Posts

On Edge for Spring Gobblers

/in /by

By Doug Humphreys

Ecologically speaking, an “edge” is the boundary between two distinct environments. It might be where a hardwood forest meets a hayfield. It could be timberline or where a dense pine forest meets the shore of a lake. As hunters we know from experience that an edge usually means game. But why?

To fully understand why game gravitate to edge environments, one must first understand the ecological phenomenon known as “edge effect.” The extreme case of a mature hardwood forest that borders a cultivated field is a good case study that dramatically illustrates edge effect.

The canopy of a mature hardwood forest minimizes the amount of light that reaches the forest floor and, as such, limits the quantity and type of vegetation that can survive in the understory. When a mature hardwood forest ends abruptly at the edge of a cultivated field, the characteristics of the forest edge are different than that of its interior. Wind and sun are able to penetrate the forest edge and create a drier environment with more available light—conditions favored by opportunistic species. This allows shade intolerant species to exist beneath the canopy, as they are able to take advantage of the light penetrating from the edge opening.

The edge ecosystem provides a perfect combination of food and cover for both game and non-game species. The open side of the edge provides grasses, grain, or legumes; which will vary based on whether or not the field is cultivated. The edge itself will provide abundant browse on the understory species and high levels of hard and soft mast, as species at the edge take advantage of available sunlight. When an animal senses danger, it can escape to the protection of the forested side of the edge.

Turkeys utilize edge areas for multiple reasons. They use the open side of an edge for scratching and take advantage of the inherent protection provided by the edge understory. In spring, toms strut along an edge and use the edge for breeding. Hens nest in the thick understory at the edge ensuring food for themselves and protection for their clutch, roosting in the tall trees overhead.

Hunting spring gobblers in an edge environment is an exercise in patience. A turkey hunter can begin the day by using the cover of morning darkness to enter a field and pinpoint the location of a gobbling bird still on the roost. When an active bird is located, the hunter can discretely position at the edge near the gobbler’s location. The gobbler will likely come off the roost into the field to strut at dawn.

Being positioned on the edge near the location of an early morning gobbling bird can present a shot as the bird struts along the edge looking for a challenger or a breeding hen. A hen decoy positioned 20 yards into the field can help draw a tom toward the hunter as well as divert attention away from any movement the hunter might make. Calling should be kept soft and to a minimum, the decoy should be the primary tool to bring an energetic morning bird into range.

During midmorning, when the hens go to nest, the gobblers will often head to an edge area to establish dominance and scratch. Patience is imperative during midmorning hours. The birds will typically gobble less and, unless they are fighting to establish a pecking order, content themselves to scratch in and out of the edge as they mosey with no particular purpose. A jake decoy will pique the interest of an older, dominant bird, and lure him into range. The occasional call to bring life to the decoy is fine, but don’t overdo it.

When hens come off the nest in late morning to stretch their legs and look for a mate, toms will often gobble with the regularity and vigor one would expect at dawn. A hen decoy in the field, supplemented with a jake decoy, will attract the attention of a mature tom. Call enough to get the attention of an active bird, but, again, keep calling to a minimum.

Choose a camouflage that matches the environment and season. In the early part of the season, before foliage is heavy, I use a tree bark pattern of some design. As the woods green up, I switch to good old-fashioned woodland camo.

To most people, edge effect is a relatively mundane ecological process. To turkey hunters it is a literal natural wonder. Next time you are in the woods looking for a long-beard, do what I do. Get on edge for spring gobblers.

Hospice Offers Comfort and Acknowledgement

/in /by

Every day, it seems, comes news of another advancement in medicine. New surgical techniques, new treatments, and—even better—new understanding of preventive care. Many diseases that only decades ago were nearly always considered terminal are now treated, cured, or managed as chronic illnesses. Medicine has also become better at “extending life” for patients far beyond what was once possible.

