An Accidental Tradition

A few years ago, my husband and I were looking for ways to spice up our Christmas a bit—or maybe it was to feel a little less lonely. With all of our relatives living out of town, and with little kids now in the equation, we had made the decision to always spend Christmas at home, instead of on the highway.

As we approached Christmas in 2018, I said to John, “Why don’t we see if some of our friends want to come over on Christmas night?” I honestly figured everyone would be busy with their families and didn’t have high expectations. But one after the other they all said, “Yes!” And on Dec. 25 of that year, we closed out our Christmas Day at a table full of friends, sipping cocktails and playing hilarious board games.

The next year everyone asked us, “Are you going to have people over again?”—and there you have it. An accidental tradition that is still going strong.

Traditions are defined in two ways: customs/beliefs that are passed down through the generations or something that is done time after time or year after year. They are important because when everything else is in chaos, traditions are something you can count on, keeping us grounded to our past and connected to our families and communities.

The concept of traditions is a common thread in this issue of Lynchburg Living—and it was a little by accident, to be honest—starting with our cover story about Woodruff’s Café and Pie Shop in Amherst County (page 133). It was an absolute joy to spend time at the shop with owner Angie Wilson and her family as I learned what has kept this shop going through the ups and downs. Hear what their well-known mother, Mary Woodruff, instilled in them, even up to the day she died earlier this year at 104 years old.

Another tradition many in this area know about, but may not know the backstory of, is the Troops Rally in downtown Lynchburg—a straightforward gathering of veterans 20 years ago that turned out to be a recurring weekly event (page 106). We are also highlighting a tradition that’s 50 years strong in the Hill City, the Virginia Christmas Spectacular at Thomas Road Baptist Church (page 53).

As you rush around to finish your Christmas shopping and make it to all of those holiday events, remember to step back and give your traditions the respect, and the breathing room, they deserve. They don’t have to be complicated, specific or even have a long history.

As I’ve learned, sometimes you just have to create your own.

Cheers,

Shelley Basinger, Managing Editor
Shelley@lynchburgmag.com

THE WOODRUFF’S CAFÉ AND PIE SHOP TEAM SHARES THEIR SECRETS TO SUCCESS

Photos by Ashlee Glen

Darnette Hill sits at a corner table folding boxes for what’s expected to be another bustling day at Woodruff’s Café and Pie Shop in Amherst County.

It’s Wednesday morning—since they’ve been closed since Saturday, they know customers will start rolling in right when the doors open at 10 a.m. The display case is full, and the shop’s ovens are working overtime, filling the tiny cinderblock building with mouthwatering scents of cranberry, sweet potato, and chocolate.

As she folds, Darnette and her twin sister, Darnelle Winston, laugh—with happy tears in their eyes—as they tell stories about “Mama,” who passed away in May of this year at 104 years old. Mary Woodruff, the matriarch of the family pie shop, used to fold boxes at the very same table and loved chatting with customers as they waited for their orders.

“She was here every day, no matter what,” said Winston, who works in the front part of the store and occasionally bakes.

“And Mama was negative about nothing. She was always positive,” added Hill. “We never thought about it until after she was gone just how positive she was.”

It was Mary’s positivity, along with the constant support of the whole family, that has kept Woodruff’s Café and Pie Shop going through the years, explained Angie Scott, owner of the shop and younger sister to Darnelle and Darnette: “‘Just have faith, Angie,’ Mama would always say.”

But it wasn’t always easy.

IN THE BEGINNING

Woodruff’s opened in January 1952 as a general store on land owned by Scott’s grandfather, selling gas and oil, chicken and hog feed, and grocery items. Her father built it with friends out of cinderblock.

“They did very well, the whole community stopped in,” Scott said. “A lot of people didn’t have cars so they would walk to the store.”

Woodruff’s was also home—Scott and her sisters lived with their parents upstairs, above the store. She recalled their unusual alarm clock.

“Mama would be so busy down here that she would take a broom and bang it into the ceiling that was right below our room,” Scott chuckled as she reenacted her mother’s morning ritual.

Thirty years later, the general store closed, unable to compete with big grocery chains. The building sat empty for a while before becoming an apartment and then a fish market for a couple of years.

In the ’90s, Scott’s wheels started turning as she attended a family reunion on her father’s side and learned more about the history of her family in the area near the shuttered store.

“I just really wanted to carry that history on,” she said.

A SLOW REVIVAL

With a 10-year background in the restaurant industry and a community college degree, Scott followed her heart and reopened Woodruff’s in 1998.

“It was small, I wanted it to be a little café,” she explained, adding that the dessert case didn’t come until later when she wanted to offer something sweet for lunchtime customers.

“I started going through cookbooks and finding recipes from family. Of course I used my mom’s sweet potato pie recipe,” Scott said.

By the early 2000s, she was branching out and baking other types of pies—but business was still slow. Scott even got a second job waiting tables to make ends meet. She was starting to feel like her faith in the business was running out.

