Brownsburg Update: October 7, 2021

Ten Days Left………..

Don’t miss your chance to order the 2022 Brownsburg Calendar! There are only 10 days left – you must place your order by Monday, October 18. Orders can be placed on-line at Calendar Sales OR by picking up an order form and envelope at local Post Offices (Brownsburg, Rockbridge Baths, Fairfield, or Raphine) or Wade’s Mill. If you’re out of the area and don’t want to order on line, send your payment to P.O. Box 82, Brownsburg, VA 24415. Checks should be made payable to Brownsburg Museum. The cost of the calendar is $16 ($14 for Friends of the Museum). Please remember to add shipping costs ($4 per calendar) if you want your order mailed; if you’re ordering on-line, scroll to the bottom of the Shoppe page to add shipping. Orders will be available at Wade’s Mill for pick-up between November 4 and December 12. The Brownsburg Calendar makes a wonderful inexpensive gift for family and friends, or to thank a thoughtful neighbor. Proceeds from calendar sales are used to cover the operating costs of the Museum.

Friends of the Museum Event

On Saturday, October 2, the Brownsburg Museum Advisory Committee hosted a reception for Friends of the Museum at Grace Hill, home of Harry Shannon in Rockbridge Baths. Dr. Lynn Rainville, Professor of Anthropology and Director of Institutional History and Museums at W&L gave a fascinating talk on “Gravestones, Houses, and Families.” The talk focused largely on Henry Boswell Jones and (based on Jones’ diary) gave a glimpse into the relationship between Jones and the individuals he enslaved. Also in attendance were Jak Krouse and Teddy Jacobsen, two of the three W&L students who produced “Uncovering Connections” a 10-minute documentary about slave quarters still existing in Brownsburg and the connections between descendants of the enslaved people who lived there and descendants of the slave owners. Chris Fox shared a couple of pictures of a beautiful fall day and a lovely event. If you would like information about how to become a Friend of the Museum, contact Julie Fox at juliemacdonaldfox@gmail.com.

Fall Festival at Seasons’ Yield

Concurrent with Seasons’ Yield bread day on October 9, Rockbridge Church from Lexington will be hosting a fall festival at the farm between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. You can pick up a pumpkin to paint, sip some apple cider and enjoy a wonderful fall day with your family. Seasons’ Yield is located at 167 Oakland Circle in Raphine.

Lots of Events Next Saturday

There will be lots of opportunities next Saturday, October 16 for fall family fun! Here is information on three good events right here in our area:

Wade’s Mill 25^th Annual Apple Butter Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 16. Glenn Wilson will be making his famous apple butter the old-fashioned way, slow simmered in a copper kettle over an open fire. Enjoy a full day of music with The Gypsy Hill Ramblers (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and Tanglewood (2 p.m. to 4 p.m.). There will be food from Rock’s Money Pit BBQ, Lex Vegas Bistro, and the Raphine Volunteer Fire Department, plus wood-fired bread from Little Hat Creek Farm; Newtown Baking baguettes; local cheese from Razzbourne Farms and Mountain View Farm Products; vintage apples from Redwing Farm; apple cider donuts and other local food and hand-made treats from Verdant Acres Farm and Sweet Berry Farm. Beverages will be available from Jump Mountain Vineyard and Halcyon Days Cider Company. Local artisans will be providing demonstrations and offering crafts for sale. Shop local for gift items from the Lavender Fields at Tantivy Farm, Ridge Valley Alpacas, Green Hills Garden Club and more!!

Fall Fun at the Brownsburg Museum. From 11 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on October 16 there will be hayrides in Brownsburg with Classic Carriages and you can buy a pumpkin out of the back of Old Blue, a 1960 Ford pickup!

ALSO……

Seasons’ Yield Community Dinner is right around the corner. Daniel and Fawn Shear invite you and your friends to Seasons’ Yield Farm at 4 p.m. for a casual potluck evening together. Daniel will be smoking a pig and baking rolls for the crowd. In fine potluck fashion, you’re asked to bring a dessert or side dish to share. More information will be available next week about how to RSVP so Daniel will know how many rolls to bake.

Brownsburg Update: Sep. 15, 2021

Brownsburg Gardeners Reports

Jim Zimmerman reports that as of September 2, the Brownsburg Gardeners had donated more than half a ton of fruits and vegetables this year!!! The produce came from 19 different gardens and totaled 1,066 pounds. In addition, 131 pounds of health/hygiene/ household items have been contributed. Thank you to all who have participated for your support of the Rockbridge Area Relief Association’s Food Pantry. You still have a few more weeks to make donations. Just leave your produce on the Moore’s front porch (2664 Brownsburg Turnpike) each Thursday before noon, and Jim will deliver to the Food Pantry. Butternut squash and pumpkins are the “heavyweights” of the produce season and will add to the total!

Get Your Calendar Orders In!

