In my last post I commented that an unnamed landmark was going to be an important part of my current work in progress (WIP). This landmark was such a huge part of my childhood summers that I felt it needed its own moment in one of my books. The landmark is The Stack.
The Stack has been around for nearly 100 years, but for my friends and I, it was our own personal landmark when we were young.
I spent my summers in the small town of Reedville, Virginia. It is a fishing village at the tip of Northumberland County and one of my favorite places on earth. (See my Bio for more about that.) As a pre-teen most of my Reedville friends had small boats with outboard motors that we used to to cruise around the creeks. When we needed to find out way back home, all we had to do was find The Stack. It led us, to the home of family and friends, our favorite grocery store, and most importantly, a place to refuel the motor.
The Stack was also that mysterious old place that no one ever went to and it had a hundred different stories as to why we shouldn’t go exploring there. (Thus, the inspiration for the setting of WIP.) I would find out later all these stories were made up by my friends. The real reason we never went over there was because it was private property, the condition of The Stack was questionable, and their parents had forbade them from going there.
Now, as an adult, I’m in the position to give something back to the landmark that means so much to me. Save The Stack is an organization designed to, well, save The Stack. The Stack has survived over fifty hurricanes, the Great Depression, and numerous fires. If restoration of The Stack isn’t done, it will collapse and the purpose of the Save The Stack Foundation is just that. This week alone, over sixty bricks fell from it and a new crack appeared in its upper section.
So this week, my gift to The Stack and Save The Stack is my blog. You know my story of how it was part of my life. If you want to read other stories about The Stack and find out what you can help save it, check out savethestack.org.
Thanks so much for spreading the word. It’s a worthy fuse for sure. Mark down on your calendar august 21 for the Woodsatck a day of music food and fun at buzzards point. I am on the committee and it’s a wonderful group of folks that are passionate about saving the stack. But things are getting bad with the stack. We need now more than ever to chip in. Nature is doing a number on it and we are running out of time. Thanks again for helping…