For nearly 300 years, the brick edifice at Scully’s Neck on the Lynnhaven River has been battered by the elements. It has endured countless thunderstorms and survived brutal hurricanes.

It has survived the centuries because it was built of durable brick. It has endured because it has been occupied as a residence until fairly recently. It has continued to exist because a few influential people cared enough to preserve the ancient dwelling.

Today, the Lynnhaven House, a prime example of early Virginia vernacular architecture, is owned and operated by the city of Virginia Beach as part of its Virginia Beach History Museums undertaking.

The brick home built by Francis Thelaball circa 1725 has been closed to visitors for some time. Currently, the former residence is undergoing an extensive preservation-restoration process to ensure that it continues to exist well into the future.

Even long-lived brick is not indestructible over years, decades and centuries. Bricks absorb moisture. Rain and humidity are the relentless enemies of brick. Stabilizing the brickwork by allowing the moisture in the structure to dry out is an integral element in the conservation process.

Excessive moisture in the brick causes the brick to crumble from the inside out, gradually degrading the masonry. Digital meters positioned in the interior of the house monitor the humidity levels to measure the progress in reducing moisture levels.

Preservation tours have been scheduled on days when contractors are not actively engaged in the implementation of the ongoing conservancy process. Visitors are offered an opportunity for a cursory inspection of the interior and a general explanation of the developing plan to conserve the aging structure.

“I like that the preservation process is happening. I like that the city is willing to put the money into preserving a historic structure like this. It is an expensive process,” said John Lodge, an educator with the Virginia Beach History Museums. “People are not always willing to spend money on old things. I like that this is happening.”

According to Lodge, brick buildings in Virginia during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, such as the Lynnhaven House, were upscale structures. They were relatively rare. Building with brick was expensive. The material was costly. Few Virginians had the means to build with brick. When most Virginians lived in wood framed, clapboard homes with dirt floors, foundations and chimneys built of brick and wooden floors were subtle indicators of economic affluence.

“In addition to being a nice sturdy structure, a brick dwelling was also kind of a conspicuous display of wealth,” Lodge said. “It showed off the kind of wealth you had.”

Lodge enjoys conducting preservation tours at the Lynnhaven House. They last about 30 minutes with visitors encouraged to ask questions. Museum educators are also available after the tours to respond to visitors’ queries about the historic site.

“I definitely like having visitors. It is going to be a long time until the Lynnhaven House is fully restored,” Lodge said. “It’s nice that we’re able to give at least little glimpses of what it’s like and to reassure people that we are taking care of it and will be restoring it.”

Joanne Singh was among the local visitors who took advantage of a scheduled opportunity to participate in the preservation-restoration history tour. Singh has fond memories of the Lynnhaven House and the programs it hosted that brought history to life.

“We’re enjoying the mystery of history. I’m impressed that it still stands after all the trials it has had to withstand over the years,” Singh said. “It’s here for future generations to see that history is real. We’ve been waiting so long for it to get rolling again so the kids can relive history like our kids used to.”

This little gem of a park was added to the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network in 2004 because of its historical and ecological importance. Situated between two historic waterways, the park offers a scenic view of the Elizabeth River as well as up-close views of the elegant yachts that pass through the Corps of Engineers operated locks on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal as they transit the busy intracoastal waterway.

Historically speaking, Lock Park is situated in the most historic spots in Chesapeake’s Great Bridge. Across Battlefield Boulevard, the British began their assault on Patriot forces in Great Bridge in 1775. On the Lock Park side of Battlefield Boulevard across the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, Patriot forces repelled the British attack at the Battle of Great Bridge.

“The Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Museum shares the importance of our canal history and how the canals shaped the region,” executive director Elizabeth Goodwin said. “We encourage visitors to explore Lock Park and learn more about this vital waterway.”

The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal opened for operation in 1859. During the Civil War, the strategic value of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal was recognized by both the Union and the Confederacy. After Union forces seized control of the canal, defense works were erected to guard the Great Bridge lock. From 1861 until 1865, a total of 8,824 steamers, schooners, lighters, rafts, barges and other vessels in wartime service transited the canal.

