It’s been fifteen years since John and Kelli Higgs opened the doors at T & E Small Engine. It was an adventure that began when someone suggested pursuing the “American Dream”. John had been a foundry worker for a long time. When he was laid off, however, he was faced with the dilemma of how to support his family. Since John was good at small engine work, and since Floyd County needed a small engine repair shop, a family member suggested he open one of his own.
Thanks to a small family loan, the Higgses built a service shop at their home. John was the repair man while Kelli did the shop’s bookkeeping in addition to her regular job. T & E Small Engine was born.
With an ever-increasing demand for repairs, business was good. So good, in fact, that it soon became evident that new equipment sales would also become part of T & E. John and Kelli turned to the manufacturing lines of Robin, Snapper, Jonsered, and Dixon for an inventory of trimmers, mowers, chainsaws, and zero turns.
With the addition of new equipment sales, however, came the need to expand. John and Kelli built a showroom to display the new inventory and the business continued to grow. In 2008, the Higgses added the full line of Husqvarna Lawn and Garden equipment.
This decision led to a huge surge in growth, and in the winter of 2009, T & E Small Engine found a building to rent on the main road outside of town. After the move, Kelli and son Anthony joined John as full-time employees of T & E Small Engine.
Over the next few years, the business continued to grow, with several transformations taking place. Different product lines and services were added or discontinued, such as the 2013 addition of the Yanmar America tractor brand. In 2015, after realizing the need for a tractor dealership in Floyd, T & E switched from Yanmar America to Mahindra; the number one selling tractor in the world. The Mahindra brand offered a wider selection of horsepower, as well as a broader selection of implements, and so the switch brought even more growth potential for T & E.
With the expansion of the tractor line and the increase in service work, the small building they’d rented was no longer large enough. It was then that John began the search for T & E Small Engine’s new and permanent home.
John and Kelli Higgs purchased a little over five acres from Floyd County. The plot is located just off the main road in the Industrial Park, and after a long eighteen months, T & E’s new six-thousand square foot building stood at the heart of it. The new location at 199 Appalachian Road, NE, features a full display show room, parts room, service shop, restrooms, break room, and offices. The remaining land also provided room for a complete, outdoor display-lot, as well as a place for equipment storage.
The new location was officially opened on May 1, 2016, with a grand opening following a few weeks later. With this latest stage of business growth came the need for more employees. The Higgses were able to hire full and part time mechanics, a full-time office assistant, and a delivery driver. The Higgs’ son, Anthony, filled the delivery driver position while his wife, Sasha, took on the role of office assistant. The family works daily, side by side, running the business. The expectation is that one day, Anthony and Sasha will continue running T & E Small Engine when John and Kelli retire. What started as just a suggestion has turned into a bustling, family owned and operated business.
T & E Small Engine now offers the full equipment lines of Mahindra Tractors, Husqvarna, Massimo, and several others. They also offer parts and service for most outdoor power equipment, tractors, sports utility, and more. Pickup and delivery are offered along with many other services. Growth continues as the need arises to serve the community and surrounding areas. T & E Small Engine: stop in and see them today.
T & E Small Engine • 540-745-8383
199 Appalachian Road, Floyd, VA 24091
www.tesmallengine.com
www.facebook.com/tesmallengine
In 1978, Apple Ridge Farm became a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the intention of matching dreams to deeds, with adults taking on the responsibility of helping youths to succeed in life. Fast forward to 2019. In forty years, Apple Ridge has helped over 70,000 children through its summer camp and afterschool programs, environmental education field trips, and outdoor adventure programs. The facility has gone from a small, rustic summer camp to a world-class Education and Retreat Center with twelve buildings, five miles of hiking trails, a sports complex, a swimming pool, low and high ropes courses, lodging, a bed and breakfast, a wedding venue, and much more! Apple Ridge Farm is best known for its academic summer camp programs. 
