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Posts Tagged ‘genealogy’

Day 139 – Victor R.

Posted in Something for themself, tagged , , , , , , on May 6, 2010| 5 Comments »

On Sunday I visited my good friends Tom and Tressa and their almost five-month-old daughter Tegan. We went to Fountainhead Regional Park and did some hiking around the Occoquan River Reservoir, which serves as a border between Fairfax and Prince William counties.

We stumbled across a group of people fishing. A young guy who had ventured out on a log a few feet captured my attention. He was wearing a dark shirt, extra long shorts, socks, and sandals. He deftly balanced his weight has he almost effortlessly cast his line in and out. As I approached him I thought he was reeling in a fish, but it turned out to be some branches that his hook got caught up in.

Victor reels in what turns out to be some branches (Photo: Reed)

Victor is a 20-year-old landscaping entrepreneur. For the last three years he has been growing VMR Landscaping in the Northern Virginia region; mostly in Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park. I asked him how business was doing and he quickly replied that the business was doing very well. “Especially power-washing. Right now that is a big part of my business.”

Victor loves to fish. He had caught about four fish that day, but only one was a keeper, a fish with some black coloring on its underside measuring in a little over a foot. His record was a catfish which measured up to his thigh. On Sunday he was mostly catching Crappies, a fish I had never even heard of, but the name alone makes me think that they are a disappointing fish.

All of a sudden he got a bite and started reeling in a fish, but it got away. Took his bait too. I asked him what kind of bait he used and he said that he usually used night crawlers, shrimp, liver or sardines. He is going to use my $10 to rent a boat the next time he comes out to fish…they run about $11 for the day.

Victor shared with me that he does not know his biological mother. Born in El Salvador, he moved here with his father when he was just a few years old. He says that he would like to know her. Her name is Maria Maldalena Arana, although I found very few cases of Maldalena. More common are Magdalena and Madalena…so perhaps I wrote down the incorrect spelling. The last he knew of her was that she was living in Arlington, VA around 1996. Victor thinks that he has a younger sister too. As much as I can understand his desire to meet his mother, I imagine that he must have mixed feelings about it. He must have so many questions. So many emotions.

If anyone has information about Victor’s mother, please comment here or send me an email and I will pass it along to Victor. I would also like to ask that if you live in the Falls Church/Manassas/Manassas Park area and are looking for landscaping services that you consider giving Victor a try. Drop me a note and I can connect you.

Victor caught a small fish that he threw back (Photo: Reed)

As I said goodbye Victor got another bite…this time he reeled the fish in. Unfortunately it was just a little guy. I grabbed a photo of him and the fish before he tossed it back.

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Day 104 – Gene R.

Posted in Donation, tagged , , , , , , , on April 2, 2010| 6 Comments »

Several of you have been nice to ask how my job search is going and I thought I would give an update.  I continue to actively look for new employment.  There are several opportunities that I am studying right now.  Most of them are very similar to roles that I have held in the past (leadership roles in IT/telecom and nonprofits focused on education), however, part of me thinks that I should really think out of the box.  What ideas do you have?  What are the most interesting / inspiring careers you have heard of?

As you might have read yesterday, I was down in Southern Virginia with my cousin Doug doing some genealogical research on our family.  On Sunday Doug and I drove to Petersburg, VA to the Blandford Church, where one of my great, great, great (about 6 more “greats” should be inserted here) grandfather, Theophilus Field, was buried.  He is the only person to be buried in the church itself. 

Gate to the area where the civil war soldiers are buried (Photo: Reed)

That’s not the only reason the church (and surrounding cemetery) is notable.  Built in 1735, it is one of six buildings in the world that every window is made of Tiffany stained glass.  The church has an interesting history which includes it’s restoration in the early 20th century.  After years of abandonment, The Ladies Memorial Association of Petersburg decided to restore the church as well as retrieve thousands of bodies left scattered around the Petersburg area after the Civil war and give them a Christian burial.  What they thought would take them a year or so turned into a 15 year process where more than 30,000 soldiers’ remains were collected and buried. 

During this time, the celebrated stained glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany offered to help the Ladies Association and steeply discount the cost of 15 stained glass windows to be outfitted in the church.  The Ladies sought sponsorship from Confederate states and states that were sympathetic to the South.  Only one state that was asked didn’t sponsor a window, that was Kentucky.  When that happened, Tiffany himself paid for the last window. 

The windows are beautiful…my favorite was the Louisiana window that portrays St. Paul holding a sword.  Standing inside the dimly lit church the kaleidoscope of colors and the musty smell transport you back in time.  If you visit Petersburg, make sure you visit the church.

Photo: Reed

The cemetery is also interesting.  The remains of soldiers from every war that the US was involved in prior to the Gulf War can be found there.  It is the resting spot of the late actor Joseph Cotton, made famous for his work in many of Orson Wells’ films.  With more than 300 acres, it’s the second largest cemetery in VA (after Arlington Cemetery). 

