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.

Thanks, Rodney, for gifting us with one of your prized  FALLAWATER apples!

God Bless Craig County, and

God Bless America. 

August 9-13, 2021 Camp KKandPapa with the Riot!

 August 9-13, 2021~Are you ever prepared for a week with the grand/(s)? Probably not.😂. This kid kept us in stitches, and busy!

Phew! With temperatures soaring in the 90's, #campkkandpapa got a head start on keeping cool in the pool😎.

Thumbs up for frozen banana protein popsicles! 

Did I say NO NAPS? HA! The original energizer bunny trained this guy well! We were prepped each morning prior to drop off with 3 cups of coffee, a solid breakfast, and tennis shoes. The itinerary for the week was weather dependent. One morning, we rode bikes on the Greenway.

The daily gardening was mandatory😂.

Arts/crafts/creative play was usually reserved for afternoon.

Did I say that this kid kept us in stitches the entire week?

What's to say, other than "THANK YOU GOD THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN US THE ENERGY TO HAVE THIS KID BE A PART OF OUR LIVES." It is an honor and privilege to be able to be a part of  our 5 grandchildren's lives. 

July 13, 2021 Day Trip Genealogy "finds"

 July 13, 2021...... a day spent 'back in-time'.

My cousin, Craig Hamilton Jr and I drove from Roanoke to Lexington to meet my sister, Judy Brownrigg. We met at the courthouse. What a treat to show both of them some of my earlier genealogy 'finds', as well as discover NEW information on land deeds and wills! (The public records room is impressively large and houses all of Rockbridge County recorded data.) 

The two of them were fascinated!

Oh, those beautifully scripted old books! What treasures!

Our research included a wealth of information regarding our paternal great-grandfather, Wilcher Cardwell Hamilton. 

From Lexington, we drove to Clifton Forge, to the house (that still stands today) where Wilcher and his first and then his second wife resided.

Our Grandfather and Grandmother, (Walter Henry and Laura Effle) also lived in the house for several years. Our aunt , Lela Cardwell Hamilton Mitchell, was born in this house! 

 

The house (at the corner of Tremont and McCormick) looked like this in about 1908.👇👇👇

What a morning! Lunch destination was Roller's Smoke House in Iron Gate (Highly recommended). The last stop was a visit to Crown Hill Cemetery, overlooking Clifton Forge. Seeing the gravesites of some of the 'Hamilton Clan' made for some interesting conversation! I had been here several times, and was familiar with  where to park close to the markers. 

History was relived as we spent the day searching for our roots. A day, indeed, was spent 'back in time'.