Stafford Magazine | April/May

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MAGAZINE

HERE toHELP INSIDENOVA

Stafford responds to COVID-19

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T

he world has changed after COVID-19, and Stafford is no different.

Students left school for spring break March 13 and are now done for the school year.

Businesses across the region are closed. Grocery stores have waiting lines at the entrance to limit the number of customers inside. The restaurants that have been able to stay open are limited to take-out and drive-through orders.

As of April 4, 4,541 Stafford residents had filed claims for state unemployment benefits.

There were 60 residents who had tested positive for the coronavirus as of April 10.

The community is struggling through this pandemic, but none of us is doing it alone. There are examples all around us of neighbors stepping up to help or offering a release from the crisis.

Kristen Loescher, the owner of Arsenal Events, pointed it out during our interview about the COVID-19 pandemic (Page 12) — it’s from a safe distance, but she’s actually seeing more of her neighbors.

It’s true. In a community that is perpetually worried about getting on the train or the Express Lanes, a lot of us are spending more time at home.

We need our community now more than ever.

Keep helping each other. We’ll get through this.

GREG HAMBRICK, EDITOR EDITOR@STAFFORDMAGAZINE.COM

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CONTENTS 8

NEIGHBORS

Meet the Eagle Whisperer Wild rescues are part of the job for animal control sergeant

BY GREG HAMBRICK

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AMAZING KIDS

Young Marine of the Year Mountain View student recognized nationally

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SPORTS

Staying in the Game North Stafford graduate Chris Darnell’s basketball career takes him down a different path

BY DAVID FAWCETT

Stafford baseball — in Fredericksburg Local businesses building relationships with minor league team

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Here to Help

Census captures snapshot of Stafford before and after the Civil War

SPECIAL REPORT

Stafford responds to COVID-19

BY GREG HAMBRICK

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BUSINESS

Downtown Ready

VOICES

BY DAVID S. KERR

A distant vision for an urban district is on the fast track

Run on toilet paper a pandemic surprise

BY GREG HAMBRICK

BY HARVEY S. GOLD

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HISTORY

Stafford in the Smithsonian New initiative offers fresh access to local history

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NEWS

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Carroll Foy Prepares Gubernatorial Run Local delegate’s big plans, school programs honored, preservation group saves large farm

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ON THE COVER: EMT crews from Stafford-based LifeCare are in New York assisting with emergency response. And volunteers at Mount Ararat Church in North Stafford recently welcomed a large truck of donations to help provide for the needy in the community.

Show the love and support local!

Many of Tackett's Mill stores and restaurants are still open to serve our community via take-out, delivery, or even special shopping hours. Please contact stores and restaurants directly for details.

/tackettsmillcenter www.tackettsmill.com

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NEIGHBORS

Meet the Eagle Whisperer Wild rescues are part of the job for animal control sergeant

BY G R E G H AM B R ICK

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gt. Anthony McCall has rescued a wide variety of wildlife as an animal control officer with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, but he’s earned the nickname of “Eagle Whisperer” because of his many rescues of injured bald eagles. He sat down with Stafford Magazine and talked about his job — just before social-distancing became part of our routine.

STAFFORD MAGAZINE: How many eagles have you rescued?

SGT. ANTHONY MCCALL: I got one yesterday [March 11], so that’s number 16.

SM: When did you get your first one?

AM: I’ve been with animal control since May 2007. I think 2008 is when I got my first one. It was over on Belle Plains [Road].

He was stuck on a fence, one of those old-style farm fences. He had one eye, he was really old, and he just let me pick him up. It was the easiest one in the world.

I never touched one before, so it kind of sinks in. It gets etched in your mind.

The first several years, it didn’t get publicized … now, I’ve been enlightened on the impact they have on social media. It’s positivity. Nobody ever knows what animal control does. When you were growing up, you didn’t want to be a dog catcher. You look at Disney, we’re the worst people in the world. So, it’s a good way to bring a positive light to my specialty and my division.

SM: What goes into the training for the handling of birds?

AM: For animal control, we go through the full law enforcement academy and the animal control academy. I haven’t received any training on how

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to catch them. There’s some zoos that can provide some large raptor handling classes, but I haven’t received any of those. A lot of our job, if you really think about it, is out of the box, thinking on your feet. Experience is what changes you. I’ve had wildlife issue classes, rabies exposure classes and capture techniques for different types of things, but not “how do you catch a bald eagle when he is hurt.”

SM: What are some of the more memorable rescues?

AM: The first one, ol’ One Eye. Even the neighborhood knew him.

