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~ OV Tour MAIL Archives ~ 2001
More Mail: 2003 & 2002 & 1998-2000
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Friday, December 14, 2001 6:45 PM
From: Frank Foley
Love your OV Site-- searched & typed in billy martin+granby, and was simply
amazed at the content of your site. I browsed every page. I lived on Hickory St
until joining the USMC in 1960;  went to Holy Trinity, Norfolk Catholic High,
& transferred to Granby, freshman year to wrestle for Coach Martin. I
was in those days, just 104 or 105 lbs --rough weight class for me. Gray Simons
& Okla Johnson were unbeatable, so I had to wrestle at 95-98 lbs; &
qualified for a Monogram Club letter. My best friend, Billy Langston, future
state 133 lb. champ, & I used to hang out in the Granby boiler room in several layers
of sweats to help us lose ounces & make weight. After a match we'd head for White
Tower and pig out on cheeseburgers & shakes. Tour V, with the pic of the 1960
Granby wrestling team totally pumped me up. After school, was a stock boy at Rose’s
Ward’s Corner Store. I'd hitchhike there from Granby & Gilpin
-- that area of Maple & Granby St. called Johnson’s Square. I remember a
drug store & soda fountain [see Gordon's, Tour 2] --worked there as a soda jerk
& bicycle delivery kid. After 1963 Corps discharge, left OV for San Francisco Bay
Area: been to Norfolk twice in the past 35 years, recently in July of ’99 to visit my
brother, Mike. Mike wrestled for Billy Martin and for Gray Simons when Gray
was coaching at Lock Haven. Freddy Powell was coaching at Slippery Rock at
that time, also. The last time I saw Gray was during the NCAA’s at Brigham Young
University in Provo, Utah. Mike was in the tournament, where Dan Gable lost the
only match of his high school/college career. It has been a lot of fun & as I type,
stuff just jumps in my head about growing up in OV --the pleasant memories your site has
brought back. Best, Frank L. Foley -
San Francisco, CA
Monday, November 12, 2001 6:56 PM From: Ron Gant
Visited your site and wow! What a trip back in time. Being a Norfolk resident until
several years ago I was delighted to be able to see a virtual scrap book. I went to James
Monroe Elementary until 7th grade then we moved to Ocean View - Lenox - E.
Lorengo.  Attended Oceanair Elementary (Ms. DeMilt).
Then Northside and 1971 class at Norview. Dad was manager of a theater chain
(Levine Enterprises) including the Riverview, Rosele, Memrose, Lowes,
etc. Monkey Bottom, ohh what a wonderful site you have created. I would say the
best on the entire internet. I will be a frequent visitor for sure. Ocean View is forever
my home: know every inch of it of course. This evening has made me homesick...
Thanks, Ron Gant - Brunswick, GA
Thursday, November 01, 2001 5:09 PM From: J Smith
What a great site. I grew up in Ocean View in the 70's. My dad was in the Navy and many of
his buddies lived right on the beach, it seems only days ago.  We
used to fish on Harrison's Pier - is it still there? I made my first trip back to
Norfolk in 20 years just this past August; met up with old school friends, saw the old
stomps, it was great. I did not get to Ocean View - I hear it has really grown. I miss the
water dearly! I'll be back in June and won't miss Ocean View this time. I was an extra in The Death of Ocean View Park by the way. I was 9 or 10 at
the time. I was surfing the site again last night and saw even more memories (King Neptune scared me to death when I was little). Also, I
would kill or die for a Zero's sub!! Thanks for the fun site... J Smith -
Memphis, TN
Thursday, October 11, 2001 6:14 PM From: Tom Kennedy
 Hi RK, I saw your
website on the Ocean View area - very informative & cool. I used to go to OV Park in
the early 50's as a kid. Dad was stationed at the Navy base, & we lived off of E.
