Clermont Slave Quarter Undergoes Restoration

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The log slave dwelling built in 1823 on Clermont Farm at Berryville, VA, is undergoing an extensive rehabilitation process to assure its long-term survival, to make it safe for educational use, and to provide further information about its history and inhabitants.

The rehabilitation is supported by a $236,000 grant.  The funding source for this project is the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Assistance Grants for Historic Properties which is administered nationally by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, and in Virginia by the Department of Historic Resources.  In addition, in-kind contributions valued at $100,000 were made by The Clermont Foundation and the prime contractor HistoriCorps.

Dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) was used to establish the 192 year-old age of the structure, built by Dawson McCormick who bought the farm in 1819 and whose family occupied it for the next 185 years.  At her death in 20004, Elizabeth Rust Williams, great-great granddaughter of Dawson McCormick, bequeathed the 360-acre historic farm to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (www.dhr.virginia.gov), and the $10 million value of her gift to the state includes the significant historical equity created over 110 years by enslaved African Americans.

Her other assets were gifted to The Clermont Foundation (www.clermontfarm.org) which she established and which manages and funds the site on behalf of VDHR.  The site is now a state-owned research and training site in agriculture, history, and historic preservation.  Students and teachers at the high school and college level in agriculture (Clarke County Public Schools, Virginia Tech, Extension) use the site, which is a production beef and sheep farm, as do  university students in archaeology, architectural history, and social and economic history of the Chesapeake.

The context for the slave quarter which is being repaired is that it was part of a middling-size plantation in the Shenandoah Valley surveyed out of the 5.5 million-acre Northern Neck Proprietary in 1750 by an eighteen-year old George Washington.  The farm was a champion producer of wheat for the Atlantic trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.  The farm has a complete array of buildings from that period, most of timber frame including the original owner’s house built by Thomas Wadlington in 1755-56.  The 1860 federal census recorded 28 slaves at Clermont in three houses (of which the project house is the only one extant), of which 10 of the slaves were children under the age of twelve.

This slave dwelling is significant first as a site of conscience, built specifically to hold enslaved people; second for the relative rarity of extant log quarters compared to masonry ones; and third for the fact that this quarter continued to be used by paid agricultural labor after Emancipation until the 1950’s.

In the words of Dr. Carole Nash of James Madison University who led the initial archaeological work for this project, “ the proposed study will allow a glimpse into a cultural narrative little studied in the Shenandoah Valley: the continued use of a structure intended for enslaved occupants by freedmen and their descendants. The archaeological study of the lives and social/spatial organization of enslaved populations is helping to re-write their narrative, but research into the continued occupation of structures like the Clermont quarter through Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era is limited.”

The project is also interesting because its prime contractor is a preservation trades workforce development organization, HistoriCorps, using volunteers.

The non-profit HistoriCorps (www.historicorps.org)  is a national organization that works through partnerships to mobilize volunteers to save and sustain the nation’s special places while providing educational and outdoor experiences.  Launched in 2009, it is based in Denver and has done many projects with the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service.  Its mission is to save and sustain historic places for public benefit through partnerships that foster public involvement, engage volunteers and provide training and education.  HistoriCorps works with other non-profits and governmental organizations who need lower-cost solutions for repairing their historic buildings and who are interested in promoting volunteer preservation work and education in the preservation trades.

At the Clermont Slave Quarter project, there are seven weeks of volunteer labor in July and August, with, a new volunteer crew of 5-7 each week.  Individual volunteers may sign up for multiple weeks to experience different aspects of the repair process – masonry foundations, log work, roof work, and siding).  Masonry, for example, includes the preparation on site of the bedding mortar (foundations) and the daubing mortar (to cover and seal the chinking materials between the logs), as well as the work with stone and daubing.  All the original mortars and daubing in the Clermont building were analyzed and are being recreated by the volunteers in conformity to their original chemical, aggregate, and color composition with materials largely from the farm.

On the Clermont project, three HistoriCorps staff members teach-by-doing and supervise the volunteers who learn-by-doing, including John Bales, project supervisor, Amanda Tully, volunteer coordinator, and David Gibney, masonry and log specialist, and long-time Preservation Trades Network (www.iptw.org ) activist.  The HistoriCorps staff were on site to prepare and start work a week before the volunteers arrived, and will be on site a week after.

The project is expected to be complete by Saturday, September 12,2015, for the annual Historic Clermont Farm Day when the site is opened to the public.   Tours and talks will highlight the work done to extend the life of this building safely into the future, where it will continue to open a window onto 200 years of American history.