I’ve got a few good ones. I had one off Hollywood Farm Road. The reason that one is etched in my mind was I had to go a mile and a half on a bike trail to get him, and he was down in a

ravine. What makes that one crazy is, instead of me going after him, he comes after me. As soon as I go down in the ditch, he says, “Not today.” He was very aggressive, and he was a big eagle. I caught him and I remember thinking, “I’ve got to walk this giant bird a mileand-a-half back to my truck.”

SM: How are you holding that eagle?

AM: The main thing, with my experience, is that I’m not so worried about the wings and the face, it’s the feet. That’s where the power is and that’s where the damage comes from. So you have to control the feet. You want to make sure his face can’t get to your face, but all-in-all the most dangerous part is his feet. You have one hand holding his feet and the rest you have to position where it is the safest for you.

SM: Any other experiences that stick out?

AM: The first one widely publicized.

She was out in the river, and it was still cold outside, out in Widewater. This family said they had an eagle out on their pier going out to the Potomac River. I approached her and she flew about 15 yards and went into the water.

There’s one thing to do at that point: get wet.

She is trying her best, but you can tell she is just not right. I run out there and I get behind her and she comes back up to the shore. I corner her and she turned. They’ll just stare at you with their feet up, and if you get too close, they’re very accurate.

I ran up on her and I caught her and grabbed her feet.

SM: Is Widewater the area where you see most of these eagles?

AM: Most are coming from there.

You’ve got the Potomac River and Aquia Creek meeting up and you’ve got all the good, old growth, and it’s a very good area for them to nest. Most

of your coastlines with good trees and good covers are where you’ll find them.

SM: Have you been injured by any of these birds?

AM: No. We use big giant Ninja Turtle gloves — it’s basically two pairs of gloves together — so you’ll feel the pressure, but they can’t puncture your skin.

SM: Any other equipment that you keep for bird rescues?

AM: It depends on the bird. With buzzards, they typically like to run, so you’ll use nets. We do everything as small as a parakeet up to an eagle — and we do emus. When you come to work, you think, “What am I going to do today?” I’ve gotten bulls out of rivers.

My first time lassoing an animal was in this job. I’ve lassoed an emu and a cow.

You just don’t know what you’ll see. How do you get a squirrel out of a chimney? You can’t Google that one.

SM: Tell me about the latest rescue [March 11].

AM: We got a call from a citizen saying he saw an eagle next to an embankment and it looked injured. By

the time I get there, he’s at the bottom of a 20-foot embankment.

He was a little guy. I have to go down — that’s the easy part. I get him, and it looked like he had a broken wing. I get him up and I had to go back up the embankment. I basically had to hug him.

He knew I was trying to help him, so he didn’t try me that hard.

He’s up at Blue Ridge Wildlife Center [in Clarke County]. Those are some real heroes. I’m there for five minutes. I go and catch. They’ve got months and months and thousands of dollars they’re putting in to make sure the bird makes it. Everytime I call, I thank them for what they do.

Follow the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office on Twitter @StaffCoSheriff. For more information about Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, blueridgewildlifectr.org.

Greg Hambrick is editor of Stafford Magazine and a resident of Stafford.

He can be reached at editor@ staffordmagazine.com.

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AMAZING KIDS

Young Marine of the Year Mountain View’s Nathaniel Paredes recognized nationally

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Mountain View sophomore has been recognized as a Young Marine of the Year.

The Young Marines is a national nonprofit headquartered near Quantico that provides youth education and service programs promoting leadership, teamwork and self-discipline.

The group includes 235 units with 8,000 youth and 2,500 adult volunteers.

Young Marine Sgt. Maj. Nathaniel Paredes, 16, is a member of the Quantico Young Marines.

Paredes was recently named the top Young Marine in Division 2, which includes Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and the District of Columbia.

Over the next year, Paredes will travel to other units throughout the

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Young Marine Sgt. Maj. Nathaniel Paredes, 16, is a Mountain View sophomore and the region’s Young Marine of the Year.

division to lead, motivate and serve as a role model, according to a news release.

“I am very honored to be named Division 2 Young Marine of the Year, and I’m glad to be setting an example for the division,” he said. “The program has provided me with vital and necessary skills that I will need for the future. The Young Marines has changed my life for the better.”

Paredes joined the Young Marines at age 11 and is in his fourth year in the program. He wanted to be part of

an organization dedicated to building better leaders and helping local youth become better citizens.

“Once I joined, I was shown how big this program is and how far it expands beyond my local area,” he said. “Then, I wanted even more to do with this program. To me, it is always important to be part of a team and to be part of something bigger than yourself.”