These are free to underserved youth ages six to sixteen, from both the Roanoke Valley and Floyd county. The summer camps offer well-rounded programs which merge outdoor activities like team-building, climbing tower and zipline, tennis, swimming, hiking, environmental education, and organic gardening with other, more traditional learning opportunities like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs.
In 2016, when Peter Lewis’ son, John, became the new Executive Director at Apple Ridge, the organization began a new period of transformation. John had grown up in both Floyd and Roanoke counties, then spent fourteen years in Richmond. While he was there, he became the Founder and Director of an urban agricultural education, nonprofit organization called Renew Richmond. With his background as a Prevention Specialist, Qualified Mental Health Professional, and agriculture enthusiast, John brought new ideas and programs to Apple Ridge.
With John’s inspiration at the helm, a new agricultural education initiative called “Apple Ridge Farm Grows!” began to give children the opportunity to raise produce then sell it at a farmer’s market while also learning about healthy eating and healthy lifestyles. This initiative includes The WELL Market – Working Eating Living Learning: a “Healthy Food, Healthier Communities” program. It also includes community garden work at George Washington Carver Garden in Northwest Roanoke, as well as the Star City Food Systems (SCFS) Coalition: a newly established Healthy Community Action Team. In addition to the new programs, there have also been recent physical additions to the Copper Hill facility.
There is the new Caboose Car Bed & Breakfast, which takes reservations through the Airbnb website. There is also EBase USA–Blue Ridge: an off-grid, high-tech classroom powered solely by solar panels and a wind turbine. Here, students learn about climate change and sustainability.
And finally, there is the beautiful new, timber-frame, Spangler Pavilion where weddings and concerts take place. After all these years and changes, however, children are still at the heart of everything that Apple Ridge Farm does, and its mission is still going strong: to transform the lives of underserved children and families through engagement in unparalleled educational, cultural, and outdoor experiences.
Whether you come to Apple Ridge Farm to have your wedding, to spend a romantic get-away night in one of the new Caboose Cars, to have a corporate retreat, to do a team challenge program with your soccer team, to take a ride on the 600-foot zip line, to walk along the five miles of hiking trails, or even just to listen to a bluegrass concert, all of the proceeds raised go toward keeping the summer camp free for underserved youth.
The hospital later became the property of Dr. I.E. Epperly. After that, it changed hands to Dr. Silas T. Yeatts. In 1950, a Floyd school teacher named Marie Williams purchased it as her residence. Today, the Floyd County Historical Preservation Trust owns this historic building and has restored it for use as the Floyd County Museum.
The Floyd County Historical Society’s mission is to preserve Floyd County History, serve as custodian of historical gifts, and provide educational outreach. The Society provides an informative brochure and map for a self-guided walking tour through Floyd. The Floyd Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as the Virginia Landmarks Register, includes most of the town center as it was established in 1831. A Walking Trail Brochure covers 1.7 miles and features forty-five historic places. It is available at the Museum, as well as the Visitor Center/Chamber of Commerce office at 109 East Main Street. The Society provides museum tours for Floyd school classes. It also sponsors a scholarship for high school art students.
The museum has two current exhibits and several that are on-going – such as the moonshine still that was confiscated in 1983 and given to the Historical Society by Court order.
jerkin, as well as gas masks, a rare collection of uniform patches, and an even rarer signal flag. There is a liberty bond, personal letters, uniforms, many pictures, and many other military items. Museum staff are incredibly knowledgeable, and are happy to provide the tragic and moving histories, details, and stories behind this collection.
Floyd native, Janet Slusher Keith, provides a tour of the Laurel Branch/Topeco area during the Crooked Road Mountains of Music Homecoming, each year. Janet’s tour can be found on our on-cell program at 540-585-3070. The Society also hosts five special programs each year, held at the Floyd Center for the Arts. These are open to the public and are offered free of charge.
