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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
Columnist’s tragic tale of the two wild dogs of Urbanna
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9
URBANNA — As a writer, I enjoy turning painful events into comedy. I especially like to spoof myself. Humor is a great resource for dealing with life’s many challenges.
Comedy can often show its perky...
Remembering dinner at Eckhard’s, life on water
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
URBANNA — What I’d give for one more dinner at Eckhard’s restaurant in Topping! Today I remember Chef Don and Manager Robie, Missy and Dean and all the other members of that hardworking staff that...
Remembering Rotary Club friends and the U.S.S. Urbanna
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
Last week I shared memories of the early years in the Middlesex County Rotary Club. Today I remember some of the fun members I had breakfast with every Tuesday morning. There was a great deal of...
Columnist finds it’s fun to turn some incidents into humor
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
URBANNA — The first time I went to Deltaville I was accompanied by a Middlesex County native. She introduced me to a native of Deltaville and added that I lived in Urbanna, “Ha!” the lady said in...
Remembering the musical gifts of Jack Mulligan
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
URBANNA — The late Jack Mulligan of Urbanna was one of the most talented musicians I have ever known. He resonated with music wherever he walked.
He was a pianist that could play anything, by ear or by heart,...
Early efforts to meet and make new friends in Middlesex County
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
URBANNA — One day, a glorious spring day one Sunday, the sort of day Father would open the front door of our house in Ohio to greet the sun singing the cheerful refrain “nothing could be finer than to...
First memories in town seem like they happened yesterday
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
URBANNA — Dr. Van Name, Urbanna’s beloved doctor of yesteryear, had his office on Virginia Street in downtown Urbanna 40 years ago, but soon after we arrived in 1984, he retired. Dr. Jim Robusto and his wife and office manager,...
Four decades ago, things were very different in the county
Part 1, Part 2
URBANNA — How can I ever forget my first visit to Christ Church in 1984? Forty years have passed, but I still can recall every detail of that momentous day that I later referred to as “my christening.”
My first visit was...
Columnist walks around Urbanna, once upon a time
URBANNA — Kent Street along the waterfront in Urbanna was a one-lane gravel road when we arrived in 1984. One needn’t bother washing a car, because after just one trip to town on a dry summer day, a thick cloud of dust would cover...
Look of Urbanna today differs from one of four decades ago
URBANNA — While walking down Virginia Street the other day it occurred to me that many changes had come about in the 40 years since we had moved here from Newport News. I hardly recognized the town I first knew.
As I observed the present...
Educating One Woman, four decades of writing (Part 8)
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4
Part 5 • Part 6 • Part 7
URBANNA — Along the way I started writing books, 15 of them before I retired. Books were fun and easy to write but tedious work to proofread. But even worse was having to market the...
Educating One Woman: Four decades of writing (Part 7)
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 • Part 6
URBANNA — Occasionally One Woman’s Opinion irritated some readers. Some to the point they threw all manners out the door and unleashed insults my way.
After each assault I wrote about the importance of open discussion of...
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...
