In Country

Georgetowner • March 16, 2016

If your interest in antiques is as much about an object’s previous owners as its decorative value, then make-dos is a category of antiques worth exploring.

Antiques with inventive — and often whimsical — old repairs (known as “make-do” repairs) are examples of necessity and thrift in a time when hard work and great expense went into handmade finery such as pottery, porcelain and glass. Unlike today, when we throw away anything that’s chipped, cracked or broken, practical folks of yore refused to throw out a broken object if it could be fixed to “make it do.”

There is something profoundly human about these clever repairs of broken objects. One can’t help but wonder about the stories behind their brokenness, which only make them more interesting. Was it a case of a lovers’ quarrel or butterfingers? Perhaps rough seas on an export ship?

The talent to use whatever materials were at hand to inventively repair or repurpose was not necessarily born out of a skinflint frugality. Rather, it often arose from the sensible belief that something that had a use could be breathed into life anew: the notion that “purpose” is an evolving concept.

Make-dos were not just for people of limited means, but were found in the homes of every social class, mostly in the 18th and 19th centuries. When an item broke, it was either repaired at home or taken to a local tinsmith, tinker or woodworker for repair.

If an object couldn’t be salvaged for its intended use, it was often refashioned into something else entirely. Sometimes broken handles, feet or whatever were replaced with beef or chicken bones. Pincushions were attached to wishbones to make them stand, and to broken candlesticks and lamp bases. Kitchen tools that had lost their handles were made “good as new” with long rib bones as handles.

Mirror glass used to be far too expensive to throw away, so make-do mirrors were made from pieces of broken glass carefully framed for reuse. You can usually tell a make-do mirror from its odd shape or size.

Although the sometimes quirky solutions can be quite whimsical, for every glass attached to a clunky wooden base, there is a piece of fine porcelain that has been enhanced in appearance and function, sometimes with expertly wrought silver handles or gold cuffs.

“Frankenstein monsters” of the antiques shop, they’re easy to spot: a mocha ware jug wrapped with a thick band of tin, with a makeshift handle affixed to it; a porcelain teapot with a metal cover or spout; a glass oil lamp atop a tiered wooden base; an oddly shaped piece of mirrored glass set in a carved wooden frame; a fancy glass compote with a metal base; a cracked platter, seemingly perfect on its face, but repaired on the flip side with metal staples. All are examples of make-dos, and the method of repair may range from humble and crude to elegant and elaborate.

Sometimes make-dos featuring tin were fashioned by tinsmiths, whose beautiful repairs actually add value to a piece. Such make-dos can be worth more than the same item in perfect condition (unless the perfect piece is extremely rare).
The value of make-dos depends upon age, quality, appeal and what the pieces are. Especially desirable are 19th-century examples with pressed or pattern glass parts that help identify and date the piece.

Make-dos are gaining in popularity as a collecting field, especially within in the last five years. Some seasoned auction-goers like make-dos because of their unique charm — practically no two are repaired in exactly the same way — and beginning collectors like them because they are still relatively inexpensive.

In fact, the most expensive make-do that Skinner Auctioneers has ever sold was a framed mirror fragment that went for $2,702.25 in 2005. Last November, Skinners sold a 19th-century mocha ware mug with a handle repair for $654.75. But for the most part, buyers can get still get make-dos for $200 or less at auction.

Sometimes I see a piece that I wish had been broken and repaired — to add to my collection of quirky but loveable make-dos.

*Michelle Galler is an antiques dealer, design consultant and realtor based in Georgetown. Her shop is in Rare Finds, in Washington, Virginia. Reach her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com.* [gallery ids="117199,117207,117193,117181" nav="thumbs"]

Lexi Rodencal • February 22, 2016

The word “treehouse” often conjures up images of sap sticking to one’s clothes, birds and bugs, and foundationally-questionable structures built by less-than-qualified dads. Your average adult would not dream of spending a weekend getaway holed up in a treehouse with their significant other — or would they?

The modern version is one of elegance and rustic nostalgia, offering adults a chance to reconnect with nature and revisit those age-old childhood dreams of having the coolest treehouse in the neighborhood. The recent surge of interest has sparked a new variant of the weekend getaway: luxurious, yet intimate, adults-only treehouses.

Treehouse getaways have been growing in popularity over the last few years, with particularly notable locations scattered across the United States, Canada and Sweden. These cabins in the sky offer different amenities and services, but feature the same basic premise — to act as a retreat and offer a nontraditional style of vacationing.

