Colorado Peace Ride

To many Richmonders, William B. Thalhimer is remembered best as the founder of Thalhimers department stores, of which the downtown flagship location still stirs fond memories.

But to others, he is recalled for his humanitarianism, especially by some Jewish students he rescued from the Holocaust.

In The Virginia Plan: William B. Thalhimer amp; A Rescue From Nazi Germany (208 pages, The History Press, $19.99), Richard H. Gillette, a resident of Lynchburg, tells that story.

Gillette begins his account in the 1930s, when the rise of the Nazis created fears in Jews everywhere. Among them were students at Gross Breesen Institute, and they were the ones Thalhimer saved.

Thalhimer, as national chairman of the Refugee Resettlement Committee, had been successful in saving other refugees. In 1938, he and his cousin Morton Thalhimer bought a farm near Burkeville in Southside Virginia and named it Hyde Farmlands, and there he created a haven for the students. There, they began new lives, and Gillette, in addition to his story of rescue, also tells of their lives after coming to America.

This moving account contains a foreword by Elizabeth Thalhimer Smartt, a great-granddaughter of Thalhimer. As she writes, Set during a time of unspeakable tragedy and human failing, the Hyde Farmlands story involves hope, spirit and something that Gramps called stick-to-it-iveness. It is a ray of light shining through the darkest part of the attic.

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Farming, as anyone who has ever done it knows, is hard work. But its immensely rewarding, even as aspects of the business have changed.

One variation is hobby farming, and Michael and Audrey Levatino of Gordonsville write about their experiences in The Joy of Hobby Farming: Grow Food, Raise Animals, and Enjoy a Sustainable Life (241 pages, Skyhorse, $14.95). On Teds Last Stand, their 23-acre farm, they do just that.

But they have office jobs, too, and thats why Teds Last Stand is a hobby farm. In The Joy of Hobby Farming, the Levatinos discuss everything from growing your own food to caring for your animals to choosing the right flowers to earning additional revenue.

Detailed but never excessively so, and richly illustrated with color photos, the Levatinos book is a useful manual for would-be hobby farmers and a world of entertainment for readers with a passion for going green or simply with fond recollections of farm life.

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For five years, David Goldman, a graduate of Virginia Wesleyan College, tried and never stopped trying to get his son back.

The story began when Goldmans wife, Bruna, abducted their 4-year-old son, Sean, and took him back to Brazil. She eventually divorced Goldman and married a Brazilian lawyer but died while giving birth to their child in 2008. The boys stepfather fought for custody as did Brunas family but Goldman wouldnt give up.

In A Fathers Love: One Mans Unrelenting Battle to Bring His Abducted Son Home (280 pages, Viking, $26.95), Goldman tells how, after years of battling, he succeeded. Among those who helped him, he writes, were Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and US Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ

Goldman grew up in Ocean Township, NJ, where his dad was a charter boat captain. He found a career in modeling and now runs a charter boat business himself and does advocacy work on international child abduction. He and Sean live in Tinton Falls, NJ

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Also:

bull;In Look to the Skies: A Study of Gods Technology (168 pages, Tate, $13.99), James D. McCall Jr. of Glen Allen examines some of the most renowned questions about the power of God and teaches readers how to find the answers within the Bible.

bull;New Hampshire resident Nancy Kilgores debut novel, Sea Level (284 pages, Quinnebec Press, $18.95) begins in Richmond and tells the story of two women searching for spiritual identity in a small town on the Delmarva Peninsula in 1980 as the church deteriorates into conflict over one of the women, its new minister.

bull;Ellis M. West, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Richmond, has written The Religion Clauses of the First Amendment: Guarantees of States Rights? (250 pages, Lexington books, $70).

Jay Strafford

Tags: Your Animals

BURGAW, NC –

A fire that started in Pender County has more than doubled in size and prompted voluntary evacuations in Onslow County.

Diane Steltz of the state Division of Forestry Resources says a fire in the Holly Shelter Game Land area had reached more than 18,000 acres by Wednesday afternoon.

Thats nearly four times the size the blaze was on Tuesday evening.

