Cooperative Living January 2018 - 35

Bumpass
Community
& Friends
Clockwise from top left: St. Thomas Baptist Church; Sharon Christian Church; Katherine Jackson grew up in nearby Buckner and now
lives with her daughter, Sharon Roberts, pastor of St. Thomas Baptist Church in Bumpass; Lauren Nash, an employee/caregiver at
Project Perry/Central Virginia Parrot Sanctuary, is one of the sanctuary's four employees; Christian Goodwin, county administrator.
with numerous " lake homes " about 5 miles
from Bumpass.
Goodwin says Louisa encompasses
" the best of both worlds, " noting, " There's
strong commercial growth in some areas
and [we still have] rural areas that make
up the historical fabric of the county. "
Carved out of Hanover County in 1742
and named for Great Britain's Princess
Louise, Louisa spans 514 square miles and
has a population of about 35,000. The
largest employer is a Walmart distribution
center in Zion Crossroads, employing
about 1,200 people.
The Sargeant Museum & Heritage Farm
is in the town of Louisa, operated by the
Louisa County Historical Society and
housed in a 1914 home built by Frank
Sargeant, the grandfather of J. Sargeant
Reynolds, who served as Virginia's Lt.
Governor 1970-'71. The museum also
offers living history demonstrations and
genealogy research assistance.
Just down the road is the nationally
recognized 27-acre Project Perry/Central
Virginia Parrot Sanctuary, founded by Matt
Smith in 2005. The nonprofit's primary
mission is to help rescue exotic birds, as
well as abused/neglected birds.
www.co-opliving.com
Smith points out that macaws, for
example, can live to be 80 years old,
adding, " So many baby boomers are getting
baby parrots, thinking their adult child
will care for the bird [when they die]. Cat
and dog shelters are actively euthanizing
[such] birds, but shelters don't have to
report on it. Birds are lumped into 'other'
[statistically] so we really don't know how
many [former pets] are being euthanized. "
Two-thirds of the birds at the sanctuary
This historical marker was placed on
Bumpass Road in September 2017,
on property owned by CSX Railroad that
is currently used by the Buckingham
Branch Railroad.
" The Wild Bird Conservation Act of
1992 outlawed legal imports of exotic birds
from other countries, which led to a 1990s
boom in breeding birds in the United
States, " Smith explains.
" This gave way to large facilities I call
bird mills, with hundreds or thousands of
birds in cages for the sole purpose of
providing babies and eggs as production
animals, similar to puppy mills [in the
dog world]. "
are rescue birds, with about one-third in
the sanctuary's " lifetime care " program. A
2013 donation grant of $200,000 from Bob
Barker's DJ & T Foundation helped greatly,
Smith says. The sanctuary is open MaySeptember
for public visitation, and holds
an annual open house every May.
Back in Bumpass, Pastor Roberts notes,
" I was in a civic meeting here when a man
told me 'this is the first friendly place I've
seen' [as he looked to relocate] ... most
people still get along here. "
Bobby Edwards remains gratified by the
Bumpass Historical Marker placement,
observing, " The spirit of Bumpass has not
changed. We have lost some buildings, but
sharing, caring and being there for your
neighbor still exist. " 
January 2018 | Cooperative Living | 33

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Cooperative Living January 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living January 2018