Posts

Learning Life Skills Through Horses

/in , /by

Pony Club teaches youth horsemanship, responsibility, teamwork

By Jess Clawson
Youth in Clarke County and the surrounding areas are working together to learn about good horsemanship and support Clarke County land conservation through the Blue Ridge Hunt Pony Club.
BRHPC is a branch of the United States Pony Club (USPC), a national organization for youth that teaches horseback riding, mounted sports, and the care of horses and ponies. Participants — from age six to 25 — learn horsemanship as well as responsibility, moral judgment, and self-confidence. Members participate in mounted and unmounted instruction, represent the club in regional and national competitions known as rallies, and learn to become well-rounded horse people. They achieve certifications along the way: those who attain A level are considered ready to become a professional horse trainer.
The local club is based in Clarke County, with members residing in surrounding counties, Northern Virginia, and Washington, D.C. BRHPC is historically important to the area and to the national organization: it was the first Pony Club chapter formed in the United States.
In 1953, a temporary advisory committee including local resident Alexander Mackay-Smith called a meeting of 22 interested people to propose establishing what became USPC. By the end of 1954, there were 22 member clubs in seven regions across the country. Currently, there are nearly 600 Pony Club and Pony Club Riding Centers serving over 10,000 members nationwide. Pony Clubs exist worldwide, with clubs in 30 countries.
USPC was modeled after the British Pony Clubs. “Many of the first Pony Clubs in America, such as BRHPC, were grown out of a [foxhunt club],” says BRPHC district commissioner Anne Williams. “Foxhunting, therefore, remains one of the disciplines of the USPC, and members are still educated about the sport.”
The focus of BRHPC, according to co-district commissioner Mary Schwentker, is horsemanship. “We provide opportunities to learn life skills through horses,” she says. “The certifications provide an opportunity for our members to set goals and work hard toward those goals. Our members learn to be independent and responsible to their horses and team members at rallies.”
Youth who are genuinely interested in horses can join Pony Club to build a solid foundation for horsemanship. Williams says, “I have worked in barns where children arrive, get on a pony, have their lesson, dismount, and go home without ever learning how to care for the pony. Pony Club is the whole package. It enhances the mounted instruction children already receive and introduces them to the complexities and importance of horse care. We are fortunate that local trainers and instructors recognize that aspect of Pony Club in our area and encourage their students to join so they will be well-rounded.”
Members seek out Pony Club because it’s fun, too. “BRHPC is like a family,” Schwentker says. “We have many activities throughout the year, both mounted and unmounted. Our members work hard but always have fun.”
Many BRHPC members ride competitively as well as participate in pony club. “The pony club program places a strong emphasis on horsemanship, knowledge of horse care, and management,” says Schwentker. “We are producing individuals who can be successful in the show ring and also have depth of knowledge in regard to horsemanship. They are self-reliant, they know the importance of volunteering and giving back to the sport, they know what it is to win and not win with grace. People coming from Pony Club are some of the most well-rounded horsemen in the sport.”
Local top riders with Pony Club roots include Schwentker herself — a USPC national examiner and eventing professional, as well as United States Dressage Federation silver medalist; David and Karen O’Connor, Cathy Frederickson (also a national examiner) Stephen Bradley, Sara Kozumplik, Phyllis Dawson, and top amateur Dr. Dorothy Eisenberg.
While Pony Club has traditionally built the curriculum around the sport of eventing, members can now choose to specialize in eventing, dressage, and show jumping. Further, there are also rallies in dressage, eventing, foxhunting, mounted games, polo, and others.
“Today, you could go through all of the [national level] certifications on a horse management track and never ride at all,” says Williams. “Or you could be on a dressage track and never jump, or a show jumping track and never ride cross country, and still reach your A certification.” It’s very different from when she and Schwentker were in Pony Club, she adds, but it furthers the goals of Pony Club to be accessible to everyone, no matter what their interest is.”
Rallies are a good experience for young riders. They compete on teams of three or four riders and a stable manager. “The opportunity to compete on a team in equestrian sports is often not seen until international competition,” Schwentker says. “No parents are allowed in the barns or the warm up. Members are judged on their stable management, turnout of the horses, and tack before and after their rides — in addition to their performances in the ring. They are responsible to get to the inspections and rings on time. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn responsibility and teamwork.”
At each of the regional rallies, up to four individuals will form a regional team and compete at the USPC National Championships. Pony Club members also have the opportunity for international exchange teams in games, polocross, eventing, and foxhunting.
The local chapter benefits the Clarke County area beyond producing well-rounded and knowledgeable horsemen. “Clarke County is a haven for horse people, especially fox hunters,” says Williams. “We are so very fortunate to live in an area where so much land is in conservation easements and protected from development. Our young people are hopefully going to be the next stewards of this amazing county, and that’s why Pony Club is important for them to be a part of.”
Every summer they have a weeklong camp at Long Branch to help prepare for rallies and certifications, where they focus in part on land conservation. “We are very fortunate to hold our camp at Long Branch. Last year we took advantage of learning about the recent improvements the organization has made to the actual Long Branch stream that runs through the property,” says Williams. Local member Lindy Davenport organized a lecture and tour of the waterway protection effort taking place at Long Branch. Members had the opportunity to learn about the fencing that had been installed to protect banks and how keeping a herd of horses out of the stream would benefit the water. “It made the kids look at how everything they do, even something as simple as turning a horse out, affects something else in the environment.”
Longtime supporter Iona Pillion often takes members on long trail rides so that members, especially those who do not participate in fox hunting, “can see how lucky they are to have landowners who support the sport and the land itself to enjoy,” says Williams. “She is always quick to remind the kids of these points.”
The national organization also emphasizes land conservation. “The USPC includes a land conservation requirement in each of the horse management certifications,” says Schwentker. At the lowest level, “Members are required to know three locations where the activities take place. As the members progress through the A horsemanship test, they need to be able to discuss the area’s land conservation concerns and initiatives.”
Pony Club prepared Schwentker for her career as a professional. “My experience in Pony Club has given me a strong foundation in horsemanship,” she says. “From here it has been easy to gain the knowledge needed to compete successfully at the upper levels of eventing. Even if I had chosen a career outside of horses, I am certain that the life lessons learned in Pony Club would help me to succeed in any field.”
Pony Club also encourages volunteerism. “Pony Club encourages members to give their time generously, whether that manifests itself by requiring older members to teach younger members, or seeing alumni who want to return to be club leaders, judges at rallies, and becoming involved with the Pony Club at the national level,” says Williams.
Anyone wishing for more information on joining the club or upcoming activities can contact Anne Williams at 540-303-3931 or annewilliams81@gmail.com.

Education As An Instrument Of Equality

/in /by

How the Feud Between W.E.B DuBois and Booker T. Washington shaped education 

By Jess Clawson
This is the second installment in a series on vocational education in the U.S. The March piece focused on the roots of vocational education in the post-Reconstruction era South.
Clarke County High School students have new opportunities for career and technical education this spring, with continued growth in upcoming semesters, thanks to the county’s collaboration with local business owners and professionals, as well as their work with Lord Fairfax Community College.
Career and technical education — once called vocational education — has been the subject of debate in U.S. education for about 125 years. Stakeholders in vocational education and in classical liberal arts education have been at odds since Reconstruction ended in 1877, at which time the Union troops left the South and a reign of white supremacist terror and intimidation began in order to keep black people from exercising their political rights. Schools in particular were targets of Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist group activity.
The southern black community believed in the centrality of education. This desire was not derivative, not mimicking the habits of white people, but was rooted in the values and aspirations of black culture. At the end of Reconstruction, several groups of northern white people involved themselves in black southern education. One group, missionaries — typically middle class northern Protestant white women — wanted to give black students a classical liberal arts education and thought they would move into the mainstream of society.
The second group, northern philanthropists, favored vocational education and perpetuated racial accommodation. They wanted the north to stay industrial and the south to stay agricultural, and so they funded agricultural education in the south to keep black people working on southern farms.
Of course, black people were neither passive in educational attainment nor unified in their views about what sort of education would serve their communities best. The feud between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois exemplifies the debate and the rise of vocational education in the U.S. before the Progressive era.
Booker T. Washington was born in slavery. After emancipation, he attended the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University), then an agricultural training program for black people. Washington’s political views were gradualist: he wanted racial equality, but he did not think that black people were educationally advanced enough to compete with white people in classical liberal arts settings. Thus, he preferred they gain equality through learning a trade and becoming economically independent, and gradually integrating into society. He became president of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1881 with the intention of acting on his vision.
Washington wanted black people to conform to white cultural values and expectations. He did not want black people to risk their lives by voting, running for office, moving off the farms and into the cities, or in any other way potentially attracting violence from white people. Thus, at Tuskegee, he trained black people in industrial vocational skills. He wanted to restore dignity to manual labor that slavery had taken away in the hopes that this would be a step toward economic self-sufficiency for black southerners.
This concern about the dignity of manual labor continues today. “In CTE, when working with kids, you’re fighting old stereotypes,” says Cathy Seal, director of curriculum and instruction for Clarke County. “Plumbing is a great profession, but kids aren’t interested in plumbing because they think that entails working on commodes and toilets. They don’t understand the construction realm, and all that could possibly be.” The stigma attached to anything that is not considered white-collar remains.
In 1895, Washington laid out these ideas in a speech at the Cotton State Exposition, addressing industrial leaders. His words, which came to be known as the Atlanta Compromise, encouraged the white industrialists to “cast down your buckets where you are.” He wanted white people to employ black people in the south, because if industrial leaders would accept the black population and integrate them into the economic system, he believed, they would have better race relations. Washington was convinced that vocational education and a gradual integration would prevent racial violence, even if it would not foster political equality.
Washington’s primary opponent was W.E.B. DuBois. Born in 1868 in Great Barrington, Mass., to a middle class family, he had a different perspective on racial equality than did Washington. DuBois was highly educated, earning his undergraduate degree at Fisk and his Ph.D. from Harvard — he was the first black person to do so. In 1903, he published The Souls of Black Folk, which introduced the idea of the “Double Consciousness.” He argued that black people were unique in the U.S. because they have two impulses: to integrate into white society and to prioritize their African heritage. The two cultures pulled black people in separate directions.
Because he was more ambivalent about integration than Washington, he was skeptical of Washington’s plan for achieving equality. He wanted to provide the opportunity for some black people to receive the classical liberal arts education that he had. This would give black people the tools to grow their communities. Thus, he vehemently disagreed with Washington on gradualism and the emphasis on vocational education.
DuBois, however, did agree with Washington that not all black people were prepared for classical liberal arts education. He wanted what he called the Talented Tenth — or the top ten percent of academically gifted black people — to get the liberal arts education he valued. These people would bring about equality for everyone else, because they would be the lawyers, physicians, politicians, and other members of the professional class with the capacity to advocate for black communities on the whole. The remaining 90 percent of black people could get the vocational education Washington recommended.
The disagreement between DuBois and Washington was not really about how the majority of black people should be educated. Rather, it was about how to train the leaders, or whether black communities should have leaders at all in a way white society would recognize. DuBois was so vehement in his disapproval of Washington’s plan that in 1905, he formed the Niagara Movement to challenge Washington. This led to the formation of the NAACP in 1909, meant to bring about racial equality, totally and quickly. DuBois and the NAACP supported the black freedom movement of the 1960s (DuBois died in 1963), which fought for rights to vote, equal opportunities for jobs, and equal education facilities.
Washington’s gradualist strategies and preference for vocational education were more successful in the short term because they appealed to the industrialists and raised a lot of money. However, DuBois’s strategies have had more long-term success in the ongoing efforts to bring about equality for black people in the U.S.
Clarke County includes a piece of this history. In 1882, freed people built the Josephine City School to provide children with grade-school education. The school, operated primarily under the principles embraced by Washington, eventually was renamed as Clarke County Training School. In 1966, after public school desegregation, it again underwent a name change and became the Johnson-Williams Intermediate School, serving students of all races until closing in 1987. The original Josephine City School is now on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2003 became the first museum devoted to the history of Clarke County’s black community.
Whether vocational education could serve the purpose to uplift underprivileged people, or whether it was meant to maintain their status as working class, would remain a primary topic of discussion for educators for more than a century.
The debates about vocational education gained a great deal of traction in the Progressive era, when they migrated to urban schools for northern white people. These will be discussed in the next installment. Jess Clawson lives in Winchester, Va. She has a PhD in education history from the University of Florida.

