Spring - Berryville Main Street

Berryville Main Street
Spring 2014
Frazer Watkins’ Collaborative Vision
by Robin Couch Cardillo
n the 1960s, a large white banner saying “Welcome, Bluegrass Fans!”
stretched across Berryville’s Main Street. Townspeople were busily
preparing for a flood of music lovers to Watermelon Park on the
outskirts of Berryville. The riverside venue was carving its niche as a
popular stop for such country and western music greats as Ralph Stanley,
Bill Monroe, The Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Lester Flatt
and Earl Scruggs, and the Statler Brothers.
I
That’s the same excitement Frazer Watkins wants to capture today in
Berryville, building an alliance among area musicians, Watermelon Park,
and Berryville’s downtown merchants.
“The music festivals at the park can
benefit us all,” explains Watkins, a Clarke
County native and co-owner of
Shepherd’s Ford Productions, which
helps plan events at Watermelon Park.
Watkins’ vision? To use the festivals to
celebrate the county’s rural heritage, to
showcase the Shenandoah River, to
feature locally sourced food and
artisans, and ultimately to bring
“We’re open to
suggestions
on how we
can work
together.”
(continued on back page)
Serving up Local Flavors, Art and Entertainment ~
Berryville Style
by Geo Derick
he Saturday morning seasonal fun of our Clarke County Farmer’s
Market (CCFM) will begin on May 3rd at 8 am till noon, and continue
Saturday mornings through October 25th, 2014. Our wonderful area
farms will be participating again as usual: MacIntosh Fruit Farm,
Shallowbrooke Farms, Chilly Hollow Organic Produce, Smith Meadows Farm,
Audley Farm and Life More Abundant Ranch will continue to bless us with the
freshest, cleanest produce, eggs, chickens, turkey, quail, pork, lamb and beef,
along with some of the finest ready-to-serve and specialty foods available.
T
Geneva is still baking her specialties, and “A Peace of Cake” will return with
their amazing array of cookies, sweet breads, granola and more. Bonadelle
will return with a larger selection of gluten free veggie burgers and glutenfree bread! Burwell-Morgan Mill will provide us with locally-milled grains
and home-grown music in their tent. Geo’s Joy Herbal Medicine will now
feature a line of flower essences, special teas for women, and some new
salves, along with surprising seasonal specialties. Grafton School will
return with their plants so lovingly grown by their students. And the
Master Gardeners will be back with free advice on “growing your own”in
the Northern Shenandoah Valley.
(continued on page 7)
The Joys of Gardening
By Lockett Van Voorhis
(BMS Board Member)
Spring will be here soon, and gardeners are
planning what needs to be done now.
In January you probably ordered seeds for your
vegetable garden and are now growing the plants
indoors. You also have cleaned all equipment and
sharpened clippers. You have put bone meal on
lilacs. If you brought in geraniums in the fall, you
have been watering these plants and feeding
them once a month with fertilizer. You have
pinched these plants back to produce more
bloom and bushier plants.
In February, on days when it was not snowing,
you may have fed iris plants with bone meal. It
was also a good time to put lime on herbs. This
is also a good time to plan what new perennials
and annuals you would like to add and in what
colors and heights.
Now in late March is the time to feed azaleas,
rhododendrons, and camellias with special acid
fertilizer made especially for these plants. It is
also an appropriate time to spread some 10-1010 lightly over your garden areas to stimulate
bloom. Peonies would also appreciate some
bone meal.
March to early April is also a good time to prune
roses. Liriope should be cut back now so that
the new growth will come in and make a lovely
plant. Ivy may also be pruned. Depending on
weather, late March or early April are good times
to plant and replant certain border plants. If you
have a vegetable garden, cool weather plants
can be planted in March depending on snow. It
is also a good time to mulch all bulb beds. Take
the time to clean and clear plant damage from
winter.
Hopefully you have been feeding the birds and
giving them water during this hard winter. Now
is also a good time to put up a new birdhouse
for nesting. They will reward you with their
songs. You will enjoy watching the feeding of
the nestlings and their first flight.
2
News from Berryville Main Street and Its Members
A special thanks for your continued support of Berryville Main Street…
MEMBER NEWS
2014 Membership Drive
he 2014 Membership Invitations went out in Dec/Jan. We are excited to
enhance the current membership levels as well as adding a few new
offerings to help promote your business or service. Not too late! Please
reach out to Luanne at the BMS offices to join!
T
Here are the current members - we thank you !
