Towns & Villages Column by Billie VanPay

Submit Aldie and Middleburg community news to Billie VanPay.

Wednesday, May. 15, 2013

Preservation awards, grants announced

In celebration of National Preservation Month, on May 9, Loudoun Preservation Society at its annual meeting with the Joint Architectural Review Board held a reception at the Thomas Birkby House, 109 Loudoun St., Leesburg, Va., to make Preservationist of the Year Awards and Grant Awards for 2013.

The Loudoun Preservation Society is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving the historical, cultural and natural resources in the county. Composed of the representatives from the design review boards for the Leesburg, Purcellville, Middleburg and Loudoun County historic districts, the Joint Architectural Review Board is an ad hoc panel that recognizes individuals, organizations, and companies whose special achievements in locally designated historic districts preserve the historic architectural character of the communities.

This year, 13 awards were given in seven categories. These categories were signage, architectural detail, new construction, additions, restorations, facade improvement and community blue-ribbon awards.

Receiving awards for signage were these Middleburg businesses, The French Hound and Foxfire Antiques.

The Architectural Design Award went to 19 N. King St., Leesburg. Additions Awards went to Bluemont Community Center, Waterford Old School New Auditorium and Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Middleburg.

The New Construction Award went to Station Auto Wash in Purcellville. Restoration Awards went to Dodona Manor and St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg. The Facade Improvement Award went to Tari Orthodontics in Purcellville.

Community Blue-Ribbon Awards went to Lucketts Community Center Restoration, Corn Crib Restoration at the Furr Farm in Aldie and Loudoun County Schools' Frederick Douglass Elementary School Memorial Wall.

The Loudoun Preservation Society Grant Awards went to Friends of Bluemont, Land Trust of Virginia, Mosby Heritage Area Association, Oatlands and Unitarian Universalist Church of Loudoun. Loudoun Preservationist of the Year went to Al Van Huyck.

For more information about Loudoun County's efforts regarding preservation, visit www.LoudounPreservationSociety.com.

The McGhee Foundation's Farmer's Delight Plantation at 36276 Mountville Road, Middleburg, is continuing to promote the Piedmont Philosophical Society's speaker program as part of its community involvement.

Next Thursday, David Kenney will be speaking about his new book, "Mrs. Thatcher's Gamble."
This was to be a book signing; however, there has been a slight delay in the printing, and the book should be available in a couple of weeks.

Many of the community know the author, and it should be a delightful evening at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 16, in the McGhee Library.

Farmer's Delight Plantation is also included in the Spring Farm Tour. The event is designed to engage people in learning about the county's rural community and its offerings. Dozens of venues are on the tour.

The public is invited to enjoy the people, places, products and produce of Loudoun's thriving agricultural community during the tour which takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19.

The map of 45 participating farms and venues is available in the Spring Farm Tour brochures at the county libraries and community centers, as well as online at www.LoudounFarms.org/FarmTour.

Friday, May. 10, 2013

Tea served at two historic places

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority has announced afternoon tea will be served at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 11, the day before Mother's Day, at the historic Aldie Mill.

Whether a mother, daughter, or just a lover of tea and the traditions surrounding it, you are invited to join a small group in the historic 200-year-old mill in the center of Aldie Village on Mosby Highway.

The full afternoon tea will be catered by Calling Card Events, and will include scones with cream and jam, finger sandwiches, tea breads and assorted desserts, all accompanied by endless pots of tea, including the exclusive Aldie Mill Blend made just for this occasion.

Commentary about the history of tea and tea customs will be provided by Stacey Hawkins, owner of Calling Card Events.

Following the tea, guests are invited to join members of the Aldie Horticultural Society to create a one-of-a-kind flower arrangement in a tea cup to take home with them as their special memento of the day.
Proceeds will benefit the Aldie Mill, a property of the NVRPA.

