KeswicK Hall

THEVALLEYMAGAZINEVolume 34, 2011

Peace corPs at JMUFour Peace Corps Volunteers Share Their Experiences from Around the World

a canine Who caresA Service Dog Aids Children in Reading

a satisfying sliceStaunton Pizzeria Dishes Up the Perfect Pie

school of rockA Look into One Professor’s Lifeas a Former Rock Star

A Glimpse Inside

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{4} Out Of the OvenStaunton pizzeria serving up slices of heaven.

{7} teacher’s PetA four-legged friend helps Marianne Baker inspire reading in the Valley.

{10} classrOOm rOckFormer rocker hopes to inspire young musicians through teaching.

{14} Peace cOrPs chrOniclesVolunteers share their stories of success and hardships while serving in the Peace Corp.

Editors-in-ChiEf

Colleen HayesJordan Garegnani

ArtiClEs Editor | Chloe MullinerCopy Editor | Megan Reichartphoto Editor | Robert BoagCrEAtivE dirECtor | Amy Gwaltney

WritErs

Katie GeorgeNora McLeeseBrittany KeenanAllison KillamEmily WeidieMolly RossbergMolly HaasAlexandra ConroyAlex Van Rees

photogrAphErs

Amy GwaltneyJordan GaregnaniMary BeckerKatie George

Contributing photogrAphErs

Ryan Freeland

dEsignErs

Jeff DarlingMary Claire Jones

Advisor

Dave Wendelken

S tA f f

Cont

ents

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THEVALLEYMAGAZINEVolume 34, SPRING 2011

About Curio: Curio is a regional general-interest feature magazine published each year by students in the School of Media Arts & Design at James Madison University. Curio is a nonprofit organization supported by the College of Arts and Letters and the School of Media Arts & Design. Subscriptions are not available.

Curio 2011 3

{20} the stOry Of keswickDiscover the history and luxury of Keswick Hall.

25 - From monticello to the table

The Executive Chef of Fossett’s restaurant reveals his historic inspirations for the exquisite food at Keswick.

{28} finding truth | seeking truth | sharing truthA young church grows exponentially by making

worship an informal affair in Harrisonburg.

{32} the valley abOveAn aerial photo essay of the Shenandoah Valley.

{38} a hidden lOtus temPleAn ashram in Virginia continues the ancient tradition of the yogi lifestyle.

{42} 75 years yOungA park 75 years in the making gets a celebration it deserves.

{46} Pins and (knitting) needlesThree JMu students sell their handmade creations through their self-run business called The Mason Jar.

On the cOver: a misty mOrning at keswick hall.

Photo courtesy oF KeswicK hall.

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out of the oven

{A sLice of stAunton’s dining deLights}

“JOhnnie, JOhnnie, we need yOu uP here, the kitchen is gOing crazy.”

The desperate calls from the kitchen send John “Johnnie” Hug-gins rushing to his chefs. It’s the peak of the Saturday night rush at Shenandoah Pizza in downtown Staunton, and as the restaurant’s owner, Huggins’s presence is re-

quired in five places at once. As the band sets up in the front

of the restaurant, the line of waiting customers quickly extends outside

the front door. Hot, steaming pizzas emerge from the kitchen in constant

succession, and two new orders replace each completed one.

prEp Work It’s hard to imagine that only five years ago

this bustling restaurant was simply a long-standing idea.

“I’ve always wanted to do a pizza shop since I was in college,” Huggins said. “I mean, what American doesn’t like pizza? It’s sort of a natural thing.”

Taking on the challenge to try something new, Hug-gins and his wife, Cheryl, left their home in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and moved to Staunton to start up their dream.

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story by kAtiE gEorgE | photos by kAtiE gEorgE And

MAry bECkEr

Curio 2011 5

Huggins’s determination, how-ever, was not enough to turn out an instant victory; his idea required close to a year of preparation.

“We never ran a restaurant, so we had to learn by doing, and we’re still learning,” he says.

Together, the couple traveled around the country visiting famous pizzerias from Maine to Mississippi. After collecting ideas and developing recipes, they were ready to prove they could make it work.

The Hugginses began by churn-ing out pizzas in the kitchen of their Staunton home, but with some help from a friend, they moved the busi-ness into a small establishment down-town.

Here their success quickly esca-lated, allowing for the move into the current premises.

“What made us really popular is the networking and being really in-volved in the city,” Huggins says.

Now, three years later, Shenan-doah Pizza has risen in fame, providing those weekend nights that keep Hug-gins so busy.

“There’s a lot of hours involved, but we’ve got a pretty good reputation,” he says.

thE uppEr CrustHuggins selectively chooses the

ingredients, prepares all six sauces and pestos from scratch, and in the summer months, tops the pizzas with fresh, lo-cal vegetables. However, he takes most pride in his crust.

“We make our dough in small batches so it’s constantly fresh,” he explains. “That’s what really keeps us going.”

Each batch uses Wade’s Mill organ-ic flour, which is grown and ground in the Shenandoah Valley. Extra virgin ol-ive oil and kosher sea salt heighten the crust’s wholesome flavor and custom-ers can choose from four styles: regular, whole-wheat, sunflower-parmesan and gluten-free.