Partners
Giel Millner
Bank of Clarke County
My Neighbor and Me
Battletown Pharmacy
Neato Outlet
BB&T Bank
Norton Embroidery
Berryville Auto Parts
Padgett Business Services
Berryville Dental
Sponseller’s Flower Shop
Berryville Optometry
Sweet Peas Children’s Shop
Blue Ridge Hospice
Tricks of the Trade Leather Shop
Cabinet and Appliance Center
Carter + Burton Architecture
Friends
Clarke County Historical Assoc.
Margaret Barthel
The Cookie Guy
Battlefield Estates
Crawford Electronics
Don and Lori Besselievre
Edward Jones
Karen Curtis
Enders & Shirley Funeral Home
Laura Dabinett, MD
Frankford Farm
Rebecca Harriett
Heritage Child Development
Eleanore Kobetz
Historic Rosemont Manor
Jeanne Krohn
J. Douglas Moler Insurance
Herman Lloyd
Jerry Johnson
George Ohrstrom
Jim Stutzman Chevrolet
Robina Rich
Lloyd’s Transfer
Family Trust Numismatiics, LLC
Visit our fully
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Across the street from
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18 N Church Street Berry
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Mon-Fri 9:30-5:30
Sat 10:00-2:00
Sun Closed
Appointments available.
Ph#540-955-8067
Fax#540-955-8171
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Buyiing , Selling Go ld, Silver,
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Buying
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Silver Dollars
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Paper Money
And more!
Locally family owned and Operated
By John & Sandy Gulde , Ed
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Over 45 years in business and two
generations of coin dealers to serve
you.. Memb
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Authorized dealer for PCGS, NGC,
ANACS.
Golden Living Center –
Rose Hill Named to
U.S. News & World Report
Best Nursing Homes
Rankings for 2014
PLANO, Texas, February 27, 2014
— Golden LivingCenter – Rose Hill
has been recognized by U.S. News
& World Report in its Best Nursing
Homes Rankings for 2014.
“Our staff at Golden LivingCenter –
Rose Hill are honored and thrilled to
see this recognition of their
dedication to our LivingCenter
patients and residents,” said Richie
McAlevy RN, LNHA, Executive
Director for Golden LivingCenter –
Rose Hill. “Our staff, doctors,
nurses, and administrators work
together like a family and share a
passion for providing quality care.
We will continue our commitment to
deliver compassionate, clinical care
to our patients and residents as well
as exceed the state and federal
regulations –(For full press release
contact Berryville Main Street)
News from Berryville Main Street and Its Members
shine and it showcased the famous Bondurant Family. Legendry writer, Sherwood
Anderson, was the person that
gave Franklin County that title.
Check out the movie “Lawless” if
you want to understand bootlegging in Franklin. Fortunately,
Clarke County escaped a name
like Franklin’s.
Bootlegging in Berryville?
by Sharon Beasley Strickland
his story started out differently! While drinking my
favorite blend of coffee at
The Cookie Guy’s, which is Benjamin Berry Blend, I started a
conversation with owner Dan
Lantonio about my next column.
I told him about my next target
and then we started chatting
about his building and the Virginia ABC Store next to his. That
conversation led to this article’s
title--Bootlegging in Berryville.
Chief Neal White recently sent
me notes from the town’s meetings from October 8, 1900 to September 24, 1924. I thought
readers would enjoy the following bullets:
•
T
I thought about the age of our
beautiful valley town and I began
to wonder if there had been any
bootlegging in Berryville during
Prohibition. Dan told me about
chatter he had with other folks
in town about the possibility.
I contacted our Clarke County
Sheriff, Anthony “Tony” Roper
and our Chief of Police, Neal
White. Both responded with helpful information and I am thankful
to them for their contributions to
this story. According to Sheriff
Roper the town of Berryville does
not have history like other Virginia counties. Most people know
of the long storied history of
bootlegging in Franklin County,
the “Wettest County in the
World.” A movie was recently
made about Franklin and moon-
November 5, 1906: Resolution
passed by Council that barkeeps have police on Saturday nights in order to stay
open until 10:30 pm. The policemen would be paid by the
bar and sworn in by the
Mayor.
–––
Patrons could then
sit at tables in the
alley and have their
liquor by the glass
and party on.
–––
•
February 1, 1909: Liquor ordinance was rescinded. A notice
to tramps and vagrants was
issued that if they were
caught in the town limits
they would be put to work in
the streets for two days.