At 10:00 am, on November 10, 2018 at Floyd Center for The Arts, Floyd native Ricky Cox will present “Water-Powered Mills of Floyd County”. Cox teaches Appalachian Folklore at Radford University. Pictures of some of the 100-plus water-powered mills of the county will be on display, and a driving tour of the mills will be available soon. The January 12, 2019 program will feature Mike Ryan presenting, “Southern Appalachian Chair Making.”
When offered the chance to build new trails at Chantilly, Paul jumped at the chance. He was already familiar with the property, as well as some of the existing trails, and knew the potential the acreage offered for creating a self-contained, multi-use trail system. With the help of trail- building professional and landscape architect, Tony McGee, the Tilly’s Trace & Tilly’s Wynd trail was laid out. Now two years old, this trail goes through a steep, wooded hillside to the Flat Top. The team made sure to keep the slope of the trail to a minimum so it would be fun to ride or walk for all ability levels. They also created switchback turns to gain the elevation gradually.
Last winter’s major project was the layout and construction of the new Cairn Trail. The Cairn Trail ascends to the top of the major wooded ridge on Chantilly Farm property. There were already several nice, flat, easy trails on the top, but there was no existing, bike-friendly route to reach them. Paul did his best with the topography of the hill to create a trail that winds its way up instead of going straight. It took many times hiking through the woods to nail down the best route, but then the trail bed was constructed using a mini excavator machine. A bench cut trail was built that has several major switchbacks to ascend a total of two-hundred vertical feet in about three quarters of a mile. It was also built so that riders never experienced anything steeper than a 10% grade. All that planning and work made for a trail that is both good for riding a mountain bike, or for an easy hike or jog to the ridge top.
Paul says Floyd is blessed with miles of lonely country roads that are great for cycling; both paved and unpaved. There are events every year that both start and finish at Chantilly Farm; The Tour de Floyd in the spring features some of the best paved roads in the county on the classic 100K course. The Tour de Dirt in the fall is an “any road” ride which explores a different route every year; focusing on the best unpaved routes in the county. But these roads are not for kids, and really only for experienced cyclists with proper equipment and skills, and the fitness to take on the many hills found everywhere you go in Floyd County.
Joanne and Bill Bell began making and selling their original creations over thirty-five years ago. To show and sell their work, they traveled to art and crafts shows for many years throughout the eastern United States. In 2001, however, the couple bought an old building in downtown Floyd. A few years later, Joanne and Bill opened the Bell Gallery and Garden.
The Bell Gallery features Bill’s award-winning landscape photography. It also features Joanne’s pressed floral artwork, as well as her handmade jewelry designs. Bill primarily focuses his lens on the ridges and valleys of Virginia and North Carolina. But he also favors the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. He prints his own images and does all the processes of production in his studio.
Joanne makes assorted floral art, suncatchers, wall hangings, mirrors, and in the last few years has concentrated on pressed floral jewelry. She grows, gathers, and presses flowers, ferns, grasses, weeds, and leaves. She then enhances their colors with inks and paints to keep them from fading. She makes her pendants and suncatchers using traditional stained-glass methods with lead-free solder and recycled glass. She embellishes her pieces with semi-precious stones, and makes beaded necklaces and earrings to match.
Anga Miller first arrived in Floyd after college in 1977 as part of the popular “back-to-the-land” movement taking place in Floyd during that era. In 1982, however, she said goodbye and moved south. Sixteen years later in 1998, while on a journey to Vermont, she decided to stop and visit as she passed through. While catching up with old friends, Anga noticed that the old “Shirt Factory” building in downtown Floyd was for sale.
Dogtown Roadhouse, located in the Wintersun building, began under different ownership, and is now solely owned and operated by Anga and her husband, Ed Erwin. The venue has long been renowned for delicious wood fired pizza and sixteen regional & national craft beers on tap, as well as an extensive menu and full bar service. While eating the world class pizza and drinking cold craft brews, visitors to Dogtown Roadhouse can also enjoy live music each weekend featuring some of the best local and regional acts. And don’t forget to come back around on Sundays to enjoy and take part in Open Mic Night.
