound instructors by kind souls. As I worked on my laptop, We’ve been categorizing in language arts on both my part and his mother’s Charles wrote and read, and created and reading, so this is a good opportu- part that we would receive a phone the schools so he was able to pass both seventh and eighth grades with flying works of art, things he gave away freely nity to see how things are arranged and call from school about Charles. For to whomever wanted them. I cannot tell categorized.” She also has planned a months, he was bullied so severely colors. He loved completing his as- signments. During that entire period you how hard this was on Charles. Eve- scavenger hunt for her charges so that in middle school by students and at ry day throughout the school year, he they’d have the opportunity to identify least two teachers, that at the end of it, of time, he was forever by my side, or his mother’s. Even when meeting with would see his friends come through the six items from dairy, six items from pro- when his mother and I removed him front door of Stir Crazy when school let duce and so on, but time would run out from that school, he was diagnosed the homebound instructor at an area library, one of us had to be present. out. It was good to see them, but it was before the kids get to go a-scavenging. with post-traumatic stress disorder. a stinging reminder that he was still not Giving back is what Christal and Ricky Because of the tangled bureaucracy it Charles and I made a home and a work- in school. They had lives between eight took months to get Charles a home- place out of Stir Crazy Café every day

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July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 15 and three that he was excluded from, said, “And do you know why?” and even though he rarely mentioned “Because nobody’s judging him,” I this the pain on his face was readable as suggested. block print. “Yes,” said Erin. “But it’s more than During that time though, several won- that. It’s what music does and color derful things occurred. For one thing, does and movement does. That’s what Charles began seeing a gifted therapist it does for the human spirit. It trans- named Dr. Pam Waaland who treated forms us.” my son for post-traumatic stress disorder and other issues. We would also Later, when I talked with Joshua (Josh) get pro-bono help from Valerie Slater, Small, a local musician who was a who was both advocate and lawyer for teaching artist at Live Art, he likened the Disability Law Center of Virginia. the place to a church. “It’s a sacred It was through her wrangling with city place in a sense,” he said. “In the way bureaucrats and attorneys that Charles the program is set up. And everybody was finally given private placement. there has common behaviors and de- But that was still a long way off. sires. It’s a place to be validated. You can’t fail here. It’s kind of an art church. Something else happened in that pe- The people here are in this place be- riod when Charles was still being bul- cause they feel strongly about express- lied in the schools that served as a life ing themselves. We are all here to sup- preserver for him. Charles was always port each other. That is sacred, and no a sweet child, unable to understand one would want to break that trust.” WE’RE HERE why anyone would hurt another. He just didn’t get it, I’m happy to say, and Part of me wished then, and now, that still doesn’t. But things were hard on principals in public schools from across TO HELP him at that point and the smile that the nation would sit in on sessions of had frequently played across his face Live Art and meet the teachers there was gone. That is until he began taking and seek the advice of Erin Thomas- Have a new project that classes with SPARC’s Live Art. It was Foley, so they might learn how it’s done, a game changer. From the first class how you ensure a child’s safety, how you you’ve been considering? at SPARC it became my son’s sanctu- nurture, how you teach humanity along ary from the hell he endured in class- with the humanities. Something the rooms and hallways, cafeterias and current Secretary of Education could gyms for days on end. learn a thing or two about. Because my Do you need a logo and son, Charles, who was so damaged by I spent virtually every Thursday night bullying that he was then being treated branding for a startup business, that year with my son Charles in Live for a disorder that afflicts soldiers who Art’s Soul Sound class. There were two return from the forever wars in Iraq or do need to get your existing dozen kids, and a total of eleven instruc- and Afghanistan, asked me one simple tors and assistants present. In those ear- question, and he asked it over and over business back on it’s feet? ly weeks, the kids were getting to know again: “Daddy, why can’t schools be like one another and their teachers, and al- Live Art?” most immediately they felt at ease, were Dobey Design is