Cooperative Living January 2019 - 33

" Everybody knew everybody else, and you
had everything you needed here. The stores
had not just food, but shoes, clothes and my
mother bought sewing materials there. Now
we just have one store, Dhillon's Grocery, and
most people drive to Richmond or
Fredericksburg to shop. There were weekend
dances, and we had a drive-in theater. "
Collins' book notes that the Milford drive-in
theater was located " along the main street
(now Colonial Road), " adding, " It was the
only outdoor theater in Caroline County
and clips of local interest were shown
before the feature movies. "
Gouldin's church, Milford Presbyterian
Church, built in 1952, remains a community
fixture. The original 1908 frame church
building is now a private residence. The
church helps keep " old Milford " alive.
Since 1999, " Milford Community Day "
has been hosted on church grounds. Next
scheduled for Sept. 21, 2019, the event
features local food, music, a bake sale and
children's activities.
Gouldin's childhood friend, Marian
Atwell, returned to Milford in 2005 with
her husband George, after both had
educational careers in Loudoun County.
" The pickle factory received cucumbers
Betty Gouldin was " born and raised in
Milford " and remembers Milford's heyday
as " a very busy place with five grocery
stores ... now there is only one. "
from local farmers and local women
sorted the cucumbers by size. My mother
and a lot of local women worked
seasonally at the pickle factory, " Marian
recalls. " The railroad was so important ...
when we were teenagers we'd go down
to the station to see people coming in on
the train. "
A Loudoun County native, George says
Milford and Caroline County are like
Loudoun was 50 years ago. They both
enjoy what a friend calls " quiet country "
in Milford.
" Once in Leesburg I counted 55 cars
Marian and George Atwell returned to
Marian's childhood home of Milford in 2005.
before you could get out of the driveway, "
Marian notes. " Life is much slower here,
and traffic is nothing compared to
Loudoun. Milford Presbyterian Church is
small but very active and does a lot in the
community. Community is still here, but
it's not like when I grew up here because
now people commute to jobs elsewhere. "
Loving v. Virginia
On the way to Milford, via
Richmond Turnpike/Route 301, a
historic marker at the intersection
of Route 301 and Sparta Road (Route 721) commemorates Richard
and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple who grew up in Caroline
County's Central Point area 11 miles away.
Married in 1958 in Washington, D.C., the Caroline natives were
arrested when they returned to Caroline for violating Virginia's laws
against interracial marriage. Their case eventually went to the
Supreme Court, resulting in a landmark 1967 ruling, Loving v. Virginia,
which overturned Virginia laws prohibiting interracial marriage.
co-opliving.com
January 2019 | Cooperative Living | 31
Kent Farmer, CEO of Rappahannock
Electric Cooperative, also grew up in
Milford. He recalls, " It was a wonderful
place to grow up. We were a neighborhood
of children and all the parents in the
neighborhood were all our parents ...
you could never get away with
anything here! "
Milford Presbyterian Church is a community
fixture and has hosted " Milford Community
Day " each fall since 1999.
Dhillon's Grocery is the only store in " old
Milford " today.
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Cooperative Living January 2019

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