A NATURAL EXPERIENCE
Taking Lifelong Skills to a Fulfilling Retirement
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Gardening was a thoroughly unfamiliar experience for Marie. She readily admits to not being an outdoor person. Walter’s childhood experience was different. His grandparents followed many generations of farmers, and, from his earliest memories, he and his cousins hiked, hunted, and fished the hills and streams of northeastern Mississippi. So, his interests extended a bit further, and after Fluvanna Master Gardener training in 2013, he continued on to train as a Rivanna Master Naturalist in 2014. This linked the couple to an extended network that they would engage in many coming projects. For much of the coming years, the canvas upon which their time and talent would be splashed was right where this chapter of their story begins, Pleasant Grove Park. For a while, the park had been a highly and contentiously discussed local topic. By the time Walter and Marie had arrived, the dust – both literal and figurative – had pretty much settled over the subject of the county park. It had become a well-utilized matter of fact to area residents. Trails were popular, the sports fields were regularly booked, and festival events were scheduled on the lawns. It had finally become accepted as one of the wisest decisions that the County Board of Supervisors had made. The tax-paying citizens and powers-that-be considered investments and changes in Pleasant Grove Park a closed topic. Indeed, they could be forgiven if they had perhaps wearied of the subject. But then, there came Walter and Marie.
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About the Book
Walter and Marie Hussey’s habits of scrutinizing, planning, organizing, and making better things happen continued to flourish when they retired. Lifetime careers had been dedicated to intense involvement and responsibilities as civilian employees of the United States Navy. She a chemist-turned environmentalist, he a self-professed geek engineer in nuclear submarines and NASA, their paths had fortuitously converged late in their lives when they discovered the precious rarity of true soulmates. Their joy in being together for the next 25 years was interspersed with painful times requiring mutual strength when dealing with cancer. But their lives continued to be invigorated by their involvement with the Fluvanna Chapter of Extension Master Gardeners, the Rivanna Master Naturalists, and a nearly 1,000-acre park in rural Virginia. Shortly after relocating, it didn’t take long for them to envision physical and educational embellishments that could make the park even so much better than it already was. Then they just naturally stepped in to bring new concepts about. This is the story of Walter and Marie creating a legacy within the historic setting of Fluvanna County’s Pleasant Grove Park.
About the Author
E. Dianne Campbell was an experienced international travel writer and editor until she re-directed her abilities to teaching Senior High School English and Debate in Miami, Florida, inner-city schools. Upon retirement, she eventually re-located to Central Virginia where she reawakened her joy in gardening and her dormant writing abilities. Meeting a remarkable couple, she discovered a story that simply had to be told.