The Micro and Macro Worlds of Julie Miles

/in /by

By Claire Stuart

There is a tiny world of extraordinary beauty right outside our doors, if we only pause to look. That world came to light in artist Julie Miles’ recent exhibit, opening in tandem with the concert by Appalachian/roots band Furnace Mountain at the Barns of Rose Hill.
Miles takes us into an enchanted micro-realm where we can peer at the ephemeral magic of dandelion seeds escaping on their feathery parachutes, a bursting milkweed pod, the delicate fuzz and finely-detailed wing veins of a bee. She captures the mystical perfection of dewdrops, seeds, flower petals and lacy leaves on backdrops of silver or gold leaf.
But Miles’ work can’t be pigeonholed. She is just as at home in the macro world as in the micro. She has turned an Airstream travel trailer into a watermelon and painted pet portraits. She has brought the world indoors with murals, transforming walls into seashores and ocean depths, woodlands, flower gardens and African plains.
Miles, a Virginia native, says she started painting in childhood, describing herself as a nature girl and a cowgirl. “When I got grounded in the tenth grade, I started painting murals on the wall of my room,” she recalls with a laugh.
She received her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and headed west, where she painted murals for a museum in Tucson, Arizona. Returning east, she moved to the Washington, D.C. area and studied decorative painting with a group in Leesburg. In decorative painting, she discovered a way to use her talents productively and she continued to take classes with European masters.
Decorative painting includes faux finishes, wood graining, murals, trompe l’oeil, painted floors and ceilings, plasters, glazes and old world glaze finishes. “Wall glazes add depth to a room, make a more interesting wall,” she explains. “It’s always creative, always new.”
In 1991, she founded J. Miles Studios, a full-spectrum decorative painting and fine arts studio, where she works with interior designers, builders, and homeowners. Sometimes her work has her travelling to Europe. “Some people use designers,” she says, “and some have their own ideas as to what they want.”
Her work is labor-intensive, with wood graining taking seven to ten pigment layers and Venetian plasters nine or ten super-thin plaster layers topped with wax. “It’s tedious, detail-oriented, and methodical, but I like it,” she says, adding that there is a Zen she can achieve in her work.
She says painted floor cloths are regaining popularity. They were very popular throughout the 18th century, but were killed by the patenting of linoleum in 1860. They are made of duck canvas with pictures are painted on them. They are finished with several layers of urethane, and you can walk on them.
“They’re easy to clean and durable,” she says. “And they’re good for quirky spaces—they can be cut to any size or shape.”
Miles says that she had been so busy creating for clients that she had not painted for her own pleasure for decades. Then, a few years ago, local artist Winslow McCagg asked her to participate in a group art show he was organizing in the Dairy Barn in Middleburg. Inspired, she started her journey of painting again. She had never painted small before (some of her new paintings are 8×10), so this was a new experience. She loves to paint organic matter, an outgrowth of her love of gardening, and her gardens provide inspiration.
Miles has had three successful shows in the Middleburg Dairy Barn. Her recent show at The Barns was also successful; with the Furnace Mountain concert sold out and she had excellent art sales. Sometime next year, she plans to do another show with Furnace Mountain, with paintings that go specifically with the music.
Miles lives on three beautifully-landscaped acres in White Post; the old White Post Store is on her property — she hopes to transform it into a studio. She is happy to be a part of the diverse and strong community of artists in Clarke County,
Julie Miles is looking forward to participating in the Clarke County Studio Tour, October 1-2. See more of her at www.jmilesstudios.com.

Living with Back Pain

/in /by

Try Low-Tech to Move Through It

by JiJi Russell
Chances are that either you or someone you know well has suffered, or is suffering now, from back pain. Millions of Americans reportedly do each year. While no simple recommendation could address nuances of each individual’s circumstances and needs, the holistic recommendations provided below might constitute a starting point, or a new and healthy challenge to include in your daily routine. Sometimes small changes can bring about more comfort when you need it most. The key lies in consistency. Small practices every day are better than one big effort once a week.

Gentle Movement
While hitting the gym hard might sound like a good idea, statistics show that most people burn out quickly or become injured. If you can establish a habit of consistent, yet gentle daily movement, you might be more likely to stay the course over the long term and avoid injury as well. Consider walking, tai chi or qigong, swimming, or very select yoga.
The “select” yoga recommendation comes from a conclusion I’ve drawn during 12 years of teaching yoga: Very few yoga studio classes are appropriate for the average person over 25 years old who walks in from the street. If you’re 25 or below and injury free, the world of movement or exercise is your oyster. For the rest of us, with decades of movement patterning, historical injuries, or health issues spanning from muscular-skeletal to digestive, the popular American “flow” style of yoga simply is not appropriate.
Yoga classes that would best address a person with back pain would be very slowly-moving classes, which allow time for safely getting into and out of poses. Such classes also enable the teacher to better address each student’s needs within a class setting. Key words for an appropriately slow and mindful style of yoga include “restorative,” “yin,” “rehabilitative,” or “chair.” It also can be helpful to find a teacher who has more than five years of teaching experience, and perhaps one who has personally experienced and addressed back pain.

Yoga Poses for Your Back
As with any form of exercise, tread lightly and slowly if you have pain or a current injury. The poses below are intended to be followed in the sequence presented, as each one supports the next.
Bridge pose
This backbend helps you to “fire up” the supporting muscles of your back and legs, while offering a less intense curvature of the spine than other backbends. Doing this pose first enables a warming of the back muscles, which prepares them for a safer stretch later.
1) Come to a position lying on your back, with your feet on the floor close to your buttocks, your thighs parallel to each other, and your knees pointing straight up to the ceiling.
2) Place your arms down at your sides.
3) Allow your shoulders to slide down and away from your ears while you elongate your neck, but keep your neck in its natural curve so that it does not touch the floor. (It arches slightly away from the floor.)
4) Stand into your feet as you lift your pelvis straight up toward the sky, pausing before you reach your maximum height.
5) As you pause, engage the muscles in the backs of your thighs as well as your buttocks muscles, to provide strength along with the stretch. Also, think of reaching the base of your spine away from the upper back so that you elongate or “traction” the spine a little more fully.
6) With the muscle engagement and tractioning in step five happening, now lift your pelvis up to a higher point where you can hold and take three full breaths.
7) Release back down to the floor on an exhalation.
Cobra pose
One of the most therapeutic yoga poses I regularly turn to, the cobra pose can help to strengthen the posterior support muscles, include those alongside the spine. Cobra also can help to better align the bones of the spine and pelvis.
1) Come to a position lying on your belly, with your face downward toward the floor and the tops of your feet on the floor.
2) “Reach” the top of your skull away from the toes, and the toes away from the skull. In effect, lengthening your entire body to prepare for the backbend.
3) Place your hands beneath your shoulders, with your elbows pointing upwards.
4) Start to lift your chest off the floor while keeping your feet down.
5) Engage the muscles of the buttocks and lower back to help you lift as much as you can without strain, and without recruiting much support from your hands/arms.
6) Hold the position for two or three breaths, and then release slowly back down as you exhale your breath out. Repeat the pose one or two more times.
Child’s pose
Transition very slowly from cobra pose to child’s pose, a forward bend with a healthy dose of calming energy for both the body and mind.
1) From a hands and knees position on the floor, begin to drop your hips and buttocks back to your heels.
2) Rest your hips down as comfortably into the egg-shaped position as possible.
3) If you have too much compression in the ankles, roll up a towel and place it on the floor directly underneath your ankles so that your heels remain more lifted.
4) If you experience too much compression in the knees, take a blanket and lay it across the calves (backs of your legs), so that it provides a cushion to “sit” back upon.
5) Your arms can fold up and stack on top of each other to create a shelf for your head to rest on; or, you can keep your arms either outstretched on the floor or wrapped around your sides.
6) Breathe deeply so that you can feel your back softly expand and contract with each breath in and out. Comfort is paramount in this position in order to reap the relaxation benefits. Hold the position for at least four deep breaths. Stay longer, up to two minutes, if it feels right for you.
Restrictive Diet