So why do I know all of this…because I had a great tour guide!  Gene, originally from Pennsylvania, moved to Petersburg for a 2.5 year military assignment and ended up staying over 50 years.  Full of knowledge and energy, Gene now works for the Petersburg Tourism Department.  It is by chance that he ended up being our guide, as the person scheduled to lead our tour was running late and Gene offered to cover for her.

Gene in front of Old Blandford Church (Photo: Reed)

 

I learned some other interesting things about Gene…he used to be a school teacher – taught piano and voice, although had to stop his singing due to some throat complications he had as a result of contacting Polio when he was 10.  Another interesting tidbit about Gene is that he and I went to the same university.  Well, when Gene attended it was called Indiana State Teachers College – now it is Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  I rarely meet alumni by chance and this was extra special since he studied there before it achieved its university status.  

Gene was very hesitant to accept my $10 since I am unemployed now.  He shared that his son who lives in Florida has been unemployed for 15 months.  He finally agreed to accept the $10 and decided to donate it to the Petersburg Museum Foundation, a new organization founded in 2007 whose mission it is to ensure the long-term preservation, restoration, and interpretation of Centre Hill, the Siege Museum, and the Blandford Church.

Gene and I have already exchanged emails and I look forward to keeping in touch with him throughout the year.  I am waiting to get donation details if anyone would like to send the Petersburg Museum Foundation a contribution.  They have ambitious plans but need more than a million dollars in funding.

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Day 103 – Matt G.

Posted in Donation, tagged , , , , , , , on March 31, 2010| 5 Comments »

On Saturday I had an amazing day.  My cousin Doug was in town from Colorado for some meetings.  He decided to stay the weekend and had a great idea of heading down to the Richmond area to do a couple of things.  

First, we have some family in the greater Richmond area so we managed to make my cousin Dianne’s daughter’s birthday party.  Later we had dinner with our aunt Carol, her husband John, and Dianne.  That was really great. 

The other reason for our trip was to do some genealogy research.  We have a family cemetery in Goochland County, VA and also have a relative that is the only person to be buried in the Old Blandford Church in Petersburg, VA.  (more about this church tomorrow!)

Leake Cemetery, Goochland, VA (Photo: Reed)

Anyway, we left the birthday party to try to find the cemetery in Goochland.  It is in a wooded area and is not marked.  If you don’t know that it is there, you are not going to find it.  We pulled the car over on the side of the road and walked back into the woods to search for it.  We had both been there before and had a rough idea of where it was located.  Part of the reason we were there was to document its location.

Well, we traipsed around for about a half hour before we found the small cemetery.  There are about a dozen headstones there from the Leake side of my family surrounded by a waist-high cement wall.  After spending some time at the cemetery, we decided to see if we could find someone who lived nearby that might know who owns the land that it is on.  We would like to do some work on the cemetery to help preserve it, but thought we should check with the landowner first so that we do not cause any problems (or get shot!).

So we drove around to what we thought was the backside of the property.  We came to a small fork in the road.  The road to the left had several “No Trespassing” signs clearly displayed.  The other road was a drive way to a beautifully groomed property.  Can you guess which way we chose?

Matt's beautiful property (Photo: Reed)

At the end of the driveway we found a house and picturesque pond off to the right side of the house.  We knocked on the door, but nobody answered. You could see in the house from the door and saw that a light was on.  “I’ll walk around back and see if anyone is out back” I told my cousin.  He turned a little pale and said, “I don’t know…you might get yourself shot walking around somebody’s property like that.”  

The good news is that I did find somebody out back.  The even better news is that Matt was only armed with a big smile.  

Matt is 28 and grew up on this property which spans 300 acres.  He is a farmer and raises grass-fed cattle as well as some chickens and ducks.  He has about 70 cows.  Along side Matt was his dog, Chico.

Matt & Chico in front of 200 yr old outdoor kitchen (Photo: Reed)

I wish I could properly describe Matt’s demeanor.  He had this gentle, modest, humble demeanor and a warm loquacious speaking manner.  He was relaxed and friendly and his face broke into smile so naturally that you felt like you were among family.

Matt said that he was going to give the money to the James River Association.  The group’s mission is to protect the James River, which more than one-third of all Virginias rely on for water, commerce or recreation.  Yesterday I got an email from Matt that I would like to share with you all:

Reed,

It was a great surprise meeting you on Saturday.  I am glad you guys made it out to the farm.  Right after you left I was telling my girlfriend about what you are doing and her jaw dropped because she had just read about you in the [Washington] Post.  I have really enjoyed reading some of the stories on your site..  I admire your commitment to this project, and know that you are inspiring a great deal of kindness.  In the spirit of your generosity, I decided to sponsor 10 participants in the James River Runoff Rundown for $10 each.  The Rundown is a one day event in which paddlers join forces to cover the entire 340 miles of the James River in order to raise money for the James River Association.  Here’s the link.

 Thanks for again for what you are doing,

 Matt G.

This is amazing.  I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am when I learn that my $10 inspires further giving, especially when it parlays into a $100 donation.  

Matt you are a class act.  You made my day…and thanks for not shooting me and my cousin!

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