Mark your calendars: The check presentations to the Timbrook House and Boys and Girls Club from the proceeds of the National Avenue engraved bricks is scheduled for February 4, 2-3 PM at Stephen’s Restaurant and Jazz Cafe at 440 North Kent Street. There is room for approximately 25-35 guests for the event. We hope to see some of you there to celebrate!
From the Virginia Department of Emergency Management in the Richmond Times-Dispatch comes a timely article warning of signs your roof may be suffering stress from the additional weight of the snow. Watch your ceilings and walls especially for signs of sagging, leaking, and sounds of popping and cracking.
If you were unable to attend the Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley Community Stars event last week, you may catch the video shown at the event on YouTube. PHW’s own Bruce Downing and several other honorees speak about the Community Foundation’s history, mission, and future in this nine minute short with video and editing by Shaun Galang at Cedarmeade Studios.
Bruce Downing, PHW’s Secretary, was one among several familiar faces honored last night as one of the founding members of the Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley. The organization, founded in 2001 to allow individuals to create endowment funds to support their favorite causes, celebrated its fifteenth anniversary by launching “An Evening with Our Community Stars” at the Millwood Station Banquet Hall. PHW had shared the Hexagon House with the fledgling organization for approximately five years, and we are pleased to see them succeeding. For more information on the Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley and their work, visit them at www.cfnsv.org.
This post has been modified from its original form.
The PHW Office will be closed Wednesday, November 25 through Friday, November 27 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will open as usual on Monday, November 30. PHW blog posts featuring the Bough and Dough Shop artisans will be posted during this time.
Did you miss Judy Humbert’s lecture “History of Douglas School – Winchester, Virginia” on November 12? No worries; you can listen to it now on YouTube.
You may also wish to read the article by Stephen Nielsen in the Winchester Star on November 14 (login required) covering the lecture.
At a Preservation of Historic Winchester educational lecture on Thursday, author Judy Humbert shared her experience attending the Douglas School and talked about the book she wrote on the subject.
“It was a magic time for us,” Humbert said. “It was a very, very fun place to be.”
A 1965 Douglas graduate, Humbert and June Gaskins-Davis, class of 1951, wrote “History of Douglas School Winchester, Virginia — A tribute to Endurance, Belief, Perseverance, and Success.”
The book is a 200-page paperback that documents the written and pictorial history of the all-black school. The book also contains valedictorian speeches, articles from The Winchester Evening Star and biographies of the school’s principals. It was produced by the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society and the Douglas School Alumni Association.
Date: November 14, 2015
Time: The Stitch in Time art exhibit will be displayed from noon-5 PM
A Journey Through Time with author Margaretta Barton Colt will start at 2 PM
Location: Handley Library, Lower Level, 100 West Piccadilly Street
This event is free and open to the public!
Via the AIA Advocacy Team:
Congressional champions of historic preservation need your help in protecting and strengthening the Historic Tax Credit. Last week, Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced the Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2015, a bill that makes the credit work even better and increases its economic impact.
This bill comes at a critical time for the HTC: members of Congress are moving quickly to overhaul our nation’s tax code, and in the process are looking to cut and even eliminate a significant number of deductions, credits, and other incentives. That means every tax credit is on the table for elimination, a fact that became abundantly clear in the last session of Congress when a proposal to do away with the Historic Tax Credit was brought forward.
That’s why Reps. Kelly and Blumenauer need your help in convincing their House colleagues to support their legislation, which would increase the rehabilitation credit for certain small projects, clarify IRS rules regarding federal tax treatment of state HTCs, expand the credit to include certain moderate rehabilitation projects, and several other key changes to bring the credit into the 21st century.
Urge your representative to support this market-based incentive with a proven economic track record. Please contact your legislator today and ask them to cosponsor and support the Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2015.
For most of us, our representative is Barbara Comstock. You may check your representative by inputting your zip code at Find Your Representative. If you are a member of AIA, there is a form letter available to you at the AIA Advocacy Center (membership required).
Via our friends at Belle Grove, notice of a special trip in the works to Germany to visit the homeland of some of Winchester’s earliest settlers, the Hite family. 12 participants are necessary for this tour to take place, but 16 would be ideal. The deadline for sign-up is December 1, 2015. If you are interested, email Kristen Laise at klaise@bellegrove.org.
