Fall 2009 | Issue 9 FREE WE LOVE FALL! The Valley’s Most Colorful Season: Leaf Peeping on the Shenandoah | Festivals Galore The Magazine for Those Who Live in and Love the Valley
SHENANDOAH Fall 2009 | Issue 9
FREE
WE LOVE FALL!The Valley’s Most Colorful Season:Leaf Peeping on the Shenandoah | Festivals Galore
The Magazine for Those Who Live in and Love the Valley
2 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
PUBLISHERSBrad Jenkins Toni Mehling
ADVERTISINGLinda Swecker
Cesi MyersFrank Batres-Landaeta
Allison FaroleJim Stevens
Chelsea White
PHOTOGRAPHYHolly Marcus
CONTRIBUTORSLuanne Austin
Karen Doss BowmanJenny Brockwell
Martha Bell GrahamDale Harter
Jeremiah KnuppNancy Nusser
COPYEDITINGRebecca Rohlf
HOW TO REACH USAdvertising: (540) 830-5400
Editorial: (540) 578-2334
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY
Route 11 Publications LLCP.O. Box 313
Lacey Spring, Virginia 22833
Shenandoah Living is published quarterly by Route 11 Publications LLC. 10,000 copies are distributed throughout the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. For
distribution points, go to our Web site, www.shenandoahmagazine.com.
Direct story queries to our editorial phone number or e-mail. For advertising questions, call
(540) 810-5820 or go to our Web site.Copyright © 2009.
Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Shenandoah Living is a registered trademark of
Route 11 Publications LLC.
shenandoahmagazine.com
SHENANDOAHLiving
ECO AWARENESS
Developments text and cover pages are printed using SFI-certified Anthem paper using soy ink.
DEPARTMENTS
4 Route 11 News from up and down the Valley.
6 DaytripsYou don’t have to be rich to experi-ence the posh Homestead.
8 FoodThese biscuits must be beaten to be enjoyed.
16 Great OutdoorsSee the fall colors on the Shenan-doah River.
18 Arts & EntertainmentThese people work by day and are on stage by night.
20 Home & GardenPrepare now to have a keyhole-shaped garden come spring.
22 HistoryA 1970s game took players around the country in a big rig.
28 TicketYour guide to fall events.
24 Horse StepsA Valley couple is part of a grow-ing group of people who raise Mountain Horses.
10 On the FarmJMU students get hands-on farm experience through a university program (above).
[ Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009 ]
ON THE COVER: Mums, the ever-present shrub of fall, on display at the Dayton Autumn Celebration last year. Fall is a time for festivals in the Valley.
ABOVE: Janet Ripley of Janet’s Gar-den in Greenville shows James Madi-son University student Andy Moss how she plans to grow raspberry bushes on a trellis system she installed.
Photos by Holly Marcus.
FEATURES
CONTENTS
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 3
90.7 in the Valley
89.9 in Lexington
94.5 in Winchester
You can get a complete schedule, and listen online, at www.wmra.org
Because life’s too short
for ordinary radio...!
Don’t miss out on extraordinary public radio
NPR News & NPR Talk...all day
need to get out more?hook up with us
• help businesses in your area succeed• make a little $$$ or make a lot• set your own schedule• have a rewarding experience• meet people
Grow with Usby representing Shenandoah Living
4 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
ROUTE 11notes from life up and down the valley
» www.shenandoahmagazine.comThis is just a sampling of what’s going on in the Valley. For more on life up and down the Valley, check out our companion Web site atshenandoahmagazine.com.
President Barack Obama has nominated a
man with Staunton roots to lead the National
Institutes for Health.
Dr. Francis Collins, who gained fame with
his work on the Human Genome Project, is
Obama’s pick.
The Associated Press called Collins “one of
the nation’s most influential geneticists.”
Collins helped map the human genetic
code. He called it “the book of human life.”
“Dr. Collins is one of the top scientists in
the world, and his groundbreaking work has
changed the very ways we consider our health
and examine disease,” Obama said in a press
release.
Collins has written about the relationship
between faith and science in the book “The
Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence
for Belief,” which was a New York Times
bestseller.
Collins is the founder of The BioLogos
Foundation, a group of scientists who believe
in God.
Collins is no stranger to presidents. In
2007, President Bush awarded Collins with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Obama Reaches to Valley for Health Pick
The Shenandoah Valley’s history will be on display at a new mu-
seum in Luray, the town famous for its caverns, starting next spring.
The Luray Valley Museum and Gardens will look at the Valley’s
history from 1720 to 1920, Rod Graces, the vice president of Luray
Caverns, told the Daily News-Record.
“We want to tell a story that hasn’t been told,” he told the
paper.
The museum will be 6,600 square feet. It will be called the
Stonyman Museum, and will be located in a restored log cabin.
Much of the museum will focus on the Luray area and its Ger-
man heritage. An 1836 Bible from that country will be featured.
The project began in 2007.
New Museum Has History in Mind
Casual Italian Diningat the foot of Massanutten
42 Island Ford Road | (540) 289-5770romanositalianbistro.com
$5 off your meal! (must present this ad. Valid for meals
of $30 or more. Excludes alcohol)
Life’s too short not to have a fabulous kitchen.
MILLER’S CABINETS, INC.1910 S. High St. Harrisonburg
(540) 434-4835
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 5
6 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
BY LUANNE AUSTIN
No matter how many times you drive
along Route 220 south through Bath
County, rounding the bend to the sight of
The Homestead is always a surprise. Its
tower rises from among the Blue Ridge
Mountains, the resort spreading out
comfortably in the landscape. It looks like
it belongs here. With origins dating to
1766 — before the American Revolution
— it does.
The Homestead has long been a vaca-
tion and recreation spot for the rich and
famous — their photos hang in hallways
and public rooms — but the price of
an overnight stay need not prevent the
recession-wary from enjoying the resort’s
history and delightful amenities. Daytrip-
pers, says Melissa Pogue, public relations
director for the resort, are more than
welcome.
Visitors can dine in The Homestead’s
restaurants, get pampered in the spa,
play golf on one of three courses, or take
a horseback ride. In the winter there’s
downhill and cross-country skiing, snow-
mobiling and ice skating.
Perhaps the most relaxing and luxuri-
ous activity is a soak in the Jefferson
Pools. Thomas Jefferson stayed at The
Homestead for more than three weeks
in 1818, soaking in the Gentlemen’s Pool
House three times a day. He described
the spring waters as being “of the first
merit.” The two covered pools — one for
men, one for women — have not changed
much since Jefferson’s visit. In fact, the
first of the two octagonal buildings was
constructed in 1761.
The water stays about 96 degrees all
year round and many are convinced of its
healing powers. Entrance to the Jefferson
pool (clothing optional) costs $17. It’s
open seasonally, so call if you’re not sure.
No-Cost Activities Some of the
best activities at The Homestead are free,
like people-watching in the Great Hall,
the resort’s main lobby (where blue jeans
are “discouraged”). Just off the Great
Hall are delightful rooms to roam in. You
can admire the historical murals in the
Jefferson Parlor, cozy up with a book or
Be Pampered. Or a Pauper.» The Homestead is posh, but it need not break the recession-weary bank.
DAYTRIPS
Courtesy The Homestead
The Presidential Lounge at The Homestead features portraits of presidents who have stayed at the resort.
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 7
game of chess in the Washington Library, and enjoy the view
from a white rocker on the front porch. The President’s Lounge,
a huge round room with a club-like feel, features portraits of all
the U.S. presidents who have stayed at the hotel, from George
Washington to Bill Clinton.
...Til You Drop If shopping is your idea of fun, there
are some out-of-the-ordinary items at the Homestead’s many
shops, and sometimes there are great sales. One corridor is just
off the Great Hall. Golf and tennis clothing, jewelry, toys, house
and bath items, all of the best quality, are available. Cottage
Row, along the backside of the hotel, features outdoor outfit-
ters, a photography shop and several gift shops. The village of
Hot Springs offers a variety of shops, too, where you can buy
vintage and designer clothing, antiques, art and crafts, books
and toys.
Eat it Up The resort has several excellent restaurants. Chef
Rodger Martin oversees all of The Homestead’s restaurants so
the quality of each is assured, whether it’s a full meal or soup
and sandwich. Lunch at the Casino Club, where you can eat for
$10 to $20 per person, is recommended. The salads, along with
soup du jour, are a substantial meal in themselves, whether it’s
the beef tenderloin or the Ahi tuna and Gulf shrimp salad. The
crab cake sandwich with sweet potatoes fries is to die for. Have
your dining mate order the Allegheny trout sandwich on pita
and swap halves.
