CALENDAR
5 DECEMBERWaterford Fair Volunteer thank you party. 6-8 p.m., Old Mill.
6-7 DECEMBER Christmas at the Mill. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 7 DECEMBER Christmas Concert and Singalong. 3-4 p.m., John Wesley Community Church, Waterford. Music by Madeline MacNeil. 18 DECEMBER Planning Commission Public Hearing on Special Exception for Old School. 6 p.m., Board of Supervisors meeting room, County Government Center, Leesburg. 12 JANUARY Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on Special Exception for Old School. 6:30 p.m, Board of Supervisors meeting room, County Government Center, Leesburg.
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The Old Mill gets dressed up
for Christmas
The windows at the Waterford Foundation office give a
tantalizing preview of the variety of beautiful handmade gifts that will be on
display for sale at the Old Mill in Waterford
on the first weekend in December. Peggy Bednarik and Mary Kenesson are making a winter
wonderland in the beautiful old building just for Christmas at the Mill. They
and their committee of volunteers will greet shoppers from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on
December 6 and 7. Parking is just across the street in the Bond Street Barn Meadow.
In addition to three floors of traditional crafts, jewelry,
and original Christmas decorations, there will be a bake sale of Christmas
cookies and edible gifts, as well as hot chocolate and cider to warm hands and
spirits.
Proceeds benefit the work of the Waterford Foundation.
Dress warmly and come early.
--Fran Holmbraker
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Gardeners, Scouts make use of Mill
The Old Mill's charm continues to attract groups for club
and community events. In mid-October the Leesburg Garden Club rented the building
for its annual silent auction, proceeds of which fund a scholarship and other
club programs. "The Mill looked fantastic for the auction," reported Club
organizer Rosalie Leigh. "We had a truly great turnout ... the venue I think had
a lot to do with it."
And a week
later, Boy Scouts from Troop 969 and Pack 969 were led into a Mill swirling
with fog, and decorated with spider webs and sinister décor for Halloween. They
listened to a story about a haunted mill, plus some real Waterford Mill history.
Afterwards the Scouts drank hot chocolate and cider on the stone patio behind
the mill.
"I think we entertained close to 40 Scouts, their parents and curious
neighbors," said Bill Morris, who coordinated the event. "We even had a couple
from Nashville, Tennessee, stop in and ask to see the Mill."
Halloween spiders suddenly infested the Old Mill.
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Final concert draws enthusiastic crowd
The St. Petersburg Quartet played to a full house at the Lucketts
Community Center November 23. Adding to the mood was a loss of power
on stage, and camping lanterns were produced to illuminate the music
for the players.
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BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
Kathleen Hughes
President
Susan Sutter
Vice-President
Bonnie Getty
Secretary
Ernie Smith
Treasurer
Directors
David Bednarik
Charlotte Gollobin Melanie L. Herman Hans Hommels
DeSoto Jordan, Jr.
Stephanie Kenyon
Lori Kimball
Walter A. Music
Phil Paschall
Patti Psaris
Nick Ratcliffe
Sherry Satin
Tom Simmons
Miriam Westervelt
Staff
Nancy Doane
Executive
Director
Margaret Good
Assistant
Director, Properties & Land Use Programs
Ann Goode
Manager,
Development Programs
Fran Holmbraker
Fair
Chair
Mary Kenesson
Fair
Assistant
Martha Polkey
Executive
Assistant
info@waterfordfoundation.org
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Happy Thanksgiving to all! Dear
Friends of Waterford,
On behalf of the Waterford Foundation, Happy Thanksgiving you and your family! This year we have much to be grateful for . . .
● The Mill will be decked
with holly and awaiting jolly holiday shoppers the weekend of December 6-7.
Come find affordable but distinctive
handcrafted gifts by local weavers, woodworkers, potters and other artisans
featured at the Waterford Fair.
● The Old School classroom
building is just about ready to open its doors. Stay tuned for an invitation in
January to see inside.
● The Planning Commission
will consider the Old School auditorium plans at a public hearing on December
18, moving us one step closer to obtaining all the permits needed to break
ground for the new Old School auditorium next spring.
