THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506010077
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: REAL PLACES
SOURCE: BY PEGGY SIJSWERDA
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
SHOELACES, POTATO chips, laundry detergent and 2-liter bottles of soda line the shelves of the Blackwater Trading Post, a century-old store in rural Virginia Beach. The ramshackle building, painted barn red, sits alongside Blackwater Creek on Blackwater Road down toward the North Carolina line.
But there's more to this country store than groceries and household items. There's an ambience that's missing from the carbon-copy convenience stores in town.
Maybe it's the people who work at the Blackwater Trading Post. People like Patty Worley, a petite woman with glasses and curly hair, who's worked at the Trading Post for five years or so. From her outward appearance, Worley could be just any store clerk.
``We have everything,'' Worley said with pride in her voice. ``A post office, boat ramp, check-in station for deer, live bait and,'' she paused for effect, ``a display case with snake rattles. People come in just to see that.'' Sure enough, by the front door is a dusty glass case with dozens of rattles displayed. Next to each is the name of the person who found the rattle and when.
And then there are the stuffed, mounted deer head. Opposite the rattle display on the back wall of the Blackwater Trading Post the heads of three unlucky 10-point bucks stare ruefully toward the front of the store. They almost look like they're pausing to sniff the wind.
In fact, wildlife is part of the business of running the store. Patty explained what she does when someone brings in a deer: ``First, I check his hunting license. Then I get the hunter's name. Then I check the sex and weight of the deer and what it was killed with.''
John Franklin, who owns the store, says fishing and hunting are a big part of the business. ``The fishermen use the ramp and buy their bait and groceries here,'' he said. Hunting and fishing licenses are also sold at the store.
Worley said it's busy in the summertime: ``It's unreal - the fishing business. Cars and trailers parked all over the place. Out back in summer, we have crickets for sale, but I don't go in the shed,'' she said with shiver. ``There's snakes in there.''
Sweatshirts and T-shirts on a rack claim that Blackwater Trading Post is ``almost heaven.'' Nearby hangs a bulletin board where colorful business cards clamor for attention. Taxidermy service, shotgun for sale, blacksmith, fireplace masonry and pit bull puppies - all just a phone call away.
Outside, in the shed, bags of horse feed, chicken feed, whole and cracked corn lie stacked up for the last-minute shopper.
There's also corned pig tails and smoked hog jowls, a couple more of these ``must have'' items. ``The folks around here gotta have it to season their collards,'' Worley explained.
The Blackwater Trading Post also features a deli with a few carry-out items. Today's special is bean and ham soup (large: $1.89; small: 99 cents). ``Customers love the homemade soup,'' Franklin said. ``My mother makes it.''
Other food-to-go items include homemade sausage biscuits and deviled eggs.
For many of Blackwater's residents, the store is a meeting place.
``These old-timers come in and get the old-timey Cokes and visit with each other,'' Worley said. Franklin agreed, saying, ``Many are retired, with a lot of time on their hands. It gives them a chance to get out of the house.''
Franklin's brother, Tommy, who works in the store, said, ``There's people in their 80s that've come in here all their lives.'' He pointed out where an old pot-bellied stove used to be. ``Folks would sit around for hours,'' Tommy said. ``They could tell some tales.''
Lost tourists sometimes wander into the Blackwater Trading Post. ``They have a ball lookin' around in here,'' Worley said. She swears she's going to make two maps to give to them: one with directions to Nags Head, the other pointing them to nearby Capt. George's Restaurant.
John Franklin believes country stores will be around awhile longer. He thinks his store fills some basic needs for many of his customers, not the least of which is its role as a gathering place. ``You gotta keep that country aspect,'' he said. ``That's what keeps people coming back.'' MEMO: Peggy Sijswerda lives in Virginia Beach and is the editor of Tidewater
Parent. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
BILL TIERNAN/Staff
John Franklin is owner of Blackwater Trading Post in Virginia Beach.
He is also the area's postmaster.
by CNB