Greene County, Ohio and Greenup County, Kentucky, Part 1: Greene County, Ohio

 I was gone from May 15-19 to explore two more counties within 500 kilometers of Morgantown.It's 264 miles from Morgantown to Xenia, the county seat of Greene County, and 243 miles from Greenup, the town that is the county seat of Greenup County, Kentucky to Morgantown. Xenia to Greenup is 125 miles.  Xenia is just east of Dayton; Greenup is along the Ohio River downstream from Huntington, West Virginia and Ashland, Kentucky. I had some light rain in Xenia, but otherwise, the weather was good, cool in the morning and warmer in the afternoon. 

I rode out of Morgantown north on I-79, took a left at Washington, Pennsylvania, bypassed Wheeling, West Virginia and had lunch in Zanesville, Ohio at the "Oriental Super Buffet," the first Chinese buffet I ever patronized. I drove on to Columbus, which I bypassed to the south, then traveled I-71, to U.S. 35 to Xenia. I stayed in Fairborn, a suburb of Dayton. The neighborhood was a park-like setting of office buildings, motels and restaurants. Beavercreek, another suburban town, was nearby, and I decided to check that out. I heard a few years ago, when I was in Springfield, Ohio, that Beavercreek Mall was where everyone in southwest Ohio went to shop. It's doing better than most malls, but I'm sure the pandemic hurt. I ate a slice of pizza and a tomato-cucumber salad for dinner at the mall.

Tuesday was my day to explore in Greene County. I spent most of the morning in Xenia, looking for historic places to photograph. I also noticed a lot of old American cars, which I like to view. I'll take my 2015 Honda Civic to drive. It's cleaner, smoother and gets better gas mileage than old American cars. I met Amy Cook, a lieutenant in Xenia's police force. She asked if I needed help. I probably looked distracted. I told her what I was doing. I said that downtown didn't look especially lively (I didn't say that it was mostly thrift shops and drug rehab centers), but the residential neighborhoods looked great. She said that people had been fixing up the downtown neighborhoods. I imagine there are gentrifiers who work in the office parks around Fairborn and Beavercreek who appreciate the older buildings in Xenia. 

                                                     Greene County Courthouse, Xenia, completed 1902

                                                     Downtown Xenia Historic District

                                                          Former Bank of Xenia, 1835

                                                      Downtown Xenia Historic District

                                            Alexander Conner House, 1836, part of a row of 6

                                                      House in East Second Street Historic District

                                                 House in East Second Street Historic District

                                                  East Second Street Historic District

                                                Hollencamp House, 1871 East Second Street

                                                          Shawnee Creek Rail Trail

                                                                     Mural in Xenia

                                                            Waterstreet Historic District

                                                            Waterstreet Historic District

                 

                                                      Millen-Schmidt House, N. King St., Xenia,late 19th century

                                                     Samuel N. Patterson House, N. King St., Xenia, 1860s

                                                                         Shawnee Park

                                     Xenia Carnegie Library. There is a new library that replaced this one.

                                                     Older American cars seen in Xenia

I also visited Wilberforce University, a few miles east of Xenia, the first college for Black people in the country, now under the auspices of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church. They are in a new, modern-looking campus from the 1980s. The old Wilberforce is now Central State University. 

                                                     On the campus at Wilberforce University

                                                        Mural at Wilberforce University

Tower from Galloway Hall at Central State University, the old Wilberforce University. The rest of the building was destroyed by The Xenia Tornado in 1974

For the afternoon, I thought I would visit the northern part of Greene County, including Yellow Springs, a hipster hangout and the home of Antioch University. First, I went back to the original downtown Fairborn, where I had a decent meal at Lefty's Eats and Espresso on Main St. I walked around Main St., then drove up to Yellow Springs. 

                                                  Fairborn Theater, 1948, still being restored

                    Mercer Log House, 1799, Fairborn, now Greene County Historical Society

                            Bath Township Consolidated School, Fairborn, 1924, now senior housing

                                                           Lefty's Eats and Espresso, Fairborn

I thought I would hike in nearby John Bryan State Park, but, even thought the rain had stopped, the trails in the park were thick mush. I walked up and down the main street (Xenia Avenue, U.S. 68) in Yellow Springs. At Dark Star Books and Comics, I bought Maia Kobabe's memoir, Gender Queer, supposedly the most banned book in America, about a girl who is uncomfortable as she becomes a woman. Next door was a bakery, which had homemade chocolate chip cookies in the window, and also books for sale. Books and cookies (not necessarily in that order) are two of my biggest addictions. I bought a used copy of Carl Hiaasen's Basket Case, as well as a yummy cookie. 