When: Departure date no earlier than May 20 and no later than June 1, 2016
How long: 10 days—9 nights in Germany at 4-star small hotels
Where: German states of Baden Wuerttemberg and Bavaria (detail below)
For whom: Not only Jost Hite descendants, but anyone interested in travel in Germany! Travelers need not be young, but they must be able-bodied, as there is walking that includes hilly cobblestone streets and steps.
Who is guiding: Board member Katharine Brown and her husband Madison, German speakers who have led 13 group tours to this part of Germany for the Germanna Foundation since 2003.
What is the cost: $4,300 per person with shared double rooms. Includes round-trip airfare from Washington/Dulles via Icelandair; ground transportation by van in Germany; 9 nights at 4-star hotels in Germany; all meals except one lunch on your own in Rothenburg, wine or beer with dinner each night; all admissions to sites and museums we visit; and a tax-deductible donation to Belle Grove.
Additional Details: The guides have found competitive prices on Icelandair and the flight will have a layover there. Should you wish to travel to Iceland on your own before or after the group trip in Germany, your airline ticket can be arranged accordingly.
Some Itinerary Details
Continue reading Journey to Germany: The Hite Heartland A Tour Sponsored by Belle Grove Plantation in 2016
Civil War Weekend activities officially kicked off on Wednesday, but there are a number of other events taking place Friday-Sunday around the area. See if one of these events catches your eye!
History at Sunset: “Star Fort in War and Peace”
Park Day (Star Fort), Winchester
Friday, August 21, 2015, 7-9pm
This special program, led by Ranger Jeff Driscoll, will give an in-depth tour of the construction and history of Star Fort. For more information click here.
Newtown History Center: Post-War Lectures
Newtown History Center, Stephens City
Saturday, August 22, 2015, 11am-4pm
“Establishing a New Normal: The Fighting is Over, Now What?” Jonathan Noyalas will present “The African-American Community in Stephens City and Beyond,” at 11am, Ann Denkler will present “African-American Women in the Shenandoah Valley,” at 1pm, and Kenneth Rowlette will speak on “Civil War Chaplains During and After the War,” at 3pm.
Book Signing
Winchester
Saturday, August 22, 2015, 1:30-4pm
Author Jonathan Noyalas will sign his new book, Civil War Legacy in the Shenandoah: Remembrance, Reunion, and Reconciliation. 1400 S.Pleasant Valley Road.
Stephens City: Guided Walking Tour
Stephens City
Saturday, August 22, 2015, 1pm
Join the Newtown History Center for a special walking tour focusing on the Town’s Civil War history. For more information, click here.
Belle Grove Civil War Tours
Middletown
Saturday, Aug 22: 12:15pm & Sun, Aug 23: 3:15pm
Belle Grove in the Civil War Tours: These 45-minute tours will discuss the occupation of Belle Grove Plantation during the Civil War, especially in the Shenandoah Valley campaigns of 1862 and 1864. 335 Belle Grove Road, Middletown.
Battlefield Series: Civil War Entrenchment Tour
Cedar Creek Entrenchments, Middletown
Saturday, August 22, 2015, 2pm
A special 2-hour walking tour along some of the most well preserved entrenchments in the Shenandoah Valley. How were they constructed and what was their role during the battle. Meet at 7712 Main St., Middletown, Va.
Kernstown Battlefield Programs
Kernstown Pritchard Grim Program
Winchester
August 22-23, 2015
Quilt Show, Tea Shop, Cannon Exhibit, Battlefield and Pritchard House Tours: The Kernstown Battlefield Association will exhibit a unique collection of Shenandoah Valley applique and pieced quilts created in the era 1840-1900. A “Bonnie Blue” quilt raffle will be held, and concessions will be available. Pritchard House Tours will be conducted hourly.
House Tours and Outdoor Movie
Glory Long Branch Plantation, Clarke County
August 22-23, 2015, 10am-4pm
View the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s exhibit, Emancipation and Its Legacies, July-August. The focus of this exhibit is the story of emancipation from 1850 to 1964. Enjoy a showing of the movie Glory Saturday evening (8pm) to kick start Long Branch’s Outdoor Movie Series.
History Days at Stonewall Jackson’s HQ
Stonewall Jackson HQ Museum, Winchester
August 22-23, 2015, 10am-4pm
Family Fun and History Days at Jackson’s Headquarters. Experience the sights, smells and sounds of a Confederate Infantry encampment, including real musket firing. National Park Service Rangers will present on Stonewall Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign.