While the PHW Office will be closed Monday, July 5 in belated celebration of the holiday, we have a fun historical tidbit from our archives to share for the holiday.
As you may have seen our current banner on social media, one of the artifacts entrusted to PHW is a flag of 48 stars donated by Gardner G. Phillips, Jr. The flag once hung in Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church on Cedar Grove Road. After a renovation of the church in the 1960s, coinciding with the retirement of the 48 star flag on July 4, 1959, this flag was given to the Phillips family of Clearbrook. In June 1993, the flag came into the possession of PHW through the Kurtz Cultural Center as a place where the flag, with its ties to a local church, could be held safely.
Although it does not appear the flag was ever used in a Kurtz display, it was kept safely in our small archival object holdings. It is clear the flag saw a great amount of use before coming to our organization, as it has begun to pull at the seams and a few areas where it was likely hung also show damage. This holiday provided the perfect excuse to do some regular archival maintenance to inspect the flag and refold it in a different manner to prevent damage and creasing.
First, we did a bit of cleaning up of our MailChimp mailing list during the lead-up to the Annual Meeting. A few new member emails have been added (hello and welcome!) and a section of bounced and unsubscribed emails have been archived. If you know someone who is not receiving the weekly emails and wants to stay informed, remind them to sign up in the opt-in form. If you unsubscribe from our mailing list, we cannot add you back in manually at the office, as it needs your confirmation you want to receive emails again. This is done in compliance with anti-spam laws through MailChimp. Thank you for understanding!
Second, next week will be a busy one for the office as we prepare the snail-mail Annual Meeting invitations in advance of the June 27 meeting, as well as some out of the office meetings. Please remember to call or email ahead of a site visit to the Hexagon House, as we may not be in the office.
We hope to help you find out what you member renewal status is with this Annual Meeting mailing, as we know last year we lost all sense of time. Look for your member renewal date (to the month of your renewal) in the membership form block in the Annual Meeting invitation and check its accuracy. Don’t receive a mailed invitation? That means you have fallen off our recent membership list. We hope you will chose to renew and catch up with old friends and familiar faces at the Annual Meeting, which will be our first real event since Holiday House Tour 2019(!).
Third, if you would like to join PHW or renew your membership, remember we are offering copies of our reprinted Winchester: Limestone, Sycamores & Architecture book (a $25 value) as a thank you for your continued support. Copies can be picked up at the Annual Meeting or by arrangement through the PHW office. The reprinted edition was lovingly remade from the original to be as faithful as possible to Walter Kidney’s text and James R. Morrison’s photographs. The revisions and updates were limited to correcting errors and expanding on some omissions from the first publication (like a much-needed index). The book is a perfect introduction to Winchester’s architecture and broad history of development patterns. It may especially appeal if you are new to town, or want to share your appreciation of Winchester with someone less versed in architectural history.
Fourth, we were thrilled to be able to visit the Clowser House in Shawneeland last weekend to see all the progress made at the site. If you were not able to attend, you can catch photos of the event at our Flickr album. The Foundation is doing an amazing job documenting the history of their site and the family connected to the homestead, and PHW is proud to have helped them begin the journey five years ago to preserve their ancestral home for generations to come.
Blaine Dunn and Ruth Perrine, two of the people who stepped up to help save the home from demolition, at the Clowser Memorial Service.
We were notified of a Battlefield Interpretation Grant opportunity from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program (NPS ABPP). These grants are to fund projects that use technology to enhance battlefield interpretation and education. Eligible sites include those associated with the American Revolution, War of 1812 or the Civil War. These competitive grants are open to state, local, and tribal governments, other public entities, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions. Eligible activities are diverse and may include content development, consultation with stakeholders, audience research, fabrication and installation, costs associated with Section 106, and more. This grant requires a non-federal cost share of at least 50%.
The application deadline is May 5, 2021. The funding announcement and application materials are available on Grants.gov. For more information, head to the NPS ABPP website or check out this informational webinar on Battlefield Interpretation Grants. Contact abpp@nps.gov for assistance or questions.