                                                  John Bryan State Park, near Yellow Springs

                                                                     John Bryan State Park

                                                Xenia Avenue, Yellow Springs Historic District

                                                            Pride display, Yellow Springs

 I never made it to Antioch University, as it was getting to be nap time. There were police cars at the Interstate exit. I didn't know why. I napped at the motel, then walked to dinner at Bob Evans, just down the street from the motel. The parking lot was jammed, but the restaurant was nearly empty. I asked the hostess if something was going on. She said they had asked people not to park in their lot, but Kevin Hart was appearing at Nutter Center at Wright State University, across the street from the restaurant. I just said "Oh," then looked up Kevin Hart on my phone. He's a famous comedian who was in trouble over some homophobic remarks he once made. I don't know modern comedians after Ellen DeGeneres, and I'm mostly comfortable with the first cast of Saturday Night Live: Chevy Case, John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, that crowd. I'm a "codger." 

Back at the room, I planned for my trip to Greenup County, about two hours away. 

Jeanne Manford and P.F.L.A.G.

 The April 17 issue of The New Yorker had an article about Jeanne Manford, the founder of PFLAG, friends and Parents of Lesbians and  Gays. She started in 1972 at a Gay Pride March in New York, in support of her then-21 year old son Morty, who died from complications of AIDS in 1992, at age 41.  I wrote a letter to the New Yorker, which Joe signed also, after making some grammatical corrections. Here's the letter:

"We were moved by Kathryn Schulz' beautiful tribute to Jeanne Manford, the founder of PFLAG. We both marched in the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay RIghts, but we didn't meet until 2005. By that time, we had dealt with our parents'  discomfort, cycled through jobs where we were not respected, and survived the worst of the AIDS crisis. 

"Schulz reminded us of the sorrow we carry with us of the loss of friends to AIDS. We celebrate Jeanne Manford and others who stood up for us and our community, and we thank Kathryn Schulz for reminding us that we have survived and thrived. We kvell that Jeanne Manford was Jewish, and we bless her memory.

"Joe is now completing his eleventh year as the rabbi of Tree of Life Congregation in Morgantown, West Virginia. Barry was elected to Morgantown's City Council in 2017 and 2019, and was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress in West Virginia's Second Congressional District in 2022. We legally married in California in 2008.

"Thank you for reminding us how far we've come."

The New Yorker didn't print our letter, but I want to share it.

Goochland and Grayson Counties, Virginia, Part Two: Grayson County

 It's  263 miles from Goochland Courthouse to Independence, both in Virginia. The route is mostly via Interstates 64, 81 and 77, so it's an easy drive and the weather was good on Wednesday, April 19. I stopped for lunch at a Sheetz convenience store near Roanoke, and stayed at a cheap version of "The Usual Chain" off I-77, in Hillsville, Carroll County. I was able to use points to pay for the stay. Many of the people staying there were men my age on motorcycles, and people working in the area, parking trucks with company names on them, and leaving early in the morning. Carroll County broke off from Grayson, and the City of Galax took territory from both counties when it incorporated in 1953. I visited the former Courthouse, now on the very edge of the county in Greenville, or Old Town, last renovated in 1832.

                                                 Original County Courthouse, Greenville 

                                Original county clerk's office, across from the old courthouse in Greenville

There were restaurants and motels around the U.S. 58 exit from I-77, but I decided to go into Hillsville, the county seat of Carroll County. There isn't a lot there, so I ate at a Taco Bell, where I couldn't figure out the tablet you were supposed to order on.

Grayson County has a population of just over 15,000 people, and only seven places listed on the National Register. It's over 90% White and over 80% of the voters voted for The Previous Guy in 2020. It's also scenic and held my interest for a day. It took me some thought to figure out how to see the county, but there are only really three towns, Fries, Independence, the county seat, and Troutdale, up in the mountains. 

I found a way to get to Fries on back roads- actually, most of the roads, like in many areas of West Virginia, are back roads. Fries is on the New River, which rises in the mountains of North Carolina, meanders back and forth between North Carolina and Virginia, then joins the Kanawha River in West Virginia. There's a dam and waterfall, from a defunct mill, two former boarding houses listed on the National Register and an interesting looking community center. They are rehabbing the one block business district. I found Spring Valley Road, part of a rural historic district, and the Stephen G. Bourne House, set back from the road, on the way to Independence.

                                                          Community center, Fries

                                                     One of two historic boarding houses, Fries

                                                       restaurant on New River, Fries

                                                          old mill and dam, Fries

                                        Spring Valley Rural Historic District, west of Fries

                                                              Stephen G. Bourne House

It was downhill from Spring Valley to Independence, where the old courthouse, with the obligatory statue of a Confederate soldier, is now tourist offices and a museum of the county. The tourism lady loaded me up with pamphlets and suggested I visit a state park where there are wild horses that one is not supposed to interact with. Apparently, the horses are quite friendly and approach tourists. I asked her about the baby pine trees planted on many of the hillsides, and she told me that Christmas trees are a major industry in Grayson County.