For dinner, Sam Snead’s Tavern is the resort’s most casual,
although there’s nothing casual about the food. The menu is
based on exquisitely-prepared steaks and seafood. If you’ve
never had Oysters Rockefeller, this is the time and place to do it.
Fall Fun Outdoor activities for the fall are endless, includ-
ing golf, tennis, hiking and carriage rides. The drive out to The
Homestead takes you out to Churchville and south between
mountain ridges through Craigsville, Goshen and other towns
along the way. It’s sure to be a lovely ride full of autumnal
surprises. v
1 Health Circle, Lexington, VA • 540-458-3300
Make UsYour First ChoiceAt Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital (CSJH)you'll find easy access close to home,a skilled staff and personalized care.Next time consider choosingCSJH for your healthcareneeds.
Through Dec. 19 “Material iMages”
Quilts from the Fringe of Tradition
By quilt artists from Southwest Virginia
301 South Main StreetHarrisonburg, VA 22801(540) 433-3818www.vaquiltmuseum.org
Museum Hours10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tu-Sat
Classes and workshops are available.
Weaver’s
C a l l To d ay f o r a F R E E E s t i m a t e !
S e r v i n g t h e S h e n a n d o a h Va l l e y f o r m o r e t h a n 3 0 y e a r s .
(540) 433-15173245 S. Main St.
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
(540) 943-32312530 Main St.
Waynesboro, VA 22980
CARPET HARDWOOD LAMINATE AREA RUGS CERAMIC VINYL
www.weaversflooringamerica.com
8 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
BY MARTHA BELL GRAHAM
In the culinary world, beaten biscuits
are unique. Unlike their flaky cousins
and their historic relatives “hard tack,”
beaten biscuits reign as the only South-
ern biscuit made with a bat, a stump, an
ax, a mallet or the side of a tree. They
are literally “beaten” into deliciousness.
The recipe is simple enough: flour,
lard, cold milk or cream and lots of
elbow grease. Some cooks added a little
salt and sugar. Then mix, beat, cut,
pierce and bake. Some variations of
beaten doughs originated as far back
as pre-American Europe before baking
powder was commercially available. In
the 1800s pearlash (pronounced “pearl
ash”) was tried as an early leaven, but
this by-product of potash, also called
“salts of tartar,” made the biscuits bitter
and the method short-lived.
Cooks could produce the same effect
by beating their dough — a job often left
to young slaves. The “rising” of beaten
biscuits was accomplished by literally
beating air into the dough. And as the
dough was pounded the gluten began to
break down. For regular breads such a
thrashing would mean tough, rubbery
bread, but the trick with beaten biscuits
was to beat the dough beyond toughness.
One batch of dough could require several
hours of pounding.
The result was a mouthwatering
biscuit, crisp and shiny on the outside
but soft and crumbly on the inside.
And unlike yeast biscuits that start to
dry out the minute they exit the oven,
beaten biscuits (never served hot) could
be stored for days without hurting their
flavor, texture or goodness, making them
a versatile favorite of Southern cooks —
particularly when company was coming.
FOOD
No Flaky Biscuits Here» This beaten bread could help anger management.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup lard, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/3 cup light cream
2 tablespoons cold water (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar together.
Use a fork to “cut” the lard into the flour until it looks
like coarse meal. Using a standing mixer, or a wooden
spoon, mix the dough as you slowly add the cream.
Mix well to form the dough into a ball, adding water if
needed.
3. Place the dough onto a tabletop, and knead
slightly. With a mallet or a one-piece rolling pin, beat
the dough a few times to form it into a rough rectangle.
Fold the dough over, and then beat it out again. Repeat
this process until the dough becomes white and blisters
form on the surface, about 15 minutes.
4. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut
into 2 inch rounds, and prick the top a few times with
the tines of a fork. Place on greased baking sheets.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.
— MBG
» BEATEN BISCUITS
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 9
Remembering Recipes In the 1953 edition of “The
Joy of Cooking,” authors Irma Rombauer and Marion
Rombauer Becker offered a little beaten biscuit ditty at-
tributed to Miss Howard Weeden that says it all:
“Two hundred licks is what I gives
For home-folks, never fewer,
An’ if I’m ‘specting company in,
I gives five hundred sure!”
Beaten biscuits are claimed by Virginians, Tennes-
seans, Kentuckians, Marylanders and most Southern-
ers. The Maryland version — also called Apoquiniminc
cakes — contained eggs and were hand-rolled to produce
a round, golf-ball sized biscuit. Southerners, however,
lay sole claim to the flat, mouthwatering, smooth-topped,
fork-pierced version often filled with country ham or
homemade jams. In a 1973 Washington Post article, one
Southern socialite declared, “You could never have a Derby
party without beaten biscuit. ”
Ellen Campbell of Harrisonburg, who grew up in
southwestern Virginia, remembers beaten biscuits well.
Her family made them with a “beaten biscuit machine,” an
1882-circa invention that preempted the labor-intensive
beating. The machine — also called a biscuit brake —
pressed the dough, producing the same effect as beating.
“The dough was placed on a slab of smooth marble,”
she remembers, “then it was run back and forth through
the beaten biscuit machine — it looked like a small wringer
washer but without the rubber pads. When the dough was
ready it was smooth and shiny — that was the sign.”
Next, the cut circles of dough were pierced with the
prongs of a fork before they were baked in a moderate
over for about 20 minutes. After baking, an authentic
beaten biscuit is round, about the size of a silver dollar,
one inch thick, creamy white and shiny.
“It still took a lot of work,” Campbell says, “but the end
result was worth it. Every family picnic, every event called
for beaten biscuits with Mother’s homemade butter and
Daddy’s smoked ham.”
Campbell would agree with the assessment of Mary
Stuart Smith. In “Virginia Cookery Book” (1885), Smith
wrote, “In the Virginia of the olden time no breakfast or
tea-table was thought to be properly furnished without
a plate of these indispensable biscuits…. Let one spend
one night at some gentleman farmer’s home, and the first
sound heard in the morning, after the crowing of the cock,
was the heavy, regular fall of the cook’s ax as she beat and
beat her biscuit dough.” v 625 Mt. Clinton Pike, Harrisonburg
(540) 434-1800 organicgroundscoffeehouse.com
Facebook: Organic Grounds Twitter: organicgrounds
Organic, Fair-trade Coffee Eco-friendly Establishment
Free Meeting Room Local Artists & Crafters
Kids Area All-natural Smoothies & more
Full Menu & Information Online
AppetitBon
Harrisonburg’s Best Mexican Food
Two Locations!
1750 E. Market St. | 564-0386
1580 S. Main St. | 433-3189
Casual Italian Dining
at the foot of Massanutten
42 Island Ford Road | (540) 289-5770
romanositalianbistro.com
Hungry Farmer
Shenandoah Heritage Famers Market
Affordable, home-cooked food
(540) 437-1901
Authentic Italian Cuisine
415 North Main Street
Bridgewater, VA 22812
Mennu at www.golookon.com
Harrisonburg’s Best Mexican
Food
Two Locations!1570 E. Market St.
564-0386
1580 S. Main St.433-3189
10 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
Digging In
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 11
On a Friday Afternoon in April,
while most James Madison University students sat in classrooms
listening to lectures, Karen Baxter and Andy Moss were crawling
around in the dirt on a farm about 40 miles south of campus. They
pushed aside the soft soil, dropped a raw potato wedge in the hole,
covered it and moved on to the next one.
So what were these two English majors doing on this warm
spring day? Karen and Andy were part of the JMU Farm Internship
program that matches students with Valley farmers. The students
get hands-on experience and the farmer gets free labor. But it’s so
much more than that.
“They’re only here a few hours a week, but they make a huge,
huge impact,” said Janet Ripley of Greenville, whose potato patch
Karen and Andy planted. “Of course, I’m teaching them, too.”
The seed for the program was planted in April 2007 when Jen-
nifer Coffman took students from her seminar, “Anthropological
Perspectives on Environment and Development” to visit Elk Run
Farm in New Hope. In the classroom, the students had studied the
differences between organic and conventional food production,
local growing movements, debates over biotech food and more,
but out on the farm they didn’t even recognize what broccoli and
asparagus looked like growing in the ground. By the time Septem-
ber rolled around, Coffman had established a program to send
students to work on local farms.
On Monday afternoons in the spring, Karen and Andy carpooled
to Janet’s Garden and, on Fridays, to Nu-Beginning Farm, also in
Greenville. At Janet Ripley’s, they planted seeds and transplanted
seedlings in the greenhouse and cared for animals — chickens,
cows, sheep — around the property.
“A lot of the work is tedious and requires a lot of patience and
persistence,” said Karen, whose hometown is Roanoke. “Andy and
I have spent hours placing the smallest seeds in row after row of
beds. This wasn’t hard, but it took a while to get all of the seeds in
their proper place and covered with the topsoil.”
