THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604230139
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
A Spanish teacher when he was drafted during the Vietnam War, Bob Harvey stayed on in the Army to see the world.
When he retired, however, he did an about-face. ``Everything I did in the Army was administrative,'' he said. ``I had done so much of that, I knew I didn't want to continue.'' His new interests became barrel making and woodcarving.
The former lieutenant colonel became a cooper for Colonial Williamsburg and carved figureheads for the Mariners Museum in Newport News.
Now he combines it all as museum director at the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum in the old de Witt Cottage. There he's an administrator, uses his teaching skills taking groups on tours, and his woodworking abilities put him on common ground with the decoy-carving members of the Back Bay Wildfowl Guild.
Full name: Robert Briggs Harvey.
Hometown: Hyattsville, Md.
What brought you to the Beach? My last Army assignment was with SACLANT in Norfolk. When I retired, we stayed.
Birthdate: Feb. 28, 1941.
Occupation: Director of the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum.
Nickname: Bob.
Marital status: Married to Vicki for 32 years!
Children: Daughter, Stacy Lynn Harvey Sheerin and her husband, Matt, live in Richmond.
What is your idea of a perfect day off? A hot day on an isolated stretch of beach on the Chesapeake Bay, with Vicki, near a tidal creek that flows from a salt marsh and a canoe so we can explore the creek. The kind where your skin is dry from the saltwater, you have a little bit of sunburn and you're really tired at the end. Followed by a good Chesapeake Bay meal.
Last smart thing you did: Bought a cellular phone for emergencies on the highway.
Last dumb thing you did: In Portugal, a few years ago, allowed myself to be talked into buying not one but two identical, ``genuine'' gold rings from a guy on the street who kept looking over his shoulder.
Favorite meal: Some combination of seafood. I haven't found a seafood dish I don't like. Guess I'll just have to keep trying.
Favorite movies: ``Friendly Persuasion'' and ``The Usual Suspects.''
Favorite song: ``My Funny Valentine,'' Maynard Ferguson on valve trombone.
Last book read: ``Hawaii,'' James Michener.
Hobbies: The Virginia Beach Chorale, a great bunch to sing with. Boating, birdwatching.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I'd like to be a little more coherent between the hours of 8 and 11 p.m. than I usually am. You know, awake!
If you could change one thing about your spouse, what would it be? Sometimes she experiments with perfectly good recipes, introduces her own ingredients. The results can be, well, really amazing.
Secret vice: I sneak a little chocolate when Vicki's not looking.
Favorite restaurant: The Ships Cabin.
Your favorite night on the town: Dinner and a show at Chrysler Hall.
Favorite TV shows: ``Friends,'' ``Seinfeld'' and Discovery channel shows dealing with the sea.
Favorite sport: Canoeing and sailing.
Last vacation: A week on Maui a couple of years ago.
Pets: A wonderful Lakeland terrier named Shadow who runs our lives.
Worst job: One summer in college I worked for the District of Columbia highway department measuring street lengths and widths with a tape measure and a piece of chalk. It was truly awful.
Of what achievements are you most proud? I'm very proud of my daughter.
What would you like as your epitaph? From the Robert Frost poem, ``The Road Not Taken.'' ``Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Bob Harvey
by CNB