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Marbles were for Keeps: A 1950’s Recess Ritual at S.J. Miller Elementary
In the schoolyard of S.J. Miller Elementary during the 1950s, marbles weren’t just for fun—they were for keeps. While the girls skipped rope nearby, the boys crouched in the dirt, fiercely protective of…
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How Many Cows does it take to make a Pound of Butter?
At first glance, the question of how many cows it takes to make a pound of butter sounds simple. Yet behind that creamy yellow pat lies a surprisingly complex journey. It begins in…
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Repairing the Meat Curing House
A Hands-On Restoration of Historic Log Structure in Virginia I have no formal background in restoring antique log buildings. But after watching every episode of the TV show Barnwood Builders—where a crew of…
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Smokehouse / Meat Curing House 101
Usually short walk from the barn stood the smokehouse—a log-walled, clay-chinked chamber where meat was salted, smoked, and saved one ham at a time.
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The Heron Who Thought he was Grand
In a fern-fringed bog near a trickling stream,Where the cattails danced in an artist’s dream,Lived a heron so tall with a neck so proud,He’d bow to his shadow and wink at a cloud.…
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Life on a Northern Virginia farm, 1918
A nostalgic and vivid journey into 1918 farm life in Northern Virginia, where barns, butter, and barter defined the rhythms of rural survival.
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Churning Butter in Virginia on a Dairy Farm 1876
This post is for lovers of heritage food, historical traditions, and anyone who dreams of homesteading the old-fashioned way.
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The Day Grandma Became a Flyboy
In the 1980s, three generations of my family piled into the car for a day at the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Virginia. What started with popcorn, biplanes, and a WWII pilot turned…
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From the Vines: Hiddencroft Vineyards Newsletters
Step back through the years with our collection of past newsletters. Each one a page from the storybook of Hiddencroft Vineyards. These letters from the land share the rhythm of the vines, the…
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Peaches and Pressure
Long before she became involved in a Virginia winery, a fifteen-year-old girl in a Southern Maryland trailer park attempted to make peach wine using decorative liquor decanters, July Elberta peaches, and a dangerously…
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Machine Shed Restoration
Page number 116 of the Charles Elbert Compher farm ledger dated 1938 contains a rudimentary plan for the construction of a machine shed. This shed would be attached to the barn that was…
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Tale of Butter Theft in Loudoun County, VA
Evidence Found in the Farm Ledger The Summer of 1876 found Loudoun County farmers deep in the rhythms of hayfields, dairy chores, and centennial celebrations—trying to make the most of a post-war economy…
Writing that's Rooted in Truth, Memory and Myth
