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One Woman's Opinion
Welcome to “One Woman’s Opinion,” a long term feature of the Southside Sentinel, written by Urbanna resident Mary Wakefield Buxton. Traditionally a humorist, Mary has written a column on all subjects and sometimes in very serious vein. Along with writing a column for the Sentinel since 1984, she is also author of 15 books about life and love in Tidewater, Virginia. Click here for available books.
Urbanna’s ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha: Part 5
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4
Part 5
The prayers of writers are sometimes answered even though they don’t necessarily attend church services. And so the very next day a terrible storm hit Nimcock County tearing across the land, uprooting trees and taking off roofs of many houses. And most conveniently helping Merrypen find a way out of the “big brass” boundary...
Urbanna’s ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha: Part 4
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3
Part 4
By now everyone in the charming town of Nimcock had taken sides. Who could not take a side? Everyone was talking...
Urbanna’s ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha: Part 3
Part 1 • Part 2
Part 3
The lawyers had been selected, the distinguished Ronald E. Widget (who some in the county felt was totally unscrupulous) and the candy Enos F....
The ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha continues
Part 1
Part 2
A week or two passed by with not much more interchange between the Army and the Navy much to Nimcock’s relief. No one liked blow-ups between neighbors...
The ‘big brass’ boundary brouhaha
(Editor’s note: Before passing away this month, “One Woman’s Opinion” columnist Mary Wakefield Buxton completed a special five-part series, “The Nimcock Chronicles.” The following column is the first in...
One Woman's Opinion
End of era, part four: Facing painful history
URBANNA —
To say I was a bit miffed after learning about the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 and what happened to Anglo-Saxons for the next millennium is an understatement.
For years I nursed anger and on subsequent trips to England I refused to enter...
The end of an era, part three: A young lad in England
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
Learning I was a descendant of Anglo-Saxons was just the beginning of becoming aware of my paternal family’s history. Father talked a lot about our connection to “Mother England” and the early life of his father as a “young...
End of an era: Part 2, Educating a “Yankee WASP”
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
In 1959 when I attended Randolph Macon Woman’s College in Virginia to become educated, a school that at the time was segregated by race and gender (which is no longer the case), I first learned I was a...
The end of an era: Part one, Grandfather
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
My hometown, Vermilion, Ohio, took down Grandfather’s home this month. Built in 1906 in the heart of town, it overlooked Lake Erie and the harbor of the Vermilion River. It was home to my grandparents and their nine...
A winter of good reads
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
When one loves to read, one is never alone. Reading is the finest experience in life other than having a dog in your lap because it allows readers to enter the brain of an author. It’s a “one on...
Fla. odyssey, part six, home on the Auto Train
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
What has 39 cars, carries 259 passengers, 162 vehicles, is ¾ mile long and winds its way up and down the eastern seacoast between Lorton in northern Virginia and Sanford, Fla., every day? It’s Amtrak’s popular Auto Train...
Sunshine State odyssey, part five, taking a sunset cruise
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
There are many ways to enjoy watching one of Naples’ (Fla.) greatest daily events — the evening sun sinking into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s usually a spectacular event and can be enjoyed from many venues.
Probably the most popular...
Florida odyssey, part four: Birding using a golf cart
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
W
hen I received an invitation to join Windstar Birders on a “bird walk,” I signed up for the event. I had never been on a bird walk before. I assumed such an...
Fla. trip, part three, Naples Zoo
Part 1 • Part 2
URBANNA —
Who in my generation doesn’t have nightmarish memories of wild animals snarling at us in cages as we visited early zoos in this country? Those were days when it was deemed appropriate to place lions and tigers in tight...
Florida odyssey, part 2, walking the corkscrew
Part 1 • Part 3
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
COVID-19 had shut us down even though the state of Florida was “open” this winter. By this I mean everything was like it used to be in Florida before COVID-19 hit — children were in school, students...
Fla. Odyssey, Part 1, Fishing with Clyde
Part 2 • Part 3
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
When it comes to easing a workaholic attorney into retirement, I’ve been known to try many ploys. I’ve been trying for years to get my husband, Chip, to retire but he loves his work. Even...
“A winter of their discontent”
by Mary Wakefield Buxton -
URBANNA —
The trouble with taking winter months off and heading south is the painful realization that finally hits paydirt proves that warmer weather does not solve problems. You can’t run away from troubles. They have a way of following...
More News
Golf carts may roll in Deltaville
Deltaville representative Randy Crittenden informed supervisors that residents on Lovers Lane and adjoining streets...
Fireball consumes truck on Route 17
A truck pulling a large camper was destroyed by fire this week near Church...
Marine industrial park eyed for Deltaville
The Middlesex County Economic Development Authority (EDA) will apply for a “GO Virginia” planning...
Cadillac strikes man on Route 17
A pedestrian struck by a vehicle on U.S. Route 17 on Monday was airlifted...
