THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9506300209
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANE BLOODWORTH ROWE, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Ann Henley remembers canoeing down Ashville Creek near Sandbridge when it was ``filled with lotuses.'' The native American lotus doesn't bloom in the creek anymore, but Henley, like many others, hasn't given up hope that they might return some day.
That's why she and the other women of Tabernacle United Methodist Church, across from the Lotus Gardens at 1265 Sandbridge Road, still observe the third week in July as that special time when the lotuses used to be in full bloom. Each year, they serve country ham, chicken salad, homemade desserts and a variety of fresh vegetables to the public at the annual Lotus Luncheon, scheduled this year for July 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church.
That's also why members of the Cape Henry Woman's Club, which has owned the Lotus Gardens since the 1950s, still maintain the area. The members, with help from their husbands, weed, mow and set out trees and shrubs to beautify the area, which is open to the public as a picnic site. The members also hope that the landscaping will slow the runoff into the pond and encourage the lotuses to return to the creek and pond.
While the club members are busy outside, Henley, who coordinates the festival, has her hands full inside preparing for the luncheon. About 60 people donate food while others bring vegetables or homemade pickles, jellies or breads for the country bazaar held outside the church.
``You always have a panic at the last minute when people are bringing the food in,'' Henley said. ``Sometimes cakes end up on the floor and one year the air conditioner broke.'' Still, with everyone's help, the festival, a 41-year-old tradition, always goes on.
Tabernacle church member Hilda Meredith served as chairman of the first Lotus Festival in 1954. In those days, the large yellow flowers bloomed profusely in the Lotus Gardens and on Ashville Creek, which feeds into the lotus pond. The festival was a two-week-long event that included daily luncheons held on the church grounds. It culminated with a ball, sponsored by the woman's club at the Cavalier Hotel, where a Lotus Queen was crowned.
The lotuses began to die in the 1970s, and by the early 1980s none remained in the pond or creek. Various factors, including disease, and changes in the water quality have been cited as possible reasons for their disappearance.
Barry Frankenfield of the city Department of Parks and Recreation, which is working with the woman's club on a project designed to reduce the erosion, said increased salinity and pollutants from stormwater runoff may be partly to blame. Erosion from natural factors and ``from people walking on the banks and fishing there'' also contributed to the thick layer of silt that now covers the pond's bottom.
``We're working with the city to get something done about the erosion,'' said Gatahred Evans, co-chairman of lotus conservation for the woman's club. ``We hope to do some wildflower plantings. . . .''
City crews may begin planting the native plants around the pond's banks later this year to stabilize the area ``in a natural way that doesn't require a lot of maintenance,'' according to Frankenfield.
Supporters hope the native American lotus will come back to the Tabernacle area someday, but for now the flowers can be seen across town at Stumpy Lake.
Volunteers Bill Wathen and Foster Spruill, whose wives are members of the women's club, help with mowing and trimming at the pond. Wathen, who said he does it for the exercise and to help out, is impressed by how many people enjoy the Lotus Gardens. Fishing is prohibited in the pond, but ``a lot of people still go there to picnic'' or just to enjoy the view, he said.
Meanwhile, church members are preparing the traditional stewed tomatoes and other down-home delicacies that attract tourists, locals and city officials to the luncheon each year. The cost for the luncheon is $5 for adults and $2.50 for children. Call 426-6991 or 426-7336. ILLUSTRATION: File photo by MARY REID BARROW
Supporters hope to return native American lotuses to the Tabernacle
area someday, but for now the flowers can be seen across town at
Stumpy Lake.
by CNB