Author Archives: Eva

About Eva

Hi, I'm Eva. Thank you for stopping by. I live in Mendota, Virginia. If you like rural life in a country village, sharing decorating and DIY ideas, gardening, local and seasonal eating, food preservation, thrifting, and anything to do with honey, we have something in common.

Million Dollar View?

At some time, Michael and I plan to sell this pretty place–not because we don’t love it, but as we age, we realize we may not need anything quite as large.

So, from time to time, we go look at other property; and frequently, we hear the words “million dollar view.” It’s a little challenging for me to not say anything; because I do have a million dollar view. The river is just past that fence. The mountain is…well…it’s right where you see it!

I just look outside. Our hay was baled today. Tight as a tick.

It’s a busy time in Mendota. Gardens are seeing their last days of summer. While I did not put out a garden this summer, my friends, neighbors, our orchard, and Mann Farms have kept me well supplied. During the past months, I’ve canned potatoes, chicken, strawberry jelly, peaches, tomatoes, tomato juice and spaghetti sauce. In the next three days, I’ll can about 24 pints of spaghetti sauce as well as quite a bit of grape jelly. All of this leaves us with a small grocery store of sorts right in our pantry. I thought of this quite often during the days of the pandemic when people stayed in their homes and apartments in urban areas. How did they do it? We sat up here on our hill, gardened, worked on projects and waited for the world to return to normal.

While we did not put out a garden, I’ve missed it. Mike has, too. Next year, we will put out a small garden with tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, a few green beans, etc. I’m planting garlic next month. I’d also like some potatoes. I just learned how well they can.

Speaking of canning, these homegrown tomatoes are in the canner right now as tomato juice.

These tomatoes lined up on my porch (below) are Romas. They have more pulp and make great spaghetti sauce. They skin so easily when I scald them. They are easy to work with. I scald them in hot water and then pinch the skin right off. I then cut out the core and they’ll go into the food processor. The spaghetti sauce I make costs about $1.50 per pint for me to make when I buy the tomatoes, and it’s so much better than what I purchase in the store. It’s not so sweet and sugary — although my recipe calls for about 1/2 cup of brown sugar–but that is spread in enough sauce that makes up about 24 pints. Far less sugar than store bought.

I’m waiting to hear the POP POP POP of jars sealing. The jiggling pressure canner and the sealing of jars are sounds of my summer.

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Mendota Cemetery Homecoming

On Sunday, August 27, my sisters and I will be at the Mendota Community Center for the annual Mendota Cemetery Homecoming or just what we call “Homecoming.” Everyone is invited. You do not have to have a family member buried in the cemetery to come and enjoy a potluck dish and fellowship.

The Mendota Cemetery is beautiful and continues its more than 100 year tradition of never charging a local family in need.

However, we worry about “what’s next?” Homecoming was once well attended, but it’s dwindled in recent years as the families that are faithful to attend are now resting in this cemetery or another cemetery elsewhere. If you are reading this and live in Mendota, I hope you’ll come.

The cemetery is very well maintained. This is much in part to Gerald Booher, the president of the Mendota Cemetery Association. We typically have a fundraiser such as a quilt raffle and this raffle–and those who provide monetary gifts–ensures things stay looking nice. My favorite quilt from all of the quilts we’ve raffled was the one below. It was won by Diane Salyer, and that is her parents Wave and Don Fleenor standing in front of the quilt.

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My Airbnb Tips From Southwest Virginia

I operate a one-bedroom Airbnb in Southwest Virginia in a small community called Mendota. I came into Airbnb in a backwards way. We had a small apartment located over a detached three-car garage that had been empty for years. When I operated Adventure Mendota (a small kayaking company for those who don’t know me), my husband urged me to open up the guest house for short-term rentals–as if I didn’t have enough to do all day! I was not a believer. At that time, we didn’t have a store or a gas station or even a Coke machine in Mendota. Adventure Mendota was the only “thing” and that was only from Memorial Day to Labor Day. However, to prove my point, I went over to the guesthouse which was clean but not “styled” for pictures, took a few iPhone pictures and slapped them on Airbnb. No one was more surprised when two days later, I had someone booked.

From there, I began booking the place almost every weekend outside of the times I take it offline by “blocking” it on Airbnb.