•
January 6, 1913: Town Attorney was requested to look
into the matter of ridding the
town of ladies of ill repute.
•
April 4, 1914: A suitable gun
for Sgt. Feltner was ordered
to be purchased.
3
•
February 5, 1917: Liquor ordinance passed.
•
September 24, 1924: Chapter
407 of Acts of Virginia General Assembly (3/20/1924) was
adopted by town.
A bit of history now—Virginia
went dry in November, 1916, three
years before national prohibition
began in America. Virginia faced
challenges in enforcing the new
laws. Its long coastline was difficult to police or prevent smuggling, i.e. rum running, and
Maryland, its neighbor, was a wet
state that barely made an effort to
enforce the new national dry laws
from 1920 to 1930. Virginia had a
long established moonshining tradition in the mountainous western part of the state and Virginia
struggled to live up to the dry
ideal it set for itself in 1916.
Prior to the 1940s, Berryville
used a Town Sergeant system of
law enforcement and a few people were appointed as special police officers. In the late 1940s, the
town formally organized a Police
Department with the appointment of a Chief of Police. That
system works well still in 2014.
I met again with Dan Lantonio at
his business. He was told by a
very reliable source that after
West Virginia went dry on alcohol that sometime in the early
1960s, patrons would drive over
to Berryville to get liquor at the
ABC store in Berryville. Then,
they would go into an alley beside the liquor store. Along this
wall and inside a locked chain
link fence the liquor was stacked
up by markers which specified
where the brands went. Patrons
could then sit at tables in the
alley and have their liquor by the
glass and party on.
(continued on page 7)
4
News from Berryville Main Street and Its Members
visitors. This is all made possible
by committees, businesses and
individuals who have
volunteered their time toward
our efforts.
veryone in Berryville is
anxiously looking forward
to spring this year. The
promise of warm sunshine and
blooming trees and flowers will
be a welcome sight after
surviving the cold and snow.
E
For a nonprofit to be considered
successful it must raise funds
and work toward its Vision. Our
Vision Statement is to create and
sustain a vital downtown. It
sounds easy, right? Truthfully, it
involves helping with things like
historic preservation, streetscape
beautification, business
recruiting and retention,
coordinating events, promoting
the town, being a liaison and
working with the Town and
County governments, business
owners, property owners,
employees, residents and
Berryville Main Street received
Virginia Main Street Milestone
Achievement Awards for the
dedication of over 25,000
volunteer hours to the
revitalization of the downtown
and for creating an environment
that has encouraged more than
$25 million in private investment
in the town’s historic commercial
district.
We invite you to become part of
our mission and join us on a
committee, project or event.
Please get in touch, make some
new friends and have fun. We
welcome all contributions of
time, treasures and talent.
Us Today!
Jerry Johnson, President,
Economic Restructuring
Susi Bailey,
Treasurer
Tricia James,
Promotions Committee
Kathy Pierson,
Promotions Committee
Jay Arnold,
Merchants Committee
Sherry Craig,
Merchants Committee
Lockett Van Voorhis,
Design Committee
Will Dellinger,
Economic Restructuring Committee
Michael Haymaker,
Economic Restructuring Committee
Luanne Carey,
Berryville Main Street Director
Kate Petranech,
Firehouse Gallery Director
Jerry Johnson, President
Att Blossman
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opane... We
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Viisit or Call
Board Members & Staff
107 W
West
eest Main Street
Sttreet • Berryville,
Ber r yville, VA
VA
540-955-4677
540-9
955-4677
www.blossmangas.com
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News from Berryville Main Street and Its Members
Downtown Space Available
30 West Main St. – 3272 sq. ft. $1600./mo. (includes heat and water)
2 floors, 4-5 offices, baths, Kitchenette.
540-539-2791 (Rent for whole bldg.)
20-A E. Main St. – 1800 sq. ft. $2000./mo.
22-A E. Main St. – 1500 sq. ft. $1800./mo. (street level)
22-B E. Main St. – 1500 sq. ft. $1500./mo. (2nd floor)
703-928-0431 Jerry Johnson
300 First St. – 56,000 sq. ft.
Concrete former apple storage. Ideal for heavy iron work, carpentry,
sculpture. All uses /offers considered. You are limited only by your
own imagination
610-390-6612 Giel Millner
15-B Crow St. – 2500 sq. ft. Approx. $1800/mo.