The Young Marines organization is divided into six divisions across the United States. Each Division Young

enhancing personal development, leadership and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

His goal is to attend a university on a full ride through the ROTC program in college along with Marine Corps options. He hopes to earn a degree in computer engineering with a possible minor in cybersecurity. After college, he’d like to join the Marine Corps.

“Nathaniel Paredes is an extraordinary Young Marine,” said Ret. Col. William P. Davis, USMC, national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. “All our division winners show great qualities of leadership and reverence to veterans. Each lives a healthy, drugfree lifestyle, which is a foundation of the Young Marines.”

Paredes is the son of Erin Paredes, who is the unit commander of the Quantico Unit as well as the executive officer of the Old Dominion Regiment.

Paredes is competing with five other

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At right, the region’s Young Marine of the Year, Nathaniel Paredes, with retired Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer Four Hershel “Woody” Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient who fought on Iwo Jima.

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Send your story about an amazing kid to editor@staffordmagazine.com

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Marine of the Year must meet vigorous requirements such as graduating from Advanced Leadership School at the Young Marines’ National Leadership Academy, maintaining high academic achievement in school and demonstrating high standards of physical fitness.

Paredes received the Advanced Leadership Ribbon with a gold “X” as one of the top 10 graduates. His unit at Quantico has received the Unit of the Year award on a regiment level for the group’s efforts. In addition, he received multiple community service awards along with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

At school, Paredes is a cadet corporal in the Marine Corps JROTC at Mountain View High School, where he is a squad leader. He is the captain of the cyberpatriot team, a member of the rifle team, and a member of the drill team with the JROTC. He is also a member of Technology Student Association, which is dedicated to

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SPECIAL REPORT Mount Ararat Church in North Stafford helped those in need in the community by buying a large truck full of food.

They’ve already worked through the donations but are still welcoming community support as they try to help more.

HERE to HELP Stafford responds to COVID-19

BY GREG H AMBRI CK

A

$35,000 semi-trailer full of food and other essentials pulled into the parking lot at Mount Ararat Church in late March, part of an effort to help the needy in the North Stafford community after COVID-19 led schools and businesses to close and many left out of work.

“We’ve been distributing boxes of food, toilet paper, baby wipes,” said Jerry Williams, a pastor at the church, speaking to Stafford Magazine on April

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9. “We ran out earlier this week.”

They’ve put a trailer in front of the church for more donations, which they continue to distribute to the most needy people in the area.

“We realized the need just continues to grow,” Williams said, noting that the church isn’t done helping. “We’re figuring out what’s next.”

It’s a similar story across the community as people seek to find a way to help.

HEADING OUT For some of the crews at LifeCare, a Staffordbased ambulance company, the mission is more than 250 miles away. On Friday, April 10, LifeCare sent its second fleet of ambulances to New York City.

It’s part of an American Medical Response deployment under a FEMA-requested contract to support the area hardest hit by the coronavirus — as of early April, roughly a third of the total deaths in the county were in New York City.

“When your country calls, you go,” said Matthew Hebert, a LifeCare crew member who has been sharing his experience in social media videos.

The Germanna Community College graduate recently went back to nursing classes, but that’s on hold for this trip. He’s still learning — Hebert noted one 24-hour shift that ended with a twohour rest before they were back on call.

LifeCare owner Kevin Dillard has deployed his

crews to areas hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters, but the coronavirus is something else.

“This is the epicenter for what’s going on,” he said, noting all of the crews volunteered. “It’s a high-risk assignment.”

The community is showing its support. When the first crews left for New York City early April 1, Dillard said they were serenaded by tractortrailer drivers blowing their horns in support as the caravan headed north in the dark of night. And they left with bagged lunches donated by local community groups.

And the ambulance teams still working in Virginia have been treated with meals from area organizations and handmade masks that give them a chance to save their more-protective N95 masks for emergency calls.

Dillard is proud of the crews in New York, as well as the crews back home who also face new risks with every call.

“We got in this line of work to help people,” he said.

RU N N I N G U P T H E D O N AT I O N S Arsenal Events owner Kristen Loescher was ready for a busy spring for her business managing timing equipment for running races across the region. Until COVID-19 put a stop to all the races.

But runners still have to run, and Loescher and her husband, Ken, decided to do what they do best: host a race.

Virtual races, in which runners go the distance remotely and log their results online, have been a subculture in the racing world in recent years.

Now, it’s a necessity.