A Civil War anchor and chain believed to have belonged to the U.S.S. Hartford is on exhibit in Lock Park. The Union warship achieved fame during the Battle of Mobile Bay when Admiral David Farragut gave his famous order: “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.”

“I grew up here. I’ve done some boating out here, but this is the first time I’ve used my kayak here,” Great Bridge resident Chris Garris said as he carried his kayak and carried it to the nearby launch ramp. “This place is beautiful. There’s so much natural beauty here, all the birds and wildlife. It’s wonderful.”

Thousands of commercial vessels, everything from tugboats to barges and workboats to pleasure craft still pass through the unique lock system on the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal at Great Bridge annually.

Rob Sallada of the Albemarle Area Chapter of the Ford Model T Club International teamed up with Robert Hitchings of the Norfolk County Historical Society of Chesapeake to organize a 55-mile Civil War tour through Chesapeake following backroads to historic landmarks. Stops along the way included Beechwood, Superintendent’s House, Happer House and the Jackson Greys monument.

Along Shillelagh Road, Lake Drummond Causeway, Belle Haven Street and Ballahack Road, residents waved from their front yards and driveways as the antique eight-vehicle caravan of seven Model T’s and a Model A sedan delivery drove past their rural homes.

While the city of Chesapeake, formerly old Norfolk County, is crisscrossed with highways, the backroads, although paved, in the southern reaches of the municipality near the North Carolina-Virginia border have remained representative of the dirt roads and wagon trails of yesteryear.

“The Model T Civil War Tour was really a coming together of two things,” said Sallada, a resident of Deep Creek. “Model T tours are a lot of fun wherever you go and whatever your highlight is. The Civil War part came from just talking with Mr. Hitchings. He was a referral from a Model A club member who had participated in one of Mr. Hitchings’ tours 10 or 15 years ago — long before I was involved in the program.”

Powered by a 177-cubic-inch, four-cylinder inline engine that produced 20 horsepower and a top speed of 45 mph, the Model T is most comfortable at slower speeds that would tend to impede traffic on well-traveled thoroughfares.

“I went about 42 mph in a Model T once, and that was like being at Busch Gardens,” Sallada said. “That was a little fast. Their sweet spot is 25 to 35 mph. That’s about right.” During the Civil War, many public buildings and churches around the area were put into service as hospitals, barracks and stables. The toll house on the highway, now Route 17, that ran parallel to the Dismal Swamp Canal served as a checkpoint for examining the credentials and identification of local citizens.

For Robert Hitchings, president of the Norfolk County Historical Society of Chesapeake and archivist at the Wallace History Room at Chesapeake Central Library, offering comments on local history is nothing new.

But riding in a Ford Model T was a new experience for the historian.

“All in all, this was an eventful day in my life,” Hitchings said. “Frankly speaking, the ride was quite different than I really expected. There was lots of noise, pulling on the choke and gear shifting. It was quite a feat learning how to drive in those days. We have come a long way in automobiles. I can appreciate my modern Subaru automatic.”

Under the auspices of the Great Bridge Battlefield Museum and the Chesapeake Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Kendle conducts frequent battlefield walks at the Great Bridge park.

Kendle’s enthusiasm for the park and its related history is unmistakable, and contagious. His docent duties involve accompanying visitors through the museum and leading them on short battlefield treks. As a master docent, Kendle also contributes to educating and training docent candidates for the museum.

Although his Great Bridge Battlefield Park walk lasts for an hour and covers less than a mile (0.7 miles), Kendle’s knowledge of the site gives his guests the impression that he could continue indefinitely on the subject of the Battle of Great Bridge.

The walk begins in the parking lot adjacent to the Great Bridge Museum. Kendle introduces himself to his guests and briefs them on the geography and demographics of Great Bridge. He summarizes the circumstances that led up to political tension in 1775: French and Indian War, British war debt, and the British imposition of taxes on the colonists of Virginia.

