DOWN MEMORY LANE
Sept. 8, 1966
Dry weather still prevails in Rappahnanock and the situation is acute. Thornton Gap River, where it passes under a bridge on Route 211 just east of Sperryville, is bone dry. This river comes from the Old Hollow and at the highway location not a drop of water is to be found. Jack Woodard who lives nearby says this is the first time he has ever seen it that dry and he has lived here most of his 72 years. In the fall of 1942 the river was out of bounds and flooded all the bottom land in the area and washed away a house and a shed.
At the nearby farm of Clifford Miller, wells have done dry, necessitating drilling a new, deep one. Dead fish, many as much as five inches long, can be seen in great numbers in the river.
The second annual Whistle Cup Tennis Tournament was held in the county Labor Day weekend. The tournament consisted of 18 mixed doubles played Sunday and Monday on the courts at the homes of Mr. and Mrs. I. L. Parrish, Viewtown, Mr. and Mrs. N. K. G. Tholand, Sperryville and Judge and Mrs. R. V. Snead, Washington.
Winners of the finals played Monday at Tholand’s Piedmont Farm where Mrs. Stuart Cooper of Warrenton and Jens Tholand. Others in the finals were Mrs. Ann Moore of Madison and Ed Harris, Huntly; Mrs. Ruth Baumgardner of Annandale and Washington, and Judge Snead.
Following the presentation of the cups at the close of the tournament Monday, a Dutch picnic lunch was enjoyed on the lawn at Piedmont.
March 16, 1978
Recycling is alive and well in Washington. In 1976, mayor Peter Kramer appointed June Jordan, then a member of the town council, to start and operate a recycling center. Three years later, the center is still functioning — and turning a profit, thanks to the efforts of June, Joyce Kramer
and the donation of land by L. V. Merrill.
Over the last 15 months, the recycling center located behind Merrill’s garage, has collected $550 from selling newspapers and aluminum. Of this, $500 was presented last week to Jennings Hobson, president of the Washington Fire Department, to aid in the construction of a new firehouse.
Volunteer help along with citizen involvement makes the recycling program work. June Jordan and Joyce Kramer
have contributed countless hours to the center since it first opened. No one likes picking over trash — particularly someone else's — but it’s a job that has to be done.
Despite the demand it makes on her time, June plans to keep the recycling center running and growing as long as the people in Rappahannock continue to support it. Hopefully, as the center continues its success, the Board of Supervisors will see that a recycling program can work and is profitable,” June said. She stressed that the $500 alone is not a true indication of the center’s value to the community.
It appears that the Rappahannock Ski Corporation’s suit against the county Board of Zoning Appeals will be settled out of court. According to Commonwealth Attorney George Davis, the supervisors met with him in executive session on Wednesday, March 15, to discuss a consent order submitted by attorney Douglas Baumgardner on behalf of the ski area. In the order, the ski area agrees to drop their suit in exchange for rights requested in the amended special use permit application filed December 27,1977. Davis, who requested that the supervisors intervene in the fight between the ski area and BZA, reported that he will advise the supervisors to accept the consent order.
Baumgardner filed a petition in circuit court on March 7 seeking a reversal of BZA action taken February 9 to deny the ski area’s request for a snowless slide, skiing, craft sales, tennis, swimming and other recreational support activities on 300 acres in Harris Hollow. The suit also asked for “costs and reasonable attorney’s fees” and attacked the validity of the county’s zoning ordinance itself, charging that it delegated improper legislative authority to the BZA.