P iedmont M edia , LLC
November 2017
THE TUFTS TRIPLETS: Camden, Charlotte and Caroline Prepare The Hill School’s Christmas Donations for Windy Hill’s Giving Tree (Jack Russell puppies not included)
Country Spirit • November 2017
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Country Spirit • November 2017
From the Editor
The Gift of Giving Could there be a cuter cover for any magazine than the fabulous photo of those adorable Tufts triplets and all those precious puppies that adorn our holiday edition of Country Spirit magazine? Our November/December issue marks a full year since this publication debuted, and we’re properly proud that it’s been a huge hit with readers and advertisers virtually since Day One. At least that’s what you all keep telling us, with much appreciated emails, letters, cards, texts, phone calls and up-close-and-personal chats everywhere we wander. Our three little seven-year-old cover girls—Camden, Caroline and Charlotte—are second-graders at The Hill School, and a perfect fit to help further the Christmas season’s spirit of giving. For many years, Hill has spearheaded “The Giving Tree” that provides Christmas gifts and stockings for children living at Windy Hill in Middleburg. Some 50 Windy Hill youngsters are asked to send the school their individual wish lists and, working with Hill coordinator Emily Tyler (also a valuable Country Spirit columnist), Hill students of all ages and their parents try to make it happen. Windy Hill also accepts outside contributions for The Giving Tree. For more information contact Claire Louis, director of programs at Windy Hill at 540-687-3273. Meanwhile, over at their St. Louis Road headquarters, this was one fun Middleburg Photo shoot directed by our phenomenal photographers, Doug Gehlsen and Karen Monroe. They’ve helped define this magazine with their distinctive work on each and every one of our first six covers. And speaking of the holidays, the greatest gift any writer could ask for is a tip that pays off with a compelling story. One of those pretty packages came my way in a recent email from Middleburg visitor Sandy Maslansky, who wrote to say “reading the varied and well-written articles [in Country Spirit], I thought about a 97-yearold gentleman living in Middleburg whose life would make an interesting article in your magazine.” Many thanks, Sandy, because Jules Watzich was everything you said he was and more, a fascinating fellow who regaled me for three hours with tales about his remarkable career. Here’s a teaser. He’s a retired electrical engineer involved with planes, trains and submarines.
Leonard Shapiro We’ve got plenty more articles from our expansive footprint and beyond Middleburg into Loudoun and Fauquier counties. There’s a feature on a Haymarket couple who founded a foundation that feeds, houses and educates Haitian orphans with volunteer and financial help from Trinity Church in Upperville; a look at the Quaker tradition all around Loudoun County; a piece on yet another gifted local musician, a story on a new, eye-opening book about the late Bunny Mellon, a profile of Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Resorts and a Washington native with a great passion for the area’s favorite football team; gorgeous photos from the International Gold Cup and Journey Through Hallowed Ground along with a story on Journey’s executive director, William Sellers. As usual, education is much in the mix, including an article and photos produced by Foxcroft students focusing on their new Innovation Lab. There’s another piece on Middleburg Academy’s creative methods of integrating the arts and humanities—not to mention two forges and welding instruction—into its already established STEM program. So add an A for Arts and make that STEAM. And now, before urging you to turn the page, we’d also be remiss in not wishing one and all a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday season, Merry Christmas and prosperous Happy New Year. It’s definitely a grand and glorious time to Catch the Spirit. Leonard Shapiro Editor Badgerlen@aol.com
Country Spirit • November 2017
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COVER PHOTO Published quarterly by Piedmont Media, LLC
WELCOME HOME WELCOME HOME
Heading South for the Winter? Or wherever your travels may take you... Leave your home in our trusted care.
ADDRESS 39 Culpeper Street Warrenton, Virginia 20186 PHONE: 540-347-4222 FAX: 540-349-8676 Publisher: Bailey Dabney bdabney@fauquier.com Editor: Leonard Shapiro badgerlen@aol.com Executive editor: Kari Pugh kpugh@fauquier.com Visual design editor: Chris Six, 540-347-4222 csix@fauquier.com
w w w. c o w g i l l m g m t . c o m w w w. c o w g i l l m g m t . c o m
Contributing photographers: Caroline Fout, Missy Janes, Douglas Lees, Middleburg Photo, Crowell Hadden Contributing writers: Justin Haefner, Sebastian Langenberg, Sophie Lagenberg, Lizzie Catherwood, Amanda Scheps, Sarah Sudduth, Leland Schwartz, Pat Reilly, Emily Tyler, Barbara Sharp, Missy Janes, Caroline Fout, Tom Northrup Advertising manager: Kathy Mills Godfrey, 540-351-1162 kgodfrey@fauquier.com Ad designers: Cindy Goff cgoff@fauquier.com Taylor Dabney tdabney@fauquier.com Annamaria Ward award@fauquier.com For advertising inquiries contact Leonard Shapiro at badgerlen@aol.com or 410-570-8447
Photographers Doug Gehlsen and Karen Monroe did a selfie called “Christmas Cheer” inspired by the Tufts Triplets. Doug and Karen’s skills in styling and execution are (obviously) great fun. We offer a tip of the hat to the girls’ brother Max Tufts IV and a colossal thank you to parents Jeanne-Marie and Max Tufts III. Green hat and various wrapping paper from The Fun Shop and the precious puppies are courtesy of Cathy Zimmerman.
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Country Spirit • November 2017
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Offered at $1,170,000 11 ACRES | 4 BR | 4 BA Custom all brick, quality built Flemish bond home, privately sited on 11+ acres between Purcellville and Middleburg. 4 Br, 4 Ba, 4500+ finished sq. ft. Elegance abounds in large bright rooms with stone fireplaces and high ceilings. Vulcan gas range. Potential 1st-floor master suite. Jane Hensley (571) 550-2728
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Offered at $1,100,000 106 ACRES | 5 BR | 3/1 BA Circa 1812 Mt Pleasant Farm, steeped in history. Beautiful setting & views. Live today’s lifestyle in gracious period home. Sits on bluff overlooking Cedar Creek. In protected area. Crafted from brick made on site. Original millwork & hardware. Beautiful mantels, lg kitchen, great floorplan. B&B potential, 1+ hr DC. Carole Taylor (703) 577-4680 George Roll (703) 606-6358
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Offered at $1,100,000 5 ACRES | 4 BR | 3 BA Nestled on 5 private and wooded acres, this fully renovated home offers 3,300+ SF of living space conveniently located near I66. 3 finished levels w/ LL den. Neutral, open floor plan w/floor to ceiling brick wall with fireplace, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen, and a sunroom that walks out to a wrap around deck. Horses allowed! Peter Pejacsevich (540) 270-3835 Scott Buzzelli (540) 454-1399
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Offered at $1,095,000 11 ACRES | 4 BR | 3/2 BA Quintessential Virginia country house built in 1985 using all period materials to look timeless. This charming home features stone walls, antique floors, 4 Br, 3.5 Ba, 4 beautiful fireplaces. Perfectly sited on 11+ acres overlooking stocked pond. 3 bay garage with 2-BR guest cottage above. Add’l 6 acres avail. Jane Hensley (571) 550-2728 Kim Hurst (703) 932-9651
Offered at $865,000 18 ACRES | 4 BR | 3.5 BA SEVEN OAKS FARM - Lovely home with spacious rooms minutes from Middleburg. Large deck, barn/tack room w/4 stone/wood-fenced paddocks, terrific ride out, Middleburg Hunt. Whole house generator, great Internet, extensive Invisible fencing, alarm system. Many recent updates including metal roof on house and shingle roof on barn. Walter Woodson(703) 499-4961 Alex Woodson (703) 608-1776
Offered at $949,000 11 ACRES | 3 BR | 2.5 BA Beautiful custom home on 11+ scenic acres, with 3 Br, 2.5 baths, is just minutes from Middleburg village. Large bright rooms with spacious main-level master suite, dining room, living room with fireplace, all with views. Perimeter fencing in place, with lovely stone cross-fence. Small barn, long drive, broad lawns. Jane Hensley (571) 550-2728 Kim Hurst (703) 932-9651
Offered at $749,000 3 BR | 2/1 BA Outstanding Middleburg corner lot! Living room, formal dining room, eat-in kitchen, spacious sunroom, screened-in porch. Large, private fenced yard w/ fabulous gardens. Sep studio/work space. Replaced 2017: roof, gutters, carpet throughout. Great in-town property offering it all - walk to Salamander Resort & Safeway! Bundles Murdock (540) 454-3499 Laura Farrell (540) 395-1680
Offered at $885,000 34 ACRES | 5 BR | 4.5 BA Gorgeous custom home with stunning views. 3 open levels w/ guest suite on main level & master suite on 2nd w/ balcony. Inviting 2 story great room with floor to ceiling windows and FP. Gourmet kitchen w/ professional grade appliances & soapstone island. Wrap around deck, porches & patios to enjoy sunsets and access to Appalachian Trail. Scott Buzzelli (540) 454-1399 Peter Pejacsevich (540) 270-3835
Offered at $449,000 3 BR | 1 HB Residential/multiple-use potential. “Tin Shop” c. 1880 filled w/ charm & character in Historic Waterford! Well maintained, beautiful original HW floor throughout. Three sep entrances allow property for commercial tenants w/ spacious 2nd floor for residential potential use. Many more possibilities, no full bath. Laura Farrell (540) 395-1680 Ted Zimmerman (540) 905-5874
Country Spirit • November 2017
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FROM JUNGLE TO ZOO
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Country Spirit • November 2017
Kara Arundel has worked as a journalist for two decades in Florida, Virginia and Washington, D.C. And it just so happens that she is the daughter-in-law of the late Arthur W. “Nick” Arundel, the former publisher of the Fauquier Times and numerous other newspapers in the Virginia countryside. It also happens that in 1955, as young Marine, Arundel ventured into the Belgian Congo on a month-long adventure safari to view Africa’s diverse wildlife. He boarded a commercial airliner carrying a pair of baby gorillas in each arm. Their destination was the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. It was the beginning of dramatic changes for the
gorillas and for the zoo that would be their forever home. To research her book, “Raising America’s Zoo” about the National Zoo and her father-in-law, Kara reviewed thousands of pages of documents at the Smithsonian Institution Archives and conducted nearly two dozen interviews with those most familiar with the Zoo and the gorillas. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, Tom Arundel and their two sons. “Raising America’s Zoo” shares the stories of heartbreak and triumphs of these first-generation zoo gorillas and their caregivers. It’s a story of compassion and conservation of captive animals and their wild relatives.
In the past 4,000 years, the mysterious and magnificent cat has inspired art, poetry and an award winning Broadway musical. Now, Upperville entrepreneur, Sandy Lerner has published a book combining art, history, humor and beauty of these beloved creatures. Lerner gives us a reason to consider the family cat with a renewed appreciation with her tome, “Caticons,” which is packed with 300 stunning color photos. “Welcome to my thirty-year odyssey probing the corners of the art world, catalogues, foreign shores, and cyberspace, all in search of the one cat thing I did not have, ” said Lerner. Best known as a co-founder of Cisco Systems and Urban Decay, she’s promoted animal welfare in the area and certified organic, humane and predator-friendly farming and agricultural enterprises at her Ayrshire Farm, the farm store Gentle Harvest in Marshall as well as a popular pub in Upperville called Hunter’s Head. Her book is a personal examination into an exceptional and delightful and decidedly detailed expedition that spans four millennia, five continents and all forms of decorative arts. Even for those who are not avid cat lovers, the book is riveting in the scope and range of the collection that has been amassed along with the history and explanation of each example, curated with both care
and humor. The collection includes works by such as Picasso, Matisse, Giacometti, Fragonard, Manet, Fabergé, Tiffany, Lanvin and many other makers who surprise and delight the reader. Lerner’s book includes rare items such as a Hittite ceremonial cup with cat’s face made of earthenware from 1700 BC to works of the current century along with a little history, some prose and poetry and much love. There are paintings, sketches, jewelry, books, screen plays, clothing, furniture, ceramics, china, porcelain, earthenware, bronzes, sewing articles and housewares—even a cat Tarot, a German chess set with cat playing-pieces, and a truly beautiful and bizarre citrusreamer. Interspersed throughout the book are tributes to cats by renowned people from all aspects of life. “Unlike some collectors who either follow trends or believe they’re prophets in the art market, I’ve collected simply on the catholicity of (1) is it a cat, and (2) do I like it?,” Lerner notes. “Therefore, there are no images of unhappy cats, unlucky cats or even unsociable cats. ‘My cats’ are happy, healthy, and loved, in art as in life.” There are many poems and apposite quotes throughout the book. Louis Camuti’s dictum opposite Andy Warhol’s “Sam” seems to sum up not only “Caticons,” but Lerner’s approach to life.
An intimate, private look at the fabulous feline
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Country Spirit • November 2017
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Fall Discount
PHOTOS BY CROWELL HADDEN
Manuel Simpson awaits the arrival of the guests. The linen napkins were monogramed and to the bride.
Manuel Simpson has
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Manuel Simpon is a designer based in Middleburg. He’s not an interior designer. He’s not a fashion designer. He’s not a party designer. Instead, he’s a vibrant combination of it all. For a rehearsal dinner at the Millwood Country Club last spring, he transformed an otherwise nondescript room into a warm and welcoming, simple yet elegant atmosphere. “I wanted it to be earthy and natural,” he said. After eyeballing the room, he chose square and rectangular wooden tables to rent for the occasion. Then he added white dinnerware, white marble cheese platters and white linen napkins, which were monogrammed for the bride as a gift. Amy Potter of Country Way did the flowers and, as a singer and songwriter, she also performed her music. The catering was from Savoir Fare. A Winchester native, Simpson spent a brief time in college and knew it wasn’t a good fit. He went out into the working world and gathered all types of experience along the way, first with Devonshire, a British-inspired garden and gift shop owned by Nelson Hammell and Pete Hawkins. “They had a shop in Middleburg, but also Bridgehampton (N.Y.), Palm Beach and numerous other places,” he said. “I was 21 and learned a proper retail career in product knowledge, styling and I was good at it.” Indeed. Now, Simpson has his own design firm, Eye Manuel. “All my business has been local,” he said. “I’ve built brands for other shops. I do windows, design stores and recently helped someone redesign their bookshelves.” It’s all in the details for Manuel Simpson.
Manuel Simpson
Manuelsimpson777@gmail.com facebook.com/manuel.simpson eyemanuel.com | 540-878-6876 8
Country Spirit • November 2017
The main room in the clubhouse BEFORE Manuel Simpson did his magic to the interior for a rehearsal dinner.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
The main room in the clubhouse AFTER Manuel Simpon’s transformation.
FURSMAN KENNELS The Fursman Kennels Experience
an Eye on Details In keeping with the white of the flowers a white marble cheese board with fresh and dried fruits awaits the guests.
From the moment you and your beloved pet drive through the entrance leading to Fursman Kennels, I would like you to enjoy and feel the beauty of the trees and flowers on either side of the winding lane, which is nearly 1 mile long. The kennel itself is beautiful and spacious and is surrounded by two-hundred-year-old oak trees. The staff who work here are very committed to the care and love of every individual dog or cat during their holiday stay. We have separate rooms for different breeds of dogs, which make it more cozy and comfortable. Each kennel has indoor and outdoor runs. We also have very large runs where we lead the dogs out several times a day at no extra charge for them to run, play and go to the bathroom..
Hours of Business
Mon-Fri: 8am-5pm | Sat: 8am-12 noon Sun: Between 9am & 10am Please call for reservations.
Things to Know About Our Kennels • Beautiful, spacious kennels • 24 hour care and attention • Dedicated, loving staff • Cozy, comfortable rooms • Veterinarian recommended • Indoor, outdoor, and large runs • Founded in 1972 • Vaccinations REQUIRED
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Best of Middleburg 2016 & 2017 Country Spirit • November 2017
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THE SEASON OF GIVING MADE EASY...
I GOT IT AT THE FEED STORE . ®
For nearly 40 years, the feed store has brought you an astounding array of products to satisfy your wants and needs, as well as delightful gift-giving surprises. Come enjoy the new store layout and all the season has to offer.
UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE FEED STORE
NOV
DEC
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LADIES’ NIGHT Oh, what a night of fun and shopping. 6 pm - 9 pm
GENTS’ NIGHT Food, drink and a personal shopper. 6 pm - 9 pm
OPEN HOUSE Customers enjoy last minute deals. Open ‘til 9 pm
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Follow our website for more upcoming events!
7408 John Marshall Hwy. › Marshall, VA 20115 › 540-364-1891 › tricountyfeeds.com
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Country Spirit • November 2017
Be Prepared
That’s the Boy Scouts Marching Song ski, chairperson of the parent’s committee. “It’s a team effort and we ask the boys to be as big a part of it as they can.” The Scouts work together to plan excursions, and the older boys take responsibility in guiding the younger scouts. “It develops leadership skills, and gives back to the community,” Domanski said. “In the troop, they can take on leadership positions, and it exposes them to different career possibilities.” Said new scoutmaster Jay Hubbard, “the Boy Scouts have a role in The troop includes 22 boys ages obtaining life skills that really have 12-18 from around the area, includ- become nonexistent in today’s sociing Aldie, Middleburg, Lincoln, Ber- ety. It gave me a good feeling seeing ryville, and Haymarket. The Ameri- a change in the boys and teaching can Legion Post 295 in Middleburg them skills.” sponsors the troop and is the site for Hubbard replaced Paul Davies as its weekly meetings. scout master this past May 1. “We’ve always wanted it to be a “I’m trying to adopt a lot of the scout-run troop,” said Teri Doman- style and scheduling that Paul had,” he said. “A scout master is a leader, a role model, a teacher, and a guide. He’s a big brother, in essence, that takes a boy and sees the potential in him, and tries to take the best out in him.” Each summer, the scouts go on a camping trip as a troop. Last summer they spent ten days in New Mexico. “If one guy’s feeling down, the other guys will pick up and help him move along,” Hubbard said. “The coolest thing for me is to watch the evolution of the boys. You see these ideas form in their head, and you can see that they have a set of skills that they know how PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAEFNER to bring through to Troop leader Jay Hubbard. fruition.”