Ocean View closer to Little Creek. --a wonderful time for a kid of 8. Couple
blocks from the beach & just a short bus ride down to OV Park. I went to Bayside
Elementary in Virginia Beach. My mom worked as a waitress at a bar & grill
near the beach called The Triangle. Do you remember that
place? I think it was near the old Holiday Inn. Sincerely, Tom
Kennedy San Ramon, Ca. (near SF)
Indeed --the old Jolly Roger & you can see Mike's Holiday Inn
sign, left of the shot of his mother in the parking lot-- pre-Ship's Cabin &
more vintage photos: Tom Kennedy & Part XIXb--R K
Tuesday, October 09, 2001 7:46 PM From: Robert Greco
I left Ocean View in 1989 but will return when I get a start date from my new employer at NAB,
Little Creek. I used to live on 3rd Bay and had a blast while staying there. I
drove through "The View" last week and practically went into tears... What
happened? The Cozy Inn, Galleon, Silver Saddle, Pete's Place, Ebb
Tide and many other pubs are gone! I guess progress has caused these icons to get
buried. When I move back it just won't be the same without stopping in for a "Cozy
Burger" and play a few games of pool! I plan on buying a house on Capeview (or
around Bayview/Tarralton) near Shore Drive. I love that part of good 'ol
Norfolk. I only hope there's something left of OV when I do buy that house! Your site is
EXCELLENT! Thank you for the memories! --Robert Greco
  Wednesday, August 01, 2001 9:54 PM
From: Karen Whiteway
Hi There! Anyone in Ocean View/Norfolk will remember me as Karen Izykowski. I lived
in Norfolk for 24 years & have wonderful memories. I went to Bayview Elementary
& Norview High. I grew up in Forest Park off of Chesapeake Blvd,
tagging along with my older sister to Oscars & getting a
raft at Dave's! After HS I spent time hanging at Lil Joe's & The
Harbor. Now on visits, I see Taki at the ole Azalea
Inn for great pizza & beer! Now living in FL & still get homesick at times--
when I do I always pull up this web site to see whats new! You've stirred up many great
memories --by having this great site out there for all of us OV'ers to check out!! Thank
you, thank you, thank you!!!! Please include my email should anyone like to get in touch.
BTW, how's Jimmy Taylor? It's been years.
<== Click to enlarge ==> --Sincerely, Karen
Whiteway 
 Date: Sunday, July 22,
2001 9:11 AM From: rjones@pinn.net
Thank you for your beautiful work on the OV Tour! It is a most excellent site! Brought
back many good memories. "Laughing Sal" sat inside a glass covered front
on the right hand side, "Devil" sat on the left, if I remember? Her laugh
used to scare me when I was a child! I also got my first kiss in that fun house! I have
many pictures of the park if You would like them. --Robert Jones
<== This 9" tall Sailor Prize (c. 50's) is just one of
the many images
Robert Jones has shared with us; see more HERE
& now! --R K
Date: Sunday, July 15, 2001 4:41 PM From: hoopyfrood042@hotmail.com
Hola RK, Just a note [re: image requests]. What a great site you have!!! Love the virtual
tour of my "hood". It's always good to see Douglas Adams
fans. My grandfather, Pete DiDomenico, took some wonderful shots of the
coaster "exploding". He captured the moment perfectly. The structure is still
very much intact but at the same time engulfed in flames. Let me know if something of
interest. Thanks, Justin
Date: Monday, May 28, 2001 5:05 AM From: Carl A. Ramsey
 I couldn't find
anything about Tidal Times on the net. I am looking for info on a fire
that destroyed most of the northwest end of the park (except for the the roller coaster)--
the end closest to the Nansemond Hotel; also, the fun house. Dad worked
there when I was about 7 (1951) and we'd like to get more details and hopefully a picture.
It had the laughing Sal. I don't think the Old Mill did.
But there was a laughing farmer at the dark ride, which I'd forgotten until
I saw your site. There was definitely a laughing Sal at the fun house. Dad was the guy
who sat customers down on a couch, then pulled a lever that dumped them down onto a
conveyor belt that took them out of the fun house. Just before his (angled) room, where
all the furniture was nailed down & it was upsetting to the sense of balance, after
the dark maze to get there. We lived in EOV until 1953. Thanks for the Tours.
I loved it all, the old rusting sub, Doumars, all great. Carl
Ramsey --Frederick, MD
Hello Carl: Thanks for the tip on the Old Mill -- "Sal"
actually being in front of the Fun House. We thought the little old man was a wino (not a
farmer). The pieces done for the Tidal Times were mumbledy years ago-- couldn't
say who published it then but editors were Phyllis Tarver, then Maggie North and later Pam Walters.