Kendle’s first stop is at the overlook near the Elizabeth River. Visitors view the Elizabeth River and adjoining swamp as it was at the time of the Battle of Great Bridge on Dec. 9, 1775, and begin to appreciate the terrain that impeded the British attack on Patriot forces.

Midway through his battlefield walk, Kendle leads his entourage across the recreated causeway built on a grid of massive timbers and paved with crushed oyster shells.

For Kendall, the causeway stop embraces the very heart of his tour. He stands upon the exact spot where British soldiers were first fired upon by Patriot riflemen before the British troops were decimated by a deadly barrage of muskets from the Patriot breastworks. Kendle employs current anachronisms to orient his followers.

“We believe that the patriot breastworks were across the causeway near where the current bridge tower is today. The western breastworks were where the old fire station, Marines Corps Reserve building is today, 200 yards off the causeway,” Kendle said. “As you walk down this causeway that comes perpendicular to the British right flank. This is the exact spot where the British fired on from that breastwork. They were standing right here, we believe, when they were fired upon. This is the left side of the causeway from the bridge perspective.”

Kendle concludes his tour in the shadow of the 24-foot granite monument erected by the Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution that commemorates the Battle of Great Bridge.

He notes the significance of the details carved in stone on the monument and on the two concentric circles of the granite blocks that surround the obelisk itself.

“Around the outer ring, these are the names of the Virginia counties that supported the Battle of Great Bridge with militia,” Kendle said. “The counties named in the inner circle are the counties of the Culpeper Minutemen. Of course, Norfolk County (now the city of Chesapeake) is inscribed on the monument itself.”

When Kendle isn’t leading battlefield walks or responding to questions from museum visitors, he’s doing related research and contributing to the training of new museum docents.

“Jeff’s knowledge and enthusiasm for this history contributes so much to the visitor experience,” said Elizabeth Goodwin, executive director the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways History Foundation. “We’re truly honored to have him as part of our docent group that helps give tours to the visitors here in Chesapeake.”

More information about Kendle’s walks can be found on the foundation’s website at gbbattlefield.org.

The current ship replica replaced an earlier iteration created for the 350th commemoration at Jamestown Festival Park in 1957. The new ship, commissioned in April 1991, has served as the flagship for Virginia’s official fleet of 17th-century vessels for 33 years. Over 19 million visitors have crossed her planked decks to experience a bit of maritime life.

For more than three decades, Capt. Eric Speth, director of maritime operations for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, has commanded the vessel and implemented its water-borne ambassadorship.

“I love what I do, and I feel so fortunate to be able to work with the people I work with, the volunteers and the staff here at Jamestown Settlement,” Speth said.

Today, the bayside park in Ocean View is called Sarah Constant Beach Park in tribute to the flagship Susan Constant, the largest of three chartered English ships (Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery) that brought the colonists who established the first permanent English settlement in the New World at Jamestown.

On the grounds of the beach park near a cluster of live oak trees, a Virginia historical highway marker memorializes the ships and colonists who founded the English settlement on Jamestown Island in the early 17th century. Between the parking lot and the waters of Chesapeake Bay, on sandy ground, stands a shrine that bears an illustration of the Flagship Sarah Constant and a small plaque clarifying the tribute.

An engraved wooden sign on West Ocean View Avenue designates the site as Sarah Constant Beach Park, City of Norfolk. Parking is available. Restroom facilities are located in the park. A cluster of live oak trees provides shade from the sun. The sandy beach offers an impressive view of the Chesapeake Bay and the Ocean View Fishing Pier.

While the signage at the park seems to indicate a disparity, the names Sarah Constant and Susan Constant are references to the same historic vessel that accompanied the Godspeed and the pinnace Discovery in 1607.

The disparity in names probably had its origins in an error created by Anglican cleric Samuel Purchas, an Elizabethan-era travel writer who dubbed the vessel Sarah Constant instead of Susan Constant.