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T H E O F F I C I A L B A K E RY O F G R E AT M E A D OW Country Spirit • November 2017
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Middleburg Academy Forging a Collaborative Curriculum By Leonard Shapiro
Earlier this fall, Middleburg Academy Head of School Colley Bell wanted to see for himself exactly what all the student buzz was about when he decided to walk over to the campus’s latest innovative “classroom.” He’d heard many of them animatedly chattering about the experience they’d had working with art instructor Stephen Rueckert on one of two forges set up in a large converted storage area. Rueckert was teaching his charges how to manipulate a glowing hunk of metal that had been heated to 1,500 red--hot degrees on one of two forges—one coal-fired, the other fueled by propane. The students would learn how to bend it, twist it and eventually shape it into something that might even be used on another building project at the school. “The kids were all talking about it,” Bell said. “And after I tried it myself, I knew why. When you feel that metal bend, something really happens to you. It’s quite amazing. Now all the students want to try it. They want to start a forge club.” Rueckert, now in his second year on the Middleburg Academy faculty, learned how to use a forge many years ago when he was a student at the
New York City school system before of them don’t have that hands-on exmoving south, where he taught at St. perience, which to me would seem to Albans in Washington before chang- be so important.” ing venues to Middleburg Academy. There’s also another useful benefit He was was brought on board to help to the forge work, along with other Bell and other faculty members figure practical skills Smith is teaching out a way to boost the school’s STEM his students, including welding and programs (science, technology, engi- glass making. neering and math) with a healthy Middleburg Academy is embarkinfusion of the arts and humanities. ing on a project to restore a stable Make that STEAM, with an equal complex built in 1910 that hasn’t been emphasis on the A, as in arts. used in years and nearly had its roof The school also is implementing collapse in a major hail storm in May, another acronym — MOCHA — 2016. Students will be using the forgwhich stands for Make One Con- es to make replicas of original handles nection Happen—Arts, Academics on the stable doors, and they’re learnArt instructor Stephen Rueckert and Athletics. The primary goal, ac- ing basic woodworking and how to offers students hands-on experience cording to the school’s description of etch glass windows that also will be operating a coal-fired forge. the program, “is to encourage every used in the stable renovation. The stable’s eventual residents— Rhode Island School of Design. He teacher to reach out across the curspent his first 20 years after college as riculum to partner, collaborate and horses—will also be part of the first a full-time artist living in Brooklyn make at last one teaching connection S in STEAM, as in the science curriculum. before he want back to school at age happen every semester.” Rueckert is heavily involved in “To me, it’s all about the balance 40 to earn a Masters of Fine Arts dehelping to coordinate that effort, and between science and the humanigree from Brooklyn College. A widely-acclaimed sculptor, his he’s also a firm believer in employ- ties,” he said. “It’s a collaboration work can be found in the permanent ing a hands-on approach to his own across the whole curriculum—Latin and and science, math and science, collection of Metropolitan Museum teaching. “If you’re going to be an engineer,” artwealth and engineering. There itare just to “Some of us approach planning by leaving entirely of Art in New York and The Brookof us approach wealth planning by leaving it entirely to Rueckert said, “you should know so many possibilities. You want lyn Museum and has been featured“Some the ‘experts,’ often not fully understanding what it is theytohave ‘experts, ’ often fully understanding what it is they have it takes to not bend a piece of steel. how tothrow use the and an in publications such as Art Forum,the what recommended we do,show whilethem some of us uptools our hands It helps youwe understand things use their imaginations. That’s my the New York Times, Washingtonrecommended do, nothing. while how some of us throw up our hands and do Neither way is very wise.” get made. Many engineering schools joy—getting them to use their crePost and The New Scientist. nothing. Neither way is very wise.” — Robert ativity B. Seaberg, PhD, Wealth Planning Managing Director at M He spent two years“Some teaching in approach the are getting the brightbykids, but itmany of us wealth planning leaving entirely to and their imagination.”
Planning WealthWealth Planning You Can On Build On You Can Build Wealth Planning You Can Build On Wealth Planning You Can Build On Wealth Planning Wealth Planning You Can Build On You Can Build On — Robert B. Seaberg, PhD, Wealth Planning Managing Director at Morgan Stanley
Wealth planning — that the ‘experts,’ often not fully understanding what it is they haveis, the integration of lifestyle planning, a Wealth planning — that is, the integration ofand lifestyle asset preservation andhands wealth transfer issues — can seem a daunting, recommended we do, while some of us throw up our do planning, preservation and wealth transfer issues — can seem a daunting, almost overwhelming task. And the more assets we have, the more com nothing. Neither way is very wise. ” “Some of us approach wealth planning by leaving it entirely to the task can seem. overwhelming task. And the more assets we have, the more complex the ‘experts,’ often not fully understanding what—itRobert is they have PhD, Wealth Planning Managing Director at Morgan Stanley B. Seaberg, the canand seem. recommended we do, while some “Some of us throw ourtask hands do of us up approach wealth planning byisleaving it family entirely to the ‘experts’, fully Stan This why our business, The CGE often Group not at Morgan Wealth planning — that is, the integration of lifestyle planning, asset nothing. Neither way is very wise.” understanding“Some what it is they have recommended we do, while some of us throw up our hands us our approach wealth planning by leaving it entirely to encourages families to discuss their specific wealth planning goa isof why family The Group at Morgan Stanley, preservation andThis wealth transfer issuesbusiness, — can seem a CGE daunting, almost and do nothing. Neither way is very wise.” the ‘experts, ’ often not fully understanding what it is they have us in a private setting. These conversations along with a compre encourages families to discuss their specific wealth planning goals with — Robert B. 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Winchester, VA 22601 The CgE group at Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor Wealth Advisor Morgan Stanley Smitha Barney LLC offers a wideStanley arrayadvisory ofSmith brokerage and advisory services clients, each Barney LLC offers wide array of brokerage and services to its clients, eachtoofitswhich may create © 2015 Morgan Barney LLC. Member SIPC. CRC1375812 charles.ellison@morganstanley.com Morgan Stanley Smith of which may create a different type ofto relationship with different obligations to you. Please visit us at http:// a different type of relationship with different obligations you. Please visit us at http://www.morganstanleyindividual.com Charles Investment M. Ellison, CIMA, ® CPWA® C. greg Ellison, CIMA,® CPWA® www.morganstanleyfa.com/ellisonellison/ Managementwww.morganstanleyindividual.com Consultants Association, Inc. owns the CIMA, ® Certified Investment Management ormarks consult with your Financial Advisor to understand these differences. or consult with your440 Financial AdvisorEarly to understand these differences. SM W. Jubal Drive,Management Suite 260 (with graph element), ® and Certified Investment Analyst.SM Analyst First Vice President First Vice President © 2015 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. CRC1375812 CS CS 8454708 12/15 JOB INFORMATION SPECIFICATIONS © 2017 Morgan Stanley Smith Member SIPC. CRC1682535 8454708 01/17 Winchester, VAaLLC. 22601 Stanley Smith Barney LLCBarney offers wide array of brokerage and advisory services to its clients, each FinancialMorgan Advisor Wealth Advisor 8454708/603534282 5" × 8" of which may create a different type of relationship with different obligations to you. Please visit us at http:// 5" × 8" charles.ellison@morganstanley.com WM Mktthese Byrnesdifferences. CGE LocAd or consult with your Financial Advisor to understand NA Country Spirit • November 2017 Consultants Association, Inc.www.morganstanleyindividual.com Investment Management owns the marks CIMA,® Certified Investment Management www.morganstanleyfa.com/ellisonellison/ JOB INFORMATION SPECIFICATIONS NOTES 440 W. Jubal Early Drive, Suite 260 SM SM © 2015 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC. CRC1375812 CS 8454708 12/15 Management Analyst. Analyst (with graph element),® and Certified Investment 8454708/603534282 5" × 8" CREATIvE STUDIO Winchester, VA 22601
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Country Spirit • November 2017
Precious paddock princesses catch the action at Great Meadow in The Plains.
Fabulous Colorful Fall Days PHOTOS BY VICKY MOON
Al Griffin and Will Allison, co-chairs of the 80th edition of the International Gold Cup, are all smiles after a glorious afternoon of racing.
Stephanie Bates’ horse, Cooley New Adventure, won the Grand Hunter Championship with rider Lindsay Kelley in the Piedmont Fox Hounds Hunter Trials at Mr. and Mrs. Shelby Bonnie’s Salem Farm in Upperville.
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Ambassador Daniel Mulhall of Ireland presented the gold Alfonso XIII of Spain trophy to English jockey Hadden Frost.
Hadden Frost on Doc Sebu won the $75,000 International Gold Cup. The 7-year-old son of Hard Spun, trained by Jack Fisher, first ran on the flat track under the guidance of Todd Pletcher, the nation’s premiere trainer.
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Country Spirit • November 2017
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It’s known as the Journey Through Hallowed Ground,
a 180-mile National Scenic Byway and Heritage Area stretching from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania south to Monticello in Charlottesville. It’s an extraordinary historical, natural and cultural backdrop through hamlets and communities, battlegrounds, presidential homelands and national grounds. It’s a passage into American history, in the most eventful territory of the United States. Country Spirit is delighted to share these breathtaking images. For details go to: hallowedground.org.
1.
2.
3. 1. A once active iron-producing complex, Catoctin Furnace is located at Cunningham Falls State Park near Thurmont, Maryland 2. For the past five plus decades an audience has gathered at Monticello on July fourth to observe a U.S. citizenship ceremony. 3. Rose Hill Manor in Frederick, Maryland, was the final home of Thomas Johnson, the first proprietor of Catoctin Furnace and first governor of Maryland. 4. The Rivanna River flows near Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. PHOTOS BY KENNETH GARRETT 16
Country Spirit • November 2017
4.
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The Horse and The Camera from the Judith & Jo Tartt, Jr. Photography Collection Now on view - through January 7, 2018
Harness Race Finish, Roosevelt Raceway, 1930s gelatin silver print, 10 x 8 inches photo Milton Platnick, Hempstead, Long Island, NY on loan from the Judith & Jo Tartt, Jr. Photography Collection
Gentleman and Lady in Carriage, c. 1880 tintype, 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches on loan from the Judith & Jo Tartt, Jr. Photography Collection
A collection of over 150 photographic works dating back to the 1870s are on loan for an exhibit at the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg. The photos on view, through Jan. 7, 2018, were curated from the Judith and Jo Tartt, Jr. photography collection of over 150 vintage and antique photographic images. Claudia Pfeiffer, the George L. Ohrstrom Jr. Curator of Art, has written about the exhibit, which was made possible by Mr. And Mrs. Charles T. Akre: Beginning with the advent of the photographic print in 1926/7, humans have enjoyed a fascination with monochromatic images captured by the camera. By the mid-19th century, blackand-white imagery was being produced by highly-trained artisans as an emerging art form for discerning patrons. By the 20th century, photography revolutionized the way the world saw itself—from keepsake pictures of loved ones, possessions, and animals to the proliferation of images shared internationally by wire to report the news For over a century until color took hold in the 1960s, black and white film captured everything from the every day to the monumental, leaving a staggering amount visual record of all manner of topics. The horse featured prominently in photographic images, not just as a common physical presence as a beast of burden and a means of transportation, but also as a reflection of status, a vehicle for sport and leisure, and a subject of artistic inspiration. The Horse and the Camera is an intimate survey of almost 70 tintypes photogravures, albumen prints, gelatin silver prints and collotypes created from the 1870s to the 1960s. Some narratives are provided, others are left to the imagination, but each image captures the indelible mark of a horse, the camera, and the photographer that framed the scene and its context.
Miss Barbara Worth Performs a Cossack Jump, 1933, gelatin silver print, 7 x 9 inches Spectacular Jumps This Girl’s Forte. Miss Barbara Worth not only is prominent in California society, but is known as the owner and trainer of some of the best jumping horses in the state. She does more than train, however– she rides them. This photo shows Miss Worth with shortened stirrups executing a difficult Cossack jump. 6-26-33 on loan from the Judith & Jo Tartt, Jr. Photography Collection
Alfred Stieglitz (American, 1864-1946) Horses, 1904, photogravure 7 x 8 3/4 inches on loan from the Judith & Jo Tartt, Jr. Photography Collection
The National Sporting Gallery & Museum 102 Plains Road, Middleburg, VA 20117 540-687-6542 | Nationalsport.org
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Country Spirit • November 2017
Mallory Bryan ‘17 sity arolina State Univer Attending North C ip recipient as Park Scholarsh
n ‘17 Crishon Washingto e University Attending Penn Stat larship recipient as Millennium Scho
“BE YOURSELF AT HIGHLAND”
“Highland’s motto is an invitation, not an imperative. An invitation to become more than you were the
day before, to make challenging yourself habitual
instead of uncomfortable. It took a little longer than usual, but I bought in to Highland’s motto and as a result I am the greatest me I have ever been.”
– Crishon Washington ‘17 in a speech at Grandparents Day, April 20, 2017
About Highland School: We are a co-educational Pre-K2 to Grade 12 independent day school located in Warrenton with a unique focus on experiential learning. Find out what sets Highland – and Highland’s students – apart at www.highlandschool.org.
www.highlandschool.org Country Spirit • November 2017
highland.school.country.spirit.magazine.2017.indd 1
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8/14/17 11:51 AM
BUNNY MELLON
The Life of an American Style Legend Portrait of Bunny riding sidesaddle on her horse Buberry, by Francis L. Smith, 1935. When Rachael “Bunny” Mellon died at age 103 on March 17, 2014, she was arguably the last embodiment of life in the Gilded Age. Born into money (her grandfather invented Listerine), she married into even more money (the Mellon banking and oil fortune) and went on to build, decorate and preside over seven luxurious homes in Virginia, Washington D.C., New York, Paris, Antigua and Nantucket. She was a friend and a neighbor to many in this area as well as a generous contributor to many charities, often with little fanfare. Writer Meryl Gordon was in the Middleburg/Upperville area in October to speak about her recent book on “Mrs. Mellon”, as she was always called locally. Gordon is the author of the New York Times best-selling “Mrs. Astor Regrets” and “Phantom of Fifth Avenue,” a Wall Street Journal best-seller. A frequent contributor to Vanity Fair, she’s on the graduate journalism faculty at New York Uni20
versity’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. In her latest book, Gordon reveals how Mrs. Mellon treated her pricey possessions as a casual backdrop to her daily life, including an unframed Van Gogh, “Green Wheat Fields, Auvers,” she had propped up on her living room fireplace mantel. A style icon, Bunny Mellon led a simultaneously glamorous and private life. Best friend to Jackie Kennedy, she designed the White House Rose Garden at JFK’s request. She also was muse to French designers Cristóbal Balenciaga and his successor, Hubert de Givenchy. She served as a living witness to 20th Century American history, operating in the intersecting arenas of politics, art and fashion, mingling with presidents, kings and queens, Hollywood actors, couturiers, and artists. She was on intimate terms with the giants of her era, spending Christmas evening at the White
Country Spirit • November 2017
PHOTO PERMISSION OF THE GERARD B. LAMBERT FOUNDATION.
House with the Roosevelts for dinner and the opening screening of “Gone with the Wind.” She hosted Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip for lunch on their first official trip to the U.S. Despite her high-profile life, she also was extremely discreet and cherished privacy, rarely giving interviews. With the cooperation of family members, Gordon had access to thousands of pages of letters, diaries and appointment calendars, and conducted over 175 interviews with Bunny’s closest confidantes, to capture the spirit of this talented and singular American icon. The book includes never-before-seen photographs and original sketches by Bunny Mellon. An ardent gardener, savvy art collector, and discerning self-taught decorator who gave advice to her Foxcroft classmate Sister Parish, Bunny became revered for her style and good taste. Almost everything she did made news: creating a gardening fad for
miniature topiaries; giving her blessing to fledgling artists and designers; turning up at her husband Paul Mellon’s side to watch his thoroughbred, Sea Hero, win the Kentucky Derby. Yet she deliberately cultivated an air of mystery. Regal and intimidating, mischievous and effervescent, the soul of discretion, she cherished her ability to wield influence in a quiet behind-the-scenes way. Late in life, she again made headlines after she became enamored with Democratic presidential contender John Edwards and gave him hundreds of thousands of dollars. He later was charged with violating campaign finance laws and using that money illegally to support his pregnant mistress. At nearly 100 years old, she was interviewed by the FBI and news helicopters hovered over her farm in Upperville.
“Meryl Gordon’s heroic reporting and shrewd insights have given us a fully-drawn portrait of one of the twentieth century’s most compelling figures, by turns warm-hearted and cold-blooded, coping with an emptiness no treasure chests of jewels and art could fill.” -- JEFF GREENFIELD Author of “If Kennedy Lived”
PHOTO COLLECTION OF DAVID FLEMING.
Bunny lobbied her parents to send her to Foxcroft, where riding was one of the three R’s.