Those who experience muscular pain, joint pain, and other aches might find some relief by eliminating foods that are known to cause inflammation. If total elimination looms too large to tackle, think of a gradual approach by choosing a food, or food category, from the list below to eliminate for just one week. See how you feel; then try cutting out another one the following week.

Common inflammatory foods

Highly processed foods: “junk food,” packaged snacks, canned and/or prepared foods like soups, frozen meals
Lunch Meats: high in preservatives like nitrites and nitrates
Sugar: one of the most prevalent inflammatory ingredients of all, which is found in abundance in processed foods like yogurt, sports drinks, sodas, canned soups and sauces, and on and on
Sodium: another common additive found in overabundance in nearly all prepared foods
Wheat and refined grains: breads, pastas, boxed cereals, and nearly any grain that’s not in its whole state can produce an inflammatory effect within the body. Old-fashioned rolled oats are a “whole grain;” Cheerios are not. Brown rice is a whole grain; white rice — stripped of the husk, bran, and germ — is not a whole grain.
Dairy products: Some people experience greater allergies, mucous buildup, and other autoimmune or inflammatory issues with the consumption of dairy products.
Poor-quality oils: the common “vegetable oils” used in virtually all fast-food items contain high polyunsaturated omega 6 fats, which most Americans consume in excess. Corn oil, soybean oil, safflower, and sunflower oil are among the ones to reduce or eliminate. Good oils include olive oil, avocado, sesame, grape seed, and coconut oils — the latter for high heat.
Of course each person, based on his or her physical constitution and health status, has a unique response to any given food or food group. However, it’s my best practice to start with the low-tech, natural approach to health and wellness first and see if any positive results yield.
Food choice is about as low-tech and down to basics as you can get. If you create a diet that centers around real, fresh produce; beans and legumes; quality meats in moderation; and whole grains, you probably will feel better sooner.
Proportion recommendations of each of the above vary, but so far I’ve not heard of anyone dying or becoming ill from eating too many fruits and vegetables. Let those items fill up most of your plate, with an emphasis on the veggies.

More Natural Healing Techniques

Foundation Training:
a strengthening regimen designed for those with back pain, originated by
chiropractor Eric Goodman
Chiropractic Care: getting your spinal structure aligned can help with pain, and healing
Acupuncture:
for releasing
energy blockages
Massage:
for greater circulation and overall comfort
Meditation: for gaining better insight into your pain and how to manage it

Around Clarke County March/April 2016

/in , /by

March

12

Blue Ridge Hunt

Point to Point Races. 490 Woodley Lane. Berryville. 67th running. Welcome in spring with the first race of the season at the lovely Woodley Farm. Gates open at 10:30am. Post time 12 Noon. 11 races. General Admission is $20/Car. For more information or to reserve front row parking call Jenny Irwin at (202) 664-4664.

16

Pruning Small Trees

Blandy Experimental Farm. The State Arboretum of Virginia. 400 Blandy Farm Lane.  Boyce. 1–3 pm. Scott Johnston, ISA Certified Arborist. This workshop begins with an introduction to proper pruning and tree care. We will then go outside for demonstrations and hands-on practice, with plenty of time for Q and A. Dress for the weather. FOSA members $10. nonmembers $12. For information call 540-837-1758 Ext. 226 or visit http://blandy.virginia.edu.

17

Trivia Night

with the Clarke County Historical Association. Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Court, Berryville. Doors open at 6pm. Event starts at 7. How smart do you think you are? Grab your thinking cap and a few friends and come join us the night of St. Patrick’s Day for the Clarke County Historical Association’s second-ever trivia tournament! Categories will once again include History, Literature, Virginia, Science, and Television. Prizes will go to the top three teams and there will be raffles between rounds. Funny team names are encouraged! $5 for CCHA and BORH members. $8 for non-members. For more information visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

18

-20 CCHS Spring Musical

“Oh, the thinks you can think!” CCHS Auditorium. 627 Mosby Blvd, Berryville. 7:30pm Friday and Saturday and 2:30 Sunday. Mark your calendars for the 16th annual CCHS Spring Musical as we take a journey into the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss with Seussical the Musical! Make plans to come hang out with The Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant, Gertrude McPhuzz, JoJo, Mayzie Le Bird, and a host of crazy Seuss characters! Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for students. Contact Andy Kiser, Artistic Director, at 540-955-6130 x.7446 for additional information.

18

Berryville Drum Circle

My Neighbor and Me. 15 E. Main Street. Berryville. 7–8:30pm. Free. Leader: Jona Masiya.  540-955-8124.  www.myneighborandme.com.

19

Summer Camp Fair

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. 181 Kernstown Commons Blvd. Winchester. 9am–12:30pm. Learn about a variety of camps and programs available at this integrated summer camp fair.  Participants will have several chances to win great prizes. Prize packs include complimentary admission to local pools and museums, movie tickets with popcorn, river tubing passes, discounts off camps and more valued over $400! Shenandoah Valley Kids Trail and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will have their prize wheels to spin for more prizes and giveaways. Free admission and children’s activities. For more information call Tracey Pitcock at 540-955-5149 or email tpitcock@clarkecounty.gov.

