Blue Ridge Fire Towers by Robert Sorrell

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

While the title might sound dull to some, this book is a little gem of local history.  Sorrell has done a very thorough job of telling the history of fire towers in the area, starting in 1910.  In the early years, fire towers were the only game in town for spotting wildfires.  Nowadays, fire spotters have largely been replaced or supplemented by technology, though some towers remain staffed either by employees or volunteers. Even the abandoned ones remain as points of interest for hikers and locals.

Sorrell tells the story chronologically, beginning with the first towers as it became obvious there was a need for lookouts after some damaging fires. This was a bit more controversial than one would think: according to Sorrell the prevailing attitude was that fires were “a force of nature that could not be abated or prevented.”  Some of the early towers were built either by communities or companies, while conservationist and forest enthusiast Gifford Pinchot championed the building of a network of towers to help manage the potential damage from fires.

But let me just jump ahead to “the good stuff”—the wealthy of local stories and information about the towers.  I am not a fire tower buff myself (not crazy about heights) but even I have heard of a number of these towers.  During the fall, people talk about going up to the Mendota fire tower to get the best views of the foliage. Wise County’s High Knob Tower was so iconic that it was rebuilt not once but twice after it was destroyed by fire in the 1970s and again in 2007. The newest tower, dedicated in 2014, is considered fireproof.

Long time residents will enjoy that Sorrell has several references to local journalist Jack Kestner who wrote about his love for the mountains and even did a stint as a watcher in a fire tower. (Fun fact:  Kestner wrote a novel entitled Fire Tower, set in West Virginia.) There is a good index, which helped me find the areas I was especially interested in, and I certainly enjoyed the photos but honestly I could have read the entire book.  Sorrell has an engaging manner of writing that made me want to read more even if I didn’t know the area he was writing about.  It’s a gift that not all non-fiction writers have, so I really appreciate it in those that do.

If you have any interest in local history in general, I recommend giving this book a try. 

A Nip of Murder by Carol Miller

Reviewed by Jeanne

“Aunt Emily was always generous with her advice and opinions.  Taken on the whole, a bit too generous, and more often than not, it wasn’t so clear whether that advice tended to be brilliant or batty.”

Things seem to be looking up for Daisy McGovern.  She’s turned the old diner where she used to work as a waitress into her own bakery, Sweetie Pies, and the place is doing fairly well – until the robbery and murder, that is.  The murder was an accident, though, caused when one of the masked men kicked Brenda’s cat Blot and ended up stabbed with Brenda’s chef’s knife. The other two made off with the goods:  90 pounds of cream cheese.

As if that weren’t odd enough, Bobby Balsam has managed to get engaged to an intelligent and sophisticated young woman who is running a geocaching tournament, though what she could possible see in backward Bobby is a mystery for the ages.  Or maybe she just knows that Bobby’s brother Rick has a moonshine empire and she thinks that’s a way to some of the cash—or maybe even to Rick himself.

Since the sheriff is out of town and his clueless replacement is just that, Daisy decides she needs to find out what’s going on before she ends up out of business.  The trail takes her to a nip joint (as in illegal drinking establishment), caves, the historical society, and down more than a few backroads as she tries to figure out who would want to steal all that cream cheese—and why.

I had read the first book in the series, Murder and Moonshine, a few months back and been pleasantly surprised to find that Miller did a good job of portraying the Southwestern Virginia region and its people without being condescending.  While there are some stereotypical aspects, the characters are more nuanced than most such portrayals.  Daisy is feisty and smart, a young woman out to make her own way in the world while keeping her ties to family and friends.  The love-hate relationship between Daisy and Rick is well done, as Daisy tries to fight her attraction to a man who represents most of the things she despises. While this tends to be a standard plot point these days, Miller makes it believable. Rick himself is an especially intriguing character.  He’s definitely involved in illegal practices, he’s a womanizer, and can be sexist and yet he can be unexpectedly considerate.  He’s obviously very interested in Daisy even if she doesn’t return his affections—at least not that she will admit, even to herself.

The mysteries are good ones, and the resolution is satisfying, though it hints at more upheavals in Daisy’s life.  In short, I found this to be a very entertaining and enjoyable tale.   I’ll be looking forward to the next in the series, An Old Fashioned Murder, which is “coming soon.” Miller’s website is www.carolmillerauthor.com.

Crooked Road Cooking

Grazing Along the Crooked Road:  Recipes and Stories, Past and Present by Betty Skeens and Libby Bondurant

Reviewed by Jeanne

As the title suggests, this book covers the Virginia counties which are part of “The Crooked Road Music Trail.” Of course, that means it includes a good part of our area!  The book is divided up by county, with brief interviews, tales, tips and some really nice down-home recipes.  It’s a great browsing book.  Naturally I had to start with the counties I know best and was very pleased to find both people and places I recognized. I enjoyed reading about the Moonlite Drive-In, for instance, but I’d never heard of Buffalo Mountain until now.

Given the theme of “the Crooked Road,” it’ll come as no surprise that a number of the interviews are with musicians.  Some are well known, like Wayne Henderson or Ron Short; others are known only in their neck of the woods, so to speak, but all have a love of music and of place.

The recipes are wonderful and just right for this season with all the fresh vegetables.  I spotted several good ones for tomato lovers, including “Tomato Pie” and “Tomato Dumplings” as well as some great squash, corn, beans, and pumpkin recipes.  Many are variations on recipes I knew, but with some intriguing differences.  I’d never thought about adding carrots to a squash casserole, for example, but now that I think about it that does sound very tasty.  There are the old standbys like leather britches/shuck beans, cornbread, and stack cake as well as newer fare like Taco Soup or less well known item such as Chocolate Gravy or Lady Baltimore Cake.  There are few game recipes (venison, groundhog, squirrel, etc.) too.  Most of the recipes are very easy, which is an even bigger plus in my book.

This is a great book for browsing, for reading a few pages here and there.  I found there was always “just one more thing” I wanted to read and it was easy to get distracted when looking for that recipe I saw just a few minutes ago. The 30 second look-up would turn into 15 minutes while I read Joe Tennis’ comments about fishing for bluegill or an account of the Baptists’ Big Meetings or how to make homemade yeast.  The biggest drawback is that there is no index, but they do have a list of recipes at the start of each chapter which helps.


Visit their website at www.crookedroadcookbook.com