Cooperative Living November/December 2018 - 35

But it's well worth the admission price. "
Saying he " grew up with " The Waltons,
Bobby G. Moss of Raleigh, North Carolina,
found the house tour interesting.
Directly in front of the Hamner House is
Walton's Mountain Country Store, a shop
housed in a circa-1800s store offering
Waltons books, DVDs and T-shirts. There's
a restored shed out back where Earl
Hamner had a printing press.
Down the road is Ike's Market & Deli,
built on the site where Snead's Store,
Hamner's inspiration for Ike Godsey's
store, once stood. Fathima Nilamdeen
and her husband bought the store in 2015
and commute from Charlottesville.
She says locals " are very nice people "
adding, " People come here from all
over the world ... they ask, where is
Ike Godsey? "
Alberene Soapstone remains, despite
numerous ownership changes. A group
of investors bought Alberene (the name
was derived from Albemarle and serene)
in 2010, reopening the dormant quarry.
In 2014, Polycor, one of the world's largest
natural stone companies, acquired
Alberene, operating it as a quarry with
seven employees.
Sales manager Candice Clark explains,
" We are the only architectural-grade
soapstone in America for full-size slabs.
We're a distributor for fabricators. Blocks
are cut here, shipped to Canada where
slabs are produced; when they bring us
slabs, they pick up more blocks, so trucks
aren't traveling empty. "
Originally from Richmond, Clark moved
to Schuyler when she married a native in
1998. She says, " We're building a new
house, which will have Alberene Soapstone
countertops, of course! "
She adds, " It's very laid-back here. I don't
think I could ever live in a city again. "
Schuyler's newest attraction is Quarry
Gardens, owned by Armand and
Bernice Thieblot.
While living in Maryland, Armand,
a college professor, and Bernice, a
marketing-communications company
owner, bought 440 acres in 1991 for a
weekend retreat, renovating and adding
onto an existing home.
Armand explains, " Almost any place
on the 440 acres, you could not see
another house. And people here have
been very nice to us. "
After retiring in 2014, they moved to
Schuyler. Inspired by a trip to Vancouver
Island's Butchart Gardens, originally
founded as a limestone quarry and
transformed into magnificent gardens,
Bernice recalls, " We thought, we have
soapstone quarries on our land ... we
could probably do something with them. "
Today their 600 acres includes 400 acres
in a conservation easement and 40 acres
devoted to Quarry Gardens, which opened
in 2017. A visitor center shows how
soapstone is processed, there's a short
video and guests get a guided tour. Open
by appointment only, visitors must sign
up online. Admission is free, with a
suggested donation of $10.
" We have two missions: native plants
and preservation of soapstone history in
Schuyler, " Armand says. " Last year we
had 1,200 visitors and we'll probably
reach 2,000 this year. The quarry sets us
apart ... we think history gets lost if not
deliberately preserved. "
With soapstone and The Waltons as
anchors, Schuyler endures. As Tyler sums
up, " It's a quiet community where people
help each other ... we are sincere people,
even if we don't know everyone like we
did at one time. " 
L-R: Ike's Market & Deli, a Schuyler convenience store, stands on the original site of the store that inspired " Ike Godsey's Store " on the TV
show The Waltons. Fathima Nilamdeen and her husband bought Ike's Market & Deli in 2015. Candice Clark poses in Alberene Soapstone's
former factory.
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