1612clarkeobserverweb

Presorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid at Shepherdstown, WV Permit #3

FREE

DEC 2016

vaOBSERVER.com A MONTHLY MAGAZINE SERVING CLARKE COUNTY

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to all.

2

D ECEMBE R 201 6

Join us December 17th at Pine Grove Restaurant for a

Traditional Christmas Dinner

INSIDE THE OBSERVER FEATURES

Turkey, Ham, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Casserole, Greenbeans, Cranberry Salad, Rolls, Desert, and beverage.

Welcome to Cotton Hill

5pm till close $16.95/person

4

By Claire Stuart

574 Pine Grove Road, Bluemont • 540-554-8126

vaobserver.com Clearbrook Park’s Winter Wondland

SELLING HOMES, FARMS and LAND

By Claire Stuart

Marcy Knows the Local Market

Boyce, VA $400,000

Bluemont, VA $645,000

Main Floor Master Round Hill, VA $649,500

95+ acres Bluemont, VA $147,500

Historic Serenity SOLD in Middleburg

SOLD in Purcellville

LAND

Purcellville, 10ac, $175,000 Purcellville, 17+ac, $250,000 Round Hill, .25ac, $158,500 Summit Pt WV, 8+ac , $140,000 Licensed in Virginia & West Virginia

MarcyC@MarcyC.com 540.533.7453 www.MarcyC.com

ON THE COVER Cedar Waxwing in a Dogwood. Photo by Dave Carr.

6

Around Clarke County

8

Shop Local in Clarke

10

Home Care for Veterans

15

As the Crow Flies

16

Community Brief

12

3

DE CEMBE R 201 6 :

FROM THE EDITOR STAFF

David Lillard, Editor/Publisher Jennifer Welliver, Associate Publisher Aundrea Humphreys, Art Director Hali Taylor, Proofreader

CONTRIBUTORS Karen Cifala Jess Clawson Wendy Gooditis Victoria Kidd Doug Pifer JiJi Russell Claire Stuart

COVER PHOTO Dave Carr

ADVERTISING SALES Jennifer Welliver

Advertising Information 540-398-1450 (Mon-Fri, 9-5) Sales@vaOBSERVER.com

AD DEADLINE 1ST OF EACH MONTH

The Observer prints signed letters-to-the-editor of uniquely local interest. Letters containing personal attacks or polarizing language will not be published.

Letters may be edited. Send letters to the editor of 300 or fewer words to: editor@vaobserver.com.

THE OBSERVER 540-440-1373

www.vaOBSERVER.com

Yes, ‘tis a gift to be simple It took a young boy to help me get right with Christmas.

Like many parents, I’d become concerned that my children were losing sight of the meaning of Christmas, with their holiday wish lists becoming more extravagant and teetering too close to the Peanuts character who says, “Just send tens and twenties.” When I remind my son that there is more to Christmas than presents, he says, sagely, “Giving a present is a way to show someone that you’re thinking of them.”

Growing up in a “buy local” household, he gets a big kick out of spending an afternoon on Main Street, ducking in and out of shops looking not for a specific item, but for something that whispers Grandma or MomMom. The bonus is that our little shopping outing is time we get to spend together — and I get to hear his insights on the people we care about.

Downtown Berryville is a wonderful place for dad-andson time. At Modern Mercantile, we zeroed in on a dry-rub

Photo by Jennifer Lee. barbecue kit for Uncle John, to whom I’ve begrudgingly ceded the title of the family’s great chef. At Cotton Hill, simple things like beautiful dish towels and a picnic set for a niece who will be married soon. At My Neighbor and Me, a stunning shopping basket for Grandma to help ween her off single-use plastic bags. At the Fire House Gallery, we picked up locally hand-crafted perfume called Field to Fragrance. And so it went.

Oh, and at Berryville Treasures, a unique wooden mechanical pencil for me — just to show me I’m thinking of me!

I have to say, there’s something about shopping locally, chatting with shop owners and finding gifts made nearby, that uplifts the season. And if it’s been a while since you’ve wandered around Berryville, you really should check it out.

Wishing everyone peaceful, blessed times this season and throughout the New Year.

THE GROOMING SALON at

BATTLETOWN ANIMAL CLINIC

(540) 955-1151 Professional Grooming by Sara Anderson located next to the veterinary clinic at 3823 Lord Fairfax Hwy, 1/2 mile north of Berryville

4

D ECEMBE R 201 6

Welcome to Cotton Hill Story and photo by Claire Stuart

VAOBSERVER.COM

The Bed & Bone Experience

Where can you go to buy a sofa, a gift, some Virginia peanuts or a hot chocolate on a stick? You can find them all, and more, in Cotton Hill, a new shop on Main Street right here in Berryville. It’s a combination gift shop and interior design studio, but owner Elise Seidita says, “I’d like people to think of it as a shop first, where you can find a special gift for someone, or for yourself when you’re looking for that one special piece to complete your home.