Just a stone’s throw away, in Meadows of Dan, Virginia, Primland offers a wide variety of eco-conscious retreats, including three different treehouses situated on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains and only a short drive from the main grounds of the resort and spa.

The aptly-named Barn Owl treehouse is situated high in the sturdy branches of an oak tree and offers stunning up-close views of the Roaring Creek Gorge and distant views of Pilot Mountain.

Built across two trees atop a mountain peak is the Cooper’s Hawk treehouse. It overlooks the Roaring Creek and the Dan River, and also has beautiful views of the Kibler Valley spread out underneath it.

The last of the Primland treehouse’s is the Golden Eagle treehouse, built in the branches of one of the oldest oak trees on the property and designed by respected French architecture firm La Cabane Perchée. The treehouse is situated along the edge of Primland’s Highland golf course and also has views of the Dan River.

While a tad unusual, Primland’s unique treehouses offers residents of the D.C. metro area a chance to escape the noise of the city and seek refuge in the comfort of nature. With nightly rates starting at $618, it might be wise to consider a treetop retreat for Valentine’s Day. After all, what could more romantic than a night lost in nature? [gallery ids="102236,129409" nav="thumbs"]

Michelle Galler • February 18, 2016

Between 1720 and 1820, more than 100,000 German-speaking people entered the port of Philadelphia seeking a life free from religious persecution. Most were peasants and small farmers, and they eventually moved from the city to the fertile soil of southeastern Pennsylvania. Later generations traveled further south into the Shenandoah Valley, Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas.

Although agriculture was their major industry, as their society became more firmly rooted, farmer-craftsmen turned some of their energies to producing and decorating the many articles of daily life, including “fraktur” — illuminated documents recording family events. The name fraktur derives from the angular, fractured appearance of the familiar Gothic typeface used in deeds and official edicts in 16th-century Europe.

The fraktur artist held several positions within the Pennsylvania German community. As the representative of learning, he was often the schoolmaster as well as clergyman. With his skills in drawing and writing, he performed such services as illustrating books and hymnals and drawing up important documents. These sunny creations contrasted with much of the religious art of the time, since sin and pain were rarely depicted.

Pennsylvania Germans usually made fraktur for personal use, and instead of hanging fraktur in their homes, people most often rolled-up fraktur documents and tucked them away, pasted them underneath the lids of storage chests, or kept them neatly folded inside books and Bibles. The great care many Pennsylvania Germans took to preserve these documents is a touching reminder that fraktur commemorated important and personal life events.

Fraktur — especially birth and baptismal certificates — became very popular by the late 1700s. By 1780, various communities developed fraktur printing presses in order to create more fraktur works in a shorter amount of time. Many professional fraktur artists used these printed “blanks” to keep up with client demand. Artists continued to personalize each mass-produced document.

These printed forms were often sold by itinerants and at rural stores. A skilled calligrapher, perhaps the itinerant himself, would fill in the clients’ personal information and often hand-color or embellish the printed designs with borders and outlines of birds, flowers and other decorative flourishes. Although they are not strictly speaking “certificates,” since no one in authority signed them, they have been regarded as legal documents. Since law in the old country required such documents, the tradition was continued in America.

Fraktur are some of the earliest examples of folk art found in the Shenandoah Valley. Though most Shenandoah Valley fraktur artists did not sign their work, several did. Peter Benhart, a Rockingham County schoolteacher and mail carrier, was one of the most prolific. He worked from about 1796 to 1819 and rode from his home near Keezletown to Winchester every other Wednesday to begin his postal route. He arrived in Rockingham County by Friday and finished the route in Staunton on Saturday. Bernhart functioned as a post rider over this course for nearly thirty years, creating fraktur for clients along his route.

He nearly always included not only his name, but also the date of when he made the fraktur. Many of his paintings were created on pre-printed blanks produced for him by local printers. He would carry the forms with him on his routes, and when called upon to produce fraktur, he would fill in the blanks with the pertinent information, then embellish the document with by painting around the borders. Although his paintings were often crudely executed, including poor spelling, his creations showed a unique style with amusing designs and bright colors.

Another Valley fraktur artist, who has only been identified as simply the Stony Creek Artist, produced works in German and English. Often, his paintings depicted cherubs, drawn-back curtains and hearts.