At Nu-Beginning, the pair did a variety of chores, from making
fruit jams to building a fence to tilling the soil. They spent two days
weeding the flowerbed and preparing the soil for new growth. “Our
hands hurt afterwards, but the end result was definitely worth hav-
ing soil-stained fingers,” Karen said.
The toughest job Karen ever had on the farm was to pour and
Story by Luanne Austin | Photos by Holly Marcus
Shenandoah Valley farms serve as classrooms for some JMU students.
12 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
spread spoiled milk over compost at Ja-
net’s Garden. “It stunk so bad,” she said.
Interns work at Avalon Farm in Broad-
way four days per week, said Lorinda
Palin, co-owner. Kristi Van Sickle, from
Bowie, Md., and Nicholas Melas, from
Springfield, were the Tuesday interns
in the spring. They did everything from
cleaning out chicken coops to planting
spinach seedlings in the garden.
“I find it to be therapeutic,” said Kristi,
“the beautiful surrounding, working with
my hands —it’s an escape from Harrison-
burg.”
One day, Nick dug out dandelions
before adding compost to the spinach
beds. He threw the dandelions in a pile
to give to the chickens. He laughed about
his “gardening shoes,” which were really
boating shoes.
Applying The Lessons As an-
thropology majors, Kristi and Nicholas
believe their work on the farm is central
to their studies.
“It connects with anthropology be-
cause it’s seen as important to connect
people with their food production,” said
Nicholas.
“A lot of people don’t know where food
comes from,” said Kristi.
“What we do applies across cultures
because we don’t use large equipment,
mostly hand tools,” said Palin.
Nicholas thinks he can take what he’s
learned at Avalon and use it anywhere in
the world, even in Kenya. That’s where
the connection to the International Pro-
grams comes in. As associate executive
director of the program and an anthro-
pologist, Coffman established and directs
the JMU Field School in Kenya, taking
students every summer.
“Kenya and the Shenandoah Valley
are both places where we don’t need a
surplus of modern technology to make
things work,” Coffman said. “That’s the
guiding arc.”
Both the farm internship and Kenyan
field school programs were sponsored
by the International Beliefs and Values
Institute at JMU.
All the farms in the program are affili-
ated with the Downtown Harrisonburg
and Staunton-Augusta farmers’ markets.
Coffman found the smaller farms to be a
much better fit, both for the geographical
link and for practical reasons.
“In the Valley we have a lot of big
farmers who rely on fossil fuels and big
machines to run their farms,” said Wayne
Teel, an associate professor who teaches
environment, agricultural systems and
sustainability classes at JMU. “There’s
really no hands-on work for interns.”
Teel points out that, in the Valley,
many big-time farmers work their farms
part-time, while small farmers often work
their farms full-time. “The small farmers
Janet Ripley (center) and JMU students Karen Baxter (right) and Andy Moss spread compost at Janet’s farm in Greenville. Baxter and Moss interned at the farm as a part of JMU’s farm internship program. Previous Page: Nicholas Melas digs out dandelions at Avalon Farm in Broadway during his internship in the spring .
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 13
are out in their fields all day, doing 30 to 40 different
tasks each day,” he said. “Each crop gets a different
management strategy.”
That’s why, in addition to her log, Kristi took really
good notes. “Lorinda and Solly are good about explain-
ing what they do and why they do it, why they do the
processes they do,” Kristi said. “I feel like I’m learning
so much. I want to record it, everything I’m learning
about the plants, the processes.”
Coffman enjoys reading the student logs, which she
does three times per semester. She makes comments
and asks questions that help the student get more from
their experience. There is also required reading. Coff-
man and Teel are developing the farm internship pro-
gram into a four-credit course that includes 90 minutes
of classroom and eight hours of farm work per week.
A Big Help Not just any farmer is a fit for the pro-
gram. They must be willing to take the time to teach the
students, said Coffman.
“All these people blow me away with how smart they
are,” Coffman says of the dozen or so farmers she works
with. “They’re always doing science and studying the
markets.”
When the students’ internships are over, they leave
the program with a keener sense of their consumption
patterns and their impact on
the earth. “When they leave
they are such strong advo-
cates of local production,”
Coffman said. “A whole
new world has opened up to
them. They don’t take their
food for granted.”
To Palin, it’s more than
imparting knowledge. It’s
matter of passing on her love
for the land to the next gen-
eration. As students begin
to appreciate the land, they
often form a bond with the
farmers that go beyond their
four or eight hours per week.
One day last spring, Jessie
Dodson, an Avalon intern,
organized a work day. She brought four other JMU stu-
dents to help prepare 600 square feet for planting. Palin
said it was a big help.
“Several of our interns have become like extended
family,” said Palin. “Like us, they feel a connection to
the land and want to return.” v
Karen Baxter hauls straw bales for Janet Ripley at her farm in Greenville.
Increasing leadership strengthsBuilding management skillsDeveloping stewardship strategies
(866) 574-0023 [email protected], Va.
emu.edu/mba
�e EMU Steward-Leadership
MBA
14 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
Get more out of life.Feel free enough to pursue your dreams at...
Imagine waking up each day in your new home, surrounded by breathtaking views and natural beauty. With a host of services and amenities, you can tailor your perfect retirement, free from the responsibilities and expense of home ownership. No matter how you define the good life, Sunnyside Communities has the answer. Call today to arrange for your personal visit.
SUNNYSIDE SUMMIT SQUARE KING’S GRANTHarrisonburg, VA Waynesboro, VA Martinsville, VA(800) 237-2257 (800) 586-5499 (800) 462-4649
www.sunnysidecommunities.com
Prepare to serve and lead in a global context
www.emu.edu(800) 368-2665Harrisonburg, Va.
Explore our new majors in peacebuilding and development and environmental sustainability.
Casual Italian Diningat the foot of Massanutten
42 Island Ford Road | (540) 289-5770romanositalianbistro.com
$5 off your meal! (must present this ad. Valid for meals
of $30 or more. Excludes alcohol)
Life’s too short not to have a fabulous kitchen.
MILLER’S CABINETS, INC.1910 S. High St. Harrisonburg
(540) 434-4835
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 15
Gates Open at 10 a.m. First of six races begin at 1:30 p.m. Races Run Rain or Shine.
National Anthem by Joseph Leo Bwarie, appearing in at the National Theatre October 1-December 12, 2009.
For information on Hospitality Tents, Tailgate Spaces, or to Purchase Tickets visit www.vagoldcup.com. Questions, please call 540-347-2612.
General Admission Tickets sold at
Come enjoy an exciting day of horse racing, tailgating, terrier racing, and a Porsche sports car exhibit in the heart of Virginia’s Horse Country! Porsche of Arlington
Porsche of Tysons CornerRockville PorscheTischer Porsche
Potomac, Porsche Club of America
Saturday, October 17, 2009 – Great Meadow, The Plains, VirginiaPhotos by: Douglas Lees
16 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
GREAT OUTDOORS
BY JEREMIAH KNUPP
As he drives down U.S. 340 in a big
white van, Don Roberts points to the Blue
Ridge Mountains and makes sure his pas-
sengers note the silver line snaking near
the summit of the peaks. It is fall, and the
“silver line” is the traffic backed up on
Skyline Drive, a metallic slug that inches
its way forward all weekend when the
fall foliage hits its peak. But for the van’s
passengers, there will be no stuffy cars in
slow traffic, no fighting for space at the
overlooks, no crowds to take away from
the grandeur of nature. These passengers
are about to discover a well-kept secret.
In autumn, both locals and out-of-town-
ers flock to the mountains that form the
Shenandoah Valley to observe the chang-
ing leaves. But the best road on which to
watch the passing colors isn’t a road at
all. It’s the Shenandoah River.
“Most people are driving their cars in
traffic all week, driving to work or driv-
ing to the office. The river gives them a
chance to get out of their cars,” Roberts
said. “When the foliage on the mountain
is at its peak and you’re on the Drive,
you’re looking down on a Valley that’s
still green. But on the river you can look
up at the changing colors on the moun-
tain.”
Fall is Perfect To Roberts, the owner
of Front Royal Canoe Company, a busi-
ness that provides raft, tube, canoe and
kayak rides, fall is perhaps the best time
to be on the Shenandoah River.
“In the fall there are usually bet-
ter water conditions and no crowds, so
there’s less waiting to get on the river,”
said Roberts, who has been running his
business for decades. “It’s very peaceful.
There’s a carpet of leaves on the water
and the water is clearer so it reflects the
leaves that are still on the trees.”
But leaves aren’t the only thing you’ll
see on a Shenandoah River trip. The
leaves share the branches with ospreys
and eagles, while deer, otter, mink and
the occasional black bear appear on the
water’s edge.
