Brick’s Blog

     Since getting the sad news of Marshall Coggin’s death on Sunday, my mind has been awhirl in memories of a man who in many ways was my father. You see Marshall Coggin was my godfather; and in all duties Marshall undertook or assumed, there was true dedication beyond the call. Just part of that Flyboy Semper Fi credo that exemplified his life.

    Thursdays in the Northern Neck meant the publication of The Northern Neck News which in many ways was like a party line telephone as it shared the tidbits of various communities faithfully reported by its correspondents strewn across the area.  Anchoring the News most Thursdays was a column, Tale Spinning, penned by the Editor himself, which offered an anecdotal glimpse into the very heart of the Northern Neck and small town America. This morning I unearthed my own time capsule and retrieved a scrapbook compiled by my mother which contained several of these columns. Those Thursday lessons learned so long ago still reverberate today.

     Yesterday, as I drove to the Northern Neck, I was reminded that Thursdays also meant Marshall’s work week was over. As his godchild that often meant there was a weekend lesson awaiting you, too; as Marshall would whisk you away on some day trip adventure. And adventures they always were, because Marshall Coggin was just a big kid himself who loved life, adventure, and the people who were a part of it. I don’t think I have ever known anyone as self-effacing as Marshall Coggin, and that may be the greatest lesson he ever taught me. Rest in peace, good and faithful servant.

The Northern Neck

Between the yellow Rappahannock

And the broad Potomac blue

There’s a lovely bit of country

Down in old Virginia true.

Just a narrow strip of inland

On the map it’s scarce a speck,

But it’s Home to everybody

In the good old Northern Neck.

You go sixty miles from nowhere

Down a winding country road,

Past a picturesque old mill pond,

And a patriot’s first abode.

Yes, it’s rather isolated

But I know when you reflect

You will surely want to linger

In the good old Northern Neck.

You’ll find many stately mansions

Of the true Colonial style

Tucked behind old-fashioned gardens

Filled with flowers all the while.

River views, with steamboat landings,

Everything you could expect

Of Virginia’s rich tradition

In the good old Northern Neck.

The folks have got a charming way

Of saying, “Come right in.”

There’s smoke cured ham and batter-bread

With potatoes in the bin.

The people still believe in God,

And home is not a wreck.

And everybody’s “Kith and kin”

In the good old Northern Neck.

Sure, I’ve heard them sing of Heaven

Guess ‘twas never meant for me.

But sometimes I stop and wonder

How the next world’s going to be.

But St. Peter needn’t work

When I’m cashing in my check,

For my soul will stay forever,

In the good old Northern Neck.

                        James S. Allen

Warsaw, Virginia, July 20, 1925

Nothing that I could possibly add to this.

     I was out running an errand this morning and trying to race home in time to watch Meet the Press. As I reached the stoplight at River and Gaskins Road, there was a car in front of me with one of those SWOs (Silly White Ovals) with NNK (Northern Neck) on its rear window. Whenever I see one of these NNK SWOs for a fleeting moment I wonder if I might know the occupant of the car. This usually passes when I reflect long enough to remember it has been almost 40 years since I actually resided in the Neck; and then it was only for the summer months.

     Then my eye caught a glimpse of a bumper sticker on the car, which read “in a Northern Neck minute.” Com’on you, Neckers, you know what this means. Suddenly, getting home to watch Meet the Press  wasn’t that important. Anyway, my mantra for the day is “in a Northern Neck minute”, which all Neckers know means I’ll get to it, when I get to it. What a great way to spend a Sunday.

     That’s my older brother, Ken. He was a little younger then, but like all of us Smiths he doesn’t like to have his picture taken too often. These days Brother Ken sells real estate in the Northern Neck. If you’re looking for waterfront or waterview real estate, than you need to contact Ken. Ken knows the water and especially the waters of the Northern Neck, because Brother Ken has been a marine contractor (seawalls, piers, etc.), a commercial fisherman, and plyer of every cove, creek or tributary found in the Northern Neck. You can visit his real estate website here. He’ll be glad to drive you to any property, but truthfully he’d prefer to throw you into one of his boats and show you it from the water first!

     Of late, Brother Ken has turned his attentions to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. As acting president of the Virginia Waterman’s Association, he has been on a crusade to restore the Bay and its tributaries to what H.L. Mencken once called "the immense protein factory." As children, a dinner of blue crabs could usually be found around the pilings of anyone’s pier. We’d marvel at the catch of the huge haul seine nets dragged ashore at Ragged Point. Our fall oysters were fresh from local waters and not trucked in from the Gulf of Mexico.

     On Monday, June 2, Brother Ken will be on NPR between noon and 12:30 making his case. A live stream is available here.  For more information and to contribute to this great cause, visit the Virginia Waterman’s Association site.   

     About a year ago, I helped a family from Las Vegas relocate to Richmond. As usual in these relocations, you become close with the family, since you are their savant on all things Virginia. This pacticular family had some close friends in Northern Virginia, who kept telling them once they got settled they’d take them to the Neck. So when the question arose, “Brick, what is the Neck our friends are talking about it?”, I was prepared.

     See, I grew up in the Northern Neck. Notice I said ”grew up” not ”from” the Northern Neck, because my father was a “come here” to the Neck in 1948. Even though my oldest brother, Ken and several of his grown children, still reside there, it would be presumptuous of me to claim true Neck heritage. Neck heritage is measured in centuries not generations. But I digress, let me return to my relocating family.

     Sunday night, I got an e-mail from the husband telling me they’d just gotten back from a great weekend at the Neck. Sorry, but I had to immediately e-mail and correct him. He didn’t spend the weekend ”at” the Neck, he spent the weekend “in” the Neck. What my friend didn’t understand is the Neck is not just a geographic location, it is much more. It is first a ”state of mind.”

     You know the old work adage, “Never put off until tomorrow, what you can do today.” Never been heard in the Neck. There is always something better to do than work – hunt, fish, boat or any combination,deviation, or improvement thereon. Don’t get me wrong. Neckers aren’t lazy. Neckers are talented and industrious folk. Want to build a pier, a seawall, maybe add an addition on your home? You’ve got plenty of help, even if your help is missing their day job. It’s all about your priorities and Priority 1 for any self respectin’ Necker is to enjoy the natural beauty and nature’s abundance found there first. All else can wait.

     Well, that’s my first installment on the Northern Neck. Stay tuned for more!