These Valley fraktur artists provide an important key to the important families of the Shenandoah Valley during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Traditional fraktur designs of the 19th century feature pomegranates, angels, trees, flowers and birds. The intricacy of design, selection of color and particular historical relevance to a family or place are factors that affect the current price of a painting. Prices of fraktur done by preeminent artists have soared into the $10,000 to $50,000 range. Although a piece by Peter Bernhart recently sold at auction for $15,500, against its estimate of $8,000-$12,000, some beautifully rendered examples by lesser-known artists can still be found for under $1,000.

Michelle Galler is an antiques dealer, design consultant and realtor based in Georgetown. Her shop is in Rare Finds, in Washington, Virginia. Contact her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com.

Georgetowner • January 11, 2016

In spite of its hectic pace, the holiday season can sometimes bring out a town’s sense of place. In Virginia, the season lights up a number of towns that are central to the state’s identity: steeped in history while keeping up with the times.

That’s especially true for three Virginia towns. Alexandria, across the bridge on the way to Mount Vernon, is something of a sister village to Georgetown. Middleburg, farther out in the country, celebrates the holiday season in high style. A frontier town bustling with an emerging nation’s energy, the place we call Little Washington was laid out by its namesake, a surveyor at the time.

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in these three historic communities.

Alexandria is a classic example of a town that’s gone to great lengths to maintain its aura, while at the same time managing to seem modern, even a little (or a lot) chic. The town — with its charming side streets, a skyline of steeples and a street energy tempered by the centuries — abuts the mighty Potomac River, which leads right up to Mount Vernon, decorated for Christmas. Visitors to the iconic estate will find a gingerbread Mount Vernon, 18th-century dancing, dinners by candlelight and no less a personage than Aladdin, George Washington’s Christmas camel. Holiday events continue through Jan. 6.

This weekend, Dec. 4 and 5, is Alexandria’s holiday weekend, including the Scottish Walk, a celebration hosted by the Campagna Center, when hundreds of members of Scottish clans gather in kilts. The bagpipes come out for the Scottish Walk Parade, Saturday, Dec. 5, at 11 a.m. in Old Town. The annual Parade of Lights will be held at 5:30 p.m.

The Alexandria Holiday Market at John Carlyle Square features shopping for arts and crafts items, entertainment and traditional European food, sweets, wine and beer. There’s also a shop that holds the spirit of Christmas the whole year round: The Christmas Attic at 125 Union St., which has a newly added gift shop.
Candlelight tours will be held at Mount Vernon, as well as at Gunston Hall and Woodlawn Plantation, where the proceedings proceed under the theme of “History and Chocolate.”

Friday through Sunday, December 4, 5 and 6, are big days in Middleburg, the bright starry town of horse country. Friday is a kind of Christmas prelude, with the Middleburg Club Christmas Greens Sale and Bazaar from 2 to 5 p.m., the tree-lighting ceremony and carols at 5 p.m. and a holiday recital at Salamander Resort and Spa.
Saturday is parade day in Middleburg, beginning with breakfast with Santa and a silent auction, followed by a craft fair at the Middleburg Community Center, hot chocolate at the Middleburg Methodist Church, the unique-to-Middleburg Hunt and Hounds Review at 11 a.m., hayrides, a Middleburg United Methodist Church Soup and Ham Biscuit Lunch and a Christmas in Middleburg Concert.

At 2 p.m., it’s the annual Christmas Parade, with floats, displays, animals and all things Christmas headed down Main Street. From 3 to 6 p.m., food, wine, ciders and distilled spirits will be displayed from one end of town to the other. Wrapping up the weekend, a Christmas Pageant with live animals will be presented on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Foxcroft School.

Washington, nicknamed Little Washington, started out as trading post. It was officially established as a town in 1797, with a population of 200 (and growing). By 1835, its paper, the Gazetteer, noted that the town contained 55 dwellings, four stores, two taverns, one house of worship, one academy, 27 shops and two large flour mills.

Decked out for the holidays, the town — home of the famed Inn at Little Washington — will hold its annual Christmas in Little Washington celebration Sunday, Dec. 6. This will include an artisans market and a holiday parade, with the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps leading a procession of animals, floats, performers and celebrities, including Santa and local dignitaries. There will also be a Santa’s Workshop.

Georgetowner • December 21, 2015

Looking for something to do outside the city for New Year’s and the night before? We have you covered with a rundown of the best In Country holiday celebrations.

