Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2014 - 15

came on the scene in 1934. Rose says
that's the biggest question he receives
from readers "When will Barney be back?"
"In 2012, I asked King Features if we
could bring him back for a visit," says
Rose. "It was very successful. Now I bring
him and his horse Spark Plug back every
year for a two-week visit."
Snuffy has now moved into the digital
age. If the strip doesn't appear in a certain
hometown newspaper, readers can see it
online every day at snuffysmithcomics.
com.
Rose is also proud of the first collection
of his strips, published in 2013. "The

Bodacious Best of Snuffy Smith" features
more than 350 of Rose's favorite strips
from 2004 to 2013.
Rose works 8 to 5 daily, as well as some
weekends, as he draws the strip and
comes up with the story line. He says his
ideas often come from his own life.
"There are parts of my life and parts of
me reflected in it," says Rose. "I love to
fish and enjoy writing the fishing stories. I
also come from a large family and that's
important to me. Snuffy's family may be
poor, but they have love and humor and
that's all that really matters."
-Marla Milling

Calling Upon the 'Bad Old Man':
Jubal Early Homeplace Opens

The 200-year-old Early home (above) now houses exhibits on his full and colorful life.

Confederate Lieutenant GeneraL Jubal
Early was a cantankerous fellow who vehemently opposed secession, yet volunteered
for the Confederate Army and was cited for
bravery during his raid on Washington.
Affectionately called "Bad Old Man" by
General Robert E. Lee for his temper, Early
fled to Texas after the surrender in
Appomattox, hoping to join Confederate
forces still holding out. He lived in Canada
the next three years and remained an unreconstructed rebel, even after a presidential
pardon.
Folks hoping to better understand Early
can visit his newly opened homeplace,
where he grew up on a 4,000-acre tobacco
plantation in foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge
Mountains near Rocky Mount. Early hid out
here immediately after the Confederate sur-

render, disguised as a farmer, while Union
soldiers scoured the countryside for him.
The 200-year-old home is open for visitors on weekends. Portraits and artifacts,
such as the Early spittoon, give a glimpse of
his life. The home also will be open during
the Franklin County Civil War Days,
September 5-7, for living history and a
Sunday barbecue. To arrange weekday
tours, email gvia@swva.net.
To make a Confederate general home
place swing through southwest Virginia,
visit the last homes of Stonewall Jackson
and Robert E. Lee in Lexington or drive 90
minutes south to the homeplace estate of
J.E.B. Stuart near Ararat, possibly sipping the
local Stanburn wine named after Stuart's
war horse, Highfly.
-Su ClauSon-WiCker
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 | 15
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Blue Ridge Country - September/October 2014

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