We have become so good at beating disease and illness, so proficient at extending life, that somewhere along the way we stopped acknowledging that sooner or later there comes an end to life—at least to the lives in our physical bodies that we drag with us from work to workout to the buffet.

We still have a hard time talking about dying, maybe because we have a hard time admitting that it will happen.

We all have been part of this—from the good doctors who, by their nature, want to save patients, to the caring sons and daughters who need to know they did everything possible. As a result, the final days and hours of so many people are spent without the comforting acknowledgment and support of family and palliative caregivers.

It doesn’t have to be this way. And, thanks to hospice and advances in palliative care, things are changing every year. As with modern medicine, modern dying has advanced far in the last five decades.

It has been nearly 50 years since Dame Cicely Saunders visited the United States to speak to Yale nursing students about a new type of specialized care for the dying, called in-home hospice. Five years later Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’s international bestseller On Death and Dying made the unheard of case for terminal patients to have a say in their own destinies.

Then, 45 years ago this year the first U.S. hospice opened in Connecticut, founded by Florence Wald, the dean of the Yale School of Nursing who had invited Saunders to speak at the university in 1965.

Little more than a decade after that first hospice opened, Blue Ridge Hospice began serving people in the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge. That’s light years ahead of most of the country.

Still, until recently, one of the biggest hurdles for hospice to overcome was acceptance from the medical establishment—docs hung on to the idea that medicine was about living, not about dying.

Happily for all of us, as caring friends and family members as well as people whose time will one day come, hospice—both in-home and in-hospice care centers—has now become firmly established in practice even if not yet in everyone’s understanding.

To help with that understanding, we’re pleased to provide a profile of Blue Ridge Hospice in this Observer.

First Farmers’ Harvest Ball Set For October

/in /by

First Farmers’ Harvest Ball Set For October

Guests invited to “eat a little pig, dance a little jig, and go whee, whee, whee all the way home!”

Three Clarke County non-profit groups are joining forces to bring the community the bounties of local harvest with the farmers who provide them. The Farmers’ Harvest Ball will be hosted by Berryville Main Street, Barns of Rose Hill, and the Clarke County Farmers’ Market at the Barns on Saturday, October 12, 2013.

“We wanted to collaborate on a party or activity that would bring the community together for an evening in Berryville, similar to the Blue Moon parties held in the past,” said Luanne Carey, director of Berryville Main Street. When the Farmers Market got involved, that “activity” became an event where local food will be provided by members of the market and prepared, for the most part, by Boyd’s Nest restaurant. Pulled pork and barbecued chicken and a variety of side dishes and desserts will be served, along with beer, wine, and soft drinks. After supper, “the Apple Valley Square dance club will give a square dancing demonstration and Rich Studman will call some dances for everyone to join the fun,” said Carey.

If eating good, locally grown food, mingling with friends and farmers, and dancing a jig isn’t incentive enough, proceeds from the event will be split evenly among the three groups, helping to fund the programs of each organization. The Barns of Rose Hill’s mission is to serve as a community center “celebrating life, the arts, and our culture,” according to its newly revamped website (www.barnsofrosehill.org). The Clarke County Farmers Market, going stronger than ever after 18 years, serves to support and promote local farmers by bringing their goods to one place for the community to purchase and enjoy, every Saturday from May through November. Berryville Main Street’s mandate is to encourage economic development, support local business, enhance community projects, and help beautify downtown Berryville.

Tickets cost $50, which includes two drink coupons for wine and beer, and may be purchased by contacting Carey at Berryville Main Street at 540-955-4001 or Kellie Hart or Morgan Morrison at Barns of Rose Hill at 540-955-2004. The Barns’ doors will open at 5pm for a mix and mingle; dinner will be served at 6pm, and dancing will commence at 7pm. The invite’s jingle is “eat a little pig, dance a little jig, and go whee, whee, whee all the way home!”

