Home of Charles Javins (Site)

These coordinates mark the exact spot where the family home once stood. It was torn down after the construction of Lewis High School. No visible remains exist.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Fall 2005 "Franconia Legacies" newsletter published by the Franconia Museum:

My Story
By Lillian Louise Simms Javins

Parents
Clarence B. Simms
(January 23, 1888 – August 8, 1955)

Lillian S. Lyles Simms
(April 2, 1890 – October 15, 1918)

My parents were blessed with two children, Lillian Louise born September 14, 1915 and a son, George Craven born February 25, 1917. We were born at home in a little farm house on Backlick Road, Garfield, Virginia which was later changed to R.F.D. #1, Springfield, Virginia. Dr. W. Caton was the family doctor who lived in Accotink, Virginia. He rode by horse and buggy to deliver babies; in fact, he served the entire community with home visits as a general practitioner. There was a midwife who was always there to take care of the babies. Dr. Sam Moore was the surgeon when needed at the Alexandria Hospital located on Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia.

Mr. John Brookfield delivered our mail by horse and buggy. His wife, Eugene Brookfield, was the ticket agent for the Southern Railroad at the Springfield Station. (Eugene’s brother was Judge Howard W. Smith in Alexandria, Virginia.) This was the Time of the Depression when money was scarce and work was hard to find. We had a cow, hogs, chickens, and a horse and buggy. We had a nice vegetable garden which we shared with friends and neighbors.

We never remembered our mother as she died from influenza when I was three years old and my brother George was one year old. She was buried in the Beulah Cemetery. I became Grandmother Martha Ann Lyles’ girl and George was my mother’s sister, Aunt Martha Ann Lyles’ boy. The entire family moved to an old house located in the forks of Backlick Road, Franconia Road and Keene Mill Road. We got a man by the name of Mr. Fred Knopp who lived on Valley View Drive, to wire our house so we would have electricity. Later we got a washer and dryer which was a big deal; no more tubs and wash boards! As time went by, we got a RCA radio.
We enjoyed listening to the good old songs and stories. I attended grades one through seven at the Springfield School, a one-room building on Backlick Road. Miss Virginia Smith was Principal. Mr. Milton Dulaney Hall was Superintendent of Fairfax County Schools. It took about ten minutes for me to walk to school. We had a dentist who took care of our teeth and a doctor who vaccinated us against smallpox. We had two nice outdoor “johns” for the boys and girls. They were well kept but it was some kind of cold in the winter. The school was heated by a big wood stove. We had a great well with a hand pump. It had a cement floor and a cover; also a pipe that ran underground to a water trough on the road side for the horses. It was very good cold water. We had a big library with a big window to study in and a boys and girls cloak closet to hang our clothes. We also had a big playground where baseball was played. We played marbles, Farmer in the Dell, London Bridge breaking down, races and most games played at school.

A big gravel pit was close to the school which was a great place to ice skate when the water froze. We had great fun there until we were restricted due to the depth of the water and danger of the ice breaking. It became “Off Limits.”

My first teacher was Miss Virginia Smith. Miss Alice Smith, her sister, filled in for her. We had good teachers and neighbors after moving to Springfield. Mrs. Kassie Carter Smith was a teacher. She had two sons, Carter Lee and Claude. Her husband, Mr. Lee Smith, worked on a good job. He built a little store across from his house on Franconia Road. It became a neighborhood gathering place in the evenings.

I attended Lee Jackson High School, located on Duke Street at Quaker Lane (later annexed by the City of Alexandria.) I walked a mile in the morning and back in the evening to the Franconia Railroad Station. My dad worked for the RF&P Railroad and he got passes for my brother and me to travel to school. Mr. John Dent was the ticket agent there. A ticket to Alexandria, Virginia cost 25 cents, and it cost more to ride to Washington, D. C. We rode the train for two years until my dad’s job closed out. It was then that Fairfax County provided a bus from Annandale to Backlick Road to pick us up. Mr. C. Gray was the bus driver. One scary occasion, Mr. Gray drove into a ditch which overturned the bus. We were taken to Alexandria Hospital to be checked over.

My dad worked as a carpenter and helped build a house on Valley View Drive for the Jeff Stewart family. Mr. Leonard Trumpower of Franconia hired my dad along with Shelton Terry and my brother George.