“Many people come just for the
wildlife,” Roberts said. “It’s like paddling
through a zoo at times.”
No Swimming Plying the waters
of the Shenandoah in the fall has its
own special set of circumstances. For
» One way to see autumn’s colors: on the Shenandoah.
Floating for FoliageHolly Marcus
The Front Royal Canoe Company provides raft, tube, canoe and kayak rides along the Shenandoah River. Fall is a great time for the ride.
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 17
those who have enjoyed the water in the
summer months, it’s a whole new river.
Water temperatures have already started
to drop, so unlike the summer months,
river riders need to avoid taking a dip in
the water by falling out of their water-
craft. By October, fall rains have usually
raised the water level and made the river
travel faster. For this environment Front
Royal Canoe Company has the perfect
solution; inflatable rafts.
Like a river-going mini-van, the rafts
will hold up to six people, so most fami-
lies can ride together. It is ultra-stable,
making it safe enough for passengers as
young as 4 years old. The staff of Front
Royal Canoe Company tailors each trip
to the customer, based on their experi-
ence and how much time they want to
spend on the water. For older or more
experienced boaters, canoes and kayaks
are also available, along with multi-day
trips that cover up to forty miles of the
river and include overnight camping.
River riders are shuttled up the Shenan-
doah to their starting point and float
back the FRCC’s landing area.
Roberts says that after many river-
goers take their first fall trip, they return
year after year at the same time.
“The Front Royal area leading up to
[Skyline Drive] becomes a parking lot; be-
ing on the river is the reverse experience,”
he noted. “On the river it’s very relaxed,
very peaceful and stress free. There’s no
better way to see the leaves.” v
Through June 20: “Floral Abundance”
Floral Applique from the ODAS
June 25 - Dec. 19: Material Images from Southwest Virginia
Quilt Artists
301 South Main StreetHarrisonburg, VA 22801(540) 433-3818www.vaquiltmuseum.org
Museum Hours10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tu-Sat
Classes and workshops are available.
HARRISONBURGwelcome to downtown
Handcrafted Solid Wood Furniture
Cherry, Quarter-Sawn Oak, Maple, Walnut, Oak, Hickory
20 N. Main Street | Harrisonburg(540) 801-0130
Tues.-Fri. 10-7, Sat. 9-5www.DowntownFineFurniture.com
212 S. Main St.Harrisonburg
(540) 432-8942
Open Monday to Saturday9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Reservations Suggested.
feed your passion for art.
Downtown’s place for fine art and crafts
12-5 Mon., Tues., Wed., Sun.12-8 Thurs., Fri.
10-5 Sat.
103 S. Main St.(540) 442-8188
Glen’s Fair Price Store
Harrisonburg’s Most Unusual Store
227 N. Main Street | HarrisonburgMon-Sat 9:30-5 | 540-434-8272
All Your Photo Needs
Canon digital cameras, tripods, camera bags,
digital accessories
Gifts, Souvenirs, NoveltiesParty Supplies
U.S.A. one-yearlimited warranty
18 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Acting Out Off the Job» JENNY BROCKWELL takes a look at some of the regular folks who take the
stage in community theaters in the Valley.
When Susan Comfort’s co-workers
find out that she’s an actress, they aren’t
too surprised.
“They would guess that I do acting
because I’m not a real shy person at
work,“ she laughed. “They get a kick out
of it.”
Susan is a special education instruc-
tional assistant for Harrisonburg City
Public Schools. But she also spends a
good deal of time on stage at The Play-
house in Harrisonburg.
Susan brings the theater into the class-
room — by adapting books like Dr. Seuss’
“Green Eggs and Ham” into a play.
“We get costumes together and vid-
eotape it, and the kids love it,” she said.
Susan’s passion for theater began
years ago when she first saw “The
Sound of Music,” then watched it
“about 20 times in a row,” she laughed.
She acted in high school, but instead
majored in journalism while at James
Madison University in the 1980s.
When her kids started participating
in the children’s plays at The Playhouse
in the 1990s, she started helping and
then auditioned in 1998.
“I got up the courage to do it and
have been involved ever since,” she
said.
Acting is an outlet Comfort needs to
explore herself.
“It’s art. It’s like anybody that would
paint a picture or play music. I get com-
pletely lost in it,” she said.
“It replenishes my soul to take a
couple of hours and totally concentrate
on something that ultimately makes me
a better person to do the other things in
my life, like take care of my family and
do my job.” v
» ‘I’m not a real shy person.’Teacher Susan Comfort, Harrisonburg
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 19
Barry Mines spends his working days
building custom homes, but during the
summer, you'll usually find him on the stage
at Theater at Lime Kiln, playing a role in
"Stonewall Country," about the famed Civil
War general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
“Double takes are pretty standard
when my coworkers find out that I act,” he
laughed. “They go, 'what?' They don’t know
much about that world, most of the people I
work with. They aren’t play goers or theater
song people at all."
While they may have different interests,
Mines said that he more than identifies with
his fellow construction workers.
“They are the guys who are trying to put
food on the table and raise a family. And I
am, too. But that part of my past has little to
do with their lives," he said. "So it’s pretty
interesting conversation.”
There are times when Mines has to call
upon his theater background in the construc-
tion business. “Having a degree in theater
exposes me to a wide variety of people.
When there is a situation with a client, I’m
usually the guy who has to go up and talk
to them, because I can empathize with both
parties right at the bat," he said.
Mines works as a leadman for Stonewall
Inc. a small custom homebuilding firm in
Lexington. He's only been in construction for
10 years; his passion for acting began earlier.
“I always did it in grade school and high
school, but never took it seriously until I
tried out for a play in college at the Univer-
sity of Nebraska,” he said. “My first year of
college, I was undeclared and then became a
theater major.”
When Mines discovered Lexington's Lime
Kiln Theatre, he immersed himself, becom-
ing not only an actor but a resident artist and
artistic director.
After six seasons, though, he knew he
must move on, and that's when he turned to
construction. But like any true passion, he
returns to Lime Kiln often as an actor. v
Ask pharmacist Steve Nichols when he caught the acting bug,
and his answer might sound like something you'd say.
“I watched a lot of TV as a kid, and I believed that I could act
as well as most of the talent I saw,” he said.
Today, in the era of reality TV, you hardly have to be an actor
to have your own show — and having acting skills is no longer
a prerequisite. But for those who truly love the art of acting,
they take to the stage; and in Steve's case, the intimate stage of
community theater. Since coming to Winchester 30 years ago,
Winchester Little Theater is the only stage he has been on.
By day, Nichols is part of a team of information-technology
workers, nurses and physicians who coordinate the technology
used for ordering, dispensing, administering and documenting
the pharmacy and nursing care at Valley Health in Winchester.
“What appeals to me about acting is that it combines the
structure necessary for a success-
ful production with the freedom to
move on when the production is
completed,” Nichols said.
In a technical day job as a phar-
macist, Steve says, he sometimes
calls upon his acting skills. “The
most I can bring from theater to
my real career is a skull-full of
punch lines and one-liners,” he
said. “Still, everybody likes a good
one-liner.”
Nichols’ latest stage stint was
in “Funny Money” at Winchester
Little Theatre in May. It's about
accountant Henry Perkins who, on
his birthday, accidentally trades
briefcases with another man. The
big surprise inside? Five million dollars. He tells his wife, Jean,
of their newly discovered fortune, and hilarity ensues as they try
to keep it a secret from their best friends, two detectives and Mr.
Big, who has come to take back his money.
“Actually, my character, Detective Sgt. Slater, was more the
straight man for Henry and Jean,” Nichols said. “I thoroughly en-
joyed setting up the punchlines for them. It reminded me of how
Jack Benny and George Burns were famous as straightmen for
their shows' other characters, like Gracie Allen and Dennis Day.”
It’s all been a good outlet. “In a good production, everybody is
focused together on the goal of bonding with each other and with
the audience to form a roomful of people in the embrace of the
story,” he said. “There's nothing quite like the atmosphere in a
theater.” v
» The Right PrescriptionPharmacist Steve Nicols, Winchester
» Constructing His Characters
Home builder Barry Mines, Lexington
20 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
HOME & GARDEN
BY KAREN DOSS BOWMAN
Your summer garden may have been
harvested, but fall is the perfect time to
start thinking ahead to next summer’s
crop. For a sustainable, organic design,
consider a sheet mulch keyhole garden
bed. When the spring rolls around again,
your soil will be rich with nutrients and
ready for planting.
The keyhole pattern, resembling a
horseshoe, is beautiful because it mimics
the meandering flow of the way plants
grow in nature, says Harrisonburg resi-
dent Tom Benevento, a staff member of
the Elgin, Ill.-based nonprofit New Com-
munity Project who is engaged locally in
numerous environmentally sustainable
projects.