But if you want more, I can do it.”

An interior designer by trade, Seidita has 20 years experience in the profession. She operated a design studio in Herndon until her husband’s job took them to Winchester last year and they moved to Berryville. “I fell in love with Berryville,” she said, and she decided to relocate her business here. “I think there is a strong energy in Berryville now.”

The front of the shop is for gifts and home accessories, from lamps and mirrors to tea towels, picnic baskets and hand-made silver jewelry. She likes to find some things with a local angle, like pottery handmade in Virginia, candles in

recycled wine bottles and winescented soaps from a Virginia winery — things not found in big box stores.

The best thing about handmade items, she says, is that they are made by real people

Wishing You Joyous Memories This Holiday Season!

A Stress Free Environment That Has No Kennels or Cages

Now Booking for the Holiday/Winter Vacation Season.

A Unique Home Away From Home Adventure!

Large Fenced-In Yard • Special Needs Support Basic Puppy Training • Pickup and Delivery Available Bluemont, VA beckncallservice.com

|

540.454.7252

andrea@beckncallservice.com

Christmas Card from the Manning-Strode Store in Boyce, 1911.

From The Clarke County Historical Association

and she knows their stories.

She is always looking for new artisans, and she hopes to feature some work from the artisans on the Clarke County Studio Tour.

To fill her shop with beautiful and interesting things, Seidita goes to three markets twice a year. She looks for form and function. While she usually sticks with new items, she says, “Every now and then I will find a vintage piece that calls out to me.”

She is getting to know her local customers, checking out what is available in other Berryville shops, and picking out things that are not found elsewhere. She stressed that when she brings an item into the shop, it will only be there once so that a customer is assured of getting something unique.

5

DE CEMBE R 201 6

The back section of the shop houses Seidita’s interior design headquarters, where you can discuss your decorating needs. Browse through furniture catalogs and hundreds of swatches of upholstery and floor-covering fabrics. Some fabrics are associated with the furniture lines she carries such as Hickory Chair and Lane Furniture, and others are from stand-alone fabric companies, including Italian rugs and some fabrics hand-pressed in Bali.

She pointed out some indoor-outdoor carpeting that she said is ideal for people with children and pets. “I have three dogs that I’m always cleaning up after. I take the rug out on the porch and hose it off. I even pour bleach on it and it doesn’t hurt it!”

She also indicated a line of Vanguard upholstery fabrics called Krypton. “You can spill

things on it and just wipe it off.

It will last longer than a sofa!”

You can pick out fabric for your own use or for your custom furniture, and it will be in the shop in three to five days.

Seidita’s services include furniture selection, flooring, lighting, wall coverings, kitchen and bath, from small projects like replacing a carpet to major jobs. “Right now we’re gutting a kitchen and remodeling a fireplace,” she said.

She has crews available for large or small jobs. “They are good people who I’ve worked with for years. I have an upholsterer and a gent who does window treatments. When you find good people, you keep them close to you!”

Although Seidita generally likes to stay within a reasonable distance of home for her jobs, she reports that the farthest she has traveled was to

Steamboat, Colorado, for some folks with a new vacation condo. They wanted the whole place completely furnished with everything down to the silverware, and they wanted it done for when they arrived there in four weeks. Yes, she completed the job!

Seidita invites everyone to visit the shop and see what’s on hand. And if there’s something you are thinking of doing in your home, come in and describe it and she will go through catalogs with you or help you pick out a fabric.

Seidita is happy with her decision to open her Berryville shop. “I really like this town,” she says. “I can walk to the post office, the bank, the restaurants. And I’m impressed with the kindness of the people and how the other shop owners promote and help each other.”

- Happy Holidays! -

Love at First Bite

Catering & Event Planning Creative Menus Adorned with Flair 27 Years of Experience

540.955.4462 Lisa Trumbower-Sheppard, Owner | loveatfirstbitecatering.com

Poe’s Home Improvements New Building & Remodeling Est. 1976

No Job Too Small Bobcat and Small Backhoe Work Land Clearing • Snow Removal Tree & Brush Removal • 60’ Man-Lift Service

A.B. Poe, Jr. “Pig Eye”

540-955-3705

6

D ECEMBE R 201 6

Around Clarke County Promote your event in TO Send notices by the 1st of the preceding month to jennifer@vaobserver.com. Keep event descriptions to 125 words, following the format of these pages. One or two CMYK photos, saved as tiff or jpg at 200 dpi, are always welcome.