19

Squirrels

Love’em or Leave’em. Blandy Experimental Farm. The State Arboretum of Virginia. 400 Blandy Farm Lane. Boyce. 2–4 pm. Love them or not, everyone has a squirrel story: their playful antics, or how they eat your bird seed or dig in your garden. This family event begins with a short illustrated talk that includes squirrel crafts, games, and activities and ends with observation of Blandy’s squirrels. For the whole family, but no dogs please. FOSA members $10. nonmembers $12. Member family $20. Nonmember family $25. For information call 540-837-1758 Ext. 226 or visit http://blandy.virginia.edu.

19

Soup and Sandwich Luncheon

Boyce Volunteer Fire Company. 7 S. Greenway Ave. Boyce. 11am–1:30pm. Free will offering to benefit Relay for Life of Clarke County. Sponsored by Stepping Stones Community Action Team.

19

Watercolor Workshop

with Julie Read. Fire House Gallery. 23 E. Main Street. Berryville.  9am–12pm. Back by Popular Demand! Learn from a master. Each of Julie’s watercolors tells a story with their tone, perspective, and subject matter. Her paintings include incredible scenes of flowers grown in her garden, pigs, whimsical chickens, cows, lovely local landscapes, and trees. $40 includes materials, but 2 brushes needed, and feel free to bring your own paints! To sign up and get more info, please email info@firehousegalleryva.com or call 540 955 4001. Spaces are limited!

19

Prize Bingo            Fundraiser

John H. Enders Fire Hall, 9 S. Buckmarsh St, Berryville. Doors open at 1pm and Bingo starts at 2. Event benefits the non-profit Blue Ridge Center for Therapeutic Horsemanship.  $20 in advance. $25 at the door. 14 prize-filled games. Raffles for very special Thirty-One prize, 50/50, and themed baskets.  Chili, snacks and beverages available. Proceeds will provide scholarships for students with special needs and funds to help care for our therapy horses and ponies. Tickets can be purchased online at marchbingofundraiser.bpt.me or by contacting us at 540-533-2777 or brcthinc@hotmail.com.

 

20

Guild of Fabric     Artists

Clarke County Parks and Recreation. 225 Al Smith Circle. Berryville. 2–4pm. Designed to support and facilitate the creation and exhibition of members’ fabric art. A different study, will be explored each month. Everyone will be asked to show & tell about works in progress and completed work.  $1. Ages 18 and up. Leader: Joyce Badanes. For information call 540-955-5140.

20

Corda Nova Baroque

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Court, Berryville. Doors open at 3pm. Show starts at 4. Corda Nova Baroque is an early music ensemble that focuses on bringing lesser known Baroque works to wider audiences in a historically informed manner. Corda Nova Baroque‘s successful first season included programs of German Stylus Fantasticus works and Italian sonatas in Washington DC, Middleburg, VA and  Philadelphia. The ensemble’s second season included performances with soprano Rebecca Mariman and French Baroque selections performed in Washington DC, Princeton NJ, and the group’s New York City debut on the GEMS Midtown Concert Series. $20 in advance. $25 at the door. For more information visit  www.barnsofrosehill.org.

22

Why Poverty?

Documentary night at My Neighbor and Me. 15 E. Main Street. Berryville. Film “Stealing Africa”. One hour film followed by group discussion. 7–9pm. Free. Leader: Christina Kraybill. 540-955-8124. www.myneighborandme.com.

23

Volunteer Training

for Therapeutic Riding. Blue Ridge Center for Therapeutic Horsemanship. 644 Lime Marl Lane. Millwood.  BRCTH invites enthusiastic and caring individuals to become lesson volunteers for 8-week spring session which begins the week of April 11.  Must be at least 14 years of age.  Equine experience required for the position of horse leader, and is preferred, but not required for side-walkers.  Trainees attend Orientation at 6pm on Weds, March 23, and then one of several hands-on trainings being offered over next several days. Contact Margie Youngs at brcthinc@hotmail.com or at 540-533-2777.

23

Full Moon Walk

Blandy Experimental Farm. The State Arboretum of Virginia. 400 Blandy Farm Lane. Boyce. 7:30–9 pm. Explore the Arboretum under the full moon. Wear comfortable shoes, bring a flashlight, and explore the natural world at dusk and after dark. FOSA members $10. nonmembers $12. Member family $20. Nonmember family $25. Reservations Required. For information call 540-837-1758 Ext. 226 or visit http://blandy.virginia.edu.

26

Community Health Forum

Living and Dying with Our Choices: Community Impact of Risk Behaviors and Narcotics. The presentation will take place at 10:30am and will be followed by a question and answer period with our panelists.

26

Easter Shop and Hop

Participating Retail Stores. Downtown Berryville. Join Berryville Main Street and participating Berryville merchants for our first Easter Shop and Hop! 11am–4pm. Mom can shop and kids can look for  hidden eggs with special letters in them. When all the letters collected spell EASTER, the kids can come down to the Firehouse Gallery to receive their prize! Participating merchants are The Firehouse Gallery, Modern Mercantile, My Neighbor and Me, Sweetpea’s, Berryville Treasures, Blue Ridge Hospice Thrift Store, and Berryville Auto Parts. For info call Berryville Main Street, 955-4001.

27

Pancake Breakfast

John H. Enders Fire and Rescue. 9 South Buckmarsh Street, Berryville. 7am–12 noon. Come Support your fire and rescue squad and enjoy the finest Pancake Breakfast in the area! Pancakes, Sausage, Eggs, Sausage Gravy, Baked Apples, Coffee, Milk, Hot Tea, Apple & Orange Juice. Adults $8. Children $4. Children under six eat for FREE. For Information Call 540-955-1110 or visit www.endersfire.com.

28

Food Drive

Through April 8. Clarke County High School. 627 Mosby Boulevard, Berryville. Join the Clarke County High School Student School Climate Committee in a Fill the Bus Food Drive to benefit FISH. Bring donations to the main office at Clarke County High School to help fill the bus! The bus will be packed on April 8. Contact Joanne Wolfe at wolfejo@clarke.k12.va.us or 540.955.6130.

April

2

Mark and Maggie O’Connor-American Classics

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Court, Berryville. Doors open at 7pm. Show starts at 8. Don’t miss Grammy-winner Mark O’Connor and his wife, Maggie, as they perform a broad and interconnecting collection of American music through violin solos and duos. American Classics identifies the cornerstones of repertoire, style and wonderful diversity of A New American School of String Playing. $20 in advance. $25 at the door. For more information visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

5

Why Poverty?