“You don’t really see straight, rectan-
gular boxes in nature,” he says.
An ideal choice for small yards,
keyhole garden beds use about one-third
less path space per foot than straight-
edge beds, says Benevento. Additionally,
they’re easier to access than traditional
gardens because the gardener can step
into the keyhole pathway and tend a
large selection of plants from one spot.
Getting Started You can start your
sheet mulch keyhole garden bed almost
anywhere—on your grassy lawn or over
an existing garden spot. Here’s how to
get started:
1. Though the sheet mulching process
requires little, if any, digging, Benevento
recommends chopping up the ground
just a bit with a small pick to loosen the
soil. Do not remove the cut up greens.
2. Water the area.
3. Lay down a 6- to 10-inch layer of
The Keys to Garden Success» Fall is the time to prepare your yard for a keyhole garden.
Holly Marcus
Fall is a good time to prepare an area for planting a keyhole garden so you end up with something that turns out like Tom Benevento’s. The shape of the gardens is good for small yards, and they are easier to access than traditionally rectangular gardens.
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 21
fresh manure, grass clippings, veggies—anything green—
in the keyhole shape. “Don’t be afraid to get it messy and
yucky,” Benevento advises.
4. Water the area again.
5. Place a layer of heavy cardboard or thick newsprint
on top of the manure, loosely preserving the keyhole
shape. Be sure to overlap the cardboard by at least 6
inches from one piece to the next, Benevento says: “Don’t
leave any cracks so the weeds can’t squeak through.”
6. Add water.
7. Top it off with a layer of straw or leaf mulch.
8. Again, water it.
This sheet mulching technique not only reduces the
need for weeding, but also uses about one-tenth the
amount of water required by traditional gardens, thanks to
the thick layering that holds in moisture.
As the garden bed sits through the fall and winter, the
microorganisms and earthworms already in the soil acti-
vate their biological process of breaking down the materi-
als and ultimately producing a natural fertilizer. As they
do their work, these organisms basically till the soil for
you—and that’s good news for any gardener.
“You use the energy of biology to do the work for you,”
Benevento says. “The microorganisms and worms do the
work of digging the soil and moving it around and aerating
it.”
In the spring, Benevento says, open up the leaf mulch
or straw layer in your keyhole garden bed, lightly chop
up the deteriorated cardboard, and you’ve got fertile soil
ready for planting. v
When the time comes to plant seeds in your
keyhole garden next spring, Benevento recommends
thinking in terms of grouping your plants in zones,
rather than rows, since the design isn’t straight-edged
like a traditional garden.
Zone One Plants that are harvested on a regular
basis should be placed closest to the pathway, for
easy access. In one of his keyhole beds, for example,
Benevento has placed greens, such as lettuce, in the
front zone.
Zone Two Plants that might be harvested less
frequently—say, on a weekly basis, such as broccoli—
can be placed slightly farther back from the pathway.
Zone Three Plants that will be harvested just
once, such as cabbage, could go farthest out from the
keyhole pathway.
— KDB
» IN THE ZONE
WNRNmodern rock
91.9 95.1 88.1 103.1charlottesville
acoustic sunrise the boom box
harrisonburg staunton &waynesboro
richmond
modern rock, no commercials.
Offering affordable decorator assistance.
We creatively transform your home into the surroundings you will love...providing as little help as you need
or as much as you desire.
CESI MYERS(540) 438-0126
HomeMakeovers
22 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
HISTORY
BY DALE HARTER
In the 1970s, truck-driving fever
swept the nation. Cletus Snow and his
18-wheeler carried Coors beer from
Texarkana to Atlanta while helping
Burt Reynolds outsmart Sheriff Buford
T. Justice in “Smokey and the Bandit.”
Expressions like “Breaker, Breaker” and
“10-4 Good Buddy” crackled from CB
radios and became part of the national
vocabulary. TV viewers watched inde-
pendent trucker Sonny Pruett in “Movin’
On.” C. W. McCall sang about “The Rub-
ber Duck” in the popular tune “Convoy.”
Meanwhile, a Harrisonburg native
created a board game that gave people
the chance to “Drive The Big Rigs Across
America.”
Fred Showker created the game.
That’s Truckin’ was its name.
A College Project “The Game,” as
Showker and other devotees refer to it,
originated as his senior project at Vir-
ginia Commonwealth University. After
graduating in 1972 with a degree in com-
munication arts and design, Showker
parlayed a passion for animation into a
public television job in Richmond. Soon
he and wife Carol tired of big-city life
and moved to the Shenandoah Valley.
In Harrisonburg, Showker became
the creative director of the only advertis-
ing agency in town, earning a whopping
$2.80 an hour. While honing graphic
design skills, in 1974 Showker says he
“decided to do the game.” Dusting off the
prototype he created at VCU, the Showk-
ers loaded up their Saab and headed
west. They stopped at friends’ homes
on their cross-country trip, played The
Game and “worked out the bugs.”
In the resulting game, each player
drives across the country hauling loads
This Game Gets a 10-4» That’s Truckin board game has roots with Harrisonburg native.
Courtesy Photo
Fred Showker created “That’s Truckin’” in the 1970s, but he still gets some calls from fans. The game gives people the chance to “drive the big rigs across America.”
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 23
to pay for his or her rig. Players choose from 11 different trucks
to drive, including a Mack Cruise-Liner, a Kenworth, a G.M.C.
Astro 95 and a Brockway Huskie 761. Each load has a delivery
deadline, with a cash bonus for arriving early. Red spaces along
the way offer rewards or penalties. Per the instructions, the
red spaces “represent situations all truckers find themselves in
at one time or another – sometimes good, sometimes bad . . .
THAT’S TRUCKIN’!”
After returning to the Valley, Showker went to work as a
graphic artist at The Print Shop, in Dayton. The couple started
Showker Inc., to produce That’s Truckin’, and the owner of The
Print Shop agreed to print the game.
With the help of “anybody we could drag in,” the Showkers
manufactured and packaged the pieces, cards, play money and
instructions. Then, he and high school pal Neil Good trans-
ported the materials by van to a company in Baltimore that
produced the game board.
“In essence, we were truck drivers,” says Showker.
Between 1974 and 1979, when he stopped marketing it,
Showker, Inc. printed two editions and 30,000 copies of That’s
Truckin’. In the end, Showker thinks he broken even or made a
small profit. That’s Truckin’ sold for $6.95, and Showker figures
they made about five cents per game after expenses.
“You couldn’t build a business on a nickel a game,” Showker
says.
Showker, Inc. became one of the most successful graphic
arts and design businesses in the Valley, producing more than
7,000 projects. His work now is mostly Internet-based. He
began publishing DT&G Zine in 1988 and established The De-
sign & Publishing Center in 1994, both award-winning entities
found on his website, www.graphic-design.com. He devotes
about 50 percent of his time to nonprofits, especially the Har-
risonburg Children’s Museum.
Fans Still Call Through the years, a range of people have
enjoyed That’s Truckin’. Trucking companies gave them to em-
ployees at Christmas. University of Virginia fraternities orga-
nized tournaments in the 1980s. A Virginia high school teacher
taught geography with it as late as 2006.
Showker occasionally is contacted by fans. Recently a sher-
iff’s wife in Tennessee emailed, explaining how her family had
enjoyed the game through the years but that their copy had
been lost or destroyed. She said something was missing from
their lives without it and asked for a replacement copy.
“That’s totally bizarre,” says Showker.
And, That’s Truckin’. v
The author is a trucker’s son and owns a tattered copy of
the game his mother, a former credit manager at Harrison-
burg-based Truck Enterprises, gave him as a child. When
he plays “The Game,” he still rules the road in the Brockway
Huskie 761.
Saturdays:
All-You-Can-Eat
Lunch BuffetHome-cooked food for only $7.99
Free Wireless
Home-Cooked FoodAngus beef burgers, pulled pork BBQ ,
reubens, sandwiches, soups and an
all-you-can-eat salad bar. Plus pies,
breads, cinnamon rolls, cookies and
locally roasted coffee.
20 made-from-scratch
flavors of ice creamIncluding flavors like French chocolate,
caramel fudge, Tahitian vanilla, key lime, fresh strawberry and cappuccino
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Special events/catering available
In Harrisonburg at
121 Carpenter Lane | (540) 437-1901
24 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
Mountain Horses are gaining popularity throughout the country. Joellen and Mike Walker are introducing the Valley to the breed
one step at a time
Story by Nancy NusserPhotography by Holly Marcus
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 25
The sky is awash in the pinks of a Shenan-
doah sunset but Joellen and David Yarber
are oblivious to the beauty. Instead, their
eyes are locked onto a blue-grey horse and his rider as
they move at a fast clip around the couple’s riding ring.