Arsenal’s “The Run on TP 2020” embraces the universal oddity of this coronavirus era: a mad dash to hoard toilet paper during the pandemic that has left many shoppers squareless.

Through the end of April, runners can enter a virtual run/walk with four distances determined by the length of a toilet paper roll.

• 19 toilet paper rolls, or 1.08 miles • 38 toilet paper rolls, or 2.16 miles • 57 toilet paper rolls, or 3.24 miles • And a 19K “We wanted to offer an experience that will let people laugh and smile,” Kristen Loescher said. “The race creates a memory and does a little bit of good.”

It’s also raising money for some of the important work done on the front lines of the crisis.

A portion of the race proceeds is being donated to Mary Washington Healthcare and the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board, as well as Samaritan’s Purse for its international work.

Kristen Loescher noted that runners registering at www.therunontp.com are able to donate even more to the charities after they register, and she’s been excited to see the donations grow.

MORE RESOURCES CORONAVIRUS QUESTIONS:

Call the Rappahannock Area Health District hotline at 540-899-4797.

SUPPORT FOR RESIDENTS:

The latest Stafford County alerts, utility assistance, and how you can help are available at www. staffordcountyva.gov/ coronavirus

Crew members Armani Washington and Johnna Chandler, line up for a shift in New York City on April 5. They’re among the fleet of teams from Stafford-based LifeCare providing ambulance services for the city hit hardest by the pandemic.

AT-HOME LEARNING:

Stafford County Public Schools is offering activities and more info for parents at staffordschools.net

This is Arsenal’s first virtual race, but it won’t be the last. The company plans to host another one in May. “It feels good to be able to help,” Loescher said. “We all have our own unique ability or something we can do.”

CA L L TO H E L P Finding a way to support the community is something Mount Ararat Church has been doing for years.

“We’ve done a lot of disaster relief, but what sets this apart is that it wasn’t just a flood,” Williams said. “It’s an ongoing crisis.”

He said the families in the most need are those already on the margins — the first to lose work when this crisis hit.

“We feel blessed and humbled that we’re in a position to help those in need,” he said. “It’s a privilege to provide that support.”

And the church members have found that, while they’re reaching out to the community, a even larger community is reaching back out to them — online.

They’d have 2,500 typically attend services in person before the crisis, with about 1,000 viewers streaming online. That number has exploded, with the services reaching 15,000 on the church website and on social media.

“People are connecting with us in a whole new way,” Williams said before noting the church’s motto for these times. “We don’t like ‘social distancing.’ We’re practicing physical distancing and social connecting.”

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GET IT TO-GO:

County tourism officials are providing a list of local take-out options at www. tourstaffordva.com/ togostafford BUSINESS ASSISTANCE:

Stafford County Economic Development is regularly updating its resources at www. gostaffordva.com/ coronavirus REPORTING A CRIME:

The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office encourages residents to call 540-6584400 or visit www. staffordsheriff.com OUTDOOR PARKS ARE OPEN:

Get your daily exercise in — while maintaining social distancing.

Restrooms, playgrounds and other amenities are closed. Latest info at www.staffordparks.com

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BUSINESS

Downtown Ready A distant vision for an urban district is on the fast track

A rendering of what Downtown Stafford could look like — drawn before the coronavirus pandemic.

BY G R E G H AM B R ICK

Y

ou’d be excused for imagining that you’d never take Courthouse Road again. What was a key route between U.S. 1 and Interstate 95 in North Stafford has been made obsolete by the new Hospital Boulevard Connector that links Stafford Hospital to the interstate.

But the road could soon be home to a new destination: Downtown Stafford.

It’s been a dream of county officials for more than a decade, but there’s new support from the state for Stafford as a Smart Community test site, and a private partner is ready to begin construction on the first phase of the project. The region’s next urban destination might be just right around the corner.

DOWNTOWN IS LOOKING UP “It’s a generational opportunity,” said John Holden, Stafford County’s director of economic development and tourism.“Not just for this board or the staff here. This comes along once in a generation. This area will develop now — the road is in.”

He’s referring to the Hospital Boulevard Connector, a four-lane road that shifted traffic off the two-lane Courthouse Road route that is home to the county’s government center on one side and the future Downtown Stafford on the other.

“The county and our partner have about 30 acres that could set a new tone of what this could be,” Holden told Stafford Magazine in March, before the COVID-19 crisis. “We could start that with this higher-urban density idea in the next five years.”

A town center has been on the mind of county planners and community members since 2006, as similar urban destinations grew in suburban areas like Reston and Mosaic in Fairfax County and Rockville in Maryland.

