THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994 TAG: 9409230256
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Susie Stoughton
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Bob Crostic's terse answers - ``Yes,'' ``No,'' and ``Maybe'' - often belie his sharp wit and caring spirit.
Crostic, a Suffolk farrier - commonly called a blacksmith or horseshoer - is known for the twinkle in his blue eyes and for his willingness to help others.
This summer, he was diagnosed with cancer, and since then, he's been on the receiving end. And he's found it difficult.
``He's always been such a giver,'' said Joy White, a customer and friend.
White and Robin Welch, another customer, recently organized a benefit trail ride to help with Crostic's mounting medical bills. The event last Sunday was a great success, they said, attracting 175 riders and raising $3,550.
``It's just a drop in the bucket for what he's going to need down the road,'' said White, an equine masseuse who lives in Whaleyville.
Crostic is her ``second father,'' she said. He shoed her first pony when she was 10 and has been caring for her horses ever since. ``I don't care when you call him or what's the problem, he always shows up,'' she said.
The ride gave people a chance to repay him for the good he's done.
Crostic, saying little about his surgery in June to remove a brain tumor, removed his baseball cap to show his bald head and the scruffy fringe just beginning to grow back - blond this time.
Before leaving the hospital, he found the cancer had spread to his esophagus and now he's undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Crostic, who will be 60 on Saturday, has been shoeing horses for 26 years, traveling from Disputanta in Prince George County to Elizabeth City, N.C. This year he is president of the Virginia Horseshoers Association.
He and his wife, Emily, have called Suffolk home for 15 years.
``The support we have had from our family, our church - Holy Neck Christian - and our friends is really what has kept us going in this time of uncertainty,'' said his wife.
Since June, five local farriers have handled his more than 200 customers.
``When he started, you could hardly get a farrier to give you the time of day,'' she said. ``They were afraid you would take customers away. Now these boys are doing his work as well as theirs and giving him the money.''
Welch, Suffolk Iron Works controller, said the benefit ride started small.
``It just grew,'' she said. ``We had people walk up and say, `Here's another $10 or $15.' It was overwhelming.''
Welch moved to Whaleyville two years ago after getting tired of congestion in Virginia Beach. Unable to reach her regular farrier, who usually kept her waiting a week, she called Crostic one day. He came right out.
``He's just that kind of a guy,'' she said.
Countless people - many who didn't know Crostic - helped with the ride.
The owners of Shibui Ni Arabians let the participants park trailers on their property. And Union Camp Corp. and various farmers let the riders cross their fields. Members of the Southeastern Association of Trail Riders marked the trails, and volunteers patrolled all day to make sure no one got lost or hurt.
``That was so overwhelming to Bob,'' Welch said. ``He couldn't understand why these people were doing this for him. They don't even know him.''
Businesses donated food, drinks and ice for concessions and items for prizes. The Whaleyville Fire Department lined up people with four-wheel-drive vehicles to stand by with mobile phones and citizens band radios. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Robin Welch, left, and Joy White support their friend, Bob Crostic,
by raising funds for his cancer treatments.
by CNB