It was on June 13, 1936 when Charles Edward Javins and I were wed. On a Saturday morning, we decided to go to Rockville, Maryland to be married. I was 20 years old and Charles was 21. Reverend Herbert Cooper, a Baptist minister, said it would be an honor to marry us. His wife asked if she could be my maid of honor, to which I said “Sure.” She gathered some flowers from her garden and made me a beautiful bouquet and a boutonnière for Charles. They were two lovable people. They asked us to visit with them which we did. When we said our good byes, Reverend Cooper said if we had any friends or relatives who were planning to get married, he would be glad to marry them.

Charles was the youngest of seven children whose parents were George R. Javins and Iola Virginia Lyles Javins, natives of the area. His siblings; Mabel S., Marvin M., Oneta V. (married to Hallie Lyles), George M., Lillian S. Sullivan and Sara M. (Sally) are all deceased. Charles worked on the farm, raising hogs all of his life.
I worked for a ten year period in a Dry Cleaners Plant.

We did our shopping in Alexandria at J. C. Penney, Lerner’s Dress Shop and Murphy’s Five & Dime Store. My friend, Hazel Lyles, and I would often shop at a hat shop on 7th Street in Washington. D. C. We bought our groceries at the A&P in Alexandria.

We moved in with Charles’ mother and family on a farm off Hooes Road in Springfield. They were so nice to me. The government took the farm so we had to move. The family owned a farm on Franconia Road which they rented to Mr. John Dent, the ticket agent at the Franconia Railroad Station. He had to move so we could move into this home place. Mr. George Javins had given his daughter, Lillian Sullivan, five acres to build a house but she decided to move to Manassas. My Aunt Martha bought the property and built a house.
Charles’ father passed away and soon after, his mother passed away. His sister, Sallie, went to live with her sister in Manassas. Then Fairfax County bought the farm and built Lee High School. When Aunt Martha passed away, she had left her property equally divided to my brother George and me. Charles and I bought out my brother’s part. Then Fairfax County wanted the property to add on to Lee High School so we sold out and moved to Lorton, Virginia.

We found an old farm with four fenced-in dog pens. Charles had four Beagles and he loved to hunt rabbits.
We moved to 9202 Ox Road, Lorton Virginia where I still live. We celebrated out 50th wedding anniversary at the Best Western on Loisdale Court in Springfield, Virginia. The party was given for us by Charles’ nephew, Walter and Martha Sullivan and his nieces, Joyce and Gail Swank. We almost made it to our 65th anniversary.

Down on Franconia Road by the RF&P Railroad was a store owned by Mr. Will Broders. He lived across from the store with his wife, Nellie and daughters, Evelyn and Dorothy. They sold most everything and it was also the precinct where everyone had to go to vote. We voted on paper and dropped it into a box. It closed at 6:00 p.m. and it was always a very busy day. Evelyn married a neighborhood boy, Woodrow Smith, and they had one daughter, Mary Evelyn. Mary Evelyn remembers the store being torn down.

When I was eight days old, I was put on the cradle roll of Beulah Baptist Church. I was baptized on January 16, 1929. I taught the four year-olds there for over forty some years. Mrs. Freda Clate and Viola Cook were my helpers. Our church was destroyed by fire on November 3, 1965. Services were continued in Franconia School until it was rebuilt. Reverend Herbert Reamy was our pastor. The new building was dedicated on August 6, 1967. Reverend Samuel Edwards was the pastor when the name of the church was changed from Beulah Baptist to Calvary Road Baptist. We walked from Springfield to the church on Beulah Street in Franconia which was about three miles. Everybody walked but now with all of the cars on the road, we come and go in a hurry.

Back to Reverend Herbert Cooper, we did ride back to Rockville, Maryland with James Deavers and Jessie Javins where Charles and I stood with them as they were married. They had seven children, but James and Jessie went home to be with the Lord. We also rode back with Harold Cook and Viola Edwards and stood with them as they were married. They had two children, Harold, Jr. and Fay. Harold has gone home to be with the Lord. My husband, Charles Edward Javins, went home to be with the Lord on September 13, 1999. I still live in Lorton, Virginia and my church is Calvary Road Baptist on Beulah Street in Franconia, Virginia. My pastor is Dr. David Rhodenhizer. I still drive myself to church and other short errands. I celebrated my 90th birthday on September 14, 2005. God Bless All.