As you may have seen, we lost one of the mature white pine trees behind the Hexagon House in the high winds of last weekend. Luckily, the tree did not fully fall after cracking near the base, as it was propped up by a second large pine tree. We were very fortunate that no damage was caused to the house, grounds, or neighbors, and the tree was removed safely. This prompted us to find some articles on maintenance and care of historic trees that so often accompany our historic homes:
In PHW Office news, we have completed recreating the hand-colored 1897 Sanborn maps that were used for the meetings with City Council to establish the Winchester Historic District. The close examination of the map was fascinating and an intriguing look into the diversity of Winchester businesses and dwellings close to the turn of the 20th century. Our next project, spurred by a research request, is organizing our Mutual Assurance Society photocopies into a more searchable format for future research requests. These insurance policies are some of the only ways to explore now vanished buildings in the era before Sanborn maps documented the core downtown.
While we work on one of the major membership renewal batches for our snail-mail list in the coming week, we also wanted to reach out to our social media and email followers. We appreciate your support and interest in PHW as evidenced by you reading this post, but what you may not know we are also an organization with membership dues.
A substantial portion of our ability to provide research and images for free to the community is derived from our membership dues. Individual support from people like you who read, react, and share our posts and links helps us keep the lights on and the research flowing. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in Winchester’s history and architecture.
Please help us keep sharing our love of Winchester’s architecture and history in 2021 by taking the next step and becoming a member. Individual memberships start at $30 and are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
If that amount is a bit more than you feel comfortable spending, however, we invite you to make a one-time (or recurring) donation to PHW in the amount of your choice. You can also support us passively if you shop at smile.amazon.com and make PHW your charity of choice – there’s no additional cost to you, and a percentage of the purchase price is sent to us automatically.
We would be grateful for your generosity, whether it be through becoming a member, making a tax-deductible gift to PHW, making an earmarked donation to the scholarship fund, contributing in-kind donations, or by adding your name and interests to our volunteer database. All kinds of support are welcome and appreciated. Thank you in advance for supporting PHW and Winchester’s architectural heritage!
Most of the world will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Sunday. This is also the weekend PHW marks its first officially organized meeting in 1964, during the grassroots movement to preserve Winchester’s architectural heritage. We will be marking PHW’s 57th year in 2021!
To get you in the Valentine spirit this weekend, we have gathered a few newspaper stories from around Virginia of Valentine celebrations of yesteryear.
Jolly Comic Valentine Party (Clarke Courier, 17 February 1904) “A most delightful Comic Valentine Party was held at the residence of Mr. A. Moore, Jr. . . . Cards and dancing were indulged in until a late hour, when refreshments were served. Everyone present had a merry time.”
Valentines for the Lady Fair (Morning News Item, 12 February 1907) “For St. Valentine’s Day comes Thursday, which is a good two days before pay day. If each young man’s particular affinity expects some material expression of her admirer’s adoration and it’s ‘up to him’ to cut down temporarily, at least, personal expenses.”
Valentine Parties (Morning News Item, 14 February 1907) “Although this is the Lenten season, it is understood that a number of valentine socials and a few select dances will be held this evening. It is said, however, that those who rigidly observe Lent will not be in attendance.”
A Valentine party (Peninsula Enterprise, 19 February 1910) “The interesting features were the shooting at a heart by each guest with a bow and arrow, and the fishing from a lover’s pond for the name of his or her intended. After punch, fruit, jelly and cake were served the favours were drawn from a Valentine pie.”
West End Hotel Valentine party (Times-Dispatch, 25 February 1912) “The parlor and halls were decorated in ferns, potted plants and red hearts, the color scheme being red. Many games were played, but the fortune telling by Mrs. A. P. Goldsmith and Cupid’s post-office, where Miss Brownie Delp presided, were the main features of the evening.”
Valentine parties delayed (Culpeper Exponent, 12 February 1920) “On account of so much sickness it was decided it would be best to postpone the entertainment until it is safer to bring the children together.”
Valentine Bridge (Crawford’s Weekly, 21 February 1931) “A very realistic castle lighted within and flying cupid’s flag, stood in the hallway where the guests were greeted, and pretty hand made tallies bearing cut-out Cupids paired off the partners for bridge”
Surprise birthday and Valentine party (Farmville Herald, 22 February 1935) “Due to the weather and condition of roads there was only a small number present. . . Miss Mollie was presented with some nice and useful gifts including an autography album in which many of her Sharon friends had written wishes of love and scripture verses and a large white birthday cake and home made candy in a large heart shaped box in red.”
Valentine costume party (Sun, 12 February 1937) “Guests came in costume and games suitable for the occasion were enjoyed. A prize for the most original and the most beautiful costume was given.”
Enjoyable Valentine Party for Service Men (Farmville Herald, 19 February 1943) “No paper decorations were used because of fire hazards and because of war shortage, but gay big red and white balloons bobbed from each light in the game room and lent a festive air.”