The majority of the blaze is in Pender County but is spreading into Onslow County in the vicinity of Holly Ridge.

Onslow County spokeswoman Lisa Whitman-Grice says a shelter has been set up at a local middle school for residents who choose to leave their homes.

Whitman-Grice says the fire is burning about a mile from NC 50 in Onslow County.

The NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources have banned open burning and will begin canceling all burning permits at 6 pm Wednesday, June 22 for 27 counties. Out of those 27, six are in the NBC-17 viewing area including Cumberland, Edgecombe, Nash, Sampson, Wayne and Wilson. The ban will be enforced by local law enforcement agents, county fire marshals and the NC Division of Forest Resources.

The American Red Cross has now opened two emergency shelters for residents of Pender and Onslow County. The Pender County shelter is at Topsail Elementary School at 17385 US Highway 17 N. in Hampstead. The Onslow County shelter is at Southwest Middle School at 3000 Furia Drive in Jacksonville.

The Red Cross recommends that you bring a pillow, blanket, any prescriptions, clothing and snacks. Additionally, the Red Cross recommends several steps to make the evacuation process as safe and comfortable as possible:

• If you need to evacuate, do so immediately. You may have only minutes to act. Protect yourself and your family members.
• Follow the route and directions provided by local emergency officials. Its important that you do not detour from the route provided by officials it is the safest route!
• Lock your home. Others may evacuate after you or return before you. Secure your house as you normally would.
• Wear protective clothing. Including sturdy shoes, cotton or woolen long pants and a long-sleeved shirt to protect your skin from hot embers, and gloves. Take a dry handkerchief to protect your face. Smoke can make it difficult to breathe, damaging breathing passages or triggering respiratory distress.
• Take your pets with you. If it is not safe for you, it is not safe for them. Red Cross emergency shelters cannot accept pets unless they are service animals. Prepare a list of family, friends, pet-friendly motels and boarding facilities that can shelter your animals in an emergency.
• Take your Emergency Preparedness Kit. Having items such as prescription medications, copies of identification and important paperwork, non-perishable food, bottled water and a supply of cash already assembled will make you more comfortable and confident while you are away from home.
• Register with the Red Cross Safe and Well Web site. If you are affected by a wildfire, this public site provides a way for you to register yourself and communicate your well-being to your family members. You can input information directly, or, via phone, ask a loved one to register your well-being for other family members and loved ones to access. The site is accessible via www.redcross.org.
• Keep listening for updates, as the intensity and the path of the wildfire can change quickly, and without notice.

Tags: Your Animals

Leanna Scotti, Redding

Dollar rules at vet clinic

I recently had to give my pet emergency care. Luckily his old master loved him enough to pay for his hospital stay, or he wouldve been given away. You see, according to the veterinary clinic he was taken to, if you cannot pay for services rendered to your pet, the clinic has 10 days to find him a home. He would not be allowed to leave with the master he loves so very much, if such master could not pay the bill. I was told by the clinic that if a master does not have money to pay for said services, that then falls under the Abandonment Act.

I understand that such places are not in business to lose money, so I asked if a payment plan would be acceptable. I was told they do not have a system for any kind of payment plan. My pet has become my little shadow, and I wouldve hated to lose him due to the dirty dollar bill. Its no wonder it is said, Money is the root of all evil.

I hope someday clinics offering any kind of care for humans or animals will think twice before they turn down payment plans from folks like myself, who want care for their loved one and are more than willing to pay. Giving someones pet away, or putting them down because of lack of payment upon services rendered, is not the way to handle things. In fact its not much different than giving someones child away, because they couldnt put huge meals on the table. I know how much my Arco wouldve missed me, if that had happened to me.

My mother lost her best friend from a vet clinic in Redding where shed brought her since she was a pup. Recently mothers dog lost her life because she couldnt afford to pay for her pets care, and when asked, was told there was not a payment plan available. That clinic not only lost my mother in any further care of her animals, but they also lost one of their pet patients they had cared for during her whole life, minus one or two times. Its very sad caregivers cant see past the greenback. Good luck, anyone needing care for your animals. Make sure you have cash or plastic.

Tags: Your Animals