While the city of Norfolk and the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sarah Constant Chapter cling to the appellation Sarah Constant, Virginia prefers the name Susan Constant. The state historical highway marker on the Ocean View park site refers to the ship as the Susan Constant.

Regardless of what one chooses to call the replica vessel, we know that the original ship was a mid-size merchant vessel. It was three-masted, barque rigged. It carried square sails on the foremast, main mast, and spritsail under the bowsprit and a fore and aft rigged sail on the mizzen mast at the aft end of the vessel.

At Jamestown Settlement the ship is known as the Susan Constant. In Speth’s mind, there is no question about the ship’s identity.

“Susan Constant,” Speth said. “I think we see that in the historic record and also that is the official spelling in Virginia. Our fleet of ships here at Jamestown Settlement Museum are the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery. They are the official fleet of the commonwealth of Virginia and Susan Constant is the flagship of the fleet.”

A visit to Sarah Constant Beach Park in Ocean View is worth the time to view the shrine and historical marker. It also offers a beautiful beach view of the Chesapeake Bay.

A timely visit to this bayside park in Ocean View in the next few days might even provide a sighting of the Susan Constant replica as the craft passes through the Chesapeake Bay and heads to New England for restoration. The ship is expected to set sail as early as this weekend.

The aging recreated ship had been built for the 350th anniversary celebration of the founding of Jamestown in 1957. Speth, director of maritime operations for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, has now been captain of two versions of the reconstructed 17th-century ship for 36 years.

Thirty-six years of faithful service on the quarterdeck.

“I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for Jamestown Settlement and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation for all these years,” said Speth, 65. “It started with the construction of the Susan Constant here at Jamestown Festival Park (now Jamestown Settlement). We built a shipyard right here on the waterfront and a railway that we used to build the ship on and launch it into our basin on the James River.”

Since its commissioning on April 25, 1991, the Susan Constant has been open to the public as one of Jamestown Settlement’s most important — and appealing — interpretive exhibits. Along with the other recreated ships — Godspeed and Discovery — the Susan Constant has offered the public the unique opportunity to explore 17th-century ships and learn about the voyage to Virginia in 1607.

Jamestown Settlement has three paid staff members, including Speth, who are responsible for the maintenance and operation of the three vessels. When the ships cruise on the James River or to other ports of call in Virginia, they set sail with a crew of highly dedicated volunteers.

“We can’t do what we do to maintain the ships or sail the ships without our volunteer crew. They are so important to our operation,” Speth said. “They collectively donate between (8,000) and 10,000 hours per year. That’s the equivalent of four or five full-time staff.”

Volunteers are taught the basics of how to sail ships such as the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery. They work hand-in-hand with the staff performing all types of maintenance work from sanding and scraping to more high-tech work such as servicing marine electronics and maintaining and repairing engines.

All three recreated ships have engines and can be safely navigated in and out of the basin and through the narrow channel to the river. If the wind is blowing in the wrong direction or not blowing at all, the marine engines help to keep them on schedule.

As a child, Speth was very interested in history, especially in maritime history and sailing ships of the period. He started sailing on historic replica ships and historic ships from the 19th century, and over the years has worked his way back in time through the centuries. He now specializes in 16th- and 17th-century ships.

“I started sailing when I was a child,” Speth said. “I started by sailing modern vessels. My interest in sailing grew such that I wanted to learn to sail ships from the age of sail.”

When the Susan Constant — after 33 years of service at Jamestown Settlement — leaves Virginia in a few weeks and motors to Mystic Seaport Museum shipyard in Connecticut for a restoration overhaul, Speth will be on the quarterdeck.

“I love what I do, and I feel so fortunate to be able to work with the people I work with — the volunteers and the staff here at Jamestown Settlement,” he said.

Historical interpreter Jared Sapp is among the crew members selected by Speth for the voyage to Mystic. “It makes me glad that he trusts me and other crew members to let us go on that voyage, especially when we’ll be off the coast for five days,” Sapp said. “It’s something we don’t do all the time. I’m very excited about that.”

