and so we got our $5 and a very good
lesson… that we didn’t want to do that
for the rest of our lives…”
When their grandparents ran
the farm, it was a subsistence farm.
Tobacco was grown as a cash crop, and
for the most part the family was self-
sufficient.
“My grandmother never bought
anything except sugar, and salt, and
pepper and things like that… the rest
of it they just grew on the farm,” Joe
explains, with more than a hint of
pride in his voice. “I can remember
her making soap when I was growing
up… did her laundry in a big pot in the
backyard.”
After their Dad took over the farm,
things began to change. It wasn’t
just the conversion from subsistence
farming to the dairy operation. The
whole area was beginning to change
dramatically.
Emmett Jefferson was an agent of
change. In his early life, he worked at
a store in Roanoke, and eventually was
drafted to serve in the First World War.
While serving in Europe, he carried a
standard GI Bible in his pocket, along
with a letter from his wife-to-be. These
would eventually stop a bullet and save
his life. He would return with a sense
of purpose.
“Dad was one of the first ones in that
neighborhood that ever left… I guess…
and brought a lot of modern ideas
back,” Joe recalls. “Dad went around
and made lists of people who would
subscribe to power and phone service
to prove to the Utility company that the
installations would be profitable.”
Lib remembers her Dad as a man of
uncommon vision.
“Daddy was one of the few native
people that thought having this
lake was a good idea for economic
reasons… he was active in the Ruritan
Club and went to Richmond numerous
times, seeing various people… about
putting in a (public) dock”. He didn’t
think that people whose land didn’t
abut the lake… should have to pay to
put a boat (in the water). He got the first
one, granted to the Penhook area.”
Indeed,
there
is
now
a
commemorative plaque on Jefferson
Dock Road, which leads to the boat
ramp. It recognizes Emmett Jefferson’s
efforts in establishing Penhook Boat
Dock.
Lib echoes the sentiments of many
of the landowners who opposed the
formation of the lake. “Most of the
people that lived here were not thrilled
about it… if they had, say a 300 acre
farm, and 200 acres were going to be
covered by water, and they couldn’t
make a living out of 100 acres.”
Of course, few realized the potential
upside of owning waterfront property,
and Charlie tells an amusing anecdote
about Joe and Lib’s young cousin,
whose family owned the land that
would eventually become Saunders
Marina.
“AEP had gone around and put
stakes in, to show the entire perimeter
where the water line would be… and
C.D. Saunders’ daughter… and her
girlfriends, they went around, ‘cause
they were natives here, and they weren’t
pleased about what was happening…
they pulled up the stakes,” he chuckles.
“They thought if they did that, the
water wouldn’t come there!”
Charlie and Lib Walker are very
active in the lake community. They
live in Mayberry Hills, and Charlie
always seems to find himself in the
middle of bustling activity, his ever-
present camera at the ready. His photos
grace the pages of a number of area
publications.
Joe Jefferson is retired, and actively
researches the family genealogy.
The line of one ancestor, William
Witcher, an officer in the American
Revolution, holds particular interest.
His descendants included five great
granddaughters, all of whom modeled
as Gibson Girls. One of them married
Family Tree Continued...
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Adam knows this area and its homes
well. In fact, for over fifteen years, hehas
worked on the building side of the real
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Licensed in the state ofVirginia
© 2002-2013PrudentialFinancial, Inc and its relatedentities.An independently
owned and operated brokermember ofPrudentialRealEstateAffiliates, Inc., a
PrudentialFinancial company.Prudential, thePrudential logo and theRock symbol
are servicemarks ofPrudentialFinancial, Inc.and its related entities, registered in
many jurisdictionsworldwide.used under license.EqualHousingOpportunity.
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