December

1

Holiday Homes Tour

South Church Street, Berryville. 1–5pm. Walk down Berryville’s beautiful and historic South Church Street to visit 4 wonderful old homes and Center Ring Design Pottery Studio. Refreshments provided at the Waypoint Bed and Breakfast. Tickets are $20 and are limited in number. Please call Berryville Main Street for information and reserve a space.

guest award-winning singer/ songwriter Dawn Kenney, were selected as the 2016 artist for National Media Services’ 10th Annual Christmas Album. The title track song Bells of Home was written by David Morris and Dawn Kenny. Doors open at 7pm. Show starts at 8; tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

12 and under free. For information, see www.barnsofrosehill. org.

18

Fall Film Series: Elvis and Nixon

11

Stone’s Chapel Candlelight

Candlelight Christmas Service. 4138 Crums Church Road; 6pm. The service will feature a Christmas message by the Reverend Thomas Barnard, pastor of Crums United Methodist Church, and special music by the Voices in Brass hand bell choir from Berryville Baptist Church. A time of fellowship and refreshments will follow the service. For information visit www.stoneschapel.org.

17

Circa Blue with Dawn Kenney

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Ct., Berryville. A musical celebration of the holidays with Circa Blue and Dawn Kenney as they perform songs from their new Christmas album Bells of Home, as well as traditional holiday sing-a-long favorites.

Circa Blue, along with special,

Barns of Rose Hill, 95 Chalmers Ct., Berryville. The Barns and Magic Lantern Theater present Elvis and Nixon, a comic and touching recreation of the real-life meeting between Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) and President Nixon (Kevin Spacey) in 1970 — one which led to the iconic photo of the two shaking hands. Rated R, 87 minutes. Doors open at 3:30pm; film starts at 4. Tickets $8, $5 for Barns of Rose Hill & Magic Lantern Theater Members. For information see www.barnsofrosehill.org.

18

Blandy Bird Count & Family Festival

Join Shenandoah Chapter Master Naturalists 2–4 pm for an afternoon of free birdcentered activities and crafts.

Learn to identify common birds, help with the count, make a bird feeder, and more. Recommended for ages 5 to 14 years, with an adult, but all are welcome. Dress for spending time

Documentary film featured at the Barns of Rosehill on January 6.

outside and bring binoculars if you have them. 400 Blandy Farm Lane, Boyce. The event will be held in the Parkfield Learning Center). Free, but registration guarantees your space. For information visit http://blandy.virginia.edu.

22

Soul-Full Community Meal

Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall, 210 East Main Street. Berryville, 5:30–6:30pm. All are welcome. Local community churches have teamed up to create a monthly meal where everyone may come together for an hour to share a good meal in Christian fellowship.

The ‘SOUL-FULL’ meal will be

served on the fourth Thursday of every month with different churches preparing the meal. The December meal will be provided by Berryville Baptist Church. The dinner will always be held at Duncan Memorial UMC. For information, call 540-955-1264.

January

6

Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise

Documentary Film. Barns of Rose Hill, 95 Chalmers Ct. Berryville. The extraordinary story of iconic writer, poet, actress and activist Maya Angelou, whose life intersected some of the greatest moments in recent

American history. Featuring accounts from her innermost circle of friends and family, this film grants remarkable and unmatched access to Dr. Angelou’s life. Doors open at 7pm, film starts at 7. Tickets $8 in advance, $10 at the door. 12 and under free. For information visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

8

American Song Book

Benjamin Curtis and Dan Miller at The Barns of Rose Hill.

95 Chalmers Ct., Berryville.

Benjamin Curtis (baritone) and Dan Miller (piano) perform The American Song — a tribute to the wonderful sounds and styles of American music, including the popular genre, the Golden Musical. The program features a variety of songs by American composers, including

7

DE CEMBE R 201 6

18

The music of Simon and Garfunkel

Long Eared Owl. Photo by Tim Farmer Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, Lee Hoiby, and Andrew Thomas, as well as great musical favorites from Richard Rodgers and Frederick Loewe.

Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8. Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door. 12 and under free. For information visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

open at 3:30pm, film starts at 4.

Tickets $8, $5 for Barns of Rose Hill & Magic Lantern Theater members. For information visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

Performed by Swearingen and Kelli at The Barns of Rose Hill, 95 Chalmers Ct., Berryville.

