THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 18, 1996 TAG: 9601160116
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Scott McCaskey
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Although Norfolk received just a wisp of the Blizzard of '96, the four- to six-inch accumulation was a vivid reminder that the city occasionally gets a decent snow.
And for people like me, who find the white blanket a fun reprieve from the cabin fever and doldrums of the post-holiday season, Colley Avenue in Ghent is one of the better places to go.
With several inches of snow already on the ground and more coming down, the night of Saturday, Jan. 6, saw the restaurant corridor from San Antonio Sam's to Magnolia Steak transformed into a winter urban village.
With no traffic in sight, the walking community of Ghent showed itself. Residents left their car keys at home, put on their boots and hoofed it to their favorite watering holes and eateries. Revelers en route between the nightspots celebrated the falling crystals in an impromptu street party. Snowballing, skidding, bumper skiing and general merriment were the order - and disorder - of the evening.
Everyone wore a smile and had a warm greeting - if not a snowball behind their back. Had the storm come two weeks earlier, the scene would have made a great Christmas picture postcard.
Amid the backdrop of the First Lutheran Church and historic homes, the stretch of shops and restaurants is communal and urban at the same time. Combined with the eclectic and open-spiritedness of Ghent's character, the scene is a natural gathering point.
Most restaurants along the corridor were open, anticipating a crowd.
They got one.
Hundreds of people, locals, students, young professionals and families turned out, all with one thing in common: they were lured by the snow. While many were Ghent residents, citizens migrated from communities around the city. I live near Meadowbrook but knew that Colley Avenue would be a great spot.
``We were packed,'' said Margie Davis, manager of Kelly's Tavern. ``There hasn't been a good snow in about five years.''
``The neighborhood shows up when there's a good snow,'' said Robert McNamara, kitchen manager at Colley Cantina. ``It gets really festive.''
Magnolia Steak also was jammed.
``We look forward to snow,'' owner David Holmes explained. ``People go out and enjoy it, come in for a hot buttered rum or a cappuccino, and go back out and snowball a little bit.''
It was during the blizzard of March 1980 that I got my first taste of snow along Colley Avenue.
Wrapped in arctic-style garb, I walked from my parents' home in Larchmont to the Intermission, the site where San Antonio Sam's is now. It was the only restaurant open and the most happening spot in Ghent during that time.
Along the trek, the cityscape looked like another planet. I sometimes walked backward so as not to face the whipping winds. The street lights at 38th Street and Hampton Boulevard waved furiously.
I saw nary a soul until I opened the Intermission door, where I was greeted by a snow party in full swing. The excitement was as thick as the 10 inches on the ground. Several of my friends and I culminated the evening by climbing a telephone pole to the roof of a nearby parking garage, where we held a sky-jumping contest into the five-foot drifts below. It was an experience I don't plan to repeat but will never forget.
Although this most recent storm wrought disaster on much of the East, for many in Norfolk it was a welcomed break from the norm. The temporary shutdown evoked that school's-closed, back-to-being-a-kid mentality for many people well into adulthood. Lots of baby-boomers were on Colley Avenue that night.
In a city that averages only 7.6 inches of annual snowfall - and usually in less than spectacular doses - a solid accumulation holds a menacing beauty that beckons one to step out. Snow alters the rhythm of life and refreshes the landscape. Time slows, if just for a little while.
While snow may be a headache and major inconvenience for many residents, it presents a timeless escape for others. The mid-Atlantic is heralded for having four seasons, and there's no better place in Hampton Roads to celebrate the signature of winter than during a good snow along Colley Avenue. by CNB