here to help comfortable, and began to learn the ru- I had no answer then, and I have no diments of music, of rhythm and tempo. answer now. From the time he was just months old, Charles has always had a close rela- Charles responded to music of every tionship with his two sisters, Miranda We’ve been helping businesses description, so Live Art became the best and Catherine. They’re protective of like yours brand and market of times for him. him, and love to needle him, which he The moment my son and I first stepped returns in kind. They have consistently themselves to the community foot in that studio, we both noticed reminded me of lion cubs at play, who something that was unfamiliar. There learn through their play how to pro- for over thirty years didn’t seem to be any differences tect themselves. among the vast array of students there. Catherine has spent hours with “We call Live Art kids, students of all Charles teaching him what she knows Take a minute, have a look abilities,” said Erin Thomas Foley, the about art. When he finished a painting woman who came up with the idea for several years ago of a sun with rays like at our portfolio, and let us know Live Art. “When class starts we don’t fingers, pulling itself over the horizon talk about who’s typically developed, of a large body of water, Catherine was what we can do for you or who may have special needs. Once reminded of Picasso. And I could see our classes start, they are all inclusive that. “I can’t believe he did this,” she DobeyDesign.MyPortfolio.com classes. End of story. We simply make said. And then mentioned the three sure we have enough staff in the room bicycles he drew over a road map. “He to assist every ability.” really has talent,” said Catherine. When I mentioned to Erin that one From the time they were both very of the students in Soul Sound, who, young, Charles and Catherine loved WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER as they say, presents with Down syn- to travel, and every summer whether drome, excels beyond his peers, she we could afford it or not we packed

16 NORTH of the JAMES magazine • July 2020 IN VIRGINIA, MASKS ARE CURRENTLY MANDATORY AT ALL BRICK AND MORTAR Charles and Catherine exploring Acadia National Park. ESTABLISHMENTS. the JEEP or the CRV so tight there was Charles and I entered the dark night. scarcely room for us. Charles loved it There was no trace of light and the though, and told us years ago that he stars were bright and the planets WE ARE COMMITTED TO OFFERING liked it to be “snuggly”, because he steady in their streams of colors. THE HIGHEST QUALITY, FULLY TESTED AND would be in the backseat surrounded “You can see the Milky Way,” Charles by a few stuffed animals and luggage said. He was right. and coolers, with a pillow under his CERTIFIED MEDICAL PROTECTIVE GEAR. head and a blanket wrapped around In Ocracoke, we tried every motel and him even when it was hot which it fre- hotel and B&B, and there was no room quently was (I don’t think we’ve ever at the inn. I drove down to the ferry • ULTRA LIGHT AND BREATHABLE had a car with air conditioning that landing on Silver Lake, on the leeward blew cold for more than a month). side of the island. I talked to a sheriff’s • SAME PERFORMANCE RATE AS N95 MASK/95% Over the years, we have scoured the deputy there and she told me we could FILTRATION RATE coastline from Prince Edward Island just sleep in our car, if we liked, that to Key West and out to New Orleans, she’d be on duty until seven, and watch • ELECTROSTATIC FILTERS THAT CAPTURE THE visiting more than 160 beaches. out for us. I moved the car over to the information center and began talk- NANO-SIZED COVID-19 VIRUS A week ago, while I was interviewing ing with a bearded man who worked Charles, I asked him what his favorite with the ferry service. I opened all the • BETTER OVERALL PERFORMANCE THAN ALL destination was. “Maine,” he said. doors of the car, including the tailgate. And then I mentioned the Carolinas I opened the sun room, and an ocean OTHER MASKS and Florida. He remembered a great breeze was coming off the southwest, white heron who would greet us every so I realigned the car, drop both front • FDA REGISTERED morning as we went fishing from the seats back to their lowest position and wharf behind a shack we rented on Charles climbed in and was sleeping • SHIPS QUICKLY FROM WILLIAMSBURG, VA Islamorada in the Florida Keys. We within minutes. I talked with ferry guy would catch pinfish and toss them until one in the morning and then re- over to the crane. He would swallow turned to our Honda CRV, a car I had DON’T RISK YOUR LOVED ONE’S WELL-BEING each one whole, but never ate more told Charles on numerous occasions than seven in one sitting. “I guess I like we could sleep in if we had to. My son BY USING SUB-STANDARD MASKS FOUND AT all the places we’ve been,” he said. “I woke, and I told him the ferry man said like that it’s been us going there, and tonight was the peak of a