THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501200211
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Close Up
SOURCE: Rebecca A. Myers
LENGTH: Long : 115 lines
The world is an exciting place to Nate Mewhinney.
After a few minutes of talking to him, you'll find it exciting, too.
When first-time visitors to Portsmouth drop in on Mewhinney's Olde Towne Gallery, he tells them that Portsmouth is a fabulous town, ``a jewel in Tidewater.''
``We have tremendous history, we have things nobody else has,'' Mewhinney begins. ``We have the original drydock in America, we're the zero-mile marker on the Intracoastal Waterway, we have fabulous restaurants, we have museums .
``We have people who are friendly and helpful and courteous that a lot of the other towns don't have, we have a connection to the sea, we have a city on the re-build not on the decay . . .''
All this from the eyes of an Indiana native who grew up in a little farm community ``in the middle of nowhere.''
The U.S. Navy brought Mewhinney to Hampton Roads in the early 1960s. He liked what he saw, so he stayed.
``One of the things I like about this area is it has everything that I like,'' he said. ``I don't like cold weather and there's not too much of that here. I like lots of sunshine in the summertime and there's lots of that here.
``I love to go sailing, and there's plenty of places to sail. I like most of the people I meet here. It's a friendly community that has what I need. That's the reasons I stayed here,'' said Mewhinney, who will soon move with his wife, Heather, from Great Bridge to the Flynn Home on Court Street. They and two other buyers plan to restore the dwelling back to a three-family home.
After retiring from the Navy in 1984, Mewhinney worked for an engineering firm for about seven years, then started his own consulting business. Never one to leave well enough alone, Mewhinney decided five years ago it was time to embark on a new endeavor.
``One day I was flipping through the paper . . . and I saw an ad for an art gallery for sale. So I came by, I saw it, and I said, `This is what I'm going to do.' I bought it and here I am,'' said Mewhinney, who bought Olde Towne Gallery at its original location, 330 High St., in 1990.
Mewhinney moved the gallery to its present location at High and Court streets in May.
``It's much brighter and cheerier,'' Mewhinney said, ``and what's really fun about it is I was involved in its design. I worked with the architects and here it is. It's really laid out the way I want it.''
Since the opening of the new Children's Museum in December, Mewhinney has seen a marked increase in business.
``I encourage children to come in,'' he said. ``For them to become adults who appreciate art, they need to understand it when they're small.''
The new TCC Visual Arts Center also will help business, he said. ``It just brings more people Downtown who are art conscious.''
An artist himself, Mewhinney's specialty is printmaking. He deals primarily in etchings, engravings and lithographs, but also dabbles in painting and sculpting.
``I've been an artist all my life,'' Mewhinney said. ``Every male in my family for many generations has been an artist, but only the men. The women have no artistic talents at all . . . The women in my family are very good in math and science.''
At the gallery, Mewhinney promotes the work of local artists - the unknown as well as the known - and he also does custom framing.
But ``I mostly have fun,'' he conceded. ``To me, it's not like work. Obviously it is work, but it's not like work because I enjoy being here.''
In his spare time, Mewhinney often volunteers for one community project or another. For the second consecutive year, Mewhinney is serving as the volunteer chairman for ``A Taste of Portsmouth,'' scheduled for Feb. 7 at the Holiday Inn.
``It's really a collective effort . . . I just happen to have `chairman' stuck behind my name,'' he said modestly, adding that he's never really thought about his volunteer efforts being ``community-oriented.''
``To me, if it makes the community grow, then we all grow. I just think that the only way to survive in today's world is for all of us to work together instead of fighting with each other.''
Name: Nathan A. Mewhinney
Nickname: Nate
Neighborhood: Olde Towne
Number of years in Portsmouth: Five
Birthplace: Seelyville, Ind.
Birthdate: 7/12/43
Occupation: Owner of Olde Towne Gallery
What other job than your own would you like? I like almost anything
Marital status: Married
Children: Two sons: Jason, 25; Adrien, 23
Grandchildren: Grandson, 2, and granddaughter, 1
Fondest childhood memory: Building a row boat when I was 12
First concert: The Supremes in 1964 at the Virginia Beach Dome
If you won the lottery, what's the very first thing you'd buy? Whatever my wife would like. She has put up with me for years.
If you could trade places for just one day with anyone in the world, who would it be and why? No one. I like being me.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Be more understanding of others.
Perfect way to spend the day: Sailing
I can't resist: Old cars
Favorite Portsmouth restaurant: Cafe Europa
Favorite Portsmouth hangout: Olde Towne Gallery
Biggest problem facing Portsmouth: No common direction
If you had three wishes for Portsmouth, what would they be?
All segments of the community would work together
That the news media would treat us the same as the other Southside cities
That the people of Portsmouth would promote their own city
Other than its small-town atmosphere, what do you like about living in Portsmouth? It has all that I want. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY by CNB