BUNNY MELLON TOPICS TO CONSIDER A trend-setting gardener and landscape designer who created the White House Rose Garden:
Bunny Mellon was an amateur gardener, but with very refined vision. She launched trends, including miniature herb topiaries, which became a national sensation. She also designed the Rose Garden at the request of her good friend, President John F. Kennedy (and later the White House East Garden, which she dedicated to Jackie Kennedy in 1965). Gordon tells the story of the day JFK asked her to do the garden-while on vacation in Cape Cod-and details the research and preparation Bunny did for this very public project.
A lifelong style icon and muse:
Bunny had her wardrobe – everything from lingerie and ball gowns to gardening clothes – designed and made each year in Paris by courtier Cristóbal Balenciaga, who had a special workroom devoted only to her. It was estimated that Bunny spent $150,000 per year on her clothes, the equivalent of $1 million today. When Balenciaga retired, Bunny shifted her patronage to his successor, Hubert de Givenchy. She also collaborated with designer Jean Schlumberger to create fantastic pieces inspired by nature, eventually owning more than 140 pieces of jewelry
and table decorations made by him.
Avid, visionary art collector:
Early on, Bunny collected Impressionist art, specializing in still lifes and landscapes, before shifting into modern art. She became a huge fan of Rothko, and had pieces by him in addition to Seurat, Picasso, O’Keefe, Diebenkorn, Van Gogh, and many others in her collection.
An influential decorator:
A trendsetting decorator who insisted on perfection, Bunny’s philosophy was “nothing should be noticed,” and she strove for understated elegance in her homes. She often did the unexpected, like have an antique chair with threadbare fabric in a room with otherwise pristine furniture and world-class art. She would have gardeners leave a few leaves on the ground under a tree to make the scene look more natural, but wouldn’t hesitate to move a wall, tree or even a hill to better suit her vision.
No detail too small, no task too large:
Bunny was well-known to send her private jet on small errands to pick up a forgotten handbag or a pound of butter, but she also never shied away from larger challenges. In 1985, Prince Charles and Princess Diana had their first trip to the
U.S. and Bunny was hosting lunch, the only private home they would visit. Still, her dining room was too small for the party. She tore out a wall of her house and moved an outdoor stone wall to build an addition. The November lunch had a summer theme, so Bunny had gardeners put in roses, azaleas, cosmos, and sunflowers and then covered them with sheets to protect the blossoms from cold weather. A few weeks after the successful event, the addition was torn town, the wall replaced and the outdoor stone wall was rebuilt in its original location.
The Kennedys and life on the edges of history:
Bunny was best friends with Jackie Kennedy before she went to the White House – and their friendship endured for the rest of their lives. Frequently documented in the style pages together, they also saw each other through hard times. Bunny handled the flowers for JFK’s funeral and was at Jackie’s side when she went to pay her respects to Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow after his assassination. Bunny picked the location for Bobby Kennedy’s gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery, and after sitting by her bedside when Jackie passed away, Bunny flew her body to Arlington on her private plane. Jackie once wrote to her:
“You have meant as much to me as any person in my life.”
John Edwards and the excitement of scandal:
In 2003, Bunny developed a fascination with John Edwards – who reminded her of JFK – and started supporting his political efforts. With over $3 million in early donations, Bunny received frequent calls from him and was excited to elect a liberal Democrat to the White House. As Edwards’ wife was dying from breast cancer, and his affair coming to light, his team asked Bunny for money for a “special project.” She didn’t ask questions, but that money was intended to cover the living expenses of Rielle Hunter and John Edwards’ child. Bunny needed a secret way to send money to Edwards that would not tip off her advisers. They never blinked at large decorating expenses, so she sent checks to her decorator, who would then forward them on to Edwards’ team. When the scandal finally broke, Bunny had to meet with an IRS agent and an assistant U.S. attorney (which she thought was quite exciting). Edwards was indicted in 2011 for violating campaign-finance laws by “secretly obtaining” money from Bunny to conceal his mistress.
Country Spirit • November 2017
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Country Spirit • November 2017
By Leonard Shapiro
t began for Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, with part-time summer work as a desk clerk at the old Wellington Hotel in Northwest Washington. He was 18, living at home in D.C. and also working part-time at a now long-gone Rodman’s drug store. That fall, he enrolled at Montgomery-Rockville College and stayed on at the Wellington, switching to bellman. After his second summer there, in 1981 he was offered an entry level, full-time supervisory position. It was not easy to say yes, because his parents wanted him to continue his education. “I told them I really wanted to do this,” he said. “I’d be working 50-70 hours a week, and no time for school. They weren’t pleased, but they also knew it was what I wanted. In the end, they were very supportive.” For Devadas, it clearly was a love for the hotel industry at first sight, and more than 35 years later, that passion has only increased exponentially. “I just liked the business right from the start, for many of the same reasons others get into it,” he said. “I love helping people, meeting interesting people, enjoying the camaraderie of the people who work there. We offer tremendous opportunities to grow personally and professionally, and that’s never changed.” Over the years, there were plenty of changes of venues for Devadas, and a career path that included some Very Big Jobs at some of the nation’s most revered properties. In 1991, he was hired to lead a major renovation of Richmond’s iconic Jefferson Hotel, taking it to a top “FiveDiamond” rating by AAA. Richmond’s Goodwin family owned the Jefferson, and two years later purchased the Kiawah Island Resort near Charleston, S.C. Devadas was named managing director of both the Jefferson and Kiawah, and soon moved to Charleson, where he lived for 15 years. “Our vision (at Kiawah) was very simple,” he said. “Make it profitable and also develop a new luxury hotel that would make it one of the top golf destinations in the country. In 2004 we opened the Sanctuary, a 255-room hotel, and Kiawah was also where I learned all about golf and the business of golf.” Devadas was quickly earning a national reputation in his field. His employers’ company also owned the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville and he helped transform that into another Five-Diamond property. And in late 2004, he was introduced to Sheila Johnson, who had acquired 340 acres property on the outskirts of Middleburg and was on her way to developing it as an upscale resort. “After five months of discussions, I decided to join her and move to Middleburg,” Devadas said. “It was really simple for me. No. 1 was Sheila. I was so impressed the first time I met her and heard her vision for the property. I was convinced she was committed to creating something special. She also had a genuine interest in the guests, and her employees.” As a teenager, Devadas and his friends occasionally drove out to Middleburg for a day in the country, so he knew something about the area. “It was a unique setting with an equestrian heritage,” he said. “It’s an hour outside D.C. and, given the affluence of the Metropolitan area, it already had a tremendous head start for a strong business base. Add the proximity to Dulles Airport, and you also open it up to an international clientele. She envisioned that from the start, and she was right on target.” There was local opposition to the size and scope of the resort long before Devadas arrived, but he and Johnson
for Salamander’s Prem Devadas
Lilla Matheson Ohrstrom Truth and Tales Reception: Saturday, December 2, 2017 5 – 7 pm
Prem and Donna Devadas at home in Middleburg eventually navigated their way to an eventual 4-2 vote of approval from the Town Council, with Salamander also agreeing to build a vitally-needed water treatment facility. “We felt that people who are often opposed to something are mostly afraid of what they don’t know,” Devadas said. “Our job was to help everyone understand her vision…We were very transparent. We were able to get people to feel comfortable with what a positive impact it would have for the town and the county. It was win-win-win for everyone.” Now in its fifth year, the Middleburg resort has exceeded most expectations. The major unknown at the start, he said, “was that you couldn’t be 100 percent sure of how people would take to an unknown destination.” Now, 50 percent of Salamander’s business is corporaterelated, and, according to Devadas, the hotel has achieved occupancy rates on par with the country’s top resorts. “Because it’s still a relatively undiscovered destination, there’s still a lot of upside,” he said. “The resort has also created a tremendous benefit for the community. The town is now on stable footing and every year it gets better because of the tremendous boost in revenue.” For Devadas, who’s late father worked in the Indian chancery in D.C., Salamander also provided a wonderful chance to come back to his home area. He and his wife, Donna, live about a mile from his Middleburg office, and it’s definitely a lot easier to go see his beloved Washington Redskins play at FedEx Field these days. At one time, he regularly commuted from Charleston to watch games up close and personal. Devadas now regularly visits Salamander’s other properties it owns or operates in Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and North Carolina. But for this hotel industry lifer, as Dorothy once said before clicking her heels in the Wizard of Oz, there’s still no place like home. Or a Redskins’ home game.
Anne Rowland: Photographs On view until November 18, 2017
Open on Saturdays | 12 - 5 pm 6480 Main Street | The Plains, VA 20198 Tel. 540-253-5730 | youngbloodartstudio.com youngbloodartstudio@gmail.com Country Spirit • November 2017
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Up Up and
Away
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Country Spirit • November 2017
The Leesburg Airshow recently took place at the Leesburg Executive Airport. A variety of performers had spectators holding their breath, providing fun and entertainment for all ages. Finishing up their eighth year of the event, organizers produced several stunt acts, as well as static displays and vendors - including local aviation schools, aircraft manufacturers, and even remote-controlled aircraft demos and builders. Not surprisingly, the crowd-favorites proved to be the Bealeton-based Flying Circus, which has been performing wing walking and stunt routines with restored vintage aircraft in the Northern Virginia area since 1970.
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PHOTOS BY ALEX THOMAS 1. Wing Walker Joe Bender with Chuck Tippett as pilot pass the crowd at low level. 2. 1943 Flying Circus restored Boeing Stearman is the workhorse of the Flying Circus 3. Dan Marcotte performs a low, inverted pass for the crowd 4. Cirrus Aircraft displays new lighting technologies at the Leesburg Airshow 5. TORA 101 taxis past the crowd after performing airfield attack reenactment
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Country Spirit • November 2017
A Magical Flute Remains the Apple of Her Eye By Sebastian Langenberg
Stacia Stribling has had a passion for music for as long as she can remember. “I’ve loved music since I was a kid,” she said. “When I was six, I convinced my family to let me get guitar lessons.” Now an accomplished flutist, these days, she’s also developed another passion. She and her husband, Rob, run the Stribling Orchard in Markham. She’s part of a family that has had six generations of tending to the popular orchard, where hundreds of visitors flock to their pretty property looking to purchase their varied fruit products. Stribling’s introduction to the flute began at her Long Island middle school which ofPHOTO BY SEBASTIAN LANGENBERG fered music lessons in the form of band or orchestra. Stribling Stacia Stribling plays the flute with the dropped the guitar, picked Piedmont Symphony Orchestra. up the flute and never looked back. Soon she was taking additional home moms. “It’s all people who just love to lessons with a private instructor away make music and have fun together.” from school. The Piedmont Symphony plays After playing the flute through high school, Stribling received a five concerts a season and practices scholarship to attend Mary Wash- together weekly. They’ve played in ington College (now the University Middleburg at the National Sportof Mary Washington) and studied ing Library’s Open Late concert semusic. She also majored in education ries, or the Shenandoah Valley Music and received her teaching certifica- Festival. They also perform regularly at the Highland School auditorium. tion in Virginia. Stribling serves on the orches“I left there with a Pre-K to sixth tra’s board, where she participates grade teaching certification, not for in community out-reach. Piedmont music,” said Stribling. “I wanted to places musician mentors in Fauquier teach middle and elementary school. While I love music, I was afraid of County public schools, at no cost to making it my career. Because I was the school, to help develop local muafraid I wouldn’t love it anymore if it sic talent. Stribling worked in the Fauquier was something I had to depend on to eat and live. I didn’t want to rely on County Public school system from 1995 to 2003, where she taught elthat for income.” After graduating from college, ementary school, but also subbed in Stribling moved to Warrenton. On the music department. She left in her second day in town, she popped 2003 to study for her doctorate in into Drum and Strum to see if they early early childhood development needed a flute instructor. That day, and is now an assistant professor at she met Tim Dingus, the owner, George Mason University. Still, the flute remains very much who helped connect her to the via part of her life. And what’s kept her brant local music community. She joined local musical groups playing for so long? “I think I love the challenge that it like the Fauquier Flute Ensemble, founded by Debbie Gilbert, and brings,” she said. “I love that it gives even played in the Orchestral Pit for me the opportunity to do something completely different, out of my evthe Fauquier Community Theater. She’s now a member of the popu- eryday life. I love the challenge of lar Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, taking this music on the page and a semi-professional group made up making it come to life, particularly of musicians from all walks of life, with a group of players.” from teachers, to lawyers, to stay at See also: piedmontsymphony.org
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Miss Charlotte’s Sporting School
Portrait of Miss Charlotte Noland, by Ellen Emmett Rand, The Collection of Foxcroft School, Middleburg, VA. By John Connolly “Mrs. Noland, I hesitate to suggest it, but do you think you might eliminate molasses from the boys’ breakfast?” Rosalie Noland had welcomed her 13-year-old daughter Charlotte’s school headmistress to her home with her typical southern hospitality and grace, but the conversation had taken an unexpected turn. Mrs. Noland had recently insisted her seven children learn civility and culture, and had brought them to Washington, D. C. for proper schooling. The children were not adjusting to city life well, and they longed to return to their country home in Middleburg.. Charlotte, the third oldest, deeply resented being away from her beloved animals and countryside and acting out had become common. But what did that have to do with the boys of the family eating molasses for breakfast? Charlotte had been arriving to her Washington school late every day. When questioned, she blamed her tardiness on dish-washing duty, claiming that the sticky 28
Country Spirit • November 2017
The Winning Hunt Team: General Billy Mitchell, Miss Charlotte on Winterweather, and Frederick Warburg. From Charlotte Haxall Noland 1883-1969. molasses on the plates prevented a prompt arrival. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a lie. Instead of going to school, Charlotte was sneaking off to a local zoo and helping the zookeeper train and feed a raccoon! The story is told in Charlotte’s biography published in 1970 by Foxcroft School. Ultimately, Charlotte was expelled for her truancy, and over the next two years,
the educational struggle continued at other schools in Washington and Baltimore. Charlotte insisted that the teachers didn’t understand her, and that they made the lessons boring and inaccessible. She began to plot for her own school, a cherished dream that would some day come true. Charlotte Haxall Noland (1883-1969) spent her childhood leading others (sometimes into mischief) and riding the farm horses around her family home of Burrland. The family reunited with Burrland after two years in the city, and a year later Charlotte went to stay with her aunt in Richmond to make her debut. It was an unqualified success, but upon her return home, the pragmatic Charlotte assessed the ritual as “a lot of fun, but really a waste of time.” A turning point came when Charlotte went to work. She found employment as the physical education teacher at St. Timothy’s School in Baltimore, and found that the gym suited her well. She went on to teach at Bryn Mawr School in Philadelphia in a similar capacity, refining ideas for her dream
A Dream Come True
The Noland family home, Burrland, in Middleburg, Virginia. From Charlotte Haxall Noland 1883-1969, 1970, published by Foxcroft School. Miss Charlotte on Screwdriver. From Charlotte Haxall Noland 1883-1969.
The Foxes, 1916: Sophie Fisher, Louise Stovall, Mildred Bromwell, Erwin Hayward (Capt.) Elizabeth Tomlin, Kitty Ulman. From Charlotte Haxall Noland 1883-1969. school. Eventually she enrolled in a summer course in physical education through the Sargent School at Harvard where she learned the rules and how to officiate a new sport known as basketball. Upon returning to Baltimore, Charlotte set up a gymnasium for girls, finding clients from all the surrounding schools. She built up enough capital to open her dream school, near her hometown of Middleburg. The school was named Foxcroft School (Charlotte fell in love with the name when she walked past a family home belonging to a Major Foxcroft one summer) and opened in 1914. Charlotte had her dream school at age 31. In many ways, Foxcroft was an expression of Charlotte Noland’s belief in the virtues of sport and physical competition. The school motto is “mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body). Beagling was an early mandatory excursion for all students. A basketball tradition was founded at Foxcroft with an annual Thanksgiving game between the school’s
Foxcroft students riding to Luray, Virginia. From Charlotte Haxall Noland 1883-1969.
Many of the sporting traditions at the school have continued on, and riding is still a signature program of the school two houses, the Foxes and the Hounds. Other sporting traditions began to take shape: the girls were trained in riding (aside or astride) by Miss Charlotte (as she would be called forever afterward) and, with parental approval, be given training on jumping their steeds. Students spent a weekend each year riding their horses to Luray, Virginia (a round trip of over 100 miles). A Coon Hunt was organized every October, and very soon the school had its own horse show. From 1932 to 1946, Miss Charlotte served as Joint Master to the Middleburg Hounds with Daniel Sands. Early in the
school’s development, she allowed the best riders from among her students to ride with the Middleburg Hunt. Miss Charlotte’s hunting career eventually came to an end, as she never truly recovered from a bad fall while hunting. She gradually lost the full use of her injured leg, and riding became difficult. Instead, she turned to fishing, spending her retirement in her boat, “The Sea Fox,” and reportedly she once caught a 68-pound marlin! Many of the sporting traditions at the school have continued on, and riding is still a signature program. Today, Foxcroft School is a cornerstone of Virginia’s hunt country and an embodiment of its founder’s vision. John Connolly has served as the George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Librarian at the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) since early 2014. He is responsible for the care of the Library collections, including books, magazines, photographs, diaries, letters, and much more. The NSLM collections span over 350 years of the history of equestrian sport, as well as fly fishing, wing shooting, and other field sports. Country Spirit • November 2017
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Art of the Piedmont Art Auction & Reception to Benefit Middleburg Montessori School Friday, Feb. 23rd, 2018 | 6- 8 PM Middleburg Community Center Featuring Local Artists:
Kevin H. Adams Anthony Barham Brittany Beiersdorf Ross Missy Broadhead Barham Lauren Bruce Armand Cabrera Catherine Giglio
Seth Hill Tara Jelenic Cody Leeser Julie Miles Marcia Nadler Tom Neel Lee Newman
“Goose Creek Bridge” Cody Leeser 30
Country Spirit • November 2017
Lilla Ohrstrom Patte Ormsby Jill E. Poyerd Katherine Riedel Diane Weiner Cathy Zimmerman
Country Spirit • November 2017
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Chopin the Traveler, Chopin the Teacher
Lincoln boasts a 1765 Goose Creek Meeting house.
