Virginia is
the next stop on the Cafeteria Lady Tour -
West Point, Va., to be exact. Elizabeth Gwathmey
invited me to visit her school cafeteria at West Point
Middle and High School. I had never been to Virginia,
and boy, was I hungry!
Elizabeth is a 10th-grader in a class of 65 students.
The school first opened in 1966, and today it serves
400 students. Mr. Mark Dorsey is the principal.
Elizabeth has lived in the West Point area all her life.
Her parents are doctors in a nearby town. One of the
advantages of having doctors for parents is that they
know when she's sick. Personally, I think it would've
been great to have doctors for parents. Then when I
cooked dinner for my family, I wouldn't worry about
where to get enough stomach pumps.
Elizabeth likes living in this rural community of only
3,000 people. “Everyone is nice here,” she says. She
would even like to come back to West Point to either
teach English or set up her own medical practice. She's
keeping her options open.
Some of her hobbies include reading, playing tennis
and running 5K races. She is also active in drama,
plays the saxophone in a jazz band and competes in
both marching and jazz band competitions.
Elizabeth has a heart for service, too. She enjoys
participating in the Key Club Service that goes to local
elementary schools and helps younger students with
crafts.
Back to the lunchtime experience, did I survive the
meal?
I sure did! There was pizza (Elizabeth's favorite), salad,
cake and milk. Betty Couch is the cafeteria director at
West Point and works hard to give her students
nutritious meals.
There are lots of fun things to do in the West Point
area. For one thing, the historic triangle is nearby. This
consists of the cities of Williamsburg, Yorktown and
Jamestown. Williamsburg is the world's largest living
history museum. It's open every day of the year and is
well known for its costumed reenactments. You can
even spend the night in some of the historic old
buildings that may have been home to some pretty
famous colonists.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is also nearby with plenty
of roller coasters. For 14 years, it has been voted the
“World's Most Beautiful Theme Park.” You also don't
want to miss Water Country USA or Presidents Park
with its 18-foot sculptures of all 43 U.S. Presidents.
After lunch, it was time to say goodbye and head to the
next school and another good meal in Kentucky.
If I haven't visited your state, there's still time to write
and invite me. Remember, I can only visit one school
per state, and I'm looking for the best school cafeteria
food, not the worst. I already know what bad food tastes
like. (For years, my family thought mold was a frosting.)
Get permission from your parents and drop me an
invitation at martha@marthabolton.com. If your school's
selected, I'll be there, and I'm coming hungry!