meteor show- A LOWER COST! what we’ve seen together.” er. We stared into the night skies, among Charles is the best of traveling com- the brilliant haze of stars, through the panions. He doesn’t whine when open doors of our car, and through the VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE, things go wrong. “When that hap- sunroof, and all through the night, for AND ORDER TODAY! pens,” he told me once. “That makes it the next three hours, we saw shooting an adventure. Remember Ocracoke.” star after shooting star, quick slashes of We were on the final leg of an odys- pale green light like an ocean plankton, WE WELCOME INDIVIDUAL AND BUSINESS SALES sey from Maine down to lower North streaking the sky and gone in an in- Carolina. We’d eaten at Pigman’s Bar- stant, my son and I saw this, and we lost becue, fished for a couple hours on the track of how many we had seen after we Bonner Bridge, then headed down to counted forty. And then we drifted into 757-510-4559 Hatteras Village. By the time we board sleep, with the moist, now cool, breeze the ferry it was nine o’clock. flowing over us, as if we slumbered in a bed of clouds, and later, we were the first WWW.EMERGENCYMASKUS.COM We were the last car off the ferry, and to board the ferry southward, an hour began the 13-mile drive down to the after a spectacular dawn, and neither village of Ocracoke with its welcom- of us had ever felt more refreshed, even ing lights. Halfway down Route 12, though we had slept for only two hours. I pulled over to the sand and gravel shoulder, turned off the lights, and We settled in for a week below the Cape Fear River on Oak Is- July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 17 land where there are palm trees vate placement. And though the first and Spanish moss-clad live oaks. I school would not work out, the second plucked ripened jelly dates from a one did. Charles discovered himself palm tree that was two doors down there, learned that his only limitations from us. The fruit was citrus tart were constraints he placed on himself. and mango mellow. He also learned to deal with bullies. With a hundred other people, at two Here’s what he told me recently: “I one morning, we watched loggerhead learned to ignore them, but sometimes turtles hatch and make their way to you have to confront them and tell the loving embrace of the Atlantic. We them to leave you alone. If they don’t fished and ate shrimp and visited the listen to that, you just ignore them.” North Carolina Aquarium over at Fort When he finally settled into a high Fisher where Charles petted sharks school where there was no tolerance and sting rays. of bullying, a place called Dominion Our last two days we stayed in a mo- Academy, Charles began to write furi- tel room overlooking the charter boat ously. Every single day, he would turn fleet in Hatteras Village. I watched the out lyrics for songs, or flesh out sto- mates at four in the morning readying ries that he wanted to eventually turn the boats for a long day of fishing in the into screen plays. Since the pandemic Gulf Stream We watched them come struck in earnest and school classes in with their catches in the early even- were cancelled, Charles writes every ing, watched them weigh the wahoos day for an hour or more. And he reads and mahi-mahi, which both ended up voraciously now, and knows more as the catch of the day in half-a-dozen about film and music than any 19-year local seafood restaurants. old I’ve ever met. That final night, long after Charles Here’s a song Charles wrote a cou- had fallen asleep, I checked my email ple years ago, both music and lyr- and there was a message from our at- ics. It’s called “Into Another Life.” torney. Charles had been granted pri-

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July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 19 SCHOOLS The Dandelion Garden An Outdoor Classroom by CHARLES MCGUIGAN

ACK IN MID-MAY, rainwater off the corners, so we’ve shortly after noon, and got rain barrels surrounding it. And the temperature unsea- it opens up into the butterfly garden, sonably cool, I met up our pollinator garden, which is in the with three women who shape of a butterfly.” nurture The Dandelion That garden is filled with native at Holton Elementary plants—Joe Pye weed, highbush blue- School. Two of them—Ellen Shepard berry, milkweed, purple coneflower, Band Susanna Raffenot, the OGs, or mountain mint, golden rod, bee balm, Original Gardeners, as they’re some- rudbekia, and more times called—planted the initial seeds, almost ten years ago to the day, for a Because of the massive community project that has frankly surprised this support from the school and beyond, pair of progenitors. The other woman The Dandelion continued to grow. is Kate Lainhart who now works as the “We added the garden shed, a com- garden educator at Holton Elemen- posting station, the bluebird trail,” said tary School. She’s the teacher who uses Susanna. “And we just