“Choke back a little, use your calf,” Joellen calls out.
“There you go,” she says.
The rider, Harrisonburg businessman Mike Walker,
tightens the reins slightly, and Whiskey tucks his
neck and collects his legs underneath himself to step
in a high gait so smooth that Walker barely moves in
the saddle. For a moment, they are in sync, then the
Whiskey’s gait changes subtly—imperceptibly to an
outsider. But Joellen is looking for perfection because
she’s training this horse and rider to compete on
regional and national show circuits. “Choke up,” she
barks out again.
With her quick laugh, Joellen seems easygoing,
and David, rarely seen without his round-brimmed
farmer’s hat pulled low over his ears, looks mild-man-
nered, But the Kentucky natives, living in Bridgewater
since 1992, are intensely competitive.
For more than a decade, they’ve been competing
on show circuits for Mountain Horses, a little-known
Kentucky breed rapidly gaining popularity throughout
the United States. Last year, their best horse, Half-
Cocked, won five national show championships and
was named top gelding for the year, and their chestnut
mare, Red, has won several championships in her
events.
Still, the couple insists showing is not just about
winning. The idea is also to use the show ring to gener-
ate more interest in Mountain Horses, whose numbers
had dwindled to a few thousand. As such, they’re part
of a growing Kentucky-based effort to revive the breed,
which has had considerable success because of the
horses themselves; they’re an unusually gentle and
personable breed with a four-beat gait smooth enough
for children and elderly people to ride. There are now
about 25,000 Mountain Horses in the United States,
compared to some 3000 in the early 1990s, said Van-
essa Crowe, former president of the Kentucky-based
United Mountain Horse Association (UMHA).
“They really took off starting in about 2000,” Crowe
says. “All of a sudden, people started breeding and
training Mountain Horses. There were farms raising
50 to 60 foals a year,” she said.
In the Shenandoah Valley, Joellen says, “they’ve
really blossomed. A lot of hunt and jump people are
here, and they’ve gotten older and they can’t ride the
Joellen Yarber of Summit Stables in Bridgewater rides B Almighty, a 4-year-old Rocky Mountain gelding. Yarber and her husband, David, have been competing for a decade in show circuits for Mountain Horses. The horses are a little-known breed that is gaining popularity throughout the United States.
Jerry Hatton of Deep Meadow Farm leads C.D.’s Gambler, a Rocky Mountain stallion, out to pasture. The Hattons breed and show Rocky Mountain horses at their farm in Waynesboro.
26 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
hunter-jumpers anymore, so they’re look-
ing to this.”
Like most horse people, the Valley’s
Mountain Horse owners form a clique, in
which everyone seems to know each oth-
er. There are the Chittums, from Mount
Sidney, who show their Palomino stal-
lion in local shows and regional shows.
Karen and Gale Billheimer breed Moun-
tain Horses from their Linville farm.
Bridgewater residents Dorothy and Leon
Showalter and Joe and Faye Wampler
own and sell Mountain Horses. And then
there are the Hattons, who breed and sell
Rocky Mountain Horses from a sprawling
110-acre ranch in Waynesboro.
Strong Horses The first Moun-
tain Horse breed, known as Mountain
Pleasure Horses, originated 160 years
ago in the Kentucky Appalachians. Poor
farmers who could afford only one horse
bred them to be useful—strong enough
to pull plows and live outside during cold
winters and gentle and smooth-gaited for
children to ride.
Since then, Mountain Horse has
become an umbrella term for several
breeds: Kentucky Saddle Horses, Spotted
Mountain Horses, Mountain Pleasure
Horses and Rocky Mountain Horses.
Along with gentleness and their four-
beat gait, they have in common medium
size and relatively arched necks and fine
heads. Their colors are unusually varied;
they can be champagne, Palomino, buck-
skin, dun, and various shades of mottled
grey and beige.
The most prized color is a rich choco-
late with flaxen mane and tail, the legacy
of a legendary Kentucky stallion named
“Tobe.” In the early 1900s, Tobe’s owner
bred him to local Mountain Pleasure
Horses, and his numerous offspring
during the 37 years of his life became the
foundation for what are now known as
Rocky Mountain Horses, according to the
UMHA. “You see that chocolate in Saddle-
breds and Shetland ponies sometimes,”
David Yarber says. “But it’s a real rarity.”
By the 1990s, the UMHA had formed
the first registries for the three most
prominent breeds—the Rocky Moun-
tains, the Mountain Pleasures, and the
Kentucky Saddlebreds. Although their
numbers have grown exponentially,
they’re still relatively rare horses, which is
one reason for their high price. They cost
at least several thousand and as much
as tens of thousands for a well-trained
trained horse.
It was the Yarbers who introduced
Mountain Horses to the Shenandoah
Valley when they moved here in 1992. Mary Stuart Hatton brushes C.D.’s Gambler, one of the Rocky Mountain stallions that she breeds and shows.
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 27
“This was Tennessee Walker country,”
says Joellen. “People called Mountain
Horses daisy clippers, because they don’t
have a lot of high step.” But in a region
with rugged mountains and hills, the
Mountain Horses’ sure step and calmness
along treacherous trails “caught the eye
of the trail pleasure person,” Joellen says.
“People started going to Kentucky and
buying and bringing back horses.”
Among them were the Hattons, Jerry
and Mary Stuart, whose ranch, Deep
Meadow, sprawls below Skyline Drive.
Years ago, the couple rode Quarter Hors-
es in Greene County with local friends
who favored smoother-gaited Tennessee
Walkers. “There would be three or four
banjos playing blue grass music and 30
horses and riders,” Jerry says. “We’d ride,
and listen to music, and that’s what got us
into gaited horses.”
Back then, Mary was riding a Leopard
Appaloosa “that just about killed me.”
She crosses one long blue-jeaned leg over
the other and laughs. “About every time
I rode him there was a trip to the hospi-
tal. I just wanted a horse with a different
disposition.”
First Steps The pink sunset has dark-
ened into an evening sky, but the Yarbers
are still watching Whiskey and Walker
circle their riding ring. The horse turns
with the tug of a finger or the pressure of
a calf, and he responds instantly to voice
commands. It’s still early in the show
season, but he has already picked up blue
and red ribbons, as well as a champion-
ship trophy on the northeastern circuit.
The driving high step of his front legs and
his speed, as he rockets around the ring,
catches judges’ eyes.
But getting him to this level of perfor-
mance has required constant training,
physical conditioning and attention to
feet—David’s turf, since he’s a ferrier. He
explains that the angle of a horse’s hoofs
and the weight of its shoes can make or
break its performance. “The horse’s first
step determines the rest of its steps,” he
says. “The first creates the horse’s flight,
height, and animation.”
As Whiskey moves smoothly through
a turn, Joellen calls out, “There you go,
that’s nice.” David, usually the pickier of
the two because he’s been trained as a
judge, mutters his approval.
After he circles the ring a few more
times, Walker dismounts and he and the
Yarbers disappear into the barn, leaving
the horse behind. He’s completely uncon-
trolled now; he could do anything. But he
follows them into the barn as obediently
as a family pet, which is why Joellen calls
Mountain Horses the Golden Retrievers
of the equine world. v
Jerry Hatton of Deep Meadow Farm leads C.D.’s Gambler, one of his Rocky Mountain stallions, out to pasture.
28 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
TICKETSEPT OCT NOV things to do from winchester to lexington
MORE EVENTS ONLINE:www.shenandoahmagazine.com
SEPTEMBER
3 Henry IV, Part 1 opens, American
Shakespeare Center, Staunton, (Sept. 3-Nov. 27),
www.americanshakespearecenter.com
4 Fridays on the Square, Court-
house lawn, Harrisonburg, 7 p.m. FREE
http://downtownharrisonburg.org
Horse-drawn Carriage Ride Tours,
Hardesty-Higgins House, Harrisonburg, 6 p.m.,
www.harrisonburgtourism.com
First Fridays Walking Tour, Hardes-
ty-Higgins House, Harrisonburg, 6 p.m., www.
