THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 27, 1994 TAG: 9411240218
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
Here's my annual list of holiday presents - some new and some tried and true - for folks who enjoy giving gifts that reflect Virginia Beach.
TOWER TASTINGS,'' a new cookbook compiled by the Volunteer Association of the Life-Saving Museum of Virginia, will put you on the cutting edge of gift giving this year. The handsome spiral-bound book with its shiny blue and white cover is hot off the press, arriving in the museum's gift shop just in time for the holidays.
``The apple cake is outstanding,'' said education director Ann Dearman. ``It's nice and moist with butterscotch chips on top.
``And (longtime resident) Alice Walter tells you what to do with a Smithfield ham,'' she went on. ``Smithfield hams are so big, they can be kind of intimidating especially if you're a Yankee and seeing one for the first time.''
Tower Tastings, with 250 traditional recipes, sells for $14 at the Life-Saving Museum gift shop and other gift shops around town. Call 422-1587 for more information.
FOR A REAL TASTE of old Princess Anne County, you can give a gift of homemade sausage for the holidays. Curtis Ansell makes his sausage every Wednesday at Ansell's Grocery at 1073 Princess Anne Road in the Back Bay area.
The sausage comes hot or mild, bulk or in links, and costs $2.15 a pound. Order ahead, especially if you want to purchase several pounds. Ansell makes sausage every Wednesday, including the Wednesday before Christmas. Call 426-2940.
MORE FLAVOR from the county's past can be found in fresh turkeys raised in old Princess Anne. They're available by special order from the Village Butcher Shop of Virginia Beach in Hilltop West.
Fresh Princess Anne turkeys are running $1.79 a pound and range from 14 to 30 pounds in size. Village Butcher J.T. Hardison said he can package them like a gift, too. Orders must be made by Dec. 17 and turkeys can be picked up Dec. 22, 23 and 24. Call 422-5012.
HOW ABOUT TUCKING an annual parking pass to Seashore State Park in a nature lover's pocket? The passes run from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1995, and cost $20. They are not only good at Seashore but at any Virginia state park. They're available at the park office on the campground side of Shore Drive. Call 481-2131.
Best of all, you're not only helping the park but you're helping those on your holiday gift list, too. Stopping to fill out a parking envelope and inserting a $1 bill at the park entrance is a nagging little delay each time you're setting out for a walk.
THE BIRDS OF VIRGINIA, A Twelve Column Checklist,'' is a pocket-size paperback. It would make a great stocking stuffer for a bird watcher. It's available at the Friendshop in the Virginia Beach Central Library.
ANOTHER BIRD LOVER'S GIFT is a perennial favorite: bluebird boxes. Built by members of the Virginia Beach Audubon Society, the wooden boxes are specially constructed to suit a bluebird's taste. Boxes cost $12 and are available by calling Audubon Society volunteer Shelby Hunter at 425-7133.
DON'T FORGET WHALE WATCH trips with the Virginia Marine Science Museum, beginning Jan. 13. The museum has whale watch gift certificates and several money-saving gift packages that include whale watch certificates, museum gift shop certificates and museum memberships. Call 437-4949 for information.
FOR NEWCOMERS or those getting interested in Virginia Beach history, there are several books that have been around for a time and are always popular. With the 50th anniversary years of World War II upon us, ``The Approaching Storm, U-Boats off the Virginia Coast During World War II,'' by Alpheus J. Chewning, would be a nice gift for a war history buff.
For the wildfowl lover, ``Gun Clubs and Decoys of Back Bay and Currituck Sound,'' by Archie Johnson and Bud Coppedge, is now out in a less expensive paperback version.
For general Virginia Beach history, nothing beats ``Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach, a Pictorial History,'' by Stephen S. Mansfield, available through the Princess Anne County/Virginia Beach Historical Society. Call 491-3490. And for the third-grader in public school who is just being introduced to local history, Louisa Venable Kyle's ``Witch of Pungo'' is a must.
Most of the books are available at Virginia Beach museum gift shops and some local book stores. Happy shopping.
P.S.: CREATE THREE NATURAL ORNAMENTS for your holiday tree at a workshop at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Adam Thoroughgood House. The fee is $10. Call 664-6283 for reservations.
TAKE A WALK and explore the ecology and nature of Back Bay with naturalist Vicki Shufer from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Call 721-2412 for reservations. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
``Tower Tastings,'' with 250 traditional recipes, sells for $14 at
the Life-Saving Museum gift shop.
by CNB