“We’re hoping the evening will be a fun, old-fashioned gathering to celebrate fall in Clarke County!” Carey enthused.

— Jennifer Lee

Ray Cather: Farmer, Ruritan, Neighbor

/in /by

Ray Cather: Farmer, Ruritan, Neighbor

By Annie Young

Perhaps , like me, you enjoy traveling the back roads of Clarke County. I drive along while my baby sleeps in the backseat and find places that are new to me but have a long history in the county. One hot day this summer I passed a sign, “Ray’s Garden,” next to a lush, well-tended garden and a huge banner hanging on the window “RAY IS 98!” My curiosity was piqued!

Ray Cather began farming over six decades ago on their family farm along Cather Road. He had learned the trade as a farm manager in Pennsylvania, but came back to the Shenandoah Valley to start his own operation with Black Angus cows. Although Mr. Cather did not grow up in Clarke County, he and his wife raised five children here. Three of his children remained here to raise their own families and continue to live on the farm.

Ray Cather’s legacy stretches even further into the community with his years of service with the Ruritans. The Ruritans are a national civic organization. The local chapter sponsors and plans the Clarke County Fair as well as college scholarships and other community service projects. Cather has a stellar record of 54 years of perfect attendance at the Ruritan meetings. He was awarded Member of the Year in 1996 and the Senior Service Award in 1990. Not one to rest on his laurels, or rest at all, he worked at the barbeque dinner during the Clarke County Fair, where every night Mr. Cather filled countless cups with ice during those muggy August nights.

Farming takes a special level of commitment, especially when working with animals. Black Angus have always been Cather’s breed of choice, and that is the breed the family farm still raises. Since 1964 Cather has also tended a garden plot next to their home. It is nestled against the pasture and carefully fenced. It is on that fence that his wooden carved sign proudly announces, “Ray’s Garden.”

Mr. Cather has spent almost 50 years hoeing, planting, weeding, and harvesting from this same vegetable plot. A spring and summer crop of vegetables are planted and harvested. Then about the time some people surrender to the weeds and heat, he plants his second crop of fall vegetables, including his famous turnips.

Cather has created a system of saving seeds, labeling his own white letter envelopes with the variety of seed, then saves all his seeds from squash, melon, peppers and tomatoes. He has no need for fancy names or remembering the variety because after so many years he has created his own heirloom varieties. “Red, large tomato” or “small, yellow cherry tomato” is all that is needed to label and remember the variety from season to season.

Saving tomato seeds can be tricky. The process involves fermenting, filtering, and drying the seeds. Then, using a small greenhouse that Cather calls his tent, he plants the seeds. The family helps move and rearrange the furniture so that the sunny windows and living room can be filled with seedlings. With so many plants coming up it is hard to find room for them all in the garden. So the flower beds and planters surrounding the house have happy plants tucked into them instead of flowers. Cather’s daughter Margaret Dillow helps can and distribute the tomatoes to friends and neighbors. She observes how her mother’s flower beds have evolved into tomato beds instead. Take it from me, results of all the hard work are delicious.

Ray Cather has been a longtime member of Crums United Methodist Church. He is well known and well loved in his church community. Each year, in yet another act of service, Cather donates vegetables to their annual bazaar, with profits going to the church. His bumper crops of turnips are most notable. (The bazaar is held the first weekend of November; if you want to try some of these heirloom vegetables that is the place to find them!)

Perhaps you’ve seen the sign and cultivated vegetable plot, or enjoyed a cold drink at the Ruritan chicken dinner, or attended service at Crums Church, or even tasted a Cather grown vegetable. In over 60 years since starting his farm in Clarke, Ray Cather has worked hard, given plenty, and touched the lives of many.

When Piggy Met Murph

/in /by

When Piggy Met Murph

CrossFit for the Esteem-Challenged Self

by Mark Andrews

My mother affectionately called me Beau. To my Sicilian Grandmother, I was Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman Emperor. My dad called me Marko, cheering loudly from the stands during Friday night football games. But to the boys from my childhood neighborhood, I was Piggy.