“But the Lord kind of did some work in those 10 years and sent people that would help me,” said Scott.

One of those people arrived in 2012, a Southern Living writer who happened to be in the area for an assignment about apple orchards. Someone told the writer to stop by Woodruff’s for a slice of pie.

“I was making apple pie that day when she came in. She took a bite and said, ‘This is the best apple pie I’ve ever had’,” Scott said. “We were in their fall issue in 2013. Things started to turn around then.”

Things turned around so much that they had a hard time keeping up with demand, especially with just one oven at the time.

“I was turning people away because at 11 o’clock the pies were gone. So I had to bring in another oven,” she said.

More publicity came in 2015 when PBS produced a show called “A Few Good Pie Places.” Then in early 2020, the pinnacle of media coverage—the Today show came to Amherst County for a feel-good story about Mary and her role at the shop. It’s not uncommon now to have visitors from all over the country.

“We had a gentleman and his mother come from Ohio just this last weekend. They said [our shop] was on their bucket list. So we were able to give them a history and talk to them,” Scott said. “They bought five pies. People do that type of thing all the time.”

They now have five standard ovens, and recently added a dough press machine to save time making crusts. Scott’s next goal is to upgrade the space to a commercial kitchen.

MORE OR LESS

So what makes a Woodruff’s pie so irresistible that it’s worth a six-hour drive? Like many seasoned family cooks who have spent years creating the same recipes—it’s often kind of hard to explain.

“We don’t have many rules, I guess you would say,” Scott said. “Just trial and error.”

One of those trial-and-error experiences was finding the right flour.

“I had bought this expensive flour and it just didn’t work. We ended up using Walmart flour,” she said, adding that a customer offered to test it for them. Turns out, their favorite flour was low in gluten: “If the gluten [in your flour] is too high, you won’t get a good crust.”

The crust is the foundation of a good pie—and you might be surprised who is behind the Woodruff’s batter.

“Larry is the backbone of the kitchen,” explained Scott of her husband, an often unsung hero in all of the shop’s publicity through the years. “He is the best cook out of all of us. He makes all of the pie batter. He makes crumble, which is a big deal. He also makes our chicken salad and pimento cheese. We really couldn’t do this without him.”

Larry and Angie agree—it all comes down to timing. First, don’t overmix your dough when making pie crust. Next, according to Larry, how long you let the dough sit after mixing can affect how easy it is to work with if you are making a lattice top (his specialty).

“If she rolls this out and it sits for a few minutes, it seems to fall apart. If we use it right away, it doesn’t have to be quite as thick,” he explained.

They use a milk wash instead of an egg wash for the tops of their pies. Why? “Because we got tired of cracking so many eggs!” Scott laughed. “Milk does the same thing.”

When it comes to your fillings, follow your favorite recipe (and use fresh, local ingredients if possible) but don’t be afraid to experiment. For example, your family might like the taste of cinnamon a little more or less than a recipe calls for. You’ll actually see “more or less” several times in the pie recipes Scott shared with us on the following pages.

Finally, a little trial-and-error tip about fruit pies: “Put them on the lowest grate in your oven. I finally figured that out,” Scott said. “That will keep them from getting soggy.”

BEING MERRY WITHOUT MARY

Heading into the first holiday season without “Mama” will be an adjustment for this close-knit family. Partly because Mary Woodruff adored Christmas—from the caroling to the decorations—and equally loved a good snow.

But it may be her grateful spirit they remember—and try to emulate—this time of year.

“If someone gave her the smallest gift she would just love it and praise them for it. She was always so grateful for every single thing she received in her life,” said Hill.

Every single thing including that cozy corner table where Mary had the opportunity, every single day, to do what she loved the most—help the family business thrive.

“Even on her death bed and she only had weeks left, she was like, ‘I need to go over to Angie’s and fold some boxes’,” Scott recalled. “It’s been different without her and it always will be, but we are doing okay.”

TRY A PIE
Angie Scott shares a few of their top-selling recipes, but they are keeping their crust concoction under wraps. Use your own recipe or pour these fillings into a store-bought crust for an easy dessert option.

Cherry Pie

Ingredients
4 cups tart cherries
1 1/4 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
Butter
1/3 cup clear gel (a modified food starch found in baking aisle)
Dash of cinnamon or nutmeg

Instructions
Mix or toss ingredients lightly. Spoon into unbaked pie crust. Dot with butter. Top with lattice or regular crust. Brush crust with milk or egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 375 for 40 min.

Apple Cranberry Pie

Ingredients
6 cups apples (your favorite)
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar (more or less)
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch of salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon orange extract (more or less, optional)
Butter

Instructions
Mix dry ingredients. Dot apples with orange extract or a little fresh zest. Toss all together with cranberries. Spoon into unbaked pie crust. Top with crust or use cookie cutters to decorate. Dot with butter.

Bake at 375 for 55 minutes. When cool drizzle with icing. (You can make your own with confectioner’s sugar and water.)

