UNDER THE FLAPS: October 9, 2021 Craig County Fall Festival and Looney

Saturday, October 9, 2021~A day filled with foggy cool fall temperatures, people, music, food, family, and good ole' country!

Our first stop: Downtown New Castle, Virginia. The Craig County Fall Festival is held on the second Saturday of each October. Over 100 vendors helped to support the maintenance of the Old Brick Hotel and the preservation of Craig Country history.

Check out the "chestnuts roasting by the open fire" in one of the photos above! 😁 And would you believe that I have a quilt very similar to the one hanging on the wall below! It is no doubt 120 yrs old.

On the corner of Court and Main, housed a stage, where local musicians played. It was a cinch to meander through the main street and see most of the attractions. "New Castle remains the only incorporated town in the county, with a historic district that includes the Jeffersonian-style courthouse."

And of course, the lady that knows the most, and I mean the MOST, about anything, and anyone in the area is Jane Johnston! We are pictured below, standing outside of the Old Brick Hotel, which now houses the Craig County Historical Society, and its genealogy room. Did I say GENEALOGY??? 😂😂😂 (She was employed at Virginia Tech for 62 years! Check out the link here to read about her. She is pretty amazing!➡ Jane Johnston )

By the way, there are NO traffic lights in New Castle. If time allows, visit the sight highlighted, as it is filled with facts about the history of Craig! *** HISTORY OF CRAIG

Next stop: Looney (the more we go, the more we know!): My cousin, W.Craig Hamilton, Jr and his wife Doris, own what used to be a grocery store, turned abode, at the intersection of 42 and Looney School Road (aka Route 645). Beyond the evergreen trees, high on the hill is the Chestnut Grove Church and Chestnut Grove Cemetery (also known as Huffman Memorial Cemetery).

We love meeting them there. Notice the leaves on the tree behind the house! YAY FALL! It is, as well, an all time favorite destination for viewing the night skies. Great minds always dress alike. HA!

Within a short walk, is the famous Looney School House, now being restored by Rodney Hutton.... land/farm/cattle owner, entrepreneur, man of many talents.

Here we are: the 4 Looneys at Looney!

Directly across the street from the entrance to the school, Rodney resides in this fabulous farmhouse.

He has been working (for weeks) in preparation of Saturday's sorghum and apple cider making!

I was as fascinated as this young girl, as I had never seen the process....ever!

I wanted to climb up on this stack, but decided taking a photo was easier😂.

After hours of 'stirring the pot', the sorghum was ready to pour into containers! What remains in the metal tray, is for 'sopping' with home made biscuits.

Rodney owns the land on both sides of his farmhouse...... as far as you can see!

The land includes cattle, corn, apple trees, and just about anything else that can grow here!

The apple cider was out-of-this-world scrumptious! The inside of the 'store' below, houses his workshop and treasured acquired antiques! The little tike is riding Rodney's father's tricycle! Rodney's father was born in 1912.