Each crispy bite gives way to the lightest of interiors, a pillow-like mass

of moist and delicate bread — crunchy and chewy, yet meltingly soft.

Huggins’s pizzas are also distin-guished by their quirky names – every one commemorating the town that he has come to love.

“We pick institutions, hotspots, schools and places to eat around Staunton, and name the pizza after them,” Huggins says.

Furthermore, the toppings reflect something significant about each place.

“I thought it would be extra special to do that,” he says.

The Dairy-Rite Pizza, topped with ground beef, onion, bacon and cheddar, recognizes the town’s historic 50s-style diner.

The Mary Baldwin features the favorite toppings of regular customers from the school: roasted red pepper pesto, broccoli, tomatoes, kalamata olives and feta cheese.

Students from the Umbau Archi-tecture School in Staunton constructed their namesake pizza in an ingredient contest. The winning selections were artichokes, garlic, red onion, roasted red peppers, black olives, mozzarella and feta.

The sophisticated aspects of these gourmet pizzas, however, certainly don’t detract from business. Newcom-ers and long-term customers alike enjoy the menu’s refreshing take on the standard pie.

Liz and David Royer are previous Staunton locals who now live in Lynch-

burg. Yet their appreciation for the food’s all-natural quality and unique taste still brings them to Shenandoah Pizza at least four times a year.

“The pizzas and ingredients are so inventive, things that I wouldn’t have thought of,” Liz says, as she takes a bite of the avocado, feta and sunflower topped Gypsy Hill. “And I love the crust, something about it just makes the pizza seem healthier.”

The rest of the customers seem to silently agree, their faces exposing unified satisfaction as they savor their cheesy slices.

ExtrA toppingsJudging by the menu alone,

Shenandoah Pizza already exceeds the typical pizzeria provisions, but their special touches make the restaurant truly exceptional.

In five years, the restaurant pro-gressed from offering 10 varieties of beer to over 200.

“It seems like every six months we add 50 more,” Huggins says with a chuckle, still surprised of the growth.

The menu includes local options like Blue Mountain Brewery beers to specialty brews from Colorado and California.

Also, since day one, Huggins has hosted jazz and blues musicians who, along with the aroma of fresh pizza, permeate the air with eclectic ambience.

“It brings this 50s jazz lounge feel,” David Royer says.

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Huggins started with hosting Staunton’s local musicians, but as the restaurant’s name grew, so did the variety of performers. Players showcase their music almost every night and many musicians from out of state add Shenandoah Pizza into their tours.

“I’ve gotten myself involved with concerts and music festivals around the area too,” Huggins says.

Included in the list of events sponsored by the Hugginses are the Wine and Jazz Festival on June 18 and Shenandoah Summer Blues Fest on Aug. 27.

sliCing it rightThe restaurant’s astonishing fla-

vors, unique menu and added bonuses of beer and music come together to provide the ultimate pizza experience. Compared to other Staunton dining

locations, Shenandoah Pizza’s casual atmosphere and reasonably-priced fare makes the restaurant appealing for anyone.

“It’s a great, energetic and fun place to hang out. John’s a great guy and makes you feel at home or like you’re at a friend’s house for dinner,” says frequent diner David Ferreira.

But despite Huggins’s pride in the restaurant’s constant success, he is most satisfied when using it to give back.

“Cheryl and I definitely have a sense of community and we give a lot; we’re involved with a lot of charities, school fundraisers and the arts,” he says.

Huggins hopes that his commit-ment to the arts and effort to showcase musical talent in the restaurant and Staunton serves to make a difference and bring the community together.

It is this generosity and involve-ment, along with the personalized menu and the restaurant’s name, that proves Huggins will forever give his community the first slice. Whether a friend of Huggins’s or a first-time cus-tomer, all diners receive superior atten-tion and entertainment in a setting fit for continuing the community’s vitality.

“I hope the customers have a good, enjoyable meal and people will come here and not just think they’re at their average pizza place, but that we have something a little extra special,” he says.

kAtiE gEorgE is a junior media arts & design major and studio art minor from Leesburg, Va. She is the art editor for 22807 Magazine. She keeps an indepen-dent food blog and plans to pursue a career that combines her interests in food and cooking with media, photog-raphy, and graphic design.

shenandOah: Everything is special in the Shenandoah Valley: Ham, Italian sausage, mush-rooms, green peppers, red onions, and mozzarella on red sauce

valley: A center for the performing arts and home to extraordinary musicians and artists: spinach, mozzarella, red onion, and tomatoes on white sauce

shakesPearean: See Shakespeare come alive at Blackfri-ars Playhouse: artichoke hearts, mozza-rella, and tomatoes on basil pesto sauce

wOOdrOw: In honor of Staunton’s own Woodrow Wilson: pepperoni, sausage, and moz-zarella on red sauce

JOhn’s favOrite:island girl:

Our native OBX daughter’s favorite pie: ham, bacon, pineapple, and mozzarella on red sauce

authOr’s favOrite:the virginia vineyard:

The Blue Ridge is home to award-win-ning wines with grapes harvested from our local vineyards: grapes, Gorgonzola cheese, and rosemary (a surprisingly unique blend of sweet and savory that transported me into a momentary Tus-can countryside. A uniquely refreshing option and a definite must for venturous eaters.)

{BESTSELLErS}