Cabbage or Compost? That is the Question.

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By J.C. Coon

In my late teens my parents bought a few acres in Great Falls, Va. My father’s dream was to be a self-sufficient farmer. I learned early on to use and reuse all that I could. One of the items I enjoyed making was stuffed cabbage. As a frugal single parent I learned to be creative when shopping at my local grocery store. I took great glee in harvesting ‘wasted’ cabbage leaves that other customers had discarded. I would bag them up and take them up to register and often would be able to purchase them at a much reduced price. Win.

Fast forward to this summer. Chatting with the produce clerk at my local Food Lion I inquired as to what happens to ‘produce waste’.

“Oh, we trash it,” she said.

Horror of Horrors, this just did not settle well with me. In my humble opinion, some of the produce could still be great as cooking ingredients.

Through a complex route of phone calls and emails, I received a very encouraging response from the sustainability manager of Delhaize America, parent company of our local Food Lion. Food waste is a passion and an interest of his. He is working with his company and local Food Lions toward zero waste. Food Lion currently has several pilot projects in the works. The sustainability manager and one of his store managers from North Carolina (who has a successful recycling program in his store) agreed to come to Berryville, Va. They took the time to drive all the way up here from Salisbury, NC.

In my original query to Food Lion, I had four questions I was seeking information about.

1. Could there be a place in the store where the customers could purchase ‘day old food’ at a reduced price?

2. Could ‘day old’ or ‘slightly damaged’ produce and food be picked up by the local food bank ‘FISH’?

3. Could the produce waste be given to local farmers as feed for their animals ?

4. Could what was not good for consumption be used for compost?

I was impressed to find a large company like Food Lion with a sustainability manager who shared my passion for recycling. I put a notice out on FaceBook, to those in the Clarke County group. I received favorable response and interest. We agreed to meet at the Boyd’s Nest on Main Street for breakfast and conversation. We had a good turnout of interested residents of Clarke County. Many ideas were shared. We were also fortunate to have the waste manager of Frederick County attend the meeting. It was her day off, but waste reduction is of personal interest to her. Why Frederick County you say? Well to date, Clarke County/Berryville does not have its own waste disposal or landfill facilities, so we use the one in Frederick County.

Like good compost, it takes time for all the parts to mix together becoming a usable product. Stay turned Clarke County. I think progress is in the works.

Oh, as for my cabbage leaves. I have now found a timesaving way to have the taste of stuffed cabbage without the outer cabbage leaves.

I have a 1969 Betty Crocker cookbook. Betty Crocker is still my ‘go to’ Google search. I found this Cabbage Roll Casserole on line and tweaked it a wee bit. Hubby likes meat with his meal– I like veggies.

 

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

1 lb ground sausage

1 med onion chopped
(about ½ c)

5 cups coleslaw mix
(I chopped my own cabbage)

½ cup raw rice

4 cups diced tomatoes (from the over flowing garden) but a 28 oz can diced tomatoes works too.

3 cups of tomato juice (because I had it…but tomato sauce works too)

1-diced apple (for sweetness)

2 tablespoons. apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons paprika

1-teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon each of (pepper, oregano, basil)

 

Directions:

Cook beef and pork with onions till brown (drain off excess fat)

Add all ingredients to 6 quart crock pot (it will be full but cabbage and tomatoes cook down)

Cover and cook on low heat 4 to 6 hours till rice and cabbage are cooked.

Yum. All the dinner  you need in one pot, maybe add some crusty bread and cool cucumbers. My high school Home Economics teacher use to say, every meal should have something hot, something cold, something soft and something crunchy.

Managing the cost of getting old

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By Karen Cifala

I believe a noble trait of growing old is to focus more on the quality of the life we have left and by maintaining it to the best of our abilities, and then accepting nature taking its course—which it ultimately does no matter what we do. We need to think of our natural aging process more in terms of give and take. Living well and living healthier includes living responsibly and, hopefully, living longer. Being pro-active and pursuing the more affordable preventive health care still require serious efforts on our own behalf every day for as long as we can manage.

Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are starting to retire: their expected longevity is increasing, though it doesn’t necessarily result in a better quality of life. While we are truly lucky to be alive and able to benefit from some of the modern medical achievements, we still must find ways to pay for treating these diseases and accommodating disabilities. The cost of healthcare for this group is expected to triple by 2050; not to mention housing costs and home and assisted care.

