Author: PHW

Friday Photos: Traditional Woodworking Exhibit, Town Run

Traditional Cabinetmakers Exhibit PHW brings you two new (old) sets of photos and slides today. First is what appears to be images from the opening day reception for the Traditional Cabinetmaker exhibit held in the Kurtz Cultural Center in 1993. There are also a few images of the related programming activities, such as a lecture and appraisals. View Traditional Cabinetmaker Exhibit and Programs on Flickr.

Also this week, we bring you a collection of slides of Town Run, walking from the Cork Street bridge, following Kent Street to Pall Mall, then past Hollingsworth Dr. to the Shawnee Springs area and Wilkins Lake. The slides are dated July of 1983, and the information written on the slides about the location of the photos (if available) has been transcribed. Virtual tour of Town Run in 1983 on Flickr

See! Save! Celebrate! Two Programs for National Preservation Month

National Preservation Month 2015 Mark your calendars! PHW and the Friends of the Handley Regional Library will present two free programs in May to celebrate National Preservation Month. In keeping with our recent collaboration with the Winchester Little Theatre for the restoration of their building, the programs will focus on railroads and supporting industries around Winchester.

Both events will be held at the Auditorium at Handley Regional Library, 100 W. Piccadilly Street, Winchester, VA. Contact (540) 662-9041 ext. 31 or friends@handleyregional.org for more information or directions.

May 13, 6:30 p.m.: “Slow Train to Yesterday: Memories of the Railroad in the Blue Ridge Mountains” Documentary
With an introduction by Mason Cooper of the Winchester Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society

May 16, 2 p.m.: “Progress and Preservation: Images and History of Architecture and Industry Along Winchester’s Railroads”
Lecture by Sandra Bosley, Executive Assistant for Preservation of Historic Winchester
Includes concurrent children’s programing suitable for grades 2-5.

PHW Archived Files Index

The following are the index lists by box to PHW files in storage. Most files contain working notes on programs, sample publicity pieces, newspaper articles, etc. The index to the files came about in large part due to the background research and file organizing necessary to produce the history of PHW blog posts in celebration of its 50th anniversary in 2014-2015. As you may be able to tell from the lists, there were still many activities we did not cover in-depth on the blog. Files may be available to researchers on request.
Continue reading PHW Archived Files Index

Stained Glass Windows of the Shenandoah Valley

If you have time this weekend, you may want to sit down for about a half hour presentation by D. Lee Beard on stained glass windows in the Shenandoah Valley, stretching from Winchester to Buena Vista. “His presentation, using a wide range of images, focuses on the beauty and diversity of the windows and the religious symbolism used in the windows. Recorded June 7, 2013.”


Watch on YouTube.

Edit for clarification: The actual presentation begins at the 3:40 mark. The audio quality of D. Lee Beard is much improved from the introductory speaker, as he is miked and is recorded without echo. You will not miss any content of the lecture by skipping past the first three minutes of the unmiked speaker.

PHW Board Members Needed!

PHW MeetingFirst, mark your calendars; PHW will hold its 51st Annual Meeting at the Winchester Little Theatre on Sunday, June 28. The meeting recaps the past year, recognizes preservation efforts in Winchester and Frederick County (you can nominate a person or project for consideration, by the way!), and in general is a laid back social event on a Sunday afternoon.

As you may know, PHW elects board new board members at the Annual Meeting, and we are looking for energetic members to step up and join the board. There are a few things to know about being a board member:

1. You must be a member of PHW in good standing (i.e., you pay your membership dues).
2. Members are expected to attend board meetings, which are currently held on the second Monday of the month, 7 PM at the Hexagon House.
3. Board members are elected in two-year terms (so new members elected in June 2015 would be up for reelection in June 2017).

If you are interested in joining the PHW board, please contact PHW’s President John Barker the PHW office at (540) 667-3577 or phwi@verizon.net to set up a time to discuss your interest and learn more about joining PHW’s Board of Directors.

The “Hessian” Apple Tree

The Hessian Apple Tree, from the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives During the research into Conrad Crebs for the 2014 Holiday House Tour, there was a badly discolored newspaper clipping of a so-called “Hessian” apple tree in PHW’s Revolutionary War files. It was not able to be worked into the House Tour, but the story remained intriguing. When it again entered the PHW radar in relation to research on the local apple orchards, specifically the Bond Brothers, it was clear it was time to talk about the tree.

The tree was “bearing its first fruit when the Hessian Soldiers worked in this area [Apple Pie Ridge, near the foot of Gold’s Hill on the Bond land] after the Revolutionary War.” It was still bearing a small amount of fruit until the 1930s, when the photo was taken (reported as 1936). By the time the article ran in the Winchester Star on July 2, 1965, the tree had been cut down. No one was sure which stump on the Bond land was the remains of the tree in the photograph, but the tale and the photo of the Hessian apple tree was “still in circulation.”

The story of the Hessian apple tree may be fading from popular memory as Winchester moves farther away from its agricultural heritage, but this once-famous photograph is still available at the Stewart Bell, Jr. Archives.

Images of Kernstown Battlefield and Third Battle of Winchester Trail

Although we were not able to produce a PHW blog post this week, we thought you might enjoy two videos by William Bechmann featuring the trails and markers along the Kernstown and Third Winchester battlefields. Given our current weather, a view of sunny green fields and trees just starting to change to autumn foliage may entice you to visit these Civil War sites this spring.


The Kernstown Battlefield
Learn more at the Kernstown Battlefield Association website


The Third Battle of Winchester, Virginia Trail
More images and information on the markers at The Historical Marker Database website

Information on Winchester Historic Plaque #22

Fred Boyd House PHW received a call this morning requesting information on the house with historic plaque #22. I have been unable to return the call to the number provided in the message, but hope that the seeker may find this post. The home is in Garland Quarles’ book “The Story of One Hundred Old Homes in Winchester, Virginia.” The book is available at the Handley Library or at PHW’s office at 530 Amherst Street. Copies may also be available for purchase at Winchester Book Gallery and the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives at Handley Library.

The home is referred to as the Fred Boyd home. According the Quarles’ research it was built in 1827 by George Fulk or Folk. It was subsequently owned by Elizabeth D. Smith (1853-1861), John Vilwig (1862-1898), James P. Whitacre (1898-1910), and then to Frederick S. Boyd in 1910. The historic plaque appears to have been placed in 1972 by Dr. and Mrs. Stuart Pannill Jones.

If you were the person seeking this information, please feel free to give us an email at phwi@verizon or try to give us a call back at 540-667-3577. Thank you for your interest, and I hope we can connect!

Update: Mystery is solved and we have connected! The PHW landline phone is a bit spotty today, probably from the damp conditions.