I wasn’t unpopular. Didn’t get picked on. It was just a nickname that spilled out over bowls of chocolate ice cream on a hot summer day. And it stuck. Other boys had nicknames that I secretly envied. Termite was an older kid with a mouthful of braces and powder blue eyes. Simon was my best friend, Greg’s older brother. He got his nickname because of the coke bottle black framed glasses he wore to correct his vision. For some kids, we just used shortened versions of their last names, like ‘Czle’ (pronounced SLEE) or ‘Quillo’ (KEE-O).

I wonder if my life would have taken a different path had my nickname been something cool? Something that didn’t describe the way I saw myself. I didn’t necessarily want to be The Lone Ranger. But, Tonto would have been nice. Heck, anything other than Piggy. Having said that, I would be less-than-honest to diminish the value I’ve found in attaching significance to names and the experiences from which they were born in my conscience.

Just last weekend, my mother was talking to her grandchildren about me—recalling stories of my youth. She said to my oldest son, Owen, “Your daddy was fearless.” I sat across the table listening to her tell stories of me and the thought banging around in my head was, “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

The first time I walked into a CrossFit gym (called a ‘box’), I was most definitely afraid. I’d looked up the local affiliate online, punched the address into my GPS and driven by—twice. Finally, I’d summoned the courage to actually get out of my truck and make the long walk across the parking lot.

Once inside, it was like stepping into another world. Through the fluorescent haze I could see people sprawled out on the floor stretching. Others were chatting casually, perched upon wooden boxes with numbers spray-painted on the sides. Plated weights stacked in rows along the limestone-and-cinderblock shell of the place. Barbells hanging from machine screws fastened into the walls. Gigantic steel scaffold with pull-up rigs and barbell racks rising up from the floor. A massive PA system thundered in the corner, feeding the space with vibrant bass and screeching guitar riffs.

On a whiteboard, someone had scribbled in large block letters “MURPH.” Underneath the name a series of numbers: 100/200/300. I wanted to run from this place. I was about to do just that when a large digital time clock hanging from the rafters beeped loudly, counting down from ten. Nine . . . eight . . .

Most of the next hour is a blur to me now. Lost in my sweat and suffering and uncertainty. Actually 56 minutes, 13 seconds to be exact.  I completed “Murph,” my very first Workout Of the Day (WOD, in CrossFit-speak). And, in the process became a CrossFitter.

Murph is one of a collection of Hero WODs performed by CrossFitters to honor military men and women—those who gave their lives in service. Each workout is in memoriam of an individual and their ultimate sacrifice. The actual workout goes like this: First, you run a mile. Then you complete 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, and 300 air squats. The repetitions are broken into small sets to make the work manageable—I did sets of 5 pull-ups, 10 pushups, and 15 air squats. Finally, you run another mile to complete the workout.

In the farthest corner of the CrossFit box, I worked through Murph alongside a hulk-of-a-man. His massive arms were decorated with tattoos of screaming eagles and tattered American flags. We shared a water bottle and a broken shard of sidewalk chalk to mark off reps on the concrete slab in between puddles of our own sweat. Pushing each other, without words, and building a friendship.

I see Jeremy Almond now almost every day. We talk about CrossFit and music and fishing and the challenges of raising our kids. He came to CrossFit a year ago in an effort to lose weight. “I was over 300 pounds and tired all the time,” he says. Now, at 36 he’s in the best shape of his life. Jeremy wants to eventually compete regionally in the Masters Division. His workout partner Cait Lucas has similar aspirations.

From outward appearances, they seem an unlikely pair. She is a pharmaceutical sales rep with boundless energy. Cait hops around the CrossFit box with a smile that pulls at the corners of her mouth as she jumps into the arms of anyone nearby. “We’re huggers here,” she says before bouncing off toward her barbell loaded with heavy weighted plates.