Another facet of growing old is figuring out how to pay for this great privilege of longevity. While many of us have made some sort of financial plans for our retirement years, there are just as many who might not have been fortunate enough to do so. Whichever bucket of life you are in, there will be times when you struggle to figure out how to pay for your existence. It’s kind of like real estate. I tell my clients, “You either spend money going into the purchase of a house, or you spend money when you sell it. You don’t get off scot-free.” So it is with life: “You can’t have it all,” says Suzan Herskowitz, an estate planning attorney in Winchester. One of the many questions that she regularly answers for her clients has to do with how to pay for living longer.

For example: if one aging spouse needs additional care and the biggest asset they own is their home, one option is to sell their home to pay for the care. However, they indicate that they want their children to inherit the house—but they also need the money for their own care. You can’t have it both ways. But Suzan point out that if one spouse still resides in the home, Medicaid will exempt the house for their overall financial assessment.

Here are some things to think about.

Do not transfer assets without professional counsel. In the real estate world, you don’t run out and buy a new car just before applying for a new home mortgage. The same is true when trying to maneuver the financial gymnastics of paying for your own personal care. It is advisable not to add the children to the ownership of the home, and not to deed anything to the family—such as the house, or insurance policies—until you get legal and financial counsel.

Reverse Mortgages. One option for obtaining cash when the decision to downsize to a more age-appropriate home is made is a reverse mortgage. These types of mortgages have been federally protected through HUD since 1989 and there are no restrictions on how a borrower uses the loan proceeds. The money from the reverse mortgage can be used to buy a smaller house outright, before the bigger house is sold, so the smaller house is ready when needed. Even though the borrower would not have a monthly mortgage payment, they would still be responsible for all real estate taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and HOA fees on both homes. And the reverse mortgage loan can only be obtained on a primary residence.

Many seniors, according to Lisa Carper, a reverse mortgage advisor, also see the value of utilizing their primary home’s equity to purchase income-producing rental properties. She notes that in Winchester, a couple used their reverse mortgage proceeds to purchase a home in a 55+ community that they intended to rent out until they were ready to live there, thus providing them with a monthly income. Once they are ready to downsize, they will sell their current home and pay off the reverse mortgage in full. The couple would recoup any and all remaining proceeds left from the sale of their current home and they would move into their 55+ community home which has already been paid for.

Another choice for a reverse mortgage would be to take the proceeds as a monthly income and stay in the home. This may help the senior avoid depleting liquid assets, or payments could be structured to avoid disqualification from a government sponsored program.

A well thought out transition plan can benefit the entire family, especially if a crisis hits. A good legal and financial advisor can help direct you towards the right course of action specific to your needs. There is no magic “best plan” for everyone, and it’s important to have your legal paperwork and insurance policies reviewed regularly.

Medicare is another challenge that we all face, whether just signing up or reviewing annual plans. Luckily, here in Clarke County there is a free service called Medicare Café which offers informative lectures, personalized appointments, and reviews.

Change is the biggest constant in our lives. Our wishes and plans need to keep pace with those changes.

Next month: Medicare, insurance, investments, and other transitioning resources.

Resources

Medicare Café:  Next meeting Sept 30 at VFW in Berryville 10-12 a.m. FREE, or contact Marty Schiller, 540-551-5615 to set up an appointment.

Suzan Herskowitz, attorney, estate planning, 540-664-8336, www.SusanHerskowitz.com.

Lisa Carper, reverse mortgage advisor, 540-327-3913,  lcarper@vsbmortgage.com

 

Karen Cifala is a senior real estate specialist for REMAX Roots in Berryville, Va. She welcomes receiving feedback and enjoys helping people facilitate transitions in life. You can call her anytime at 303-817-9374 or email her at kcifala@gmail.com.

Time To Wake Up For School!

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It’s that time again . . . another school year begins. Some students are eager to reconnect with friends; others would be more so, if only school started at noon. To help get students, parents, and teachers back in the groove, here is some school humor—old corny jokes and famous quotes.

But I don’t want to go

Early one morning, a mother went in to wake up her son. “Wake up, son. It’s time to go to school.”

“But why, Mom? I don’t want to go.”

“Give me two reasons why you don’t want to go.”

“Well, the kids hate me for one, and the teachers hate me, too!”

“Oh, that’s no reason not to go to school. Come on now and get ready.”

“Give me two reasons why I should go to school.”

“Well, for one, you’re 52 years old. And for another, you’re the Head teacher!”