The last day to order your 2022 Brownsburg Calendars is Monday, October 18 BUT the last day for “early bird” orders is today, September 15. Early birds get a chance to win! Orders received by September 15, 2021 (today) are entered into a drawing for one of three custom made holiday wreaths crafted by the Green Hills Garden club. To meet the deadline for early bird orders, you can enter on line, or drop off your order and payment at the Brownsburg, Fairfield, Raphine, or Rockbridge Baths Post Office today. Calendar sales raise money to pay operating expenses for our all-volunteer Museum. The 2022 photographs can be seen on the BCA website here.

Run of the Mill / Free Hot Dogs!

Our community run is less than two weeks away! The 5K point-to-point Run of the Mill will take place on Saturday, September 25 at 10 am. BCA race organizers report that more and more runners are signing up each day. Additionally, there are a lot of sponsors committed to making this a fun day. There is still time to pre-register for the race; the Brownsburg website has more information about the Run of the Mill here. There will be race-day registration, but you’ll miss out on the official Run of the Mill T-shirt (and other good stuff) if you procrastinate. In addition to the 5K Run of the Mill which takes place between 10-11:30 am, there will be free hot dogs for runners, volunteers, spectators, cheering crowds, family members and the community at large afterwards. The Finish, Awards and Hot Dog Day will all take place at Wade’s Mill. If you’re not a runner, but would like to be part of the event, check with John Siegfried (john.siegfried3@gmail.com) to see if there is still a need for volunteers.

Brownsburg Ruritan Chicken

It’s hard to be in two places at once, so you’re going to have to strategize to capitalize on all the good food available on Saturday, September 25. The Brownsburg Ruritans will be cooking chicken at the horse show grounds in Bustleburg that day. Chicken will be available starting about 11:00 am. A good plan might be to stop by Bustleburg on your way to the BCA Hot Dog Day at Wade’s Mill. Or, you could grab a hot dog for lunch, then head over to Bustleburg to buy chicken for dinner. Just remember that it sells out pretty quickly! Follow the signs to Bustleburg.

Do You Ever Wonder…

Do you ever wonder who keeps the Museum looking so good? It takes a village! Thank you, Stephanie and Pete Louquet for planting and maintaining the foundation plantings around the north side of the Museum. Thank you, Nancy Hahn for watering the planter of geraniums in front of the porch. And thank you, Kenny Porterfield, for keeping the grass mowed.

Brownsburg Update: August 25, 2021

The Brownsburg Community Association Board of Directors hopes that you’re all planning to come to the picnic on Sunday, and has provided the following additional information:

“Don’t forget about the Brownsburg Picnic from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. this Sunday (August 29). The picnic this year is at the Wade’s Mill Pavilion and we’re hoping all of our Brownsburg neighbors can attend. With the increase in Covid activity, the Board met last week to discuss this event and we all agreed that since it’s an outdoor event we could still proceed. We did discuss different protocols since we will be serving food and these include:Board Members will act as servers for the entrees to all attendees.

We’ll start serving just before 6:00 p.m. and the line spacing (between “pods”) will be 6 feet apart.
There will be a hand wash station and masks available for all to use at the start of the line.
There will be plenty of space to spread out both under cover and in the picnic area. We’ll have table space for 100+ people but bringing a lawn chair would act as a good back up plan.

There is a schedule of events during the evening that will include announcement of auction item winners, Brownsburg Calendar reveal, welcome to new Brownsburg Community neighbors, and sign up as well as some activities for children. The weather is looking favorable so we look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday evening.

The BCA Board (John Siegfried, Vern Lochausen, Julie Fox, Karen Parker, Marguerite Guilford, Bruce Patterson, Jenn Sasser, Chris Beard, Leah Beard)”

3^rd Annual Run of the Mill

The BCA Board also continues to plan for the 3^rd Annual Run of the Mill on Saturday, September 25, 2021. The Run of the Mill 5K is a point-to-point road race, jog or walk from historic Brownsburg to historic Wade’s Mill.

The course begins in beautiful downtown Brownsburg and runs over slightly hilly tarmac terrain. The route bisects beautiful farmland, crosses several creeks and provides entertainment for all the cheering local cows, sheep and residents. The race finishes at Wade’s Mill where a shuttle bus will deliver people back to Brownsburg after the ceremony. It’s a fun day for all and proceeds contribute to the Brownsburg Community Association’s support for student scholarships, first responders and other community projects. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. in Brownsburg. The Race starts at 10 a.m. All ages, abilities and canine companions on leash are welcome! Age groups: <10 | 10-15 | 16-20 | 21-30 | 31-40 | 41-50 | 51-60 | 61-70 | 71+

The top three female and male finishers receive prizes. All finishers receive medals! There will be awards and activities at the Finish Line.

The registration fee is $20, and you can pre-register for the Run of the Mill here. Alternatively, you can also send a check to the BCA at P.O. Box 82, Brownsburg, VA 24415. Pre-Registration includes a “Run of the Mill” t-shirt, swag bag and other goodies.

The BCA is also looking for volunteers to help with the race. If you’d like to volunteer, find a member of the Board at the Picnic and let them know!