“I talk to doctors every day about the benefits of fitness and exercise,” she says. “Diet alone isn’t enough. CrossFit gives me a reference to be better informed.”

Together, Jeremy and Cait form a level of accountability that would be difficult to maintain without each other. “Cait pushes me, especially on days when I don’t want to show up,” Jeremy says. “We don’t want to let the other one down, so we show up—no matter what.”

Most days, you’ll find me at Shenandoah CrossFit in Winchester among the other members as we work together in pursuit of our own definition of fitness. Pushing each other past the limit, both real and imagined.

Lindsey Swaim, a.k.a. Swami, has been with Shenandoah since they opened in a small garage off Braddock Street. “I didn’t even know I was doing CrossFit,” she says. “It was just a couple of guys doing bodyweight exercises and throwing around weights.” While Swami enjoys the physical benefits, she says the best part is the friendships that have formed as the membership has grown. “All of my closest friends are here,” she says. “We work out together, but we also spend time together outside the box.”

Founded in 2000, CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program designed to help people gain broad and general fitness. CrossFit programming concentrates on constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity to achieve overall physical fitness, so people are prepared for any physical challenge.

Shenandoah CrossFit offers a free week of sessions, so you can try it out before making a commitment. Their class schedule offers a range of times throughout each day, beginning most days at 6am. Membership includes instruction in all the movements and skill workouts by certified coaches. Sean Rider, co-founder and lead instructor says the most rewarding aspect of his job is watching the transformation. “I can only train those that walk through the door,” he said. But, he treats everyone that does the same. “I match their willingness,” he says.

Sure, there are quirky aspects to what some call the CrossFit subculture. They speak a unique language consisting of long acronyms like AMRAP, HSPU, PRs, and OHS scrawled across whiteboards. The workouts have names like Fran or Helen or Filthy Fifty. Many members subscribe to the principles of a Paleolithic Diet, which consists of consuming only unprocessed foods, lean meats, and vegetables with no sugar and very few carbohydrates. The bar to get started is actually rather low.

The programming can be scaled to anyone’s current fitness level or age. And because the movements are functional, they improve your ability to perform in everyday life, whether you’re a competitive athlete, stay-at-home mom, or retiree.

While the physical benefits are easily recognizable, for me there have been emotional benefits. Being afraid to try something new or of what others might think of me has been a constant refrain in my life. CrossFit offers me a platform to face those fears, whether I want to or not.

When I walk into the box each day, I know there will be suffering. I recognize that I will be challenged to do more than is comfortable, more than I could do yesterday. It’s the effort that matters, though. The willingness to push through and try my best, even when I don’t think I can do all the work. Such is the onward slog of a CrossFitter determined to improve: to welcome the suffering, embrace the grind, find the effort to complete one more rep, win the mental war between self doubt and conviction that ultimately signals, “I care about my life.”

Those are principles that I get to carry forward into the real world, where life unfolds without our permission. What I’ve come to recognize is that all of the relationships in my life benefit from the friendships I make and the work I do in that box. I’m more focused and energetic with my children. I have  genuine empathy and an open mind. I am determined and engaged in everyday life. I am getting stronger. And, in the process I seem to be putting a little more distance in the rearview mirror between the man that I see now and the scared little fat kid they called Piggy.

Shenandoah CrossFit

661 Millwood Ave.
Suite #104

Winchester, VA

717-873-3592

www.shenandoahCrossFit.com

Mazing Around Wayside Farm

/in /by

Mazing Around Wayside Farm

Wayside Farm Fun debuts this fall with a 10-acre corn maze, pumpkin patch, hay rides, and much, much more.

The corn maze at Wayside Farm.

