Cooperative Living August 2018 - 35

wedding photography and photo shoots.
Dutch Market Eatery opened in April 2018
in a 5,000-square-foot 1910 brick building at
6713 S. Quay Road. Owner Wanda Bishop has
a culinary arts degree and years of food service
experience. Originally she planned to open
a restaurant in Norfolk, but after brainstorming
with a friend, returned to her hometown.
" The longest-running business [in this
building] was a grocery store called Dutch
Market, a community fixture for years. I
named it Dutch Market Eatery to honor
[that heritage], " Bishop explains.
With exposed brick walls, made-in-house
food and a former stage area doubling as a
play area for children, Bishop says locals have
been " super-excited " about the new venture.
Fresh-cut flowers in painted Mason jars adorn
tables, and there's a down-home atmosphere.
A Saturday breakfast buffet that begins at
8:30 a.m. has been well-received, she says.
" I want to be part of the community, not
just provide food. I plan to join the Ruritans, "
she says.
The Ruritan Club is not only a Holland
fixture - it's where Ruritans began. The
first Ruritan Club in America was chartered
here May 21, 1928.
The premise was simple: Founders wanted
an organization where people could meet and
discuss ways to make their community a
better place to live. A reporter suggested the
name, adopted unanimously: Ruritan is a
combination of Latin words for open country
(ruri) and small town (tan). Today Ruritan
National has 25,000 members who work to
improve life in over 900 local communities.
Unlike most civic groups, Ruritan rarely
has national programs. Each club surveys its
own community and works to meet local needs.
Joe Simmons, president of the 45-member
Holland Ruritan Club, taught high school
for 34 years and retired as director of
mosquito control for the City of Chesapeake.
He grew up in Chesapeake's Great Bridge
area, moving to a rural area surrounded by
farm fields a mile from town 27 years ago.
" I fell in love with a Suffolk girl and we
moved here, " he says. " I stay here because I
love where I live, with good people who
take pride in their town. "
Simmons got involved with the Ruritans
in 2001 after his daughter was awarded a
scholarship by the group.
" Fellowship, goodwill, community
service - that's the Ruritans, " he notes.
" Today people are less likely to get involved
in civic groups, but in small towns it's still
important. It's a social thing, but we also do
a lot of good for the community. "
A monument celebrating the Ruritans'
founding is prominently displayed at Holland
Park. Among their accomplishments, Holland
Ruritans spearheaded the founding of
Community Electric Cooperative in
Windsor in 1938, which now serves over
11,000 members.
The Holland Ruritans meet at Holland
Community House on Netherland Drive, a
brick building used for various community
functions. Their " Founder's Day " celebration
in May was hampered by bad weather,
allowing only a few planned events to be
held. A beach music/fireworks display has
been rescheduled on Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. and
a car show on Oct. 13, both to be held at
Holland Park & Athletic Fields.
Like " the little engine that could, " Holland
remains an optimistic, cohesive village full
of friendly people, undaunted by fire,
consolidation and the ravages of time. 
1. Wanda Bishop, owner of Dutch Market Eatery. Bishop says customers have told her, " It's nice to have a place run by a hometown girl " ;
2. Holland Supply " ham " on display at Dutch Market Eatery. Holland Supply Company was once a meatpacking plant in Holland supplying
" old fashion " Virginia hams; 3. This 1910 building houses Dutch Market Eatery; 4. Monument in Holland Park honoring the founding of
the nation's first Ruritan Club in Holland in 1928; 5. Joe Simmons, president of Holland Ruritan Club, says Holland has " good people who
take pride in their town " ; 6. Virginia State marker commemorates the founding of
the first Ruritan Club in America in 1928; 7. Sign inside Holland
Community House honoring Holland Ruritan Club founder
J.J. Gwaltney and its first president, E.T. Batten.
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Cooperative Living August 2018

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