Swearingen & Kelli recreate the music, memories, and magic of the most famous folk-rock duo of our time. AJ Swearingen has been performing this music for 20 years, and has mastered Paul Simon’s intricate guitar playing. His deep baritone blends against Jayne Kelli’s angelic vocals, which invoke a true sound in the spirit of Art Garfunkel. The duo has been performing music together since 2010. Together and separately, they have shared the stage with Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Livingston Taylor, John McCutcheon, and many more. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8. Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door. 12 and under free. For information visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

Open Fri & Sat: 10am-Dusk Sun: 10am ‘til Sold Out

Tom Parker Realtor

703-727-3665 tomparker@remax.net

101 East Main Street #103 Berryville, Va

540-955-0911

15

Film Series: Eye in the Sky

Barns of Rose Hill, 95 Chalmers Ct., Berryville. Presented

by The Barns and Magic Lantern Theater, this critically-acclaimed drama looks at ethical dilemmas arising from the use of aerial drones in modern military conflict. When a planned attack on terrorists suddenly threatens innocent civilian life, a British colonel (Helen Mirren) finds herself in an international dispute involving high levels of the U.K. and U.S. governments. “This riveting drone thriller is contemporary edgeof-your-seat stuff, propelled by a crack cast.” (Toronto Star).

Rated R; 102 minutes. Doors

Re/Max Roots

Clarke County Education Foundation, Inc. Supporting Our Public Schools

Clarke

Celebrate the Holidays 15 East Main Street Berryville

!

New Menu e e r F ten Glu

540-955-8124 Monday - Friday 10–6 Saturday 9–5 Sunday 12–4

Catering is Our Specialty Open Tuesday–Saturday

Breakfast from 7–11 • Lunch from 11:30–3

32 West Main Street, Berryville 540-535-5252

www.myneighborandme.com Shop Local and Win Big With Berryville’s Annual $1500 GIVEAWAY underway until December 12!

Register at participating businesses while shopping. There will be 11 winners. Grand prize is $500 ($250 in cash & $250 in Berryville Bucks which can be used at any of the participating businesses). There are also ten $100 prizes ($50 in cash & $50 in Berryville Bucks). You can register once a day at each participating business with no purchase required and will receive extra entries when purchasing.

Holiday Homes Tour Sunday, December 11. 1–5pm.Walk down Berryville’s beautiful and historic South Church Street to visit 4 wonderful old homes and Center Ring Design Pottery Studio. Refreshments provided at the Waypoint Bed and Breakfast. Tickets are $20 and are limited in number. Please call Berryville Main Street for information.

THE NATURAL MANE

For more information

berryvillemainstreet.org

"Gift certificates for a spa day at The Natural Mane make wonderful gifts for the Holidays !"

540-955-8154 www.thenaturalmane.com

December 24th 5:30-9:00pm December 31st 5:30pm-6:30pm or 8:30pm-10:00pm

Family Restaurant

January 1st 11:30am-3:00pm

13630 Lord Fairfax Hwy White Post, VA 22620

Berryville Old Book Shop Archie & Bonnie Justice 7 East Main Street, Berryville 540-955-7070 ajustice@shentel.net Open every day through Christmas Monday-Saturday 12-5 • Sunday 12-4

Happy Hour Every Day 3-7pm

laubergeprovencale.com

540.837.1375

The Farmer’s Daughter Hand-Painted, Vintage Furnature and Home Decor Holiday Hours: Wednesday-Friday 11-5 Saturday 10-6 Sunday 12-4

BettyTrumpbtrump.bt@gmail.com facebook.com/farmers-daughter

5 S. Church Street, Berryville

540-955-8797

Private Dining for Family or Corporate Dinners SPECIAL COUPON Buy one meal get one of equal value half off.

Offer good through January 31, 2017.

16 Crow Street, Berryville 955-4730 928 Berryville Ave. Winchester 722-9560

In Historic Clarke County Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! from

Kenny’s Auto and Trike Shop Full Service Auto and Truck Repair ATVs • SIDE by SIDES • MOTORCYCLES Tires • Repairs • Accessories

95 Chalmers Court, Berryville

(540) 955-2004 www.barnsofrosehill.org

23 North Buckmarsh Street, Berryville

540-955-2100

www.kennysautoandtrikeshop.com • www.facebook.com/KennysAutoTrikeShop

Massage Therapy and Essential Oils

540-514-8362 Gift Certificates Available www.wholebodytherapy.net 2 South Church Street, Berryville

Stone’s Chapel Candlelight Christmas Service Sunday, December 11. 4138 Crums Church Road. 6pm. The service will feature a Christmas message by the Reverend Thomas Barnard, pastor of Crums United Methodist Church and special music by the Voices in Brass hand bell choir from Berryville Baptist Church. A time of fellowship and refreshments will follow the service. For information visit www.stoneschapel.org.

