A Walk Around Wytheville
Wytheville is a charming small town in the mountains of Southwest Virginia that offers a variety of musical entertainment, shopping opportunities, rich history and abundance of outdoor recreation. Wytheville is located at the intersection of Interstates 77 and 81. Writers Bruce and Elaine Ingram share their experiences from a recent visit.
“They sell out fast, we’d better go there first,” said Deana Kelley, assistant director of the Wytheville Convention and Visitors Bureau. The “they” Kelley was referring to were the doughnuts of Danny and Jannell Shouse who own the Olykoek (Dutch for doughnut) Shoppe. And so began our walk around Wytheville—a town that brims with fascinating places for folks to visit.
Olykoek Shoppe
“We ain’t as big as Krispy Kreme, but we’re getting there,” laughed Danny Shouse, the owner of Olykoek Shoppe.
Danny says that the maple bacon doughnut is the shoppe’s most popular treat. People love the bacon, salt, and sugar mixture, he says. But, the fruity pebble is a close second with the “sugar on sugar” combination perhaps the reason. Jannell says that they make some 40 different kinds of doughnuts with additions and subtractions all the time. Coffee and ice cream add to the choices.
Batiks Etcetera & Sew What Fabrics
We stop at Batiks Etcetera every time we visit Wytheville, and, of course, did the same on this excursion.
“Batiks just have a different feel to them, crisper, more tightly woven than printed cotton,” said assistant manager Blake Tilson. “This is a great job. I’m surrounded by batiks and the colors available and the creative juices swirling around the store are amazing.”
Farmer’s Daughter Boutique
Next, we visited the Farmer’s Daughter Boutique, beckoned by the building’s fuchsia and teal exterior. It’s in a part of Wytheville that is home to the town’s oldest buildings.
“We’re the brightest place in town,” said sales associate Teresa Ellis. She’s right as the Spartina handbags and the Brighton jewelry drew us in. Teresa added that some people come just to play the store’s grand piano, and Elaine tickled the keys before we left.
Boyd and Rock House Museums
Michael Gillman, curatorial and education assistant for the Boyd and Rock House museums, is passionate about his avocation. Perhaps, the most poignant display in the Thomas J. Boyd Museum is the iron lung, reminding visitors of the polio epidemic that so negatively impacted the region until the 1950s before Jonas Salk created a serum.
“Wytheville was the hardest hit community per capita in the nation,” said Michael. “We had 189 confirmed cases and 37 deaths—devastating numbers for a town of around 6,000.”
The Haller-Gibboney Rock House Museum was home to the town’s first resident physician, Dr. John Haller, who, after the standard six-month course, set up his shingle around 1800. Doctoring was a sideline to Haller’s minister and school teacher careers. Dr. Haller charged $1.25 if someone needed a good bleeding, a common remedy at the time for many ailments.
Lunch at the Log House
Quite honestly, the 1776 Log House Restaurant is one of the most impressive lunch and dinner eateries we’ve ever visited. Elaine dined on the 3 Guys Salad (salad topped with chicken, turkey, and tuna chunks with almonds and sweet ‘n’ sour dressing and a fresh croissant), Deana on a chef salad (turkey, smoked ham, and various cheeses) and Bruce on the vegetable platter (baked potato, broccoli, spicy crisp green beans). As sublime as all of us pronounced our entrees, which came with homemade bread, they aren’t even the most popular ones, says manager Kish Hatchel.
“Our specialty is the Sunshine Sandwich, an open face honey wheat roll with your choice of turkey or ham or both, topped with asparagus and melted provolone. But the Big Farmer’s Delight is also really popular.”
The smoked ham and white turkey with the Thousand Island dressing on a toasted honey wheat roll, covered with Monterey Jack and Colby Cheese, might have something to do with the latter’s popularity.
The restaurant also features a full dinner menu and bar.
Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum
After lunch, we walked to the Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum. Co-founder Farron Smith proved passionate about her subject. As well she should be. Edith was a direct descendant of Pocahontas, was married to a president whom she nursed back to health, raised sheep on the White House Lawn during World War I that garnered some $100,000 for the war effort, was the first honorary president of the Girl Scouts, and was the first woman to own and drive a car in Washington, D.C.
And, oh, you might have heard something about Edith’s role in the decision-making arena during the Great War. Farron can provide information in all these realms.
Petals of Wytheville
Need a beautiful flower display for a special occasion, perhaps with a bottle of wine? Perhaps combine them all in the same gift item. Then come to Petals of Wytheville and talk to owner Teresa King.
“In 2010, I decided to take a risk and opened my first business—this shop,” she said. “I try to stay on top of trends.”
Petals offers both beer and wine along with a variety of gift items to complement its floral offerings.
Wiffle Pops
Then it was on to Wiffle Pops, whimsically named after a frequent mispronunciation of the town’s name. The shop offers a fascinating concept—health food popsicles as well as gelato and Italian ice. For most concoctions, store personnel use natural flavors, plus agave as a sweetener instead of sugar.
“The flavors are unique, you just can’t go anywhere and find popsicles like ours,” said manager Dara Smith. “Our owner, Matt Temple, gets our varieties from constantly experimenting and mixing various flavors.”
Dara said that the most popular popsicles are the Watermelon, Strawberry Orange, and Cookies and Cream. More unusual popsicle flavors include raspberry hibiscus, cantaloupe tarragon and honeydew cilantro. Gelato flavors include bananas foster, chocolate hazelnut, cinnamon roll, and many others.
Bolling Wilson Hotel
We checked in to the Bolling Wilson Hotel, built in 1927. It remained a hotel until the 1970s when it became a bank. But in 2010, new owners Bill and Farron Smith decided to bring the establishment back to its traditional place as the focal point of downtown Wytheville.
“I love the small town atmosphere and the neighborly feeling here,” said General Manager Kevin Worthy. “The renovation of the Bolling Wilson was a great thing for Wytheville. For me, it is a thrill to work at a historic boutique hotel like this one.”
Paying homage to Edith Bolling Wilson, each floor of guest rooms is representative of her life and designed differently. Orchid rooms (President Woodrow Wilson sent her an orchid every day of their courtship), canary rooms (canaries were family pets during her childhood) and bourbon rooms (Mrs. Wilson’s drink of choice) add to the experience. Whether in design, décor, furnishings, or photographs, each level is a different experience.
Some of the unique aspects are an 1873 piano and an antique sewing table, but they are intermixed with modern, contemporary furnishings that are sleek with clean lines and bright colors.
Worthy says that the bourbon pork chops, shrimp and cheesy grits, and linguini pasta with shrimp are among the most popular entrees at the hotel’s restaurant, Graze on Main. The eatery was named after Edith Wilson’s bold move to graze sheep on the White House lawn.
“Chef Travis Milton is very creative and nationally known. He’s been on the Food Channel,” he said.
Based on that recommendation, Deana dined on the pork chops and Elaine the shrimp and grits, easily understanding why those entrees are so well received. I was similarly quite pleased with the crab cakes.
Skeeter’s
The next morning before heading home, we ate breakfast at Skeeter’s, best known for its hot dogs. Indeed, the day before a woman with children in tow passed us on the sidewalk, announcing that she had driven from Tennessee just to dine on the restaurant’s famous dogs.
“One of the reasons our hot dogs taste so good is that we steam both the dogs and the buns,” said owner Wanda Rodgers. “Most places don’t do that, today. But’s it not just the flavor, it’s the tradition. Not long after the place opened a grocery store in 1925, the owner started selling hot dogs as a sideline, and generations of people have come here for the hot dogs.”
Perhaps its time to start your own traditions by walking around Wytheville and taking in all this town has to offer.