Mama’s Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients
2 hand-sized sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), well cooked
1 1/2 stick butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup whole milk
4 well beaten eggs
1 pinch salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 teaspoons nutmeg

Instructions
Mix well. Pour into two large unbaked, 9-inch, deep dish pie crusts. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Pecan Pie

Ingredients
1 cup pecan halves
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions
Layer pecans in pie crust. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Author, All the Little Hopes (2021)

Although I hadn’t met Leah Weiss in person yet, once I walked up to the bright orange front door of her Lynchburg home, I had a preview of the personality I was about to encounter. Before I could even knock, Leah was welcoming me into her warm living room with unique artwork covering every wall. Many of the pieces were created by her son, local artist Paul Clements; Leah crafted many others herself through the years.

But I wasn’t there to talk about the visual arts—but rather the literary arts, Leah’s rising fame and how she became a bestselling author after retirement. Her first book, If the Creek Don’t Rise, has sold over 100,000 copies since it came out in 2017. Already following in its footsteps is All the Little Hopes, released last July and named a Best New Book for Fall by Country Living Magazine.

Shelley Basinger: I was so happy to learn from your bio that you are a fellow Tar Heel! North Carolina is the setting for All the Little Hopes.

Leah Weiss: We are Tar Heel sisters, aren’t we? I was born in eastern North Carolina, and that’s where my mother grew up as well. She was one of 15 children, born in 1926 on a tobacco farm, with no running water and no electricity. Back in 2004, when I was still working at Virginia Episcopal School as Assistant to the Headmaster, I hoped to write memoirs about her life. I recorded our afternoon conversations. I remember her saying, “I never thought anyone would be interested in my simple life.” We didn’t know at the time that she had lung cancer and would be gone in five months.

SB: I’m sure you treasure those conversations now. What did you learn from her that helped you lay the foundation for this book?

LW: One afternoon, she said German POWs helped with the tobacco market in 1944. I had never heard of Nazis in Carolina. I ended up talking to a historian in my birth town of Williamston, NC, that was home to one of the 18 NC camps utilizing 10,000 POWs working tobacco, peanuts and cotton. I visited Williamston’s museum and saw photos and read articles. And yes, 355 Germans had lived and worked in there for two years. I thought they would be the heart of the next book.

SB: What changed your mind?

LW: The memories that community told about the Germans were tender ones. While I knew I wanted to include them in the book, I needed a grittier plot with a darker underbelly. Enter Nancy Drew, my childhood idol. She was exactly the assistant I needed.

SB: Nancy Drew worked perfectly with your two main characters, who I instantly adored in different ways.

LW: After trial and error, I ended up choosing two 13-year-old girls as narrators of a war story that spanned three years. I named one Lucy for my mother and the other Allie Bert for her mother. They were different but united by their youth and their insatiable curiosity. Nancy Drew became a tool to get the girls into trouble as they solved a local mystery that in their mind grew into The Case of the Three Missing Men.

SB: What is your approach when determining a plot line? Do you plan it out or let it evolve?

LW: I’ve tried outlining (which is logical), but my characters never follow directions. My goal in both books—besides putting tension on every page—was to find interesting characters to tell the story. I look for a balance much like a delicious buffet: starchy, sweet, spicy, and some quirky characters thrown in for good measure. It takes a variety of unforgettable characters to create a cohesive community.

SB: What type of writing training or education do you have?

LW: I don’t have much formal training and always tell people I’m still learning the craft. I wrote some short stories beginning with my mama’s memoirs, then wrote a book that didn’t sell. I took my first writing class in 2014 at Wild Acres near Little Switzerland, NC. It’s a magical creative center with many different offerings besides writing. Ever since, I’ve returned for the two-week Writers Retreat and Workshop.

SB: What positive role do you think reading plays in our often chaotic world?

LW: Imagination is an amazing gift, something we are born with but it needs to be fed or it becomes stilted. Reading takes us everywhere. And I love reading out loud and encourage the practice. My background was in music, so I love the rhythm and poetry of language.

SB: And finally, my favorite question. What’s next for you? Will there be a book number three anytime soon?

LW: How I wish I had a clear vision today, Shelley, but the good news is that a premise is percolating. For now, I’m enjoying this wonderful ride with All the Little Hopes and hope it will have the staying power of If The Creek Don’t Rise.

You can find signed copies of Leah’s book, All the Little Hopes, at Givens Books on Lakeside Drive.
Visit her website, www.leahweiss.com, to learn more and also send her a message.

New Perspectives

You know the phrase, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”? Well it certainly doesn’t apply to our cover story about Lisa Richards and Michele Fredericks.

When I started chatting with Lisa in the summer of 2020 about possibly featuring her home in our magazine this year, my ears perked up when she told me I might want to look at her daughter’s house too. Words like “modern” and “cool architecture” didn’t sound anything like Lisa’s traditional Colonial with abundant antiques.

A few weeks later when I saw both homes in person, I had to chuckle. A mom and daughter with a fantastic bond, but their home styles didn’t seem connected in any way—at least that was my first impression.

