The Cake Lady: Gordonsville’s “Tootie” Hughes

By Sandy James
Review staff writer
Published: May 22, 2008

While Virginia “Tootie” Hughes sold nachos at the recent bull riding event to raise money for the Gordonsville Volunteer Fire Company (GVFC), a young boy, in a moment of recognition said, “Hey--you’re the cake lady!”
Tootie Hughes has been a member of the GVFC Ladies Auxiliary for 55 years.
During that time, she was probably most famously known for operating the cake wheel at the fire department’s annual fund-raising carnival for about 40 years.
Even though the carnival has ceased to exist (for now), people still know Tootie Hughes as the person who inspired the area’s best cooks to bake their tastiest and most attractive cakes of the year. These cakes would, after all, be seen by the whole neighborhood and enjoyed by the lucky winners at the cake wheel!
Mae Taylor recalled when fair time grew near, her mother always said, “I need to bake a cake for Tootie.”
“There’s a lot of work involved in the cake wheel. Tootie made the calls and got the cakes there. She raised a lot of money for the fire department with that cake wheel,” said Nancy Beasley of the GVFC Ladies Auxiliary.
Being known as the cake lady is quite an accomplishment considering the thousands of dollars the cake wheel brought in for the fire department over the years, but Tootie is known for so much more in the Gordonsville community.
“She’s like a mother to us, and she’s a great teacher. Tootie is always reminding us to look at how the food is presented. She says it has to look nice on the plate. We try to tell her she has taught us well, and she needs to let us do a little of the work on our own, but she’s still right there with us, doing the work,” said Beasley.
“Tootie is one-in-a-million,” she said.
“I was Bill and Tootie’s paperboy when I was 11 years-old and they also lived a few doors down the street in our neighborhood, so I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know Tootie,” Gordonsville Mayor Bob Coiner said.
“Tootie is a genuinely kind person. She always has a kind word for everyone. She would do anything to help anyone or any organization that has a need. When you see her, you start smiling without even thinking about it, and after chatting with her for a few moments, you are always happier than you were before you saw her,” said Coiner.
“Whatever we need, Tootie is there for us,” said Linda Shifflett, secretary of Gordonsville Baptist Church.
“She is in the choir, she is a chairperson for Helping Hands and Caring Hearts, she takes care of the annual bazaar, she was on the communion committee, she is the chairperson of the fundraising committee and she and Bill were both messengers to Goshen Baptist Committee,” said Shifflett.
Tootie is also member of the Gordonsville VFW and The Gordonsville Red Hat Society.
Born and raised in Gordonsville, Tootie worked for three dentists in town-Dr. Poss, Dr. Kruger and Dr. Balmer-for a total of 41 years.
“I moved here in 1937, and she hooked me in the fourth grade,” said her husband Bill.
They will celebrate their 60th anniversary in September.
“She’s just like her Grandma Effie. Effie used to always go downtown with a little basket for someone,” said Bill.
“I just love doing things for people,” Tootie said.
During the rare times when Tootie is not busy serving the community, she likes to play canasta with folks in town and she enjoys working in her immaculate yard and flowers. She and Bill also like to travel. And, even that can be utilized for the good of the neighborhood.
“We took a lot of Gordonsville’s elderly folks to Hawaii a few years ago. We had half of Gordonsville on three planes,” said Bill. 
“We like to travel with a group and everything is planned,” said Tootie.
They have been to Hawaii several times, Alaska and the Caribbean. They enjoy cruises (they have been on nearly 20) and mystery tours where the destination is kept secret. They especially enjoyed a 30-day trip around the country.
But, home is where the heart is, and Gordonsville is still Tootie’s favorite place.
She recalled the years past when parades were a big deal.
“We went to parades every week during the summer. Most of them were across the mountain. We’d ride in the parade then we’d all stop somewhere for dinner,” she said.
She is also proud of how far the fire company has come through the years.
Tootie said the said the new firehouse with the big kitchen was a real treat.
“We started at the old firehouse on Main Street. We fed the Lion’s Club twice a month.
We had pancake suppers. The kitchen in the old firehouse was so small,” she said.
And, about those nachos at the bull riding event, “We made a lot of money at the rodeo, and they are going to have more rodeos,” she said with a nod and a smile.