Story and photos by Jennifer Lee

Take a flat, open piece of prime farmland. Put it next to a busy highway. Add a family that’s been farming it for over 50 years. Mix in a young farming entrepreneur, a healthy dose of ambition and imagination, and a lot of prep work. This very recipe has cooked up Wayside Farm Fun, home of that angry bird sitting next to Route 7 and Clarke County’s newest destination for farm and family entertainment.

Wayside Farm Fun opens September 21, providing families a plentitude of activities in a farm setting with 180-degree views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In addition to a 10-acre corn maze welcoming children and adults, there will be hayrides around the farm, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch, pig races, a combine slide, a pedal tractor track, rubber duck races, a straw pyramid, concessions, and more to enjoy on a weekend fall day. “We hope families will spend four or five hours with us,” said Mark Shenk, who co-owns and operates Wayside Farm. “There is plenty for everyone to do and see.”

Kenneth ‘Peanut’ and Phyllis Shenk bought Wayside Farm in 1960 from Hobson McGee, whose uncle owned Audley Farm at one time, and raised beef cattle, corn, wheat, soybeans, and hay for over 40 years with help from their sons Philip and Mark. After graduating from Virginia Tech, both returned to the family farm and were actively involved in the farm operation until a few years ago. “The cattle paid for our college,” Mark says. Mr. Shenk died in 2004, Mrs. Shenk in 2008, and Philip and Mark pursued work outside the farm. The cattle were sold about ten years ago, but corn, beans, and hay continued to be harvested from the 120-acre farmstead.

Meanwhile, Tyler Wegmeyer and his wife Harriet, who both grew up on dairy farms in northern Michigan and New York, respectively, were cultivating 25 acres near Hamilton in Loudoun County. “I’ve grown pumpkins since I was eight years old, and just always loved it,” Tyler said. “I used to sell them by the truckload back home.” After he and Harriet went out to purchase a couple of pumpkins to carve one autumn—and were floored by how expensive they were—Tyler determined he would grow his own pumpkins again the following year in 2002. Over ten years later, they now raise strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and three young children, in addition to the pumpkins on their pick-your-own farm. (Their children are not part of the pick-your-own offerings.)

Tyler met Philip Shenk through their involvement with the Virginia Farm Bureau, and they began talking last year about growing pumpkins on Wayside Farm. Then Tyler and his wife went on a cruise, but not the kind where you lie by the pool or buy souvenirs from exotic beachside markets. This was a crash course in all things “corny,” dedicated to creating a destination for families to learn about and enjoy a real farm environment, with some jollies thrown in.

MAiZE, Inc. was founded by a young farmer, Brett Herbst, in Utah in 1996, and has since helped design over 2,000 cornfield mazes around the world and amassed several hundred member farmers who are given the tools and counsel to establish their own mazes. The cruise curriculum included maze layout and design, free kid-friendly activities, marketing, and networking with other corn maze farmers. Also on that cruise were the Wegmeyer’s farmer friends at Dan-D Farms in Knoxville, Iowa.

“You have to have a theme for your maze,” Tyler explains. “When we got back [from the cruise], we started throwing around ideas, most of which revolved around something agricultural. ‘No, no, no,’ my 7-year-old son, Torsten, said. ‘You should do an Angry Birds maze!’ Well, kids know a lot more than adults do a lot of the time, especially about what kids like.” Tyler added that this whole experience allows adults to be big kids and use their imaginations, too.

The Wegmeyers in Virginia and Dan-D Farms in Iowa conspired to link mazes, with the angry bird taking off from Berryville and landing in Knoxville. It is unknown how long that journey will take, but visitors to Wayside Farm Fun will be given free admission to greet the bird upon its arrival and enjoy Dan-D Farms should they find themselves in Knoxville, Iowa this fall. “This is the first inter-state maze I know of that is linked in this way,” Tyler said.