PHOTOS BY M. J. MCATEER
Looking For Friends? By M.J. McAteer
Celebrate Chopin with Brian Ganz Sunday February 18, 2018 5:30pm The Ballroom at Barton Oaks 2750 Landmark School Road The Plains VA 20198 11th Annual Candlelight Concert Fundraiser The Community Music School of the Piedmont Tickets: $125 For tickets and information Piedmontmusic.org or 540-592-3040 UPCOMING EVENTS: CMSP Strings Recital Nov. 12 2:30 pm Trinity Church Upperville CMSP Holiday Recital Dec. 10 2pm Buchanan Hall, Upperville Music Together Winter Session Jan 12 10am Trinity Church Upperville 32
Country Spirit • November 2017
Area real estate prices are on the rise, but there was a time when it was a far different story. In the early 18th century, in a bid to populate his western holdings, Lord Fairfax was granting 99-year leases on 100 acres of land for today’s equivalent of about $5. That was a sweet deal even then, and did not go unnoticed by members of the thrifty Religious Society of Friends. These Quakers – a derogatory term at the time – had settled in Bucks County near Philadelphia, but property there had gotten far too pricey by their standards, so hundreds decamped south to take advantage of the bargain Lord Fairfax offered. Being industrious, in addition to being a tad tight, these transplants prospered, and subsequently founded some of the most picturesque villages in western Loudoun (then part of Fairfax), including Taylorstown, Waterford, Lincoln, Hillsboro and Unison. Richard Brown was an early arrival, and he built a mill on Catoctin Creek in what is now Taylorstown, just south of the Maryland border. He was forced to use other men’s slaves to do the job, and though he paid them, surely it was repugnant to him because the Friends were abolitionists. On an amble around Taylorstown today, a circa 1800 Quaker mill, now a private residence, hides in plain sight behind a thick curtain of greenery, and nearby Brown’s home, Hunting Hill, and pretty Foxton Cottage can be glimpsed. Both houses date to the 1730s, making them among the old-
est standing buildings in Loudoun, according to Taylorstown resident Richard T. Gillespie. Waterford is probably the bestknown of the county’s Quaker villages. In 1733, Amos Janney built two mills there, which anchored a settlement that would become known as Janney’s Mill. By the mid-19th century, the village, which had been renamed Waterford, had become a commercial hub, said local historian Bronwen Souders, and a stroll along its quaint streets today is a walk back through that time. A massive, 1818 brick mill with a broken, rusting water wheel sits at the foot of a Main Street that is lined with handsome period houses crowding the road. Although the 1761 Fairfax Meeting house is now a private home, the Quaker graveyard still spreads across a hillside behind it, and it is a quiet spot to contemplate both the settlers’ moxie and their mortality. For looks, though, another village founded by another Janney, Jacob, gives Waterford some competition. In what was Goose Creek, just south of Purcellville, the former stone meeting house with its raised beds full of colorful flowers sits in a cluster with the active meeting house and the Quaker cemetery. The one-room Oakdale School stands nearby, and for 70 years, in defiance of segregation, Quaker children and the children of freed slaves were educated there together. Friends in Lincoln were commonly believed to be active in the Underground Railroad, as well. The village eventually renamed it-
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Hillsboro’s Potts Neer Mill was burned by Union troops in 1864.
Pews in the present-day Goose Creek Meeting house in Lincoln.
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Try Visiting Several Local Towns self Lincoln in a bid to get its own post office, and the ploy worked: The USPS continues to operate out of the old Janney store next to the meeting house. Sadly, little evidence of the Quakers has survived in Hillsboro, other than a graveyard, a private home, and the evocative stone ruins of Potts Neer Mill. In 1864, Union troops burned the mill along with crops in the area to cut off Confederate supplies. Unlike the Lincoln Quakers, members of Hillsboro’s Gap Meeting fell short of the piety demanded by their sect, and they were called out by elders for their “great deficiencies.” Their meeting was discontinued in 1765, “indulged” again in 1772, and finally “laid down” in 1812. The story was similar in Butterland, now called Unison, where members of the South Fork Meeting engaged in decidedly un-Friendly-like behavior. “From the very start they were in trouble,” said resident Mitch Diamond. “They drank, fought, gambled, and held horse races.” Quaker documents described them as “worldly” and the cause of “great concern,” and many were disowned by the Society. By 1836, the Unison meeting, too, was “laid down.” In a case of letting bygones be bygones, though, the shady and serene 1771 burying ground about a mile outside Unison to this day is maintained by members of Lincoln’s Goose Creek Meeting. And, there lies Mandly G. Fleming, whose grave bears a surprisingly poetic inscription for one of such plain-spoken folk:
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Waterford features this 1830s mill.
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“Death like an overflowing stream, Sweeps us away, our life’s a dream, An empty sound, a morning flower, Cut down and withered in an hour.”
It took much more than an hour to wither away the Quakers presence in Loudoun County, but the members’ ardent anti-slavery principles and their staunch pacifism eventually made their Southern home an unhappy fit. Before and after the Civil War, many decided to move on to Ohio. Happily, though, their benign influence remains to be seen in the quaint villages they left behind in Western Loudoun County. For a driving tour of the Quaker sites of Loudoun County, visit the Mosby Heritage Area Website at http://mosbyheritagearea.org/.
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Foxcroft srtudents taking advantage of new Innovation Lab.
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Country Spirit • November 2017
Foxcroft School Students Aimed High for Innovation Space Project By Sylvia Yuan
Foxcroft Class of 2019
Our mission is to develop a maker space that will inspire the community and allow all members an opportunity to design, create, and learn using hands-on approaches, both in and out of the classroom, while utilizing the newest technology. — The Space to Innovate Team, Nov. 9, 2016 At the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, with the guidance of faculty advisors, a group of Foxcroft students joined forces to build a new innovation space. The goal was to transform the messy, outdated, and unused side of the school’s science wing into an inviting place where both students and faculty members could implement their creative ideas. To understand more about what a “maker space” should look like, the group visited several locations around the state last fall, learning as much as possible about budgeting, marketing, resourcing, and other crucial methods necessary to build a successful innovation space at Foxcroft, located a few miles from Middleburg. Many of the people they met during those visits also offered their help, once they heard about the team’s goal. Initially named a ”Space to Innovate at Foxcroft School,” the project officially started when the group separated into four committees, each in charge of one major aspect of the project. The executive committee created an agenda and oversaw the entire process; the budget committee calculated the funds available and cooperated with the technology committee as well as the interior design committee to establish a practical wish list of items. needed for cutting edge work. The technology committee proposed obtaining equipment such as a laser cutter, a vinyl cutter to make stencils for T-shirts, a poster printer, and a sewing machine. The team also took into account the available existing technology—
the school’s 3D printer and power tools in the wood shop. The interior design committee decided on the rooms’ decoration down to the most minute detail: including the colors of the floor and the walls, lighting, and shelving. To integrate the technology and design into one visual illustration, the team produced a 3D model of the future space. A meeting with architect Erika Lehman helped to improve the architectural design, both aesthetically and scientifically. After completion of the design, the team selected among themselves a presentation Committee. Its members then presented their plan to the Foxcroft administration. The committee members dedicated great parts of their free time to preparation. Having received much invaluable advice from the administration, they adjusted the design and the model before moving onto presenting it to the board of trustees. That presentation succeeded. The team talked to the business manager of the school to settle the final details, and changed the name of the space to “The Innovation Lab” (TIL). Renovation of the space, which consisted of a technology room, a computer lab, the original wood shop, a collaboration space, and an audio and video studio, started as soon as the summer break began ahead of the 2017-18 school year. Over the summer, workers tore out the existing structure as the team envisioned, put in new lighting, shelving, doors, flooring, and a divider in the technology room for the laser cutter. At the end of July, the school slowly ordered the equipment prioritized by the technology committee. Two students from the team also presented TIL@Foxcroft at this summer’s National Coalition of Girls’ Schools Conference held in Washington, D.C. By the time school began this past August, Foxcroft students were able to use the space for their own projects, and the teachers to incorporate TIL into their curriculum.
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MAKING HOUSE CALLS SINCE 1947 So what does Morgan Oil do? We deliver Heating Oil, Gasoline, Diesel Fuels, Kerosene, Motor Oils To your home, farm, office, or site. We sell, service and install Oil Heat Equipment, Air-Conditioning, and Heat Pumps. We supply Asphalt Cement to Asphalt Companies. We have a 24 hour fueling depot at our location in Marshall for everyone We are grateful to all our loyal customers, some have been with us for our 70 years of business As we all know we are blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world We thank you for your business and we wish you enough ... Enough Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, and every holiday you celebrate! Country Spirit • November 2017
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Fusion Academy Provides One-On-One Academic Opportunities By Leonard Shapiro
From their 16,000-square-foot second-floor space in the Lansdowne Town Center, students at the newlyopened Loudoun Fusion Academy are only steps away from a wide variety of lunch options, with fine dining just downstairs at a French cafe to quality eat-in or carry-out options within several blocks. This is one institution that definitely does not need its own school cafeteria. It’s also a school that uses its space in a far different manner than most middle and high schools. One area is called a “Zen Den” where students can chill out on a hammock or a soft chair. There’s a fully-equipped music studio where they can play istruments, sing and record, an arts and photography studio, a science lab, a cozy space with mats for yoga and dance. Several small “classrooms,” virtually all devoid of traditional desks and chairs, also are available, the better for one-teacher-to-onestudent instruction. “It’s a place where we welcome students in cases where traditional school is not working,” said Meghan Marinos, Fusion’s head of school. “It could be really gifted kids who are not getting the kind of attention they need, it could be students with anxi-
ety or depression, and big classes are just not working for them. We also have students who need a customized schedule because of other things going on in their lives.” Said Colleen Mosley, the director of admissions, “jusr as an example, this is a big area for Lyme disease, and some kids who have it just can’t get up in the morning, so we can customize their schedules to fit all of their individual needs. And there’s no homework. It’s all done right here.” The Lansdowne school, which includes grades 6-12, opened in September. It now has 20 students, is one of four Fusion Academies in the Washington area and one of 45 nationwide. It’s a for-profit operation under the “Fusion Education Group,” with its roots going back to Solano Beach, California in the late 1980s as an after-school tutoring program. Founder Michelle Rose Gilman began working with students Marinos described as being like “square pegs in round holes in their regular schools. But when it was one-on-one, they were excelling. People said to her ‘why not just open your own school?’ and that’s what she did.” In 2010, Gilman partnered with the American Education Group, which invests in educational business ventures, with the intention of grow-
ing and expanding her concept. Gilman is still involved, and in Fusion’s 2016 Education Impact Report, she wrote “in order to measure success, we must make an effort to know the starting point of a student, his or her baseline. I’m not just talking about grade levels and standardized test scores in academic areas. I’m talking about getting to know what the student is bringing to the table emotionally, socially and academically.” The Loudoun school hopes to grow to about 100 students a year—80 fulltime, 20 part-time—and offers a wide variety of courses. Students can enroll full time, only take a class or two, or take part in tutoring in subjects that can encompass almost anything the students wants to learn more about. It’s pricey—$60,000 a year to enroll full-time—but individual courses can also be taken and paid for à la carte at $3,875 per course per semester. Tutoring sessions cost $120. The Fusion instructors have varied backgrounds, and some were not even trained as teachers. “We’re looking for experts in their fields, maybe a retired surgeon teaching anatomy, a NASA engineer teaching astronomy,” said Marinos. “We’re looking for someone who has worked with non-traditional students. We’re not a special ed kind of school, and
Director of Admissions Colleen Mosley and Head of School Meghan Marinos. if we can’t offer what a student needs here, we’ll send them elsewhere.” Mosley said that 90 percent of Fusion’s students nationwide go on to college and “they get here and they discover who they are and what they’re passionate about.”
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Snake Hill Road, Middleburg $374,000
Classic Cape Cod on quiet paved road offers 1st fl. master suite. 2nd fl. has 2 BRs + BA with a sitting room in between. 3 BR, 2.5 BA on sunny South facing lot. Walk for miles on this gorgeous, rural road. Board your horses nearby. LO9917137
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Country Spirit • November 2017
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Historic Proportion
Country Spirit • November 2017
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Grace Episcopal’s New Rector Knows His History By Leslie VanSant
After an extensive, year-long search, Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains called the Reverend Weston Mathews to the pulpit this past June. According to the church’s website, “We believe Weston’s varied experiences, deep spirituality, and friendly personality will enable him to lead Grace Church in new directions.” A deep spirituality and friendly personality aptly describe the new, 37-year-old rector. He has a quiet demeanor and friendly countenance. Judging from the warmth of his smile, he’s clearly a kind soul with an open heart. Rev. Mathews’ arrival in The Plains completes a personal journey that wandered through the Commonwealth beginning in his native Winchester, and then meandered through Williamsburg, Nelson County, Alexandria and Richmond. He now lives in The Plains village with his wife, Hannah, and their two dogs, Wills and Harry. “This is a beautiful space, it inspires contemplation,” he said of the church buildings and grounds. “The community is strong because of its sense of the past and healthy family traditions.” But for Rev. Mathews, the true beauty of the church community goes beyond the esoteric. “The church is open to respecting the dignity of every human being,” he said. “We are all beautiful, made in the image of God.” Grace Episcopal was founded in 1855, but the current structure was dedicated in 1918. It was designed by architect W. H. Irwin Fleming in the
PHOTO BY KENNETH GARRETT
Reverend Weston Mathews of Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains at their blessing of the animals.
13th century English Gothic style and built with local fieldstone that was donated by residents. Grace is also well known for its beautiful stained glass. Figures in the window include the Son of God, the Holy Spirit, angels, archangels, saints, and George Washington. If you’re confused by the presence of America’s first president, George Washington, behind the altar, Rev. Mathews is not. He was a history major as an undergraduate at the College of William and Mary, where he also earned his Masters in education. After leaving Williamsburg, Weston taught American History at Nelson County High School in Lovington, Virginia. Students of history, and especially the history of the church, also know that George Washington helped re-establish the Episcopal Church in
America after the revolution. He also was instrumental in inviting ordained ministers and bishops from Scotland to replace those who had returned to England during the Revolutionary War. During his time teaching history, Rev. Matthews realized his true calling was standing in front of a parish instead of a classroom filled with teenagers. He described how the mystery of Holy Communion spoke to him in a new way. He said he prayed a lot, and with the support of Hannah, his students, family and church family, he accepted God’s call to enter the clergy. Weston then attended the Virginia Theological Seminary and spent the last three years as an Associate Priest at St. Stephen’s Church in Richmond. As part of the St. Stephen’s large and youthful community, Mathews learned the importance of being a pastor, how to be that calming presence when people are going through difficult times. His approach to helping his flock is summed best by scripture, Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.” Rev. Mathews’ sermons, not surprisingly, are often anchored in history. And if you don’t find yourself in The Plains for Sunday services at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., his sermons are available on the church website. Asked which scripture inspires him the most, he quickly pointed to the Sermon on the Mount. “It begins with blessings and then calls us to serve those who are marginalized,” he explained. “Our culture is coarse; wealth inequality, politics are distractions. The church is open, no matter what your label. Here the only label is ‘beloved person of God.’”
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ntertaining with Emily By Emily Tyler
Oh hello holiday season, ready or not here it comes. For some it is the highlight
of year, others it is simply a time of year to get through. I fall somewhere in
between, I love our family traditions and festivities when forty of us gather in
my parent’s restored barn in Connecticut for Thanksgiving, and a bit relieved when January 1st comes along and we can take the tree down and store the decorations
for another year. But, I never feel stress sharing a great drink with any of my
loved ones, no matter what the calendar says. Here are a few worth drinking. As
I did my research, I found many recipes geared towards the holidays that looked mighty festive, and nothing but a big hangover - and the purest of drinks, over
consumed can do that too. So here are a few fun drinks, two with local history,
two I created in my kitchen with the help of eager friends on a Saturday night,
and one from a local distillery. If your idea of a perfect holiday celebration is an open house for many or just you and a loved one, by the fire sharing a cocktail – I hope your holiday season is all you wish it to be.
Bye Bye Y’all
For many years there was a very popular restaurant in
Middleburg called “The Coach Stop.” The owners Loretta and
Brian Jilson offered up an ice cream drink called the “Hi Y’all”
because the late Mrs. Jilson would greet everyone who walked
in the front door with her sweet southern greeting. We now offer up our version here. As the Bye Bye Y’All, courtesy of a friend. Fill the blender with either vanilla or coffee ice cream and a half cup of dark rum and a half cup of Khalua. Blend Drink
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Country Spirit • November 2017
Enjoy
Middleburg Mule Makes 1 drink
There many variations of
the classic vodka, ginger beer,
Eggnog a la Thuermer Makes about 100 punch cups
lime combination and here is
Alice and Angus Thuermer lived in Middleburg
here in Middleburg…
friends. They were together for 62 years and
the one we came up with,
since the 50’s and shared this recipe with many loved to entertain, may we all be so lucky.