Soul-full Community Meal Thursday, December 22. Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church's Fellowship Hall. 210 East Main Street. Berryville. 5:30–6:30pm. Local community churches have teamed up to create a monthly meal where everyone may come together for an hour, once a month to share a good meal, and be in Christian fellowship. The December meal will be provided

by Berryville Baptist Church. The dinner will always be held at Duncan Memorial UMC. For information call 540-955-1264.

call 540.955.4001

Your locally known source for beef.

The Audley Farm Stand will be open for winter beef sales.

firehousegalleryva.com NOW OPEN IN BERRYVILLE!

Wednesdays 4–7pm and Saturdays 9am–Noon

Featuring Furniture, Fabric, Wallpaper, Accessories, and Gifts.

Interior design services available.

10 West Main Street, Berryville (703) 447-0922

752 Audley Lane, Berryville 540-955-1251 www.audleyangus.com

10

D ECEMBE R 201 6

Home Care for Veterans

By Karen Cifala

If you are a veteran, or a family member of a veteran looking to find medical support and help, what does the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) offer? What can be done for them at VAMC? What can they do to get help for themselves? How can I help them? I have very useful information to share from the VAMC in Martinsburg.

Upon inquiry to the VA for some information to answer these questions, I was granted a personal interview with two top staff members in charge of the home care program for veterans in our area.

For homebound veterans who can’t travel to the clinics, there is a Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program that will bring services to them in their home.

I learned that the HBPC program began in 1970 with just six VA facilities. In 2008 the VAMC program in Martinsburg was expanded and several local satellite clinics were added. Depending on where the veteran lives, the Martinsburg VAMC provides services out of one of the satellite clinics.

Clarke County area: 2 clinics in Stephens City Harrisonburg area: 1 clinic Cumberland area: 2 clinics Martinsburg area: 3 clinics service a wide area including Frederick MD Petersburg, WV area: 1 clinic The medical staff has grown from 12 in 2008 to 54 in 2016 because of the demand for services. There is no wait list for these services. Since we know nothing is ever simple, of course

there are some enrollment criteria: you must live within a 60-minute drive of VAMC or a clinic, must have a responsible caretaker, must have a health care surrogate established and the home must be safe for patient and visitors. If you are a veteran and cannot get to the VAMC in Martinsburg, call the information number or the enrollment office number provided below.

I learned about the HBPC team-based approach that could include visits from a physician/mid-level provider, registered nurse, psychologist, social worker, physical therapist, occupational therapist, pharmacist, home care aids or certified nursing assistants.

Similar to hospice, the HBPC approach isn’t for just “end-oflife” care. It provides comprehensive, longitudinal primary care at home for patients with complex, chronic, or disabling disease, for whom routine clinic-based care is not effective.

To further explain longitudinal care, consider a medical care plan that spans years and may include many different types of interventions; preventive care treatment, wellness and chronic disease management, and is regarded as a whole care approach not just treating the specific episode or injury. The longitudinal care approach works well with the medical teams for the HBPC clinics as well as their patients at the VAMC and provides optimal care for the individuals who are enrolled in the program.

The care staff for the HBPC program is subcontracted out to local companies that provide the services needed by the veterans. I spoke with Peter Lawrence, who is a veteran and the owner of Right At Home in Winchester, which is one of the providers of services. Home Instead Senior Care is another Winchester home care agency that participates in the HBPC

program. Referrals to the HBPC program are accepted from the VA staff, community agencies, and other primary physicians.

This is evidence of community connection and resource utilization that is needed to provide quality care for our veterans.

Currently, the VAMC clinics service an average of 560 enrolled patients daily. The care provided through this program has proven to be cost effective.

The impact of HBPC on the VA and Medicare is substantial: • 25 percent reduction in combined VA+MC hospital admissions •

36 percent reduction in combined VA+MC hospital days

•

13.4 percent reduction in combined VA+MC costs

The primary differences between the VA HBPC and Medicare Home Care programs are the following:

• Heating Oil • Kerosene • Diesel • Gasoline Full-Service Heating & AC Repair and Installation on • Oil-systems • Gas-systems • Heat Pumps

Over 20,000 customers have chosen to trust Griffith Energy Services, Inc. with their heating oil deliveries over the past five years!

