I remember fondly weekends at the pool with my Mother while Dad played golf. We always had the umbrella that backed up to the 10th tee, directly across from the cabanas, and Dad and his foursome would walk the short distance up to the pool to say hello to their wives and children as they made the turn. The "creek" at the bottom of the hill below the tee had marvelous things like tadpoles and such and we couldn't wait for the last golfer to pass so we could go down and explore!

Just a quick story to continue the truly "small town" flavor of Keswick: Edie Ballard--who is pictured on the site with Chap's golf trophy--was a friend of my Mom's and lives down the road from me. Edie herself played golf at the time and would leave her two boys with us at the pool while she played. I see her once a year at a neighborhood get-together and she still calls me by my childhood nickname!

I often wondered about the one column myself; another mystery yet to be solved! Having always had a terribly poor memory, at one point I vaguely remember "everyone" talking about weird twists of fate that befell Keswick's owners--whether it be death, bankruptcy or some other misfortune, I can't dredge up. Hopefully your book will jog the brain cells; I'm really looking forward to reading it.

I, of course, think "our era" was the most representative of Charlottesville. It may have been unspoken, but we all seemed to feel Keswick was perfect for the types of folks that either weren't quite of the circumstance or "caliber" to afford or feel comfortable at Farmington or just had a more down-to-earth mentality/quality about them and enjoyed the type of camaraderie that only Keswick afforded. When it closed, most of us did naturally gravitate to Farmington, but it was never the same.

Suzanne S. Word (daughter of Helen & Montie Smith)