Author: PHW

Friday Roundup: Curated Reading and Watching Selections

If you missed Carl Ekberg’s presentation in September on “George Washington and the Making of Winchester,” we were informed the program will be running again on C-SPAN Sunday, November 3 at 8 PM and midnight. Check it out if you get the chance!

Larry Webb once again provided us images from the 2019 Battle of Cedar Creek. You can check out the photos on our Flickr album and the top of our photo stream.

Building Tomorrow’s Heritage: Correcting “Architectural Myopia” is part of a series about compatible new development in historic districts. This is often a topic of discussion in Winchester surrounding our historic district.

In a similar vein, The Beauty of Degraded Art: Why We Like Scratchy Vinyl, Grainy Film, Wobbly VHS & Other Analog-Media Imperfection may explain why humans prefer old places – the wear and imperfections of an old place are nostalgic and comforting reminders of our past.

If you are looking for a short road trip, you may want to visit the Camera Heritage Museum in Staunton. They are currently on vacation, but the museum is open six days a week and showcases thousands of cameras from the high tech to your everyday Brownie. We know we have many photographic enthusiasts in our ranks who may enjoy a look back at the cameras of yesteryear.

While we put the final touches on the Holiday House Tour booklet, we thought this video and article How Magazine Pages Were Created Before Computers: A Veteran of the London Review of Books Demonstrates the Meticulous, Manual Process was fitting. Digital copy and pasting is much easier than the manual version!

And just for fun to round out Halloween week is Searching for ‘Spooklights’ in Southern Georgia. Not only is it a look at this strange phenomenon, but also tells the story of a small, forgotten town that is more known today for its ghost lights than the people who lived and worked there.

Preview Party Tickets on Sale Now!

Although we ended up being behind schedule and could not get the mailed invitations to members out this week as planned, Preview Party tickets for the Holiday House Tour on December 7 are on sale now at the Hexagon House. Preview Party tickets are limited to 100 and are a special perk for current PHW members this year. If you know a member who does not get emails from PHW, be sure to inform them the next time you see them!

Please call ahead at 540-667-3577 or email phwinc.org@gmail.com to make sure someone is in the office at the Hexagon House prior to the Bough and Dough Shop opening (November 22).

Tickets are $50 for PHW members; nonmembers will be charged for an individual ($30) or family ($55) membership if you are interested in attending the Preview Party. ALL Party ticket sales are going through the PHW office this year to record memberships and party RSVPs. A mail order RSVP form will be mailed to current members as of October’s membership list.

Thank you for your interest, and we hope to have more to share about the tour and party houses next week.

Friday Roundup: The Holiday Season Approaches

We had a great time at Oktoberfest! If you missed the event, PHW volunteers will be back again for Holly Jolly Celebration festivities in December.

Did you miss out on getting a copy of “Why Old Places Matter” at the October 4 book talk with Tom Mayes? Drop us a note at PHW if you are interested in purchasing a copy. We plan to have a number of copies available during the Bough and Dough Shop as a bit of a make-up. (We also hope to have the revised Limestone books in hand by then as well; keep your fingers crossed.)

Although it’s hard to believe, October is halfway over. If you committed to a Holiday House Tour booklet ad, remember to get your ad in to PHW by end of day on October 31. You may email questions or ad files to phwinc.org@gmail.com. As always, we are eternally grateful to our major Holiday House Tour sponsor, Bank of Clarke County, and all our other advertising sponsors for enabling us to produce the full-color tour booklets and postcards we have come to enjoy. (Thanks to our advertising sponsors’ support, we were also able to secure high quality printed tickets again this year!)

As some of you may know, we also had some issues processing online ticket sales last year for the Holiday House Tour via PayPal. In an effort to avoid the issue this year, you may begin ordering Sunday Daylight Tour tickets for December 8 online now through Eventbrite.

No PayPal account? No problem! Look for the guest checkout option, highlighted by the red arrow.

If you do not have a PayPal account, that’s okay! Begin the checkout and when you are redirected to PayPal, scroll down past the log in information to the “Pay with Debit or Credit Card” option (highlighted with a red arrow on this sample image). You will be directed to the guest checkout option on PayPal.

You will be given the option for a printable PDF ticket from Eventbrite; we highly suggest you print them! You should also receive a reminder email from EventBrite prior to the event. The venue address is given for the Hexagon House, so if you have problems or questions during the tour you can visit PHW at the Bough and Dough Shop for a quick and professional resolution, pick up some tour booklets, or get a free hot drink and to do a little shopping.

