of NOTE
ZES ST T & Sty t lel
Country
e
ZEST & Style ZES ST TStytlel &
Country
Personalities, Celebrations and Sporting Pursuits © 2023 Country ZEST & Style, LLC. Published six times a year
e
PHONE: 410-570-8447 Editor: Leonard Shapiro badgerlen@aol.com Art Director Meredith Hancock Hancock Media Circulation Director Seneca Drennan Editorial Research India Awe Contributing Photographers: Doug Gehlsen Crowell Hadden Sarah Huntington Nancy Kleck Douglas Lees Camden Littleton Karen Monroe Tiffany Dillon Keen Donna Strama
Official Fine Artist Linda Volrath Contributing Writers: Drew Babb Emma Boyce Sean Clancy Kerry Dale Philip Dudley Mike du Pont Carina Elgin Valerie Archibald Embrey Jimmy Hatcher M.J. McAteer Joe Motheral Jodi Nash Chip Newcombe Tom Northrup Ali Patusky Melissa Phipps Pat Reilly Linda Roberts John E. Ross Eugene Scheel Constance Chatfield-Taylor John Sherman Peyton Tochterman John Toler Leslie VanSant Louisa Woodville
For advertising inquiries, contact: Leonard Shapiro at badgerlen@aol.com or 410-570-8447
ON THE COVER Ho, ho, ho!!! Country ZEST is delighted to have this young group of Middleburg Orange County beagle enthusiasts on our cover. From the back to front: Gwenevere Putnam, Miles Clancy, Camden Tufts, Cooper Aytes and McKenzie Aytes and, in front, Parker Simmons. They’re holding these happy holiday beagles: Midas, Whoops, Willow, Chime, Maria and Gilbert. With many Doug Gehlsen and Karen thanks to Nina Fout, Haley Walsh and Monroe of photographer Doug Gehlsen and stylist Middleburg Photo Karen Monroe of Middleburg Photo. To which Doug Gehlsen says: “This was by far the most ambitious cover yet! Six great kids and six cute little beagles all at once in the same tiny space. Thank you, all for pulling this together. ” / Country Zest and Style
/ @countryzestandstyle
/ @countryzestand1
www.countryzestandstyle.com 2
for the hummingbird.
Country
Distributed and mailed throughout the Virginia countryside and in Washington and at key Sporting Pursuits and Celebrations MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 798 Middleburg, Virginia 20118
ZE
BE ON THE LOOKOUT through this Country issue of
He appears in two ads and the first two readers to find him (one each) will receive a gift from THE RED TRUCK Rural Bakery, with locations in Warrenton and Marshall. Send your reply to badgerlen@aol.com
SO MUCH TO CELEBRATE
I
By Leonard Shapiro
t’s that time of year again, a time to give thanks, to celebrate, to reflect on the past year and look ahead to a new one.
Here at Country ZEST, we’ve got plenty to be thankful for, and to celebrate. This holiday issue completes our fifth year in print and on line, and we’re deeply humbled and appreciative of the overwhelming support we’ve received from our loyal readers, fantastic contributors and awesome advertisers, many with us right from the very start in August, 2019. My old boss at The Washington Post, the late, great executive editor, Ben Bradlee, used to talk about “psychic income”—the e-mails, thank-you notes, texts, phone calls and folks just stopping you in the street to say how much they enjoyed your latest story. That “income” went a long way toward brightening your day and letting you know all the work was worth every drop of blood, sweat and the occasional tear. There’s plenty more to be thankful for around here these days. Middleburg and our surrounding area remains a vibrant and ever-evolving community—new shops, restaurants, residents, tourists, and faces in important places. Just last month, there were four different ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new shops on Madison St. alone, and the newly constructed and widely anticipated Middleburg Town Hall just recently opened to eye-popping early reviews. In this issue, we have stories on our new Middleburg postmaster, the new branch manager at the Middleburg Library and the new executive director of the Gold Cup over in The Plains. In nearby Marshall, there’s a new restaurant owned by an old familiar face serving up scrumptious lunches and dinners. You can read about him in this issue, as well. This also seems a good time to celebrate the accomplishments of one of our talented contributors. That would be Ali Patusky, a senior at Fauquier High who’s been writing terrific stories for us since her sophomore year. Ali can write, and she can ride like a champ as well. She’s pictured here on her horse, Prince, with her proud parents, Chris and Kiernan Patusky, after ending the 2023 season as USHJA Champion of the Zone 3 Low Children’s Jumpers finals at the Salem show grounds in Upperville. Finally, we’re particularly thrilled to report that we’re closing out our fifth year with a record number of pages and stories, the better to put even more ZEST into your reading pleasure. And what better time than to wish one and all a joyous holiday season and a happy, healthy new year, most of all with some very much needed peace on earth. Leonard Shapiro Editor Badgerlen@aol.com
MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Holiday 2023