(540) 450-8110

24-7-365 Emergency Service • Great Prices, Better People…

Griffithoil.com • 800-473-5242 Doggone Dependable Since 1898 Berryville, Manassas, Charles Town Locations

11

DE CEMBE R 201 6

HBPC

Medicare Home Care

Complex chronic disease

Remediable conditions

Comprehensive Primary Care

Problem focused care

Skilled care not required

Requires skilled care

Strict homebound not required

Must be homebound

Accepts declining status

Requires improvement

Longitudinal care

Episodic, post-acute care

Reduces hospital days

No definitive impact

For further information about the HBPC program and enrollment: Visit: Martinsburg VA Medical Center, 510 Butler Ave., Martinsburg, WV 25405; 304-263-0811 or 800-817-3807; www.Martinsburg.va.gov Contact directly: Kim Green, RN, Director of HBPC, for general information; 800-817-3807 ext. 4360. For the enrollment office, call 800-817-3807 ext. 5225.

Thank you to Dr. Milton Havron, Jr., MD, Medical Director, and Dr. Elisabeth M. Sethi, MD, Chief, Geriatrics/Long Term Care, for the HBPC program at the VA Medical Center. Thanks to Rodney Bearman, Public Affairs for Marketing and Outreach for arranging the interview. To our veterans, thank you for your service!

The VAMC is recognized nationally in bringing care back to the home. Not only does HBPC cut the frequency of admission and length of hospitalization, it decreases the risk to the patient of hospital-acquired infection. It also gives the patient and the caregiver a greater sense of security and is a viable alternative to other living arrangements.

Karen Cifala is a Realtor in Berryville and works for Remax Roots. Her interest in people’s lives as well as helping people transition or downsize their homes into the next chapter of their lives are her passion. She can be reached at 303-817-9374, kcifala@gmail.com or stop by her office at 101 E. Main St. in Berryville, VA.

Gratitude Thank you

to my Clients, Colleagues, Friends, and the Community for your Trust.

I look forward to a New Year of serving the Countryside of Northern Virginia.

Gloria Rose Ott

Associate Broker 540•454•4394 Washington Fine Properties, LLC • 204 East Washington Street, Middleburg, VA

w w w. W I N E A N D H U N TC O U N T RY. c o m

12

D ECEMBE R 201 6

Clearbrook Park’s Winter Wonderland Story and photos by Claire Stuart

“Walking in a Winter Wonderland” is more than just a song when you take a walk through Clearbrook Park’s enchanting holiday light show, now in its 16th year of dazzling area residents. This notto-be-missed annual event is perfect for families and folks of

Hip and Humble Antiques and Interiors

Farm Fresh Furnishings & Current Vintage Decor Aylor’s Mill 401 East Main Street Berryville, VA

540-327-5669

all ages or for a romantic couple’s walk. The brilliant light displays transform the paved, easy-walking trail around the sheer magic.

The lighted path rambles between glittering trees, passing through gleaming archways, and under suspended icicles.

Along the way, stroll past cheery displays of Santa, reindeer, carolers, skaters, elves, trains, bells and just about anything you can imagine that celebrates the season, culminating in spectacular trees made of moving lights and the sounds of joyful holiday music.

The underlying theme is the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Starting with the Partridge in a Pear Tree, look for all twelve of the gifts celebrated in the song as you walk around the lake.

Stop and warm up with a visit to Santa and Mrs. Claus for hot chocolate and cookies.

Setting up the displays is a monumental chore, and the park crew started to work on them back in late October. Park Superintendent Dan Pidgeon reports that it takes his whole crew of 12 people roughly three and a half weeks to completely set up everything. Before the setup even begins, there is an intensive period of testing and troubleshooting. Every display frame has to be checked over and any necessary repairs made. Every string of lights and every electrical connection must be tested.

Strings of lights are installed on both sides of the 3,000 feet of the path. The bridge and the individual rails of the fences along the lake are wrapped in lights. The light-covered arches are erected, and seven picnic shelters plus Santa’s cabin are decorated. A total of 26 trees are wrapped in lights. Fourteen of them are large trees that require that the crew go up in a cherry picker to install the lights.

The displays with the skaters in the middle of the lake are always a source of questions

13

DE CEMBE R 201 6

QUALITY CONCRETE & MASONRY Over 20 Years Experience Sidewalks, Patios, Repairs, and More

(540) 955-4977 www.qualityconcreteandmasonryva.com

VAOBSERVER.COM

from visitors. Pidgeon explains that they are wired to waterproof pump wire under the lake (the type of wire used for well pumps). The crew rows out to the middle of the lake with the displays to plug them in.

Once the show is open, a crew is on hand every night of the celebration in case anything needs attention. On peak nights, there is a staff of seven on duty, plus an event supervisor; on other nights, five and a supervisor.

Pidgeon is often asked how many strings of lights they use.

