DATE: Monday, September 15, 1997            TAG: 9709130642

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   24 lines

THAT WAS THEN: BEACONS OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY

Credit: The Virginian-Pilot file photo

When Harry C. Mann, a gifted Virginia-born photographer with a

keen eye for detail, shot this picture of the Cape Henry sand dunes

in 1911, that area had changed little since the original Jamestown

settlers landed nearby in April 1607. The dunes stretched from the

area now occupied by the black-and-white Cape Henry Lighthouse,

which guides shipping in and out of the Chesapeake Bay, to the

Virginia Beach area now known as First Landing Park. After

witnessing many historical events, the dunes were finally leveled

either before or during World War II. Before that, however, any

family that ventured as far away from home as Cape Henry didn't

regard the trip complete unless all of its members toiled to the top

of the dunes for a breathtaking view for the adults as well as an

exciting sliding party down the dunes' south side for the small fry.

George Tucker

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