The scheduled restoration overhaul of the Susan Constant at Mystic Seaport has been estimated to take about two years at a cost of $4.7 million. Mystic’s Henry B. du Pont Preservation Shipyard is one of the preeminent wooden boat repair facilities along the Eastern Seaboard. Speth will be the project manager and the project inspector while the ship is there, spending time at the Mystic shipyard and also back at Jamestown.

Homer Lanier, director of visitor experience at Jamestown Settlement, has been sailing with Speth for close to 40 years. First underway together aboard the Susan Constant in 1987-88, they’ve been sailing together for 33 years on the ship’s current version. Lanier serves as helmsman aboard the Susan Constant — at the whip staff.

“As a ship’s captain, Captain Speth’s skills in my book are unmatched,” Lanier said. “I’ve sailed with a few different captains, but primarily with Eric Speth. Eric is always calm and always thinking about five or six steps ahead. Everything’s planned out. Nothing rattles him — even when the weather is completely ugly.”

Forget a sturdy iron-banded chest stuffed with gold and silver and secured with an imposing padlock to keep out greedy hands. King’s simple wooden and glass box contains a paper treasure, and it’s not cash.

The glass pane on the lid invites inquisitive visitors to take a peek at the priceless contents: a law book with an unusual handwritten inscription.

“The book is priceless at Riddick’s Folly museum because of the contents of the letter, who it was written to, and the book it was written in,” King said. “It was one of Nathaniel’s law books. This may not be a treasure anywhere else, but it is here.”

Maj. Gen. John Peck commanded Union forces in Suffolk. When threatened by 25,000 Confederate troops commanded by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, Peck organized the Union forces into a large defensive ring surrounding the town.

“That’s when Nathaniel Riddick and his wife fled to Petersburg,” King said.

Nathaniel Riddick’s pretentious mansion served as headquarters for Peck and his command staff in the heart of the occupied town during the siege of Suffolk. Riddick’s home remained inhabited by Union soldiers until the end of the War of the Rebellion.

“When they left, they took 85 to 90% of what was in the building. As far as we know, we only have one original door knob. They took the rest of the door knobs,” King said. “The Riddicks came back to a completely looted home.”

Riddick’s law office in a separate, single story building next door to the looted mansion fared better than his home. Riddick’s elegant furnishings were far more attractive to looters than his law books.

On the inside cover in one of the books in Riddick’s law office, a signal officer on Peck’s staff left a cordial message for Riddick, the absentee owner.

In spite of being actively engaged in a tragic civil war, Lt. Amos M. Thayer was a visionary in that he was able to disagree with Riddick’s politics without berating his unwilling host.

Curator Lee King has memorized Lt. Thayer’s pleasant note to Riddick and routinely offers to recite Thayer’s comments for Riddick’s Folly visitors during house tours.

“We know it was written by A. M. Thayer. He was a signal officer for the Union troops,” King said. “He wrote this letter in the front of one of Nathaniel’s law books, and he left it behind for him to read.”

It says: “Mr. Riddick — Dear Sir — Whilst you were away from home striving to subvert this Government the necessities of war made me an inmate of your office — I have great respect for your evident desire to promote the agricultural interest of Eastern Virginia — great respect for the taste displayed in ornamenting your grounds and I’ve no doubt that a better acquaintance would make me a more admirer of the talents which you evidently possess — But whilst I am no abolitionist I must confess that I believe the cause in which you are engaged decidedly wrong — We shall see however — I hope to meet you on friendly terms in more peaceful times and enjoy you socially.”

It was signed: “A. M. Thayer Signal Officer U.S.A.”

After the war, Lt. Amos Madden Thayer became a U.S. Circuit Court judge. Riddick also served as a local judge following the war and as mayor of Suffolk. Riddick died in his law office in 1882.

As for the book with the cordial inscription, it was purchased at a yard sale in Suffolk for the grand sum of 50 cents by Marion Watson, a local historian and author, who knew the historic value of the tome, with the personal message. When Riddick’s Folly became a house museum, the volume was donated to the museum.