He said that he could not give an estimate of the number of strings based on the number

of displays, because they vary with each display. However, he did say that they use about 200,000 individual light bulbs.

About 90% of the lights are now LEDs, and they anticipate going to all LEDs in the future.

He reports that the power bill has gone down around 25-30% since they started using LEDs. The display started small, Pidgeon recalled, but it has continued to grow over its 16 years. “Something new is added every year,” he said, “and we keep it a secret until we open for each season so that people who have been here before will keep coming back!”

Tony Baker, marketing

coordinator for Frederick County Parks and Recreation, said that over the three years prior to 2015, the light show attracted an average of 31,00032,000 visitors per year. However, there was a huge increase in 2015, with between 42,000 and 43,000 visitors. Baker wasn’t sure what to credit for the increase unless it was the mild winter.

Pidgeon notes that the biggest crowds come to see the display in snowy weather because the reflections of the lights on the snow make everything even more spectacular. He emphasizes that the crew stays on top of snow removal. Barring much

BERRYVILLE HARDWARE 600 EAST MAIN STREET BERRYVILLE 540-955-1900

Sale Ends December 31, 2016

RAMSEY HARDWARE 703 N ROYAL AVE FRONT ROYAL 540-635-2547

14

D ECEMBE R 201 6

snow, the path is easy for strollers and wheelchairs.

“We are open in snowy weather,” he said. “They keep the path clear and the only time we’ve shut down was when it was icy and it was unsafe to walk.”

Not surprisingly, the busiest evenings are on weekends. If the parking lot on Route 11 is full, overflow parking and an alternative entrance are available in the park’s pool parking lot on Brucetown Road. Pidgeon reminds visitors that the displays are set up to be viewed while walking in a clockwise direction, starting with the First Day of Christmas

BATTLETOWN ANIMAL CLINIC Serving the community for over 30 years.

3823 Lord Fairfax Hwy, 1/2 mile north of Berryville

(540) 955-2171

Where: Clearbrook Park, Route 11 north of Winchester at Brucetown Road (just off Route 81) When: Nightly now through January 1, 5:30–9:30pm (closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve) Regular Admission: Under age 2 free; age 2-11 $3.00, 12 & over $5.00 Peak Nights Admission: Under age 2 free; 2-11 $5.00, 12 & over $10.00 Peak Nights: Weekends of Dec.9-11 & Dec. 16-18 and Weds-Fri. Dec. 21-23 Parking is free.

15

DE CEMBE R 201 6

As the Crow Flies

Planting Chestnut Trees Bringing back an iconic American tree species Story and photo by Doug Pifer I called Mayfair Farm to arrange to pick up an order of chestnuts for my wife’s trademark chestnut stuffing. We ended up buying not just several pounds of fresh chestnuts but also a pair of young chestnut trees.

American chestnuts were almost wiped out by a parasitic fungus believed to have come from a shipment of Chinese chestnut trees to be planted in the New York Botanical Garden in the 1890s. Once the dominant tree in the eastern hardwood forest, the American chestnut was all but gone by 1940.

I grew up in western Pennsylvania in the 1950s. I remember walking my dog past an enormous bare skeleton of what was once a giant chestnut tree in the middle of our neighbor’s field. By the 1970s these gaunt old skeletons were gone. But here and there, shoots growing from the roots of the old stubs had matured to the point that they were bearing chestnuts again. Eventually the trunks of these re-grown trees showed cankers, signs of the blight that would eventually kill them.

Occasionally an individual American chestnut tree resisted or recovered from the deadly blight and grew to great size. Over the past fifteen years, horticulturists and scientists have been using offspring from these survivor trees to create a blight resistant strain of the American chestnut.

Research indicates Chinese chestnuts can be easily hybridized with American chestnuts and pass their blight resistance to their offspring. However, the resistant genetic material is only partially dominant, meaning not every Chinese-American hybrid is immune. Scien-

VAOBSERVER.COM

The Family Trust Numismatic 18 N. Church Street. • Berryville, VA 22611 (Across the Street from the Berryville Post Office)

BUY • SELL • TRADE Largest Inventory in the Area !

COINS - GOLD - SILVER - PAPER MONEY JEWELRY • ESTATES • SMALL or LARGE AMOUNTS

tists inoculate the hybrid seedlings with the fungus blight to determine which trees are most resistant. These seedlings are hybridized with disease resistant American Chestnuts.

This is the method adopted by the American Chestnut Tree Foundation in a heroic effort to develop blight resistant American chestnuts. Their breeding program back-crosses ChineseAmerican hybrids with diseaseresistant American chestnut trees throughout the United States. If they were to simply replant the forests with blight resistant hybrid progeny of just one or two trees, the descendants of these trees would eventually become weakened by inbreeding.

