Have you ever had God open one door, then abruptly close it? I have.
My husband’s family has property in their family that dates to the revolutionary war, inherited from his mother’s side. Located on Gwynn’s Island, VA, (GI) the waterfront property overlooks Milford Haven, where the battle of Cricket Hill took place during the Revolutionary War. Owned by Humphrey Gwynn at that time, Pocahantas gave him the land for saving her life. Read the history of the island here.
Ron’s mother, Page, began life on the isalnd, born in the family home. During her dying days, while battling Alzheimer’s, she still remembered her childhood on Gwynn’s and her husband’s 2 deployments to Vietnam, her best and worst memories. Nancy, Page’s youngest sister moved to the island with her husband and expanded the original dwelling. Pictures of the house are below.
My husband introduced me to the property when we dated. He spent Saturdays mowing the property, it took six hours. Located an hour from where we lived, two hours spent driving time and four hours mowing, it took the whole day. At that time, his family owned a second property on the island, Uncle Pres’s. Inland from the water, they used it as a rental property. Walter Preston Hurst married Ida Belle Callis, better known as “Auntie.” They married the same day as my grandfather, Earl Minick, married Nannie Craig. Both couples tied the knot on July 3, 1912. When Uncle Pres died in 1977, Page convinced Bob to buy the house.
Having never heard of GI before, it all seemed mysterious to me. The first time I saw its view Ron sent me a picture of the waterfront after he finished mowing. I couldn’t believe my eyes, the beauty overwhelming.
It didn’t take long for my husband to allow me to help with the mowing. When my husband first started mowing the property as a child, he used a non-motorized push mower. By the time I began to mow, I had the privilege of using a 1974 Wheel Horse, a beast. We replaced her with a John Deere X350 Riding Lawn Mower, much easier to drive, but not nearly as much fun as the Wheel Horse. For the first couple of years, we drove over, mowed the property and come home. With no bathroom and no privacy, wed didn’t have a choice.
Originally, White’s property united with the family property. Ron’s mom had three siblings: Ruby, Les, and Nancy. When their parents died, Ron’s grandparents, split the land into four slices for the children.
Nancy, and her husband Earl lived in the family home on the island at the time, taking care of their mother until she passed away. Ruby gave her slice to Nancy as thank you for taking care of their mother. Ron’s mom Page, bought Les’s slice from him creating two property’s. When Nancy and Earl decided to RV full-time, they sold the property to White, who tore down the family home and built a huge yellow mansion that blocked the view from the family property.
We bought our fist camper, Lucky, in 2014. A woman Ron met through work inspired us. She had a trailer she kept in the Outer Banks and visited on weekends. Camping offered an affordable way to travel with dogs. We purchased Lucky from Scott, whom we met through Craig’s List. Naming her Lucky because of a sticker the previous owner had on the window, we spent our first night on the island that Labor Day with Lucky. The picture below is of that trip.
We had a truly magical weekend together exploring the island on our bikes and learning its hidden secrets. Beautiful weather added to the magi. I met Debbie, Davie Crockett’s daughter. His wife Shirley and Page grew up best friends up until a property dispute over the easement at the front of the properties came between them. They never spoke again after that. Shirley died first, Page didn’t go to the funeral or to see her before she died.
Staying on the island until Monday morning, the next day, my nephew, Cody died. My heart broke into pieces, never the same again. An idealistic weekend escorted in a long period of mourning.
GI became a place of healing for me over the next few years. Ron and I would go over regularly to care for the property. When Ron’s mom died, we laid her to rest in the Gwynn’s Island Cementary. We both healed from our losses as we worked with our hands to care for the place his mother loved so dearly. The shed became necessary when Uncle Pres’s house sold, and we needed a place to store the mower.
Ron built stairs down to the water for easy access. I loved kayaking, Ron not so much. But he did it for me.
In the late 1980’s Ron’s parents started to build on the land. They laid the foundation for a future retirement home. Page’s dreamed of one day returning to her beloved island after following Bob’s Army career. Leone, Page’s mom, got sick and died while the family lived in Germany, making it impossible for her to come home.
A tornado destroyed their next door neighbor’s home, flattening it, when the family lived in Missouri. Ron remembers playing in the yard when the tornado came, “out of nowhere,” in his words. Page huddled in the storm cellar with her chidlren as the tornado passed through. Page protected her kids, as an act of God raged over their heads.
Bob, Page’s husband, did 2 one year tours in Vietnam during the war. Page gave birth to their second child, Cindy during one of them. Bob served his time in the military, but so did Page, the unsung hero that kept her family together while he achieved success. Finally, after years of doing what Bob wanted, they did what Page wanted. And so work on the house began.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation became the deciding factor where the house sat, requiring a certain distance between the foundation and the waterfront. Once they poured the foundation started, it became grandfathered in for any further changes. So Bob and Page laid the cinder-block foundation. Ron can’t remember the actual year work began, away at JMU at the time.
Ron clearly remembers his sister’s wedding reception in 1993, it rained. Dressed in a white tux, someone got their car stuck and they had to push it out, not making it a good day. Shortly after that they began to build the house, somewhere around 1996 or 97. Work continued on the house at a slow pace, spending cash and not incurring debt.
