2011.01.21: January 21, 2011: To hear Zambia RPCV Richard C. Moncure Jr. talk about it, the Rappahannock River runs deep in his soul
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2011.01.21: January 21, 2011: To hear Zambia RPCV Richard C. Moncure Jr. talk about it, the Rappahannock River runs deep in his soul
To hear Zambia RPCV Richard C. Moncure Jr. talk about it, the Rappahannock River runs deep in his soul
"What this river means to me is everything," said the 30-year-old Northern Neck waterman, who has lived and fished on the river for much of his life. "I'm comfortable with every neck and creek of it." Now Moncure will have a chance to protect the 90-mile-long estuary he holds so dear as the Friends of the Rappahannock's first steward of the tidal river below Fredericksburg, "Certainly, this is a dream job to be able to ride up and down the river in my Boston Whaler and make a difference," he said. Hiring Moncure to monitor the lower Rappahannock is also a dream come true for the Friends of the Rappahannock, which has worked for 25 years to protect the river above Fredericksburg. Increased donations and grant funding have now enabled FOR to expand its downstream work, the organization said in a news release. "It's all one river," said FOR board member John Mitchell. "A free Rappahannock knows no political boundaries, and we're glad to finally have the resources to expand downstream."
To hear Zambia RPCV Richard C. Moncure Jr. talk about it, the Rappahannock River runs deep in his soul
A 'dream job' for Rappahannock steward
Friends of the Rappahannock names Northern Neck waterman river steward for tidal area of river
Date published: 1/21/2011
BY FRANK DELANO
Caption: Moncure, a waterman, has spent much of his life on the river.
To hear Richard C. Moncure Jr. talk about it, the Rappahannock River runs deep in his soul.
"What this river means to me is everything," said the 30-year-old Northern Neck waterman, who has lived and fished on the river for much of his life. "I'm comfortable with every neck and creek of it."
Now Moncure will have a chance to protect the 90-mile-long estuary he holds so dear as the Friends of the Rappahannock's first steward of the tidal river below Fredericksburg,
"Certainly, this is a dream job to be able to ride up and down the river in my Boston Whaler and make a difference," he said.
Hiring Moncure to monitor the lower Rappahannock is also a dream come true for the Friends of the Rappahannock, which has worked for 25 years to protect the river above Fredericksburg. Increased donations and grant funding have now enabled FOR to expand its downstream work, the organization said in a news release.
"It's all one river," said FOR board member John Mitchell. "A free Rappahannock knows no political boundaries, and we're glad to finally have the resources to expand downstream."
Moncure will work with citizens and organizations in seven counties--King George, Caroline, Essex, Richmond, Westmoreland, Middlesex and Lancaster--to explore ways to improve the river's water quality.
"It's a neighbor-to-neighbor thing," he said. "People sit down over coffee with their neighbors and go through a workbook of actions they can take around the house to reduce pollution, such as fertilizing in the fall instead of the spring or holding off on the lawn fertilizer altogether."
Moncure graduated from Woodberry Forest School and Hampden-Sydney College and worked on an aquaculture project as a Peace Corps volunteer in the African nation of Zambia.
Back home, he worked with his father at the Happy Clam, a popular Colonial Beach seafood market and restaurant that closed last year.
He then became a commercial fisherman and oysterman in the lower Rappahannock, but from the scant catches, "I could tell that my future wasn't going to be there," he said.
He, his fiancee, Jessica Hinson, and their son live at Simonson, a Richmond County fishing community flanked by Morattico and Lancaster creeks.
Moncure said his new role as an advocate for the river "is a lot more than a job."
"I come home to my 11-month-old son each day and I see who I am working for. I want him to experience the joy of pulling up a pot full of crabs, just like I did and my father did before me," he said.
Frank Delano: 804/761-4300
Email: fpdelano@gmail.com
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: January, 2011; Peace Corps Zambia; Directory of Zambia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Zambia RPCVs; Environment; Water; Maryland; Maryland
When this story was posted in May 2011, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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| Peace Corps: The Next Fifty Years As we move into the Peace Corps' second fifty years, what single improvement would most benefit the mission of the Peace Corps? Read our op-ed about the creation of a private charitable non-profit corporation, independent of the US government, whose focus would be to provide support and funding for third goal activities. Returned Volunteers need President Obama to support the enabling legislation, already written and vetted, to create the Peace Corps Foundation. RPCVs will do the rest. |
| How Volunteers Remember Sarge As the Peace Corps' Founding Director Sargent Shriver laid the foundations for the most lasting accomplishment of the Kennedy presidency. Shriver spoke to returned volunteers at the Peace Vigil at Lincoln Memorial in September, 2001 for the Peace Corps 40th. "The challenge I believe is simple - simple to express but difficult to fulfill. That challenge is expressed in these words: PCV's - stay as you are. Be servants of peace. Work at home as you have worked abroad. Humbly, persistently, intelligently. Weep with those who are sorrowful, Care for those who are sick. Serve your wives, serve your husbands, serve your families, serve your neighbors, serve your cities, serve the poor, join others who also serve," said Shriver. "Serve, Serve, Serve. That's the answer, that's the objective, that's the challenge." |
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Story Source: Fredricksburg
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Zambia; Environment; Water
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