Once we dug a little deeper, however, we realized each woman has been inspired by the other’s aesthetic and even applies some of these concepts and ideas to their own home.
That’s what’s so great about our Home feature, it pulls double duty—highlighting two completely different (but equally stunning) home styles while also showing how you can incorporate one look into another. Flip to page 49 to learn more about Lisa and Michele, “The Modern Traditionalists.”

Call me too philosophical, but this mother/daughter team also inspired me in another way. I think there is a notion, especially in today’s world, that we have to pick sides on everything. All or nothing. Black or white. No gray area.

Do you ever feel like you are boxing yourself in too often? Fall into a new routine this September and October that includes considering ideas and concepts that “aren’t really your style” while also staying true to who you are.

It’s a delicate balancing act, I can personally attest, but it’s certainly worth sorting out as we all try to keep moving forward in this crazy season of our lives.

All my best,
Shelley Basinger, Managing Editor
Shelley@lynchburgmag.com

A local expert helps navigate the often-complicated world of athletic shoes

If you’re like me, no purchasing decision is easy these days. What’s supposed to be a simple transaction can turn into hours of scrolling through customer reviews, which then leads to a Google search and all of those catchy blogs people write about products. (Aren’t those addicting?) Next thing you know, two hours have passed and not only have you still not made a decision, but you are likely even more confused than when you started.

This scenario played out recently for me as I searched for new athletic shoes. My current pair was worn out after about a year of heavy use in daily HIIT (high-intensity interval training) classes. I felt overwhelmed by my options, and realized that I wasn’t alone. Conversations about what kind of shoes to buy often surrounded me at the gym.

I tracked down Perry Mundy, a certified pedorthist for Virginia Sport and Spine Institute, to see if he could share some shoe insight. A pedorthist is a healthcare professional specifically trained in comprehensive foot care using therapeutic foot wear and supportive orthotic devices for the foot.

He was upfront that his answer to my question, “What kind of shoes do I need?” might be disappointing at first.

“One of my teachers in college said, ‘The answer to every question is, it depends. But if you ever answer that on a test it’s wrong’,” Mundy recalls. “The right shoe completely depends on the individual and that individual’s activity. There are a wide range of variables that are specific to each person.”

But he acknowledges there is a lot of information to sort through regarding athletic shoes. Here, we asked him a few of the top questions.

How important is fixing a shoe issue to overall health?

Feel like your foot is slipping from side to side during that CrossFit workout?

Notice substantial arch aches during those early morning runs? This is not the time to channel those popular fitness mantras such as “no pain, no gain.”

“The foot is the foundation of the house, everything else is up the line,” Mundy says.

The pain in your calves, knees, even hips, could be due to an improperly fitting shoe or, in some cases, a structural problem with your body, such as leg length inequality. If one leg is even just a tiny bit longer than the other, that foot will not pronate properly in your shoes. Your doctor may recommend you to a certified pedorthist to see if a special shoe insert could help.

Mundy typically stops his evaluation “at about hip level,” so if you have shoulder pain for example, you probably don’t need to blame your shoes.

What exactly is pronation?
“Pronation is our natural ability to absorb shock, an inward rotation of the foot that occurs very quickly, every time we step,” Mundy explains.

When he says quickly, he means quickly—300 microseconds is all it takes. But it’s a crucial split second of time for our bodies.

“Pronation is necessary, we have to do it to absorb shock the right way, if not, something else in our bodies will,” says Mundy, adding that abnormal amounts of pronation (either overpronating or underpronating) can cause a wide range of difficulties.

What about all of those words you see describing shoes?
While there is a lengthy shoe vocabulary companies like to use when describing their shoes, Mundy says running shoes can generally be classified into three categories: control, stability and neutral. You will see these words written out in the description of the shoe either on the box or online.

A control shoe is a very strong “posted” shoe, with a variety of different materials intended to decelerate the speed of excessive pronation in the foot.

A stability shoe is less “controlling” and can include mild to moderate levels of “posting” but could also include neutral shoes based on how they function with the foot. “Some shoe companies are moving to ‘dynamic posts’ in response to increased research on how the foot behaves during running,” Mundy says.

A neutral shoe is just that, a shoe without additional materials for controlling pronation. “They are cushioned to aid in shock absorption. This is a large category that is not limited to running shoes but functionally includes sport-specific shoes like tennis, basketball, volleyball, crosstraining and even CrossFit-style shoes.”

What are some signs I’m in the wrong shoe?
Let’s say you are at a shoe store—or maybe you even ordered some shoes online to try out at home. First and foremost, Mundy says the top test of the “right” shoe is pretty simple: “What is the most comfortable? When our feet hit the ground and we have pain, we have a problem.”

Next, he recommends the pinch test.

While standing up, pinch the inside of the shoe near the toe box to see how much space there is.

