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A Small Town Love Story: Colonial Beach, Virginia
Sherryl Woods
To that old gang of mine:
Mike Gill, Sue Gill, Mike O’Neill, Marge Owens
and gone far too soon—Patti O’Neill and Bob Owens
Those were, indeed, the days!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A LOOK BACK: A COLORFUL PAST, A QUIRKY PRESENT
A Story of Family and Farming: Mildred Grigsby
A Lifetime of Friendship: Jackie Curtis and Jessie Hall
Serving Community and Country: Carlton Hudson and Pat Fitzgerald
Changing Times: Burkett Lyburn
Right Side of the Law: Michael Mayo
A Whole Different World: The Sydnors
A LOAF OF BREAD, PENNY CANDY…AND FREEDOM
A Long Line of Merchants: The Densons
From King Cotton to Penny Candy: Marguerite Staples
Business Reality: Potomac Sunrise
THE TOWN’S WELCOME MAT: FROM GRANDEUR TO COZY B AND Bs
Make No Mistake, It’s a Motor Court, Not a Motel: Ellie Caruthers
A Life Built Around Oysters: The Curleys
Sand in their Shoes: The Mears Family
A Fish Tale: Alberta Parkinson
A Come-Here Who Stayed: Diana Pearson
Building Boats…and a Future: Mary Virginia Stanford
Creating a Small-Town Atmosphere: The Potomac River Festival and More
A Night That Ended in a Hail of Bullets: Pete and Sugie Green
A Name Synonymous with Seafood: The Wilkersons
Gambling on a Dream: Sandra Conner Scroggs
Drifter Pride: Wayne Kennedy and Steve Swope
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’ve had a lifetime to get to know the people of Colonial Beach, but never have I had more fun and met more characters than in the months when I was working on this book. I need to thank Kitty Norris, head librarian at the Cooper Branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, who started me on this journey by mentioning that there were so many stories in town that needed to be recorded or written down. She provided endless assistance and cheerleading to get this job done, as did so many of the people you’ll meet in these pages: Ellie Caruthers, Jackie Curtis, Jessie Hall, Alberta Parkinson, Diana Pearson and Mary Virginia Stanford, who were always ready with a bit of town history, a new name for our ever-growing list of possible interviews and a whole lot of laughter. A special thanks to Frank A. Alger Jr., who recorded many
