THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508040248
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
THINK CHRISTMAS.
Oh, I know it sounds a bit early, but it's one way to direct our minds from this hot, dry August to a cooler topic.
It'll help you keep your vow not to be caught in a last-minute rush this year. Besides, most shops are air-conditioned.
Daughter Sandi and I recently set out for places offering gift items that are uniquely Suffolkian. Here are some of our discoveries:
Our daylong journey began at the Planters Peanut Center, 308 W. Washington St. It sells a marvelous variety of peanuts and peanut-related products, including double-dipped, chocolate-covered peanuts to die for. I can't get near the place without stopping for a pound.
Bradshaw's Picture Frame Shop, 423 W. Washington St. offers prints of the venerable Main Street Station, by Gail Saunders. There's also an attractive pewter bread tray featuring the station; $5 from the sale of each goes to the Save Our Station fund.
Bradshaw's also has color prints of other Suffolk landmarks, past and present, by the Rev. David B. Lewis. They include the old Suffolk High School, St. Paul's Episcopal and Main Street United Methodist churches. Jim and Becky Bradshaw offer custom framing.
Before heading out of downtown, we visited The Willows, 800 W. Washington St., where Frances Shotton showed a wide range of items in an equally wide price range. She'll be happy to point out those with ties to Suffolk.
When we got to the Gift Shop at Riddick's Folly, 510 N. Main St., we felt we had discovered the mother lode.
Director Susan Ward graciously showed us an impressive array of items by local artists and craftspeople, including handcarved figures of Santa, wreaths and angel pins by Debbie Young; prints by John R. Taylor Jr. of Suffolk; pineapple baskets and scented pine cones by Nora Edwards of Chuckatuck; kindling bins of wood and copper by Thad Chappell; angel decorations by Kay Martin; and notecards featuring a print of Riddick's Folly by assistant director Lee King.
There's also ``A Southern Lady's Spirit,'' a cookbook from Riddick's Folly, with a journal in the front giving it an authentic, period flavor. The shop also stocks miniature replicas of Suffolk landmarks, including Riddick's Folly, the Main Street Station, the old (recently demolished) Planter's Peanuts plant, the old high school, St. Paul's, the city market and the Academy of Music.
Prints of many of these historic locations are also available. Glasses with the city emblem would make an attractive gift any time.
The gift shop committee cochairmen, Carleen Rollins and Pat Snyder, will be adding items as the holiday season approaches.
Our next Main Street stop was The Bookhaven, 708 Suffolk Plaza Shopping Center, where Esther Beale directed our attention to such books as ``Suffolk: A Pictorial History,'' co-authored by Suffolkian Kermit Hobbs; ``A Battle From The Start,'' by Suffolkian Brian Steel Wills; and ``The Seige of Suffolk.'' The pictorial history is in short supply, and the store won't be getting any more.
The Bookhaven also stocks miniature buildings, including several not found elsewhere: Holland Public and High Schools, and Nansemond-Suffolk Academy. The store is adding them all the time, Beale said.
More or less diagonally across the street is Pruden Packing Co., 1201 N. Main St. Its retail store stocks country hams, pork shoulders, bacon, peanuts and Virginia country hams, all Suffolk products, as well as other items to accompany them.
R.A. Howell Jr. proudly pointed to numerous ribbons in the shop, including Grand Champion at the 1994 Virginia State Fair and 1995 Virginia Tech Block & Bridle Ham Show.
On the road to Chuckatuck, along Route 10, is Superior Designs By Ray Inc., 4318 Godwin Blvd., a florist-gift shop. You can select a nice floral arrangement or ask to be shown gift ideas with ties to the area.
Farther up the road is Village Drugs, 108 Kings Highway, Chuckatuck. At the combination pharmacy-gift shop, Peggy Chapman explained that the store tries to stock things that are different - one or two of a kind. She pointed out some attractive, handmade furniture (full- and doll-size) by Arthur Polson and a handsome sleigh seat by Jerrell Honeycutt. Both craftsmen are from Suffolk.
Still farther up the road is Village Mill Designs, 6072 Godwin Blvd. The flower-gift shop is in an old grist mill. The store keeps Christmas year round.
Inside, on various levels of the former mill, are decorated trees. Ornaments, Santa figurines, wreaths, gift bags and other Christmas items are found throughout the shop.
Church cookbooks are always representative of an area. St. Paul's Episcopal, 213 N. Main St., has one, and Oakland Christian Church's, 5641 Godwin Blvd., comes out this month. Bethlehem Christian Church, 1549 Holland Road, is putting one together. Cypress Chapel Christian, 1891 Cypress Chapel Road, has a cookbook available from the church and at The Way Christian Bookstore, 1256 Holland Plaza Shopping Center.
The Way stocks cookbooks of several churches, so a visit there should turn up those we missed.
There you have the bounty of our shopping. MEMO: If you have a favorite place for an oh-so-local item, please call to
pass it on. We'll try to include as many as we can as the holidays
approach. Call 489-9547.
ILLUSTRATION: Photos by DAWSON MILLS
Esther Beale displays one of the many books available at The
Bookhaven.
R.A. Howell is vice president of Pruden Packing Co., where pork and
peanuts are for sale.
Becky Bradshaw shows off some prints and trays for sale at
Bradshaw's Frame Shop.
by CNB