harrisonburgtourism.com First Friday, Art
Group, Mount Jackson, 7-10 p.m.,
www.theartgroup.com
Fall Arabian Classic, Virginia Horse
Center, Lexingon, (Sept. 4-6), www.horsecen-
ter.org
Old Dominion Morgan Horse Show
and Open Carriage Show, Virginia Horse
Center, Lexington, (Sept. 4-6), www.horsecen-
ter.org
Boots N’ Hats for Patsy Cline, The
George Washington Hotel, Winchester, 7-11
p.m., www.visitwinchesterva.com
5 Fall Arabian Classic Open
Hunter and Trail, Virginia Horse Center,
Lexington, (Sept. 5-6), www.horsecenter.org
Fall Arabian Classic Open Dres-
sage Show, Virginia Horse Center, Lexington,
(Sept. 5-6), www.horsecenter.org
Old Time Music Jam, Work Horse Cafe,
Virginia Horse Center, Lexington,
www.horsecenter.org
6 Labor Day Festival: Blues,
Bluegrass & BBQ, Theater at Lime Kiln,
Lexington, 6 p.m. www.theateratlimekiln.com
7 Labor Day Horse Auction & Fair,
Rockingham County Fair Grounds, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.,
www.rockinghamcountyfair.com
All’s Well That Ends Well opens, Ameri-
can Shakespeare Center, Staunton, (Sept. 3-Nov. 27),
www.americanshakespearecenter.com
10 Grottoes Family Bluegrass
Faestival, Grand Caverns Regional Park, Grot-
toes, 4 p.m., www.grottoesfamilybluegrass.com
Virginia Quarter Horse Associa-
tion Breeder’s Futurity, Virginia Horse
Center, Lexington, (Sept. 10-13), www.horse-
center.org
11 Fridays on the Square, Court-
house lawn, Harrisonburg, 7 p.m. FREE
http://downtownharrisonburg.org
Gardens at Night Concert, Mu-
seum of the Shenandoah Valley,
Winchester, 7-9pm, www.ShenandoahMuseum.
org/calendar
Rockbridge Mountain Music & Dance Festi-
val, Glen Maury Park, Buena Vista, (Sept. 11-12)
www.glenmaurypark.com
12 Grottoes Family Bluegrass,
Grand Caverns, Grottoes, 8 a.m.-11 p.m.,
www.grottoesfamilybluegrass.com
Professional Auction Services Fall
Sale, Virginia Horse Center, Lexington,
www.horsecenter.org
Rockbridge Food & Wine Festival,
Theater at Lime Kiln, Lexington, 12-5 p.m.
www.lexrockchamber.com
Bluegrass & BBQ, Abram’s Delight
historic home, Winchester, 1-4 p.m., www.
winchesterhistory.org
13 Grottoes Family Bluegrass,
Grand Caverns, Grottoes, 8 a.m.-11 p.m.,
www.grottoesfamilybluegrass.com
Hear the Beat Horse Show - ben-
efit for Hoofbeats Therapeutic Riding Center,
Virginia Horse Center, Lexington, www.
horsecenter.org
Virginia 4-H State Championship
Horse and Pony Show, Virginia Horse
Center, Lexington, (Sept. 17-20), www.horse-
center.org
23 American Saddlebred Horse
Association of Virginia Horse Show,
Virginia Horse Center, Lexington, (Sept. 23-26),
www.horsecenter.org
24 Dracula or How’s Your Blood
Count, Theater at Lime Kiln, 7:30 p.m. (Sept. 24-
26), www.theateratlimekiln.com
Nothin’ Fancy Bluegrass Festival,
Glen Maury Park, Buena Vista, (Sept. 24-26),
www.glenmaurypark.com
OCTOBER
1 Irish Draught Horse Society
of North America, Virginia Horse Center,
Lexington, (Oct. 01-04 ), www.horsecenter.org
The Merry Wives of Windsor,
American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, (Sept.
9-Nov. 27), www.americanshakespearecenter.com
Henry IV, Part 1, American Shakespeare
Center, Staunton, (thru Nov. 27),
www.americanshakespearecenter.com
Winchester’s involvement in the John
Brown Raid Exhibit, Hollingsworth Mill, Win-
chester, (thru Oct. 31), www.winchesterhistory.org
2 Eastern Seaboard Gaited
Horse Show, Virginia Horse Center, Lexing-
ton, (Oct. 2-4), www.horsecenter.org
First Friday, Art Group, Mount Jackson,
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 29
7-10 p.m., www.theartgroup.com
Titus Andronicus, American Shake-
speare Center, Staunton, (Sept. 9-Nov. 28),
www.americanshakespearecenter.com
3 Oktoberfest, Strasburg, 2-9
p.m., www.strasburgvachamber.com
Much Ado About Nothing, American
Shakespeare Center, Staunton, (thru Nov. 29),
www.americanshakespearecenter.com
7 The Rehearsal opens, American
Shakespeare Center, Staunton, (Sept. 9-Nov. 28),
www.americanshakespearecenter.com
9 O Shenandoah! Migrations
and Settlements Across the Valley, State
Genealogy Conference, Winchester, www.
svgs.org
Central Virginia Paint Horse
Club Color Classic and Fall Futuri-
ty, Virginia Horse Center, Lexington, (Oct.
9-11), www.horsecenter.org
10 O Shenandoah! Migrations
and Settlements Across the Valley, State
Genealogy Conference, Winchester, www.
svgs.org
Apple Grape Harvest Festival,
Mount Jackson, , www.mountjacksonva.org
House Mountain Horse Show,
Virginia Horse Center, Lexington, (Oct. 10-
11), www.horsecenter.org
13 Old Time Music Jam - LIVE
from the Work Horse Cafe, Virginia Horse
Center, Lexington, www.horsecenter.org
16 Old Dominion Futurity
Benefit Horse Show, Virginia Horse
Center, Lexington, (Oct. 16-17), www.
horsecenter.org
Virginia Presidential New
World Show VI PFHA Event,
Virginia Horse Center, Lexington, (Oct. 16-
18), www.horsecenter.org
Virginia Alpaca Owners and
Breeders Association Alpaca Expo,
Virginia Horse Center, Lexington, (Oct.16-
18), www.horsecenter.org
17 Mounted Map and Orien-
teering Clinic, Virginia Horse Center,
Lexington, www.horsecenter.org
22 Great American/USDF
Region 1 Dressage Championships
and VADA Fall Competion, Virginia
Horse Center, Lexington, (Oct. 22-25),
www.horsecenter.org
22 Colonial Day, Abram’s De-
light historic home, Winchester, 10 a.m.-4
p.m., FREE www.winchesterhistory.org
30 Virginia Horse Trails,
Virginia Horse Center, Lexington, (Oct. 30-
Nov.1), www.horsecenter.org
31 Halloween on Court
Square, Woodstock, 1-2:30 p.m.,
www.townofwoodstockva.com
NOVEMBER
1 Nurturing the Four-part
A Cappella Tradition, Bridgewater
Church of the Brethren, Bridgewater, 4
p.m., www.vbmhc.org
Henry IV, Part 1, American Shakespeare
Center, Staunton, (thru Nov. 27),
www.americanshakespearecenter.com
4 Much Ado About Nothing,
American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, (thru
Nov. 29), www.americanshakespearecenter.com
5 The Merry Wives of Wind-
sor, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton,
(Sept. 9-Nov. 27), www.americanshakespeare-
center.com
Titus Andronicus, American Shake-
speare Center, Staunton, (Sept. 9-Nov. 28),
www.americanshakespearecenter.com
6 Southwest Virginia Hunter-
Jumper Association Medal Finals,
Virginia Horse Center, Lexington, (Nov.
6-8), www.horsecenter.org
Friday Night Lights, downtown,
Lexington, www.lexingtonvirginia.com
10 Old Tine Music Jam - the
Work Horse Cafe, Virginia Horse Center,
Lexington, www.horsecenter.org
13 Virginia Horse Show As-
soc. Associates’ Championship
Show, Virginia Horse Center, Lexington,
(Nov. 13-15), www.horsecenter.org
17 Wine Tasting Dinner,
Southern Inn, Lexington, southerninn.com
21 Klassic Kar Nutz Cruise In,
Buena Vista, 11 a.m., www.klassickarnutz.
com
26 Possum Ridge String Band,
Skyland Resor, Shenandoah National Park,
8 p.m., www.visitshenandoah.com
27 Candlelight Processional
and Tree Lighting Ceremony,
downtown, Lexington, www.lexrockcham-
ber.com
Want to list an event? E-mail bjenkins@
shenandoahmagazine.com
. . . come on out to play!
don’t forget massanutten
Ad needs to include the website ad-dress hesscornmaze.com
Harrisonburg
Open August 29-November 8Over 25 activities with one admission:
punkin chunkin, pig races, costume contests and much more!