Easton and St. Michaels

Get away to the bay on New Year’s Eve with a trip to Easton or St. Michaels, Maryland. The two charming towns are a scenic 20-minute drive apart and have a lot to offer this New Year’s. In Easton, the town celebrates the coming of the New Year with First Night Talbot, a big event in Easton Town Centre that includes food, musical performances and fun activities for kids. The night concludes with the Crab Drop, a play on the famous Times Square countdown to the New Year — with a six-foot-tall papier-mâché crab.

Also in town, the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra is playing a special New Year’s Eve concert at Christ Church, starting at 6 p.m. Tickets range from $60 to $85 and can be purchased by calling 888-846-8600. 111 South Harrison St., Easton, Maryland.

As for accommodations, try the sumptuous Inn at 202, which has rooms starting at $290 per night and open dinner reservations early on New Year’s Eve. 202 E Dover St., Easton, Maryland. Or try the Inn at Perry Cabin by Belmond, with rooms starting at $585 for New Years Eve. It’s in St. Michaels at 308 Watkins Lane.

Annapolis

Annapolis is bustling with food and hospitality options for New Year’s Eve. The capital city celebrates the occasion with two firework displays (at 7:30 p.m. and midnight) and live music on the city dock in the heart of town. Try one of Annapolis’s renowned restaurants like VIN 909, a wine bar offering Italian and new American cuisine, or something more casual with views of the water, like Dock Street Bar and Grill. For accommodations, the Chez Amis B&B is the number one recommendation by Trip Advisor, and is centrally located in the historic district of Annapolis. But as I write this, there is only one room left, and it’s going for $175 on New Year’s Eve. VIN 909: 909 Bay Ridge Ave. Dock Street Bar and Grill: 136 Dock St. Chez Amis: 85 East St.

Middleburg, Virginia

Your New Year’s plans can be a bit more relaxing in the Virginia countryside where great artisanal foods, sweeping meadows and a number of delightful inns await. There’s the Goodstone Inn, which has rooms with a view starting at $335. Their New Year’s Eve is celebrated over fresh cuts of meat from nearby farms along with some of Virginia’s finest wines. Or, celebrate the occasion at the sprawling Salamander Resort and Spa. Salamander hosts its Toast to the New Year Celebration from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., and offers all of its regular activities, like horseback rides and massages, on Jan. 1 so you can treat yourself for the New Year. Check in on Dec. 30 to make the most of your stay. Rooms start at $473. Goodstone Inn: 36205 Snake Hill Road. Salamander Resort and Spa: 500 N Pendleton St.

Chuck Baldwin • November 5, 2015

The first Saturday in November means the Montpelier Hunt Races are running — as they have for the last 86 years. Set in the Piedmont foothills at the home of James and Dolley Madison, race day draws visitors from Washington, Richmond and all over Virginia for traditional hunt-country festivities.

With the first post time 12:30 p.m., seven races are run: two on the flat and five over fences. Most of the races are more than two miles long and offer exhilarating views of equestrian action.

Besides the main draw, other activities entice on race day — and not just for the well-dressed grown-ups in attendance. There will be Jack Russell Terrier Races near the flat track at 10:30 and Stick Horse Races for children ages 2 to 11. The children’s races will take place on the course in front of the race tower, but kids must enter at the Montpelier Tent by 11:15.

The Tailgate Contest is also quite popular, with lots of prizes handed out. Judge and jury is Jerome Thalwitz, owner of the Bavarian Chef, a highly regarded German restaurant in business since 1974 on Route 29 north of Charlottesville. He’s looking for best use of a theme, best presentation, best taste and most fun. The contest is free, but let the office know in advance of race day. Chef Thalwitz will need to know where your spot is located so he can find and judge you, starting about 11 a.m. Bear in mind that no grills or open fires are allowed.

One of the most entertaining non-horse-related events is the Hat Contest, for which the criteria are elegance and best race theme. There is a prize for groups, so put your heads together and cap them. Also on the racecourse in front of the tower, this contest occurs right after the finish of the second race.

The sixth race is the premier race: a steeplechase run over Montpelier’s live brush fences. The seventh and last post time is 4:30.

Vendor’s Row offers unique shopping opportunities, perfect for the holidays. Race-day souvenirs and merchandise are available at the Montpelier Museum Shop tent.

