Berryville Celebrates Its Quasquibicentennial

By Cathy Kuehner

When the Town of Berryville celebrated its 225th birthday on January 15, everyone at the big event at Johnson-Williams Middle School learned more about the town’s history — and learned that a 225th anniversary is officially called a “quasquibicentennial.”

After greetings from Berryville Mayor Jay Arnold, Board of Supervisors Chair David Weiss, and Boyce Mayor Zack Hudson, featured speaker Maral Kalbian explained how a crossroad community once called Battletown developed into Berryville and, ultimately, Clarke County’s seat of government and commerce. Her presentation was aptly titled, “Berryville Matters.”

Kalbian, a local historian and author, used old images and current photos to illustrate how much of the town’s 21st century streetscape still includes buildings from the 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s. She used archival newspaper clippings and anecdotal stories to explain who and what shaped the community.

As everyone arrived for the anniversary event, they were each given a slip of paper printed with Berryville trivia and a unique number.

While the Clarke County Community Band set up on stage, emcee and Berryville 225th Anniversary Committee chair John Hudson went into the audience to ask people what they had learned about their town. No doubt everyone learned something new about Berryville history.

The band played a few pieces. One, “A Clarke County Portrait,” was commissioned by the band a few years ago.

At the end of the event, Hudson drew numbers to see who would win Berryvillethemed gifts. Some won 225th

Berryville’s 225th anniversary celebration on Jan. 15 featured local historian and author Maral Kalbian, who explained — with engaging images and stories — how a crossroad community once called Battletown developed into Berryville and anniversary commemorative glasses and T-shirts. One lucky winner went home with a solid silver commemorative coin, and another received a copy of the hard-to-find “Berryville Celebrates” book from the town’s 200th birthday in 1998.

But everyone had been eyeing the magnificent birthday cake from the Sweet Elephant Bake Shop. It sat on a pedestal on stage throughout the event. Clarke County Historical Association director Nathan Stalvey held the winning number for the cake. He later shared the cake with the Clarke County Senior Center.

The talented Sweet Elephant bakers also baked, decorated, and wrapped 250 cookies, so each audience member left with a delicious souvenir.

The Berryville 225th Anniversary Committee has been working tirelessly for a year to plan a number of events, beginning with the “Berryville Celebrates” program on January 15. Coming up, there will be an historical exhibit and history lectures in March and an art show in April; all are at the Barns of Rose Hill, Berryville’s wonderful cultural and performing arts center.

Other community events being considered — such as a parade in June and picnic in September — will require a cadre of volunteers. Anyone who would like to assist by volunteering with “Berryville Celebrates” programs should contact berryville1798@gmail.com or message “Berryville Celebrates” on Facebook.

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Painting A Sycamore

Story and images by Doug Pifer

March 10-25 winchesterlittletheatre.org • 540-662-3331

Watch hilarious comedy as a TV staff tries to write for a world famous comedian.

Atop the stairway of our house stands a big sycamore tree — not a real one but a painted facsimile. It seemed like the perfect subject for that space, spreading its silvery limbs across the upstairs wall. When I prepared for and researched my mural, I learned a lot about sycamore trees. Much of what I discovered was visual and not generally described in books.

Among the largest of our native deciduous trees, sycamores are among the last trees to leaf out in the spring. Their leaves expand slowly to their full size, which is often broader than two open hands. Because of the widely spaced branches, the gradually expanding foliage looks sparse until late spring.

Sycamore bark tends to exfoliate in spring, falling to the ground in great flakes shaped like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle. Next time you stand under a sycamore tree, look up at its branches and you’ll notice how the layers of brown and gray bark peel off the upper surface of the limbs but tend to remain on the underside. Smooth, silvery bark exposed on the topside of the limbs highlights and emphasizes their many curves, lumps and contours. Sycamore branches often break off in the wind when very young. And then the next twig down from the break continues growing, turning the limb in a different direction. This gives sycamore branches their characteristic twists and crooks. Lower limbs curve gracefully downward and the upper branches twist upwards toward the sun. The crown of a mature tree is airy because the branches extend well away from each other. This allows sunlight to filter through to the larger limbs, enhancing the dappled effect of light, shade and peeling bark. Haloed with golden morning light, a big sycamore evokes the grandeur of a cathedral.

Sycamore trees are truly emblematic of the Potomac Valley where we live. My model was a majestic specimen that stands at the edge of a field just down the road from our house. I could have picked one of our own sycamores standing along the stream beyond our barn. Their stunning appearance is intensified some evenings as gray clouds depart and the setting sun turns their silvery branches golden. The effect is heightened when there’s a dark, stormy sky behind them. Such dramatic effects would be overwhelming if painted on a wall but are sheer perfection when seen outside in nature. Instead, I chose the roadside tree because of its classic shape. I portrayed the tree simply and sparsely, as if just leafing out during the month of May.

Covering an entire wall with a big tree was a daunting experience. I wanted to distill what’s distinctive about the tree and to memorialize the birds that live in the wonderful habitat surrounding us. Among the upper branches I depicted some of our local birds. Partially hidden by limbs or foliage are a roosting turkey, a great blue heron, and a nesting pair of wood ducks. Some smaller songbirds perch in plain view. To make the presence of so many birds more believable, I created some drama. An assortment of small birds harasses a barred owl whose rounded head is barely visible inside a tree cavity. A tiny blue-gray gnatcatcher settles on its diminutive nest. Meanwhile a crow wings through the upper crown of the tree, chasing a fast-departing hawk. A pileated woodpecker swoops down to land on the lower trunk. We see these birds all the time in our sycamore trees.