Holidays Are Over

The summer holiday was over and young Jack returned to Wicor school. Only two days later his teacher phoned his mother to tell her that Jack was misbehaving.

“Wait a minute,” mother said. “I had Jack with me for six weeks and I never called you once when he misbehaved.”

School Learning

Nathan comes home from his first day at school. Mother asks, “What did you learn today?”

He replies, “Not enough. I have to go back tomorrow.”

~

Mum: How did you find school today?

Youngster: I simply hopped off the bus—and there it was.

~

Mia: I think we need a new teacher.

Mum: Why is that?

Mia: Our teacher doesn’t know anything, she keeps asking us for the answers.

~

When Dad came home he was astonished to see Vic sitting on a horse, writing something.

“What on earth are you doing there?” he asked.

“Well, the teacher told us to write an essay on our favorite animal,” answered Vic, “That’s why I’m here and that’s why Sara’s sitting in the goldfish bowl.”

 

Funny School Quotes

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. —Mark Twain

~

My school days were the happiest days of my life; which should give you some indication of the misery I’ve endured over the past twenty-five years. — Paul Merton

~

I took a test in Existentialism. I left all the answers blank and got 100. —Woody Allen

~

I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopaedia.  Let them walk to school like I did. —Yogi Berra

~

In elementary school, in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from the smallest to the tallest. What is the logic? Do tall people burn slower? – Warren Hutcherson

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. —Edgar W. Howe

 

–Thanks to Guy Thomas and the late Will Baker for their funny website guy-sports.com.

Art at the Mill, Antique Cars and Historic Collections

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Nathan Stalvey has been director of the Clarke County Historical Association since December. The Observer checked in with Nathan to hear what’s new.

 

How do you like being Director?

For me, there is no better job than the one I have. I get to work with history and art on a daily basis.

 

I’ve heard that there have been some staff changes at CCHA. What kind of changes?

On top of me becoming the new director in December, we have also hired Terrie Sheaffer as our bookkeeper, Roger Steyaert as our new mill manager and Tracy Smith as a cultural programs administrator. A lot of us are new, but we all love what we do.

 

Did the museum change its hours of operation?

Yes. We are now open Tuesday–Friday, 11–4pm. Saturdays are by appointment only.

 

How are things at the Burwell-Morgan Mill?

Splendid! We continue to be a big draw on the weekends, and are still grinding every Saturday. However, like with any structure built in the 1700s, it is not without its structural issues. We are addressing some of the smaller repairs, and are bringing in an historic site evaluator in the fall so that we have an idea of what repairs we need to plan for down the road. We are also going to be redoing the landscape in front of the Mill. Many thanks to the Garden Club of Virginia for doing this.

 

I heard there were some organizational issues with this past spring’s Art at the Mill show. What will you do to address those issues?

Art at the Mill continues to be a wildly successful show, but there are always challenges in running a show of this size. One of the first things I addressed was the hiring of Tracy Smith to serve as administrator of Art at the Mill. Tracy will serve as the main point of contact with the artists, manage and organize volunteers, organize the art drop off and pick up, and work with me on selecting jurors for the show. She will also work along with Snow Fielding and other volunteers to keep making this show amazing. Tracy is a long-time resident of Clarke County, and has volunteered at Art at the Mill for several years. Without a doubt, her presence will bring much more organization to the show!

 

Are there any thoughts on highlighting items from CCHA’s collection more to the public?

Be sure to check our website, our Facebook page and the Clarke County Observer as we highlight items from our collection more often!

 

What events do you have coming up?

On July 31, CCHA will hold its first ever live trivia challenge over at Barns of Rose Hill in downtown Berryville. Tickets can be purchased at Barns of Rose Hill’s website. Be sure to get your trivia team together today.

We are also partnering with White Post Restorations August 29 to celebrate their 75th anniversary. This event will feature tours of the shop, antique cars, raffles, cornhole, and food. Oh, and we are returning to doing two Art at the Mill shows per year starting with this fall’s show!

 

How do I become a member?

You can go to our website clarkehistory.org and click the icon on the top right of the page, or you can pick up a newsletter from the museum at 32 East Main Street or from the Burwell-Morgan Mill and fill out the membership form. You can also drop it by the office and say hello!

 

Do you need any help with volunteering?

Volunteers rock! We are always looking for volunteers. Whether it’s working down at the Burwell-Morgan Mill, helping our archivist Mary Morris with our collection, or helping out at one of our events, we could always use volunteer help. Feel free to contact CCHA at 540-955-2600 or director@clarkehistory.org and let us know how you would like to volunteer.

