Flashback Friday...Nimrod

And I do not mean to insult anyone by using the word "Nimrod".  I'm referring to the Nimrod Hall, which is currently a retreat for artists and writers.  :)  It is located in Bath County, Virginia and  I love it.  Nimrod Hall has quite the history.  

Nimrod Hall started out in 1783 as a two story cabin that also served as a stage coach stop.  Over the years the original cabin has been added to and several other buildings and cabins have been added to the property, all surrounding a common inner yard.  In 1873 Nimrod Hall began taking guests during the hunting season and over the years it evolved into a hunting lodge.  Some of the paperwork from this time period advertises Nimrod Hall as a "Hunter's Paradise".  Between 1886-1970 there was a functioning United States Post Office on the property.  In 1907 Nimrod Hall was sold to Lewis E.Wood, who is Frankie's grandfather.  (If you're asking yourself, who is Frankie, just be patient, I'll get around to explaining who she is in a minute).  In 1909 Nimrod Hall began operating as a summer resort, with around 150-200 guests each summer.  Nimrod Hall included a full-scale working farm that produced meat, poultry, eggs, milk, vegetables and fruit.  In 1936 Frank Wood (Frankie's father) opened Camp Nimrod for Boys and in 1939 Mattie Wood Poyser (Frankie's aunt) opened Camp Nimrod for Girls in the adjoining property.  These camps ran for 50 years as great summer camps for boys and girls.  Since Nimrod Hall boasts several acres of land there was so much to do from boating, swimming, fishing, tennis, football and exploring in the hills nearby.  

In the mid-1980's Camp Nimrod had to close, due in part to a flood that damaged all of the lower camp lodgings.  Frankie inherited what was Camp Nimrod for boys and she turned it into a retreat for artists and writers.  Her sister, Sarah, inherited what was Camp Nimrod for girls and she turned it into a horseback riding camp.  

This is Frankie.  I don't have a better picture of her.  She's making her absolutely fabulous rolls.  Everything she serves at Nimrod is homemade and oh so delicious!  :)

I'm not exactly sure when my family became involved with Nimrod Hall.  But by the time I was in high school many of my cousins, aunts, uncles and my Grandmommy and Granddaddy had been working at Nimrod Hall  during the summers for a while.  

This is Jimmy.  He's married to Frankie and he takes care of the Nimrod.  :)  And he's a hoot!  :)  He's loud and I love him for that.  :)

My family was living in the Philippines at the time that I graduated high school.  It was impossible for me to get a summer job there, so I spoke with my grandparents and asked them if they could talk with Frankie and Jimmy about me working at Nimrod Hall that summer before college.  Thankfully Frankie and Jimmy said yes and so that summer I worked at Nimrod Hall.  My grandparents helped out for part of the summer, but mostly it was myself and a few other soon to be college gals.  We helped out in the kitchen as well as anywhere else Frankie and Jimmy needed help.  We served 3 meals a day 6 days a week.  I usually got Sundays off, so I don't remember what happened on those days.  Between meals there was sometimes things to do around Nimrod Hall to help Frankie and Jimmy, but mostly we got to spend our time how we wanted.  I loved lazily floating down the river in a tube.  I did a lot of reading and wrote lots of letters and emails to my friends.  I didn't have a cell phone (I don't think I would have gotten reception there anyway) and there was only one land line there, which wasn't really for me to use.  And that was kind of the point.  Nimrod Hall is a beautiful escape from the busy life.  I loved watching the artists paint. :)

I ended up working at Nimrod the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college.  By that point a lot of my guy friends were on their missions and so I spent a lot of my free time writing letters.  I discovered that guys are not very good at corresponding.  :)  I loved working at Nimrod Hall.  :)  Life just ran at a slower pace.  I envy that pace now.  :)  Oh and another thing I loved about Nimrod was that the artists and writers were GREAT tippers.  I made killer money those summers.  :)  I'm just saying.  

I don't have many pictures from Nimrod (which was dumb of me) but here's a few that I do have.  These first two are of my parents.  We helped them celebrate their 25the wedding anniversary while at Nimrod Hall.  :)

 These next few are from the writers' week at Nimrod.  I can't remember anyone's names. But that's me in the red.  I don't remember exactly what we were doing, but we dressed up a little crazy and had a dance party.  :)  They were all surprised when I knew the words to all the oldie's songs.  :)

I love Nimrod Hall and I'm so grateful that I had the chance to work there.  I wish I had more pictures to show you just how beautiful it is up there, but I don't.  I'll just have to try to go sometime soon and get some pictures.  :)