The Roanoker - January/February 2018 - 20

MUNDY:

National
Gone Local
Liza Mundy's newest book
reads like a well-written local
history.

R

OANOKE NATIVE LIZA MUNDY has never

been considered a local author, but
with the recent dramatic success of
Roanoke writers nationally, she might
want to re-think.
Her newest sensation is "Code Girls:
The Untold Story of the American
Women Code Breakers of World War
II" (Hachette, $28) and it follows "The
Richer Sex," "Love and Family" and
"Michelle," all popular titles, which
landed her the title "New York Times
Best-Selling Author," a much sought
designation. She was a decorated reporter
for the Washington Post for many years
and has been a regular commentator-
especially on women's work issues-in
national TV for some years.
Mundy grew up in Roanoke, daughter
of Marshall Mundy, a prominent attorney
who retired after 54 years in 2016, and
graduated from North Cross School
in 1978. A superb English department

The Little
Green Hive
Expands
Find their coffee in two new
additional spaces.

T

HE ROANOKE VALLEY has become an

ideal location for Sharon Ponce,
owner of the Little Green Hive to build
on her love of coffee. A lifelong coffee
lover, Sharon's draw to coffee goes back
to sharing early morning cups of coffee
with her father.
20

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018

at North Cross, a tiny, newish
school born in the late 1960s of
integration resistance, led her to her career.
"Code Girls" is part of a mini-trend
giving credit where it has been absent to
women's contributions to Western war
and space efforts, whether as nurses in the
Civil War, African-American scientists
at NASA and British code breaking,
among others. Mundy's book digs deep
into the contribution of mostly-young
women who descended on Washington
in the early 1940s-many of them school
teachers-as Army and Navy recruits to
help break the Axis powers' military and
diplomatic codes. The 10,000 women,
generally housed at complexes in and
around Washington, broke often-complex
codes that led to Allied victories on the
battle field.
The spate of books, television series

"Coffee is comforting. It reminds me
of home," she shares.
The Little Green Hive is a staple
in downtown Roanoke, nestled in the
entryway of the 16 West Market Street
building. The quaint, eclectic feel of the
shop combined with superior coffee
draws a diverse set of coffee drinkers. The
shop serves unique coffee combinations,
exotic teas, and handcrafted, whole-fruit
smoothies, along with pastries sourced
both from her own kitchen and from
local bakeries with vegan and glutenfree options.
In Fall 2017, they unveiled two new
locations. The new Grandin location, in
the former Cups Coffee space, opened
up in early November, along with a

and movies on women's contributions
"is a happy coincidence," says Mundy.
The information she dug out was not,
in general, secret today, having been
declassified several years ago, but if you
didn't have a specific interest in codes,
you'd likely not find it. "You'd have to
be pretty interested," Mundy says. She
was "pretty interested" and went
digging after several conversations,
including questions from her
husband.
The women code breakers signed
oaths of silence during the war and
were not aware those oaths had been
negated by the years. When Mundy told
some of the women she interviewed, they
were surprised and ready to talk.
Among those she talked to was Dot
Braden, who is in her nineties and still
lives in her hometown of Lynchburg.
Braden is a central character in the
book, which sometimes feels like an
extremely well-written and researched
local history. Frank Rowlett of Rocky
Mount also played an important role, as
did Sweet Briar and Randolph-Macon
Women's Colleges, where code-breakers
were recruited.
This is a fascinating story, heavy
on character and the kind of detailed
reporting a good journalist emphasizes. I
-DAN SMITH

new location in Salem on the Roanoke
College campus. To make the transition
as easy as possible, they'll keep serving
java while renovating the space to inject
the Little Green Hive vibe.
As they expand, they will continue to
pour only locally sourced, fair trade and
organic coffee roasted in small batches
for maximum freshness and will use
local suppliers, like Dutchess Dairy in
Rural Retreat. Each location carries the
familiar branding and serves a similar
menu of drinks and sweet treats, but will
have its own sense of individuality based
on the area it serves.
"Our goal to become your coffee
happy place," Sharon says. I
-LIZ STAPLEFOOTE

TheRoanoker.com

LIZA MUNDY, CODE GIRLS COVER: COURTESY OF LIZA MUNDY

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