What's in a name? Chic's Beach

VIRGINIA BEACH

Chic's (or Chick's) Beach wasn't given its nickname because that's where the chicks are. That much is clear. But a decades-old debate about the name of the stretch of beach and surrounding neighborhood east of Little Creek Amphibious Base remains lively among residents of this eclectic community.

For years, old-timers refused to even recognize the nickname. The neighborhood was Chesapeake Beach, nothing less.

News accounts and letters to the editor of The Virginian-Pilot reported the dispute frequently through the 1990s. Chic's was undignified, some said. Made it sound cheesy, they said.

That has waned to a certain extent.

The Chesapeake Beach Civic League only recently began to recognize the nickname. It now sells $15 T-shirts with a CXB logo and those place-name letter decals with CXB in large letters and Chic's Beach, Va., in small print underneath that go for $3.

But league President Heidi Janicki said she's still mindful to respect the neighborhood's full name.

"When I talk about the civic league I always use Chesapeake Beach," said Janicki, who moved to the neighborhood about 10 years ago but vacationed there as a child.

Maps of the area identify Chesapeake Beach as the region east of the amphibious base to Baylake Beach, less than a mile away, and north to Shore Drive. Baylake Pines is the nearest neighborhood to the east. Older maps, dating back to the 18th century, identify the area as Pleasure House, likely named for The Pleasure House, a tavern that catered to Confederate soldiers.

Chesapeake Beach popped up on maps around World War I and has since become an established residential neighborhood.

The shortened Chic's Beach derives from Luther "Chic" Ledington, who with his wife ran a hot dog stand on the beach where Alexander's on the Bay now sits. He competed with "Buster's" down the way, but the nickname Buster's never stuck.

How the K was added to the nickname remains a bit of a mystery, but it appears to have followed the establishment of places like Chick's Beach Cafe, Chick's Oyster Bar and the Chick's Beach Texaco.

(The Pilot's rule is to use Chick's with a K, but it is currently reconsidering that in light of the historical derivation.)

For longtime residents, such as Wally Damon, 59, the dispute remains in full throttle.

"Chic's is not the nickname of Chesapeake Beach," he said, rather adamantly.

The only Chic's Beach he will acknowledge is a small spot of sand where the hot dog stand used to be.

"That is the only Chic's Beach. That's it," he said.

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com