People of Crozet Archives

July 20, 2012October 16, 2012

Marcia McGee – People of Crozet

Marcia McGee, proprietress of Trailside Coffee in Old Trail, has been in the Crozet area her entire life. While we were talking, she said that told me that she’d shot at a groundhog that was near the grain silo that was where her cash register currently stands.

Q: What do you love about Crozet?
A: (said with a big laugh) … It’s a love-hate relationship; I know everybody and I know everybody.

Q: Best change about Crozet in the past 10 years?
A: You know, Blue Ridge Hardware was a big change from Crozet Hardware … I think that the best thing has been that I don’t have to go into Charlottesville now. Now that we have these things,

Q: What is one thing you’d tell something about Crozet?
A: I was talking to a family coming from Lexington, and my husband told them that Crozet is kind of like an adult playground. You can get to Charlottesville, but polo on Sundays … there’s tons of kids, great schools, families, older families – not just the early 20’s families but mid-30’s families too. Kids and families, but there’s just as much for adults as there are for kids.

I love the mountains – the view from Trailside is tremendous, the coffee is great, and Crozet’s lucky to have Marcia, her family and Trailside.

See the entire People of Crozet series at PeopleofCrozet.com.

I’m still looking for volunteer authors/contributors/anybody who’ll help me with this series; If you’re interested please let me know.

June 27, 2012October 16, 2012

Mr. Jackson – People of Crozet

Mr. Jackson is one of those figures who you see around Western all four years and he says hi to you in the hallways like you are best friends, even if you have never talked with him before. He has been working as a Custodian there for 10 years, and loves that everyone at WAHS works as a team. They respect each other, and as such there is no “head honcho,” as Mr. Jackson Puts it. Mr. Jackson believes that WAHS is very important to Crozet because even they graduate after four years, they keep the same Western attitude throughout their whole life, and that is very important to the greater Crozet area.

by Spencer Kulow

See the entire People of Crozet series at PeopleofCrozet.com.

June 22, 2012October 16, 2012

Jean Seal – People of Crozet

Jean Seal, an employee of the Crozet Hardware store for 10 years, was first introduced to Crozet through marriage. Jean says that Crozet has always been a small town where everyone knows everybody, but Crozet is changing. “The older generation made up Crozet, [but] the newcomers are blending in.” To Jean, Crozet feels like home and always has felt like home.

Jean takes pride in her work as an employee of the hardware store. As a very dedicated worker, Jean considers the hardware store to be her own store. Crozet Hardware offers genuine service, “[and that’s] something that most people don’t see anymore.”

Overall, Jean loves the small town and the nice people who inhabit it.

By Alexandra Duncan

See the entire People of Crozet series at PeopleofCrozet.com.

June 20, 2012October 16, 2012

Mrs Karpovich – People of Crozet

Mrs. Karpovich’s room has been the go-to lunch location for my friends and me for the past two years. She is a lot of fun to talk with, and she is not afraid to share her opinion on anything from exams to the coming Elections. She has been working at Western for 14 years, teaching all levels of Chemistry (“and even Physics my first year here” she confides). For her, forming relationships with kids that continue all the way through college and beyond is her favorite aspect of teaching. Plus, as she says, “I have fun. I come to school every day and I enjoy it.” When I asked her about why WAHS is important to Crozet, she admits that is a good question. After pausing a second, she responds that Western provides a place for everyone to come and learn regardless of background, and that teachers accept the challenge of educating kids of all levels with smiles on their faces.

By Spencer Kulow

See the entire People of Crozet series at PeopleofCrozet.com.

June 15, 2012October 16, 2012

Margot Diaz – People of Crozet

Margot Diaz is the Executive Pastry Chef of the Mudhouse, the “creator of happiness, mother and wife” and she’s been at the Crozet Mudhouse for just over three years. Margot loves the Crozet community and being able to know all her customers’ names. She finds the general energy of the area energizing. She “draws a light from the mountains and the lakes and the people in this area.”

Why Crozet? “It’s just far enough out of town to still be quaint. I never if ever go into Charlottesville – everything i need is here. I don’t need a Wal-mart.” This is our idea of perfection – being in a small town.

Margot and her husband Alex were married in Romania. Why? “Why not?”

Continue reading “Margot Diaz – People of Crozet”

June 13, 2012October 16, 2012

Mr. Martin – People of Crozet

Through four years at WAHS, few teachers have influenced me and pushed me to think more than Mr. Martin. He teaches both Debate and American History, and has been working and Western for 23 years now. One of the reasons he keeps coming back year after year, he said, was the interaction with his many students. The energy that comes from discussion and their unpredictable responses even to routine questions are the best parts of working as a teacher. He told me that he thinks Western is a great institution because it brings everyone closer; this does not happen exclusively at the school, however. Mr. Martin believes that WAHS hones the identity of Crozet as a whole: from the athletic events to graduation, everyone comes together as a result of Western. I definitely agree with him, and can attest to the fact that I cannot walk anywhere in Crozet without seeing at least five people I know.

by Spencer Kulow

See the entire People of Crozet series at PeopleofCrozet.com.

June 10, 2012June 11, 2012

People of Crozet

I saw this nifty new site – cvillepeople.tumblr.com last week and thought – “this would be so cool to do in Crozet!”

Their goal is an admirable one.

The Cville People Project, a documentary photography project, was inspired by the Humans of New York website, which is the result of the attempt of one photographer to provide a sort of photographic census of New York City.

The focus of this project is somewhat different. I believe that we come to know a city through the people who live there, so my goal is to depict the city of Charlottesville through its inhabitants. I intend to make portraits of as many Charlottesvillians as possible and share them, along with a little bit about each person, on this photoblog.

Documenting some of the faces – the people – many of us see every day, every week, who make Crozet a unique and special place to be – is something that I thought would be neat to do for Crozet.

But I don’t have time. So asked for help on Facebook. And Twitter. And I’ll reiterate the request here. If you’re interested in helping/contributing, please let me know, either in the comments or on this little contact form. Or call me.

I debated seriously copying the People of Charlottesville folks (and the New York site) and publishing this project on a tumblr blog … it’d be a bit prettier and it would be nice to have it all be on one site, but … as I said on Google Plus:

I want what we create to exist and persist for the community, rather than be at the mercy/whim of the market (see: Picplz (edit: or posterous) or any of the other stuff in the deadpool.

Thanks to our volunteers, Spencer Kulow and my daughter Alexandra Duncan, our goal is to push out one or two “people of Crozet” a week for the next several weeks. If you have suggestions for anyone who you think would be nice to profile or want to help, please let me know.

Stay tuned; as of right now, I have the next three Wednesdays’ posts and the next three Fridays’ posts scheduled . I hope this becomes something cool for Crozet.

See all of the People of Crozet.