couldn’t say no. hands-on nature as her classroom, So we kept on going and it was a lot of showing her charges how important it work in the beginning, but we also had is to care for our planet, relating it to a lot of resources.” other courses of study. With a grant from The Chesapeake It is fitting that we are seated at safe so- Bay Foundation, they were also able cial distances on picnic benches under to construct a rain garden. Located the roof of The Hudson House, named on the island in the parking lot at the for the man who made this singu- front of the school, this garden of na- lar project possible. Principal David tive plant species cleanses runoff water Hudson gave the okay for Ellen and Holton students planting seeds in The Dandelion. before it is returned to the Chesapeake Susanna to proceed with the project, Bay watershed. and threw his full weight behind it. started planting their garden that same Mexico, The Dandelion was formally To prepare the spot for the rain gar- On about the time The Dandelion was year,” said Susanna. So she planted the dedicated. Among those present were den, tons of fill-dirt was removed and dedicated, Mr. Hudson was named seed in the minds of other parents former Governor Tim Kaine and First replaced with appropriate layers of Principal of the Year by RPS. Along who had children at Holton, and was Lady Anne Holton. clay, sand and soil. And then plantings with a plaque, he received a $7,500 were made. amazed at how rapidly it germinated. Back then, I talked with Chris Chase, a cash award, and being David Hudson, “As you know, this community is just sculptor and carpenter, who designed “There are bald cypress, native grasses, he donated the entire sum to The Dan- so fabulous once you put an idea out the Hudson House, this outdoor class- and two bay magnolias,” Ellen Shepard delion project. there,” Susanna said. “There was in- room which is the omphalous of The said. “I think there are in the neigh- “Bon Secours and the Holton PTA stant support around the idea, includ- Dandelion. borhood of a hundred and fifty plants also gave us big chunks of money,” El- ing Ellen Shepard here who was super out there. In the City of Richmond we It is an elegant essay in post-and-beam len said. “As well as the Family Foun- excited about it and she just really took have terrible pollution problems, and construction with massive upright mem- dation, Lowe’s and individual donors.” the ball and ran with it.” so the rain garden helps control both bers sheathed in copper supporting an the quality and the quantity of water Susanna remembered the moment That summer, the pair attended a sym- array of joists fitted at various angles. she first came up with the idea of a posium on youth gardening held in that is running off, collecting from 1.8 “I just sort of played around with it,” teaching garden. “I was at the Holton Cleveland, Ohio. “And that just kind of acres of run off between the roof and Chris had told me a decade ago. “I just 5 K Family Festival, helping to put opened our eyes up to what possibili- the pavement and the compacted soil. took that metaphor of a butterfly and together all the activities for that, and ties were out there,” Susanna recalled. It is a monster rain garden.” went with it. I tried to be as organic as I was spending a lot of time out back “I think what we came away with were Ellen remembered the day of the I could, using as minimal an amount here,” she told me. “And I kept looking these things: Use your own space, ground-breaking for the rain garden. of materials as possible.” at these old beds that were there over know what your strengths are, adopt Governor Linwood Holton, who had by the bus loop. They were just kind of and develop it, know where your com- Susanna Raffenot looked up at the just turned ninety, drove himself to run down, and I thought, let’s throw munity resources are, and know who ceiling of the Hudson House. “This the school and delivered a speech. “He some pansies in there to spruce them your school support is, like the princi- place is hurricane proof and Chris re- talked about environmental steward- up a little bit.” pal and the staff.” ally developed it to be in commune ship and this diverse school,” said El- with the gardens,” she said. “It’s got That night, she took to Google and dis- Then in April of 2010, not long after len. “And the kids sang Happy Birth- six legs, it’s got a winged roof. It’s got covered an entire movement devoted the worst environmental disaster in day to him and got to meet the man a light membrane roof to protect from to school gardens thanks in large part U.S. history when a petroleum compa- their school is named after. It really sun and light rain, and he also devel- to a truly remarkable First Lady, Mi- ny in its quest to fatten corporate gains was one of the highlights of this entire oped little spouts so we could collect chelle Obama. “The White House had damned near destroyed the Gulf of gardening project.”