Taking A Proactive Approach To Crime Prevention & Personal Safety

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By Victoria L. Kidd

On September 30, 2014, the body of slain real estate agent Beverly Carter, 50, was found just a short drive from the Scott, Arkansas, property for which she had scheduled a showing a few days earlier. Two suspects were later charged in connection to her murder, with one admitting that the reason for the crime was that as a realtor working alone, Carter was an easy target. This crime of opportunity raised awareness about the dangers of the profession among realtors, but for Bill Copp, the safety committee chairman for the Winchester-based Blue Ridge Association of Realtors, it was a call to action.

“After the murder of the realtor in Arkansas, several people started asking me about personal protection,” he explains. “They’d ask about firearms, pepper spray, and other measures they could take to make them feel safer and be safer. The problem with answering those questions is that the answers aren’t standard across the board. It’s really more of a question about changing behaviors, identifying risks, and deploying measures you are comfortable with.”

The more he spoke with professionals (both in and outside of the real estate profession) who were concerned for their personal safety, the more he knew that there was an unmet need for personal protection consultation and firearms safety training in the local area. He mentioned the need to a long-term friend, Eric Schaff, and the wheels for a new business were suddenly
in motion.

Schaff tells everyone that he learned how to shoot when he was about seven years old. Without fearing that he would “shoot his eye out,” Schaff’s father gave him a Daisy Red Rider BB Rifle that was much like the one given to Ralphie Parker in the 1983 classic A Christmas Story. Growing up comfortable around guns made him the go-to guy for many of his friends who wanted to learn more about shooting, light gunsmithing, firearm care and cleaning, etc. Today, Schaff holds several NRA certifications demonstrating his ability to provide training for individuals wanting to know more about pistols, rifles, and shotguns. His background, interests, and work style were perfect complements to Copp’s capabilities and expertise.

Copp is an auxiliary deputy sherriff, formerly a sergeant in the Army National Guard, and (like Schaff) holds numerous NRA certifications. He says that most people call him “the safety” guy, and have for many years before discussions with Schaff would lead the pair to launch Triton Firearms & Safety Training, LLC.

The business provides hands-on instruction that ensures students are able to safely and proficiently handle their firearm. Contrary to the connotation often associated with such businesses, Triton keeps its classes small, works one-on-one with each attendee, and makes sure all students feel comfortable in the learning environment. Such is obvious to anyone asking the pair about their desire to make women feel comfortable in their classes.

“We want to see women empowered,” Schaff says. “Women are the fastest growing part of the shooting industry, and yet they are often made to feel uncomfortable when it comes to receiving gun safety and shooting training. We want them to feel comfortable, because we know that we are providing instruction that ultimately helps them protect their homes and themselves.”

“And we aren’t just exclusively about firearms training either,” Copp adds. “We also are the go-to guys for personal safety training. In our Refuse To Be A Victim crime prevention and personal safety seminar, for example, we teach students about how they can minimize the risk of victimization, stay protected while traveling, secure their homes, and more. Firearms are mentioned only briefly in that course, because it’s really about much more than that.”

The Refuse To Be A Victim program was created by a coalition of female NRA members in 1993. It’s a comprehensive four-hour seminar that covers everything from workplace safety strategies to using your Internet service provider’s parental control options to block access to adult chat rooms. Both Copp and Schaff are qualified instructors for
the program.

In addition to offering the NRA’s prevention and personal safety seminar, Triton sells SABRE branded safety and security products (including a pepper spray recognized as the leading brand) while also teaching two SABRE programs: the Civilian Safety Awareness Program and the College Safety Program. Copp relays that being the victim of a violent attack is much more feasible than the average person believes it to be. “You are 52 times more likely to be attacked than you are to be involved in a car accident and 229 times more likely to be attacked than you are to have your house catch on fire,” he says, “and yet, we don’t take risks to our personal safety seriously. We want to offer programs that raise awareness about the risks and that provide knowledge that truly has the potential to save someone’s life.”

The Civilian Safety Awareness Program reviews risks with seminar attendees, addresses ways to stay safe, and teaches students how to properly use pepper spray products. The College Safety Program speaks specifically to the needs of students, helping them make their personal safety a priority during their time on campus. The uniquely structured program helps college-aged participants discourage threats, identify potentially dangerous situations, and deploy strategies that ensure students stay safe. (Noting that one in five college-aged women will be the victim of sexual assault while on campus and more than 10,000 students will be victims of robbery or aggravated assault each year, Triton’s principals are particularly proud to offer
this program.)