The above occurred four years ago, and now I am an experienced Airbnb operator running a one-unit Airbnb and supplementing my income nicely. On an average, I book 12-15 days per month. Fifteen is my sweet spot on the number of nights rented. Since it is located right across from my house, there are times we need privacy more than I need the income from my Airbnb. For this to work and be so close by, I have to know when to say “when.”

I have some tips for people who are thinking of doing short-term rentals on sites such as Airbnb or VRBO. Many use both platforms, but I’m happy on Airbnb and their percentage rate is lower.

Provided a large investment is not required to start your Airbnb business, just try it! You might be surprised. I was. My guests come for nearby weddings, family reunions, Devil’s Bathtub (35 miles from my place), Virginia’s Great Channels (45 minutes) and occasionally they are heading to the Carter Fold. They are starting to come for the Mendota Trail!! Other reasons are to get away to a quiet place, to work on their resume, up and coming physicians working on medical papers, authors writing books, to get away from hotels along the interstate corridor where they do not feel their cars are safe, and on and on.

Cleaning. If you have only one place and have some extra time, do your own cleaning. You’ll make more money and you will know your product is clean and ready for guests.

Clean, yet, but don’t spend a lot of money on cleaning supplies. You are in the business to make money, and this is an area you can save on. While I do use a few other things, my cleaning arsenal is made up primarily of vinegar and baking soda. Dawn dish detergent and some peppermint essential oil are also helpful.

Linens. While you don’t have to spend a large amount on sheets and towels, you do need to be mindful of the quality and invest accordingly. I’m fortunate to live near American Merchant which makes very nice towels that I can buy for $5 from time to time. Guests love these fluffy towels. I look for high-quality, high-thread count sheets at places like TJ Maxx. I also use–and wash after each guest stay–pillow protectors as well as pillow cases.

It doesn’t hurt to have a welcoming entrance. My Airbnb is above a three-car garage so I struggle with this. It has a great rear deck but the front does not have the charm I’d like to have. I try and mitigate this with a flower border at the entrance.

I iron my pillowcases. By doing so, guests know they are clean not only by their smell but by the ironing creases.

For quick turns when I have a guest leaving at 11 am and a new guest arriving at 3 pm, I have duplicates of most of the above. I’ve gotten so fast with the quick turn that on Sunday, a guest leaving at 10:45 am gives me enough time to run over and throw towels in the wash, attend church at 11 am and return to finish cleaning and have the place immaculate by 2 pm for a 3 pm guest check-in time.

Get rid of the cleaning fee and built it into your nightly rate that appears on the reservation booking. It is more honest. Prior to 2022, the cleaning fee could be excluded as income so having a moderately priced Airbnb with a large cleaning fee was common. Today, it’s all income.

For about $300, I had a thermostat installed that I can remotely control. Guests are not concerned about my electric bill– but I am. While I can schedule the temperature, they may override it; forget about it and leave for 8 hours. I would never enter the unit and re-adjust the thermostat during a guest stay, but I’m not above remotely moving it from a chilly 65 degrees up to a moderate 73 degrees while they are gone.

Soaps. Those little individual bars of soaps that are so cute become scummy sticky glue blobs in the shower. Instead, place a bottle of men’s body wash and women’s body wash in the shower. You are welcome.

Leave a flashlight by the bed. It’s scary for the power to go off and not be familiar with the surroundings.

You need internet. Guests tell you that they want to disconnect. But they really don’t. You also need it for safety, etc. We don’t have cell phone service where I live, but guests have the ability to make wi-fi calling from their cell phones. While I have not had a guest make a 911 call, I feel reassured that they can because I have internet in the unit.

My guests love seeing current magazines instead of old recycled castoffs. In fact, I now subscribe to magazines for Rivercliff Cottage and they are a business expense. Guests get them first, and then I read the castoffs.

Know your limits. For me, I have a one bedroom but I also have a sofa bed in the living room. I started out renting to four guests at a time. I was greedy and thought more guests = more money. Sure I could get a few dollars more, but I also had double the laundry, double the trash, and double the trouble. The more guests in the unit, the more likely that a friendly chat becomes a bit louder as the alcohol and music flow; and before you know it, a party has come to life! Now I limit my number of guests to two. It works so much better and the accommodations are perfect for two. Four was a bit crowded.

Have spaces that you can lock out. I used to leave my duplicate linens in a corner of the closet in a plastic bin, but occasionally a guest would still use items from the bin and during quick turnarounds, I’d be scrambling because those extra pillow cases were crumpled and dirty. Now, I have an area that its locked out from guests.

