Crozet's community blog
It’s out on your local newsstands now, with copious amounts of great stories and news. Pick it up or download it here.
Notably:
– Gateway Gas is About to Go
– Starr Hill Brewery’s opening a success
– The Zoning process
– Shock about the Crozet mountain lion, and a few links – Wikipedia, California Fish &Â Game, a pro-lion website and a survivor’s account.
Ed. Note: One of my favorite parts of running RealCrozetVA is the reader submissions I receive from time to time. Should you ever want to write a story for the blog, please submit it here.
I wonder if anyone else who grew up in Crozet ever feels this way when they drive through Crozet today. I read that some feel the old Crozet was an eye sore, the old buildings and store fronts, etc. Maybe you need to go to Charlottesville to live. Crozet was a village.
The old bank is gone. Crozet Superette, run by Mr. Moses Sandridge and his wife is gone. The Crozet Shoe Shop is gone. The old Crozet Drug store, where Jimmy Robinson use to dip out the biggest ice cream cones for 10 cents, is gone. Old Seals’ gas station is gone. I remember Mrs. Seal well, sitting out in the front, helping out. Tomlin Grocery – long gone. Sandridge Gas Station where the road to IGA begins. Morton’s Frozen Food, with the TV dinners, Ice box pies, etc – gone. Acme Visible records where my mother worked, closed. The Red Front Super Market and Nannie Wagner’s 5 and dime, just a sweet faded memory. Coffee Jackson selling Christmas trees in the parking lot beside the old bank, I just smile to think, “how did he make anything for his efforts?”
Crozet had a theater at one time. Crozet had a drive-in too. Crozet Pool was where most all of us kids stayed from sun up to sun down and then rode our bikes home, or walked. We all had swimming lessons too. Vacation Bible School at the old Crozet Methodist Church, and oh! the popsicles handed out at the end. All the fun sleigh rides down the hill in Orchard Acres. Christmas time was something else.
Fourth of July at Crozet Park was beyond excitment for us kids. We could barely sleep the night before it started. Starting first grade and Mrs. Sara Wyant. I loved her and she loved me. The train ride from Crozet Station to Charlottesville and then to McIntyre Park to play. Trick or Treating and our home-made costumes.
I rode through Crozet recently; it’s not the Crozet I remember.
Nothing like it. It has a feeling of not being sure who or where it belongs. I felt sad when I rode to old Crozet Elementary School, I got out and walked around and went to the back of the school where I started first grade so many years ago. I walked through the play ground. I looked over and I spotted something that I knew could not possibly be the same sliding board that I nervously slid down in 1962.
It sure looked the same. I went over and stood beside it. It still seemed larger than life to me. I looked underneath the sliding board and was so surprised to see stamped just under the steps it read, “Property of Crozet High School”. For all of you former Crozet residents you will know what that means. I had found one thing they had not taken away from us. You know what I mean. I left with a feeling you have when you go back to a place you haven’t been for many many years and you find something that holds so much memory for you.
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From the Cavalier Daily –
Located just 10 miles away via Interstate 64 West, Crozet, Va. is the perfect destination for anyone looking to escape the standard routine of University life. With its array of unique outdoor activities and tasty food and beverage options, Crozet is a great place for a quick getaway. Here’s a list of some of the top ways to enjoy the town without breaking the bank.
The list of “things to do” keeps growing every month!
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Let’s hope that the new Library (more on the plans here) has some of the impacts that Jim Bacon details after his recent visit to two different library settings –
The (Shirlington) library also contributes to the vision of a community where things are happening 24/7. “We have a regular flow of traffic on the streets during the weekday but especially during early evening and the weekends,” says director Susan McCarthy. Many of the visitors arrive on foot. “Most of our traffic is through the front door,” not from the parking deck connected to the side door. “We have a lot of people who come over from the offices during the day, checking out a book for the weekend or using the wireless.”
…
Five years ago, libraries were struggling for identity. Who needed them when vast repositories of knowledge were available online, Amazon.com was delivering books to your doorstep, and Google was digitizing thousands of books for access over the Internet? By redefining themselves in an increasingly depersonalized society as community crossroads where real, live people come together and interact, they have emerged as relevant as ever.
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For two weeks in a row, I’ve noticed candidate for the Board of Supervisors, Ann Mallek, hanging out in The Square in Downtown Crozet. Apparently she’s been going door-to-door talking to the voters for some time now.
It’s nice to see a candidate meeting with, and listening to, those whom she hopes to serve.
Next time I’ll be prepared with a pen and notepad.
This year’s election is going to be very important. Stay informed at Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Election Watch – or just stop by and talk to her the next time she’s in the Square.
Mark your calendars!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Crozet Fire Station
5624 Three Notch’d Road in Crozet
If you don’t participate, you can’t complain. These meetings very likely will decide in large part, how Crozet will look many years from now. Begin your education at Albemarle’s great website.
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Mark your calendars. They make good beer. It’s really that simple. And they’re local, which is an argument for sustainability. Do your part for the environment and drink Starr Hill Beer.
This blog normally doesn’t shill for commercial entities, but this is an occasion for a now-local company to further its contribution to the Crozet community. I do wonder if the Charlottesville rickshaw company, Happy Rickshaw, might consider a franchise in Crozet.
*the above ad is from this month’s Crozet Gazette.
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The Gazette seems to get better every month.
Highlights of this month’s issue:
– Extensive coverage of the Downtown Zoning Plan
– Western Albemarle and Augusta Counties: An Economic Relationship
– A Cougar in Crozet
– Summary of the fireworks success
– A call to action for Crozetians to be involved in the Zoning Plan
About 75 people showed up for the first meeting … about 40 showed up for the second session … and then 20 for the third
If you don’t participate in the governmental planning process, you abdicate your responsibility to the system and negate your credibility to complain when things turn out differently than you would have liked.
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Traffic flow at the intersections of Crozet Avenue, Railroad Avenue and Route 240 will be reduced to one lane beginning as early as Monday, July 9th. Two-lane traffic will be restored during rush hour periods. Barring weather or unforeseen conditions, the work is expected to be completed by the end of next week.
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On the fireworks.
Driving home seeing people setting up their chairs in the parking lot of the Great Valu, hearing the cheers from Crozet Park (I watched the fireworks from our bedroom, as my younger daughter wanted to stay inside) and seeing my neighbors having backyard parties to celebrate Independence Day (on 30 June), it was clear that the Fireworks were a success.
Those who came together and raised the money for the Fireworks in Crozet – the Downtown Crozet Association, the Crozet Gazette, the many businesses, the community bake sale … should be proud.
What would Independence Day in Crozet be without the Fireworks and the Fireman’s Festival?
Well done, Crozet.
Track how we got here at Technorati.
If you happen to have any photos of the fireworks, please email me or post them to flickr and tag them with “Crozet”.
Just a note: For those who didn’t donate anything, don’t worry – they still need money for next year’s fireworks, so don’t hesitate to send a few bucks their way. 🙂
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