The Montpelier estate, the lifelong home of our fourth president and first first lady — Dolley Madison is credited with defining the role — will be open at reduced rates for visitors who wish to experience the mansion, the other historic structures and archaeological sites, special exhibits and the gardens and forest trails on the grounds.

William DuPont purchased the Montpelier Estate in 1901 and made substantial changes, enlarging the house, renovating the gardens and adding additional outbuildings and stables. His daughter, Marion DuPont Scott, a fine horsewoman, inherited the property and turned it into a top thoroughbred breeding and racing facility. She opened the Montpelier Races to the public in 1929.

The Montpelier Hunt Races will take place Nov. 7 at 11407 Constitution Highway, Montpelier Station, Virginia. Gates open at 9 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Tickets at the gate are $20 and parking is $30. Tickets bought in advance start at $15, with $20 parking. To register for the Tailgate Contest, call 540-672-0014 or email info@montpelierraces.org. For more information and advance tickets, visit montpelierraces.org.

Ari Post • October 26, 2015

The annual Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland, is back with a full weekend of events Nov. 13 to 15. Since it was founded in 1971, the festival has become a Delmarva tradition, showcasing the heritage of Maryland’s sun-flecked peninsular region while raising funds to protect the wildlife and habitat so integral to the Eastern Shore way of life.

Not even the founders could have imagined what it would become. Through art, education, outdoor activities, local food offerings and even calling contests, the Waterfowl Festival captures the windswept beauty of the area’s wild birds and the ardor they stir up among hunters, birders and wildlife enthusiasts.

The event’s nonprofit wing, Waterfowl Festival, Inc., has raised more than $5.7 million, making conservation grants to hundreds of projects run by more than fifty organizations. Its conservation arm, Waterfowl Chesapeake, supports waterfowl and the environment by creating, restoring and conserving habitat throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

General admission is $15 for the entire weekend. Children under 12 are free. There are fifteen different exhibits and four events, as well as music and activities for children. A list of festival highlights follows. For a full calendar of events, visit WaterfowlFestival.org.

For the Love of Dogs. Perhaps the most popular events at the festival are the doggy demos run by the Talbot Retriever Club. At Easton Middle School, the stands fill quickly to watch dogs race down a dock to splash into a pool of water (the competition is to see which can remain airborne the farthest or highest). Guests can also head over to nearby Bay Street Ponds to see some exceptionally skilled canines show off by leaping into the pond to fetch thrown or hidden dummies. For details, visit dockdogs.com.

Calling Contests. The best birdcallers in the world flock to the Waterfowl Festival. With five contests culminating in a finals round Saturday night, audiences have the chance to watch duck and goose callers from over 15 states and Canada compete. Admission to the finals is an additional $10.
Birds of Prey. Hawks, falcons and owls sharpen their hunting skills during an exciting outdoor flight demonstration with master falconer Brian Bradley.

Food and Drink. Food vendors will offer Eastern Shore favorites and traditional festival fare, supporting local nonprofit organizations. Don’t miss the Wine, Beer & Tasting Pavilion on Harrison Street. Admission (including a tasting glass) is an additional $10.

Arts and Crafts. At the Artisans Gifts and Workshop, visitors can watch painters and carvers at work while browsing a variety of handcrafted wildlife art, jewelry and clothing. At Buy, Sell, Swap at Easton High School, haggling is encouraged among traders, collectors and customers for a dizzying selection of decoys, hunting and sporting memorabilia.

For those visitors who want to take a break from festival activities, go for dinner or just enjoy Easton’s small-town charm, here is an overview of dining and shopping options.

On the restaurant front, Georgetown local Courtney Chapin, who has a home in Easton, notes: “There’s been a real shift toward farm-to-table, and it’s so easy to do here because of the wonderful farms all around the area.”

Brasserie Brightwell is a bistro-style spot with live outdoor music on the weekends. Try their mussels, local fish of the day or grilled whole rainbow trout. “And they have the best burgers in the world,” says Chapin. Their lamb sliders with smoked tomato chutney and goat cheese aren’t bad either.

For pizza, look no further than Out of the Fire, a wood-fired pizza joint with the best margherita pie in Easton or almost anywhere else. There are vegan options, a small, well-cultivated wine selection and a variety of fare inspired by local ingredients, like a softshell crab BLT. When you order the Swiss chard and kale it looks like it comes from a real garden.

Mason’s Restaurant is a local staple, one of the oldest restaurants in town, consistently serving up delicious food — and they have a great outdoor patio. Don’t miss their crab cake, wood-fired flatbreads and local beer selection.

