Truckin' on the Western Branch

There is a mystery gravestone in Green Acres? For years a mystery tombstone has stood in Green Acres, at Pleasant Point not for from the Churchland Bridge. The inscription on the weathered stone is almost impossible to decipher, but the deceased might have been named Elizabeth. Local lore has it that the tombstone was found among some riprap bulk heading at the end of Twin Pines Road several decades ago and mysteriously appeared in a Green Acres yard as a prank. Since then the stone has traveled on more than one Halloween night to grace another lucky neighbor’s landscaping, but somehow it always returns to its resting place overlooking the river. The Purple Lady still blossoms? Rachel Presha began a quest for her own identity in the 1960s—and evolved into The Purple Lady, known far beyond the borders of the communities west of the Elizabeth River. A generation of children—and their parents—watched eagerly for a glimpse of The Purple Lady as they traveled U.S. 17 where she had painted dozens of utility poles purple. Hezie Banks, longtime employee at Coleman’s Nursery, remembers The Purple Lady

driving her lawn mower and trailer along High Street. Others remember her sitting outside of the ABC store in Churchland hoping for a few donations. A stately woman, swathed in layers of purple, Presha seemed to walk endlessly through the community. She built a huge fan base with no more than a few smiles, proverbs, and lines of fragmented poetry— wrapped in an aura of mystery. Presha lived in an aging farmhouse, painted purple of course, in Bennett’s Creek near what is now the entrance to Harbour View. The utility poles she painted purple are fading along Route 17 as are Purple Lady sightings now that Presha lives a more secluded life with her daughter, Delzorra, in Pughsville.

Mystery tombstone of Green Acres. Image by Sheally

Linda Pinkham, horticulturist and former owner with her husband, Bill, of Smithfield Gardens, said they gave The Purple Lady rides as she walked up and down the highway. Pinkham has helped assure the longevity of The Purple Lady lore with the development of a new daylily, The Purple Lady, that blooms with Rachel Presha’s purple flair.

Rachel Presha and the Purple Lady Day Lilly. Image by Sheally

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