1½ ounces vodka
1 ounce Chambord– blackberry liqueur
15 eggs
2-3 fresh blackberries
2 ½ cups bourbon
2 mint leaves
1 1/4 cups sugar
½ plus 1/3 cups dark rum 5 cups heavy cream
10 ounces ginger beer Fresh blackberries and crystalized ginger for garnish In a highball glass, muddle the
mint leaves and the blackberries Add the vodka and the Chambord and ice Top with the ginger beer Garnish with a bamboo skewer with a blackberry and a slice of crystalized ginger
6 1/4 cups whole milk Separate the egg whites from the yolks Beat yolks till lemon colored, adding sugar gradually Fold in bourbon and rum Just before serving add the whole milk Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks and add Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks until stiff but not dry and fold in
All you need is a perfect little black dress
to go with this refreshing cocktail.
North by North Fork
Foxy Toddy
Makes 1 drink
3 ounces fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice
(1 large grapefruit produces about 1 cup of juice) 1 ½ ounces vodka ½ ounce grapefruit liqueur Top with soda water Garnish with grapefruit zest The Copper Fox is a distillery located in Sperryville,
VA where they hand craft fabulous whisky. Also perfect just straight up on the rocks.
Makes 1 drink
1 ½ ounces Copper Fox Rye Whisky
6 ounces warm cider Garnish with a lemon slice studded
with 2-3 cloves and a cinnamon stick In a sauce pan warm the
apple cider Combine the cider with the whisky and garnish
Country Spirit • November 2017
43
Harry and Jennie Darlington and a friend in Antarctica in 1947
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Excerpted from a manuscript of “Antarctic Woman,” a soon-to-be-published book. Jennie Darlington, a longtime Middleburg area resident who lived for many years at Chilly Bleak Farm in Rectortown and Palm Beach, died on August 30 at age 93. Some people think the decision I made to spend a year in Antarctica, where no woman had lived before, was the choice that shaped my life. But I think the more important one was a decision I made after I got there. The first wasn’t really mine. The second was. It was March, 1947. There I was, a 22-year-old newly-married woman, on an old ship in Antarctica, where I had never expected to be in my entire lifetime. On one side of the ship was a little war-surplus inflatable boat called an LCRL: “Landing Craft, Rubber, Large.” On the other side was the ship’s launch, a fancier boat. It was busy with the task of making history. Around us, dark water swirled gently. White bits of ice floated in it. The ice crackled and clinked. Dogs barked in chaotic chorus on the ship, and once in a while there was a loud, quick breath somewhere nearby, like a cow gasping in alarm. It was a seal, coming by to take a look. The setting was unparalleled in my lifetime then and now. I always think of the continent of Antarctica, even after 70 years of travel and experience in other parts of the planet, as the most beautiful dangerous
place in the world. We were in a bay called Marguerite, on the southwest part of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is the part that points north from the continent toward South America like the handle of a pan. The ship was warsurplus. Most useful things were warsurplus in 1947, including the men. The ship’s launch contained the official center of our expedition: the leader, whose name was Finn Ronne; my husband, Harry Darlington, who was head of aviation; Edith “Jackie” Ronne, Finn’s wife; and our photographer. Jackie was the focus of attention. We thought she was going to be the first woman to set foot on the continent of Antarctica. (We didn’t know at the time that a few wives of whalers had already walked briefly on the continent.) This celebration of Jackie as the First Woman didn’t really matter to me. The historic stuff seemed pompous and overdone. I’d already done one of those things that women of that era didn’t usually do: I had learned how to fly a plane. I was a pilot. But I wasn’t a Woman Pilot. This stuff about being the First Women in Antarctica might matter later on. (It did, eventually, give me the unusual experience of sitting on a couch with Vice President Richard Nixon holding my hand, asking silly questions about the cold.) But for now what mattered much more to me was seeing this amazing place and being able to be with my husband on what he fully expected would be the greatest journey of his life. Next installment: The journey continues.
Boxwood Blight Continues According to records of the Virginia Boxwood Blight Task Force, to date boxwood blight has been diagnosed in over 70 locations, in 30 counties in Virginia. There are likely additional undocumented incidences of the disease, for example, if no sample was submitted for diagnosis through Virginia Cooperative Extension or the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Although boxwood blight has been diagnosed in many counties in Virginia, there is no indication that it is widespread throughout any Virginia county. This is not unexpected, based on the current understanding of the biology of the boxwood blight pathogen. Boxwood blight is typically initially introduced into a new location on infected boxwood or other susceptible plants (e.g. pachysandra and sweet box). Holiday greenery containing infected boxwood can also introduce the disease into a new location. However, boxwood blight is not spread long-distance via wind currents. Therefore, one need not panic
PHOTO BY MARY ANN HANSEN OF THE VIRGINIA TECH PLANT DISEASE CLINIC
When boxwood blight occurs, there will be dark streaking that runs down the stems and the leaves will drop off the plant, as seen on the left. On the right, small dark lesions start along the leaf margin and expand until the leaf dies and falls from the bush. even if the disease has been found in one’s county. However, if the disease has been identified in one’s neighborhood, then there is a heightened risk of local spread of the disease. After the initial introduction of boxwood blight-infected boxwood (or pachysandra or sweet box) into a location, neighborhood boxwood plantings are at risk for boxwood blight. There are a number of means by which the sticky spores of the fungal pathogen can move through a neighborhood. For example, they can be spread via contaminated pruning tools, spray hoses, equipment, vehicles, clothing, shoes, or infested leaves spread by leaf blowers. Wildlife (including birds), insects, domestic animals or humans that have been in contact with the spores may also move the infective spores through a neighborhood.
Movement of the pathogen by many of these means has been documented in locations in Virginia. To safeguard Virginia boxwood plantings and production, community awareness and efforts to avoid accidental introduction of boxwood blight into new locations will help to prevent local spread of boxwood blight:
Consider
1. Purchase boxwood, pachysandra and sweet box only from a nursery that is listed as a member of the Boxwood Blight Cleanliness Programand/or from a retailer who sells only boxwood produced by nurseries in the Boxwood Blight Cleanliness Program. 2. If boxwood blight is suspected, immediately contact your local Extension office in which can submit a sample for confirmatory diagnosis.
Where boxwood blight is confirmed, it is strongly recommended to immediately remove and double bag all diseased plants and fallen leaves as well as contaminated soil underneath the planting. The bagged waste should be removed to a designated landfill to mitigate disease spread to other boxwood in the landscape and other properties nearby. Employ only landscape professionals who are aware of how boxwood blight spreads, since boxwood blight can be introduced to properties through landscape maintenance activities. The fungal spores and fallen diseased leaves can be moved on tools, boots, tarps, hoses, clothing and vehicles. Landscape professionals should have a stringent sanitation plan in place to decontaminate tools, equipment, vehicles, clothing, shoes, etc. between landscape locations and other practices that minimize the chance to move the disease through landscaping activities.
Additional Precautions for Landscape Professionals:
Landscape professionals are strongly advised to walk through a site before beginning work. This is to identify any potential boxwood blight problems and/or risks. We have heard anecdotal reports from landscape professionals of both serious equipment contamination issues and spread of the disease by unexpected encounters of the disease in a landscape.
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Country Spirit • November 2017
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5. 1. Piedmont Fox Hounds at Edgecliff. 2. Tracey Cover and Pure Nutmeg were champions in the Adult Amateur Hunters at the Piedmont Jumper Classic event. 3. Cathy Gulick Sanders, with the Retired Racehorse Project, does a demonstration at Salamander Resort horse facility. 4. Hideko Dudley and Trish Smithwick with Snickersville Hounds at Creekside. 5. Out with the Orange County Hounds at Barton Oaks. 6. Ross Salter, road whip with Orange County Hounds, greets a friend. PHOTOS BY MIDDLEBURG PHOTO
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ADELPHI PRODUCES
Adena Pin Ring is French (Paris) circa 1799 and is used in the front hall with the period light switch.
This appropriately named “Pineapples,” with pink background, defines hospitality.
Every inch and each vignette in the Ohrstrom home makes an artistic statement. In this area, a bold black-and-white print, “Middlefield Sprig,” provides the setting for an innovative hat rack.
Chris Ohrstrom looks over a roll of “Deerfield,” an aesthetic movement copied for the museum of same name. On the wall behind is “Flowerbaskets” originally printed in Hartford circa 1820.
PHOTOS BY VICKY MOON The wide border at the top is called “Egyptian Frieze.” The walls have an accent of an Adelphi decorative panel “Fragonard Mars” surrounded and framed by yet another Adelphi border, “Otis Federal Chain.” 48
Country Spirit • November 2017
Wallpaper patterns above from left: Butterfly Chintz, Berrien House Ribbon Trellis and Coffered Rosette. Courtesy of Adelphi Paper Hangings.
WALL-TO-WALL HISTORY By Vicky Moon What do the Lincoln Bedroom in The White House, an upstairs royal blue bedroom at Mount Vernon and James Madison’s Montpelier all have in common? The first guess might be presidential homes…but the actual common denominator is they all have walls covered with the exquisite, custom hand-made hand-blocked historic (1740-1930) Adelphi Paper hangings. Chris Ohrstrom of The Plains started the business 20 years ago and it has grown into an internationally recognized, highlyacclaimed source for authentic wall coverings. “Adelphi is firmly established,” Ohrstrom said while working at the home he shares with his wife, artist and Youngblood gallery owner Lilla Ohrstrom. “We don’t advertise, it’s entirely word of mouth. I was initially the history expert and I’d create the potential projects and Steve Larson would execute it.” Larson is now a partner in the Sharon Springs, New Yorkbased workrooms where all the magic unfolds. “He’s an eminent fixture in the wallpaper world,” Ohrstrom said. “ We get along very well, there’s no tension and we work really well together.” Adelphi strives to make the most authentic possible French,
This selection of paper hangings includes “Votive Goddess Arabesque” (top) which is French circa 1790-1810. It was found in two front rooms of a 1777 Newburyport, Massachusetts house built for Captain William Pierce Johnson. This highly-refined pattern reflects the taste for imported French papers in the early American Republic. The manufacturer has not yet been identified, although other examples of work attributed to the same maker are in the collection of the Musée de Papier Peint in
English and American reproduction wall coverings using original methods and materials. They don’t stock rolls of wallpaper; everything is by order. They also do custom designs for individuals and interior designers. It all goes beyond the colors to the textures of gilt, flocking and stenciling. “There isn’t a process we haven’t mastered,” Ohrstrom said. Adelphi offers patterns licensed from the archives of the Smithsonian, historic New England, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Old Sturbridge Village, the New York State Historical Association and the Musée du Papier Peint in Rixheim, France. Once familiar with Adelphi’s work, it’s easy to identify. This writer noticed an Adelphi wallpaper last August on an upstate New York visit to Olana, the home of Hudson River School artist Frederic Church. And, then there’s Monticello, the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, 13 rooms of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) in Washington, D.C. and in London at the Sir John Soane Museum, the objet d’art filled house of the revered English architect. “That’s probably, for me, the most important place. As an historic house it is the most pure.” Ohrstrom said.
France. The highly refined Arabesque pattern suggests strongly that it was executed by one of the great Parisian manufacturers at the end of the 18th century. The motifs are a subtle combination of the neoclassical themes, made fashionable by the then recent excavations at Herculaneum, combined with traditional florals, a specialty of the French. The printing and design are precise and of a quality far surpassing any of the wallpapers produced in America at that time.
The taste for neoclassical French papers continued from the 1790s right through the first decade of the 19th century. Neoclassical patterns similar to Adelphi’s Votive Goddess Arabesque are found in the 1805 Hancock-Wirt-Caskie House in Richmond, Virginia, and at the Mount in Bristol, Rhode Island, which was decorated after 1808. This pattern is licensed to Adelphi Paper Hangings by the Historical Society of Old Newbury. (Repeat 21¼ inches, width 21½ inches, straight Match) Country Spirit • November 2017
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This & THAT The Mosby Heritage Area Association Civil War Conference awards four outstanding essays were recently presented to the winning young writers. Childs Burden, president of the Mosby group, is shown here with executive director Jennifer Moore; Treavor Lord, headmaster of Hill School;Olivia Simmons of Highland School, honored for her essay “Mommy I heard a Gunshot” and Alexa Marsh, formerly a Hill School student now at Madeira for “Medical Middle Ages.” Photo by Douglas Lees. Hats off to Charles Ellison, a financial advisor in Morgan Stanley’s wealth management office in Winchester who recently was named to Forbes Magazine’s inaugural list of “America’s Top Next Generation Wealth Advisors.” Ellison also
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earned Morgan Stanley’s Family Wealth Director (FWD) designation, granted to financial advisors who have successfully completed a rigorous accreditation program. Ellison, who works with his father, Greg, at the Winchester office, is a graduate of Middleburg’s Hill School, Tulane University and is a member of Morgan Stanley’s Century Club Council.
This just in…the artwork of Misia Broadhead will be on display and for sale at the Common Grounds during November and Deb Cadenas work will be the December exhibition. Stop by for a fix of caffine and art.
Country Spirit • November 2017
And speaking of display, be sure to visit Julien’s Café on West Washington Street during the holidays. Not only will you have a lovely French meal, but owner Jean Michele will have his (Christmas) balls on display. It’s a colorful collection of ornaments. Jennifer Barrett, the Theodora Ayer Randolph Professor of Equine Surgery at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has received the Zoetis Award for research excellence. Barrett is a faculty member at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg. Charitable Annuity, a five-yearold gelding owned by Mark Russell and trained by James Casey, won the $350,000 West Virginia Breeders’ Classic in Charles Town following a three-way photo finish at the wire. The winner, ridden by Christian Hiraldo, had finished second in the 1 1/8 mile contest last year and won
in 2015. He prevailed by a whisker. Rita Mae Brown, author, raconteur and Master of Fox Hounds, recently entertained a large group gathered in Middleburg at the National Sporting Library & Museum. She spoke on the long history of equestrian attire and how riders from ancient Greece through modern times dressed for the field. Photo by Susan Brewster NSLM
Here and There Lisa Vella of Baileywyck Antiques was a sponsor of a Gala Evening Fundraiser—“paws for a cause”--for the Canine Companions for Independence Veterans Program at Warrenton’s Poplar Springs Inn, cosponsors of the event.
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PHOTO BY LEONARD SHAPIRO
The Fauquier Heritage and Preservation Foundation, Inc. in Marshall dedicated the Robert L. Sinclair Education Center in honor of its current president and his many years of service. The facility is home to the county’s superb repository of research materials for history lovers and genealogists. The current display includes newly-acquired artifacts.
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Gail Wofford and Helen Wiley at The Upperville Community League fall breakfast at Buchanan Hall in Upperville.
01/17
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PHOTO BY LEONARD SHAPIRO
Artist Barbara Sharp paid a visit to Ms. Kingan’s art class at Claude Thompson Elementary School near Rectortown.
In the doghouse? We can mediate.
PHOTO BY VICKY MOON
Danny Thomas stopped by the Toll House behind the Upper Crust in Middleburg. In 1992, the structure was moved from the east end of town to its current location by bakery owner Jim Stine. Thomas, a pastor at the Mt. Hope United Methodist Church in Salem, N. J., grew up in the Toll House. “I just had to peek up the steps, ” he told Country Spirit. “I remember it all so well.” PHOTO BY VICKY MOON
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For Jules Watzich: Trains, Planes and What a Wonderful Life
S
By Leonard Shapiro
earch on Google the name Jules Watzich and the first four items are links to the International Movie Data Base (IMDB) website. He’s listed there as an actor in the horror film “Maxwell Stein” made in 2009, a locallyproduced effort and his one and only screen credit. Watzich was 89 at the time, though hardly a performing neophyte. Now 97 and living near Middleburg, Watzich actually prefers to reminisce about several roles he played as a member of the Middleburg Players, including a gig in Guys and Dolls when his native New Jersey accent was the perfect fit for one of Nathan Detroit’s lovable gambler pals. What Watzich truly loves to talk about is an amazing life very few of his neighbors then and now knew much about. Born in 1920, a child of the Depression, he was a brilliant young electrical engineer who played a critical role developing an antisubmarine system during World War II. He also spearheaded a major post-war defense project—the development of air-to-air missiles. And then came even more gaudy entries on a remarkable resume. He eventually became the overall project manager in building Atlanta’s rail transportation system known as MARTA, worked on Miami’s rail system, then returned to Washington in order to oversee the design and installation of the underground subway at the Capital building. And when he retired to the 12 acres and the contemporary house he and his late wife Shirley purchased in 1986, he raised some cows, sheep, goats and one horse, vegetables and flowers all around the home he still occupies. There were no pigs, but the ham in him was satiated by his involvement with the Middleburg Players because “I really enjoyed being up on that stage.” These days, his four adult children and several neighbors provide the perfect, loving support system for a man who remains fiercely independent and very much young at heart. Watzich recently regaled a visitor for nearly three hours with all manner of anecdotal life stories. A letter “P” pin accessorized his gray sweatshirt, a reminder that he was in Purdue University’s Class of 1942, now celebrating its 75th anniversary. Not many of his “Boilermaker” classmates are left, but he still has 52
Jules Watzich, a master story-teller at work. fond memories of his college days. He recalled trying out for the freshman football team, even if he’d never played high school football in Hudson Heights, N.J., where his father owned a pharmacy and the family lived upstairs. “I was a walk-on at Purdue,” he said with a sly smile. “I wanted to play quarterback. The coach took one look at me and said ‘don’t come back, I’m afraid you’ll get killed.’ I was 5-foot-10 and weighed 140 pounds.” After graduation, Watzich initially became a test engineer for General Electric, where he soon was named the company’s “creative engineer of the year.” Then came a stint in the Navy before a civil service post to work on a top-secret project to improve depth-charge technology to
Country Spirit • November 2017
PHOTO BY LEONARD SHAPIRO
combat enemy submarines. When the war ended, he and Shirley, “the sassy little girl” he’d met a few years earlier, married and moved to Long Island, where he worked for the Sperry Corporation, a major defense contractor. “They had a contract to develop the world’s first air-to-air missile,” he said. “I was still just a kid, but I did a conceptual design for the missile. I spent two months on it and drew it to full scale. Every place you looked you had to invent something that might work. I was with Sperry for 23 years, and that guided missile system was a resounding success. “What appealed to me most was not so much the technical stuff, but the culture around the company. That was the most fun. So many
interesting people, so many smart people.” Toward the end of his Sperry career, Watzich began working on a new national air traffic control system involving digital computers. He headed the team that built a display laboratory and wrote the final proposal, but Sperry eventually decided not to go any further. “The president of the company told me it would put the company at risk,” he said, “and would probably result in a loss.” Deeply disappointed, Watzich started searching for other opportunities. One day, he read in Forbes magazine about the top 100 companies in Europe, then sent out resumes to all of them. Not long after, a Paris-based company called. “They were working on automated train control to run transit systems,” Watzich said. “Paris had the greatest system in the world, and they wanted to bring that to America. They said if you can do a complicated system for aircraft, you can probably do it for trains, too. I went to Paris. and I was working with a bunch of brilliant engineers, just a great experience.” And that experience eventually led to work for another firm getting ready to build the MARTA commuter train system in Atlanta, “a great job I could really sink my teeth into.” Two months after he arrived, MARTA broke ground, and Watzich eventually ran the whole show. “It was a hell of a big job,” he said. “And what made Atlanta so good was that the guy running the entire system at the time had always said we had to sell the idea to the city before anyone even invested any money. He went out and spoke to church groups, Rotary clubs, anyone who would listen. He’d talk about the traffic in Atlanta, the benefits of the system, the cost. He was a great cheerleader.” After Atlanta was up and running smoothly, Watzich also worked for a time on Miami’s light rail system and then on the Capital building subway in D.C. That led him to Middleburg, a town he loved at first sight while working out an office in Chantilly. He first rented an apartment above the old Hockman TV repair shop on Washington Street before he and Shirley finally bought their own place.. “I am a very fortunate man,” Watzich said. “I have children who take care of me. Great friends. Wonderful neighbors.”