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In 2011, a Courthouse Area Redevelopment Plan included the concept of a new I-95 interchange and a potential downtown area on countyowned property.

A more detailed plan for an urban style development continued to grow and, in 2017, the county made the key decision to relocate the courthouse to an open area at the government center, instead of plans to put it across the street on the Downtown Stafford footprint.

In February, staff presented the current plans, with a timeline for zoning changes that would help attract private partners key to the project’s development.

Outlined in the Stafford County 2040 plan, the vision for Downtown Stafford is “a vibrant cultural and commercial district with diverse restaurants, retail and a myriad of housing types.” It would have state-ofthe-art amenities “with a hometown feel, providing urban life at its best.”

Once completed over several phases, the downtown district would include dozens of mixed-use buildings between U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 95, stretching from the existing Courthouse Road south to the new hospital connector.

The first phase of the development is a six-acre site called Fountain Park,

a mixed-use project from a private partner, Jarrell Properties, near the corner of Courthouse Road and U.S. 1. Construction on the $9.6 million project is expected to begin in 2021 and include a mix of commercial buildings, with the county as an anchor tenant, as well as 309 condos.

BE SMART To find the most notable evolution of the Downtown Stafford pitch, you might have to check the trash cans. One less-glamorous example of the type of technology that could assist the county would be electronic monitors for how much trash is in each public trash can.

A smart community would use this technology, along with smart streetlights, traffic monitoring and public safety drones, to collect and analyze real-time data to improve the experience for residents, businesses and visitors, Holden said.

“This will make the human experience more productive,” he said.

Smart street lights and autonomous buses would be paired with “smart” retail.

A report on market demand saw opportunities for a wide variety of shops, restaurants and businesses — the county analysis found $1.3 billion

in lost retail revenue. The study also noted the area should also be able to compete for more attractive businesses, with a higher median household income than Fredericksburg.

But the key to Downtown Stafford’s development won’t be pent up demand for 20th century retail space — it’ll be a new vision for what retail looks like in the 21st century and a host of tech-savvy bells and whistles that urban centers of the future will be looking to emulate, and they’ll look to Stafford as the example.

The area would look less like the brick-and-mortar retail of a traditional city center. Instead, it would offer consumers a more integrated experience, like holographic gaming or clothing stores that use augmented reality and holographic technology to allow customers to try on different looks. Flagship stores would be smaller and integrate more online features.

Because of the large open area of county property ready for development, Downtown Stafford will be a model in smart technology for the state.

Partners at the state’s Center for

Innovative Technology (CIT) spent $100,000 last summer to develop the specifications for this smart downtown.

In announcing the deal last spring, David Ihrie, chief technology officer at the CIT, said other communities

“This is moving as fast as any project I’ve ever seen.”

JOHN HOL DEN, STAFFORD COU NTY DIRECTOR OF ECO NOMIC DEV ELOP MENT AND TOU RISM

around the state are excited to learn from Downtown Stafford.

“Stafford County is moving ahead at an exciting time in the development of these ideas, and our collaboration will provide one model for how a community can establish a vision for their future and then take the steps towards making that future a reality,” Ihrie said.

The state has gone beyond that initial investment to help make Downtown Stafford a test lab for new efforts in public safety technology — work has already started at the county government center to test these new technologies.

“This is moving as fast as any project I’ve ever seen,” Holden said. “We’re trying to establish a place where private technology companies can come test their products in regards to public safety.”

Stafford staff and their partners will continue to build out the smart technologies for the Downtown Stafford project, with plans to incorporate these principles into the Fountain Park development as it comes online.

Later this year, the county board is expected to work through the zoning and planning changes necessary for the project, with hopes to identify a private partner for the county’s larger portion of the 30 acres along Courthouse Road in the fall.

Greg Hambrick is a Stafford County resident and editor of Stafford Magazine. He can be reached at editor@staffordmagazine.com.

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SPORTS

Staying in the Game North Stafford graduate Chris Darnell’s basketball career takes him down a different path

BY DAV ID FAWC E TT

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nce he graduated from William & Mary, Chris Darnell knew he wanted to stay connected to basketball in some capacity. He wasn’t sure how.

The 2005 North Stafford High School graduate considered playing professionally. But because he received little interest from teams, he nixed that idea.

Instead, Darnell looked into another role after he interned for almost a year with a company in Las Vegas.

That experience opened a door that allowed Darnell to remain in basketball. As he gained more experience, Darnell began to expand his horizons.