If you run into other issues with Eventbrite, let us know at phwinc.org@gmail.com, as this is the first time we’ve used their platform for a paid event and we might have missed something.

This Weekend: Oktoberfest Walking Tours and PastForward Conference Livestream

The annual Old Town Winchester Oktoberfest returns on October 11-12. Attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy German inspired beer and food this evening and tomorrow while experiencing sights, sounds and traditions of Oktoberfest. This event happens throughout Old Town Winchester, including the Loudoun Street Mall, historic Taylor Pavilion and the 1840 Courthouse lawn.

Look for PHW-led walking tours starting near the Hideway Cafe to take you on a tour of historic haunts and lauded drinking spots from Winchester of yesteryear. The tours are free and open to all visitors. More information on the event can be found at oldtownwinchesterva.com.

If you prefer staying indoors this weekend, select events from the National Trust’s 2019 PastForward Preservation Conference will be livestreamed online. The stream can be found on the Trust’s website. If you couldn’t make it to Denver for the event, you can at least catch a few topics to feel like you’re part of the action.

Deck the Walls – Call for Art
While the Bough & Dough Shop is full of artists for this year, you have a second chance to join the action at the Hexagon House! Visit our upstairs neighbors at the Shenandoah Arts Council to learn about their event held concurrently with the Bough & Dough Shop.

Friday Roundup: Book Talk, House Tour, and Shop Updates

Our book talk and signing with Tom Mayes on “Why Old Places Matter” is happening today at the Handley Library between 3-5 PM. The event is free and open to the public. We hope to have a full crowd to hear our author and speaker Tom Mayes, who serves as the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The talk should be accessible to anyone interested in how our history and built environment impacts our enjoyment of life. Be sure to stay for wine and cheese and book signings.

If you are thinking of placing an ad in the Holiday House Tour booklet this year, remember to get your ad in by October 31! We have had great response this year and the book should be lovely. To date we are only “sold out” of the back cover; we can work with any other size ad you would like to place. The sponsorship information can be downloaded here.

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the call for Bough and Dough Shop artists will be closing early. Like last year, we will be happy to accept applications received after today and keep them on file for contacting you next year or should a spot open up at the last minute this year. If you are an artist who already made contact, your spots are saved and we ask for your patience as we adjust the last few details and get back to you.

Last, many thanks are owed to those who have helped keep PHW functioning over the past two weeks. We will be getting back into a more normal routine slowly but surely. We ask for patience and gentle reminders if you have not had a response to email or phone calls that are business related. We have received all the messages of condolence and are very thankful.

Friday Roundup: Event Photos and Upcoming Events

Thanks to everyone who came out to the PHW table for Celebracion. While we did not capture images from that event, we do have some other recent event photos to share this week. Larry Webb provided two sets of photographs from September 21 events. The French and Indian War encampment held at Abram’s Delight can be viewed here (24 photos) and the Constitution & Bill of Rights Celebration can be viewed here (17 photos).

Next, don’t forget about our fabulous upcoming book talk and signing with Tom Mayes on “Why Old Places Matter.” The event will be held October 4 at the Handley Library between 3-5 PM and is free and open to the public. We hope to have a full crowd to hear our author and speaker Tom Mayes, who serves as the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The talk should be accessible to anyone interested in how our history and built environment impacts our enjoyment of life.

If you are thinking of doing some shopping on AmazonSmile , you can now support Preservation of Historic Winchester, Inc. in the Amazon shopping app on your Android device! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations:

  1. If you have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping App, open the App on your Android device.
  2. View Settings and select AmazonSmile.
  3. Follow the in-App instructions to complete the process.

If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping App, update your App. Click here for instructions.

AmazonSmile is not currently available for iOS users.

Friday Roundup: Celebración and Curated Reading

Winchester’s Celebración is this this Sunday, September 22! Come downtown to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month from 11AM – 5PM on the Old Town Mall. The festival will include a children’s art activity tent, Latin dancing lessons, a dance performance by a Mexican children’s dance troupe, artisan tents, “country” tents with each tent representing a different Hispanic country, and much more. “Celebración” benefits the Winchester Main Street Foundation (WMSF). Admission to “Celebración” is free to the public and the event will happen rain or shine.

For curated reading (and watching), the National Trust recently posted PastForward 2019 Preview: Saving Urban Neighborhoods —Mindy Fullilove.

From Open Culture, Visit the Homes That Great Architects Designed for Themselves: Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius & Frank Gehry. There are seven short videos (most 5-11 minutes long; one slightly over 30 minutes) to accompany the article text.