THE FENCE POST
Looking for Young Stewards of the Land By Chandler Van Voorhis
With the changing of the season, families join each other around the table for the holidays. From one generation to another, the hand of time and the values held most dear are transferred through stories and days spent on the land. From the moist smell of the soil to the vibrant fall colors to the drifting and settling of leafs on the forest floor, the cycle of life is now on vivid display, not just in nature but also within families across our countryside. For those who live in the country, we look to the land as what binds us. It’s where roots and values are laid down. From the land, our character springs forth. Whether we ride horses, farm or enjoy the recreational aspects, we do what we do because we simply love our land. For many of us, our ownership and sense of stewardship are closely held notions. Still, the millennial generation, while talented, also poses real challenges for both the land and the question as to who will be the next generation of stewards to carry on the work of the previous ones. For hundreds of years, land ownership has been a revolutionary idea. In fact, our sense of natural rights, as opposed to civil ones, springs from land as owned property. And in the 1660s, William Petty put in motion a radical idea that land should be treated as a form of capital and that the only way to unlock its value was through labor. But over time, from one generation to another, both capitalism and natural rights are increasingly seen as divorced from the land. Maybe these sentiments are merely a reflection of the current migration to the cities. We’re now witnessing what many call the Urbanocene. For the first time in history, more than 50 percent of the world’s population now lives in cities. To live in the city means most of the inhabitants live in structures where their feet do not touch the ground easily. This suspended detachment is furthered by grocery stores where one can sustain life without harvest. This millennial generation flocks to the city, wants free access to WiFi and prefers Uber to owning a car. In fact, the car may be a precursor to what lies ahead for land ownership. Land to this generation means precious spending dollars and time, without the mobility to roam the city
and partake in its bustling energy and flow of information. While these are generalizations and do not fit all members of this generation, naturally, they are important realities to consider when we ask who’s going to be the next generation of stewards. If not them, then who? And with what resources? In my recent travels around the country, this topic is tugging at the minds and hearts of many current patriarchs. And with this concern comes the worry and fear that when land transfers, the new owners will break it up and sell it off. As land is broken up, so are the biodiversity corridors that have been stitched together through the toil, sweat, and blood of the previous generation. A loss of biodiversity corridors is relevant as many believe we have entered into the Sixth Extinction phase and are at the precipice of global danger. But like the cycling of life, hope springs forth. There are new tools and strategies that go beyond traditional conservation easements and measures. My company, ACRE Investment Management, in The Plains, is developing, deploying and implementing these tools and strategies on private lands throughout Virginia and around the country. The focus of this column is to share the stories and explain the expanding toolbox available to landowners and how this relates to a variety of local measures. I call this column The Fence Post for a reason. A fence post is where neighbor joins neighbor in conversations and where information transfers happen. It’s my sincere hope that a new notion will take hold where the expansion of this toolbox is merely an exercise in widening one’s perspective. One that recognizes and unlocks the flows of natural capital on your land, where the lifting and enhancing of those values can endow your land and set the table for the enjoyment and sense of wonder and liberty that springs forth through land ownership. So lean in. Have I got a story to tell you! Chandler Van Voorhis is the Cofounder and Managing Partner of ACRE Investment Management (www. acre-investment.com), recipient of the 2002 ChevronTexaco Conservation Award and a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America.
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Country Spirit • November 2017
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Chuck Kuhn Receives Conservation Steward Award The Old Dominion Land Conservancy recently presented its Conservation Steward Award to Chuck Kuhn for preserving more than 1,000 acres in Northern Virginia. The event, co-sponsored by Farm Credit, a staunch supporter of farming in Virginia, was held at the Middleburg Training Center, one of Kuhn’s latest preservation projects. State Senator Jill Vogel and State Delegate Randy Minchew offered introductory remarks touting the success of the land conservation initiative in Virginia. “Together with many others in the greater Middleburg community,” Minchew said, “I’m very appreciative of the work Chuck Kuhn and his family have done in renovating the Middleburg Training Center and in preserving this beautiful land through a conservation easement to the Old Dominion Land Conservancy.” “The Virginia Land Preservation Tax Credit,” he continued, “is one of our greatest tools to preserve open space and has been tremendously effective in our Virginia Piedmont region.” Local conservationist George Thompson from the American Chestnut Foundation presented Kuhn with four American Chestnut trees in recognition of his efforts. Speaking on behalf of the Old Dominion
Chuck Kuhn with his son Steve Kuhn.
Land Conservancy, Jorge Espinosa, a board member, praised Kuhn for putting several farms into easement near Loudoun’s historic villages; including Egypt Farm, near Lincoln, which had been previously owned by developers, as well as Rogues Hollow, a farm outside of Waterford, a village designated a National Historic Landmark. Espinosa also credited Kuhn with facilitating the easement of Camp Highroad, bringing to a total of over seven easements encompassing over 1,900 acres in Lincoln. Kuhn is the founder and president of JK Moving Services, the largest independent moving company in North America. His other land holdings include Spring Hill Farm, a 744-acre farm in Fauquier County, currently being considered for easement. The Old Dominion Land Conservancy’s mission is to protect Virginia’s historic countryside, forests, fields and waters through holding and actively enforcing their easements. A member of the National Land Trust Alliance, Old Dominion Land Trust currently holds 8,500 acres of land in easement and is working with the Robert & Dee Leggett Foundation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to create the first State Park in Loudoun County.
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Country Spirit • November 2017
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@middleburgacdmy Country Spirit • November 2017
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REAL Estates: Cloverland Estate, Located in Little Run Valley Cloverland is a stunning historic estate encompassing approximately 150 acres of magnificent rolling countryside, with towering trees, brilliant gardens and breathtaking mountain views. Ideally located just minutes from Middleburg, in the prestigious Orange County Hunt Territory, the gorgeous stone Georgian manor was designed by William Lawrence Bottomley, one of America’s preeminent architects, and built with extraordinary quality and craftsmanship. The grand rooms are simply elegant, bathed in natural sunlight and graced with exquisite decor. English gardens surround the bluestone terraces and stone walls lead to the glass enclosed heated pool. Beautiful trees border the pathway leading to the orchard and tennis court. Additional dependencies include the attached two-bay garage with a one-bedroom apartment above and accessed by the covered flagstone walkway. A three-bedroom tenant house with bath, kitchen and living room, and an equipment shed have a separate driveway entrance. Stone pillars and a long winding drive mark the entrance to this spectacular stone manor, built in 1944 to uncompromising standards and majestically sited amongst sweeping lawns, lush fields and splendid perennial gardens. The manicured grounds include the stone pool house with bath and dressing rooms, and glass-enclosed, heated pool (20’ x 60’) in the atrium. Enter the grand two-story foyer; reminiscent of an era of extraordinary elegance, grace and refinement. The gleaming hardwood and marble floors, arched doorways with hood moldings, sun-filled floor-to-ceiling windows all reflect the incredible detail of this historic manor. 56
Country Spirit • November 2017
Meticulously updated with incredible taste, Cloverland is a masterpiece of grace and beauty, offering luxurious country living in a truly idyllic setting. The library to the left is mahogany-paneled with walls of custom bookcases and a woodburning fireplace with marble surround. Through mahogany French doors, step down to a stunning formal living room, boasting 10-foot ceilings, a fireplace with a French 1700s walnut mantel and walls of windows bathing the room in natural sunlight. Adjoining this wing is a guest suite, featuring a vaulted curved ceiling, a dressing room and beautiful marble bath. To the right of the grand foyer is an exquisite formal dining room, elegant and ideal for gracious entertaining. To the rear is a fabulous glass-walled sun room with slate flooring, overlooking the stone terrace and distant magnificent Blue Ridge Mountains. Contiguous to the elegant dining room is a bright and airy breakfast room with hand-painted wood floors. The kitchen is spectacular, boosting high beamed ceilings (beams from Canada), state of the art appliances, a Lacanche gas stove, and a 1900s breakfront (pharmaceutical cabinet). A stone covered walkway leads to the guest apartment with living room, bath, bedroom and galley kitchen. The grand tiered staircase leads to the second level, boasting high ceilings and hardwood floors. A gorgeous master suite includes a sitting room
with an antique marble fireplace, refrigerator and beautiful Venetian doors. The spacious master bedroom features an antique marble fireplace and luxurious bath with steam shower, bubble jetted tub, heated floors and French 18th century closet doors. There is a second lovely marble bath and dressing room completing the suite. Two additional en suite bedrooms with baths, an exercise room/bedroom, and laundry room are located here. The rear staircase leads to a spacious unfinished attic with multiple storage rooms. Cloverland is a splendid historic estate, beautifully renovated, exquisitely decorated and impeccably maintained. This spectacular property provides the perfect setting for a truly gracious and luxurious country lifestyle. Listed at $6.25 million by Mary Ann McGowan of Thomas and Talbot Real Estate (540-687-5523) and www.THOMAS-TALBOT.com.
The kitchen has high-beamed ceilings, state of the art appliances, a Lacanche gas stove and a 1900s pharmaceutical cabinet that serves as a breakfront.
1.
2.
3.
4.
1. A grand tiered staircase leads to the second level. 2. Cloverland 3. The paneled library. 4. A stunning formal living room with 10-foot ceilings, a fireplace with a French (circa 1700s) walnut mantel and walls of windows bathing the room in natural sunlight. 5. An indoor pool offers an aquatic oasis.
5. Country Spirit • November 2017
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A Cup of Middleburg Coffee
Death and Coffee: A Bustling Time and Place to Remember By Sean Clancy
The three of them talk, then pause, then another burst, then another pause. They pull up ideas, memories, monuments like they’re pulling up weeds from a garden. Occasionally a flower, a fruit, a gem to keep, to hold. Eyes moisten, but only for fleeting moments, the public results of private thoughts. No one notices. The coffee shop bustles. Morning traffic. Standing room only. School mothers, kids dropped off, cluster like leaves in a window well. Some are going to work out, yoga pants, tight, hair pulled back, short socks and running shoes. Some are going to ride horses, breeches, tight, paddock boots, some polished, some scuffed. A husband sits at one table while his wife sits at another, now, that’s teamwork. Men, collared shirts and khakis, country casual, come in and walk out, coffee on the go, always. The flies take their last swipes at life, it’s October, frost warning last night, they’re fading fast but still going strong. A man whips off his hat and knocks one out of the air, it’s a lost cause, but he feels a moment of accomplishment. An old photo comes out. A pen sits idle. A notepad, a few notes, a scribble, but that’s about all. A phone is scanned, thumb, swiping right, like a deer on ice. Another cup of coffee brews. Another one is ordered. Another one is thrown away. Another one goes cold. The oldest of the three – the mother – gazes, distantly, her two coffee friends pluck at what’s good, what’s useless, what’s important in their thoughts,
their words, their memories. She barely hears them as she drifts between yesterday and today, then comes back as vibrant as before. “Loved the outdoors…the War…his kids…” There is nothing like the importance of the right word at the hard time. “This is a book,” one of them blurts. They nod in unison. Yeah, a book. People always dream about the pages of a book as they bleed over the lines of an obituary, the agony of a few lines somehow elicits dreams of a book. They talk about the CIA, what she knew, what she didn’t know. I still don’t know. One slouches, one fidgets, one sits erect, back as straight as a flagpole, like she’s waiting for her prom date. They lean in close, then back away, lean in again, then back away, a life unfolding, staccato, the ebbs and flows of a life, the wife, the daughter, the writer, comrades comforting at an uncomfortable time. The daughter turns to the writer, “Just tell me what I owe you.” The old newspaperman scoffs, his eyebrows raise and his head rocks back, his hand wagging like he’s brushing crumbs away from the front of the toaster. “Buy me a cup of coffee…but not now.” Too much coffee already. The writer has some notes, some thoughts, the bricks from the family. He’ll add the mortar – it’s written, now he just has to write it. He’s constructed so many of these, it’ll spill out like always. A spigot, not a vein. The daughter digs through her purse, pulls out out an envelope, folded up like a treasure map, hands it to her mother. Long delicate fingers unfurl two sheets of yellow paper, folded three by three, six squares and three rectangles. Some of the lines
are scratched out, some are written for eternity. She reads them, again, her eyes moisten, ever so slightly, again, nobody notices. They share a laugh, she hands it back the way it came and her daughter slides it back into her wallet. Notes, folded papers, photographs, memories. Like that old song, that’s Sean Clancy has a all that’s left now. Middleburg cup of coffee The daughter places at Common Grounds another envelope on the table, a card, this hasn’t been folded, hasn’t been sent. It’s pristine. A letter, a note, sent today. I wonder if it’ll be pulled out on some tomorrow, somewhere down the line. Perhaps, the daughter’s sons piecing together her life. Maybe, maybe not. She pulls out a stamp, places it with delicacy in the top corner, where it’s going is anybody’s guess. Old fingers curl around new cups. A homemade scone breaks in pieces, a croissant is savored, a cup of tea is emptied and the bustle of the coffee shop begins to wane, the morning rush has come and gone. “Amazing life…” I can’t tell who said it. Sean Clancy publishes The Saratoga Special and www.thisishorseracing.com. He lives in Middleburg.
MIDDLEBURG COMMON GROUNDS
A Kind & Grateful Time of Year
Breakfast & Lunch Served All Day
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114 W. Washington Street • Middleburg, VA • 540.687.7065 58
Country Spirit • November 2017
Virginia Couple Builds Hope and Happiness on a Tiny Haitian Island By Mara Seaforest
The first thing you need to scratch off your “Pack for Haiti” list is your ego. The second is to forget everything you think you know about Haiti. Everything. That will leave quite a lot of space in your luggage to hold all the beauty, heartache, surprises, fun and hope you will want to carry with you when your first time volunteering with Helping Haitian Angels is over. You’ll probably want to go again. If you’re like the organization’s founders, Bill and Debbie Harvey, you’ll just do it. Between 75 to 100 people from the Harveys’ church, Park Valley in Haymarket, have signed up for the experience. Churches from across the U.S., including Trinity Church in Upperville, have also sent volunteers to the Harveys’ program, operating on La Gonav, an island off the coast of Port-au-Prince. Each has been immersed in six hours of online training, has read recommended books and has participated in pre-trip meetings online. The message all volunteers receive is “We build people and relationships, not buildings.” Most volunteers stay in the organization’s compound, also the site of the school founded by Helping Haitian Angels. They are exposed throughout their stay to the rich culture of the Haitian people, including some troubling aspects that their work may one day help the people themselves to eradicate. Debbie explained that the Haitian people know how to build buildings, something that many other volunteer relief organizations seem not to appreciate. With the best of intentions, they go to Haiti on missions to build churches, repaint and repair existing buildings, all based on assumptions that Haitians call “blan” (foreign); they often receive these efforts as intrusive and demeaning. Such efforts by volunteers can also be seen as displacing opportunities for needed employment. As “Ambassadors for Haiti,” Helping Haitian Angels seeks instead to empower the Haitian people by asking them what they need and would like to have help creating. They engage local talent for the planning phases, then recruit labor from the local population, providing training where necessary. The workers are paid. The money they earn and additional skills they acquire go home with them to help improve their families’ prospects for the future. The resulting pride and respect is mutual and long-lasting.