He started first with the Phoenix Suns, working in video, player development and basketball operations, followed by one season with the Utah Jazz as the team’s special assistant to the head coach.

This season, Darnell joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as a member of their coaching staff, where he works in player development and as a video assistant. With the team all the time, the 6-foot-9 Darnell helps train the Cavaliers’ big men, while preparing film for an upcoming opponent.

“I enjoy the strategy and the schemes and diving into that,” Darnell said. “It gives me a chance to learn and grow.”

After earning second-team all-state honors his senior season

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playing under his father, Mike, and finishing as North Stafford’s then-all-time leading scorer with 1,464 points, he had a good, but not great, career at William & Mary, where he averaged 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds a game. With his playing days over, Darnell’s future began taking shape after he attended graduate school at James Madison University.

A friend of his told him about an organization called Impact Basketball in Las Vegas. Darnell followed up and decided to intern with them. There were no guarantees the internship would lead to anything, but Darnell wanted to check it out.

The work was mundane as he filled water bottles and collected rebounds. But it gave Darnell the chance to be around NBA players who used the facility to work out.

Darnell learned under Andrew Moore, Impact’s director of development. Moore liked Darnell’s work ethic and recommended him to the Suns.

Darnell started as an intern for Phoenix for the 2013-14 season before being promoted. He’s now in his seventh NBA season.

“I enjoy the pace and the continual preparation,” Darnell said. “There’s always something for me to take away.”

David Fawcett is sports editor for InsideNoVa. He can be reached at dfawcett@insidenova.com.

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Chris Darnell played collegiately at William & Mary.

Stafford baseball — in Fredericksburg Local businesses building relationships with ballclub

A

s COVID-19 struck the nation last month, it meant that some of our favorite spring pastimes were placed on hold, including the start of the inaugural season of the Fredericksburg Nationals.

On March 13, Minor League Baseball announced the opening of the season would be delayed until “public health experts and agencies have decided it is safe to begin the 2020 season, and the players are physically ready to begin the season.”

Construction continues at the new 5,000-seat stadium at Celebrate Virginia South, though hiring for game-day positions and plans for opening day at the new site are on hold, pending decisions from Minor League Baseball.

We might be waiting for players to take the field, but the team has lined up key partners in the Stafford community.

The FredNats and Germanna Community College have partnered to develop the Jackie Robinson Writing Contest and Scholarship Fund, open to all high school students in Fredericksburg and surrounding counties. The first five scholarship winners of $1,042 are expected to be announced later this season.

(42 was Jackie Robinson’s uniform number.)

Germanna Community College, in conjunction with the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Dovetail

Cultural Resource Group, is also creating an 80-foot-long history pavilion on the back of the “batter’s eye” of the stadium outfield concourse.

This pavilion includes a wall that will highlight various historic events relating to baseball in Fredericksburg.

Several “History Minutes of Fredericksburg” will be displayed pregame in the ballpark.

At beer stands, Stafford’s 6 Bears & A Goat Brewing Co. has been named “Official Craft Beer of the FredNats.”

The brewery will offer a variety of styles of its beers, along with a special FredNats-branded beer sold only in the stadium and at the Stafford brewery, at 1140 International Parkway.

“Having played and coached baseball for most of my life, and supported local charitable events that promote the value of learning life skills on the baseball field, I am thrilled about our partnership with the FredNats organization,” said Mark Faller, founder and managing partner of 6 Bears & a Goat.

SimVentions is another Stafford-based business partnering with the team.

The engineering and technology contractor will be the sponsor for weekly Salute to Service games honoring service members, veterans and first responders. Weekly auctions of player jerseys will support the Families of the Wounded Fund.

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VOICES

Census captures snapshot of Stafford before and after the Civil War

I

n capturing the “before and after� of the American Civil War in Stafford County, nothing quite illustrates the stark differences than the U.S. Census conducted in 1860 and again 1870.

In 1860, Stafford was one of the largest and most prosperous communities in Virginia. The population was 8,555. The occupations in the census report reflected a dynamic community.

There were several doctors, a bank president, wheelwrights (men who made and repaired wagon wheels), coopers (barrel makers) and several blacksmiths.

However, by far, the most common vocation was farmer.

There were some unusual listings in the 1860 census reports. These were professions that reflected the more lively nature of this pre-Civil War world. Edward Piperbring, born in Prussia, was listed as a candy maker. John Cox was a fifer.

Stafford was also home to future novelist Emma Garrison. She was 23 years old in 1860 and already writing for various periodicals.

BY DAV ID S . K E R R

She would later write a number of popular novels.

