Thanks to a generous donor, the Flickr Pro account has been extended for one year. This should allow us time to add the images to our local hosting and make sure we have the captions matched up; however, it is likely we will not add our event photos back at least for the foreseeable future. We still highly recommend you save local copies of any images on Flickr you may be using for upcoming architectural research, as we are decreasing the image size for our online copies to reduce storage space. Full resolution copies are still available and can be emailed upon request.
This means the image captions are continuing on our social media accounts. To make sure we get the images correctly captioned, we’ll be doing the uploads and captions in small batches. We’re in this process for the long haul – hopefully the third time of moving our images and captions around online will be the last!
The work in the back yard at the Hexagon House is mostly complete, or at least the very intense portion of it. This work is part of the collaboration PHW and the MSV undertook in memory of Dr. Jim Laidlaw. He was a supporter of both our organizations, and now we have a permanent improvement to enjoy our back yard at the Hexagon House. We’re looking forward to seeing how things shape up this spring. Who knows, we might even be doing a lot of our office work in this space during the warm months….
Speaking of events that take place in the rear yard at the Hexagon House, we wanted to put the feelers out now for greenery donations for the Bough & Dough Shop early. If you are unaware of how we obtain fresh greens for holiday decorating, they are almost all provided by volunteers. If you have evergreens that are commonly used for holiday decorating, consider waiting on giving them a trim until the week of Thanksgiving and donating your cuttings to PHW. Alternatively, you may pass your contact information on to the PHW office if you are comfortable with volunteers cutting the greens on your property.
Looking for something to do this weekend? The Handley Library is hosting two events tomorrow that may pique your interest. First, “Heraldry and Coats of Arms: Finding your Armorial Ancestor” by Katherine Collins, MLISc, from 10:30 AM-12:30 PM in the Benham Gallery Room will explain what armorial and gateway ancestors are, standards of evidence, best practices, and where to register historical arms. She will demonstrate how to use traditional books in our local libraries and archives, online databases, and the records of lineage societies to prove the connection to a documented armorial ancestor or “gateway ancestor.” Register now!
The presentation “The Impact of the Civil War on Medicine” by Dr. Dianne Murphy from 1-2 PM in the Robinson Auditorium will focus on the medical environment at the beginning of the Civil War and three dramatic changes that occur during this period that were to change the care of war wounded. Presented in partnership with Winchester/Frederick County Historical Society. No registration is required for this event.
Feeling more like staying in this weekend? You may want to check out these two resources online. The National Trust has compiled a webpage for State Historic Tax Credits – Virginia gets a top billing mention as one of the leaders in this arena for providing incentives to reuse our historic buildings. Check out the full report at savingplaces.org.
If you’re looking for a bit more of an interactive experience while reading, you may enjoy perusing the article This App Turns the World Into a Wikipedia Scavenger Hunt. The app looks like an interesting combination of Wikipedia data mixed with open source mapping. If you want to contribute, there’s even suggestions on how you can expand the image selections, or even add Wikipedia articles about an interesting place.