by Leonard Shapiro
It begins on the third Thursday morning of every other month.
About a dozen volunteers, most armed with a sharp knife, descend on the kitchen at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville and soon start chop, chop, chopping countless carrots, onions and peppers to spruce up a scrumptious rice casserole recipe they’ve followed for years.
by Dulcy Hooper
Just a few short months after opening The Local Taste in Upperville, Chris Patusky and Kiernan Slater Patusky were presented with an offer very close to home, one that made too much sense to pass up.
“Actually,” Chris said. “Kiernan and I were just finishing up the renovation of The Local Taste when we learned that there was an opportunity to lease the Up-perville Country Store business right next door. It allows us to coordinate the op-erations, products, marketing and parking much better.”
by Leonard Shapiro
In October 1991, the entire student body and faculty at the Hill School gathered in the auditorium for a special assembly that would have a far-reaching impact not only for the school but for the Middleburg community as well.
That day, Tom Northrup, the Headmaster at the time, introduced the late Stephen C. Clark, Jr. and announced that the then-owner of Boxwood Farm, right across The Plains Road, had recently donated 123 acres and a home to Hill. Without prompting, every child in the room rose and gave Mr. Clark a standing ovation.
by Babette M. Alliger
Rufus is dying. The last three months he’s been down and now I have to hold him up, no matter what, or he’ll fall down.
Not much of a life, but he seems happy. He eats well and still runs the show from his place, but a few days ago my other two dogs wouldn’t go downstairs past him to go out in the morning.
So I realize it’s him they feel, and they seem to know something I do not. So I have to get him up. This is so hard. He can’t sit up to even begin to stand. So I put my feet next to some paws that slide out from under him and I use my arms to lift his rear end and I speak strongly to him.
by Mark Deane
The previous chapter on Thoroughbred Christopher Riddle recounted his re-education from racehorse to riding horse under the guidance of trainer Tim Daley.
Still, after a year of intense training, Daly felt that Christopher was not the right fit for his own clientele. He then sold the Thoroughbred to a friend, Jessie Austin, another professional with a much larger operation.
by Leonard Shapiro
The Land Trust of Virginia (LTV) will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year and board chair Carole Taylor is properly proud of the work being done to protect and conserve the precious land of Loudoun and Fauquier counties, along with projects in several other nearby jurisdictions.
Over the years, LTV has taken steps to transition nearly 15,000 acres intoconservation easement, ranging from farms to battlefields to forests to scenic byways. That assures limited to no development will take place in perpetuity on all that land, and Taylor would like to believe there will be many more acres to come.
by Dulcy Hooper
Only a few weeks, ago Aldie’s new postmaster stepped in to take over the position when the previous postmaster, Lisa Taylam, moved to a larger headquarters facility. It didn’t take long for her to realize she was exactly where she wanted to be.
“This was the career for me,” says Aldie postmaster Stephanie Sheets. “And I knew it right from the start. The patrons of Aldie remind me all the time that I have big shoes to fill with Lisa gone. And they always tell me how much of a gem Stephanie Whitley, the clerk, is. And, yes, her name is Stephanie, too!”
by Leonard Shapiro
Middleburg’s Richard “Dick” Riemenschneider and Andi Gilman entertained friends, family and guests at the Wanderer’s Club in Wellington, Florida in mid-February, and polo dominated the cocktail party conversation.
The occasion: Riemenschneider was presented with the 2016 Philip Iglehart Awardby the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame. He and fellow polo aficionado, the late Russell A. Sheldon, Jr., were honored with that award the following evening at the 27th annual Polo Hall of Fame induction ceremony and gala.
by Richard Hooper
The Belvidere Hounds were first seen going to covert in the magazine “The Sportsman” in 1927, in a cartoon drawing by D. T. Carlisle that was captioned, “The Belvidere Hounds hunt only silver fox.” It depicts a red fox on top of a stone wall as it mocks and taunts the hounds, thehuntsman and his horse as they pass by, all with their noses elevated in disdain as they seek a more worthy prey.
by Leonard Shapiro
Short track speedskating is among the more thrilling competitions at the Winter Olympics. A gaggle of competitors crouches at the starting line, followed by fierce jockeying for position as they fly around a treacherously curved 111-meter track, with bodies more than occasionally careening off the course and out of contention.