Debbie Harvey and her husband Bill founded Helping Haitian Angels. But that’s only the end. The beginning is educating children who might otherwise not have access to high-quality schooling for many reasons not dissimilar to obstacles faced by children in the U.S. One of the most frustrating is the requirement in state-sponsored schools that teaching be offered only in French. Most children are reared speaking kreyòl ayisyen — Haitian Creole — a patois of 18th century French and other languages, including West African dialects. The school operated by Helping Haitian Angels is taught in Haitian Creole, using a Christian curriculum called Mwen Kapab (Haitian for “I Can”). The Harveys fell in love with Haiti on first sight and even have a house there serving as their home away from their other home in Dominion Valley. Debbie said she loves the cozy but unpretentious house. She’s amazed by how little most Americans understand about Haiti. They have no idea, she said, how optimistic the people are, even when they have few material possessions. They are, she added, “people of faith” who don’t need converting and amazingly resourceful. Volunteers learn plenty from them. Haitian history, which truly became their own — warts and all — after the slave revolt of 1803, has modern echoes in the Haitian national dish called joumou. It’s a soup containing ingredients once denied to Haitian natives under European enslavement, now consumed in celebration of freedom and plenty. It’s delicious and nourishing, even when the main Haitian ingredient, joumou, is unavailable; pumpkin is a decent substitute. Try it soon and let it nourish you with a new appreciation for Haiti. You might even want to go there one day. Start your journey at helpinghaitianangels.org.
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See the new moonbeam collection and also her wildlife collection.
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Country Spirit • November 2017
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A Stand-Up Young Woman Makes Middleburg Real Estate Stand Out Her bosses and fellow employees at Middleburg Real Estate/Atoka Properties consider 24-year-old Blake Showalter one of the firm’s most valuable assets. And never you mind that she doesn’t have her real estate license, a shortcoming she plans to correct within the next year. “Blake makes the whole place work,” gushed agent Anne McIntosh. “She’s the most helpful person on the whole staff.” Showalter blushed a bit when she heard that high praise, but the woman who serves as the firm’s director of marketing and office operations clearly deserves the accolade judging from another significant management voice. “I’ve been blessed with people who go way beyond the call of duty,” said Dan Kaseman, one of three partners who purchased the business in 2009. “Blake is as good a person as you could possibly imagine.” Showalter handles the firm’s marketing, advertising and social media outreach. She’s responsible for the company’s new agent orientation program and in-house training to help current agents keep up with the everchanging technology in their business. She conducts training worships, and, oh yes, she also manages the company’s website and helps agents build their own individual sites.
PHOTO BY LEONARD SHAPIRO
Blake Showalter makes everything tick at the Washington Street offices of Middleburg Real Estate/Atoka Properties. She also spends a lot of time on her feet all day in her Middleburg office, preferring to stand up to work on her elevated computer because it “helps you keep better posture. “Most people my age are just answering the phones,” Showalter said. “I feel so fortunate to be where I am to be doing what I’m doing. I actually have a say. I have an impact.” Not bad for a young woman who majored in health studies at Liberty
University, graduated in 2014 and joined the working world as a health and fitness consultant in Washington. The commute from the Leesburg residence she shares with husband John was “a killer.” And when Susan Showalter, her mother-in-law and an agent at Middleburg Real Estate, told her there was an office job opening up at the firm, at first Blake was a bit hesitant. “I didn’t know how to do many of the things they they were look-
ing for,” she said. “But they hired me anyway and they trained me for a month and the rest I just figured out. It wasn’t tough. You have to try to find the answers when someone has a question. Most of it is self-taught and I’m constantly learning because everything is always changing. But the information is out there. If you want it, you have to go find it. “Google,” she added, “is my best friend.” Her co-workers rank highly as well, because everything she learns she passes on, the better to help them sell their properties and earn their commissions. In addition to her own compensation, knowing she’s greatly appreciated by her mostly older colleagues adds to a level of psychic income that Showalter obviously appreciates. She’s also a huge fan of the three principal partners—Kaseman, Peter Pejacsevich and Scott Buzzelli. “They’re fabulous to work for,” she said. “They’re all very busy, but never too busy to talk to me or anyone else. They allow me to make decisions. They don’t micro-manage. I know this company is only going to keep growing, and I know I’ll be part of that. I have no plan to be be anywhere else. I love the job, love the people.” And the feeling is obviously mutual.
Welcoming children from birth through age 15!
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Providing affordable, quality, bi-lingual Montessori education to children in Loudoun, Fauquier, and Clarke Counties for over 35 years! Montessori School does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.
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Country Spirit • November 2017
CONTACT US TODAY! Cassella Slater 540.687.5210 cassella@middleburgmontessori.com
For Dan Kaseman: It’s About Persistence and Perspiration By Leonard Shapiro Dan Kaseman is particularly proud of the sign on his Purcellville office desk that reads “Sweat Equity Adviser.” As one of nine siblings raised in a tiny town in upstate New York, he developed his admirable work ethic early on, and his success in a variety of business ventures over the years is testament to his diligence to every task at hand. These days, he’s one of three partners who own Middleburg Real Estate/Atoka Properties. He’s never been a real estate agent, and has no plans to start now, or ever. But his skills as chief executive in a number of companies he founded and eventually sold have been a key factor in allowing his current firm to grow exponentially. He and his partners, veteran agents/brokers Peter Pejacsevich and Scott Buzzelli, purchased the business in 2009. Back then, there were a handful of employees operating out of one Middleburg office. The firm now has four locations—Middleburg, Purcellville, Leesburg and Ashburn—and about 75 agents covering Northern Virginia, including Fauquier and Loudoun counties, and also stretching to Jefferson and Berkeley counties in West Virginia. Kaseman is a 1980 graduate of Syracuse University who was a volunteer fireman and trained as an EMT in high school. After Syracuse, he bummed around Europe for a few months, worked construction and then talked his way into an office job with the company. He eventually worked for IBM in Manassas, but was frustrated after feeling his good work was not being appreciated. At that point he decided to go out on his own, starting his first company with $8,000 in savings. “I guess I always wanted to be the dog, and not
Dan Kaseman the tail,” he said. That first enterprise started in 1987 provided engineering services and contract labor for a variety of Northern Virginia companies. Over the next 20-plus years, there were more businesses started, more services provided, ranging from construction, security, engineering, human resources development, projector support and IT. He also was in the insurance and banking businesses. In 2008, Kaseman sold them all and focused instead on diversifying his investments and purchasing some buildings. But the entrepreneur in him couldn’t really resist when real estate agent/brokers
Pejacsevich and Buzzelli asked him to help them start a new real estate company. They purchased Middleburg Real Estate, and now, almost ten years on, he’s quite content to let them handle selling the real estate “while I do the management stuff. “I empty the trash cans, do the accounting, marketing, advertising, anything that needs to be done,” Kaseman said. “This is a great communitybased business. Our focus is on quality, and providing a quality work environment for our people. One of the reasons we’ve expanded is because good people want to come to work for us. And we want to make them successful.” For Kaseman, it’s not all about the business, either. He’s coached boys and girls youth sports teams and also spent six years coaching the junior varsity soccer team at Loudoun Valley High School., where he’s now the head boys golf coach. He’s also a part-time lecturer at the Shenandoah University School of business. “We have 12 kids on the golf team,” he said. “At this level, you’re trying to teach them confidence, sportsmanship and learning how to learn. The golf is almost secondary. It’s been very interesting.” For Kaseman, so far it’s been an interesting and productive life, with much more to come, for sure. “There are so many things I’d still like to do, but there’s only so much time,” he said. “You go to school, you start your own life with a career, family, and pretty soon instead of going (to a bar) in Georgetown, you’re going to potluck dinners at Lincoln Elementary. Then the kids are in high school, then off to college, and out on their own. You wonder where the time went.” No doubt sweating the details all along the way.
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Hello, Holidays!
By Holli Thompson
or a sliced apple with nut butter.
Just don’t say bye-bye to your healthy habits. Tempted by your favorite foods, big family meals, the pressure to get it all done and keep everyone happy, most people give up and are exhausted by December. And their jeans don’t fit. So this season, lead the way. Plan ahead and take action to ensure your best efforts stay with you into the new year. And greet 2018 with a healthy, nutritional style.
I never leave home without one of my favorite protein bars, an apple, or a green juice in my tote bag. I often find myself hungry while on the train, driving my car, or shopping, and I need to bring my blood sugar up, fast. Keeping favorite healthy snacks on hand will keep you from having to hit the snack car or drive through when you’re too busy for a meal.
4) Be prepared with snacks
5) Drink healthy
It’s often not the foods we reach for, but the drinks we imbibe. Too much alcohol is a sign of the times this season. Lighten up your wines with some sparkling water, or add your favorite spirit to a green juice. (yes, the occasional alcoholic beverage can be healthy!)
Here are some ways to do just that.
1) Stay Hydrated
Cold weather can make you forget to drink water, and it will also mask the signs that you might be dehydrated. Running around in a busy holiday state might make you forget to hydrate, and 3 pumpkin spice latte’s a day won’t help. Drinking plenty of water will keep your energy up, your skin clear, your metabolism working, and allow your brain to function at peak performance. Try flavoring your water to make it interesting. Add berries, orange slices with cinnamon sticks, or crushed mint leaves for a flavorboosting treat. Don’t leave home without your water bottle, and drink up prior to 3pm, so it won’t interrupt your sleep.
Here’s a quick recipe for vegan, low glycemic hot cocoa.
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened nut milk or coconut milk of choice (home made is best) 1 teaspoon raw, organic cacao 2 teaspoons coconut sugar (a low glycemic sweetener also sold under the name palm sugar)
Preparation:
Gently warm nut milk, and stir in cacao and coconut sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
2) Move
Skipping too many Barre classes? Ditched the morning run? It happens. That’s why you want to walk everywhere you go. Park on one side of town to shop on the other. Put on your sneakers and go 30 blocks instead of calling an Uber. Stride from one side of the mall to the other as you scan for prezzies. Whatever your lifestyle, add more movement to your day starting now. I also recommended a Fitbit, or a similar device, for fun. Studies show that these wearable devices, or apps for your phone can be beneficial, especially for the first 2 months. What a great thing to do, even if for just 62
Holli Thompson’s book, Discover Your Nutritional Style, defines your unique path to wellness. (Not your BFF’s, or the celeb du jour’s!) a couple of months. Ask for one on your gift list, or treat yourself today. My favorite is easy; it’s an app called Steps. I check it each day and track my week to keep me moving.
3) Eat before you go
Don’t head out the door to a party without doing this. Eat something that contains protein and fiber to fill
Country Spirit • November 2017
you up and sustain your energy and resolve. Otherwise you’ll indulge in what someone else wants you to eat, and not make the best choice for you. Unless you know the menu in advance, don’t count on being served healthy fare or things that you want to eat. Good choices to have at home; a small salad with chicken, a cup of bone broth with vegetables,
Most importantly, try to slow down and enjoy your holidays this year. Perfection is overrated, and time with loved ones is what matters. The occasional indulgence is the key to success, so enjoy that latte, or mashed potatoes, or pecan pie. Just don’t do it every day. Holli Thompson is the author of the award winning book, Discover Your Nutritional Style, Your Seasonal Plan for a Healthy, Happy, and Delicious Life, published by Sunrise River Press. She is a former VP for Chanel, turned creator of Nutritional Style™, a health and nutrition blog and consulting company. An inspirational speaker, and popular TV guest for several major networks, Thompson shares weekly on her own blog, hollithompson. com, recently voted one of the top 10 Health and Wellness Blogs by Healthline.org.
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Country Spirit • November10/10/17 2017 11:3663 AM
SCENE... Jacqueline B. Mars, Nicole Perry and Kat Imhoff, president of The Montpelier Foundation. Imhoff spoke at the National Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg on “The Environmental and Equestrian Tradition at Montpelier: How James Madison’s forwardthinking conservation ethic and the duPont legacy have shaped the 2,600-acre plantation.” PHOTO BY SUSAN BREWSTER NSLM
NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders and his wife, acclaimed mystery writer Deborah Sharp, attended the Goodstone Inn’s “A Room With A View” to celebrate the new conservatory and dining area with owner Mark Betts.
Diana Kincannon, board member, and Bev McKay of the Land O’Lake Foundation at The Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville for an allChopin evening recital. PHOTO BY CROWELL HADDEN
A celebration brunch in honor of Anne Hallmark’s retirement after nine years as rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Middleburg took place at Marlene and Jeffry Baldwin’s Spring House Farm. PHOTO BY LEONARD SHAPIRO
PHOTO BY VICKY MOON
Bill and Barbara Luther with Jack Zimmerman at the Slater Run Vineyards’ Oysterfest. PHOTO BY VICKY MOON 64
Country Spirit • November 2017
Abby, Elizabeth and Griffin Keffer were among the guests at Ayrshire Farm in Upperville for the Heritage Breed Wine Dinner prepared by Gentle Harvest executive chef Lawrence Kocurek, with wine selections by Sarah Walsh of Country Vintner.
Gary Hornbaker president of the Blue Ridge Cattleman’s Association, with Emily Miller at Blackwater Farm in Middleburg. More than 150 members gathered for a cookout and a meeting at the farm owned by Erik and Stacy Prince and managed by Brett Miller.
PHOTO BY VICKY MOON
PHOTO BY LEONARD SHAPIRO
AND SEEN Claude Schoch hosted the Land Trust of Virginia’s Fall Celebration of Conservation at his home Barton Oaks. Christopher Dematatis (right) is LTV’s chairman; the organization is dedicated to conserving open space, farms, forests, rivers and historic resources. PHOTO BY VICKY MOON
Mike and Oye Macey hosted a “Wild Kingdom” reception at their home near Halfway for their twoand four-legged friends. The animal theme was a tribute to Mutual of Omaha, the financial services company that at one time sponsored a popular animal inspired television series. Mike is a financial consultant at Mutual of Omaha.
Simon Portugal got up close and personal with Frank The Tank, a Sulcata tortoise, at the Wild Kingdom party.
Gary Woodruff, Don Woodruff, Andrew Stifler and Wayne VanSant won the 2017 Hill School Golf Open, sponsored by the Hill School Alumni Association. PHOTO BY KAREN MONROE.
Filmmaker James Ivory chats with Ambassador Richard Viets at the Middleburg Film Festival. Ivory spoke about his long and storied career as part of the acclaimed Merchant and Ivory production team. He was the screenwriter for “Call Me By Your Name” shown at the festival and also was honored with the 2017 Legacy Award for 60 years as director and/or screenwriter of such classic films as “Howard’s End,” “The Remains of the Day” and “Room with a View.” The ambassador’s daughter, Alexandra Viets, wrote the screenplay for one of their films, “Cotton Mary.”
Fauquier Livestock President Mark Seitz did a bit of (what else?) burger-flipping during a recent equipment auction. PHOTO BY VICKY MOON
The Goose Creek Association launched a clean-up flotilla on the treasured waterway. The team (shown here) collected: two full bags of trash, one bag of material to be recycled, 22 tires, two outdoor chairs, a window air conditioner, ten feet of aluminum wire, one stroller, one radiator and one large plastic tub. The group put in near the Goodstone Inn and ended up at a picnic area at the Benton Bridge. Kudos to all. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARVIN WATTS Country Spirit • November 2017
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You Get That Neighborhood Feeling at Hill’s Late Gates Program By Leonard Shapiro
No one at The Hill School in Middleburg knows for sure why its longtime and very popular after-school program is called “Late Gates.” There’s nothing to ponder, however, when it comes to appreciating the great benefit of “Late Gates” for the 30 to 40 children who spend all or part of their late afternoons in this program, offered from 3 to 6 p.m. “In the day of both parents working, this is a nice, safe place for their children to land,” said Dorsey deButts, who, along with Emily Tyler and Megan Hubbard, supervise this extended day. “It’s their community. It’s their backyard. It’s their neighborhood, a little cul-de-sac to call their own.” When the weather is accommodating, the children essentially have free rein on the school’s Hugh’s Playground. They can play soccer on a mini-artificial turf field, shoot baskets at a shorter-than-regulation hoop, slip down slides or go swing hand-to-hand on overhead bars. There’s the popular little red playhouse which has been on the playground for decades, a sandbox, and benches and quiet corners all around if the children want to sit and chat with their friends. “It’s a lovely rhythm that the regu-
PHOTOS BY DORSEY DEBUTTS
lars get into,” said Tyler, whose mother-in-law, Lynn Tyler, helped jumpstart the program twenty years ago. “It really is their neighborhood. We (the adult supervisors) have just enough control to keep them safe, with several hours of free play and time to use their imaginations and manage their friendships. I always tell parents ‘look at who your child is playing with.’ A first grader may be playing soccer with an upper school child, which happens all the time. You would never have that as a play date.” DeButts and Tyler said that they often have just as much fun watching all the action as the children do in providing that action. “We truly enjoy these children,” deButts said. “You see their minds at work; you see their expressions, their antics. Parents will also spend time on the playground with their chil-
dren and their friends.” “It’s just a wonderful opportunity for parents to come out and be with your kids and it’s also a great way to get to know your children’s friends and classmates,” said Samantha Calaluca, whose daughter, Caroline, is a first grader. “If I come here at 3 p.m. to pick her up, sometimes she might ask me if she can stay longer. The school really encourages parents to be on campus and this is a great time to do that.” Tyler said that some children go home on time after school, and then ask a parent to drive them back to campus so they can be in Late Gates and play with their pals. Amy Miller, who has two daughters at Hill, said “I just like the fact that if I’m going to be late, my kids can stay here. It’s very convenient for working parents for their children to
have a fun place to be. All these kids are having a great time.” The Late Gates team expects the children to be kind and respectful of each other. When there are occasional disputes about rules of the games they’re playing, “they’ll usually solve it themselves,” deButts said. “They’ll play rock, paper, scissors to settle it. We encourage and allow them time to work through these situations independently.” When it gets too cold or rainy outdoors, the Late Gates children retreat to the school’s gym for more fun and games, or the lunch room for board games, including “Sleeping Queens” or even chess, which many learn to play during their afterschool sessions. Headmaster Emeritus Tom Northrup said there was no such program when he first arrived at Hill in 1981. “Back then not many children actually stayed after school,” he said. “Occasionally a few children were picked up a little late because their ride didn’t arrive. But the double wage-earning parent changed all of that. It’s really a beautiful program. The adults are there if something goes wrong. And the children love it. They have a lot of control over what happens. And there’s no TV, no electronics, which I believe is healthy.”
