Author: PHW

PHW Blog Receives Facelift

This week, the PHW Blog has received a minor facelift which should make the reading experience better for those of you on smartphones. If you haven’t visited for a while because of small fonts or scrolling issues, drop by the PHW Blog and see if the changes enhance your experience.

Most features are in the same place as the old blog, with the following exceptions:

  • The blog search feature is now at the top right. Click on the magnifying glass icon to bring out the search field.
  • The link back to the main PHW page can be accessed through the PHW logo at the bottom left.
  • The navigation bar to the main PHW site is not currently available; if it returns in the future, it will likely be placed in the footer.
  • Additional links to PHW’s PayPal donation link and Amazon Smile shopping support features have been added to the footer.

A similar facelift for the main site is also in the works. If all goes as planned, the main website will look much the same as it does now, but likewise be much more user friendly for mobile devices.

We also ask that you have patience with the PHW site running slower than usual recently. Communications with our host have stated another user on our shared server is experiencing higher than normal traffic spikes. If your connection times out with a 503 or 504 error, it is part of the traffic spike issue. Please try to reload the page again after a few moments.

Friday Photos: Albums New and Old

Old Town Winchester Happy Friday and Easter weekend! The additions to PHW’s online photo collections this week consist of slides dating as far back as the 1960s and digital photos from events just a few years ago. Some of the photos can be found in the following Flickr albums:

Frederick County, Virginia
Braddock Street
New additions at the end of the Kent Street and Cameron Street albums
Handley High School
Handley Library Centennial Event
Memberfest 2007
Annual Meetings 2006, 2007, 2008
PHW and CFNSV Open House
Architectural Details
Holiday House Tours circa 1990, 2007

And check the photostream for other photos that have not yet been added to an album!

Friday Photos: Traditional Woodworking Exhibit, Town Run

Traditional Cabinetmakers Exhibit PHW brings you two new (old) sets of photos and slides today. First is what appears to be images from the opening day reception for the Traditional Cabinetmaker exhibit held in the Kurtz Cultural Center in 1993. There are also a few images of the related programming activities, such as a lecture and appraisals. View Traditional Cabinetmaker Exhibit and Programs on Flickr.

Also this week, we bring you a collection of slides of Town Run, walking from the Cork Street bridge, following Kent Street to Pall Mall, then past Hollingsworth Dr. to the Shawnee Springs area and Wilkins Lake. The slides are dated July of 1983, and the information written on the slides about the location of the photos (if available) has been transcribed. Virtual tour of Town Run in 1983 on Flickr

See! Save! Celebrate! Two Programs for National Preservation Month

National Preservation Month 2015 Mark your calendars! PHW and the Friends of the Handley Regional Library will present two free programs in May to celebrate National Preservation Month. In keeping with our recent collaboration with the Winchester Little Theatre for the restoration of their building, the programs will focus on railroads and supporting industries around Winchester.

Both events will be held at the Auditorium at Handley Regional Library, 100 W. Piccadilly Street, Winchester, VA. Contact (540) 662-9041 ext. 31 or friends@handleyregional.org for more information or directions.

May 13, 6:30 p.m.: “Slow Train to Yesterday: Memories of the Railroad in the Blue Ridge Mountains” Documentary
With an introduction by Mason Cooper of the Winchester Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society

May 16, 2 p.m.: “Progress and Preservation: Images and History of Architecture and Industry Along Winchester’s Railroads”
Lecture by Sandra Bosley, Executive Assistant for Preservation of Historic Winchester
Includes concurrent children’s programing suitable for grades 2-5.

PHW Archived Files Index

The following are the index lists by box to PHW files in storage. Most files contain working notes on programs, sample publicity pieces, newspaper articles, etc. The index to the files came about in large part due to the background research and file organizing necessary to produce the history of PHW blog posts in celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2014-2015. As you may be able to tell from the lists, there were still many activities we did not cover in-depth on the blog. Files may be available to researchers on request.
Continue reading PHW Archived Files Index

Stained Glass Windows of the Shenandoah Valley

If you have time this weekend, you may want to sit down for about a half hour presentation by D. Lee Beard on stained glass windows in the Shenandoah Valley, stretching from Winchester to Buena Vista. “His presentation, using a wide range of images, focuses on the beauty and diversity of the windows and the religious symbolism used in the windows. Recorded June 7, 2013.”


Watch on YouTube.

Edit for clarification: The actual presentation begins at the 3:40 mark. The audio quality of D. Lee Beard is much improved from the introductory speaker, as he is miked and is recorded without echo. You will not miss any content of the lecture by skipping past the first three minutes of the unmiked speaker.

PHW Board Members Needed!

PHW MeetingFirst, mark your calendars; PHW will hold its 51st Annual Meeting at the Winchester Little Theatre on Sunday, June 28. The meeting recaps the past year, recognizes preservation efforts in Winchester and Frederick County (you can nominate a person or project for consideration, by the way!), and in general is a laid back social event on a Sunday afternoon.

As you may know, PHW elects board new board members at the Annual Meeting, and we are looking for energetic members to step up and join the board. There are a few things to know about being a board member:

1. You must be a member of PHW in good standing (i.e., you pay your membership dues).
2. Members are expected to attend board meetings, which are currently held on the second Monday of the month, 7 PM at the Hexagon House.
3. Board members are elected in two-year terms (so new members elected in June 2015 would be up for reelection in June 2017).

If you are interested in joining the PHW board, please contact PHW’s President John Barker the PHW office at (540) 667-3577 or phwi@verizon.net to set up a time to discuss your interest and learn more about joining PHW’s Board of Directors.

The “Hessian” Apple Tree

The Hessian Apple Tree, from the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives During the research into Conrad Crebs for the 2014 Holiday House Tour, there was a badly discolored newspaper clipping of a so-called “Hessian” apple tree in PHW’s Revolutionary War files. It was not able to be worked into the House Tour, but the story remained intriguing. When it again entered the PHW radar in relation to research on the local apple orchards, specifically the Bond Brothers, it was clear it was time to talk about the tree.

The tree was “bearing its first fruit when the Hessian Soldiers worked in this area [Apple Pie Ridge, near the foot of Gold’s Hill on the Bond land] after the Revolutionary War.” It was still bearing a small amount of fruit until the 1930s, when the photo was taken (reported as 1936). By the time the article ran in the Winchester Star on July 2, 1965, the tree had been cut down. No one was sure which stump on the Bond land was the remains of the tree in the photograph, but the tale and the photo of the Hessian apple tree was “still in circulation.”

The story of the Hessian apple tree may be fading from popular memory as Winchester moves farther away from its agricultural heritage, but this once-famous photograph is still available at the Stewart Bell, Jr. Archives.