“See how much of your foot, your pinky toe, is hanging off the edge of the shoe. If you are sliding off the outer edge of it in the store, don’t buy it. Because in a few weeks of use, your foot is definitely going to be off the edge.”

Finally, check what he calls dynamic alignment. March in place for a bit, stop, and unlock your knees: “If your knees are over top of your second toes, that’s where they need to be. If they are not, you need to look for something else.”

Is there a good “universal” shoe out there?
“Some shoes can cross over, some cannot,” explains Mundy. “Again, it depends on what you are trying to do.”

Take running shoes for example. Trail running is very different from road running. Distance running is different than sprinting.

“Can you play basketball in a running shoe?
I wouldn’t recommend it due to the lateral motion. But you could run in a basketball shoe if need be,” says Mundy.

Cross-training shoes may come the closest to being a “universal” shoe and have become a popular category because they can do a little bit of everything.

Mundy recommends looking at four components for cross-training shoes: durability, versatility, specificity and price.

“You want a shoe to hold up to the demands you place on it (durability), to be able to do multiple activities (versatility), contain components that help your foot do its job better (specificity) and you don’t want to break the bank when buying the shoe (price),” Mundy says. “Finding the correct shoe is a fairly daunting task so soliciting professionals to help with these characteristics will help guide you towards the correct shoe choice for your specific activity.”

Announces New Generation of Popular Disinfecting Cabinet

Alittle over a year after releasing its revolutionary UV-C Disinfecting Cabinet, the Bedford County–based LiteSheet Solutions has come out with a second version that is even more powerful and effective.

LiteSheet is an LED lighting technology company with notable projects completed in New York City’s Woolworth Building and Virginia’s Monitor-Merrimac Tunnel,
among others.

As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped our world last spring, a door opened for LiteSheet to enhance its AC-Direct LED lighting products to include UV-C LED disinfection.

“At the outset of the pandemic, the federal government and Commonwealth of Virginia were making calls to all manufacturers saying, ‘How can you help?’ For the most part, they were looking for fabric manufacturers to produce masks, but I turned to our engineering and manufacturing departments and we developed the UV-C Disinfecting Cabinet,” said Roger Whyte, company president and CEO.

The UV-C Disinfecting Cabinets are manufactured at the company’s Forest facility, which is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. They are also in full compliance with the Food and Drug Administration as well.

The cabinet uses UV-C LEDs to kill pathogens—including viruses, bacteria, mold and spores—specifically targeting viruses and bacteria that are commonly found in schools, offices and healthcare settings. UV-C wavelengths differ from UV-A and UV-B rays in that they are blocked by the ozone layer so they must be created here on Earth.

However, all three damage cells in a similar way.

“Pathogens are susceptible to UV-C wavelengths,” Whyte explains. “When UV-C strikes a pathogen, it actually permeates the cell of the pathogen, damages its strand of DNA or RNA and kills it.”

Using UV-C as a disinfecting tool has been around for a while and is well researched, Whyte says. But it had traditionally been generated with mercury-vapor lamps, which don’t last long and aren’t easily transported. There are also some environmental concerns if they aren’t disposed of properly.

LiteSheet’s UV-C Disinfecting Cabinet is a much safer option that works similar to a microwave: open up the door, place items inside, shut the door, press start and wait 60 seconds. When the cycle is complete, the items inside have been surface disinfected of common pathogens. There also are safety features on the cabinet, including a digital timer and lock, that ensure the modules will not power on unless the door is securely closed.

In the fall of 2020, LiteSheet’s Gen-1 cabinet was tested by Virginia Tech’s Class 3 Virology lab. Researchers tested the capacity of the SARS-Cov-2 virus to infect cells after spending 15 minutes in the cabinet versus outside the cabinet.

“We found that the level of infectious SARS-Cov-2 on a surface was reduced by 99.97% after 15 minutes in the cabinet,” says Dr. Nisha Duggal, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology.

“The validation from an independent lab is essential,” Whyte adds. “It’s an extra step we took to ensure the cabinet works.”

Now, over a year later, LiteSheet is unveiling the second generation of the UV-C Disinfecting Cabinet that is higher powered and more efficient to kill surface pathogens in under 60 seconds. Shorter cycle times can help facilities disinfect items or equipment even more quickly than before.

“We kill 95 percent of common pathogens in less than a minute now,” Whyte says.

According to Whyte, the cabinets can play a role in overall patient outcomes in hospitals by mitigating the transmission of healthcare-acquired illnesses. They can also be used by schools to disinfect shared items such as tablets and books.

The cabinet is also finding use in other fields as well, such as broadcasting agencies and departments of transportation, he says.

LiteSheet Solutions is now looking at other ways they can expand this technology in the future.

“We’ve been asked to look at quite a few applications, such as air purification; we’re also looking at conveyor system scenarios where items are continuously fed, like at an airport, for example,” he says. “We think the product line will definitely be expanding.”

A local skin care formulator weighs in on one of the most popular buzz words in beauty marketing

A word that used to, back in the day, be associated with your daily house chores is now stamped on a wide range of skin care products—and statistics show lots of customers are sold on the idea of “clean” beauty.

