Nelson County, Virginia
Over 10 years ago, a dozen to be exact, a small group of us used to gather at Devils Backbone on old porch outside not terribly long after it opened. Back then all that was there was the brewery itself. You parked right out front and walked on in. It was a magical time. The good old days.
One of the main people in that group was Andy Stillman. Most locals here in Nelson knew Andy because of his extreme talent as a stone mason. While I knew that about Andy, I knew him because he’d become my friend after years and years of those Monday meetups.
Last week Yvette received a message from Andy’s wonderful wife, Sue, Andy was gone. He joins countless others I have written about recently and in the past.
That Monday group I mentioned had to be one of the most diverse groups I’ve ever been involved with. Doctors, lawyers, architects, contractors, teachers, federal agents, nurses, electricians, welders, motorcycle enthusiasts, and yes, stone masons.
This group of mutts, as we used to refer to ourselves, came to be totally by accident. You see Andy and our beloved friend, the late Dr. Steve Lotz, DVM, used to meet a few afternoons a week at Devils Backbone. Yvette and I had and appointment one Monday afternoon that was canceled. We’d already hired a sitter for the kids. We remembered that Dr. Lotz and Andy were usually around the brewery. Sure enough late that Monday afternoon they were there. And on that day, we decided this would become a Monday tradition. And it did, growing from just a few is us to nearly 3 dozen at times. We laughing called it book club.
Andy always had this funny way of rubbing his hands together rapidly when he was trying to make a point. The more intense the point, the more he’d rub his hands together almost as he was willing magic or such! But it was his intense ability to remember almost anything that amazed me. One day he broke out in an almost Shakespeare like tone and recited the entire act from some early ages play. I honestly don’t remember what the play was, but he knew every word. And it was delivered like a seasoned actor on stage. We were all dumbfounded. That was Andy.
There was so much I still didn’t know about Andy. But with each Monday, he’d talk more about his past. Like the days he used to work out in the hot blazing sun on railroad tracks in Arizona. Or some patio project he’d just completed for a client here in Nelson. Or, how proud he was of his family. He always talked about his wife and daughter at every meetup. That was something he was more proud of than anything else he’d ever done.
Politically we were not closely aligned, and you know what? It didn’t matter. We laughed at one another and became even better friends and debaters.
I’ll never be able to pass Devils Backbone anymore without thinking of Andy. It’s not the same anymore, and those days of hanging out on the porch are long gone. But the memories will forever remain. Thank you for those memories Andy.
If any formal memorial plans materialize I’ll let you know. Andy wasn’t much of the type to have people fuss over him, but if it happens I’ll let folks know.
