THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512010139
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
KNOWING WHAT to give and where to find it - is a holiday challenge. Unlike one fabled character, we don't have a workshop full of elves working around the clock to meet our gift-giving needs.
The following items, gleaned from a recent shopping swing through Suffolk, may include just the thing for someone on your list.
Nansemond Drug Co., 115 N. Main St., is a good place to start. Along with cards, candles, baskets, candy and ornaments, there are unique gifts and stocking stuffers of varying size and price.
Peggy Hopewell said the store aims for ``neat, interesting things at affordable prices.''
It's a great place for Santa collectors. Among them are a draft-dodger, a doll-like creation made to place in front of a door crack to keep out winter's chill; and a Santa candle holder, two-faced so guests on both sides of a table can see his face.
There are also pie-slice figurines of Santa, reindeer, angels and snowmen, most with cloth hats.
The Christmas cow family simply must be seen to be appreciated.
The ball ornament of the Pilot Club of Suffolk and the brass ornament of the Suffolk Woman's Club are also available there. (539-3414.)
Leggett's Seafood, 340 N. Main St., might not seem a likely place for holiday shopping, but a Suffolk native who received some smoked salmon from there last Christmas suggested we include it.
Bob Jones, a Leggett's manager, said the store will be stocking up on fresh oysters, tuna, flounder, mahimahi, swordfish and rockfish. The smoked salmon is available with a couple days' notice.
Gift certificates are available, and the shop also stocks pecans and hard candy during the holidays. (539-5331.)
No gift-hunting trip would be complete without a visit to the shop at Riddick's Folly, 510 N. Main St. A number of items are in the Noah's ark motif.
``They were very popular in the 19th Century,'' explained director Susan Ward. In that era, she said, children were allowed to play with Noah's ark toys on the Sabbath.
The shop also offers a porcelain tea service for children, and stick horses to be ridden like broomsticks.
Suffolk street scenes, suitable for framing, are certain to bring back memories. There's also a Riddick's Folly ornament and peanut note pads and cocktail napkins from the Nansemond River Pilot Club. (934-1390.)
Across town, on Route 10, is N&B Custom Framing Gallery, 4324 Godwin Blvd.
Proprietor David B. Nelms, an artist, offers, among other things, his originals and limited edition prints.
He uses a framing package to tell a story. A nautical chart, for example, serves as backing for a picture of a fishing trip.
``Everything is done on premises, cut and built on site,'' he said. (255-0318)
If you've ever tasted Moravian Christmas cookies, you'll be pleased to learn that Suffolk is home to Mary Lawrence Harrell, cookie chairman of the Tidewater Salem College Alumni Association.
Proceeds from the cookie sales benefit the woman's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, N.C. The school is associated with the Moravian Church.
This year, Harrell is selling ginger, sugar and lemon cookies sealed in 7 oz. tubes.
The best part - after the taste, of course - is that the cookies contain no fat. (539-4791)
If you hurry, you might be able to take someone on your gift list on the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society annual Candlelight Tour. Today is the final day.
Before or after the tour, check out the society's Holiday House, at 220 N. Main St., offering Christmas decorations, peanuts and other food items packaged for Christmas. The Riddick's Folly gift shop also is offering baked goods for sale today.
Happy holiday discovering! MEMO: Got a discovery you'd like to share? Call Dawson Mills at 489-9547.
ILLUSTRATION: Photos by DAWSON MILLS
Brass candlesticks surround a Christmas angel on a shelf in the
Riddick's Folly gift shop.
Peggy Hopewell shows off ornaments from the Pilot Club and the
Suffolk Woman's Club at Nansemond Drug.
by CNB