DOWN MEMORY LANE

From Back Issues of the Rappahannock News

March 16, 1950

Walter Lillard, Charles Wood Keyser, and Mrs. B. M. Miller were high bidders on the three parts of the Ramey property on Route 211 about 1½ miles from Washington, sold Saturday, March 11 at 2 p.m. J. B. Johnson was auctioneer.

C. W. Keyser of Linden paid $6,600 for tract 1, the 11-room 2-story house with full basement, and about six acres with several hundred feet frontage on the highway.

The 5-room bungalow, in tract 2, went to Walter Lillard, operator of the L. V. Merrill Service Station at Massie’s Corner. His bid was $5,100.

The old Toll Gate House, with an acre of land, tract 3, was bought by Mrs. B. M. Miller for $1,700. It is understood Mrs. Miller plans to convert the house into an antique shop.

The School Board in session last night unanimously voted to consolidate the high schools at Washington, hereafter to be referred to as Rappahannock County High School, for the session of 1950-51, and affected the administrative setup of the consolidated school.

Following a long period of discussion, a series of resolutions created the consolidation of two high schools at Washington, Rappahannock County High School, with a curriculum including a commercial department with typing and shorthand. The fifth, sixth, and seventh grades of Washington and Sperryville will be consolidated and hereafter be referred to as Sperryville Elementary School.

Wade H. Massie, Jr., was the purchaser of the three lots in the town of Washington, owned by the J. A. Swan, Jr., estate, at an auction held Monday, March 13. The high bid was $2,900. E. L. Brown was auctioneer.

These three lots purchased by Mr. Massie adjoin his property in Washington, having a fronting on State Highway 211, Jett Street, and Gay street.

The three lots were auctioned separately. The lot between the Rappahannock National Bank and the theatre brought $700; the lot on the corner across from the post office brought $750; and the high lot facing on Route 211, brought $500. When offered as a whole, the bids were higher.

Aug. 4, 1983

Chilton Railford surely can tell stories about the women who have passed through his life. He has become an expert on female psychology by putting shoes on their feet for 30 years.

Last weekend Railford was helping local women try on shoes in his yard and offering them iced tea and Coca-Cola while they did it. Railford has a house-full of ladies’ shoes, a thousand pairs of shoes in his large white house on Route 211 west of Amissville where he holds sales on the weekends.

The shoes are stacked in boxes on the porch, in the kitchen, along all the living room walls, in the side yard, and in the attic and ground floor of the little log cabin out back. A woman could spend several hours trying on the shoe to fit her foot, be it a size four or a ten.

He says the past three decades have been his education in footwear. Now he understands both sides, buying and selling shoes.

Hard economic times are teaching new consumers a lesson that some smart shoppers have known for years: recycled items of high quality can be found at thrift shops for a fraction of their original cost. And in these times of declining quality, sometimes older does mean better in workmanship and style.

In addition to local flea markets, Rappahannock residents have several possibilities in their search for ways to make dollars go further. Shopping at local thrift shops can be fun: where else can you find enough crazy clothes and flashy jewelry to fill a child’s dress-up trunk for a few dollars? Or unearth little treasures for a child’s birthday gifts?

Rappahannock residents have three thrift shops within easy reach. By far the oldest is the Washington Ladies Auxiliary Thrift Shop run for the benefit of the Washington Fire Company and Rescue Squad. Mary Ellen Burke, vice president of the ladies’ auxiliary, said that the shop is at least 25 years old.

Mrs. Burke operates the shop on Wednesdays and the auxiliary’s president, Ruth Clark, opens up on Fridays. Between them, the two dedicated women managed to present the Fire Company with a check of about $2,000 each year.

In Sperryville, Mary Beumer has been operating the Sperryville thrift shop on Route 211 for almost a year. “I got awfully tired of packing and unpacking, so I set up a permanent shop here.” Mrs. Beumer gathers her wares from all over — from attics, auctions, yard sales — “anything that catches my eye,” she said.

Folks in Flint Hill needn’t feel left out. They have a thrift shop right on Main Street. The Marigold Thrift Shop, operated by Janet and Margaret Eastham, has been open since May, and it offers local people a chance to sell their superfluous goods on consignment. Their store is in the old tack shop building and it’s easy to spot with marigolds in the window boxes and a bright sign with their flowery trademark.

Architect Hunter Spencer assured the Rappahannock supervisors that any additions to the jail renovation project — as long as it’s related to the jail — will qualify for 50 percent reimbursement of costs from the state, up to a total of $81,500. However, that assurance comes with a big “but” that could work to the benefit of the contractor.

March 19, 1997

The issue of parking in the town of Washington was the major issue at last week’s Town Council meeting.

“No Parking” signs have been installed on Main Street between Middle and Calvert Street in town, taking away parking spots which have been becoming harder and harder to find, especially over the last couple of years.

Attorney Frank Reynolds, who is the town attorney, wrote a letter to the members of Town Council as a concerned businessman in the town asking the council to look into the necessity of the new “No Parking” signs. “I think that the Town Council should object to VDOT having taken away very valuable parking spaces in the middle of Town without any official contact with the Council.”

In General District Court on Tuesday, Judge Charles Foley found that Arthur H. Kitchen of Amissville had violated state and county ordinances by having an open dump on his property, bringing in trash from outside Rappahannock County, and depositing the trash in an unauthorized receptacle.

Judge Foley told 29-year-old Mr. Kitchen that people who buy property think they can do what they want, but that over the years certain laws have been developed to protect people. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” said Judge Foley. He told Mr. Kitchen, “You are doing things that are injuring and damaging your neighbors.”

He gave Mr. Kitchen 30 days, until April 15, to clean it up, and set a sentencing date of May 6. “Let’s get this property cleaned up,” said the judge.