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Bookworm writes her own

September 25, 2009 12:36 am

By CATHY DYSON

Virginia Acors has been in love with the written word from the time she was old enough to hold a book.

She's always read everything she could get her hands on, and she practically lived in the library from elementary school through college.

She became a teacher, then a reading specialist. She helped students at Lee Hill Elementary School put their thoughts onto pages of blank books.

After Virginia retired from Spotsylvania County schools in 2004, she found that reading three or four books at a time didn't quench her thirst for language.

She needed to write her own.

"I couldn't get enough just reading," the 59-year-0ld said. "I wanted to tell the stories in this head of mine."

Virginia keeps pads of paper by her bed, next to her recliner, on the kitchen table, in her purse and in her bag of crocheting supplies.

That way, she can jot down ideas that pop into her head.

She'll be talking to her husband, Vernon, about a memory from when she was a substitute teacher and say, "Hmm, that would make a good story."

The two have been married for 38 years and live on "Acors Acres" in Partlow. He grew up not far from the home they built--two of their three sons live nearby--and she was raised in Chancellorsville, near the battlefield park.

The couple paid to publish Virginia's first book of memoirs. Called "Thoughts of a Country Girl," the paperback is filled with accounts of what she calls simpler times.

She describes trips to the outhouse and riding her bike over miles of country roads. She recalls her father's tractor, her grandmother's quilt and the time her little sister thought a 9-foot black snake in the basement was a rubber toy to play with.

Some of the stories are fictional, and others are based on family events. All have a grain of truth and reflect the joy of growing up in the area when Fredericksburg was a quieter and gentler place.

Virginia and Vernon smile when they talk about what an event it was to go to town. They recall when Sears and "Monkey Wards," the nickname for the Montgomery Ward store, were in downtown Fredericksburg.

"It was just a different life," Vernon recalled. "You'd go to town on a Friday night, and parents would turn their children loose on Caroline Street."

Some of the stories were altered slightly. One is based on Virginia's sister, Teri Lee, who loved animals so much the family called her Elly May, after a character on "The Beverly Hillbillies."

Two baby squirrels became homeless after Virginia's father cleaned out a gutter. As the story in the book goes, the animal-loving sister decided to raise them.

"Why don't you tell the truth?" joked Vernon. "That I was cleaning the gutters, the squirrels fell out, and your father wanted me to stomp them. That was about the time your sister pulled up."

As a teacher, Virginia shared her love of words with students. She bought books on sale throughout the year and made sure each of her students had something to read over the summer holiday and winter break.

Sometimes Vernon fussed about all the money she spent, but he never doubted the good work she did.

He smiled proudly when he talked about the progress reading specialists make. They take children with negligible skills, he said, and turn them into readers and writers.

Virginia's students also hung on every word of her stories, said Debbie Mickens, a physical education teacher at Lee Hill.

"She was always very loving and nurturing. She often referred to them as 'darling' or 'sweetheart,' " Mickens said. "Her love of books created a bond with her students that captivated them."

Virginia retired because of health problems, but she hasn't stopped sharing books with others. She regularly goes to Berkeley Elementary School to read to her grandchildren and their classmates.

"We appreciate Mrs. Acors," said Principal Mike Brown. "She comes in all the time, no matter what the weather."

That's just what a dedicated bookworm would do.

Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com