Like the rest of the South in 1860, Stafford had a sinister side to its character: slavery. Of that relatively large population listed in the 1860, 3,314 were slaves.

Under the U.S. Constitution, they were counted as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes, but otherwise weren’t recorded by name in the census.

They were property.

That’s not to say African Americans didn’t leave a mark on the census report. There were numerous freemen, including a self-employed boatman named Robin Daggs, independent wagon driver Robert Jennings and free blacks who were farm hands, factory workers and housekeepers.

But, what a difference a decade can make. Five years after the end of the Civil War, Stafford was devastated. By the time the 1870 census was completed, it was a shell of its former self. Its population, thanks both to the flight of

African Americans from bondage, as well as many whites looking for a new start somewhere else, had fallen by 25%. The musician was gone and so was the candy maker.

Emma Garrison had moved to Washington. Farming was still the principal occupation; however, much of it was at the subsistence level.

Still, there were bright spots.

There were mill operators, a few doctors, plasterers and grocers.

Several African Americans were listed as owning their own farms. That was a major change in their status. They were also listed as working as blacksmiths, wheelwrights and coopers.

However, the county was not what it once was. Its economy was broken and stagnant. It wouldn’t recover economically, nor would it recover its pre-war population, until well into the 20th century.

David Kerr, a former member of the Stafford School Board, is an instructor in political science at VCU. He can be reached at info@insidenova.com.

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Run on toilet paper a pandemic surprise

BY HARV E Y S . G O L D

I

t seems to me…we are living in a science fiction world.

Scenes today are reminiscent of the 1969 novel “Andromeda Strain” by Michel Crichton in which a team of scientists dealt with an extraterrestrial virus.

The coronavirus we are now experiencing may not have arrived from outer space, but it is here, and the world, already whacky, is becoming crazier than ever. The coronavirus doesn’t cause diarrhea, but people in Stafford and across the country have stockpiled toilet paper.

By mid-March, the shelves in every grocery store in and around Stafford were as empty as Mother Hubbard’s cupboard.

It remains for the stores to decide how to limit sales of these paper products and what to charge to avoid scalping and the development of a black market for products that have a new and increasing value. This situation is only one example of how illprepared our federal, state and local governments have been in dealing with the crisis.

A year ago, those who are responsible for the health of

the citizens of Stafford County could not have predicted the spread of the coronavirus. But they could have expected that at any given time a virus or other microorganism could infect the citizens of Stafford if it spread around the world.

If they didn’t read the “Andromeda Strain” or see the movie based on the novel, the spread of other epidemics caused by viruses or other microorganisms like HIV, Ebola, Mad Cow disease, Hepatitis B, mumps, MERS or Zika should have been enough to make those in charge of public health stop and say, “What if a severe epidemic or heaven forbid, a pandemic, spread across the world and landed in the U.S. and plopped down in Stafford.

How many hospital beds would we have? What about possible personnel medications, and equipment would we need? Are people trained in each of these areas and are there enough trained people to deal with a large-scale outbreak? Of course, the most important question will be, ‘Will there be enough toilet paper?’”

In the mid-1940s, when I was about 11 years old, polio struck thousands of mainly young people and fear struck along with it. Although we didn’t have the mass media and communications we have today, the U.S. handled it and we endured, and then Dr. Salk whipped up the vaccine that has saved millions from the crippling disease.

Shouldn’t that have taught us that the Scouts have the right motto, “Be Prepared”? We can’t predict what the specific virus or other microorganism will be, but we certainly have a template for what needs to be done when a new one strikes.

Stafford needs to learn from this pandemic that it should have plans to respond to any epidemic, pandemic, lifethreatening virus, bacterium, fungus, gas, earthquake, heat wave, blizzard, flood, locusts or other terrible thing that places us in peril. Above all, make certain there will be enough toilet paper.

Harvey Gold is a contributing writer at Stafford Magazine.

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HISTORY

Stafford in the Smithsonian New initiative offers fresh access to local history

BY G R E G H AM B R ICK

T

he Aquia Episcopal Church offers a little piece of Stafford’s history right off U.S. 1. And it's not alone.

From Quantico to the shores of the Rappahannock, Stafford County offers a wealth of landmarks going back centuries.

More difficult to find: those pieces of history that, though preserved, aren’t readily accessible.

The Smithsonian Museum recently launched Smithsonian Open Access, an initiative that has opened up 2.8 million items in the digital collection, along with nearly two centuries of data.

