St. Andrew's Hospital, Clay Street, Suffolk, VA

St. Andrew's Hospital, north west side of Clay Street, Suffolk, Virginia was a Private Hospital which I know was there in 1913 according to several news stories.  My sister, Dolly Bell Watson, later Carr, was born here in 1931. I wonder if it is still there?

—STAFF— 

Dr. E. R. Hart, 

Chief Surgeon. 

Dr. P. G. Parker, 

Assistant. 

Miss M. B. Lynch,  R . N .
Superintendent . 

Miss Rena M. Coffield, R. N.

Surgical Supt.

Time Capsule & Brothers of the Brush

United States Post Office, Suffolk, Virginia

Judging from the black car (1957?) in front of the Old Post Office, my guess is that this picture is from about the very time of which I am thinking-- 1958. !958 was the 350th Anniversary of Suffolk. Amont the many, many other memories of that year, I do remember that Ben. C. Traylor, Jr. (SHS Class of 1962) and I went together and "rented space" for 100 years in  Time Capsule that was buried with some fanfare, in front of this building in 1958. For years there was an engraved stone in the sidewalk over the spot which said that it would be opened in 100 years. I am not sure sure of the stone is still there. I don't really remember what I put in our envelope, but I am pretty sure there must have been a few old postage stamps as I had just begun collecting stamps, having been given my mother's collection which included her father's collection. I also remember enclosing a note saying that the contents of the envelope were to go to my nearest living relation in 2058!

     I have checked all over the internet about this"time capsule" and found absolutely nothing! As a matter of fact, the only mention of the 350th Anniversary was a mention of "The Brothers of the Brush" at A Rotary Club Magazine! Anyone remember those days? A "Decree" went out that all males old enough to grow a beard had to grow one and not save it for the entire Anniversary Year! Were you a "Brother of the Brush?"

West Washington Street, Suffolk, VA, 1920s

This post card was mailed in 1922, so the image is of West Washington Street looking east toward Main Street, a little before that time.
Notice that neither the National or American Bank is present. Brewer's Jewelry is there and so is it's wonderful clock. Remember the smell of the interior of Brewers?! The smell of silver (tarnish)! I loved that smell. And the two Mr. Turners?
I like to think that this is the view that my parents knew of Suffolk while they were kids. Yet, many of the buildings are just as I remember them in the 50s and 60s.

Any stories you could add to this picture? Please do!

The First Baptist Church

I remember first being conscious of "God" about the same time I became conscious of war. Reason? Because my earliest memory of the First Baptist Church was the quonset hut which was used as a Sunday School room for us kids. Facing the Old church, it stood lengthwise parallel with the building and at the left in the back. A flight of steps lead from the hut to the porch on the side of the church. I hated the quonset hut, mainly because it was ugly, corrugated steel or aluminum or the like, and I was told that it was something that came from the war (at that time I guess it was the Korean War). It was quite like the one pictured here. As I remember, it had green paint, dark green, at the bottom. This was about 1940 0r 1950 as I remember. I don't know if my disgust of war came from the ugly building or if I remember the building as ugly because I even then associated it with war. It was one or the other. My opinions of both have not changed.
I remember later one of my Sunday School teachers was Mrs. Jernigan. We all had to learn the Books of the Bible and each week Daddy would coach me before we left home. "Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy...." Week by week I learned a few more until I got them! When we got them all right we were given our own Bible. To me that was a big deal. More later.

The Square

The only building left here is the one on the corner, what was the National Bank of Suffolk. I Remember Ben Traylor's father worked there and so I always felt like I had a friend there when I went in.

The building with the columns was The Farmers' Bank of Nansemond and it was incredibly beautiful inside, especially the ceiling. I never did understand why they tore it down.

I titled this "The Square" because that is what the crossing of Main and Washington was called. Is it today (2007)?

When I sold peanuts (that's another story) each weekend in Suffolk I used to visit several office in the upper floors of the building. Some of my "regular" customers were Jack Nurney (the young Jack Nurney that is), Rawls Woodward, I wish I could remember the others. At the corner of the National Bank in the sidewalk there was a plaque, shaped like a badge as I remember, stating that Suffolk was the first to honor some president-- don't remember which.