Interview and Photography by Skip Rowland

Editor’s note: The following is part of a continuing series in which we ask residents to describe their connection to the county.

KS:  When we were setting our sights on buying a home we were fortunate enough to get in touch with a Powhatan realtor.  My husband, being from Germany, knew that he wanted more open space, more woods.  Of course all our Chesterfield and Midlothian friends asked us if we were crazy, but we have been completely satisfied. 

You’re going to be hard pressed to find a “Powhatan” anywhere. Just with the outreach—like the “Relay for Life” project, the people that you see in front of the Food Lion that may request donations for whatever organization—it’s a very giving community. I think that says a lot about who the people are as a whole.  I’m a people person and I like to see communities rise together when there’s a need.

SR: What are some of the other things you’ve discovered since moving out here?

KS: Copperheads!

We got out here at the right time, I think, because we were really blessed to get the land that we did and we’ve watched Powhatan grow. Good or bad, it’s hard to lose that rural feel, but at the same time, I think that growth is inevitable.  We remember the one grocery store, the one traffic light, no Sheetz, no McDonald’s.

[Powhatan] may be known as a conservative community, but with the growth, you might see a different demographic than we’ve seen in the past and I think that Powhatan has maintained a very civil kind of political background. I like for there to be civility in conversations where you can hear other people’s words.

I try to attend as many school board meetings and Board of Supervisors meetings as possible and I just think it’s really important that as a community that we all take advantage of seeing what’s going on in our local government.
SR: Given your civic involvement, why do you homeschool?

KS: Just to be perfectly honest, I love learning with them on a daily basis. I love getting them outside and connecting them with nature and I’m very blessed that I’m able to stay at home with them. I just feel [a] strong attachment to wanting to teach them everything.  I know there’s an excellent school system here in Powhatan and most all of the friends of my children do attend the public schools.

[Homeschooling] is a very good thing for us. There are a lot of the co-op’s, [and] we’re involved in a couple of different homeschooling network groups.  It’s a huge world that a lot of people really aren’t familiar [with]; there’s lots of opportunities available.  [Whether our children will ever attend public school] is a tough question for the future.

[What else is it about Powhatan?]  I [like] the roominess; knowing that we eventually would stay planted and raise a family and want the country feel and no big-city issues.

I appreciate the openness, I appreciate not allowing for neighbors to be window-to window.  There was a possibility of a job transfer, but we were very blessed to remain in Powhatan.