The late Randolph Norton loved journalism. During his career, he rose to editor of the Raleigh Register in Beckley, W.Va., and of the Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, N.C.
He was born in 1906, one of 11 children, to Hervie and Olivia Jane (Ailsworth) Norton in Sandy Bottom, which became Deltaville in 1909, one of 11 children. He kept a summer home in Deltaville during most of his later life.
He published one of my favorite books, “Old Days on the Chesapeake and in Deltaville, Virginia,” in 1991 and while working on my book, “Soldiers At The Doorstep — Civil War Lore,” I spent most of a summer day with Randolph on his porch overlooking Jackson Creek talking about his growing up in Deltaville.
The interview was taped and transcribed and I recently came across the transcription of the interview and will use portions of it in this column for a couple months.
Life was much different at the turn of the 20th century. During the freeze of 1917-18, the Chesapeake Bay region froze solid for 52 days. Our local commerce evolved mostly around boat traffic and the freeze shut-down traffic that brought goods and services from Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Norfolk.
“The creek, river and entire bay froze,” said Randolph. “We could walk to the lighthouse (Stingray Point Lighthouse) on ice and back. We could have walked across the bay if we had wanted to.”
Towards the end of the freeze, the stores were running out of canned goods and other foods. “Momma kept a big cabbage patch in a field that we owned. During the freeze it (warmed up enough to) rain for several days (and at nights it froze up solid again so the ground was covered in ice.) “Horace (Randolph’s brother) and I had skates and we would skate everywhere we went. During the freeze, we could skate on paths and roads.”
With food scarce, Mrs. Norton had a regular customer stream wanting cabbage, milk and eggs. “My mother had a little business of her own and the money she made was hers,” said Randolph. “She sold potatoes, cabbage, milk, cream, butter and eggs in the winter.”
During the freeze, the cabbage patch froze solid preserving the cabbage heads and when customers came wanting a head of cabbage, Randolph and Horace had the job of harvesting the cabbage.
“Horace and I would skate up the creek, pull ourselves up the hill (along the shore) and skate across the field (covered in ice). We had a bag and knife and we’d cut the cabbage and skate back to give it to Momma. The customer would pick it up and pay her.” During that winter, Mrs. Norton had steady income coming in. A reminder that during this pandemic our grocery stores are crowded.
During warmer months, Mrs. Norton sold milk, butter, eggs and vegetables from her garden. Randolph recalls a tragedy that brought his mother to tears.
In their sitting room there was a large wood stove that was idle during the summer. During warmer months she used the wood stove to hide the family money. Mr. Norton had given her $60 for safe-keeping and she stored it inside the stove. “It came cold in September and Momma forgot about the money. She built a fire in the stove and burned it up. I remember her crying over it. I hated to see her cry!”
It happened right here in Rivah country!
