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Federal Street Cafe Finds a Backstreet Niche in a Hurry

Zan Dial, chef and owner of the Federal St. Cafe, has worked in restaurants ranging from high-end gastronomy to pub fare. His new restaurant falls somewhere in between, and it’s exactly what Middleburg needed. 

Hill School’s Team and TEEN Saturday Make a Powerful Difference

Maria Arellano was the first in her family to graduate from college two years ago, and she’s now a legal assistant in a Washington law firm still thinking about applying to law school. She also knows that because of a program at The Hill School she joined while still a third grader in a local public school, none of the above would have been possible.

John Pennington Knows That Writers Write

John Pennington still remembers the day he came home from the University of Virginia and told his mother he was going to major in English. A child of the Depression, she’d hoped he and his four siblings would find a profession safe from the vagaries of the economy, and she was a bit skeptical about her son’s course of study.

20131: A New Fresh Face in a Very Old Philomont Post Office

Amy L. Vollmer knew she had some big shoes to fill when she stepped into the role of Philomont’s postmaster in March, 2015.  After all, she was taking over the job formerly performed by Laura Pearson, who had retired in January after serving as postmaster for more than 50 years. And the post office had been in the Pearson family for over a century.

They’re Making Sweet Music All Around the Piedmont

The Community Music School of the Piedmont (CMSP) began humbly in 1994 with two teachers and six students in one modest building in The Plains. It was born out of necessity. Long-time Middleburg residents Martha Cotter and Shannon Davis simply wanted their children to learn how to play an instrument without having to add even more car-pooling miles to their respective odometers.

The Plains Has a Front Porch, Back Porch and Side Porch

By Sophie Scheps Food fanciers around the area felt the loss of Forlano’s Market in…

A Master Craftsman Turns Wood into an Artform

On a front lawn near the intersection of Zulla Road and Route 55 just outside Marshall, you might spot a tiki, a totem pole, an octopus and owls whose eyes seem to follow your car down the road. They represent the latest creations of artisanal woodworker Joshua Paul Frederick. This is also the headquarters for his business, J.P. Woodworks.

A Dedicated Fencing Master Goes Back to His Future

There are scholar-athletes, and then there is Middleburg’s Turner Smith, who takes the term to a stratospheric level.

A retired environmental attorney with a distinguished Curriculum Vitae, Smith now devotes much of his time to Virginia land conservation through The Land Trust of Virginia. Smith, the athlete, also has a remarkable resume. Five years ago, at age 70 and almost 50 years after he competed as a varsity fencer at Princeton, Smith decided he wanted to take up the demanding sport once again.

Brush Strokes: The Medium is Paint on Canvas; the Message is on Facebook

Anthony Barham’s paintings have been shared hundreds of times, even if he doesn’t rent gallery space or host exhibitions of his wonderful creations. His studio and his computer are all that’s necessary to view his art.

A New Year and a New Commitment to the Planet

At the dawn of a new year, keep in mind the recent record-breaking heat over Christ-mas. And don’t forget that nearly every day on the evening news there seems to be a weather disaster somewhere in the world.