Know your value. I have a very fair rate. I do not offer extra services. My guests have a nice, affordable place to stay. It is quiet and clean. It has a private deck and lovely view. They sleep under my pretty quilts, and I line dry the bed linens and they smell so good. I typically have fresh flowers on the kitchen table.

BUT….what they have requested over and over is a fire pit and a grill. A fire pit would mean that I would have to supply wood, and I would have to ensure that guests understand burn laws or how important it is to be mindful of grass fires. They don’t realize that our fire department is a volunteer fire department. Likewise, we’ve had a grill at this unit and the siding was melted. So, for me, the no grill no fire pit stays.

Share what you are. Or are not! Every guest reaching out to me during the booking process is advised that I am 17 miles from the interstate and there is no gas or grocery store for at least 12 miles. By advising them up front, they adjust their planning and, even though many do not believe it until they arrive, they are accepting of the limitations of this rural location.

Likewise, I do not allow smoking on the property–not just the unit but the property. I don’t make exceptions. I like to keep my business plan simple and as stress free as possible. I have rules, and I have them for a reason.

#15. It’s best to undercommit and over deliver. And that’s it!

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Mendota Villager June 2022

It’s been a while since we had a Villager newsletter. This has been due to many reasons — we used to print at least a few. We can no longer do that. Likewise, it can be difficult to get things together.

To make this easier, I took emails and created a free Mail Chimp account which will make distribution by email much easier than how it was done before. Likewise, there’s been a lot of cut and pasting!

Here’s the Villager for June 2022. It’s missing some things and that’s where you come in. If you want to include a birthday, a birth, or important news, comment here and I’ll collect the information for the next one or email rivercliffcottage@gmail.com with the subject VILLAGER.

Thanks! Here’s the Villager!

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Kaleidoscope of Stars Quilt

This quilt top was a fun one to make. I saw it on Pinterest and I found the pattern on ETSY. It was created by Kate Henderson. Her ETSY shop is Kate Henderson Quilts, and she lives in Australia.   

The fabric that I used for the quilt is a Moda fabric purchased at the Virginia Highlands Quilt Shop in Abingdon, Virginia. Kim is the owner of the shop, and she will actually be doing the long-arm quilting for this quilt. I hope to enter it in the Washington County Fair. It just looks like a county fair quilt. I am not entering it because it will win. I just want to show it off!

The fabric was called Story Time Fabric by American Jane, and I had the white background fabric from another project. The print fabric used a layer cake plus a charm pack.

I’m bordering the fabric next week and taking it to Kim. I like these big block quilts that do not require a lot of time, although I will admit to having the “stars” turned in the wrong direction several times. I’d post on Facebook, and people would tell me which stars were turned wrong. I could not see them!!! Had it not been for figuring out that others could find my mistakes more quickly than I could on my own, I’m certain this quilt would have stars pointed in the wrong direction.

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Alum Wells, Virginia

When driving up 802 between Mendota and Abingdon, there is a road sign that says “Alum Wells.” It’s on the right, and a friend of mine and I followed the sign to see what Alum Wells was.

We didn’t find anything except a narrow road that is no longer maintained (think private property) that goes to the river. We saw grazing land, a natural gas pipe line, woods, a swinging bridge that crossed the river, and the river.

What was Alum Wells?

While I still have this old newspaper subscription, I decided I’d look. Alum Wells was a thriving community. The community had a “stringer” who reported happenings in the area, and here is an example of just one of the reports. There was a Craig’s Mill School. This appeared in the Bristol Herald Courier on April 13, 1911.

I knew there was pottery in this area of what we now call Mendota. There was a Craig’s Mill Pottery Shop, a Wooten Pottery Shop and E. W. Mort Pottery Shop. I learned that E. W. Mort was also a Methodist minister, and as he grew older, he turned his head more toward that vocation than that as a potter. He was originally from the Shenandoah Valley (Strasburg) and when his father was killed in the Civil War, he mother moved him to her childhood home in Washington County, Virginia. I found a recurring ad in the Bristol News in the 1881+ era.

Mort's Pottery Ad in the Bristol News

Here’s a sample of Mort’s Pottery I found in an online auction site. This was from a 4/27/19 Spring Discovery Auction. The “sold” price was $480.