The cornstalks at Wayside are now at least nine feet tall, dense and fat, standing proudly over the ten acres and several miles of winding trails that comprise the maze. There is an “easy” maze phase that takes 20 to 40 minutes to complete and a “hard” phase that takes 40-60 minutes. Along the route, maze walkers will be presented with a variety of questions, either about agriculture or Angry Birds, and must answer correctly to proceed on the right path. There will also be a smart phone app available that can help steer those so inclined, but instincts may prevail over technology on this assignment.

The Shenk brothers will be giving hayrides around the farm, talking about its history and telling other sundry tales. Apple the Goat will be climbing a specially-designed “goatwalk” to reach his prize of treats supplied by spectators below. Four or five piglets will race around a newly-constructed track “that will take them about 45 seconds,” Mark laughed. A pyramid of straw will give youngsters another place to play and burrow. Neighbor farmer Wade Louthan provided his combine to give kids a chance to climb into the tall cab and sit behind the wheel, then slide down an attached slide. And a couple of large galvanized water troughs, two old-fashioned water pumps, and a series of tubing have been turned into a racing stream for rubber ducks.

“We’ve always been thrifty,” Mark says, pointing to the fact that much of the infrastructure and props for the activities have come from the farm or been donated by neighbors and friends. Looking around the barn playground, one can see many examples of adaptive reuse, all of which contribute to the authentic look and feel of the experience. And it’s truly a family affair. Mark’s wife Beth will be greeting visitors to the farm store where a variety of children’s toys related to the maze and farm will be for sale. Philip’s wife Theresa was driving posts from the tractor for the pig racetrack during a recent visit. Tyler’s wife Harriet and their three kids have contributed ideas, inspiration, and plenty of sweat equity. All will be on hand during operating hours, greeting visitors, serving concessions, supervising activities, and making sure everyone is safe and happy. Pizza, barbecue, kettle corn, and soft drinks will be available for purchase.

For those just wanting to find the perfect jack-o-lantern, there are over 20 varieties of pumpkins planted over nine acres to pick from, grown by the Wegmeyers. Pumpkins sell by the pound and no admission fee is required for people just wanting to pick up a pumpkin or three.

So slip on your boots, gather your kids and inner-child spirit, and come out for a full day of fun on the farm.

 

Wayside Farm Fun, located at 5273 Harry Byrd Highway east of Berryville, opens September 21 and will be open weekends (Friday-Sunday) from 10am to 6pm until November 3. Admission is $10/person; kids 2 and under free. No pets, please.

Admission to the pick-your-own pumpkin patch is free; pumpkins are sold by the pound. For information, visit waysidefarmfun.com or e-mail info@waysidefarmfun.com.

Preserving History and Restoring Nature at Cool Springs

/in /by

Preserving History and Restoring Nature at Cool Springs

Shenandoah University’s plans for Civil War property keep the focus on low-impact educational activities

The Shenandoah University campus at Cool Spring Battlefield.

Colleen Lentile

On any given day, passers-by could walk by Shenandoah University’s main campus in Winchester and see students and nearby residents wandering about, using the property as their own. Those same students and locals now can be found on SU’s fifth campus, the River Campus, located at the Cool Springs Battlefield on the Shenandoah River in Clarke County.

Cool Springs, once the Virginia National Golf Course, was given to SU through an easement with the Civil War Battlefield Trust in April 2013. The easement guarantees a perpetual conservation plan—but the specifics about how the land will be managed, and for whose benefit, was a matter for the university to determine. SU’s current plans for the property include an “outdoor classroom” for their students, focusing on the educational assets that come along with the property, including the historical, environmental, and cultural aspects of the land.

From a conservation perspective, the most compelling element is the ground’s Civil War history. On July 17–18, 1864, only seven days after the Battle of Fort Stevens, Confederate Lt . Gen. Jubal Early left Washington, D.C., and retreated into the Shenandoah Valley. Upon President Lincoln’s request, Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright followed in pursuit of Early and his men, who were left without Gen. Robert E. Lee and his soldiers. With Brig. Gen. George Crook’s army by his side, Wright led 10,500 men after Early. Wright caught up with Early at Snickers Ferry and the two sides collided near Cool Springs, leaving approximately 800 casualties.