Space is limited and reservations are required by calling Dale Hook at NVRPA headquarters, (703) 352-5900. The cost for the tea service and arrangement is $35 per person.

For more information about this program, contact Tracy Gillespie, historic site manager, at Aldie Mill, (703) 327-9777.

Mosby Heritage Area Association will host a tea at the historic Welbourne home on Mother's Day, May 12, with 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. seatings at 22314 Welbourne Farm Lane, Middleburg.

The tea celebrates the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald visit to Welbourne in 1934 and the story F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote for the Saturday Evening Post about the visit, a story called "Her Last Case."

MHAA's invitation to tea reads, "Step back to 1934! Sit on the veranda and hear the love letters written from Welbourne in the 1920s and 1930s between the home's owner, Elizabeth Lemmon, and Fitzgerald's editor from the North, Max Perkins.

“The two had a very close relationship via pen, though it was thought to have remained strictly platonic. Nonetheless, the letters between the two friends were poignant and affectionate.

“They have been published in 'As Ever Yours' (Penn State University, 2003) which will be available for sale by Second Chapter Books in Middleburg."

Reservations required. The cost is $50 for MHAA members and $60 for non-members. For more information, call (540) 687-6681 or visit mosbyheritagearea.org.

Friday, May. 3, 2013

Rummage sale May 11 at Aldie historic church

ALDIE – Arnold Grove Cemetery in Hillsboro has announced a dedication ceremony to be held on May 11 at 11 a.m. The ceremony will honor 22 veterans from three wars.

This may be the first time in Loudoun County a dedication ceremony has been held which includes three wars -- the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and the Civil War.

The living history event will include participants of war societies from all three eras. Included also will be re-enactors for all three wars and salutes from infantry, artillery and cavalry. Scouts from Troop 572 of Potomac Falls and descendents of those involved will be included in the event.

Jack Craig writes about his scout troop and the veterans being honored, "Their graves have been restored as part of my eagle-scout project, and we've installed new iron crosses and 1812 and SAR war markers for them all. … Those buried in Arnold Grove Cemetery are early founders of Loudoun County and still have many ties to people who live in Loudoun County. … We are still trying to raise $600 for restoration work and the ceremony."

The public is invited to attend the dedication at Arnold Grove Cemetery. Organizers of the dedication would like to hear from the descendents of the veterans being honored and have the descendents use the form on the website to identify their ancestors. For more information regarding the event and to support the restoration efforts being made, visit www.arnoldgrove.weebly.com or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Our Saviour Anglican Church at Oatlands has announced a spring rummage sale to be held on Saturday, May 11, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. The church is located at 39918 Oatlands Mill Road, south of Leesburg. The church, parish hall and cemetery front on U.S. 15 at Goose Creek.

High-quality items donated for sale are anticipated because this congregation has not had a sale since World War II. A broad array of items will be available such as antiques, furniture, art books, household goods, tools, games and clothes. Plants and baked goods will also be sold. Tours of the historic church and parish hall will be available.

The church has always been associated with Oatlands Plantation. During the Civil War, because there was a shortage of horses available for travel, those living in the area were unable to attend services at their churches, and the Carter family who owned the plantation at the time, provided a place for worship there. In the late 1870s, the Carter family spearheaded the construction of the current church, and the parishioners held a sale as a fundraiser for the construction, one similar to the upcoming rummage sale. The church was consecrated in 1878 and has continued to be an asset to the historic Oatlands area to this day.

Since 1977, the Rev. Elijah B. White has been rector of the church in addition to leadership roles in the Anglican Church at the national level. Rev. White, a native of Leesburg, is formerly the editor of the Loudoun Times-Mirror before entering the ministry. He has a B.A. in English and Latin from Haverford College, a M.A. in English from the University of Calif. at Berkeley and a M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary.

For more information regarding the rummage sale or the church's activities call Jim Rich at (703) 403-1010, call the church at (540) 338-4357 or visit www.oursavioranglicanchurch.com.