According to the NPD Group, the natural skin care market has skyrocketed in recent years—growing 23 percent, about $1.6 billion, from 2017 to 2018 alone.

But what does “clean” really mean? Should this word drive a decision to purchase one product over another? We asked Karrye Flowers, founder and lead formulator for Oshun Organics, LLC in the Lynchburg Community Market, to help sort out the vocabulary.

Clean, defined (sort of)

First off, there is no set definition for what makes a product truly “clean.” The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate these product descriptions.

But Flowers says the general consensus in the skin care world is that “clean” means non-toxic.

“That’s also very subjective,” she explains, adding that they only use objective words to describe or market their plant-based products. “For example, we say our products are vegan. Vegan is a very specific word with a clear definition. Everything is derived from plants. We naturally scent and dye our products with essential oils or plant extracts.”

Don’t just read, research

She says with the rise of “clean” beauty products, customers are starting to take a closer look at that long ingredient list on the back of their face wash or eye cream. That’s a good thing, but with one caveat.

“People want things to be 100 percent natural, so they are looking for my ingredient list to only say things like ‘aloe vera’ and ‘coconut oil.’ But it’s very important to me that the products I offer are effective, as well as minimally processed. There is a balance,” Flowers said.

Meaning: You might need a stronger concentration of an ingredient, even a plant-based one, for it to work. For example, at first glance cetyl alcohol may look like an unrecognizable chemical. But it’s actually derived from palm oil, Flowers explained.

“You want to be able to trace an ingredient back to where it came from, even if it was lab created. You can’t make something from nothing,” she says.

Paraben propaganda?
Dermatologists are often critical of the natural skin care movement and the ingredients that have been red flagged through the years: such as sulfates, parabens, chemical sunscreens and others.

In an article published by JAMA Dermatology, “Natural Does Not Mean Safe—The Dirt on Clean Beauty Products,” two dermatologists wrote: “… many of the strongest voices in the clean beauty movement suggest avoiding ingredients owing to a theoretical risk of endocrine disruption and cancer, despite the fact that a causative relationship between these disease states and the concentration of these ingredients in cosmetic products has not been proven scientifically.”

They went on to say there is a safe use of preservatives such as parabens in order to prevent severe infections in users. Again, balance is key.

Flowers agrees that the research is limited, at best, about so many skin care ingredients, and says preservatives have their place, especially in skin care.

“You want to have some preservatives in anything you buy to prevent the growth of bacteria. Every time you put your hand in that jar of cream, you are taking bad microbia and putting it in there,” she says.

Getting practical

The only ingredients Flowers says she would try to avoid in skin care products are dyes.

“For many creams and lotions, you will find something like red 4 or yellow 2 at the end. They are so unnecessary and only make the product look good,” she explains. “They do nothing for you.”

Also, beware of greenwashing. Don’t buy a product solely because the creator claims it’s clean or more environmentally sound. Do your research.

Otherwise, if a “clean” product you swear by works for you, then by all means keep using it.

Just don’t get on a soapbox about it. It’s just a word after all.

Learn more about Oshun Organics, LLC at oshunorganics.com.

Marsh Roots Seafood Company bridges the gap between the coast and Central VA with its just-off-the-boat selection

Photos by ASHLEE GLEN

When Oliver Russell left his family’s third-generation shipyard behind in early 2020 to move to Lynchburg, he knew parting with the life he knew along the Carolina coast would be tough.

But as the owner of the thriving Marsh Roots Seafood Company reflects 18 months later: “Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.”

Getting Hooked on LYH
Oliver’s leap of faith to the Hill City was Claire Lockman, his girlfriend, who had already moved to the area to attend Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine. After ten years running the family shipyard and doing charter fishing in Morehead City, N.C., he made the “difficult decision” to relocate.

About six weeks into his new life, Oliver got the sign he needed for his next career: The couple couldn’t find any tuna steaks to make their traditional Valentine’s Day meal at home.

“Within a week, Oliver had formulated this plan to start the company,” Claire said. “He told me, ‘I’m going to the beach to get a load of seafood to sell at the market this Saturday.’”

“I called the market and they were so excited and said, ‘We have been looking for a seafood market for forever,’” Oliver added.

Oliver networked with some of the fisherman he knew near his hometown and made the drive down to pick up his first load. That first weekend, Oliver sold everything he had brought back: 100 pounds of shrimp and 20 pounds of tuna. He sold out the next weekend, too.

Then—the pandemic. The Lynchburg Community Market closed down, and Oliver was left wondering what was next for his brand new venture.

“This is where it turns into story about how great Lynchburg was. Oliver had lived in Lynchburg all of a month, was in business for one week, before we had to take everything online with maybe 100 followers. But people were asking, ‘How can we support you guys?’” Claire said.

“The community really rallied around what we were doing very heavily,” Oliver added.