Later it became The Ocean View Times (1986 - Editor & Publisher: James
Dozier, when he retired and it became defunct in the mid 90's). When R K freelanced for
them, Billy Hester (Ocean Realty) hired Maggie, then Pam, showing them to the
presses atop where Hughes Hardware used to be on First View. Thanks so
much for writing-- R K
Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 11:30 AM EDT
From: jabeckpearce@prodigy.net
Lordy, Lordy ~ Just took the whole tour of old Ocean View-- my memories much older
than most of your photos etc, I still enjoyed everything. You've done a great job. Visits
to OV took place 1930 - 1944, required a train ride to Portsmouth, bus ride
to the ferry, and a trolley ride to OV. It was a wonderful place. And it was
a place where kids like me could spend a whole day unchaperoned. My Aunt Effie (Lens
Avenue) would give me a quarter and two streetcar tokens, and tell me to "Go.
Have fun." And I did. Big Town on the Bay --Jim Pearce
Date: Tues, 08 May 2001 7:31 PM EDT From: hedden711@hotmail.com
Hey Rk - I grew up at Luter's Beach in the 60's and early 70's. Dave was the lifeguard
and there was Oscar's. My Mom was a beach goddess and took us almost every day to
Luter's. At one time there was a Ocean View Museum. I'd heard it was relocating.
Thanks for all the help and great pictures. Thanks, Helen Speight
 Date:
Fri, 20 Apr 2001 23:51:17 PM EDT From: Rtbacm@aol.com
What a pleasure it was to walk down memory lane by finding your site & taking the
tours. I was a Navy brat, attended OV Elementary through 1958, when my dad
was tranferred to San Diego, CA. After he retired we moved to West VA, my parents
home state. But, for me, OV was and will always have a special place in my heart. If for
just for a moment, I'd like to go back and walk along the beach one more time, head for
the Amusement Park or take in a movie at the Rosele. Your pages allowed a
glimpse back that was golden. No matter how many places, there'll always be a part of me
that claims Ocean View as home. Thanks R T Bowles
Date: Thurs, 19 Apr 2001 8:34 AM From: tgeiss@memach.com Tina Geiss
I live in Willoughby Spit and love it !
Date: Sun, 02 Apr 2001 02:22:30 EDT From: Chris Hassett
Not sure how I came across your OV Tour, but I' m glad I did. I grew up in Commodore
Park and Pinewell. Went to Holy Trinity in the 50s, then Norfolk
Catholic and later disappeared across the Mason-Dixon line, except for a brief stint
as asst director of printing and publications at ODU after finishing a short tour
in the Army, & college in Michigan: returned in the 80's, to Poquoson, raising
two daughters, and working in Norfolk as a construction superintendent. Now I'm in Portland,
a beautiful green state with towering snow capped mountains, & spectacularly
scenic coast. But Ocean View is indelibly imprinted on my mind. The stars over the Chesapeake
on clear winter nights, northeasters in the fall, those humid summer mornings before the
sun has burnt away the thick morning mist, whether in a boat or on the beach, or simply in
my imaginary but parallel universe, the bay will always be pure magic. The bay is
Norfolk's unpolished crown jewel. From Pretty Lake [EOV] to Little Bay [WOV]
it's a world class wonder. Your personal narrative is much more compelling than anything a
historian will ever contribute.
Thanks, Chris, Portland OR
Date: 01-02-14 3:19:00 EST From: tadaa001@hawaii.rr.com
RK, I connected with you and your site beacause of the Ocean View thing but, also beacause
you have a literary bent and a 'take it all in' quality. You put alot of energy into the
Norfolk thing and you've done it well!
See Rick's Island Reflections. Aloha, Arthur (Rick) Tada Hawaii
Date: 01-01-09 10:26:44 EST From: d-a-johnson@worldnet.att.net
I've lived off & on in OV, and Willoughby Spit for years & love it.
I've gotten into a few heated discussions defending it. Norfolk is my home no
matter --I'm glad its upgrading but hope it stays a unique place near the Chesapeake,
and Willoughby Bay fronts. I miss Mama's Italian Kitchen,
(eventhe small white building); Ocean View Amusement Park; Hotel Nansemond;
Ocean View Pier; and O'Hara's 2003 Disco-By-The-Sea. It was a little thrill
to go over the Ocean View Ave hump between the park, and the old TRT/Greyhound
station. Gave you a little lift before the roller coaster at the Park. Thank you
for a superior site. Mr. Ronald B. Fetty, Jr.
More Mail: 2003 & 2002 & 1998-2000
Apologies for not printing all mails, & for edits due to space
constraints.
OV Park history & images now also include Part III, Part VIa,
Part VII, Part XIII, Part XVII, Part XIXb, Part XXI,
Part XXII & Part XXIIa
About the Nickel Tour  rk@rkpuma.com |