703-522-5151 Paul Jassal
401 E. Main St. – 16,000 sq. ft., 5 floors $2200./mo.
540-539-8120 Jay Hillerson
119 W. Main St. – 1000 sq. ft. $1000/mo.
Handicapped accessible – 5 rooms or offices for Office/Retail
540-313-7467 Jay Arnold
5
6
News from Berryville Main Street and Its Members
Fire House Gallery Welcomes Spring with New Exhibit -Art from the Good Earth: Wood. Clay. Glass
March 21 – April 12, 2014
hat better way to welcome
spring (and say good-bye
to winter) than with a
show celebrating art made from
good old mother earth herself!
W
This major exhibit – the first of
three in the gallery’s spring line-up
(See story below) – opened on
Friday, March 21st and runs through
Saturday, April 12th. Visitors will
have a lot to see as the show features
upwards of 75 pieces of art – across
three mediums – created by nine
gallery artists including: Joe Lucero
and Mark Zimmerman in wood;
Kary Haun, Jody Mussoff and Steven
Wilson in clay; Trish Alizade, Nancy
Geeting, Charmaine Jackson, and
Heather Mansfield in glass.
Curated and installed by
professional exhibit designer (and
long time gallery volunteer) Jeanne
Krohn, the show will help visitors
gain a deeper appreciation for the
requirements and challenges of
working with each material and
insight into why each artist has
chosen it as his preferred medium.
Gallery hours are Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday 11-3
and Friday 11-5. All welcome to come
see – and buy – the art.
Photo by Ellen Zimmerman
MORE Shows to Enjoy … More Art to Buy at the Gallery This Spring
Mark Your Calendars for These Openings Now!
Critters
May 9 – May 31, 2014
3rd Annual Budding Artists
June 6 – 21, 2014
Whether it’s a cat or canary,
horse or hound, Clarke County
residents LOVE their animals.
And this exhibit will prove it!
Show-goers will see animals
rendered on pottery, glass, and
fiber, as well as in paintings and
wood. They’ll also have a chance
to have their beloved pooch or
porcupine immortalized by
artists specializing in animal
portraiture.
Now in its third year, this
delightful show is a
collaboration between the
gallery and The Heritage Child
Development Center in
Berryville to showcase and
celebrate children’s art. More
than 50 pieces of art will be on
display made by children as
young as three months old. The
entire community is encouraged
to stop by and see this joyous
collection during its two week
run. It will help explain why no
less an artist than Pablo Picasso
Opening reception, Friday, May 9
from 6-8 pm.
Don’t miss it!
said he borrowed freely from
the creations of children and
always had their artwork
hanging in his studio.
Opening Reception, Friday, June 6
from 6-8 pm
Don’t miss it!
News from Berryville Main Street and Its Members
Serving up Local Flavors continued from page 1
New this year will be a strawberry festival in early June; nursery plants,
hanging baskets and weekly book sales by local author Betsy Munson, of
Greenway Vista Farm and Nursery; shitake mushrooms & specialty pickles by
Chilly Hollow Farms. Oliver Acres will return with their goat’s milk soaps,
body butter and lip balm, and will be adding fresh lamb and raw local honey
to their stand! Hoola Hoop performances, more musical variety, new artists
and main street vendors, plus more foods to enjoy by Boyd’s Nest under the
café tent. Dogs and children are always welcome!
If you are an area artist, musician or a Berryville Main Street member, and
would like to enhance your business or share your talent, there are tent spaces
available for you at a day use fee of only $20. To schedule your days, please call
or e-mail Kimber Herron at least a week in advance: 540-837-2659
[email protected].
ave you had a chance to check out
the new Website - here it is –
www.berryvillemainstreet.org – in
an effort to be interactive we invite you to
share your “I Spy” news on things you see
around town. Please reach out to Luanne at
[email protected] for
pics and comment. NOTE: The current
Business and Restaurants Directories are
based on 2013 membership and will be
updated April 15th for 2014.
H
The Semi Annual Berryville Yard Sale
sponsored by the Merchants Group will
take place SATURDAY APRIL 12, 2014, Rain Date
April 19, 2014, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM – see website
for Registration forms and table locations:
www.berryvillemainstreet.org/yardsale.html
7
Bootlegging continued from page 3
When you visit Dan’s Cookie Guy
shop, look at the painted brick
wall and you can see the stripes
on the floor which reflected
where actual cases were stacked
along the brick outside wall. We
may have found the first
speakeasy in Berryville and I am
sure that General Daniel Morgan
would have approved. Public
consumption of alcohol in West
Virginia was not allowed after
1937 until the mid-1960’s and that
is another whole story.