Anga and Ed are happy to announce that Dogtown Roadhouse is adding a third floor! To accommodate those folks who prefer the company of friends in a quieter setting, the new third floor will provide a space where guests can chat easily while the crowd downstairs enjoys the music. The room will also be the perfect place to host private catered parties. When 
finished, the room will be a beautiful addition, with large glass windows allowing a clear view of the beautiful evening sunset! Out on the balcony, guests can enjoy looking out over downtown Floyd, as well as the park and Amphitheater. Anga and Ed are very excited about the new addition and are projecting to have it finished very soon. Check out the website for updates on the opening date, along with the weekly specials and full menu options. In the meantime, drop by Dogtown Roadhouse to enjoy the classic wood-fired pizza, the cold draft beer, and amazing music!
When Cocoa Mia owners, Jen and Gray Rudd, were leaving the movie “Chocolat” during Christmas of 2000, they could never have envisioned owning a chocolate shop. And, like the characters in that film, they also could not see the winds of change taking them to unexpected places. The first breeze came when walking to the car after the movie. Upon musing about how beautiful the daughter’s name in the film had been, Jen and Gray agreed to change the name they’d already picked out for their unborn daughter. But they had no idea that one day, they’d be creating similar chocolate delicacies in their very own shoppe.
Almost eighteen years later, the Rudds – now a family of four – are continuing the traditions of the sweet shop’s former owner by hand crafting their delicious truffles and chocolate bars in downtown Floyd. They are also adding some new twists of their own, such as chocolate croissants, and stuffing dates with almonds then dipping them in their house chocolates. They’ve added more beverages, but their signature Hot Chocolate and Mocha Java are as decadent and delicious as ever.
It is truly a family operation. Formerly from the world of financial planning, Gray has transitioned to Cocoa Mia on a permanent basis. Jen is a full-time Quality Manager at a diagnostic laboratory, but is often found experimenting at the shop, working with new and exciting flavors in bars and truffles. One such experiment produced the new Avocado Lime popsicle, which is ridiculously good. The two children are even there on weekends, pitching in with service and helping the team to research and develop new products.
The whole family fell in love with the shop when it was run by the previous owner. When they saw the “for sale” sign go up in early Spring this year, they jumped at the opportunity. With a love of food and chocolate, as well as the science behind both, they embraced the “hand crafted in Floyd” tradition with selections of truffles, bars, and other goodies made in shop.
On Saturday afternoons at Cocoa Mia, customers can also experience what it’s like to be a chocolatier! After choosing from a selection of nuts, dried fruits, and oddball toppings like potato chips, visitors can mix and create their very own bar. “We also carry a unique selection of the finest Artisan chocolate bars from America and around the world,” Jen explains. “We hope everyone will come and enjoy our family’s hospitality, as well as our delicious chocolate and coffee 
creations.”
He contacted an old school friend, Lydeana Martin; now Floyd County Economic Development Director. Lydeana helped Bill connect with the students of Pamplin Business School at Virginia Tech. Always in need of projects for course work, the students created a feasibility study to determine the type of business that would do well in Floyd. At the end of the semester, after all the work had been done, the study revealed that Bill’s best two options were either an organic Tilapia farm, or a microbrewery.
The current location at 332 Webbs Mill Road represents the third attempt to find a home for Buffalo Mountain Brewing. The first two sites had ultimately been rejected for feasibility considerations and practical needs like water, sewer, electrical needs, logistics, regulations, and cost. But then he saw the Webbs Mill Road house up for sale. As a boy, Bill had milked cows for the previous owners, so he already knew them. The house had everything he needed, but most importantly, it was the right price.
Buffalo Mountain Brewing has been well-received by both locals and tourists alike. When it comes to the future, however, Bill’s ultimate goal is to remain a home-town tavern. This dream is even engraved into the wood of the brewery’s unique flight boards: “A Place To Gather And Meet With Friends”.