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Perspectives on Childhood, Education, and Parenting By Tom Northrup
“The only learning disability is fear.”
—Dr. Edward Hallowell
Try to imagine Ellen, 13, whose growing dream is to become a high jumper. In the previous Summer Olympic Games, she watched women clear the bar well above their height. She admired their athleticism, and like them, she wants to soar. She decides to try out for her school’s track and field team. On the first day of the season, one other girl expresses interest in this event. However, she has jumped for two years and can easily clear four and a half feet. Ellen is nervous. She knows that getting over the bar at three feet will be a challenge for her. The coach greets the two girls and asks about their hopes for the season. She quickly understands that she has two athletes with vastly different skills. After watching a video about the “Fosbury Flop” technique demonstrated by an Olympian athlete, the three of them jog to the high jump pit. How high should the coach set the bar for Ellen? For the other student? Nearly a century ago, Lev Vygotsky, a Soviet psychologist, developed a theory for effective teaching that he called the “Zone of Proximal Development” (ZPD). He posited that teachers should present new material at a level just beyond that which the student could learn independent-
ly—that is, without adult guidance. Once the student consolidated this information, the teacher should then proceed to present slightly more advanced concepts. Master teachers and coaches have long understood and applied these principles—even if they’ve never heard of Vygotsky or ZPD. Setting expectations just beyond what the student can achieve on her own—not too low, but also not too high-has been a hallmark of good teaching. If we accept that the ZPD principles do, indeed, promote effective and efficient learning, what does this suggest about trying to set one standard for an entire grade level, the current metric in many of our schools? Standards that may appear “high” could be well below the ZPD of many students and contribute to their lack of engagement and interest in learning. Conversely, these “high” expectations could be well above the ZPD of others who then might feel fearful, inadequate, and overmatched by school. Neither scenario serves children well. At that first practice, Ellen’s coach set the bar for Ellen at two and a half feet, and at a much higher level for her teammate. Throughout the season, Ellen’s motivation and spirit remained high as her coach employed the principles of ZPD. She continued to jump throughout her high school years, and as a senior, received a medal in the state championship meet. Ellen was fortunate. Not only did she succeed as an athlete, developing confidence that ultimately served her well as a parent and over the
course of her later career. But equally important, her experience with a master coach helped her internalize a framework for lifelong learning. Tom Northrup is the Headmaster Emeritus of the Hill School in Middleburg, the school he has served since 1981. He began his career in education in 1968 as a fourth grade teacher in Philadelphia. He and his wife, Ann, are the parents of two adult sons and have two teenage granddaughters.
Tom Northrup
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Classic Holiday Tablescapes with Barbara Sharp Photos by Vicky Moon Styled by Allie White and Kerry Waters Barbara Sharp believes that a good way to get into the holiday spirit is to “take advantage of planning a gathering earlier than usual. Therefore, you can stage your table. This way it could provide inspiration on how you’ll be able to start your Christmas or your holiday decorations.” “For my holiday decorations,” she said. “I always cut a lot of evergreen, especially ones that have unusual small pine cones along with Magnolia and holly.” All evergreens can be sprayed with leaf shine and they’ll glow. Magnolia branches can be laid directly on the mantle and dining room table. “Add a few holiday ornaments, fresh red and green apples and ribbon,” she said. “It’s like magic, you have created a statement.”
Happy Thanksgiving. What better time of year to pull out all the good china, crystal and silver than Thanksgiving? Gather around with family and friends. White pink and green with blue ribbons French China: A. Raynaud & Co atop a green charger. S. Kirk & Son vintage sterling silver, with small topiary accent pieces. Table cloth and napkins: D. Porthautt and, of course, flowers by Barbara Sharp.
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Country Spirit • November 2017
Best of all, as an effortless hostess, “make sure you have a little goody for your guest. It could be just something from the dollar store, like an elaborate ornament wrapped with a ribbon around your napkin. I often buy a small potted plant and decorate the terra cotta pot with acrylic paint.” Another idea is to wrap a selection of boxes with colorful holiday paper, add big bows and lay them in the middle of the table. With a few greens and you’ll have a festive table. “Since we’re in the holiday season,” Barbara said, “I take time to select a prayer or quote. Wrap it like a scroll, then tie it with a ribbon place at each table setting. Guests love to open their scrolls and it’s a way to personalize your dinner party. “In our home I try to make every guest feel special.”
Happy New Year in pink. Gold and white china: Superieur, pink charger: T.J. Maxx napkins: French linen, the sparkly ribbon is available at any craft store; flower napkin decoration: Raz imports Inc. Gold artificial topiary by Barbara Sharp, pears: local grocery store.
Making Every Guest Feel Special
Call this setting “Monkey Business.” The clear monkey salad plates are by Lynn Chase, well-known for her simian inspired designs. The white and gold plate under the clear plate is Gold Buffet by Royal Gallery. Malachite cup and saucer: Christian Dior; green water glass: T. J. Maxx and wine glass: Pier 1. The colorful bird napkin rings are from Caspari; napkins: Bed, Bath and Beyond. The candelabrum is late 18-century crystal and bronze and the custom-made tablecloth is of Scalamandré fabric.
Setting a place for Santa’s Christmas. Burlap tablecloth: any craft store silverware: Delco, brass horn: Rax, fox huntsman: Vintage Reproductions Designs by Madi; napkins: thrift store; plate: Ashland, imitation moss and burlap ribbon: any craft store; lantern: Marshalls and floral arrangement by Barbara Sharp
This Spode Christmas Tree Bowl serves as a centerpiece or a gift for someone special. The roses came from Barbara’s garden, as did all the greens.
As a last minute centerpiece, Barbara says: “Throw a wreath in the center of the table.” She calls this design “Rosy Cheeks.” The beauty of all her arrangements is the gentle mix of antique family pieces with craft store and yard sale finds. Wreath is from Costco embellished with pine cones and accents of fresh greens from her garden with white roses. The partially seen silver candelabrum is antique. The silk table cover with applique pink peonies is from Scalamandré.
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With the Magnificent Jean Gold, It Was Always Fun By Leonard Shapiro
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Country Spirit • November 2017
Jean Gold once wrote that her first encounter with a celebrity “came at the age of 12 when tennis champion Big Bill Tilden stepped on my 12-year-old foot after his tennis match at the Tulsa Coliseum, and didn’t apologize.” That would have been 86 years ago, and it was hardly her last encounter with a star. Jean Gold acted with Gregory Peck and Diana Barrymore, interviewed John Steinbeck twice, was photographed with Adlai Stevenson while she was covering John F. Kennedy’s inaugural celebration for Time-Life Films, previewed the movie “Murder on the Orient Express” with John Wayne at a party in Hong Kong, and once had a door slammed in her face by Gore Vidal when she delivered some requested research to him. In Middleburg, Jean Gold was one of the brightest, shining stars of them all, a searing light that sadly dimmed last month when she died peacefully at her home just a few miles from the village. She was 98, a force of nature virtually to the very end and a woman dearly loved by anyone who ever met her, particularly the men and women, boys and girls she recruited and directed in so many stage productions put on by the Middleburg Players starting in 1965. “The Bells Are Ringing (her first production),” 1776, Mame, Blythe Spirit, Pal Joey” and, her favorite, “Our Town,” were among her credits. And she did it all, from picking the cast, to choosing the costumes to overseeing the lighting, sound and scenery. Sell-out crowds at the Middleburg Community Center were always the norm, night after night, matinee after matinee. To commemorate the center’s 50th anniversary in 1998, she collaborated with Trinity Church director of music Christian Myers and the late Fred Spencer to create and produce a musical revue based on the memoirs of late Middleburg native Doc Saffer. The show, “It Was Mostly Fun,”
was a total smash, and some even said the music and lyrics were, without a doubt, Broadway-wor thy. It included one toetapping number after another built around Saffer’s memories of growing up in Middleburg in the late 1930s and ‘40s. That razzledazzling production may well have been the crowning achievement of Jean Gold’s community theater tenure, and not long after the curtain came down, she decided to hand off to the next generation. That included Elizabeth Rice, who performed in many of Jean’s productions and is now president of the Middleburg Players. “I think the most important thing she did was to bring people together,” Rice said. “People from all walks of life performed, and many had never even been on a stage. And after they did, they never wanted to get off the stage. She had a great eye for talent and she instilled you with so much confidence. If she had to criticize, she’d take you aside and do it very nicely. She had such a gentle demeanor, and she was able to accomplish so much. I loved her. We all did.”
PHOTO COURTESY
Jean Gold as an editor at Time Life
Betsy Anderson stopped by to visit with her West Highland Terrier, Seamus.
These miniature goats also joined in the fun at Whiskers and Wags day.
Smooch with a pooch.
Dennis Hunsberger, now retired as county finance director, volunteered as a car parker at the festival.
The Fauquier SPCA celebrated their 60th anniversary with a Whiskers and Wags Festival and Casanova Hound Dog Day at their facility on Rogues Road in Midland. The merriment included funnel cakes, a bouncy house, face painting and best of all a doggie kissing booth. Devon Settle (center back row) executive director of the Fauquier SPAC with her staff members.
PHOTOS BY VICKY MOON
Luke Schlueter, a member of the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Explorers team, volunteered for the day, with Fauquier SPCA Executive Director Devon Settle and Tim Nevill, SPCA treasurer.
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Pine Quarters: A Fauquier Story “The Commonwealth of Virginia To the Sheriff of the County of Fauquier:
Greetings: We command you, That you summon and cause to come before the Circuit Court of the County of Fauquier; at the courthouse on the first day of February, 1929 persons in your county, to be taken from a list to be furnished by the judge of said court, and who are qualified in all respects to serve as jurors, to complete the panel of jurors for the trial of John Martin, who stands charged with felony murder.” By Charles Matheson Second of Two Parts
The first shot severed Great Uncle Cornelius’s aorta. The second ruptured his gut and spilled his spleen out in a pool of green bile over the stone walk which wound through the boxwood just down from the long porch in front of the house. “Leaden bullets and gunpowder… With malice aforethought… Against and upon… Cornelius…” The writ was explicit, the facts undeniable. Robert Thornton’s Civil War colt pistol had been misplaced for years. They thought maybe brother Will
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had kept it since he had refused to surrender at Appomattox and never would turn in his arms, though he took the oath at Ashland later on. But John ( Jno.) Martin had kept it all these years and no one was more amazed than he was when it actually fired. That’s when Cornelius (Uncle Nelie) discovered that Jno. had stolen and kept his brother’s gun, the gun of the 16-year-old hero of Chancellorville who gave his life to the cause. They say Nelie walked to the house, walked to his truck and didn’t die until he got to Grace Church in Casanova. He was determined. Determined and righteous about the rightness of his ways. And such a
Country Spirit • November 2017
good sport, a fox hunter, supporter of the community and the church, “a gentleman and citizen of the county in the old Virginia style, “is what the newspaper said about him. But Nelie was inarticulate in his bigotry. Instead of espousing his concern and deeply felt responsibility for Jno., he could only grunt an epithet of resentment. And Jno. acted in fear and ignorance upon the only man he ever loved and relied upon. “The court instructs the jury that although drunkenness of the accused is no excuse in itself, yet if the jury believes from the evidence that the drunkenness was such as to render the accused incapable of forming deliberate intent, then
they can only find him guilty of murder…” Poor Jno. He couldn’t believe it because he couldn’t remember it. “I just found that old rusty gun, Your Honor. I didn’t know it was Mr. Robert’s, Your Honor.” They kept Nelie after he died in the icehouse on the hillside above the front stone walk where he had been mistakenly gunned down by John Martin ( Jno.) former friend, former slave, former playmate. He lay on the bottom layers of last year’s ice, covered with straw, waiting for relatives to arrive from all over. They’d been fox hunting through there on Thursday and everyone stopped to remove
their caps in tribute to old Mr. Cornelius. We had services at Grace Church, then retrieved Nelie from the icehouse to bury him with the buttons of the 49th Virginia Infantry, William’s unit which had served all the way to Gettysburg. Strange how that was, since Nelie didn’t go at all. But here we were at Grace Church on in unbearably bright, dry winter day where mother had been born in the rectory and Uncle Nelie had died at the door. The penitentiary, Richmond Mrs. Elisabeth Martin 219 Parker Street, NW Washington D.C. May 25, 1934 My Dear Madam: I regret to advise that your husband, John Martin, #24089, died in the penitentiary hospital. His body has been turned over to the Anatomical Board and same may be claimed. Kindly advise whether or not you wish to claim his body. Everything known to medical science was done for your husband, but on account of his age and weakened condition, he did not respond at all favorably to treatment. I regret this very much, Very truly yours…
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For History-Loving Missourian, It’s Been a Quite a Journey By Leonard Shapiro
Even as a young child growing up in Lexington, Missouri, William Sellers always had an appreciation for history. After all, part of his own family lore involved the telling and re-telling of the story about an up-close-and personal brush with one of the country’s most notorious outlaws. Jesse James had once visited the town 40 miles east of Kansas City, and he was not paying a social call when he and his gang showed up. They were there to rob the bank owned by Sellers’ great, great, great grandfather. “From the time I was a little kid, my first books were biographies of George Washington, John Kennedy and Martin Luther King,” Sellers said. “I used to dig up our back yard to try to find old artifacts, pottery shards, anything that might make a connection to the past.” And so, when this Harvard graduate, class action attorney and former headmaster of his family-owned military academy and junior college interviewed for a position as president of the Virginia-based “Journey Through Hallowed Ground,” (JTHG) he knew it might be a perfect fit. A history major at Harvard, Sellers had lived in Alexandria when his wife was attending law school, and “I loved everything about this region,” he said. “So I applied to the board. I liked them, and I guess they liked me.” And, if you’ll pardon the expression, the rest is history. Sellers has been on the job at the Journey’s Waterford offices for just under two years, running a non-profit organization with a footprint that extends over a four-state area. It goes from Charlottesville and the Monticello home of founding father Thomas Jefferson all the way up to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where one of the decisive battles of the Civil War was waged and Abraham Lincoln delivered his mesmerizing and iconic address. The JTHG, which also includes portions of Maryland and West Virginia, is “dedicated to raising awareness of its unparalleled American heritage….With more history than any other region in the nation, the Journey was recognized by Congress as a National Heritage Area and offers authentic heritage tourism programs and award-winning educational programs for students of all ages…JTHG Partners realize the importance of protecting and preserving the heritage and cultural resources of the Civil War battlefields, National Parks, and historic sites within this legendary region.” JTHG includes nine presidential homes and sites, 18 national and state parks, 57 historic towns and villages, 21 historic homes and hundreds of Civil War battlefields and thousands of historical sires. 74
Country Spirit • November 2017
PHOTO BY LEONARD SHAPIRO
William Sellers, president of Journey Through Hallowed Ground based in Waterford. Sellers’ focus at the moment is raising the estimated $5 million it will take for the Journey to launch the nation’s first all-history-all-thetime summer program for high school students. A five-week session starting this summer will be based at the Foxcroft School in Middleburg and will include students from across the country for lectures by prominent local and national historians, field trips up and down the Journey’s footprint and plenty of visits to the Nation’s Capital. “We’ve had great two-week summer day camps in Charlottesville and Leesburg,” Sellers said. “And I think those are something we can really build on. When I started looking around, there was no program in the country for high school kids that really told the broader story of the country’s history. So why not do a residential program, bring in students from around the country and take advantage of all the things we have to offer in this area.” “It’s sad to say, but there are too many adults who don’t know that a senator serves for six years and a Congressman has a two-year term. There’s really a crisis in historic and civic literacy….We don’t have an educated populace, and that can make it hard to run a democratic
republic. What we’re doing is a small step, but within three years, we also hope to start other camps, maybe even for adults.” The Journey has other projects, as well. It began back in the 1990s part of the effort to keep the Disney company from building a theme park in the Gainesville/Haymarket area. It has since morphed into one of the region’s premier organizations involved with historic preservation, conservation, easements and promoting educational programs in a number of schools around the region. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War in 2015, the Journey also spearheaded a widely-hailed project that so far has resulted in 5,000 trees being planted, all along major routes between Charlottesville and Gettysburg. That effort is still ongoing. “From Washington out almost to Route 15 (Gilbert’s Corner), we’ve got such a dense population,” Sellers said. “But we also have this area beyond it where people can get out into the country and breathe, and so much of it is so historic. Right now, a lot of this land looks the same as when Washington, Jefferson and Madison lived here. We’d like to make sure it stays that way.”
Country Spirit • November 2017
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Country Spirit • November 2017