For shoppers, Curlicue is a quaint, locally owned store with beautiful gifts and textiles, home accessories, jewelry and much more. Next door, Chef & Shower offers unique, must-have selections of cookware and bath supplies. It’s like William Sonoma, but with a sharper eye and a personalized touch.

Piazza is a shop that must be called “cute,” but in all the right ways. With a selection of decadent, zesty and rare olive oils and balsamic glazes, fine cheese and other boutique ingredients, it is the best kind of a place to swing by before hosting a party.

Lastly, the Amish Country Farmer’s Market, open Thursday to Saturday, should not be missed. From the kitschy charm of the market to the endless selection of everything from fresh produce and coffee to barbecue ribs, smoothies and hand-rolled soft pretzels, the market is charming, attractive, full of delicious food and friendly faces: a microcosm of everything great about Easton. Once you are here, you will have trouble leaving.

Sallie Lewis • September 2, 2015

The last month of summer has slipped through our fingers. Soon, fires will be lit, crackling warmly in their grates. Outside, autumn leaves will turn shades of gold, butter yellow and burnt orange. In town, tree-lined streets and places such as Rock Creek Park and the C&O Canal put on a colorful show.

Yet it’s outside the city, where concrete gives way to canopied trees and sprawling fields, that the true spectacle takes place.

People hoping to witness the quintessential display of fall foliage should travel to Shenandoah National Park, where Mother Nature never fails to awe or inspire. Here, just 75 miles from Washington, 200,000 acres of some of the country’s most scenic land is home to tens of thousands of living creatures, including 200 different species of birds. Throughout the park, hickories and birches, gum trees and blueberry bushes are but a few of the native plant species, and they burst with color every fall.

Hikers at Shenandoah National Park will delight in the 500 miles of rugged trails that score the terrain. For a less strenuous experience, hop in the car and venture down the park’s famed Skyline Drive. This 105-mile-long path affords some of the park’s most picturesque views. There are more than 75 scenic overlooks facing the Shenandoah Valley to the west and the Virginia Piedmont to the east. Pack a picnic lunch and take in panoramas that attract visitors from all over the world.

The meandering Blue Ridge Parkway is another renowned place to witness the fall season’s vibrancy. This 469-mile drive, carved through the Blue Ridge Mountains, connects Shenandoah National Park to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the fall, visitors wind their way along the road, taking in the vivid canvas of sourwoods, black gum trees and poplars.

Dissuaded by crowds? Try hiking at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, Virginia. Just an hour from D.C., this less crowded destination affords beautiful views of fall’s color from late September to November.

Closer still is Great Falls National Park, only 15 miles from the District. Lined with hiking trails along the Potomac River, this 800-acre park offers a number of stunning places for visitors to unwrap a picnic lunch and rest tired legs.

In any of these places, however near or far, large or small, the real beauty of the season is evident in the leaves’ ephemeral symbolism. Destinations like Shenandoah National Park or Sky Meadows give a beautiful burning glimpse of life’s fleetingness and renewal. In the coming weeks, plan your trip to witness this beauty firsthand — and remember to close your eyes. After all, it is the sound of the rustling leaves mingled with birdsong that sings on in memory, long after the last leaf has dropped.

Sallie Lewis • August 19, 2015

With foxhunting season on the horizon, thoughts of tacked-up horses and stylish hunting parties, with all dressed in riding coats and hunt caps, come to mind. Soon, the Virginia Hunt Country — with its large, historic estates, elegant horse farms and unspoiled surroundings — will reawaken these images. Rolling hills colored apple green and cornflower blue take on an almost mystical quality in the early morning light, or at dusk when hunting parties traverse through venerable foxhunting grounds associated with private clubs.

Perhaps the most prestigious of these is the Orange County Hunt, founded in 1910. Today, the Orange County Hunt encompasses a patchwork of properties with thousands of acres of easement-protected land. Rare is it then to find an estate coming on the market in such an esteemed place. Enter: Hound Hall.

With 100 acres in the heart of the Orange County Hunt, Hound Hall is a golden coin unearthed from Virginia’s deep-rooted treasure trove. In the early 2000s, a private owner purchased the land and built an English country house for his family. The estate was named Hound Hall after the owner’s daughters attended Foxcroft School. Here, students are either “Foxes” or “Hounds,” the designations of two spirited teams, and when the girls became “Hounds,” a name for the estate was born.

