Occoquan and Mom's Apple Pie

Today I visited my favorite minerals store in the small historic town of Occoquan. It is a lovely stop on Hwy. 123, with picturesque hills, the Potomac tributary flowing through it, the eighteenth-century stone mansion, the ducks, the herons, the occasional bull shark caught in the nets of fishermen, the mom-and-pop boutiques, and the small and quaint restaurants on the banks of the river.

The average household income in Occoquan is $167,767. The median age is 43.7 years: 41.5 years for males, and 47.2 years for females.

Mom's Apple Pie turned The Golden Plum is no longer the attraction as you enter the town, it is now a Cafe that still sells pies, but the name has changed. The Golden Plum served the same delicious pies with recipes passed on to the new owner, the daughter. The Golden Plum no longer sold wines and spirits to the locals. Perhaps the daughter could not get a liquor license, perhaps she was not interested in selling wines to the rich Washington bureaucrats living in the expensive homes tucked in the hills and the condos built on the riverbank, perhaps that part of the business was not bringing in enough revenue. Nobody knows the reason.

The famous designer Andre Soriano had an atelier in the downtown Occoquan, but the leftist locals did not like his Republican politics, the American flag and the Trump flag he was flying on the second floor of his rented home. The atelier occupied the first floor and the second floor was his residence. The locals hated him so much that they harassed him constantly and even tried to burn the building down. The smoke stains were visible on the upstairs facade for a long time.

The building is now empty and for sale; Andre moved elsewhere. As a jet set celebrity designer for the stars as he is, he can live and create anywhere in the world. He loved the quaint town and its significance in the history of Virginia. Our friend Alice Butler, a friend of Donald Trump, had brought Andre to Virginia in 2016 from Los Angeles. The leftist, hateful locals of Occoquan made his life miserable. Andre was going to stay despite the constant attacks, but the owner decided to sell the building - prices are good and the unrelenting threats to Andre could have burned his building down.

A small church in town sold its building right across from the former Mom's Apple Pie to Muslims. They were welcomed with open arms and now the former church is a Muslim Community Center dedicated to Peace. Because of its proximity to the former Mom's Apple Pie and its sale of alcohol, the Muslims made sure that the wine liberals in Occoquan bought their alcohol somewhere else. With a population of 1,055, it won't be long before the Muslims outnumber the aging locals of Occoquan.