THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 4, 1995 TAG: 9512020065
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
I WAS WORKING on a problem in nuclear physics the other morning (translation eating popcorn while reading about the Virginia/Kansas basketball game) when Ed Brickell, the president of Eastern Virginia Medical School, phoned.
``Are you living on Cloud Nine?'' he asked.
I told him no, that I was living on borrowed money.
That's when Ed explained that there is such a place: ``Cloud Nine Court in Chesapeake,'' he said. He called later to say that Cloud Nine Court is in the Elmwood Landing section, near George Washington Highway.
Ed said he hadn't been there but would like to go.
Don't ask me why Ed phoned. It sounded as though he was living a carefree life, packing a picnic basket each morning, then driving around Hampton Roads looking for streets and neighborhoods with interesting names.
But he said his job as president of the medical school kept him too busy for that. Pity.
Brother Brickell did raise an interesting point about street and court names. We certainly have plenty of them here in Hampton Roads.
He mentioned that Norfolk has an Easy Street, which has a laid-back sound to it. Norfolk's street names tend to lean toward historical events or people. Boush Street, for instance, is named for the family of Samuel Boush, Norfolk's first mayor.
Virginia Beach is full of interesting street names. Off Kempsville Road, near the Chesapeake line, are streets named for musicians: Gutherie Street, Baez Court, Joplin Lane and Hendrix Drive.
And if you are a sports buff, you can find a street to live on in Virginia Beach that matches your interest. In the Larkspur section streets are named for Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and Bob Jones.
But if tennis is your game, you could move to the Level Green section that boasts a Bjorn Borg Court, and John Newcombe and Jimmy Connors drives.
Two of the oldest surviving streets in Chesapeake are Ballahack and Shillelagh roads, both named for Colonial plantations owned by Irish families in the region.
Another peculiar street, in the southeastern section of Chesapeake, is Sign Pine Road. It's believed that the street got its name from a big sign once attached to a tree that advertised a nearby flour mill. And then there's Pocaty Road in Chesapeake that dates from the 1600s, named for Pocaty Creek which, as far as I know, is still fished by local anglers.
In South Norfolk there is Bunch Walnuts Road. I can't tell you if there are walnuts on it or not.
Way over in Franklin, is a road called Flaggy Run Road, just north of the town, which runs through low swampy places. It gets its name from small wild iris, which were known as ``flags.'' Southampton County also has a Nohead Road, so-called because of nearby Nohead Branch, a stream whose head was difficult to locate.
I suspect the most widely used street name - appropriate at this time of year - is Holly. There are Holly avenues in Virginia Beach and Nansemond County; Holly Mews, Holly Crescent and Holly Court in Virginia Beach; and dozens of streets named for holly in Hampton Roads.
The word ``meadow'' probably comes in second as a preferred street. At last count about 20 streets, drives, avenues or boulevards contained that name.
And, by the way, there's a Kissimmee Street in Suffolk. Sounds like a stuttering romantic proposal, doesn't it? I'll have to depend on a Suffolk reader to supply me with the origin of that name.
Odds are you live on a street with an interesting name - one that I've overlooked. Or maybe you just know about one. If so, fax (804) 446-2414 or drop me a line at 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, 23510. Look forward to hearing from you, if this is up your alley. by CNB