DOWN MEMORY LANE
Sept. 12, 1963
Highway speed limit signs have had a face lifting. The one in the town of Washington should warn motorists that 15 mph is the maximum safe speed around the sharp curve in front of Merrill Motor Company. Someone with a perverted sense of humor has altered it to read 75 mph. The sign on Harris Hollow Road at the edge of town, instead of directing drivers to proceed at 35 mph on the curving mountain road, it reads 85 mph after its alteration. State of Virginia spends thousands of dollars annually to repair and replace disfigured and mutilated road signs. This revenue comes from taxpayers like you and me.
It’s back to school for college students. Mollie Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lee Smith, Spring House Farm, Washington, makes a desperate effort to pack everything a girl needs at college in a limited amount of space. Mollie will enter Longwood College, Farmville, this session as a freshman. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have double trouble, for another daughter, Lee, is a student at Longwood. Mollie was employed this summer in the office of T. Carlyle Lea, Jr., County Court Judge and attorney.
Feb. 15, 1990
Once again the old toll house on U.S. 211 is abustle with merchant activity.
An interest in firearms is in the blood of the McCoy family. John, his brother, Downing and their father Quentin needed little encouragement from a relative to begin a shop.
Though the three began the business, Downing found obligations elsewhere more demanding and withdrew from the business, leaving John and his father to man the shop.
Testing the ground before making the jump, the two opened their door just part-time.
Guns, old and new, are part of the McCoy family’s heritage. Selling them is something new for both men.
“The love of guns has been in our family for three generations,” Quentin McCoy said, explaining that his father before him was a tradesman, lover and owner of guns, in a day when guns were less regulated and more of a necessity to a man.
“This is the first time we’ve had a store,” he said, learning his feet against the wood stove, which spreads warmth and atmosphere into the tiny room whose walls are measured with gun barrels and bows. Glass cases keep handguns dust free and hunting supplies stand waiting for purchase in each corner.
“It’s part of us,” John McCoy said of the family’s interest in guns. “My grandfather gave me my first gun when I was five-years old.”
Holly Moffett, a 1990 4-H Ambassador, and Janice Moffett, 4-H Leader, participated in the 1990 4-H Ambassador Day at the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond on Thursday, Feb. 8. Holly was part of a delegation of 42 4-H Ambassadors from the Northern District.
Following an early morning tour of the Governor’s Mansion they visited Del. David Brickley of the 51st House District and Del. Andy Guest of the 31st House District, which includes Rappahannock County.
The purpose of the 4-H Ambassador Day is to give older 4-H’ers an opportunity to learn about their state government and citizenship. It is also an opportunity for the 4-H’ers to visit their local representatives and tell them about the 4-H clubs in their home county.