The Smithsonian has eliminated copyright restrictions, meaning you can

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Part of the collection of the National Air and Space Museum, this Boeing F4B-4 was one of 21 assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps. It was stationed at Quantico from 1933-39. A lizard’s jaw from Stafford that is more than 33.9 million years old is part of the collection of the National Museum of Natural History.

A block quarried near Aquia Creek by free and enslaved workers and used in the construction of the Capitol building in 1824. Part of the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

educate and inspire audiences,” said Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III. “Through this initiative, we are empowering people across the globe to reimagine and repurpose our collections in creative new ways.”

For more, visit si.edu/OpenAccess.

now download and transform content for any purpose, for free.

The museum will continue to add items on an ongoing basis, with more than 3 million images designated as open access by the end of the year.

“Open access is a milestone for the Smithsonian in our efforts to reach,

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NEWS

CARROLL FOY PLANS GUBERNATORIAL RUN

STAFFORD SCHOOLS SHOWCASE SUCCESS

Democratic Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy has filed campaign paperwork indicating she will run for governor in 2021.

On April 3, she created a campaign committee called “Jennifer Carroll Foy for Governor,” according to Virginia Department of Elections’ records.

Carroll Foy has represented parts of North Stafford in the 2nd District of the House of Delegates since 2017. She easily won re-election in 2019.

She has campaigned statewide for the Equal Rights Amendment and supported other Democratic candidates last year with her Virginia for Everyone Political Action Committee.

Carroll Foy is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute — a member of the third class of female cadets — and worked as a public defender in Arlington County before her election in 2017.

Other potential gubernatorial candidates next year include former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, Attorney General Mark Herring, state Sen. Jennifer McClellan of Richmond and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

Foy told InsideNoVa on April 8 that she is not planning to make an announcement about the race, because she is focused on responding to the coronavirus pandemic and making sure people are protected.

“I’m confident we will get through this together,” she said.

Foy has been a leader in the growing call for vote-by-mail, and she has called for cost estimates and a study on implementation for elections this November.

“I wanted to get the ball going,” she said.

Vote-by-mail would mean ballots are sent to registered voters instead of voters having to fill out an application to request an absentee ballot.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday his plan to postpone June’s congressional primaries by two weeks.

Three initiatives at Stafford County Public Schools were recently featured in the Virginia School Boards Association’s 24th annual Showcases for Success directory, which highlights successful K-12 programs in Virginia’s public schools. The focus of the 2020 VSBA Showcases for Success is The Profile of a Virginia Graduate, highlighting unique program offerings in Virginia’s public schools, according to a news release.

The Stafford honorees were: • Conway Ambassadors, which offers 65 students at Conway Elementary School leadership development.

Utilizing the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” the book “50 Things Every Young Gentleman/Young Lady Should Know,” and guest speakers, students are engaged in learning experiences that help them develop into school leaders.

• The Dual Language Program at Anne E. Moncure and Conway elementary schools, an afterschool initiative that allows thirdand fourth-graders to develop language skills in both English and Spanish with a primary focus on STEM activities. Teachers offer no translation during the STEM activities.

• Exploring Local History, a new elective course for high school juniors and seniors.

The project-based course lets students research local historical figures and events in order to produce projects of their own choosing and design.

Projects over the past two years have included exhibits, slideshows, videos, oral histories, and models.

For more news from Stafford and around the region, visit InsideNoVa.com, follow InsideNoVa on Facebook, and sign up for our daily email newsletters.

EASEMENT PROTECTS MORE THAN 200 ACRES The nonprofit Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT) recently announced a conservation easement that will take 216 acres of Stafford County farm land, forest and wetlands off the table for development.

Snowden Farm is being protected through a donation from the Goodloe family, the NVCT noted in a release.

“What the landowners have done in protecting this amazing place for all time is truly inspiring.

NVCT is proud to be their partner and the long-term steward of the land, which speaks for itself as a truly unique natural and historic property,” said Alan Rowsome, NVCT executive director.

Situated directly on the Rappahannock with just over a mile of river frontage, Snowden Farm provides a buffer to the river and is a key part of its protection, the release noted.

Roughly half of the property contains ground designated as Prime Soils and Soils of Statewide Importance. This means that the land is more suitable than most others for successful agriculture.

“It’s a point of pride, conserving it, and it honors the history of the property,” said Lucy Harman, on behalf of the Goodloe family. It’s been a single parcel from as far back as the 1600s and once held one of the two largest homes in Stafford County. Recently, the University of Mary Washington’s Historical Preservation Department also found relics of the Algonquin tribe of Native Americans on the property’s riverbank.

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