Today, the prized book is locked in a small glass and wooden case to protect it. Thayer’s handwritten note has faded with time but is still clearly legible.

The intriguing sight leads to the Pungo Dinosaur Park, an exhibit open to the public, especially families with young children who adore the prehistoric reptiles.

“It is free to the public. It’s open sunrise to sunset,” said Mitchell Welch, director of operations at the Military Aviation Museum. “If the museum is not open, visitors can park under the trees just off Princess Anne Road, clear the driveway, walk carefully across the drive and enjoy the park.”

Pungo Dinosaur Park was built around a fire retention pond on the museum property, which is “inhabited” by a Plesiosaurus that staff members affectionately call “Nessie.”

“Our founder (Gerald Yagen) built the park because he had kids and grandkids at the time he started the museum, and they loved dinosaurs,” Welch said. “He loved airplanes. His wife enjoys cars so there are cars around the museum to keep her happy.”

The dinosaur figures originally were an outgrowth of the museum to share with the community and an effort to attract the attention of kids as their families drove past the aviation museum on Princess Anne Road. The predator park has generated considerable interest and questions from visitors over the years.

“It fits right in here. Some of those dinosaurs could fly. There are about 12 to 15 dinosaurs out there. I can’t even name them all anymore,” Welch said. “They are not to be climbed on. They are metal and have rough edges and rust on them. We do ask that our guests not climb on them.”

The elements affect the dinosaur figures. The mechanics who maintain the museum’s warbirds also help paint and patch the park’s prehistoric critters, with a mastodon and saber-toothed tiger have been added to the exhibit in recent years.

“They need some TLC. We need to do some welding patchwork and some touch up on the paint,” Welch noted. “Not too much.”

The word “dinosaur” comes from two Greek words. Deinos meaning horrible and sauros meaning lizard. Dinosaurs are indeed fascinating lizards from the perspective of impressionable youngsters.

“They are cool. The kids love them,” Welch said. “Their eyes light up when they cross the driveway and enter the park.”

The park’s T. rex is a life-size depiction of the king of the tyrant lizards, a ferocious creature that ruled during the Cretaceous period in western North America between 66 million and 68 million years ago. This giant lizard weighed from 7 to 8 tons and measured 40 feet in length from the tip of its massive tail to its nose.

The park’s exhibits include a nest of three young dinosaurs — Tyrannosaurus rex babies — hatching from their shells. Children love seeing the baby dinos. The T. rex babies have sharp teeth and claws and are safely viewed from a short distance.

Perched in a tree overlooking the park, the form of a prehistoric flying lizard, a pterodactyl, is a subtle reminder that the Military Aviation Museum maintains and oversees the park property.

“We want the public to come by and enjoy the park even if they are not airplane fans. Kids may not appreciate the airplanes when they are two or three, but they all sure know dinosaurs. It’s something the family can do,” Welch said.

“It’s not always about the buck — the dollar. It’s about what’s right. Our founder set the policy. We’ve continued that. We see no reason to charge for the dinosaur park. We want it open for everybody to enjoy.”

Based upon “Bomber Boys,” a book written and illustrated by photographer John Slemp, the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach has created an exhibit that features a collection of high-resolution digital photographs and personal interviews with the Army Air Corps pilots and crewmen who wore the highly-regarded leather garment with pride.

A-2 flying jackets were initially issued to commissioned officers following basic flight training. The government-issued garments conferred instant respect and prestige on the officers who wore them. Later, enlisted members of the aircrews were also issued the coveted jacket.

The seal brown or russet horsehide flying jackets, also called “bomber jackets,” featured knitted waistbands and knit cuffs with a shirt-style collar. The jacket’s epaulettes were stitched, and the front flap-patch pockets had snaps.

Although decorating the leather jackets was officially against regulations, the jackets quickly became striking illustrations for visually documenting the number of missions, reflecting the owner’s service record and identifying the type of aircraft flown, as well as its nickname.

