Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Old Mill



This is the Old Mill located in Gloucester County adjacent to the Skating Rink. I would have taken a more representative shot from the front which shows the mill wheel, but I didn't feel like dying that particular day. Route 14, a major thoroughfare and one of the few roads leading out of Mathews, runs right in front of here, and these days if you stand on the side of that road you can expect to become flattened in a matter of seconds. I don't feel like being flattened. Yet.

This old mill, conveniently called Old Mill, has been here forever, hence its name: Old Mill.

(How's that for a redundant, superfluous and ridiculous sentence? I can come up with 'em all day long. They spew forth effortlessly.
)

When I see it, I am reminded of my grandmother's sister. She once told me a story about a horse and buggy ride she took which, due to rain and an overflow of the mill pond, involved plenty of slipping and sliding up the hill towards what is now Ware Academy, formerly Gloucester Day School for those taking copious notes. The horses got stuck more than a few times and it was quite the ordeal. Of course this was in the days before paved highways and ubiquitous automobiles.

(It truly pains me to confess that I am old enough to have had a close relative who lived in the days of the horse and buggy. It's official, I am ancient, as in as old as the Old Mill. Excuse me while I tie a cinder block to my ankle and jump off the end of the dock. Or, I suppose I could just go back onto the side of Route 14, take a picture of the better view of the mill, and wait to be flattened.)

My mother, an artist, has painted at least four pictures of this mill prior to its present state of decay. Just recently she was talking to someone who mentioned that he owned one of those four paintings. I need to find out where the other three are and steal one. I can do that from my own mother, it's written in the handbook called What You Can Do and Get Away With: The Family Edition. (Other titles in that series include The Work Edition, The Parenting Edition and The Relationship Edition.)

Speaking of my mother, at my request she wrote a story about the skating rink, since she also skated there, along with every other Mathews, Gloucester, Middlesex, and King & Queen County resident currently between the ages of 35 and 154.

I'll put her story up tomorrow. Right now, I have to block out that whole horse and buggy thing.

Route 14, here I come.

7 comments:

Bear Naked said...

Chesapeake Bay Woman and all her followers.
Please come and visit my blog today Friday August 15th.
I need all the help I can gather to win the gold medal.
Please please please please please.
I have now stooped to begging.
How low can I go?

Bear((( )))

tj said...

...Girl, get off that highway! If you wanna get flattened at least do it via a bottle or two of wine...less messier and more fun! lol... ;o)

...Love that mill too! Gosh, if those old buildings could talk, the stories they would tell. Of course, if you think about it how weird would that be to be walkin' by an old house and suddenly you hear, "pssst"...
"Me?"...
"Yeah you"...
"Who's there?"...
"Me, the old house"...
"Ok, whaddya want?"...
"See that old chair over there, pull it up, I've got a story to tell ya"...lol...
(I know, I know, too much coffee. You all are gonna block me if I don't cut this stuff out...lol... ;o)

...Anyway, have a great Friday CBW! "Hello!" CBFamily!

...Blessings... :o)

Unknown said...

Your mother is also a painter? I tell you, everytime you write about CBM you show another dimension to this multi-faceted devil worshipping, running nekked, diva.

You have to find one of those paintings of the Old Mill! I'm sure there are other paintings you can show us in the meantime.

Maybe if you launch yourself in a hot air balloon you can get some pictures of all the places that are hard to get to now that they paved the roads.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

bn - I put a vote in for you.

tj - I love your comments and I love your imagination. I do wish those buildings could talk. The one that I'm glad cannot, though, is my house. It would have nothing but a list of complaints and offenses due to lack of maintenance and upkeep by yours truly. I'm pretty sure it would ask me to leave.

GJ - Yes, she's an artist although she hasn't painted much in a while. Last year, she took an old window and painted a Christmas scene on it that was just incredible. She just doesn't have much time to focus on painting these days, what with tending to geese, dogs, cats, ducks, racoons, my father, and all those hoses she has going hither thither and yon. (Hither, thither and yon? Did I just say that?)

Happy Friday.

Big Hair Envy said...

It is such a shame that the Old Mill has been allowed to deteriorate to that point. I'd love to see one of your mother's paintings.

Our county also suffers from blight. People don't seem to appreciate the beauty of the historic landmarks. There is a gentleman in our area who has made it a point to restore many of the old country stores and such. We are blessed to have him around!

Mental P Mama said...

Don't go to the highway. There's still so much to do...we were in Williamsburg which might be sort of close to you, no? And we flew into Newport News, which I had never done before, but loved it! If we go to college there, we'll have to visit! And have some wine. Lots of wine.

foolery said...

I wasn't the least bit concerned about the highway, but I WAS worried about that grass, which I'm positive is full of venomous snakes. Vipers, if we're being all alliterative. (Verily, verily, I can see that we are.)

My grandparents rode around in buggies and spring wagons and such. Yeah, now I'm feeling decrepit, too.