THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 22, 1996 TAG: 9605210186
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Linda McNatt
LENGTH: 77 lines
In his youth and on into his middle years, folks called him ``Captain'' Jester because of his close connections, and those of his father, to the waters surrounding Smithfield and his years of experience piloting ferry boats, mail boats and steam-driven vessels on the Pagan and James rivers.
But when he got older, they called him ``Bubblegum,'' a nickname that came from his kindly, always gentle manner and his ability to pull a piece of bubblegum out of his pocket whenever there was a youngster about.
Edward Jester, who died in 1989, was one of many characters who have over the years made their homes in Smithfield. He was a special person. Anyone who remembers him will tell you that.
He once piloted Franklin D. Roosevelt across the James, from Jamestown to Scotland Wharf in Surry. Even in his final years, Jester remembered that, and he remembered the mailboats and the steamboats and the showboat on the Pagan.
Those are the kinds of things that Taunya Waxham wants to tell people this weekend when tourists are likely to be strolling up and down the streets of Smithfield during the Olden Days Festival.
Waxham, a graphic artist at Modlin Printing, and her husband have been living in an upstairs apartment at Jester's house for nearly two years. The old house, she said, still seems to have a special warmth left over from its kindly owner. The house was built around the turn of the century, and it was Jester's family home for years.
``Last year, during Olden Days, I noticed people walking up and down the streets, pointing at the different houses,'' Waxham said. ``I'd like to be able to tell people about Mr. Jester when they look at this house.''
The huge, old, 2,500-square-foot home with beautiful woodwork and molding is just one of Smithfield's jewels the town likes to show off. What better time than a weekend when so many people outside of the area will be coming to town?
Waxham, like most other folks in town, is caught in the spirit of Olden Days.
``I've watched it grow,'' she said. ``I've lived here about four years. The first year I was in Smithfield was the second year of Olden Days, and it was a nice, small crowd. The last couple of years, the pedestrian traffic has really increased.''
Waxham has loved the old house since she moved there. She loves the wellkept look of it, the old, porcelain doorknobs, the swinging, transom windows over interior doors, the lovely woodwork.
And, as more and more people have told her about Jester and the kind of man he was, whenever she mentions she lives in his house, she has grown to have a warm feeling for the man she never knew. She wants to share the personality of the man along with tidbits of information about his house.
This kind of thing seems to be happening all over town. The people of Smithfield, natives or not, are obviously eager to share their historic town with others.
Everywhere, they're planting flowers, painting, sprucing up, getting ready for Olden Days.
The three-day event kicks off Friday night at 7 p.m. with a tractor parade down Main Street. A concert at 8 p.m. follows the parade. And at 8:30 p.m., the Old Town Ghost Walk begins. Groups leave the courthouse on Main Street every 10 minutes for a tour of the town and its spirits.
Saturday marks a full day of activities: an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at Trinity United Methodist Church from 7 a.m. until noon; a children's bicycle parade; an antique car show; heritage crafts exhibits; vendors, crafts, food, a street bazaar; carriage rides and miniature mule and wagon rides through the historic district; a children's dress-up parade and tea party.
Sunday will feature much of the same. Add an all-you-can eat spaghetti dinner at Trinity from 12:30 until 4 p.m.; the Pagan River Raft Race at 4; a Veterans Memorial Service at Ivy Hill and, beginning at 6 p.m., the Virginia Symphony Pops plays in the natural amphitheater on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Waxham will be involved in the activities at her job at Modlin Printing, where she helps to display and operate an old printing press built in 1889, still in excellent operating order. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by LINDA McNATT
Taunya Waxham lives in an upstairs apartment in the house that was
owned by Capt. Edward ``Bubblegum'' Jester. by CNB