Who is Vera of White Sands?

Lenny

Lenny

Lovin' being Texican
Wifey and I were down in Calvert County for the Artfest at AnnMarie Gardens yesterday. On the way home the garish pink sign on Route 4 snapped my wife's neck to badly we had to stop for a dessert. Vera's is quite a ways off the beaten path but we finally go to this place that can only be described as "over the hill" as is the proprietress, Vera. The whole place is a temple to someone I believe Gloria Swanson portrayed in many of her older movies. White hair, kaftans and saris, elephants and tortoise shells. Who is this woman? She creeps around the place (not bad for someone who looks like she's 80 or 90) but she's really stuck in the '50's in her mind.
 
Penn

Penn

Dancing Up A Storm
She is the owner of that restaurant; was a "B" actress back in the 30'-40's timeframe, I heard. Married a producer/director along the way, survived him and built her dream cuisine home. She would have it open 8 or 9 months of the year, then scour the South Seas for artifacts to decorate the place for the remaining time..

Supposedly, the house she lives in, catty-corner to the restaurant, is a mini Taj Mahal, that contains more of what you saw earlier.
 
Railroad

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
Lenny, I don't know all the details, but I understand that she's a wealthy (and of course eccentric) heiress. She travels a lot (or used to) and many of the things you saw there are things she got/bought and had shipped to her place in Solomons. I've heard that she was in the habit of getting men to travel with her or be her boy toys.
 
Railroad

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
Penn said:
She is the owner of that restaurant; was a "B" actress back in the 30'-40's timeframe, I heard. Married a producer/director along the way, survived him and built her dream cuisine home. She would have it open 8 or 9 months of the year, then scour the South Seas for artifacts to decorate the place for the remaining time..

Supposedly, the house she lives in, catty-corner to the restaurant, is a mini Taj Mahal, that contains more of what you saw earlier.
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Thanks, Penn, I defer to your knowledge on this one - my memory failed me for sure!
 
cattitude

cattitude

My Sweetest Boy
Vera was actually married to a doctor and they bought hundreds of acres and opened a marina and resturant. She is a realy nice lady. I used to work at what is now Adams and she used to come in there all the time and chat. Her husband died years ago and her piano player looked after her and traveled with her for a long time but he died a few years ago.

I'm not sure that she was ever an actress, although she lived in Hollowood for a while.

There have been several articles written about her and the restaurant in local papers and the Post.
 
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Penn

Penn

Dancing Up A Storm
Catt, she has a caretaker/attendant who's name is Kumar, an Indian(as in middle east), who has either finished or is ending up a book about her life history.
Speaking of which, this man was a history professor at a university south of New Delhi. We got talking at a Thanksgiving dinner party I went to last year, and he had a draft copy with him.
 
cattitude

cattitude

My Sweetest Boy
Penn said:
Catt, she has a caretaker/attendant who's name is Kumar, an Indian(as in middle east), who has either finished or is ending up a book about her life history.
Speaking of which, this man was a history professor at a university south of New Delhi. We got talking at a Thanksgiving dinner party I went to last year, and he had a draft copy with him.
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Yeah, but he's relatively new. I think the guy's name I'm talking about was Roger. He was with her for many, many years. Maybe she's recreating her history. :lol:
 
wmburdette

wmburdette

9/11 - Never Forget!
There was a real nice profile of Vera and a very brief recap of her story this past week in the Maryland Independent Weekend section. Couldn't find it on line so can't provide a link.
 
Penn

Penn

Dancing Up A Storm
Interesting story, Catt! Thank You!

So there is no mention of her being an actress, just living there for a while. The place originated as a boaters snack bar, and they built an 84 berth pier, to give customers a place to dock their boats. Later, the restaurant evolved.

Amazing how the other stories got started; one local Calvert resident said to me one night: "Hollywood actress! My Butt! She was in Vaudeville, in the undergarment business!"

He was trying to put it nicely.:whistle:
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
It's always amazing to me that there are people who have lived in St. Mary's or Calvert for a good number of years, but have never made the pilgrimmage to Vera's.

And there are also the ones that have gone, then said they wouldn't go back because the food wasn't all that. Talk about missing the point. :lol:
 
L

ladylara

Guest
i've lived here two and half years and just went to vera's last month.
interesting. an interesting experience. now i can say, 'been there, done that' and i don't have to go back.
i actually was expecting more kitschy and cheese than we got. oh well.
 
M

mromero

New Member
I'm one of those from Southern Maryland that went to Vera's two years ago. We found the place dirty, the service awful and the food nasty. Vera was there for a short time, but she seemed to be a little dazed and confused.
 
Mikeinsmd

Mikeinsmd

New Member
About 15 of us boats on a poker run stopped in there Saturday. I had a "Mystery" drink. It was....different. :lol:
 
Tonio

Tonio

Asperger's Poster Child
vraiblonde said:
It's always amazing to me that there are people who have lived in St. Mary's or Calvert for a good number of years, but have never made the pilgrimmage to Vera's.

And there are also the ones that have gone, then said they wouldn't go back because the food wasn't all that. Talk about missing the point. :lol:
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I've never eaten there because of the prices. But it sounds like the atmosphere is worth the cost. I think I understand what you mean about "the point." I don't gamble, but I would still go to Vegas just for the gaudy spectacle. My sister has been to the Liberace Museum in Vegas, and apparently it's worth seeing even if you hate Liberace's music or you're homophobic. Kind of like seeing Hearst's San Simeon.
 
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