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July 2020 • NORTH of the JAMES magazine 21 AXSELLE SCHOOLS AUTO On the opposite end of the school doors. “Richmond is amazing because property, The Dandelion Garden has from day to day it can be twenty and SERVICE created something of a forest, another the next day it can be forty,” she said. “If example of good land stewardship. it’s above freezing, I really want them to FAMILY OWNED AND “Over the years, we have planted 363 be out there. I try to get them to move OPERATED FOR 69 YEARS trees, most of them natives,” according their bodies and not just sit around.” Pizza - Pasta - Subs to Ellen. “We have mulberry, button Kate’s position at Holton is funded nei- bush, indigo, hazelnut, honey locust, ther by RPS nor the PTA. “It is a crow- FULL ITALIAN MENU s y c am ore .” funded,” Ellen Shepard said. “So, we’re Fair Price, N.Y. Style Pizzas always looking for contributions. Sara Baked Spaghetti Susanna nodded as Ellen listed the Fettucini Alfredo trees. “We know trees are the most Hendricks (who has two daughters at- Lasagna - Manicotti cost-effective thing to do to fight cli- tending Holton) is kind of our fund- Done Right, Ravioli - Tortellini raiser. Our school has recognized that mate change and suck up carbon,” she Veal Marsala said. “They are the key.” this is an important part of our cur- Chicken Marsala riculum and our community.” On Time Veal Parmigiana And those trees have a number of YOUR FULL SERVICE Chicken Parmigiana other functions. “They form a natural One of the major components of The Dandelion will always be the produce NEIGHBORHOOD AUTO Eggplant Parmigiana boundary,” Susanna said. “And what I Calzone - Stromboli love about them is that they block out gardens. Before COVID-19 struck, SERVICE CENTER Selection of Subs students had already begun planting Selection of Salads the road noises and buffer the wind a bit. And there are so many birds and crops, everything from carrots and Tiramisu - Canoli radishes, to leaf crops and strawberries. MONDAY—FRIDAY 7—5:30 And Much More! other native animals that take shelter in there.” “We let the students plant and harvest, 5519 LAKESIDE AVENUE FREE DELIVERY All of these features make The Dan- to see how that whole process is from RICHMOND, VA 23228 Monday-Thursday, 11am-10pm; start to finish,” Susanna said. “Because Friday & Saturday, 11am-11pm; delion the most unique outdoor class- Sunday, Noon-10pm room imaginable, and Kate Lainhart then you’re invested in it, working with it and watching it grow, you really 266-3574 4026 MacARTHUR AVENUE uses it all to full effect. Her son had started attending Holton three years care for it.” AUTOSERVICERICHMOND.COM Order Online at ago, and Kate, who has a background And though the students have been zorbasexpressrichmond.com in agriculture, began volunteering. unable to reap the rewards of their la- This past year she started working at bor, Kate is diligent about tending the Holton as the school’s garden educa- raised beds, and collecting the crops. tor. All school year long, she sees all “Since school has been out, I have 600 students who attend Holton over been coming every week and harvest- The Cane every two-week period. “So every ing and taking that over to the Ginter child comes out every other week,” Park Elementary School Food Dis- Kate said. “I come up with a cur- tribution Center,” said Kate. “Since Connection riculum that involves either math or March I have taken thirty-six bags of science, or another subject. Or just salad mix, twenty-tree bags of spinach, Professional Caning getting dirty. We do everything from thirty-three bags of herbs, nine bunch- planting, weeding, watering to har- es of radishes, twenty-five bunches of and Chair Repair vesting. We do experiments. We do carrots and elven heads of Romaine observations. Sometimes we just sit lettuce. I will continue to do that until here really quietly and listen.” school is officially out.” And the grounds are large enough and Susanna Raffenot had to leave for a re- harbor enough diversity that the kids mote meeting, but before she did, she can actually go on nature hikes. “We did stood up and walked over to the But- Hanover’sBest a seed hike one day around our amaz- terfly Garden, and looked over to the ing school,” Kate explained. “We found trees and back to the raised beds and Homegrown as many seeds as we could, which with The Hudson House. all of our trees and bushes and shrubs Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers and flowers wasn’t hard to do.” “I’m blown away looking at how much greenery there is now, how much fill plus Kate looked around her, and then said, in, and I keep going back to that empty Dutch Kettle & McCutcheons “This is my classroom. On a freezing field that was here ten years ago,” she day or a rainy day I do go inside and said. “People need to see what a huge Jams, Jellies and Pickles teach the class inside each individual difference this has been. I think of the Sign up for a caning class! class’s classroom. But, I would prefer to number of people and the dedication Montana Gold Breads be out here all the time.” Class Saturday mornings and the time that went into this. And it The kids have noticed Kate’s attach- just keeps growing.” Tuesday-Friday, 10-6; Saturday,10-2 9592 Chamberlayne Road ment to the outdoor classroom. If they If you’d like to make a donation or vol- Specializing in fine antique and Mechanicsville, VA 23116 see her in the halls, they’ll ask very se- unteer your time, please contact Kate your everyday furniture riously, “What are you doing inside?” Lainhart at [email protected] , El- 6941 Lakeside Avenue And some of the students believe she len Shepard at ellenshepard@yahoo. Richmond 569-9005 might live in the potting shed. “Do you com or Susanna Raffenot at sraffenot@ live in there?” they’ll ask. verizon.net 261-6555 10-7 everyday Only when the weather is extremely inclement, will Kate move to the in-

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