Meet J.R., 40 year member of the Thomas, WV Volunteer Fire Department

Thomas, WV Volunteer Fire Department

"Good things happen when you meet strangers." ~ Yo-Yo Ma

I first met J.R. last  summer, while riding around Thomas, WV. I love to ride the back roads whenever I travel, and having worked for newspapers for so long, I can spot an interesting person from a mile away. I have found that short conversations with strangers give me more insight on the world than long conversations with friends. I found J.R sitting in a chair in front of his house watching the traffic go by. I stopped my car and chatted for over an hour on my first visit. J.R. gave me a wonderful history lesson on Thomas, pointing out landmarks, and telling me about his career, that included his forty-years as a volunteer fireman with the Thomas, WV Volunteer Fire Department. Every time I go to Thomas, I look up J.R. I'll be back soon, J.R., so get out that snow plow.

Check back later for an update on JR. I met up with him yesterday. As many of my followers know, I make my post days in advance, sometimes weeks, but I often add posts from my day's travels. Also coming, photos from The Christmas Shop in Thomas, WV, where JR, dressed as Santa, entertains children. JR also makes the rounds at nursing homes. Also coming, a tour of the Thomas Volunteer Fire Department, with JR as our personal guide, of course.

Purple Fiddle in Thomas, West VA and the Half Time String Band

Purple Fiddle in Thomas, West VA and the Half Time String Band

When we head to our mountain compound in Western Maryland, we always make several trips across the border into West Virginia. I am amazed at what some of the tiny towns have done to make themselves stand out above much larger towns. Thomas, population 300, has appealed to a variety of artists from places like New York and Maine. The main draw is the Purple Fiddle, a hopping restaurant that offers homemade breads and soups, and healthy sandwiches, the likes of which you would expect to find in artist's communities in big cities, and in specialty cafes. The main draw, that brings people from hundreds of miles away, is the evening entertainment. In the summer months the place is packed with people from all walks of life.  Most every evening brings a new band. On this trip, we were entertained by the Half Time String Band from Morgantown.

I love the decor at the Purple Fiddle.

 Photos not in order, but by the time the evening starts to wind up, the place is full. Through the doors on the left is a beautiful garden patio for dining. And I love this: they have a resident cat, and dogs are welcome on patio.



Photo from street.

Firday's "My Town" Shoot Out

Be sure and click on photos to enlarge.

For those of you who do not know about our town shoot outs, we do them every Friday to highlight the fun and interesting things about our town. Everyone is welcome to participate. We only ask that you let us know in advance so we can add you to all our lists.

We have no rules in our town shoot outs. Everyone improvises. Since we are a seasonal town of around 3000 people, we don't gear up for the season until around Memorial Day. After that it gets hot around here, and I am not talking temperatures.

For that reason, I cheated a little, digging into my files for some photos.

Our "Welcome" sign.

Planting the spring flowers in front of the "Welcome" sign; a photo from last year.

Took this from the car. Don't you just love our crab on the water tower?

Another photo from last year when they were doing street work. These people were from up around the Great Lakes. They had sailed their boats from there, gone to the Bahamas, and landed in Crisfield for a little R&R at Somers Cove Marina; then they headed to Canada. Yes, it took them a long time - over a year.

Might not look like much to people who don't know anything about Crisfield, but Crisfield would not be Crisfield without Gordon's. It has been around since 1924. Make sure you drop in when you visit.

We are not a big town, and the terrain is flat, so people bike a lot. We also have groups of bikers who come to Crisfield several times a year to take in the breathtaking scenery.

Someone mentioned mail boxes. Well, here is one near the city dock. You can walk across the street and catch the tour boat to Tangier Island or eat crabs at a new restaurant - opening Memorial Day - the Olde Crisfield Crab Steakhouse and Tiki Bar, (formally Side Street and Captain Bud's Tiki Bar)or grab a bite to eat at Captain's Carry-out. Gordon's is just up the road, and there is a great ice cream shop for those with a sweet tooth. Oh, and there is Waterman's and The Cove.






Across from the mailbox, and next to above mentioned restaurants is our Visitor Center.


At the corner of the Visitor's Center, sits a monument in honor of Captain Rudy Thomas.


I went inside for this photo. This is Patty Green who owns the Weathered Porch, across from the Tourist's Center. In the future, I will highlight all of our business owners, and give you a tour around their stores. Those cooks books Patty is holding were written by Whitey Schmidt, better known as the "Blue Crab Guru." I will be highlighting him, too. If you like seafood, you must get one of his books!

A little history for you, folks.

I stepped off Main Street to get the back of this building. I love it.

I could not resist this "Me and My Shadow" photo taken on Main Street.

I took this while eating from Side Street before they closed for the season.

The view of Main Street from our city dock.

The woman to the right works at The Pizza Shoppe. I caught her relaxing on the dock with her family. She makes the best pizzas, and is always hard at work catering events around town. The Pizza Shoppe caters a lot of events both in and out of Crisfield.

I can't resist a seagull photo - taken at the city dock.

The Courtney Thomas. We have several mail boats that dock at the city dock twice a day. You can catch one and visit Tangier Island, VA. or Smith Island.

Caught myself a Smith Island captain.

**The rest of the photos are happenings and random shots around the dock, taken last summer.**







In the summer months everyone grabs a blanket or chair and heads down to the dock for movie nights. It just does not get any better than that, folks!

A good time is always had by all!

**A few of the dedicated people who make things happen around here**

Allison Castellana. She coordinates all our events.

Valerie Howard of the Chamber of Commerce, left, and Virginia Townsend. It takes a lot of people to run a town; these are just two of the many dedicated people who keep Crisfield moving along. A big "Thank you!" to all of our workers and volunteers.

All Ya'll come see us. I will be posting a calendar shortly. When you make your vacation plans, think of Crisfield - The Crab Capitol of the World!

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Please take a stroll though the towns of our shoot out participants. This is a much better that looking at stuffy old travel brochures. These are the ones that have posted as of Friday morning:

Barry in Toronto
Si in Exmore, VA.
Reggie Girl in Newnan, GA.
Loida in China.
Missy in Japan
Hensley in Hawaii
GingerV in Brazil Ginger picked this week's shoot out.
Butler and Bagman in Charleston, SC.
Jen in Michican
Gordon in Saint Augustine, FL.
Elaine Dale in Canada
J9 in Dublin, CA
Missy in Japan
A new blogger from Dublin
Gigi from Brunswick, Georgia
Gisele from St. Maarten


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