Documentary night at My Neighbor and Me. 15 E. Main Street. Berryville. Film “Education, Education”. One hour film followed by group discussion.  7p-9p. Free. Leader: Christina Kraybill. 540-955-8124. www.myneighborandme.com.

6

Arboretum Walking Tour

Blandy Experimental Farm. The State Arboretum of Virginia. 400 Blandy Farm Lane. Boyce. 2–3:30pm. Come enjoy flowering trees, shrubs, and wildflowers in all their spring glory! Dress for the weather. Free, but Reservations Required—Space is Limited. For information call 540-837-1758 Ext. 226 or visit http://blandy.virginia.edu.

7

BuzzWords Trivia Night

Handley High School’s  Patsy Cline Theater. Hosted by Literacy Volunteers of the Winchester Area. 6:30pm. LVWA offers ESL, computer and basic literacy classes for adults in the Clarke/Frederick area. For more information please visit LVWA.org.

9

Berryville Yard Sales

Downtown Berryville. Rain Date is Saturday, April 16.

 

9

/10 Estate Sale

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Court, Berryville. Second annual “Estate Sale Fundraising event– Fine Art and Home Furnishings” at the Barns. People may consign their artwork, antiques, furniture and home furnishings, or they may want simply to donate a good item to help the Barns raise funds. Items must be clean and in good repair. Suitable items include antiques, fine textiles, silver, china, original works of art, furniture in good repair, lamps, statuary and jewelry.  All items must be delivered to the Barns. Barns staff will be accepting items beginning Saturday, April 2.  Complete information is available at barnsofrosehill.org, or by calling 540-955-2004 between noon and 3PM, Tuesday through Saturday.

9

Kathy’s Art and Spring Dinner

Crums United Methodist Church. 2832 Crum’s Church Rd. Berryville. Join us in support of Kathy Hopson. A very courageous woman battling a mix Oglioastrocytoma, who discovered painting as an outlet for recovery. Presented by the Crum’s United Methodist Women. Free Will Offering Dinner 5–6:30pm with Silent Auction and Sale ending at 7:30pm. Cash or good check. Donations or questions please contact Shawn Nicholson at forothers@rocketmail.com.

9

Book Talk

with the Clarke County Historical Association by Historian John R. Maass: The Road to Yorktown.

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Court, Berryville. 2pm. Join us as military historian John R. Maass discusses his recent book – The Road to Yorktown: Jefferson, Lafayette and the British Invasion of Virginia – which explores the 1781 British invasion of central Virginia in the campaign leading up to the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781. $3 for BORH and CCHA members. $5 for non-members. For more information visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

9

Joan and Joni

A tribute to Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Court. Berryville. Doors open at 7pm. Show starts at 8. Joan & Joni is a tribute to Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell performed by singer/songwriters Allison Shapira and Kipyn Martin. Allison and Kipyn are both classically trained musicians from the DC-area folk music scene. In Joan & Joni, Allison and Kipyn bring to the stage many of Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell’s well-known originals and folk songs, as well as a few hidden gems. They also highlight the impact these legendary women have had on their own songwriting and performance. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. For more information visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

14

Benefit Fashion Show

What Goes Around, Comes Around! Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Court, Berryville. 6:30pm. This fashion show will take you back in time through current fashions with a comparison of what we’re wearing now with possibly what your mother or grandmother wore many years ago as their own current fashion. The memories of the slideshow will take you down memory lane while the models on the runway bring you back to the 21st century with a feeling of nostalgia. “Fashion has always been a repetition of ideas, but what makes it new is the way you put it together” Carolina Herrera, designer. Fashions will be provided by Chico’s of Creekside. There will be a Silent Auction, cash and checks only, to benefit The Clarke County Humane Foundation. Donation of items to the Animal Shelter are also welcome. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door, $10 for students. For more information or tickets please call 540-955-2004, or visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

15

Rhythm Future Quartet

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Court. Berryville. Doors open at 7pm. Show starts at 8. The acoustic jazz ensemble, Rhythm Future Quartet, has a straightforward agenda: to keep the spirit of Gypsy jazz alive and expanding in today’s musical universe. The virtuosic foursome, named for a Django Reinhardt tune, offers up a newly minted sound, influenced by the classic Hot Club of France, yet wholly contemporary. Led by violinist Jason Anick and guitarist Olli Soikkeli, the quartet performs dynamic and lyrical arrangements of both Gypsy jazz standards and original compositions that draw upon diverse international rhythms and musical idioms. With Max O’Rourke on second guitar and Greg Loughman on bass, Rhythm Future is dedicated to expanding the boundaries of a vital musical genre. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. For more information visit www.barnsofrosehill.org.

15

Mindfulness in Nature

Guided Walking Meditation. Blandy Experimental Farm. The State Arboretum of Virginia. 400 Blandy Farm Lane. Boyce. 6:30–8:30pm. Shell Fischer, Insight Meditation Instructor. Learn to slow down and draw on nature through guided meditation, silent walking, and reflection. Dress for the weather. Ages 16 and older. FOSA members $10. Nonmembers $12. Reservations Required. For information call 540-837-1758 Ext. 226 or visit http://blandy.virginia.edu.

16

Cash Party

John Enders Fire Hall. 9 South Buckmarsh St., Berryville. Doors open at 5:30. Crazy Cash Party and BBQ Dinner. Grand Prize $1500. Only 275 tickests. Call 540-955-1110 or email secretary@endersfire.com.

How do you know when it’s time to hang up your driver’s license?

/in /by

By Karen Cifala

I bet each one of us knows an elderly or disabled person that has refused to give up their driver’s license and the list of reasons is long. Truth is, and I understand this is a touchy subject, a survey done by AAA reported that almost 90 percent of senior drivers polled said losing their license would be problematic for their lives. It still doesn’t change the facts. Making a decision about driving is not really about age or disease specifics, it’s about driving performance.
Three true life situations below suggest differing perspectives on this very topic. Here is what they had to say about their personal driving situation.
Situation #1: Woman 83 years old, COPD, lost sight in one eye and has a severe case of atherosclerosis that is life threatening, doctors says she shouldn’t drive but she still does.
“Hopefully most people are aware of the changes going on in their body. I drive to and from the nursing home (1/2 mile back roads) and to the grocery store. I do have moments of uncertainty about my own proficiency and I do have some close calls, especially in a large parking lot. When someone pulls in front of me I am aware that my reaction time is not very good. You can’t kid yourself, and you have to be able to admit it to yourself that your driving is not so good anyway. I believe self-doubt is the primary reason I would eventually stop driving altogether”.
Situation # 2: Woman 90 years old, good health, still drives and lives by herself.
“If you think it’s going to snow, go to the store early and pick up your medications. I don’t drive in bad weather anymore because I don’t see as well. Of course, it makes sense that if you feel bad or are dizzy you shouldn’t get in your car, or if you are in a bad mood. I always wear at least one of my hearing aids when I drive and of course sometimes my car won’t start. I am much more alert in the morning, and there is less traffic, so it’s a good idea to make your doctor appointments in the morning”.
Situation #3: Man, 70 years old, diagnosed with early-onset glaucoma and lives with his wife who is in good health.
“I am basically blind in one eye, and I have lost my peripheral vision in the other eye. Even though this was an unanticipated intrusion I felt it was necessary to make the call to stop driving for my own safety, and I didn’t want to put my wife in an unsafe position or anyone else. My whole life changed considerably and I don’t get out as much as I used to. I miss having the independence, but I am very fortunate to have my wife who can drive which does give me more flexibility than if I was alone”.