She and another person working there suggested a restaurant halfway up the mountains to the north, but I wanted to see what was in town. I found a small shopping center with a Food City (original name)  grocery store. There was a buffet and seating, with a line of people at lunch time. I got a cup of good tomato basil soup and tried out the salad bar. That was good for lunch. River North State Prison for Men is near Independence, and some of the diners wore insignia from the prison. Brookside Farm and Mill is on U.S. 58 near Independence.

                                   

  Grayson County Courthouse, now offices, 1908. The new courthouse is up the hill to the right.

                                The house at Brookside Mill and Farm, near Independence, 1877

I drove up into the mountains to Troutdale, a former mill and mining town, now mostly empty. I found Ripshin, the home of Sherwood Anderson for many years. I was planning to go to Grayson Highlands  State Park, but then I saw that the Appalachian Trail ran through the national forest. I found an entrance and thought I would walk a half hour each way. Three hikers were near there, with backpacks and poles. I spoke to one, a young Englishman, who told me he had started in Georgia and was on his way to Maine. The trail went uphill, and I decided to only go fifteen minutes each way. 

                           Ripshin, at one time the home of author Sherwood Anderson, near Troutdale

                                               Bridge near the entrance to the Appalachian Trail

                                        Uphill on the trail, looking at the highest peaks in Virginia

                                                       Looking back down along the creek

From there, I went back to the hotel, about forty minutes away. I napped for an hour, and had a hankering for Chinese food. I found Canton Restaurant in Galax. It reminded me of Chinese restaurants in suburban Baltimore circa 1960, lots of red decor, paper lanterns. It was set up for a buffet, but that night, I had to order from the menu. I got chicken chow mein, East-coast style, lots of cabbage with pieces of chicken, and crispy noodles on top.There was only one other occupied table, and when they left another group came in. When I visited Carroll County in July, 2018, I loved Galax. There was a furniture factory that had a sign that said they used "American workers," and a bike shop, where the friendly proprietor rented me a bike, and I rode far up New River on the trail. At 6 P.M. on a Thursday, only this Chinese restaurant and a barbecue place were open, the furniture factory was vacant and for sale and the bike shop was gone. Most of the stores hawked touristy things one could find anywhere. I was disappointed.

Downtown Galax

I had a long ride home Friday, and the hotel is right on I-77, which goes to Beckley, where one gets on U.S. 19 through several small towns to I-79 into Morgantown. Still, I went back to Independence and up U.S. 21 to Wytheville, where I caught up with I-77. U.S. 21 through the mountains was spectacular, so I'm glad I did it. It's 271 miles from Independence to Morgantown, and about 25 miles from the motel to Independence.

I stopped halfway in Summerville, West Virginia, on U.S. 19. Summerville is a famous speed trap with lots of traffic lights and fast-food outlets. I got off the road and rode into the minuscule downtown, where I found a small restaurant. I had a bowl of spaghetti with marinara sauce and garlic bread. It was fine. I was home by about 4 P.M., took a nap, made dinner and went to Shabbat services with Joe.

Goochland and Grayson Counties, Virginia, Part One: Goochland

 In my continuing efforts to catch up with my goal of visiting one county per month within 500 kilometers of Morgantown in any state, I visited two counties in April, both in Virginia. Goochland is just upstream from Richmond along the James River; Grayson is in the mountains near the borders of North Carolina and Tennessee. I had great, too-warm- for-April weather all week, Monday to Friday.

I drove to Goochland on my favorite, shorter-but-takes-longer route, U.S. 119 through Grafton, West Virginia onto U.S. 250 and over the covered bridge to Philippi, then to Elkins and over the mountains to Staunton, Virginia, then onto Interstate 64 to U.S. 522. I found the Goochland's Old Courthouse, with the obligatory Confederate statue on the front lawn. It was already after 4 P.M., so I left town to go to the motel, "Usual Chain" in Short Pump, a section of Henrico County, north of Richmond. On the way in, I spotted a branch of Silver Diner, the diner I visit often with my sister in Maryland. I walked there from the motel. The neighborhood of the hotel is lushly landscaped, with mostly office buildings and hotels. Mine was luxurious (and not as cheap as usual) but not crowded.

                                                       Goochland County Courthouse, 1826

Tuesday morning was my day to visit Goochland County. I decided to go east to west, visiting ten historic places that were accessible from a public road. Many of the historic places are 17th and 18th century estates down long driveways with fences and "No Trespassing" signs. I had discovered that I didn't have enough furosemide tablets. I usually take one every day so that water doesn't stay in my legs because of my weak heart's inability to pump it out. I decided this would be the day not to take one. It was a great relief, actually, because I could control when I needed to go.