Hound Hall has frontage on two country roads and is situated just down from Boxwood Winery and Hickory Tree Farm. The grounds boast a number of impeccable features, including a state-of-the-art equestrian facility suitable for professional show, polo or racing operations. The 17-stall Belmont racing barn and stable was completely rebuilt, a tribute to the surrounding country. Highlights of the facility include an expansive 7/8-mile sand exercise track that can be used for cross-country schooling or converted for polo. Additionally, there’s a separate two-stall barn with a two-bedroom apartment for trainers.

The house at Hound Hall defies its recent construction. It feels at once historic and modern, a dichotomy that affords both luxury and convenience. Outside, the home, built with a locally quarried stone, is lavishly landscaped. Inside, five en-suite bedrooms allow ample room for family, extended family and guests. Throughout the house, antique, wide-plank oak and pine floors sprawl; the railheads are all period reproductions, stained to replicate the patina of age and wear. Five wood-burning fireplaces add warmth on cold Virginia evenings, and the ironwork in these hearths, along with the fireplace tools, was designed and forged locally.

The owner spared no time or expense to ensure the home’s quality construction, readily working with the craftsmen, artisans and architect on his vision. This effort is evidenced in the paneling, doors, bookcases, cabinets and interior window shutters, all of which are handmade and hand carved from 9,000 square feet of old chestnut boards sourced in Pennsylvania.

In addition to the home and the equestrian facility, Hound Hall has a first-class sporting clays course. Shooting enthusiasts will covet the enclosed automatic, dual-action Promatic thrower and the area for entertaining, all within walking distance of the house. There is also a walk-in Pentagon gun safe on the lower level of the house.

This multi-faceted property, just seven minutes from Middleburg, is both an elegant sporting estate and a comfortable country home. Whoever its future buyer may be, the land — with its unobstructed mountain views, wooded acreage and rolling hills — is sure to offer a sense of peace, embodying the bond between man and nature. And, who knows, Hound Hall’s future owner may just watch the next fox hunt canter through, witness to a token of sporting history that remains alive and well today.

Gary Tischler • August 17, 2015

Before we travel to a new place, we stuff our luggage full. We pack the things we know and remember. We pack expectations, a kind of act of the imagination about how things might be, what we’ll see and feel. We pack our own memories.

We went to Cooperstown in upstate New York. We came initially because of opera—the Glimmerglass Festival and its artistic director Francesca Zambello, who also runs the Washington National Opera. We came also because of the church of baseball, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, where baseball’s inventor or grand developer Abner Doubleday lived. It is not the house that Babe Ruth built, but it is where he and hundreds of baseball’s finest are honored pretty much forever.

We discovered, too, that Cooperstown was founded by the father of James Fenimore Cooper, the town’s most famous author and America’s first novelist of any note, best known for “The Last of the Mohicans.”
Armed with this, we noted the presence of the Fenimore Art Museum, alongside the expansive and beautiful Leatherstocking Golf Course, which is part of the more than 100-year-old Otesaga Resort Hotel, and also runs across Lake Street, next to the modestly titled Farmers’ Museum. If you stay on that road and drive all the way around the lake, you will end up where you started: on Main Street in Cooperstown.

So, I came to Cooperstown already armed with some notions and memories. I—as well as my boon companion and partner—grew up in small towns, with similar populations and tropes, in Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. I came to Cooperstown as an erstwhile German immigrant who spent the 1950s following the Cleveland Indians in their annual baseball wars with the New York Yankees, part of a youthful love affair with baseball that has never much abated. I thought it cannot get much better than this: baseball, opera, small town and James Fenimore Cooper, whose works I had only experienced in their Classic Illustrated comic book versions or as movies.

We stayed on the outside of the town at a Best Western Plus, where in the morning you could see mist and fog on the hills outside. We made our way into town—you hit Main Street at the town’s only stoplight—and I soon found out that everything I thought I knew was incomplete.

Cooperstown is a real place, not just the Hall of Fame.

If you’re an outdoor person, there are plenty of parks and recreational offerings—boating, biking, hiking, fishing. There are plenty of restaurants, farmers’ markets, distilleries and regional breweries. The influence of Whole Foods is not much in evidence.

Drive into town for the first time, and you’ll see the sign Redneck Barbecue brashly displayed on a roof in big colors.

