James River Club Restores Guest House; Enjoys Picnic at Northfield Plantation Cumberland, Virginia

by Dick Rice

On a beautiful, sunny Saturday, June 6th, James River Club members enjoyed a picnic lunch at the Northfield Plantation in Cumberland, Virginia to celebrate the completion of our project to completely restore the guest house adjoining the main house. Northfield, first settled in 1820, is being restored by Northfield Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to provide a safe haven for young women struggling with challenges such as eating disorders, self-injury, and depression, which may be accompanied by an unplanned pregnancy. Additional information is available at their web site: http://northfieldfoundation.org/Home/tabid/152/Default.aspx.

The large mansion has a small guest house for visiting parents, etc., which James River Kiwanis adopted as a project for restoration last year under club President Harril Whitehurst. Work on the guest house was extensive, including interior cleanup, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, sheetrock, interior/exterior painting, carpeting, etc., with a total cost to the club of nearly $10,000. Due to building permit requirements, much of the work needed to be done by licensed professionals, but without the generous contributions of volunteer work, materials, and equipment, the "retail" cost would have been well over twice as much. Member Sonny Sneed was instrumental in coordinating the work.

Pictured is the group in front of the resetored guest house and about to enjoy a wonderful picnic lunch, provided by Betty Bell and Gus Lamond.