June 7, 2025
56: murals, not falling over, eskimo hill, bill's story, squirrel hollow, car wash, passing cars, quantico, float, ihop directions, fire truck, another new pr, a good aroma
Fredericksburg to Potomac Mills

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1 week ago
When I passed the sign for Eskimo Hill, my curiosity was piqued. I determined right then that I'd ask the next person I saw how the street got its name, even if that person was at the bottom of a long hill.
About five minutes later, I saw a formless shape huddled among some plants in front of a house. I rolled up the gravel driveway and said hello, and when I didn't get a response I just stood there another minute then tried again. This time, the figure stood upright, gave me a smile and, in a soft Southern drawl with a hint of gravel from age, returned my greeting.
"I hate to bother you, but I'm really curious about the name of this street, Eskimo Hill, and was wondering if you happen to know how it got its name."
“Yeah, I remember when Stafford County only had one red light.” (As of the 2020 census, the population of Stafford County was 163,380.)
Jackpot.
“So you’ve been living here a long time.”
“Yeah, I’ve been in Stafford all my life but I was born in Richmond. I remember Stafford before 95."
I thought he meant 1995, which didn't seem very impressive, but he continued.
"Everybody traveled Route 1 going north or south then they built 95 (Interstate 95), and that’s why all these restaurants and motels and stuff faded away or were repurposed. Route 1 used to be the only way to get to DC, and one of the names was Killer Highway. Every week there was a motorcycle that got ignored. There’s always somebody wanting to do 95 in a 55."
He told me that Eskimo Hill is named after the Eskimo Hill Diner, which used to be just up the road next to Highway Garage, and was one of those businesses that "faded away" after the interstate opened.
"Was it shaped like an igloo or anything?" I asked.
"No, it was red brick, or maybe cinderblock, I can't remember. There are pictures you can find of it, but you need to find them in the Fredericksburg history, because at that time there was very little in Stafford."
When I asked why he thought they named it that he said, "Maybe because it was at the top of the hill.”
I commented on what a beautiful yard he has. It was meticulously cared for, clearly.
"Yeah, I still work at it. I still work for the FBI, too."
The topics changed as we continued chatting. "Stafford does have a history of Ku Klux Klan that were around."
"Had any trouble yourself?"
"I went to an all black school for six years and we didn’t have much. It was supposed to be 'separate but equal' but it wasn’t equal at all."
Bill noted that there were very few teachers, and the ones they had were required to teach multiple grades in crowded classrooms and without books.
"When they integrated half of us flunked because we’d never had homework. We didn’t even know what that was. We never had home books, but we did the best we could." One of the reasons they integrated was because Bill's school "had a lot of sports talent and augmented the white school."
"When I went to school they only taught you to be brickmasons and laborers and stuff like that. We never considered college, and I’ll never forget one of my principles, Robert Womack, he said 'You need to go to college.'"
At that point Bill was desperately behind academically, but "Mr. Womack, he caught me in the 8th grade, he said 'Bill, you can go to summer school for four years in a row, you can catch up and be ready.'" Bill resented the idea because "summers was all we had, buuut I went, and I was able to go to the University of Delaware." He majored in chemistry, but never used it. "It was just a degree that got me in the door. But, you know, it was still valuable."
At that point his neighbor drove past and got out of his car. He pointed in his direction, about a hundred yards away, and said:
"That’s my neighbor, Ricky. Now, back before we integrated we always fought on the bus. We always fought. It was white vs. black, and now he’s one of the best neighbors a person could have… great guy, great guy." He paused a moment, then added, "We just didn’t know what we didn’t know. We didn’t know that people are people. We all got the same basic needs. Everybody needs to eat and all that. Racism is not inherited, it’s taught, and if you’re taught it as a child you’ll adhere to it until you learn different.”

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On the north side of Stafford I saw a kid holding up a sign advertising "Free Carwash - Accepting Donations," and thought, "Why not?" So I pulled my bike in, unloaded the panniers, and let them take over. While they were working, I talked with a gentleman named Ted who told me that this area has the largest population of Afghan refugees in the entire country, and this car wash is to help them out.

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Today's ride: 39 miles (63 km)
Total: 1,505 miles (2,422 km)
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