Category Archives: Rural Life in Mendota

Daily adventures in a rural farming community.

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.

Loading

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!

Loading

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!

Loading

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.

Loading

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!

Loading

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?

Loading

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.

Loading

Gilmore Girls and my MCL Tear

I have learned two things in the past three weeks.

I learned that a Medial Collateral Ligament tear hurts like hell, and it typically takes about 6-8 weeks to heal. I’m on week four. The first week was a pass because I got a steroid shot that relieved the pain and from a basic x-ray, I learned my knees are in pretty good shape. Week 2 was back at the doctor’s office unable to put weight on my right leg again! My knees might look okay, but you can’t see soft tissue in a typical x-ray. I left in a velcro brace. Week 3 opened with my MRI appointment where we learned exactly what was going on-I have a Medial Collateral Ligament tear.

I have rested this knee and treated it like a baby in hopes of fast healing because it has absolutely stopped me. I go for my PT assessment tomorrow. Yay!

This brings me to the second thing that I’ve learned. I discovered the entire 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls on Netflix. That’s 153 episodes. It was so good. I never would have taken the time to watch it, but with my MCL tear, it was a good time to do so. I’m telling you this in case you have an MCL tear. Trust me. Hook up with the Gilmore Girls.

So, I’m grateful for several things at this time. I am grateful I live in an age where things like my MCL can be appropriately diagnosed so they I will heal properly and get back to work. I am happy that I have internet which allows me to stream shows like Gilmore Girls. I am also grateful for 800 milligram ibuprofen tablets.

There are many things to give thanks for in this world, but tonight, I am grateful for ibuprofen, MRI’s, doctors who know how to read them, and Netflix. So as others are sending prayers of gratitude for major things, I’m over here just lifting up Netflix.

You are where you are, and that is where I am.

Loading

Relief

Blogs are not “in style”. It’s why people don’t blog anymore. They find that sharing on Instagram Stories, etc. is sufficient. However, if you’ve ever had a blog, you might better understand what I’m going to say. t’s very, very difficult to close a blog down. It’s very personal. It’s got a bit of history. In mine, it also has some of the history of my community.

I recently lost my blog. I didn’t back it up, and while I maintain a website here and there, I am not highly skilled in the “back end” of a website. At any rate, my blog had a fatal error. While I DID back up my site once about two years ago, it was on my old decrepit laptop that I used last year. When I attempted to find the backup, I had no mouse to look for the folder! My current laptop has a touch pad and all of the laptop mice have scurried away!

However, I started “messing” in WordPress, and I somehow figured out that I might have a recovery method. The long and the short of this is that I got access to the recovered blog, went into the backend and removed the problem plug in. I knew what the plug in was that was giving me issues because WordPress had messaged me. I just could not get into my blog. Instead, I got the white screen of death.

I’m so happy tonight that I have my blog back. I am going to update it weekly. It makes me so much more intentional in how I spend my time, and I need that.

For this week, ending today on Friday, November 20, I have done the following:

Big accomplishment: Recovered this blog. Yay me! I feel like a genius.

Read one book: “The Year of Less” by Cait Flanders. It was a great starting point for January when I like to declutter. I recommend you read it if you find yourself with closets full of things you don’t wear and a habit of shopping when you are out of sorts.

I took one good picture. I did not do this intentionally. I was impressed that when the foliage is turning gray and we’ve had below freezing temperatures several nights, this fading rose was still beautiful and yanked out my iPhone. One of the great things about walking my dog is that I notice things.

And my favorite find of the week has been raspberries for $3.98 at Sam’s Club. I cannot eat enough of these.

Last, I am grateful for so many things this year. While it has been a year of not eating out, not gathering and not doing many things, it still has been a good year. One of the smallest things, but it is still important to me, is this RiverCliff Cottage. I’m thankful it’s back.

Loading