So enjoy the
holiday spirit, and thank you for your support on December 18. Please see the article below about this
meeting. We welcome your help
and suggestions. Please forward this newsletter to friends you think would be
interested in Waterford Foundation activities. We want to spread the word about
the good things going on in the Waterford National Historic Landmark.
President |
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Old School permits process advances
With approval last month from the Loudoun County Historic District Review
Committee (HDRC) for the design of the new Old School auditorium (an important milestone in
the lengthy approval process), the Waterford Foundation now moves to the next step--to get permission for the traditional uses of the building and property.
To continue
to use the Old School in the same manner as we have used it for more than 40
years, the Waterford Foundation must seek a Special Exception from the county government. The Foundation purchased the Old School in 1966 at auction after the present Waterford Elementary School was built. The subsequent transition from actual
school use to community use occurred in the 1960s, and Loudoun County provided no
special approval at that time. With numerous revisions to the County's
Zoning Ordinance since then, however, new requirements now apply.
 Soon you will see posted on the Old School property the yellow official
notices of the upcoming public hearing on the application for the Special
Exception. The evening of December 18 (6 p.m.) is the time and date the Loudoun
County Planning Commission has set for that hearing; it will take place at the County Government
Center in the Board of
Supervisors meeting room.
We encourage you to attend and to provide comment on the
value Annie Goode posts notices forof the Waterford Old School and the Special Exception hearingthe important role that it has played
over time. Even if you do not want to speak, attendance is important to
show the Planning Commission that the community supports the Old School.
The signs will remain until
the second public hearing, before the Board of Supervisors (BOS), at 6:30 p.m.
January 12 (more on that meeting later), and will be removed shortly
thereafter.
The Planning Commission typically holds a working meeting one week prior
to its public hearing, to receive a briefing from County staff on all items on its public hearing agenda. This briefing, open to the public
but with no comment accepted, will be at 6 p.m. December 11 in the Purcellville
Room at the County Government Center.
If you have any questions about this application, please do not hesitate to
call Annie Goode at 703.729.8536. In addition to serving as the Foundation's part-time
manager of development programs, Annie is a neighbor and a land planner at
ReedSmith, the law firm that is representing us on a pro bono basis during
consideration of our application. She would be happy to explain how this
perplexing review process works.
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Phillips Farm replanting effort draws many helping hands
On the right-hand bank, volunteers work on plantings and invasive species removal, dwarfed by the height of the eroded bank in a curve of Catoctin Creek. [photos by Nicole Hamilton, courtesy Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy]
On November 15 seventy-five volunteers converged on the historic Phillips
Farm in Waterford
on a mild but blustery and wet Saturday. They planted 300 trees and shrubs on a portion of the 144-acre
property, to help stabilize eroding stream banks and filter sediment and
contaminants from runoff in the environmentally fragile Catoctin watershed.
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy (LWC), in partnership with the Foundation, headed
up the project. Cub and Boy Scouts, environmental students, high school Key Club members, and other volunteers from LWC,
the Foundation, the village, and the wider community devoted the morning to getting the
plants in the ground along the South Fork of Catoctin Creek. They also removed
invasive plants from other areas of the property and monitored water quality in
the creek.
Hand in hand with the goal of establishing a riparian buffer
along the creek were choices of siting and species that will preserve the
pastoral views from the village. Removal of invasive plants will return the
farm to a more historic appearance and improve its suitability for sustainable
agriculture. Both efforts will enhance wildlife habitat.
As all this was going on, participants learned about the
goals of the project and the farm's history through the educational efforts of LWC President Joe Coleman, Meg Findley, consulting ecologist Jeff Wolinski, and the Foundation's John Souders. After a job well
done, the group enjoyed lunch while discussing the project and future efforts.
The Waterford Foundation extends thanks to the many
volunteers who joined us to help maintain the ecological health of the property
and preserve its prominent place in the heritage of the national historic
landmark. And a special thank you to Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and the
underwriters of the project: Dulles Greenway's Annual Drive for Charity and
Kimley-Horn Associates.
Meg Findley (center) describes to volunteers the goals
and process of monitoring the health of a stream. Below,
young monitors gather organisms collected from the creek.
At bottom, an ice cube tray provides just the right venue for study of the catch.
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P.O. Box 142 Waterford, VA 20197 540-882-3018
www.WaterfordFoundation.org
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