The university’s Cool Springs project, now nicknamed “Shenandoah on the Shenandoah,” is overseen by the Dean of the College of Arts and Science, Dr. Calvin Allen. He says he is in constant communication with everyone involved in the project, insuring that current activities run smoothly and future activities are planned in accordance with the easement and the university’s education mission. Onsite management is carried out by Gene Lewis, the Cool Springs property steward and manager, and T. Grant Lewis, the Cool Springs program director. Allen plans to incorporate the property into student life programs, including the outdoor leadership.

The school says it’s also working closely with the Clarke County communities around Cool Springs, including the Holly Cross Abbey and the Shenandoah Retreat, and Clarke County and regional historical groups. The residents of the Retreat have the same access as others and received the code to the locked gates when the project began with SU.

The Shenandoah Retreat Land Corporation board of directors remains positive about the situation as well: “[We have] enjoyed proactive and positive communications with Shenandoah University,” said a member of the Retreat’s board. Just like anytime you get a new neighbor in your neighborhood, there is a ‘get-to-know-you’ period, and we reserve concerns for our community. We are pleased to find that the university and the Retreat have mutual interests in fostering a long-term relationship.”

T. Grant Lewis says the university tries to be a good neighbor. They are aware of the noise that they create; they try to keep in contact with the residents around them, and will enforce the 15mph speed limit in the Retreat. They also are only using one road, Parker Lane off of Route 7, for access into Cool Springs.

There are two structures at Cool Springs: the Clubhouse, which is the only historical building on the property, and one small pavilion. There are a few gravel parking lots, a walking path, and 195 acres of open land and river.

Allen, Lewis, and Lewis told the Observer improvements include some interpretive signs describing historical significance, but there are no plans for construction except for a few outbuildings like rest rooms and a covered weather shelter. Lewis and Lewis also mention that they personally don’t want to see anything built there.

Cool Springs is now open to students and the public from dawn until dusk every day, with exceptions for events like star gazing. Everyone at Shenandoah University stresses that while the public is welcome, Cool Springs is not a park—it is a natural area of historical significance. “It’s not a free-for-all,” said T. Grant Lewis, commenting on student access to the land.

Cool Spring’s rules and regulations are posted on signs placed about the property. No hunting, firearms, or metal detectors are permitted. Lewis and Lewis are putting their trust in SU students and the public to respect the Cool Springs property and adjacent neighborhoods.

“Cool Springs will have the same openness as our campus,” said Dr. Allen, referring to the citizens that walk and bike on the main campus in Winchester.

“The overall goal is to get the property back to what it was in the 1860s,” said Dr. Allen. Specifically, there will be no golf course. Cool Springs will be managed as a nature reserve.

Lewis and Lewis refer to the Cool Springs property as a “wonderful gift,” hoping that the students and community will “connect to the land,” referring to recent trends in which young people have little or no contact with nature and, as a result, have little appreciation for it.

For Grant Lewis, the long term future of the landscape is what’s most important. He says it will take collaboration and community support to take care of Cool Springs in perpetuity. “Why don’t we get together to protect this place?” he said.

The SU community is already enjoying the Cool Springs land. Recently the Class of 2017 ventured there for a program; and the university’s resident assistants and resident directors had an outdoor retreat there.

While Allen, Lewis, and Lewis all play different roles in determining the future of Cool Springs, each shares a sense of passion about making it work for the community and the resources protected by the easement. They admit to learning as they go, and say that addressing public concerns is not a one-time thing—it will be part of the ongoing management of Cool Springs.

Ultimately, say Lewis and Lewis, they hope that the students of Shenandoah University and the communities around Cool Springs will “take ownership for this place,” and help the land rehabilitate itself, in a community effort to pay it forward for the generations to come.