of NOTE

of NOTE

Making History at Five

By Leonard Shapiro

This winter issue of Country ZEST magazine marks the fifth year since we first published in August, 2019. Over those many months since, we’ve tried to inform, entertain and enlighten readers with hundreds of stories and photos focusing on our gorgeous corner of the Virginia countryside.

To be continued, for sure.

This edition, our first of 2023, includes several pieces pertaining to Black History Month celebrated annually in February. Our cover features three of the principals involved in the preservation of the revered village of Willisville, with a story by Dulany Morison on the mission of the Willisville Preservation Foundation. The group was formed to advocate for the predominately Black enclave, preserve its heritage, and protect its historic character.

The hourglass in the cover photo needs a bit of explanation. Board member Dwight Grant, one of the principles in the story, brought it along. He said it was meant to convey time passing or still existing, the better to somehow stress that generations have been involved and connected for a long period of time.

We’re also running a story by Peyton Tochterman on the latest developments concerning Middleburg’s historic Asbury Church building that once housed a bustling Black congregation and is in the process of being renovated for still to be determined other uses.

We’ve got Joe Motheral’s piece on the Black History Committee at Leesburg’s widely-regarded Balch Library and its efforts help trace the roots of many Loudoun residents, and beyond.

A story courtesy of ESPN profiles a young man who grew up in Marshall and still calls Fauquier County home and is definitely on his way to making some serious history of his own. That would be University of Michigan football AllAmerican Blake Corum, considered by many the finest running back in the country and a Heisman Trophy candidate for the 2023 season, his senior year.

There’s lots more. Our Paris correspondent, John Sherman, has Part Deux of his delightful tale about a true Dancing Queen first discovered at the Ashby Inn in Paris, Virginia of course. She later took her act to the Greenbriar Resort, with laugh out loud, oo-la-la results.

Let us entertain you as well with Jodi Nash’s story on a local barbershop quartet that includes one harmonizing member with a day job as a Warrenton dermatologist.

And finally, we’re sadly saying goodbye to a Middleburg institution with Carina Elgin’s story on Chief of Police A.J. Panebianco. He’s announced his retirement effective May 1 after a decade as the town’s beloved chief law enforcement official. If you see him on the street, you might want to thank him for his memorable service.

So welcome to the start of our new year with an issue I’m certain will add plenty of ZEST to your reading enjoyment.

Leonard Shapiro Editor badgerlen@aol.com 410-570-8447