These courses augment the NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course they offer regularly, again providing proof to the statement that the business is not exclusively about firearm use as the ultimate and/or only option for personal safety. “We know that not everyone is comfortable with or interested in carrying a firearm,” Copp says. “We just want to help people truly understand their risks and find ways to mitigate them. That can involve carrying a firearm or having one in their home or it can involve carrying pepper spray…or it can involve neither of those options. We meet people at their point of comfort, because this is information that every single person needs to know.”

“We want people, men and women, to feel comfortable about the instruction they receive,” Schaff relays, “and you’ll find that neither of us make our female students feel silly about asking a question concerning their risks or feel marginalized for wanting to learn how to shoot. Along those lines, we are lucky to have Cassie Redden working
with us.”

Redden is an NRA Certified Instructor. Interestingly, women make up less than eight percent of all NRA-certified firearms instructors. (She holds other relevant certifications from the NRA as well.) Copp says that women have usually not grown up with guns to the extent that many men have, meaning that the first thing the team recommends is for them to take a gun safety class. “Redden brings a whole different perspective to our programs,” Copp says. “Sometimes she really bridges the gaps for students who may feel more comfortable with a female instructor, but in all cases, she wants to make the student feel more comfortable with the firearm. She also offers very valuable support to the business. I agree with Eric. We are so very, very lucky to have her on the team.”

Rounding out the team is one additional very important member: Triton the Safety Dog. Triton, a rambunctious and friendly lab of not quite two years, lends his name to the business and serves as its official mascot. Copp and Schaff often aid Trition with the creation of Triton’s safety tips (which will be posted on their social media), and the “good pup” (as Schaff calls him) will almost certainly be a part of future instructional programs, many of which are offered at customers’ places of business, on campuses, and at other locations where a little “puppy love” can help break the ice during difficult conversations.

Triton is a business that is unique in the fact that truly anyone reading this is a potential customer. To keep up with their class offerings, “like” them on Facebook. To learn how you can book a training class for your office, civic club, or community organization, call 540-974-0608.

A Lot of Land

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By Wendy Gooditis

Recently I was standing on the shore of our beloved Shenandoah with a couple of clients from out of town, watching their little daughters throw stones in the river. We had been talking about various houses on the market when the husband said to me, “You know, we wanted to buy land and build, but when we started talking to builders and found out that it would cost $300 a square foot, we realized we couldn’t afford it.” I’m sure I looked as shocked as though someone had thrown a bucketful of river water on me. I stuttered and gulped, and then managed to gasp something like “I think you’ll be happy
to be shopping in Clarke
County now.”

Eventually I was able to get across the fact that they could build a perfectly lovely house for somewhere between $125 and $175 on this side of the mountain. They are now happily looking for land and hoping to talk to some of the reasonable builders in our area.

Various internet sites (www.b4ubuild.com, www.home-cost.com) are telling me that the national average cost for building a house per square foot is $125 or lower, while the average cost in Virginia is $105.52. So apparently our average cost here is a little bit above the national, but still, unless you want gold-plated faucets in your master bath, you don’t have to pay $300 per square foot to have the house of your dreams. Some of the variation in these numbers depends on what is included in the construction. The range I told my client was given me this year by a builder who says it includes a driveway, a drainfield, a well, and a basement, with medium-quality materials. Things like fancy rooflines, custom built-ins, and elaborate landscaping will raise the cost, naturally.

Anyway, I bring this up because it occurs to me to say that there are beautiful pieces of land available in the county, and for certain people who have the image of their dream house emblazoned on the inside of their eyelids, this is the best way to go, though probably not the easiest.

We have small lots: for example, two cute lots of just over two tenths of an acre each, on Ridge Road in Berryville in a pleasant neighborhood. These are perfect for a cozy house convenient to stores and offices.

We have great big pieces of land: for example, 185 acres of part field, part woods on Sunny Canyon Lane in Boyce. It’s a heavenly place for a farm (maybe horses?!) in a beautiful part of the county.

We have all sizes in between: some examples being a beautiful 1.6-acre piece in Millwood with a mountain view, a private 4-acre lot on Minniewood Lane off Triple J Road in a lovely neighborhood, and 88 acres with a barn in prime farmland on Old Winchester Road in Boyce.

