Road Trip: Folklore Pizza

47°f/8.3°C, clear.

Where State Route 16 meets US Route 33, the intersection is called the Y. There is a building there that has been a restaurant off and on, but now it is a combination grill and Amish food store. I took no photos there, but came out with a 5 pound bag of brown rice, 5 pounds of cornmeal, shelf milk and honey. They had such a variety for a location that is really out of the way. We will be stopping there again qhenever we pass that way.

Last stop was Spencer, WV, which is just 24 miles from home. There was a place I have been wanting to see since I first heard about it 6 months ago: Folklore Pizza.

We weren't hungry,  but Larry had a beer and I had a glass of wine while we talked with the owner, Chad. I was surprised to learn that they have been open for 3 years. How did I miss that? I mean, Spencer is a small town, and not that far away. But this place is tucked up in a holler on the outskirts of town, not visible from the main road; in fact I had to use the GPS to find it. 

My wine was this Chardonnay from Vampire Vineyards in California. It was good, and the last in the bottle, so I asked if I could have the bottle. Just because, you know.

The building used to be a roller skating rink. After that it was a t-shirt printing shop, and a couple other businesses located there before the current owner bought it (for the third time, he said! He had the t-shirt shop and something else there, I forget what). 

Chad's goal is for this to be a famiky-oriented place. It's huge! There are several pool tables, the beginnings of a future games arcade, and plans for an outside patio and a couple air bnb's.

They also host trivia night, bingo and singo, a game based on clips from songs. There's live music on the weekends, and an occasional open mic night.

The lights! I loved the variety of lighting. Chad admitted that he was the instigator, because he thinks lights really make a place.

Skates hanging room the ceiling give a nod to the building's past 

This light flashes different colors. I think i need one...somewhere.

Bigfoot got his pizza!

It was pretty quiet while we were there, but Chad said people really start coming in a little later. Still there were a few families dining, and half a dozen people playing pool.

We checked out the menu before we left, and we will definitely be going back to this fun place. It's a great addition to the town. 

Today's poem:

Tobacco

Freshly cut, stalks hang in rows

on poles, breezes stir the yellowing leaves,

the barn filled to the rafters .

It was money, then, enough

to pay the annual payment

on land, equipment, cattle, 

but it was work.

Early Spring it started:

burn off the bed,

all night out there, minding

the fire, stars

wheel overhead, quiet except

for the occasional owl, a mouse

stirring in dry leaves.

Tiny seeds planted, covered,

pinpricks of green that soon pushed

against white netting.

By May the plants were ready to pull,

plant, water, worry over

all summer, watching 

for enemies—blight, bugs, drought.

 In August, glorious spikes of pink

blossom against a blue sky,

bees heavy with pollen, the scent,

oh the scent! No manmade fragrance, this.

With September came yellowing bottom leaves,

“the trash” below the lugs and tips,

And time to cut, stack, hang,

And wait

until November’s cool, misty weather,

conditions just right for stripping, sorting

into grades, packing into bales,

hands cold and sticky, laughing,

coffee and stew on the brew

on the campstove, no time 

Tto go inside to cook and warm.

And that was it. Done, the barn empty

of its golden hoard, the bales

loaded on the truck,

sold at auction. 

Bills paid, a tiny bit

left for Christmas,

and next year’s seed.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.