Welcome to Aylesford
Have I told you lately I love that fiction allows me to create places I want and stick them wherever I'd like? No? Well, it's true.
Aylesford, VA
Founded in 1869 by George Ayles, Aylesford is the county seat of Ayles County. As such, it headquarters the Commonwealth Attorney’s office as well as the courthouse. Ayles county is relatively small, bordering larger Washington county, Maryland, the county seat of which is Sheridan. Sheridan is the largest close city, although Baltimore, MD, Washington, DC and Annapolis, MD are not far away. (Really, nothing is that far apart when it comes to Northern Virginia, DC and Maryland, at least not geographically. Traffic, however, is another issue entirely.) Some of this information may or may not be important, but it was fun to research (and, oddly, I really like naming people, so that was fun too.)
Mayor: Richard Trenton
Vice-Mayor: Cathy Nichols
Treasurer: Abigail Swanson
Commonwealth’s Attorney: Steven Richards
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney: James Easton
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney: Cassidy Everett
Ayles County District Court:
Hon. Judge Arthur Finnegan, Presiding Judge, Chief Judge
Hon. Robert Simmons, Presiding Judge
Hon. Mavis King, Presiding Judge
Aylesford Police Department:
Chief Alan Lindstrom
Lieutenant Ian Carpenter
Sergeant is a vacant position at the moment due to the retirement of Timothy Evans
Detective Reid Caufield
Detective Christopher Delmonico
Detective Jason Monroe
Officer Devlin O'Halloran
Officer Hilary Brunswick
Officer Kimberly Evans
Officer Carson Zahn
Aylesford Fire & Rescue:
Chief Antony DeLuca
Captain William Tierney
Lieutenant/EMT Nathan Reynolds
Driver/EMT Leon Nightingale
Engineer Mark Ketcham
Firefighter/EMT Derek O'Halloran
Firefighter/EMT Trevor Beaumont
Firefighter Nicholas DeLuca
Firefighter Issac Andrews
Paramedic Amanda Finnegan
Driver/EMT Miguel Cordova
Ayles County Arson Investigator:
Gabriel McNamara
Local Businesses:
Aylesford Community Bank: The one and only bank headquartered in Aylesford, and employing many in the community, the President and CEO of ACB is Robert McClaren.
Jamieson, Trenton, Parker & White, LLP: Attorney's Office headed by Booker Jamieson, Richard Trenton, Issac Parker and Alicia White. Graduates of UVA, Yale, Harvard and Georgetown, the four partners employ many associates and paralegals including Kyle Mathison and Nichole McClaren.
Jamieson Studio: A prestigious dance academy run by Juliette Jamieson, Jamieson Studio has produced many decorated dancers. Juliette herself was a ballerina with the Metropolitan Ballet before meeting Booker Jamieson while negotiating a contract. The two were married when Juliette was only twenty-two, but it wasn't until she became pregnant with their first child Hunter, she moved from the stage to the studio.
Taylored Jewels: The youngest of Booker and Juliette Jamieson's six children, Taylor Jamieson carved her own path by attending the Colorado School of Mines before moving on to the Gemological Institute of America and obtaining her Graduate Gemologist, Graduate Jeweler and Applied Jewelry Arts diplomas. After graduating, she worked for a manufacturing jeweler for less than six months before returning home to Aylesford to open her own business.
Mick's Hardware: Owned and operated by Mick O'Halloran and his wife Cheri, Mick's has developed into a one-stop-shop for everything home related. Mick and Cheri have been married for almost thirty years and have three grown children, Devlin, Derek and Delaney.
Delight: Owned and operated by Ernie Brunswick, Delight is a traditional bakery, selling everything from fresh bread to cupcakes baked daily by Ernie, his daughter Julia, and Delaney O'Halloran. Married for ten years before losing his wife to pancreatic cancer when Julia was four and Hilary was nine, Ernie has spent the last fourteen years raising his daughters on his own.
Sinclair Custom Solutions: Manufacturing cabinets, built-ins, closet, and storage solutions, SCS was founded by Clive Sinclair when he was barely out of high school. Now a veritable powerhouse in the custom interior market, SCS employs many in the community and is headed by Owen and Justin Sinclair, with Clive staying on in a design capacity.
What in Carnation?!: Every town needs a florist, and Claire Baxter chose Aylesford for hers. Opened two years ago with a loan from Booker Jamieson, Claire is self-taught and handles the arrangements herself with the help of Hugo Martinez, her delivery driver.
Seduction: The newest addition to the Ash Street Shops, Seduction is a mid to high-end lingerie shop owned by Isabelle Baxter. Her shop was also funded with a loan from Booker Jamieson, an ardent supporter of small businesses. Some in the community did not take well to the store which also provides classes relating to female sexuality and sells toys and other adult offerings.
Templeton's: Ayleford's best restaurant and THE place to go when looking for a great meal, or a great bar. Owned and operated by Carl Templeton and his partner, Corey Craven, Templeton's also provides catering services, primarily for weddings and “swanky” parties.
La Casa di Delmonico: The Italian restaurant in town, Delmonico's is as family-centered as Templeton's isn't, featuring pizza, pasta and calzones. Sal Delmonico, his father Nico, and sister Mary own and operate the restaurant, employing mostly high school and college age staff.
Rosalita's: The Mexican restaurant in town, Rosalita's is run by Ric and Maria Martinez. Both second generation Americans, their son Hugo helps at the restaurant when he's not running orders for Claire Bennett.
In The Stacks: The bookstore slash coffee-shop in town that isn't a huge chain, In The Stacks is Beth Sinclair's baby. Breaking away from the family business, Beth ventured on her own and although it's been touch and go, and certainly no easy feat, she's happy she's not answering phones and writing work orders for SCS.
Surely there will be additional people and places as the stories progress....