If all this talk of parties has you in the mood to celebrate, you may want to visit Click Americana’s website to pick up a vintage sweet heart-shaped cake recipe (1949), ideas for setting themed tables (c. 1950), and some Valentine games (c. 1900). Celebrate safely and responsibly this weekend!
Thank you all for following and supporting PHW this year. If you were not able to visit the Bough and Dough Shop in person, a few photos of the artist setups are available on our Flickr page. The office will reopen January 4 by appointment as we get back to our regularly scheduled activities of promoting and preserving the architecture of Winchester and Frederick County. We wish you a healthy and happy holiday season. See you in 2021!
It’s been a long time in the making, but with this post, PHW has reached a social media milestone – 1,000 published blog posts! Our oldest post dates to March 2007, advertising a lecture by Christopher Owens of Reworks, Inc. The blog was not on a regular posting schedule until a website facelift in February 2012. Two years later, we outgrew our mailing list for the blog posts and transferred to MailChimp as our weekly email service in December 2014. This year with the pandemic, we have now increased our posts across all social media – the blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It’s been a journey to reach this point as we experimented with content and formats. Thank you for being with us as PHW stepped into the digital realm!
As a thank you to our readers, we are holding a small contest for some thank you gifts. Comment on this post or any of our social media channels by Wednesday, October 7 for a chance to win one of five prize packs! This includes the 2019 Winchester: Limestone, Sycamores & Architecture book, a vintage Apple Blossom pin, and a notecard pack featuring Winchester buildings. Winners will be selected at random, and you only need to comment once to be entered. The winners will be selected by Friday, October 9. Thank you for being one of our followers, and good luck in the drawing!
Spring is just around the corner, and so Preservation of Historic Winchester draws closer to the end of another year. We usually take this time to let our current members know what we accomplished last year and invite you to renew your membership. This year, we are reaching out to all our members and social media followers to let you know some important news.
Last year was filled with high
points like the 275th anniversary of the founding of Winchester activities, the
republication of Winchester: Limestone, Sycamores & Architecture,
and the presentation by Tom Mayes of Why Old Places Matter. The end of
2019 was capped by the Holiday House Tour and the Bough and Dough Shop, both
successful fundraisers and educational programs.
At the same time, the year was
marred by losses of buildings in the Historic District and to our own
membership. All those who passed will be sorely missed, but perhaps none as
much for the day to day operations of PHW as Sherry Bosley. After essentially
acting as a volunteer secretary for the past fourteen years, the hole she left
is still being felt. To honor her legacy of willingness to learn and humble yet
unwavering work ethic, the PHW board approved a scholarship for local
students bearing her name.
While we hope you will renew your membership, we also hope you will be generous enough to add a few extra dollars to the scholarship fund. We are currently just over $2,000 of an initial $10,000 funding goal. Our aim is to encourage students who have a passion for historic preservation who can continue the memory of Sherry Bosley and the goals of PHW.
While we may need to curtail in-person activities for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus restrictions, we invite you to follow our weekly updates on social media for further programming changes or updates. The PHW office will be open by appointment only for the foreseeable future in keeping with the arts and historic preservation community response.
The much anticipated Limestone book launch party on April 3 and 4 was one of the casualties of the coronavirus restrictions. In an effort to make the book accessible, it is now available for purchase on PHW’s website. Orders will be shipped in as timely a manner as possible.
Thank you for continuing your support of PHW as we live through a period of change and uncertainty. We will do our best to continue supporting our members, the community, and the city.
While the office will be closed until January 6, we wanted to send out a Friday post welcoming you to the new year. We still welcome feedback on the Bough and Dough Shop, the Holiday House Tour, or any other aspect where you think PHW needs to improve. The first discussion of the Tour and Shop will be held January 13, so for best discussion and consideration, get your comments in to the PHW office before then. You may reach us by email at phwinc.org@gmail.com or by phone at 540-667-3577.
We hope you will join us in looking forward to a fruitful and successful year ahead!
The PHW office will be closed next week for winter vacation. In the meantime, we hope you will fill out the Bough and Dough Shop 2019 feedback form. Responses collected will be added to the report in the January 13 PHW board meeting for our after-event debriefing. The survey consists of three open-ended questions to help us plan the types of vendors and items you want as well as other ideas for improvement.
Thank you, and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season. We’ll see you again in 2020!