Marsh Roots Seafood Company continued to gather faithful customers at the Lynchburg Community Market throughout the year and even added an outpost location in Forest, where they sell seafood in the parking lot of T.Y. Realty every Friday.

From the Dock to the Dinner Table
As CEO and founder of Marsh Roots, Oliver puts in a good amount of windshield time to make sure he is stocked for sales in Lynchburg and Forest.

“I drive down every Wednesday and go straight to the marina or to some fish houses I know, from friends and from being in the charting industry,” he said.

Which means customers can find out from Oliver exactly where their seafood came from—and when it was caught.

“I know most of the people I do business with on a first-name basis,” he said. “They will text me and say, ‘Hey I’m going fishing tomorrow. You want anything?’”

He says shrimp, scallops and soft shell crabs are the most popular items they sell to Central Virginia customers. They also have had a lot of success with their pre-made items, such as a shrimp dip, shrimp salad, and crab cakes.

“It’s really cool to share recipes that we would make at home,” he said. “It’s cool to mass produce them so everyone can enjoy.”

Seafood Stereotypes
Aside from simply selling fresh fish, Oliver is also passionate about educating this community about seafood—and addressing some misconceptions, including:

I stay away from seafood because it doesn’t have long shelf life.
Oliver says some customers think they have to eat seafood quickly, which may deter people who buy in bulk and meal plan for the week ahead.

“Ours is so fresh it will last three or four days in the fridge. If you come on Saturday you can still eat it Wednesday,” Oliver explained, adding that while fresh seafood is best, you can always freeze fish or shrimp to enjoy later if your plans change.

My favorite seafood is probably available whenever I want it.
“There is a modern westernized American mentality. ‘Let’s go to Sam’s Club and get a tomato in the middle of winter.’ Same thing with seafood. We are going to have fish available when they are available,” Oliver said.

Offerings will change throughout the year, so customers who want fresh seafood, not farmed, have to learn to eat what’s in season. This is a good thing because it leads to customers trying new things, instead of just sticking with their “favorite” fish.

According to Oliver, our current season (July/August) is the peak time for pretty much everything in the world of seafood—from tuna to mahi to Spanish Mackerel.

Seafood is intimidating; it’s hard to cook!
“We want to make eating seafood less of a scary thing for people who didn’t grow up around it, because it’s so good for you,” said Claire.

Oliver says seafood is actually “super easy” to cook: “Just throw it into the pan and add butter and spices.”

The “hard” part may be that seafood doesn’t need to cook for very long—meaning you can’t put it in a pan and forget about it. Most fish, scallops and shrimp only cook for a few minutes on each side, he explained.

Oliver loves being able to talk to customers one-on-one about how to prepare and cook their seafood. But what he treasures even more than those conversations are the follow-up reports from local home kitchens.

“People are sending us photos all of the time of what they are making,” Claire said. “It’s so neat to know we are making average weeknight meals so much better.”

Oliver and Claire share a couple of their favorite recipes for you to try HERE!

Get Reeled In
Follow Marsh Roots on Facebook and Instagram for updates or better yet, visit their website, marshrootsseafood.com, to sign up for their newsletter to be in-the-know about the latest offerings and deals.

Locations & Hours
Inside the Lynchburg Community Market
Tuesday, Wednesday: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Thursday, Friday: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Forest Outpost at T.Y. Realty Parking Lot
Friday: 3 – 6 p.m.

Fresh Catch Summer Salad with Strawberries
Enjoy summertime on a plate with this refreshing, sweet, and delicious salad!

Ingredients:
Fish
1-2 pounds fileted fish
(our favorites are black bass, speckled trout, or any of the fresh catch from Marsh Roots Seafood)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 ounce Key West Blend Seasoning (available at Marsh Roots Seafood)
2 tablespoons butter
1 lemon slice
Pinch of salt and pepper

Salad
1 bag of spring mix
1 bag of arugula
1 pint strawberries, sliced
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup candied pecans, crushed (optional, can be found in stores)
Sunflower sprouts and your favorite microgreens (optional)

Dressing
2/3 cup olive oil
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 shallot finely diced
Salt and pepper as needed

Method:
Grab your favorite fish filet from your favorite local seafood market (Read: Marsh Roots Seafood Company). Rinse and pat dry—always make sure while patting dry to feel for bones along the spine of the filet and remove if necessary.

Once patted down, coat evenly with Key West seasoning and salt and pepper on both sides. Drizzle with olive oil. Slice butter and lemon. Add butter directly onto the filet and then add lemon slices. Wrap in foil and cook in the oven at 350º for 20-25 minutes or on the grill. You can also pan roast in a cast iron pan on the stove top with a little olive oil to avoid the filet sticking to the pan.

While the fish is cooking, make your dressing by adding the dressing ingredients to a bowl or mason jar. (We always do this in case there is any left over, then just cap and throw it in the fridge. Ready to pour on tomorrow’s salad!) Once added, whisk together well and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Assemble your salad with your bed of fresh greens, sliced strawberries, goat cheese, and crushed candied pecans. Add the fish filets and pour the dressing.

Cast Iron Seafood Pasta
This coastal twist on the traditional spaghetti night is easy and flavorful!

Ingredients:
Pantry
1 pound linguine or angel hair pasta

Seafood
1 pound shrimp peeled/deveined
Half pound, 10-20 ct. sea scallops
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
8 ounces sun-dried tomatoes
4 garlic cloves
1/3 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup parsley
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup pine nuts
Olive oil as needed
Salt and pepper as needed

Optional
Cherry tomatoes
Spinach
Basil or parsley for garnish

Method:
Bring 1-2 quarts of water to a boil and salt heavily. Add pasta. While the pasta is cooking make your homemade pesto by adding all the pesto ingredients to a food processor and blending. (If you decide to buy store-bought pesto, pour yourself a glass of wine!) Note: the ingredients should reach a smooth consistency from a slow addition of olive oil as they process, and once you see that fine grain you are good to stop blending. Set aside.

Bring your cast iron pan to low heat. Add butter and garlic, and allow butter to melt. Add shrimp and scallops, evenly spaced, wait about 2 minutes then flip each one to cook on the opposite side. Remember: Scallops should turn white and shrimp should turn pink when cooking. As you cook, make sure everything is getting a nice garlic-butter bath. If you are going to add cherry tomatoes now is the time, and allow them to begin softening.

Drain your pasta and set aside.

Once your shrimp and scallops have cooked for about 2-3 minutes on each side, add the pesto and allow to reach a simmer. If you are adding spinach, now is the time—let it begin to soften and wilt in the sauce. Add your pasta to the simmering seafood and pesto in your cast iron and coat thoroughly through the mixture. Leave on low for another 3-5 minutes covered or uncovered.

Serve with fresh basil and grated parmesan. Enjoy!

Intuitive Color Artist

Lynchburg Living Editor Shelley Basinger:
Andrew, the first thing we notice about your artwork is the use of color. Why do you enjoy using lots of bright hues?
Andrew Riscart: Because it’s so powerful. It leaves so much up for interpretation. It allows the viewer to take ownership from their own personal perspective.

SB: That’s why you describe yourself as an “intuitive” color artist.
AR: Right, I like to blend the real and recognizable with the abstract. I approach this by replicating recognizable characters and then manipulating color theory to interact with the viewer. I find this often requires some kind of response, but still leaves a lot up to interpretation. In short, I play with color theory while letting value do all of the work.

SB: When did you first become interested in art?
AR: When I was about five years old. I got mad that my neighbor’s cousin could draw so much better than me. I guess you could say I became determined. That’s when I really started to practice.

SB: What types of training have you received?
AR: My mother signed me up for a drawing class when I was 10. I later took a painting class at Central Virginia Community College with Kenny Weinfurtner. He showed me how to build a foundation. Over the past year, I’ve been picking things up along the way. Mostly through the internet; I study creatives that inspire me in various mediums like painting, music, poetry, and film.

SB: You’ve recently decided to make art a full-time career. How did that transition happen?
AR: It’s funny—I took a class under a very successful businessman. He kept on repeating the phrase: “What’s in your hand?” That’s where you start. If you want to be successful in business, start with what you have available to you right now. Another phrase he would say a lot is, “Your gift will make a way for you.” When I moved back to Virginia, I kept thinking back on this. The only thing I kept coming back to was painting. So, I started painting. I will ride this wave until it crashes, and then I’ll catch another one.

SB: The doors have certainly been opening for you! We are seeing a lot of your work around town.
AR: I have pieces hanging on Main Street in Dish, Starr Hill Brewery and the White Hart. I also have one inside Riverview Records, a new shop on Jefferson Street. I have some murals at the new Main Street Bar and Grill, and I’m also working on a piece for Crisp’s new beer garden. It’s expected to be open at the end of July.

SB: We heard about you from an Instagram post by Star Hill. How has social media influenced your artwork?
AR: Social media has opened a new avenue for artists, like myself, to create an audience. One we otherwise would not have been able to. It can be a powerful tool in this regard and in many others. However, social media can also be very dangerous. Unfortunately, it has become a substitute for one-on-one human connection. I’m beginning to see this can leave an emptiness in people. I believe fine art can bridge this gap between a sea of choices and what is actually physically tangible right in front of us. I continue to paint for this reason. I personally live for the one-on-one interaction painting affords me. I think this past year really put things into perspective for a lot of us. The greatest impacts are made one human interaction at a time. If we can love the person right in front of us and then they in turn love the person right in front of them, it creates a ripple effect.

SB: You’ve been getting a lot of requests for commissions. How is that going?
AR: I love doing commissions. They have been my bread and butter, if you will. However, I’m becoming more selective on what I choose. Mostly because I also need the commissions I do to fit a common vision with the style I’m evolving into.

SB: What’s next for you? Any future goals?
AR: I just want to be a part of the bigger picture.

Follow along
You can find Andrew on Instagram: @riscart