Wallace B. Stockdon, Shall We Gather at the River . (2012); ii+96 pp.;
paper; spiral-bound; map and illustrations; $20.  Order from the editor,
Suzanne P. Derieux, P.O. Box 2181, Tappahannock, VA 22560; please add $4 for
postage.

            Beginning in the late 1920s, the author grew up spending his
summers in the small community of Bowler's Wharf, Essex County, Virginia.
In 1984, he put his story to paper.  Bowler's was a popular commerce stop on
the Rappahannock River, and was comprised of a post office, general store,
hotel, and numerous houses.  Its demise was hurried along in August 1933
when the area was devastated by the Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane.

The text and illustrations were rescued from an estate sale by the editor,
and reformatted and cleaned up for debut publication.  The editor has added
commentary in footnotes, thus helping place in context many of the
characters and events perhaps unfamiliar to casual readers.  Nearly half the
content is sketches by the author, ranging from a map of the immediate area
of the Rappahannock River, buildings that once stood at Bowler's, steamboats
and private boats that frequented the port, and various scenes accompanying
the story.

 

 

Wesley E. Pippenger

Little Egypt

P.O. Box 309

515 Faulconer Circle

Tappahannock, VA 22560

home: (804) 443-3482

email: [log in to unmask]

web: www.wesleypippenger.com

 


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