 

Any of these sound familiar? From what I’ve learned a self-assessment is always a good place to start. Ask yourself “Am I still a safe driver”? If you can answer “yes” to any of the following, then a follow-up may be needed to ensure safe driving. Virginia GrandDriver website offers the following signs for self-assessment: Have you ever …

  • Suffered a stroke, heart attack or diminished eyesight?
  • Experienced difficulty in negotiating sharp turns and intersections?
  • Hesitated over right-of-way decisions or situations you once took for granted?
  • Been surprised by the sudden presence of other vehicles or pedestrians?
  • Received negative feedback from other drivers?
  • Become lost on familiar routes?
  • Felt nervous or exhausted after driving?
  • Been cited for traffic violations or found at fault in crashes?
Self-awareness is the key to making a good decision. Sometimes even your best intention of letting a loved one know they should not be driving seems like the hardest thing you will ever have to do. The Virginia GrandDriver website (www.granddriver.net) has a whole host of resources and publications to learn more about how to compensate for aging changes for Seniors, Caregivers, and Professionals.
In The State of Virginia has special rules that apply to drivers over 75 years old that seek to renew their licenses. They must renew every five years; drivers younger than 75 must renew every eight years. Drivers 80 and older must renew in person. For those 80 and older a free vision test is required and can be done at the DMV. An exam can also be performed by an outside ophthalmologist or optometrist within 90 days of the renewal request and they must complete a Customer Vison Report. A written and road test may be required at renewal in the discretion of DMV personnel.

Clarke County offers several transportation assistance options if you don’t have a caretaker or family member that can drive you to an appointment. Plus it might give you a chance to get out and socialize a bit as well as continue to help yourself maintain your independence. It’s never too late to try something new.

Resources
WellTran, 540-635-7141 Option #1
Offered through Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging. Fee based for persons over 18 who have a disability, and persons aged 60 and older.
Virginia Regional Transit, 540-955-9333 Offered Mon – Fri 9am to 1pm $1.00 per ride. Pick up directly from your house in Clarke Co. Mondays they go to Winchester and Thursdays are free.
FISH of Clarke Co., 540-955-1823. Offered to all Clarke Co residents, all volunteer free service to doctor and hospital visits and appointments. Can provide long distance drives to Martinsburg or Charlottesville if needed.
Karen Cifala is a senior real estate realtor for Remax Roots, 101 E. Main St. in Berryville. Please continue your generosity of contributing gently used iPods for donation to the Hospice Music Therapy program. You can drop them off at her office or call or email her at 303-817-9374, kcifala@gmail.com. 

The New Career and Technical Education

/in /by

C&T program brings opportunities for Clarke County students

By Jess Clawson

This month begins a series examining career and technical education in the U.S. in order to help readers more fully comprehend the significance and potential impact of the new programs in Clarke County High School. This installment provides an overview of new local career and technical education initiatives. The next two months will give an overview of the history of vocational training, with insights into the progress of the programs at CCHS. Jess Clawson has a PhD in education history from the University of Florida.

Educators everywhere are concerned about improving the academic performance of students who struggle to achieve in schools, as well as the career and higher education outcomes for high school graduates. Clarke County Schools Superintendent William “Chuck” Bishop is no different. In the December school board meeting, he announced plans for Clarke County High School to begin a career and technical education program for CCHS students.

Clarke County High School has always had courses that filled the CTE role, and this year is incorporating a work-based learning program in partnership with local businesses and industry leaders. Clarke County High School Principal Dana Waring and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Cathy Seal have examined industry data to provide opportunities for students in fields that are hiring.

Twenty students this year will have the opportunity to work with professionals in their area of career interest. “Students will be able to meet with and observe whatever experience comes from those community partners, to determine whether it’s something they want to do and pursue,” says Waring. “For instance, the student who wants to be a physical therapist might realize ‘this might not be for me,’ and those experiences are just as valuable.”

Local business owners who are willing to let students shadow them can offer a variety of experiences to help the students confirm or deny their initial interest in the field. The school is working with about twenty participating businesses covering a wide array of interests, from exotic veterinarians to CPAs to agricultural businesses. They are hoping to expand into opportunities in food service, as well as locations in Winchester, particularly the Old Town Mall.

The degree of hands-on experience varies by placement. For instance, Seal says, a student interested in construction may not be able to do much on the site because of their age, but someone interested in architecture may get to learn how the software works. “They are going to be spending a significant number of hours with the employer in the field,” according to Seal. “We’ve left it wide open, so kids who are involved in sports and extracurriculars can tailor the program to meet their scheduling needs.”

The initiative at CCHS has two major partnerships: Valley Health and Lord Fairfax Community College. Students at CCHS can get their Certified Nursing Assistant credential, and each year three students in the nurse aid program have the opportunity to do a paid internship with Valley Health. This provides economic opportunity, as the pay starts at $15/hour, and supports their college application materials. Prior to placement, they will have completed coursework and other clinical experience like visits to the local nursing home. According to Waring, “the vast majority of [CNA] students go into nursing.”

The cooperation with LFCC will expand upon the hands-on technical education CCHS offers. The local high school may not have the equipment available to give students the chance to learn about things like HVAC, electrical work, or welding. Through their work with LFCC, students will get two certifications and a college credit.

The partnership with LFCC is a consortium agreement and will include students from Warren, Frederick, and Winchester schools, along with Clarke County. Lord Fairfax will take 15 students combined, and CCHS has been allocated three spots. As the program evolves, more spots may become available and more programs offered.