Here’s another venture from Alum Wells that appeared in the March 8, 1872 Bristol News:

Alum Wells Water Ad in 1872 Bristol News

And another from the Bristol News April 2, 1875:

Bristol News Alum Wells Water Ad 1875

And finally, Alum Wells, apparently, had a hotel and cabins that typically were for rent. This ad appeared in the Abingdon Virginia newspaper on May 17, 1872. I wish I had a picture!

Alum Wells VA 1872 Hotel Ad

What happened to the Alum Wells Hotel? Does. anyone have any additional information on Alum Wells? Please leave a comment in the comment area below so we can all see it!

Thank you!

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Bristol, Virginia’s Crystal Pool

When I grew up, it was a big deal to go to Crystal Pool. It was where all of the cool kids from our high school went; and well, we wanted be cool, too! Because of the distance, we didn’t get to go often so it was a very special time when we did get to go. I left the area for about 25 years and during that time, Crystal Pool closed. Today, as I drive on Wallace Pike, I see a vague footprint of what was once a popular local attraction.

So, we had snow today, and I started attempting to research Bristol’s old newspapers looking for a large snow event. I couldn’t find one — there probably is one but my search capabilities are still being refined.

What I did find was references to Crystal Pool. It was quite the attraction at one time and the fact that “filtered” water was used in the pool was something very important.

Here’s an ad from July 28, 1935.

What in the world is VIM? I saw it repeated over and over in different ads, but it was never defined. I suspect the V is for Vitality?

Here’s another where four Bristolians are pictured at Crystal Pool. While it’s a grainy picture, does anyone knows anything about these young women. From left to right, Mrs. Charles Oakley, Virginia O’Dell, Louise Bush, and Mrs. Henry Doriot, Jr. Could you imagine four women of that same age posing for a photograph today and being described as Mrs.?

Finally, Crystal Pool was so popular that there was bus service to the pool.

Again, what is VIM?

Looking through old newspapers (online) is addictive. What will I find next?

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In Mendota, June 10, 1953

In the June 11, 1953 Bristol Herald Courier, Jimmy Carson wrote a front page article entitled “Store, House Damaged at Mendota.”

When I was a little girl, Oscar Cross had a store in Mendota, and any time there was a storm on the horizon, he shut that store up tight as a tick, put his hat on and walked down to his house. Mother explained that his store had been “hit” by a tornado at a past time, and he remained afraid of storms.

I found the storm that frightened Mr. Cross so much in the June 11, 1953 Bristol Herald Courier. Jimmy Carson wrote a front page article entitled “Store, House Damaged at Mendota.”

And they were. The picture below is of Mr. Cross’ store and a nearby house following a June 10, 1953 storm. (Note…I never knew Mr. Cross operated his store out of this building. When I was a child, he operated in a small structure beside his house or in what we know as the Reynolds building.)

The caption under the two pictures read:

Mendota Storm Damage — what appeared to be a slight twister struck Mendota in Washington County, VA, some 12 miles Northwest of Bristol, about 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon, damaging the store building and home pictured. The winds of “whole gale” strength lifted the roof from the two-story store and hurled it some 100 feet across a vacant lot onto the roof of a two-story house, scattering crumpled tin roofing and broken roof eaves other a 300 foot area. The picture shows fallen bricks and debris and a broken power line. Note hole in top right of house through which a loose board apparently hurtled. Persons in both buildings miraculously escaped injury.

6/11/1953 Bristol Herald Courier

The picture is what I have known as Nunley’s store building; but, apparently, it also belonged to Mr. Cross at one time or another. I see the side steps, etc.

And here’s the house…

Does anyone recognize the house? The article states that it is the home of Garland Nunley, but I did not realize the Nunleys lived anywhere other than the store building. Is it Edna Linnen Parker’s house or is it a house no longer standing?

“According to O. M. Cross, who operates a general store and gas station and who occupies the second floor of the store building as his residence, winds in the Mendota area seemed to change their course shortly before 3 pm after heavy rains had subsided.

Cross said, “I had just opened the front doors of my store and had sat down when the doors slammed closed and bricks began to fall. My wife, who was upstairs, came running down the steps and I grabbed her and my 14-year old son who as with me in the store, and we ran two doors down the street into the basement of a vacant house. By this time, it was over. “

A customer in the store at the time, Jeff Banner of near Mendota, left the building, too, and with the Cross family miraculously escaped injury.