My first stop was at Tuckahoe Plantation on the James River, in Manakin, built early in the seventeenth century. Thomas Jefferson spent part of his childhood there. The grounds are open to the public for a voluntary five dollar fee. It was a beautiful day, cool in the morning, then warmer in the afternoon. This was the best week in April to travel.There are several houses on the grounds, including former slave houses. To add to the scenery, there was a boy of about four with two dogs on the grounds. He was throwing a ball for the dogs to catch and retrieve. The dogs came up to me and I greeted them. They sniffed my hand, then went back to the boy. 

                                                             Tuckahoe Plantation, Manakin

                             Former slave quarters, occupied now by one family instead of two

                                                        Boy and dogs at a storehouse

                                                            One of several gardens at Tuckahoe

I found Wells Tavern on River Road, in the same community, built as a frame building in 1770, then bricked in 1820. Although the road follows the James River, there is no access to it. It is lined with mansions and modern upscale suburban developments on dead-end streets. 

                                                                       Wells Tavern

Oak Grove is a mid-nineteenth century estate with later additions near the community of Manakin-Sabot. I caught a glimpse of the main house at Rochambeau Farm in the same community, from about 1855.

                                                                       Oak Grove

                                                                    Rochambeau Farm

I visited Crozier, where I found the First Union School, a Rosenwald School, one of many in The South built by that family to educate Black children in segregated communities. According to Wikipedia, it closed in 1958, when the county integrated its schools, and became a residence in 1985. Tanglewood is near Maidens, just east of Goochland Courthouse . The front was built as a gas station in 1929, and the main part of the building added as a hotel in 1935. It is now a restaurant.

                                                              Former Rosenwald School

                                                                     Tanglewood

I headed to Goochland, sometimes called Goochland Court House in the Virginia style of naming the small community near a county courthouse the name of the county and "Courthouse." I ran into the tourist lady outside her office, which was closed. She told me she had come in to get some work done, but we talked for a few minutes. She said that the people along River Road will never say they live in Goochland County, they'll say they live in Richmond. I could feel her annoyance. She said "real" Goochland people are different. I guess she meant that Goochlan people aren't rich suburbanites, but more rural in their ways and outlook. There is a small shopping area near the courthouse square. I decided to go local and eat at Goochland Restaurant. Most items on the menu had bacon in them or were deep-fried, but there was a grilled chicken and vegetables plate that sounded healthy, so I ordered that. The waitress was surprised that I didn't want some ranch, bleu cheese or honey mustard dressing on my meal. 

                                                                Goochland Restaurant

                                                                     Sign in the restaurant

After lunch, I visited the beautiful county library (why isn't Morgantown's library beautiful?). I met a woman who had recently moved from Chicago to Goochland. She was turning in a novel by Emily St. John Mandel, which she said she didn't like, and complained that the library had no book clubs. I saw that they had a copy of Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex in the library sale section, and suggested she read that. She bought it. I got Hammond's Atlas of the 20th Century from the book sale. I found the Goochland Campus of Reynolds Community College. The tourist person told me they mostly teach gardening and landscaping. The Jackson Blacksmith Shop is a wooden shed built in 1932. Wikipedia says it is still in use, but I have my doubts. Nearby Byrd Presbyterian Church dates from 1838. A cousin pointed out to me that buildings like this look like houses in suburban Baltimore. Of course, the 20th century houses use buildings like this as models.

Goochland Library

                                             Goochland Campus, Reynolds Community College

Jackson Blacksmith Shop

Byrd Presbyterian Church

I ended at the Cartersville Bridge over James River, leading into Cumberland County, which I visited a few years ago. Cartersville is in Cumberland County. The original bridge was built on stone piers in 1822, with the superstructure of timber and cast iron is from 1883-84. There are only pieces of the bridge left. It's been replaced by a boring modern bridge. This was the only place I could find with a view of the James River.

                                       Ruins of the old Cartersville Bridge on the James River

I headed back to the hotel, a half-hour drive to and then on I-64. After a nap, I looked for a place to have dinner and found there is a Golden Corral buffet near the hotel. Although I knew where it was, I had difficulty finding it. The neighborhood, on Broad Street, way west of Richmond, reminds me of Kendall, the neighborhood I lived in in Miami from 1979-1984, full of garden apartments, shopping centers and office buildings far from the central city. I made up for my Spartan lunch.

After eating, I headed to Short Pump Town Center, the big mall I had found on the map. It's outdoors, a little like The Grove in Los Angeles, only bigger and better. There are fountains and places to sit in open courtyards. The weather all five days I was away was  warm and pretty. I went into Macy's (we don't have one in North Central West Virginia), but I noticed that only the registers were staffed; there were no workers on the floor to help a customer look for things. I'm not interested in spending a lot of money in stores with no help, although I saw some clothes I could wear. I came back to the room and plotted out Grayson County for the second part of the trip. 

                                                         I'm at Short Pump Town Center