Seal sees this as a tremendous opportunity for students: “Being the size that we are with one high school and a little over 700 students, we have to look to those community partnerships and opportunities that are available, because we can’t offer the variety of pathways and the variety of course offerings within this building,” she says. “We don’t have staff, we don’t have budget, we don’t have space. So that partnership with Lord Fairfax and that partnership with Valley Health is a good attempt to provide kids career exposure.”

Some opportunities for dual enrollment with Shenandoah University are also possible for students, particularly through the sports medicine course at CCHS. The course, taught by sports trainer Lindsey Greigo, is a daily block class with high medical terminology that Waring describes as intense and challenging.

The state is putting increased focus on career and technical education, including widening its reach into middle school. Eighth grade students are meant to have a career pathway document completed with the assistance of a guidance counselor to bring with them to high school. This helps Waring and the high school counselors assist them in choosing the appropriate coursework.

Seal believes this effort should be moved into the elementary division. “We certainly know kids aren’t going to decide in fifth grade what they’re going to be for the rest of their lives,” she says, “But if we can help them start to understand what their strengths are and what they’re naturally interested in and guide them down that path, it would be really helpful.” Seal is part of the Top of the Valley Regional Chamber Committee, and as a function of work on the strategic plan, proposed a project to get fourth and fifth grade students exposed to more career and industry pathways. While teachers might bring architects or other professionals to their classes to talk to students, the entire school is not necessarily exposed to those ideas. “We need to firm up more consistent efforts for kids to realize the vast array of careers,” Seal says.

The school system is doing more career exploration at earlier ages. In the fall semester, for instance, all of the seventh grades in Clarke County, as well as surrounding counties, went to the sports complex in Winchester for a middle school-appropriate career fair. Students would go through the fair and do activities that simulated work in the field. As Seal described it, “They didn’t have a firefighter talking to them about what it was like to be a firefighter…They actually suited up and went through a tunnel that was like a smoke/heat simulation to see what it was like.”

Beginning with the graduating class of 2017, all Virginia students on a standard diploma need a CTE requirement, but are not actually required to take CTE courses. This requirement is fulfilled through a standardized CTE exam. “The interesting piece to me is that they did not mandate that you have to take a CTE course,” says Seal. “They just said you have to pass the test. So I think they have some work to do in that area.” Clarke County will mitigate this problem through having all students take economics and personal finance—also mandated by the state—and using the accompanying standardized exam as their certification.

Subsequent installments will cover more details of the CCHS CTE initiative as well as the historical background that gives context to the local innovations. Next month, the history of Reconstruction and the debates over black education will feature the Josephine School Museum and its place in the vocational versus classical liberal arts education debates.

A Bird In The House

/in /by

An adventure with a Carolina wren, a kitchen in winter, and bright white pied piper

Story and illustration by Doug Pifer

A Carolina wren got into the kitchen. We found it fluttering against the window pane when we came down for coffee this morning.

My wife, who has quicker reflexes than I, tried to quietly catch the bird so we could let it outside. She had it in her cupped hands but it managed to escape through a small space between two of her fingers and flew to the top of the kitchen cabinet. There it stopped to rest, panting with stress.

When a bird gets into the house, the best way to get it out is to open a door or window and leave the room so the bird can find its way out calmly on its own. But this was a twenty-five degree Sunday morning in January and we didn’t want to lose all the heat in the kitchen. And I didn’t want to stress the bird further by chasing it around.

The way outside was down a set of stairs through the cellar way. And to put as much distance between itself and danger as possible, a bird usually wants to fly up, not down. To solve the problem I went to the studio and found a white, 20 by 30 inch canvas stretched on a wooden frame. By the time I returned to the kitchen the wren had flown to the brick wall above the kitchen door. So far, so good.

Very slowly I opened the door and sneaked back up the stairs while the bird quietly watched from its safe perch.  I continued to move slowly. I picked up the canvas and raised it as high over my head as I could without waving the canvas around. The bird calmly moved down the brick wall towards the door. Continuing to hold the canvas still, I slowly moved down the stairs. The bird hitched its way toward the open space below and quickly flew out, heading towards the woods across the paddock.

The wren was apparently none the worse for its experience other than the loss of a few tail feathers. We found the feathers behind some plants on the window sill. Our cat had evidently pounced on the bird when it came in, knocking the pots in disarray. Cleaning this mess up, I also discovered how the bird had gotten into the house. Between the brick wall and the window frame was a small hole, through which I could see outside. Thanks to that Carolina wren, we’ve discovered part of the heating problem in the kitchen!

Living in old farm houses for many years, my wife and I have had our share of visits by birds. Chimney swifts and starlings enter through the chimney, usually by accident. Wrens come in voluntarily, following their mouse-like tendency to explore dark crevices. Other birds fly in through an open door or window. While we’re honored to have them, we realize they probably don’t want to be there. We help them escape as soon as possible. And in every instance we’ve been able to learn something new about the birds.

Some people believe a bird in the house is a bad omen or are afraid of birds. However you feel about this, move slowly and be aware a bird will panic if it feels trapped! To resolve things with minimal stress just open a door or window, then take yourself, family and pets elsewhere, and relax. The bird will probably find its own way out in a very short time.

In Memory: JoAnna Williams Schulz

/in /by

This is the day the lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. — Psalm 118:24

On Sunday, January 3, family and friends gathered to share the life of JoAnna Williams Schulz. If it wasn’t clear before, it couldn’t be missed after … JoAnna loved fiercely and was fiercely loved.

“Beginnings are scary, endings are very sad; it’s everything in between that makes it all worth living.” — Sandra Bullock, Hope Floats

JoAnna didn’t have an easy life, but she had a lot to live for. Her brothers shared of a family divided, but bound by a deep unspoken love. For JoAnna, she found her emotional voice with the love of her life, JD. Their union created two precious children, Alecia and Ted.

“This is one of the miracles of love: It gives a power of seeing through its

own enchantments and yet not being disenchanted.” — C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

JD’s too soon departure left a great void in their small woven tapestry. With determination and without complaint, JoAnna raised her children to fly on their own, never missing a chance to encourage, prod, redirect, cheer on…or laugh. JoAnna knit together a family, not just by blood, but in community. Her laughter, her joy in friendship and family, her faith will be missed…but it lives on in those who shared her life. Everything in between is what makes life worth living and meant everything to JoAnna! She was loved deeply and will be missed fiercely. Through JoAnna we found it is okay to say “I Love You”!

“What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, For all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” — Helen Keller