History is evident in Berryville to
explain the different building materials one can see on the inside
walls of Dan’s store. Walk about
Dan’s Cookie Guy Shop and notice
the walls. Dan has brick on the
wall behind his counter. That wall
is the actual outside wall of the
ABC store before a building was
established beside the ABC store.
On the far right side inside wall,
you will see painted concrete
block. Mystery solved.
We may not have had actual
“bootlegging” but those West Virginia visitors knew a drink could
be shared in a Berryville alley behind a locked chain link fence.
Come visit Dan Lantonio and his
Cookie Guy Shop. His product
line is totally different than last
year and he is now featuring
great ice cream, real ice cream. I
wonder if a Benjamin Berry coffee will taste great with a rum
raisin ice cream cone. Hey Cookie
Guy Dan, if you read this article
before I get there, please make
sure you have rum raisin in stock!
Come see the treasures
of Berryville!
8
News from Berryville Main Street and Its Members
Frazer Watkins continued from page 1
tourism dollars to the county. The park’s upcoming River & Roots Festival, a
musical event on June 27 and 28, will test the concept. Watkins estimates 500 to
1,000 people will attend the inaugural festival and plans to reach out to the
community to encourage support.
“For instance, we plan to suggest to all the people who come to the festival to
also go visit the Berryville Farmers Market on Saturday, to go downtown and
look around,” says Watkins. “We’re considering things like doing shout-outs
from the stage for restaurants and scrolling ads in the park store, anything to
connect our visitors to Main Street. On the weekend of the festival, we want
everyone in Berryville to say, “My, there were a bunch of people in town today.”
Collaborations in the works, according to Watkins, include providing lists of
local farmers to food vendors coming to the festival, encouraging local
nurseries to conduct demos on, say, wildflower cultivation, and inviting local
honey vendors to offer their wares at the park.
Contributors:
Locket Van Voorhis,
Robin Couch Cardillo,
Kate Petranech,
Sharon Strickland
“We’re open to suggestions on how we can work together,” Watkins emphasizes.
After River & Roots comes the Watermelon Park Fest on September 25 to 27.
Last year, the event attracted nearly 3,000 music lovers from up and down the
East Coast.
According to Watkins, Watermelon Park is revered in music circles for hosting
the first multi-day bluegrass festival in the U.S. It’s also the only park still
owned by the family that originally started it.
“This stage is sacred ground,” Watkins says softly. “Many people don’t realize
the park is such an important part of the bluegrass genre.” Watkins
nostalgically recounts stories of helping renowned bluegrass singer and
songwriter Peter Rowan to push his truck out of a mud hole at the park and
guitarist Tony Rice joining the park crew in a trailer, casually throwing his
guitar on a chair to swap tour tales. But the memory he’s most proud of is
reuniting John Miller Sr., the local patriarch of Watermelon Park and a
bluegrass musician in his own right, with Eddie Adcock of the legendary
Country Gentlemen at the band’s 50th anniversary event at Watermelon Park.
“They hadn’t seen each other in more than 20 years,” recalled Watkins. “They
were like two kids in a sandbox.” Watkins wants that kind of enthusiasm for
traditional music to continue in this area for many more generations.
“Watermelon Park is part of our culture, and we don’t want to lose that,” he
warns. “We need to make sure our local musicians don’t always have to go away
from here to play. We want to help young musicians as they grow by offering a
place like the park.”
Watkins believes working together – and respecting the history of Watermelon
Park – will help set that course, he says, adding: “How far I can see into the past
is how far I can see into the future.” And it looks promising.
For more information, visit www.riverandroots.com ,
www.watermelonparkfest.com , and www.shepherdsford.com
23 E. Main Street
P.O. Box 372
Berryville, VA 22611
Phone 540 955-4001
Fax 540 955-0909
[email protected]
www.berryvillemainstreet.org
Newsletter is published by Berryville
Main Street and issued four times a
year — December, March, June,
and September. Its purpose is to
provide news about people and
events in and around the historic
district; promote local business; and
raise awareness about the many
ways a vibrant downtown
contributes to a community’s quality
of life. Berryville Main Street is a
501(c)3 organization and part of
Virginia Main Street since 1992. The
Main Street program was launched
in 1985 by the National Trust for
Historic Preservation to encourage
growth and revitalization of
commercial districts in towns
across the United States. To order a
subscription or advertise contact:
[email protected]
www.Facebook.com/pages/
Berryville-Main-Street/130130599002