We all have our favorites, of course. Do you prefer woods? The 60 magnificent acres of forest off John Mosby Highway await the creation of your personal paradise. Rolling fields? The newly-listed 190 acres on Millwood Road undulate in graceful green waves, with long mountain views to refresh the spirit. On the river? 5 serene acres in secluded Calmes Neck, with the beautiful Shenandoah flowing in your backyard. And many others awaiting their turn to become a homestead as well.

Clarke County, though dedicated by temperament and by history to the idea of open space and preservation of natural beauty, does still have places for people to build. The difference between us and some other counties I might name is that the zoning restrictions are very tight, and the number of dwelling unit rights (DURs) is set in stone. So there will be some carefully thought out building of houses where the zoning permits, with no possibility of a tidal wave of townhouses washing up on the hayfield next door.

In the same way that prices vary widely in houses and buildings, there is a wide variation in the cost of land. Some lots may already have a well, or a driveway. Some may have one or more extra DURs. Some may have that view across the valley which practically stuns one to a standstill. All these things add value to the land. A smaller site costs more per acre than a bigger one, normally. A cleared or partially cleared site costs more than a completely wooded one, because of the cost of clearing land in order to build. And in any county, some areas are going to have higher values than others, perhaps because of the posh houses in the neighborhood, or the convenience of the spot
for commuters.

In the last year or so, on average, pieces of land outside of town more than three acres in size have been selling for anywhere between $4,000 and $10,000 per acre, depending in part on some of the previously described factors. Lots smaller than three acres and in-town lots sell for a higher cost per acre, simply because the most important value in land is the ability to build a house on it, of course.

Therefore, all ye who desire the new and shiny dwelling, be of good cheer: your plot of earth awaits you. Take courage and pursue your dream!

Wendy Gooditis is a real estate agent on the Chip Schutte Real Estate Team with ReMax Roots at 101 East Main St., Berryville, VA 22611, phone (540)955-0911. Wendy would be happy to answer any questions you may have about real estate, and can be reached at Gooditis@visuallink.com or at (540)533-0840.

Difficult Conversations That Bring Comfort

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By Karen Cifala

“I know we’re not supposed to talk about dying, but I’m dying because I can’t sleep!” was one phone call I made to my doctor after being thrown into early menopause during my after-cancer Tamoxifen treatment. I laugh about that feeling now, and I remember vividly how desperate I was to be done with the side effects of the drug, almost willing to go off of it and risk the consequences. Of course, not everyone will have the same side effects, and some will have no side effects from aftercare, but it did seem to me at that time difficult and uncomfortable to talk to my doctor about this.

A recent “All Things Considered” show on NPR interviewed Dr. Kendra  Fleagle  Gorlitsky, who teaches medicine at the University of Southern California. During the first part of the interview she talked about the anguish she felt performing CPR on an elderly terminally-ill patient and how hard it was for her to deal with that. Hearing this really had an impact on me. I am fortunate enough to be able to talk to my own mother about end-of-life concerns and treatments, but there are many who are not so fortunate. The interview pointed out that physicians are trained to treat and prolong life, but that too few of them are trained to talk about death with their patients. Knowing how doctors choose to die could change end-of-life discussions and is important for patients. The study also points out that 90 percent of physicians would forego aggressive treatment for themselves at the end of life and would choose a “no-code” or do-not-resuscitate order for themselves.

A recent study performed by Stanford University School of Medicine, with two sets of subjects: 

Physicians who in 2013 completed a web-based advance-directive form and a 14-item advance directive attitude survey and,

Physicians from Arkansas who, in 1989, were asked the same 14 survey questions but did not complete an advance-directive form, and the study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study set out to determine if the attitudes of physicians had changed towards advance directives since the Self-Determination Act was put into law in 1990. This law gave patients more say and more control over their end-of-life care decisions and required hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospice providers, and other health-care institutions to provide information about advance health-care directives upon the patient’s admission to the health-care facility. The purpose of the Act was to:

Prevent cruel over-treatment of elderly/disabled Medicare/Medicaid patients for a profit motive

Save money for Medicare and the private insurers in the form of the reduction of end-of-life costs

Give patients the choice to refuse life-extending saving treatments, upon certain terminal illnesses.

 

The results surprisingly showed that over 25 years, doctors’ attitudes changed very little, and that the aggressive treatment at the end of life continued even though an advance directive was in place. I found this interesting, bacause, as the study pointed out, the type of treatment patients received depended not on the patients’ care preference but more on the health-care system variables, institutional capacity, and individual doctors’ practice style. In quite a few cases studied, the patients’ voices were drowned out by the intensity surrounding them. Other results showed that doctors felt they are less likely to be sued for not providing the most aggressive care if a patient has an advance directive. Although the law requires hospitals to inform patients about advance directives, it doesn’t ensure that the directive be followed.

