Middle Ground: Travels with Ann

This past summer I had the opportunity to meet Willa Cather’s Virginia relatives, thanks to Ann Romines. Ann lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a professor of English at George Washington University, she is one of the most outstanding Cather scholars in the country, she is a member of the Cather Foundation Board of Governors, and she is an expert on Willa Cather’s Virginia connections. I was quite pleased when she invited me to attend the 50th Cather family annual reunion near Winchester, Virginia. As readers know, Cather was born in Virginia; lived there until she was almost ten years old; and, later in her writing career, completed a novel set in the area of Virginia where she lived as a child.

As the road trip up from the Washington DC area began, I knew almost immediately that I was with an accomplished tour guide. We soon passed Willow Shade, the home Cather lived in for most of her nine years in Virginia. I had toured this home earlier during the Virginia-based Cather International Seminar in 1997.

Ann was anxious to show me Cather’s great grandmother’s house and quickly found it. The house is the prototype for Sapphira’s house in Cather’s Sapphira and the Slave Girl. Ann pointed out where the mill would have stood, though it is gone now.

We also viewed the house where Cather was born in what is now Gore, Virginia. (The name was changed from Back Creek Valley to Gore in the 1890’s.) Efforts are underway to save this home. There is much work that needs to be done fairly soon, I would guess.

On the road again, Ann continued to share the history of Cather’s family. We found the Round Hill Fire and Rescue Company building, which the Cathers had obviously rented for the day. Ann carefully carried in her blueberry buckle in high hopes that it would be a success. A success, of course, means that she would have an empty pan at the end of the day—and she did! I can verify that it was a delicious blueberry buckle.

Once inside, the scene was typical of my experience with family reunions. There were tables across the entire front of the large room where women were busy arranging casseroles, salads, cakes, and pies—all homemade from prized family recipes. I was soon to be initiated into the revels of home style Virginia cooking.

The main activity was eating. Once we had gorged ourselves and agreed that the food was wonderful, games were played and announcements made. There was a drawing for prizes. Being from Nebraska, I was excited to win the prize for coming the farthest distance.

As the reunion began to wind down, Cather family members were bustling around distributing the last of a very large supply of applebutter. The Cather family has an annual applebutter-making event. Ann and I left each carrying a jar of applebutter, the warmth of goodbye hugs, and invitations to come again next year. Ann also remembered to bring her empty dessert dish back to the car.

On the highway again, the tour continued and we were soon off on a side road, heading toward grave yards where Cather’s Virginia relatives were buried. Ann informed me that we had turned onto Hollow Road, one of the oldest roads in Virginia. We were traveling for the most part through deep Virginia forest with incredibly tall trees lining both sides of the road.

Occasionally the forest broke for an extended golden meadow, basking in afternoon sun. Ann knew exactly where to go when we arrived at the two graveyards, and we were soon again among Cather’s relatives—a silent reunion this time. Regretfully, we had to return to the highway.

Back in Winchester, I wanted to find the Larrick Tavern, which was founded in 1742. The Larrick name is common in the area of Bladen, Nebraska. In fact, my husband is related to the Larricks from that area. His mother used to talk about her Virginia relatives. I don’t have proof positive, but I suspect that the Larricks of Virginia and the Larricks of Bladen are from the same family. That would make sense. The Cathers were not the only Virginians to come to Nebraska.

We made a last stop at a roadside fruit stand, bought a half-bushel of Fredericks County peaches, which we then split between the two of us. I was made to understand that these peaches were the best peaches grown in Virginia. Yes, they were very good. Then it was back to the Washington DC area.

Back in Nebraska, visitors to the Cather Historic Site can receive guided tours through Red Cloud and the sixty-mile country tour of Cather sites. The tours become virtual tours through Cather’s six prairie novels. Ann’s tour provided the same experience for Cather’s Virginia novel, Sapphira and the Slave Girl. I have also experienced Quebec, Mesa Verde, the Sante Fe area, Paris, and Provence. In each instance, the sites beautifully reflect specific Cather novels and each area claims the famed author. The “middle ground” is indeed wide.