2915 Willow Run Rd. near d’town H’burghesscornmaze.com
30 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
CAVERNS
Crystal Caverns at Hupp’s Hill 33231 Old Valley Pike,
Strasburg, (540) 465-8660
Endless Caverns U.S. 11, New Market, (540) 896-2283
Grand Caverns Caverns, hiking, biking, pool, picnics, Grot-
toes, (888) 430-2283
Luray Caverns 970 U.S. 211 West, Luray, (540) 743-6551
Natural Bridge Caverns U.S. 11, Natural Bridge, (800)
533-1410
Shenandoah Caverns I-81, Exit 269, Shenandoah Caverns,
(540) 477-3115
Skyline Caverns U.S. 340 South, Front Royal, (800) 296-
4545
PARKS AND OTHERS
Edith J. Carrier Arboretum A beautiful oasis in Harri-
sonburg, featuring trees and plants native to Virginia. Off University
Boulevard near JMU, Harrisonburg. (540) 568-3194
George Washington & Jefferson National Forests
All kinds of recreation, camping and hiking, including part of the
Appalachian Trail. (540) 265-5100
Gypsy Hill Park Sports, recreation, duck pond, bandstand
and more. At the corner of Thornrose and Churchville avenues in
Staunton. (540) 332-3945
Massanutten Resort Skiing, golf and more. Resort Drive
10 miles east of Interstate 81 exit 247A on U.S. 33. (800) 207-
MASS. www.massresort.com
Massanutten Waterpark Indoor and outdoor water
attractions. Indoor features open all year. Located at Massanutten
Resort. (540) 437-3340
www.massresort.com
Natural Chimneys Camping, swimming, picnics, hiking. Va.
731 in Mount Solon. (888) 430-CAMP
Shenandoah National Park Great valley views from
Front Royal to Waynesboro. Plus hiking, climbing, scenic driving on
Skyline Drive and more. (800) 778-2851
» GET OFF THE COUCH!Before you hibernate for winter, get outside a few more times . . .
Get back to the life you love.
Valley Orthopedicsand Sports MedicineRMHOnline.com
RMH: We’re here for you.
Begin your recovery today. Call RMH Valley Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.
1661 South Main Street, Harrisonburg
540-433-1473
Fall 2009 | Shenandoah Living | 31
» MUSEUMSAmerican Celebration on Parade
Features inaugural parade floats and more,
I-81, Exit 269, Shenandoah Caverns,
(540) 477-4300
Augusta Military Academy Mu-
seum Tells the story of the now-defunct
academy, U.S. 11, Fort Defiance,
(540) 248-3007
CrossRoads Valley Brethren-
Mennonite Heritage Center Features
the Valley’s early days, pioneer times, a Civil
War-era home, a 1904 schoolhouse and
church. 1921 Heritage Center Way, Harrison-
burg. (540) 438-1275. www.vbmhc.org
Eavers Classic Cars & Collect-
ibles Museum Exit 217, off Interstate 81,
Mint Spring. (540) 337-1126
Frontier Culture Museum Numer-
ous farms tell the story of culture in America
and Europe, I-81, Exit 222, West on U.S. 250,
Staunton, (540) 332-7850
George C. Marshall Museum Tells
the story of the military leader, and includes
exhibits that feature his Nobel Peace Prize
Medal among other items, VMI Parade, Lex-
ington, (540) 463-7103
George Washington’s Office
Museum Between September 1755 and
December 1756, Washington kept an office
in this log cabin. Washington’s real hair is on
display. Open April 1-Oct. 31. Braddock &
Cork St., Winchester, (540) 662-4412
Harrisonburg Children’s Museum
It’s interactive, and kids will have all sorts of
things to keep them busy and learning. 30 N.
Main St., Harrisonburg, (540) 443-8900
Hostetter Museum of Natural
History More than 6,000 artifacts. Eastern
Mennonite University’s Suter Science Center.
(540) 432-4400
Mineral Museum More than 500 min-
erals. Memorial Hall at JMU. (540) 568-6130.
Museum of American Presidents
130 N. Massanutten St., Strasburg,
(540) 465-5999
Museum of the Shenandoah
Valley Traces the history and culture of
the Valley from Native American days to the
present. 901 Amherst St., Winchester,
(540) 662-1473
Natural Bridge Wax Museum
Features Shenandoah Valley history in wax,
U.S. 11, Natural Bridge, (800) 533-1410
Old Court House Civil War Mu-
seum Located in a courthouse that housed
prisoners and patients during the Civil War.
20 N. Loudoun St., Winchester,
(540) 542-1145
P. Buckley Moss Museum Cel-
ebrates the art of the woman who brings
Valley scenes and the Amish to life in her
work. 150 P. Buckley Moss Dr., Waynesboro,
(540) 949-6473
Plains District Memorial Museum
Features the history of northern Rocking-
ham County. 107 McCauley Drive, Timber-
ville. (540) 896-7900
Port Republic Museum Civil War
history in the Kemper House. At the inter-
section of Port Republic Road and Water
Street. (540) 249-3156
Reuel B. Pritchett Museum More
than 10,000 pieces, including a saber-toothed
tiger skull. Cole Hall, Bridgewater College.
(540) 828-5457
Shenandoah Valley Discovery
Museum Hands-on displays feature science,
math and the humanities. 54 S. Loudoun St.,
Winchester, (540) 722-2020
Shenandoah Valley Folk Art and
Heritage Center Focuses on the history
and culture of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham
area. 382 High St., Dayton, (540) 879-2616
Stonewall Jackson House Mu-
seum Tells the famous general’s story. 8 E.
Washington St., Lexington, (540) 463-2552
Virginia Quilt Museum Quilters’
delight, with historic and modern quilts. 301
S. Main St., Harrisonburg, (540) 433-3818
Valley Turnpike Museum Looks at
the history of what is now U.S. 11. Hardesty-
Higgins House, 212 S. Main St., Harrisonurg.
(540) 432-8935
VMI Museum All kinds of VMI infor-
mation, including an exhibit of Stonewall
Jackson’s horse, Little Sorrel. VMI Campus,
Lexington, (540) 464-7334
Woodrow Wilson Presidential
Library, 18-24 N. Coalter St., Staunton,
(540) 885-0897
CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELDS
Cedar Creek Battlefield 8437 Valley Pike,
Middletown, (540) 869-2064
Kernstown Battlefield Located in Winchester,
www.kernstownbattle.org
New Market Battlefield State Historical
Park The battlefield where Virginia Military Institute
cadets gained fame, located right off Interstate 81 in
New Market, (540) 740-3101
Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Founda-
tion Offers all kinds of Civil War information for
novices and experts alike, 298 W. Old Cross Road,
New Market, (540) 740-4545
OTHER HISTORIC LOCATIONS
Belle Grove Plantation An 18th-century grain
and livestock farm near the site of the Civil War battle
of Cedar Creek, 336 Belle Grove Road, Middletown,
(540) 869-2028
Confederate Soldiers Cemetery Some 400
soldiers are buried here; the cemetery was dedicated
in 1866, Main Street, Mount Jackson.
Hardesty-Higgins House Mid-1800s house
was once home of Harrisonburg’s first mayor; it now
houses the city’s tourism office, plus Mrs. Hardesty’s
Tea Room, the Valley Turnpike Museum and Rocktown
Gift Shoppe. 212 S. Main St., Harrisonburg. (540) 432-
8935. www.harrisonburgtourism.com.
Historic Long Branch Since the early 18th cen-
tury, the estate has been owned by a series of famous
men, including Lord Culpeper, Lord Fairfax and Robert
“King” Carter. A young George Washington helped to
survey the property. 830 Long Branch Lane, Millwood,
(540) 837-1856
Natural Bridge Its name says it all—a naturally
formed rock bridge that will amaze. U.S. 11, Natural
Bridge, (800) 533-1410
Silver Lake Mill Tours available Thursdays and
Fridays. 2328 Silver Lake Road, Dayton. (540) 879-2800.
www.silverlakemill.com
Historical Walking Tours
New Market Guided tours of the town’s historic
areas, featuring costumed guides. Tuesdays, Fridays, Sat-
urdays at 10:30 a.m.; Sundays at 5:30 p.m. By appoint-
ment, too. (540) 325-9529
Staunton Every Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
Starts at Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. (540)
885-7676
» DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY?
32 | Shenandoah Living | Fall 2009
FALL FESTIVAL2009
BRIDGEWATER HOME AUXILIARY
SATURDAY, SEPT. 197:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Rockingham County Fairgrounds
Benefit AuctionDonations from Businesses & Individuals
Art, Quilts & Household Itemsbegins at 9:30 am
Silent AuctionThemed Gift Baskets, Handcrafts & More
begins at 7:30 am
Specialty Shops Baked Goods,
Plants & Garden, ReRun Shoppe, Yard Sale & Cottage Gifts
Breakfast served 7:30-10 amOmelets made to order,
applesauce, homemade bread, jellies, doughnuts
Lunch begins at 10 amSoup, sandwiches & homemade pies
Glenn Garner has donated hun-dreds of baskets over the years for auction. This year he gave 52 baskets that will be used to cre-ate themed gifts for the auction. Come bid on your favorite baskets.