Decorated flight jackets were permitted, unofficially, by air forces’ commanders in WWII because the practice was thought to enhance unit spirit de corps. Often, squadron or unit members with artistic talent would decorate the backs of the leather flight jackets with risqué illustrations. When pilots and aircrewmen changed units, squadron patches would be removed and replaced with patches that reflected the new unit designation. The quality of the artwork on the A-2s ranged from that of simple folk art to virtual masterpieces.

John Slemp, author-photographer, was initially interested in photographing the artwork on World War II bomber jackets, which he calls “the finest military folk art ever created.”

He came to view the art work as an avenue to delve into the wartime experiences and stories of the Air Corps veterans who flew the aircraft on their hazardous missions.

“This exhibit just opened in November. It’s based on the book on bomber jackets,” said Mitchell Welch, director of operations at the museum. “We worked with the author to select a handful of examples of the jackets that he has photographed. Our exhibit also includes photographs of and interviews with some of the owners of these jackets.”

“John Slemp spent over a decade going around the country taking photos of World War II flight jackets, focusing on the Army Air Corps A-2 flight jacket,” said Zack Baughman, curator and volunteer coordinator at the museum. “It was important to document the jackets themselves, which are true American folk art, but also the stories behind the jackets. The jackets themselves don’t tell the stories. It’s the stories of the men and women who wore the jackets that are important.”

In addition to Slemp’s photographs of the jackets, their owners and interview excerpts, the Military Aviation Museum display also features two actual A-2 flight jackets from the museum’s collection.

Charles Fleetwood, museum director, enjoys receiving the artifacts and photographs from donors, but he treasures the opportunity to listen to the fascinating personal stories and memories that his benefactors share with him about the Ocean View area and its colorful history.

Recently, a museum patron donated an exit sign that used to hang on the gate of The Rocket, a wooden roller coaster that served as the centerpiece at Ocean View Amusement Park for over five decades.

“You’re kidding me,” Fleetwood said upon receiving the long-forgotten artifact from the amusement park that closed in 1978.

Fleetwood was assured the salvaged sign was no joke. It had been acquired at the time the park was demolished, and it was authentic. The salvager had torn it from the gate of The Rocket exit himself, and he had stored it in his garage for more than 40 years.

“Everyone thought that the old wooden Rocket was dangerous and rickety and was about to fall down,” Fleetwood said. “They couldn’t tear it down. They had to blow it up.”

King’s Dominion, Water Country USA and other amusement park venues opened in the mid-1970s. Public interest declined at Ocean View Amusement Park.

“They went out of business here in Ocean View. They sold out,” Fleetwood said. “The city of Norfolk tore it down. That was it, 1979. That was the end of the park.”

All of the artifacts and photographs exhibited in the Ocean View Station Museum come from people who have brought in relics and images from family collections, amusement park motifs and old-time events.

“They’ve brought them in and delivered them to us. It happens all the time on a regular basis,” Fleetwood said. “As people get older, they donate older items, and we’re collecting them.”

The museum survives on minor donations and sales of reprinted posters and photographs. The city of Norfolk provides several modest sized rooms in the Pretlow Library for office space and for display of the museum’s collection. There is no charge for admission.

Volunteers are needed at the museum, even if you can only contribute a few hours a week.

“The best part of the museum is the people that come in to visit. It’s not about the museum,” Fleetwood said. “It’s about the people and their memories and all of the events and things that have gone on in their lives. They look and they see all that we have here. When I look at their smiles, that is wonderful.”

The Ocean View Station Museum was named after the trolley car station located where the Pretlow Library stands today. Ocean View was the end of the line. The Ocean View Amusement Park was the biggest attraction.

“A lot of the older people come in, and I love to see them. They walk around and they point and they talk,” Fleetwood said. “They have their grandchildren with them. That makes me feel good. That’s what we’re here for.”

For more information about the museum and volunteer opportunities, call 757-531-0445.