The article goes on to say:

The slight twister carried the roof of the Cross store some 100 feet over a vacant lot and onto the roof of the Garland Nunley residence, sending debris and shattered timbers over a 300-foot area.

In the Nunley home at the time were: Mr. and Mrs. Sam Nunley, parents of Garland and Bernard Nunley, J. A. Statzer, a neighbor, Mrs. Garland Nunley, two children of the Garland Nunleys and three children of the Bernard Nunleys.

The article goes onto talk about damages in other areas such as Norton, VA. When Mendota wasn’t the subject, I lost interest. Please leave a comment below if you know anything else that you can add to this piece of Mendota history.

So, this was appropriate as today I purchased a new Midland Weather Alert radio to notify us of storms.

Update: I did find out where the house pictured above was located. It was located where today’s Baptist Church parsonage is located. It subsequently burned down.

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In Mendota…May 10, 1938

I grew up listening to my parents discuss the Great Depression. Everything but poverty seemed scarce during the years of 1929 – 1939, yet they felt fortunate to live in Mendota as food was plentiful due to the river as a source of grinding meal and small family farms with gardens and livestock. It was during that time that Mendota’s bank closed, the silica mining stopped (I blogged about the silica mining operation in March, 1916. It has a few pictures which you can see here.) and Mendota’s future as an academic spotlight along with future industrial potential changed. It was also near that time passenger rail ceased in Mendota– but not without a fight.

From the Bristol Herald Courier on May 10, 1938:

Council Adopts Resolution Asking Continuance of Passenger Service

Calling the operation of passenger trains on the Bristol-St. Charles line a “public necessity” the town council of Mendota has adopted resolutions protesting against the proposal of the Southern Railway Company to discontinue all passenger train service between Bristol and St. Charles.

The railway’s application to be allowed to discontinue service on that line is now in the hands of the Virginia Corporation Commission which will hold a hearing on the application May 17.

Saying the discontinuance of passenger train service would be “very detrimental to the Mendota section, as well as to the railway itself,” the town council called attention to the “worse than bad” roads in that section and asserted, “It is believed that the greatest potential tonnage of freight along the entire Southern system is located in the Mendota section.”

Only 15 Families In Mendota Have Cars

“Few people residing between Mendota and Benhams own automobiles, because of the poor condition of the roads,” the council declared, adding that out of 60 families living in the corporate limits of Mendota, only 15 have automobiles.

Commenting more specifically on the inadequacy of highway travel facilities in the Mendota section, this council said in its resolutions:

“At present between Hilton and Benhams, along said railway line, a distance of 17 miles, there’s no bus service whatsoever except that a bus comes to Mendota once a week. Between Hilton and Mendota, a distance of 10 miles, there are eleven grade railway crossings, which fact indicates the kind and dangerous nature of the highway if such it can be called. Between Mendota and Phillips, a distance of 3 miles, there is an impassable river, with no highway bridge on a direct line, making the distance by bus, if it could be traveled at all, about 20 miles. Between Phillips and Leonards (Wolf Run post office), a distance of 2 miles, there is no direct road, the distance as a bus would travel if al all, being at least 12 miles.”

The council observed also that the present train schedules give a “highly efficient mail service specially from the East-New York, Washington, Richmond etc.” which would not be available if the train service were discontinued.

Saying the proposal to abolish all passenger train service on the line “could not have originated except with railway officials far away, strangers to local conditions,” the council declared the railway officials ask the state Corporation Commission to set its seal of approval upon a proposition that is destructive of their own interest as well as that of the public.

The railway’s proposal would retard the future development of natural resources in the Mendota section, the council complained, saying:

“For example, the Mendota section has enough high grade glass sand to supply all the glass factories in the United States, and all the potteries in the United States with flint, for centuries to come, including refractory material for furnaces and kilns. “

“Mendota is only four miles from producing natural gas wells, with apparently an immense natural gas field to the north and northwest. With soda ash at Saltville and a high grade limestone close by, it is said that there is no place in the world in which the main glass making materials occur so close together. It is believed that the greatest potential tonnage of freight along the entire Southern System is located in the Mendota section.”

Copies of the resolutions were sent to the state Corporation Commission, to Governor Price, the State Senator C. J. Harkrader and to Delegates W. N. Neff and Donald T. Saint.

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