When Page began to show signs of Alzheimer’s, work ceased on the property and the house fell into disrepair.
Married to Ron in 2012, I saw Page’s dream for the first time that summer. Each year, as we took care of the property, the house deterioated more and more. Fierce storms blew in off of the water bringing strong winds. Page always talked about the Storm of 1933, her brother Les born in it. With no bridge, her daddy went by boat to get the doctor. Only three miles long, perched on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay, the island can take a beating. Page’s dream home died along with her, except for her son, determined to keep it alive.
When the stone chimney, built incorrectly, became a safety hazard, it forced a decision. Over time, the stone’s tore away from the wall. Ron became concerned it would fall onto the neighbor’s house. The pictures below show the light coming through the gap between the wall and the fireplace. Ron talked to his dad about finishing the house. They decided to turn Page’s dream into a rental creating another source of income for his father.
Of course, turning the house into a rental meant more work for us. Ron and his dad wanted to finish the house the way Page would have wanted it finished. Wanting to salvage as much as possible, no one wanted to do the work. Ron contacted three different contractors, none of them willing to take the job.
Ron’s dad suggested my brother, Ron, whome he trusted. When Page could no longer walk up and down stairs, my brother built the needed ramp. Ron also understood our intentions, and desire to see Page’s dream come to fruition.
I’ll never forget the first time we went over after work began. I said goodbye to Ron and I’s secret place we came to love as we worked to preserve it for his mom. A place we had shared good and bad times and now would share with the world. A place where others can come and find the peace we found.
Ron’s sister and him do not have a close relationship. Upset with her father for making Ron financial Power of Attorney instead of her, she acted poorly. Informing her in an email that the work began, Ron texted her updates. However, when she saw the work done on the property father’s day of that year, she immediately called an attorney and sued us.
What we didn’t know that in May of 2018 she had her father declared incompetent. We never found out until July 2, 2019 when we received a letter from her lawyer, accusing us of elder abuse. Ironically, she committed elder abuse not telling anyone of his diagnosis, and proceeding to take money from him. Five different occasions she took money from her father for her and her children. Her father did gift us money during the 14 month time period she had him declared incompetent, but once we learned of the diagnosis, we returned the gift.
The entire time Ron’s dad made decisions, he legally couldn’t. We had no idea.
July 2, 2019 changed everything. We could no longer work on the house. His sister repeatedly accused us of stealing the money and using it to build a summer home for ourselves. The invoices my brother, a Class A Licensed Contractor, provided for the work done on the house didn’t satisfy her. She refused all efforts at reconciliation.
As a result, we had to sell the property. On April 30th, the property sold to Gerald and Forrest Taylor, buying it to finish and use as a rental. However, Mr. White, purchased the property at much higher price a month later, reuniting the two parcels.
God took us on a turbulent journey. From the start, I had threefold prayer: progress on the house, peace in the family, blessings for everyone involved. I’ve prayed it repeatedly since work began. God answered my prayer. Progress continues on the house, peace in the family and blessings for all. His sister will no longer have the GI to fight over.
In the settlement, we required Cindy to pay back the money she took from her father, not requiring the kids to return theirs. She could not prove we had stolen any money. Her constant accusations continue, even though she can’t prove any of them.
God led the way, preparing us to easily let go. After Ron signed at 2:00 p.m. on the 24th of April, 2020, we went golfing. We walked nine holes at the Cardinal Course in Newport News, one of our favorite things to do. Now that we don’t have to take care of the property, we’ll have more time for golf.
Nothing proved God’s leading more than the way our chapter of GI ended.
We found out Wednesday, April 22 that we could close on Friday. Finally done with the island, we could both barely believe it. But we still had two issues: selling the John Deere tractor and the utility trailer.
I awoke the next morning, and in my Bible reading read these verses:
“You sit around and slander your brother— your own mother’s son. While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you.”
Psalm 50:2021 NIV
I knew then the time had come for God to move. I just didn’t know how.
When Ron got up, I asked him if he wanted me to go with him to GI to get the tractor. He said he’d rather go alone. Understanding he needed space to say goodbye on his last trip to the Island, I didn’t mind. On the way, he called Davy Crockett, the neighbor on the left, asking him if he could store the tractor on his property until he figured out what to do with it. Not only did Davy say yes, he bought the tractor. Ron couldn’t believe it, he called immediately to tell me. We praised God.
The utility trailer still remained. Purchasing a tarp to cover the tractor until Davy could put it in the garage, he went to Lowe’s. On his way, he saw another utility trailer sitting along the road, for sale for $1500. He decided to do the same thing so he wouldn’t have to drag the trailer back to our house.
On his return to the property, he saw a couple looking at the utility trailer. He stopped and asked him if they were interested in buying one. They said yes, but didn’t want to spend $1500. He told them he had one to sell for $400. They came, looked at the trailer and bought it. God took care of everything for us.
As Ron talked to the couple who bought the trailer, he told them about selling the property. They said, “It’s the end of a chapter for you.”
True, one chapter ended, making room for the next one to begin.