From Dead Store to Pop-Up ‘Social Infrastructure’ tackles a distressingly common problem for areas undergoing change. Instead of punishing owners with taxes or registries for vacant buildings, this nonprofit group has created a way to utilize the building for social gatherings. The occupation of the vacant building helps draw activity back to areas that seem off-putting without a business in residence. Better yet for the nonprofit, because the relationship is mutually beneficial, the owners do not charge the nonprofit rent.

Last, a fun and educational article from Atlas Obscura, Sometimes Trash Is Treasured in America’s National Parks. As the article states, “Under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA), anything found on federal land. . .that is 100 years or older is considered an archaeological resource. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which created the National Register of Historic Places, lowers the age threshold to 50 years but has other criteria, such as association with an important person or event.” Not all trash is created equally, and the article is a good look at how it is handled when left in place and what happens when removed trash cannot be put back at its origin after some overzealous cleaning.

This Weekend: “From Disaster to Redemption: George Washington and the Making of Winchester”

Please join the French and Indian War Foundation and the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Association for the next event celebrating Winchester’s 275th anniversary this Sunday, September 15 at the George Washington Hotel, beginning at 1:30 PM. This free presentation will be a lovely celebration in a lovely place, with a dynamic speaker, Dr. Carl Ekberg. Everyone is welcome! More information is available on the French and Indian War Foundation’s website.

Also, mark your calendars for walking tours by PHW during Celebracion (location pending) on September 22 and Oktoberfest near the Godfrey Miller House, October 11 and 12.

Friday Roundup: Call for Sponsors, FallFest, and Limestone Book Update

Due to some unexpected circumstances, we did not get much time to work on preservation this week. However, we want to remind everyone the call for Holiday House Tour advertising sponsors is now open! While the costs for the main categories (full, half, and business card size ads) are the same, the perks have changed slightly, and we added a new sponsorship level – local logos. Check out the sponsorship form here (PDF). Ads and logos are due by 5 PM on October 31.

As we wind down for the year, you may be thinking about getting your garden ready to hibernate. FallFest at Belle Grove Plantation on Sunday, September 8, noon-4 PM can help. Get your garden ready for winter with this free event sponsored by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association. The afternoon of fun and learning includes talks from Master Gardeners, as well as demos, crafts, and giveaways–all free to the public and open to all ages. Learn more at bellegrove.org.

As a followup to our recent newsletter, we wanted to let everyone know we should have copies of the revised Limestone book for sale by the time our Bough and Dough Shop opens in November. The expected price is $25. We will let you know once they are officially on sale.

Friday Roundup: End of Summer Events

We had a fantastic time at the open house last Saturday. If you couldn’t make it, you missed a chill afternoon full of art, food, and creativity. Don’t worry, though! You will get to enjoy the fruits of these labors (plus our upstairs neighbors ShenArts) starting in late November at the Bough and Dough Shop. If you haven’t yet, you can pick up an informational packet with an application form here.

Do you enjoy transcription of historic documents? The Library of Virginia has made the records of the Equal Suffrage League available for transcription. As part of the 2020 commemoration of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment guaranteeing women’s right to vote, the Library is asking volunteers to help transcribe these records that document women’s campaign for the vote in Virginia. You can learn more at their blog, Out of the Box.

September in Winchester always conjures up Patsy Cline. Get your fix tomorrow with the Patsy Cline Block Party. The annual event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. August 31, 2019 in front of the Patsy Cline Historic House, 608 S. Kent St., Winchester. It is an old-fashioned style block party with live entertainment, food concessions by Shaffer’s BBQ and souvenirs staged on Kent St. between Monmouth and Germain streets. The block party is free to attend with tours of the historic house offered at the reduced price of $5 for the day. Four performances by returning and new entertainers includes tribute singers performing Patsy songs, singer-storyteller, and groups performing songs of her genre.


“From Disaster to Redemption: George Washington and the Making of Winchester” will be held September 15.

“From Disaster to Redemption: George Washington and the Making of Winchester” will be held Sunday, September 15 at the George Washington Hotel, beginning at 1:30 PM. This free presentation will be a lovely celebration in a lovely place, with a dynamic speaker, Dr. Carl Ekberg. Join the French and Indian War foundation and the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society for this 275th anniversary of the founding of Winchester event. Everyone is welcome! More information is available on the French and Indian War Foundation’s website.

Last, PHW will be closed on Monday, September 2 for Labor Day. Enjoy your long weekend as you say goodbye to summer!