This co-mingling of informality works its way through the town and the places you’ll see, oh my—even to some degree at elegant, impressive Otesaga Resort Hotel, the flagship of accommodations for the area. Buffet and lunch breakfast are a welcome offerings for travelers as well as guests, where eating by the window seats or outside retains an elegant, peaceful feeling. It makes you want to read a book by Henry James.

This probably comes as no surprise, nor is the excellent quality of the art works in the Fenimore Museum, including special exhibition currently of the works of Maxwell Parrish, as well as an impressive array of Native American art, among others.

You will be surprised by the Farmers’ Museum across the way from Fenimore. It contains a facsimile working village and farm, covering bygone days in American life—from a church, to a barn, a newspaper office, sheds and a blacksmith, barnyard animals shyly watching tourists, women sewing, the kitchens, bedrooms, dining rooms and libraries of both gentry and small town folks. There’s a Brigadoon quality to this. Imagine what would happen if you dropped a mobile electronic device into this serene scene. It might have the effect of a cultural, social nuclear device.

Around the lake a ways, you’ll encounter Hyde Hall, where executive director Jonathan Maney holds forth on one of the oldest residences around —it was built by an Englishman named George Clarke on a 60,000-acre estate with the help of renowned architect Philip Hooker. Ever since 1964, Hyde Hall has been under some sort of renovation to return it to its original grandeur, which in full glory was considerable. As Clarke was British, and after having the original cottage built, he strove for a touch of English landed aristocracy in the grand manner for a grand manor. Today, Maney, who is a historian, a former professor and a great storyteller, tells us that it is used for weddings, concerts, galas, picnics, lectures and exhibitions. Inside the vast home, which started out as a cottage, there are its paintings, prints, copies (of the inventor-artist Samuel Morse’s painting, “Gallery of the Louvre”), sculptures and rooms upon rooms, dark stairways, expansive window views of a courtyard, children’s rooms as well as a wine cellar fully stocked.

On Main Street, Cooperstown, however, it is baseball everywhere, memorabilia shops (like Mickey’s Place) everywhere. A statue of a youthful Shoeless Joe Jackson stands near Doubleday Field. After all that, at the end of Main Street sits the Baseball Hall of Fame itself, which this weekend (July 24 to 27) will induct four new members—Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz—during four days of nothing but baseball, including the presence and a parade of hundreds of the game’s living legends and hall members.

From the outside, the hall doesn’t look like much. It seems small, until you walk inside and enter what is not so much a hall of fame but a hall of dreams. The three floors are filled with exhibits on teams, on the history of the games, on individuals like Hank Aaron, the Babe and Joe DiMaggio, on ball parks, the Negro Leagues, and most holy of holies, the true hall that contains plaques of every player inducted into the hall. Prominently located are sculptures of Ted Williams and Babe Ruth, where a small player is trying to imitate Ruth’s batting stance.

It’s an impressive place, a kind of church that’s full of reverence, references and irreverence. It’s a place where the playing of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” can suddenly bring you close to tears. It’s what happens here that matters, the buzz in every hall, young boys and some girls in baseball uniforms all over the place, the chit chat of the game whizzing through the wandering crowds like a giant murmur. On another floor, a dozen people are gathered around a screening of the Abbott and Costello comedy routine “Who’s on First,” laughing hard. Among the plaques, I find Ernie “Play Two,” the Chicago Cub and greatest player never to play in a World Series. His face shows a smile, and so does a woman looking at him. She’s an unrequited Cubs fan. We look at a plaque for Cubs manager Leo “The Lip” Durocher. She grimaces. “That S.O.B. cost us the pennant,” she says with some rancor.

After a trip to a new place, you return with more than you brought—more stuff, more maps, more books and souvenirs. More memories.

I unpacked memories of printer’s ink, an embarrassed turkey avoiding children at the farm, the two warm women who ran the carousel, the taste of cherry in a draught beer, the smoke on the hills, Papageno meeting Papagana in “The Magic Flute,” Solomon Howard’s eloquent basso voice in the two operas and bass baritone Eric Owens who saw ghosts, jumped on a table and owned Macbeth, a drive along Lake Street at midnight with a mother deer in the headlights, the sight and names of all the baseball players bringing back summer nights in Ohio, Maney describing in detail the process for lighting a Hyde chandelier and talking about his grandmother who had survived the fatal voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic, the rustle of white curtains at the resort moved by a breeze from Lake Otsego.
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