Each generation of backcrossed hybrid chestnut trees takes several years to grow old enough to bear nuts. As it stands now, the disease-resistant trees are 15/16 American and only 1/16 Chinese chestnut. The American Chestnut

Tree Foundation has chapters in each state within the American Chestnut’s ancestral range, including Virginia and West Virginia. Visit their website for more information at actf.org.

When I visited Mayfair Farm in Bunker Hill, WV, they sold me two trees that had been growing for a year or so in their original containers. I planted them along our front fence.

These aren’t true American chestnuts but an AmericanChinese hybrid cultivar known as Dunstan.

As my photograph shows, Dunstans bear large nuts like the American chestnut.

The blurb on the label says, “No Dunstan chestnut trees have ever died from chestnut blight.” Promoted chiefly as a planting for deer food plots, Dunstans are available during the spring at various discount stores, or online at www.chestnuthilloutdoorscom.

PAYING THE HIGHE$T PRICE$ ON SCRAP GOLD & SILVER

Come try us!

HOURS: Mon. - Thurs. 9:30AM - 5PM • Friday 9:30-5:30 Saturday By Appointment CLOSED SUNDAYS ~ Appointments Available Upon Request ~

Competitive Buyers - COME SEE!

540-955-8067 • (Fax) 540-955-8171

familytrustnumis@yahoo.com • www.johngulde.com

Next Day Granite Countertops Professional Marble and Granite Fabrication, Installation, Repair, and Maintenance of Custom Countertops, Vanities, Bathrooms and Tile Inmer Estrada, President office: 540-955-8076 cell: 703-498-1052 fax: 540-955-8249

nextdaygranite.usa@gmail.com

nextdaycountertops.webs.com

612 East Main Street, Berryville Serving Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and D.C.

16

D ECEMBE R 201 6

Berryville Charlie’s Serves Locally Raised Burgers and Dogs

By Claire Stuart

Looking for a handy place to grab a burger or hot dog? There’s a new restaurant in town, Berryville Charlie’s, open for business December 15.

The menu is simple and all-American: hamburgers, hot dogs, kielbasa, fries, ice cream, milk shakes, coffee, and desserts.

When Ron Meade takes his family out to eat, he says he likes to know where his meat is coming from. He left a tech career in international security to follow his dream of providing food that is fresh, natural and locally sourced. And, with children in school, he saw the need for a place that is open after high school games.

From his perspective, while restaurant chains provide fast food and a few local jobs, they do not support the livelihood of the local farmers so essential to our way of life. Being able to serve 90 percent of everything local, organic, and natural is Meade’s goal. “I visited about 20 local farms near Berryville to see what is available,” he said.

Meade reports that 100 percent of the beef they serve is organic and grass-fed from local farms, and that their potatoes are all fresh. They serve both shoestring fries and waffle sweet potato fries. He bought a machine for hand-cutting potatoes, so hand-cut fries will be served to order. Every

burger is made by hand. Ice cream comes from a 75-year old Lancaster, Pennsylvania, farm — it, too, is all organic. Desserts are all handmade by a local woman. A limited amount of local craft beer in bottles will be available.

If you are not familiar with kielbasa (Polish sausage), Meade invites you to try it. His great-grandparents emigrated from Warsaw, Poland, in the early 1940s to escape the Nazis, bringing with them a family recipe for a special sauce for meats, burgers and kielbasa.

He has named it Walaneski Sauce after his great-grandparents, and salutes his Polish heritage by serving Chicagostyle kielbasa sandwiches.

Berryville Charlie’s is a family-run business named after Meade’s son, the fourth Charlie in the family.

Meade describes the service as “fast casual.” Their goal is to serve the food within seven minutes of your order.

A burger on a seeded bun is under $6; Meade says a family of four can eat for $25.

Berryville Charlie’s, 24 West Main Street; open Sunday thru Thursday, 11am–8:30pm; open Friday and Saturday 9:30pm. Carryout is available.

PROPANE IS PROPANE – OURS IS CHEAPER Did you know that you are more than likely paying that “American” Gas” company extremely high prices for propane?

Call Elite today to see how much money you can save – and don’t worry, we can swap out the tank for you. Plus we’ll give you 100 gallons* of propane FREE for switching to us.

703.339.2800 * For heating accounts - 1000 gallon tanks receive 100 gallons free and 500 gallon tanks receive 50 gallons free for switching to Elite. Additional charges may apply to low use clients or seasonal accounts.