THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 11, 1996 TAG: 9611090001
SECTION: FRONT MISCELLANEOUS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 65 lines
There she is, Virginia Beach's own Meyera Oberndorf, cozying up with the big boys like New York City's Rudolph Giuliani and Chicago's Richard Daley.
In case you missed it, Mayor Oberndorf was selected by Newsweek magazine last week as one of America's 25 most-dynamic mayors.
In the cover story, Oberndorf is lauded for coming clean with her breast-cancer diagnosis on the eve of last spring's elections.
Like all national magazines, Newsweek dates its issues a week in advance so it will look as if it's really on top of things. The new issue will hit the stands later today sweeping the mayors aside, but if you hurry you may still be able to get your own collector's copy of the Nov. 11 edition.
The covers story is called ``City Slickers.'' Confederate souvenirs
Alberta Martin of Elba, Ala., believed to be the last living widow of a Confederate veteran, is about 90 years old. In 1927, at age 21, she became the third wife of 81-year-old William Jaspar Martin; his $50-a-month pension was not the least of his attractions. The couple had a son, now age 68.
Martin died in 1932. The widow married his teen-age grandson. The news that ``the last widow of a Confederate veteran'' had died in a South Carolina nursing in October 1990 prompted Alberta Martin to protest. She claims the last-widow title.
Meanwhile, the Civil War - ``The Late Unpleasantness,'' as many Southerners spoke of it - is a lively moneymaker 130 years after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. Confederate memorabilia - flags, guns, decorations - are snapped up by collectors. There's even a market for bikinis inspired by the Confederate battle flag.
It's enough to make a Rebel yell. Now hear this!
Too few residents of Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina have experienced the charms of the handsome, admission-free Hampton Roads Naval Museum at Nauticus, The National Maritime Center, on the downtown-Norfolk waterfront.
Formerly quartered at Norfolk Naval Station, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum contains a pleasingly presented collection of U.S. Navy artifacts, charts, uniforms, weapons. . . . Dedicated volunteer docents are available to guide visitors through the exhibits.
The Naval Museum also presents each month lectures, discussions or dramatic portrayals centering on historical events. Last summer, the ``ship's company'' of the CSS Virginia addressed audiences in the museum's Civil War Gallery. At 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, Ira Dye, author of The Fatal Cruise of the Argus, will view the Age of Sail through the eyes of sailors on hand during the 1789 Haitian slave revolt, the Chesapeake Affair, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.
History buffs and parents trying to whet children's appetites for history could do worse than drop anchor for a spell at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Enjoy the show. Bad Bet
Kudos to Manassas Park voters who were not suckered by the lure of an enriched tax base by promoters of off-track betting last Tuesday.
When the ballots were counted, Manassas Park became the fifth Northern Virginia jurisdiction to give off-track-betting parlors a big thumbs down.
Now the Colonial Downs folks will have to wander around the state some more looking for cities and towns that are not particular about what kind of business moves into their neighborhood. by CNB