DOWN MEMORY LANE

Oct. 25, 1984

The Board of Directors of the Amissville Volunteer Fire Department and Emergency Medical Service announced this week that it will have to reduce the level of services it provides the Amissville community unless the sum of $5,000 can be raised prior to Jan. 1, 1985.

The reason for this decision is that the department’s income has not been able to keep pace with its operating expenses. The department presently has about $1,000 in the bank while its normal operating expenses average about $3,000 per month.

The year the department has been especially hard-hit because bad weather plagued the annual carnival in July. The result: The carnival made only a small fraction of what it usually takes in. On top of this, a fire-truck engine had to be replaced at a cost of more than $4,800.

The department needs $2,500 and 10 volunteers to conduct a fundraising event one night per week. Any community members who would like to donate one evening per week in order to help the department many contact Paul Poling at 987-5205.

If the department does not raise the needed money, some of its equipment will have to be put out of service. Lack of funds would also mean that when equipment breaks down that the department will not be able to have repairs made. All of this would mean a lower level of service to the community.

When Lorraine Robson and Elizabeth Van Wambeck of Slate Mills graduated Oct. 30 from an eight-week course on Hospice Care, both women embarked on new beginnings in volunteerism. Hospice is a special program for terminally ill patients, most of whom choose to spend their final days at home with loved ones. Hospice provides physical, emotional, social and spiritual care for these patients and their families, primarily through the help of volunteers. The course agenda includes sessions on listening, perspectives on dying, family dynamics and home visitations. Participants make one home visitation during the training; Mrs. Robson visited a family in Rappahannock. “There’s a need in the count,” she said.

Oct. 3, 2002

The long awaited Rappahannock High School greenhouse was completed just in time for the start of school. Biology students are already busy filling the shelves with plant propagation projects.

The greenhouse was the dream of Rappahannock residents Bill and Mitzie Young, who saw the need for a place where county students could pursue studies in horticulture and agriculture. In December of 1999, the Youngs donated $10,000 to Headwaters to use for construction of the greenhouse. However, additional funds were needed before construction could begin.

Late in 2000, the Cole Family Foundation donated $10,000 to Headwaters in honor of the late conservationist, John Sawhill. David and Maggie Cole, with their interest in conservation and organic agriculture, graciously agreed that their donation be applied to the greenhouse project.

The historic Middleton Inn, situated on six acres in the town of Washington, represents 19th century American architecture in the set of three tour homes chosen by the Episcopal Church Women of Trinity Church for their 2002 Dried Flower Sale and House Tour. The Inn, an 1850 Federal style brick manor house on the Virginia Landmarks Register, was built by Middleton Miller, who manufactured uniforms for the Confederate side in the Civil War.

Now a deluxe bed and breakfast, owned and operated by journalist Mary Ann Kuhn since 1995. For several years, the Middleton Inn has been the tea house for the tour and guests could only see the first floor, but this year, the entire property will be open for tour visitors, as well as for a classic tea of sandwiches, cookies cakes, and other delicacies.

Middleton Inn has been named one of the “12 Most Romantic Hideaways in the East” and honored by AAA with its Four Diamond Award for “exceptional guest accommodations, excellent service, and an elegant atmosphere” for the past four years.