Ethnicity and gender also played a role in attitude towards end-of-life care. Those with more favorable attitudes towards advance directives were ER doctors, pediatricians, OBGYNs, rehabilitation, and physical medicine. Less favorable were radiologists, surgeons, orthopedists, and radiation oncologists. Caucasian and African-American doctors were more favorable than Latino physicians.

Strongly highlighted in this study was the disconnect between the type of care doctors want for themselves and what they actually do for their patients. It’s not that doctors want more money or because they are being insensitive to their patient’s desires; the study makes the point to say that it’s the biomedical model of medicine that is used by physicians in diagnosing disease which has been around since the mid-19th century. One factor in all of this is that they are not trained to talk or are not rewarded to talk; they are trained to do and are rewarded for doing, which is the default.

This begs the question:  Does the system need to be changed? When the high-intensity treatment becomes more of a burden than the disease itself, it gets tricky. Medicare does not pay doctors for end-of-life planning meetings with their patients—although this could change; Medicare announced a proposal July 8 to compensate doctors for this care.

Section 1233 of the proposed American’s Affordable Health Care Act of 2009 would have authorized reimbursements for physician counseling regarding advance directives but it was not included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 because of controversy over what were characterized as “death panels.” Talking to the patients and their families or other team members definitely makes it easier for the physician to regulate treatment.

Dr. Babak Goldman, a palliative care specialist at Providence Saint Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank, CA has this perspective:  “I think it’s sometimes easier to give hope than to give reality,” and that having the tough talk may feel like he is letting a family down. Because he knows that he’d want reality for himself and for his family, he says, “That goes a long way.”

To hear an excerpt from this show go to www.wamu.org  and search for How Doctors Die.  You can read and hear the interview as well.

Karen Cifala is a senior real estate specialist and is a realtor for Remax Roots in Berryville, VA.  You can contact her on her cell 303-817-9374 or email her at kcifala@gmail.com.

Clarke County and Berryville Named Trail Community

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Congratulations to Clarke County and the Town of Berryville for being named Appalachian Trail Communities. As most locals know, the Appalachian Trail, or AT, straddles the Clarke and Loudoun county line atop the Blue Ridge as the trail meanders its way from Georgia to Maine.

It’s sometimes called the Long Green Tunnel by through hikers who walk miles and miles with their lives on their backs beneath the canopy. And it’s often called a footpath through the wilderness. Indeed, it does pass through wilderness areas.

It also traverses national parks like Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains, and national forests like the Green Mountain and White Mountain National Forest in New England and the George Washington and Jefferson here in Virginia.

But the AT is much more than a footpath through the wilderness. It’s a footpath that preserves a sense of wild nature even when it passes adjacent neighborhoods. Tony Hiss, the great American architecture writer who once wrote a book called The Experience Of Place, called the AT America’s Central Park. That’s a good description. The AT, after all, is a 2100-mile conservation corridor. Protecting the wild in it had to be figured out state-by-state, county-by-county, yard-by-yard. It’s an ongoing process.

For a trail to be both a world-class destination for backpackers and a community pathway for Sunday strolls takes a lot of people who get the vision. It takes many volunteers and thoughtful public leaders to use all appropriate tools at their disposal to take care of something so special. It takes conservation easements, county parks, state parks, and, when needed, federal land.

Figuring out how to do thousands of conservation deals, tweaks in local zoning, and strategic planning over successive generations is a greater testament to American ingenuity than both the technologies to enable smartphones and the ones enabling government to listen in.

When Benton MacKaye first proposed the idea for the trail in 1921, he did so in an article in the Journal of the American Institute of Architects, under the title: An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning. Back then, he wanted a way for city people to escape the city and enjoy nature. Now as cities have grown toward the trail, the project is maintaining that sense of place whatever changes in the land nearby.

When you’re up on the Blue Ridge, looking over the Shenandoah Valley, you know you’re walking through a special place. Unknown, though, is how much work and collaboration and civil dealings it takes to keep it that way.

So, way to go, Clarke County and Berryville! There will be an event to commemorate the County and Town’s new honor. See details on page 6.

Postscript: The AT lost a longtime hero with the death of Charles Sloan of Virginia in early July. As a volunteer lawyer, Chuck engineered the conservation of thousands of AT lands—including thousands in Virginia. Thank you, Chuck. We miss you already.