Schedule of Events for Civil War Encampment at Wither's Park, Wytheville VA.

6:30 am  – Reveille.

7:00 am — Muster and roll call.

7:15 am – Cook and eat breakfast as mess units.

8:15 am  – Drill, manual of arms and then a quick run through of the evolutions.

9:30 am – Prepare for parade and locate at parade jump off point.

10:00 am – Chautauqua Parade.

11:30  am – FIRING DEMONSTRATION AND KIT EXPLANATION – Troops will demonstrate close order drill evolutions and end by positioning themselves in front of the audience. Captain will give brief explanation of Wythe Grays and described the uniforms, weapons and gear the men are wearing. Troops will then demonstrate the various firings that would have been used in company formation when on the battle line followed by a question and answer period.

12:30 am - LUNCH AS MESS UNITS AND TOUR OF CAMP – this is an opportunity for the public to get up close and personal. Company will break into mess units to prepare, cook and eat the way the Wythe Grays would eat on campaign. Each troop should have something to show or talk about. Explanations of rations, cooking, gear and weapons.

1:30 pm - FIRING DEMONSTRATION AND KIT EXPLANATION

2:45 pm – CEMETERY COMMEMORATION – The men will march as a unit to the cemetery and place some wreaths and flags. Sarah Pfendler will be preparing and donating two boxwood wreaths, one for Terry’s grave and one for Walker’s grave. The public is welcome to attend.

4:30 pm– FIRING DEMONSTRATION AND KIT EXPLANATION

5:30 pm – DINNER AS MESS UNITS AND **COMMUNITY SHARING ** Question and answer period. This is a time when the community could share various stories, letters and memorabilia. This a time for us to learn from the people of Wytheville. The men of our unit are very interested in learning from the community and hope that they will share what they know or  have been told about their ancestors who we honor.

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The Wythe County Historical Society will be sponsoring a tour of the lovely Trinkle Mansion on Sunday afternoon, September 14, 2008 from 3-5 p.m. 

The tour will include all the rooms in the present day inn.  In addition to the splendid entrance way and grand stairway the guests will enjoy the elegant dining room, the cozy library, the ladies’ parlor, the gentlemen’s parlor, the conservatory, the sitting room, plus the outside balconies and porches, and the fully modernized efficient kitchen. Visitors will be guided through the four beautifully appointed guestrooms, each with its own special features.  In addition there will be the garden cottage noted for its perfection as a romantic getaway and as an ideal selection for the perfect honeymoon.  As a bonus feature the tour will also include a climb to the third floor loft that is a charming 21st century addition to the stately old mansion!

This will be the third in a series of historical home tours that the Historical Society has sponsored in the past few years.  The first home tour featured Rock Hall, the home of Confederate General James Walker and the second tour focused on the beautifully restored Victorian home of the Perkins.

The purpose of the tour is to raise money for the various education programs that the Society sponsors and for the much needed restoration of the windows at the Rock House Museum. 

The cost of the ticket for the Trinkle Mansion tour will be $20. Tickets may be purchased from the Heritage Center and from members of the Historical Society Tour Committee. Refreshment will be furnished by the members of the Historical Society.

     Sgt. Trenton Crockett of the Wytheville Police Department, with 27 years dedicated to keeping the peace in Wytheville, Virginia, retired last week.  We wish him well in all of his endeavors, and pray for his safety and that of his family as he begins his next adventure!  Congratulation on your retirement, you will be missed!

To find out what Sgt. Crockett has planned after retirement Click HERE!

     The Major David Graham Mansion is really misnamed……it should be called the Squire David Graham Mansion for the Major’s father!  He is actually the original owner who amassed this 26,000 acre estate and built the 11,000 square foot mansion that stands today. Squire David Graham was born in 1800.  His father, Robert Graham, immigrated to this area from County Down Ireland in 1774. Robert Graham served one year in the Revolutionary War and then settled in what is now the Max Meadows community in Wythe County, Virginia. 

     Squire David inherited the initial parcel of land from his father, built the original Mansion and the majority of the later additions, and placed his first iron furnace on the front lawn of the Mansion.  Over the years Squire David would acquire or build up to 12 furnaces or forges in the Graham’s Forge area.  Pig iron from the Graham forges was transported by horse-drawn wagon to larger cities and oversees to England.  The original, rear frame section of the Mansion was built in the 1830s and the huge, formal brick section was added in the 1850s. 

      It is said that Major David Graham lived in the Mansion his entire life; he was born in 1838.   The Major supervised the massive hip-on-hip replacement slate roof and its ornate tower and dormers in the 1870s as well as the intricate Victorian porch additions in the late 1800s.  The Georgian Side Porch facing Cedar Run Creek is the original entrance. This pillared portico reflects a definite Charleston influence.  Notice the intricate woodwork and rope trim around the door.  This rear frame portion of the Mansion is the original structure built by Squire David Graham.   You can also view the old ringer washer and original dumb waiter in the adjacent windowed workroom.  The outbuilding to the left of the porch is the wash house which houses the original fire pit, chimney, boiling caldron, drain, and rinse basin.  The 5-room/3 story outbuilding directly behind the kitchen is the summer kitchen and servants’ quarters.  The winter kitchen is located in the basement directly beneath the updated first floor indoor kitchen.  The opposite rear enclosed side porch and storage room date this frame structure as “pre-1850” by virtue of the type of ceiling plaster and lathe work according to local historians.  

     Mansion visitors will notice that this plaster is made from mud and horsehair applied to wooden lathes.  Since the frame and brick sections were built separately and at different time periods, the basements are not connected and there are two staircases.  The room used today as the kitchen was originally the “hearth room”, a combination living room and dining room.  The hearth room is anchored by a huge fireplace which is framed by an ornate mahogany fireplace mantle and the functional nearby warming oven.  This “oven” is built directly into the center of the radiator!  As a matter of fact, the radiators located throughout the home are highly decorative.  The Grahams were clearly ahead of their times!  They also used carbide lights and steam heat long before most of their southern (and northern) neighbors! The rear stairway woodwork is original. A glance upward reveals a beautiful view of the decorative scrollwork.  The rear second floor bedroom is the site of Betty Graham’s Civil War era schoolroom.  

     Elizabeth Ann Graham or “Betty” was Major Graham’s sister.  Her diary, kept during the Civil War, has been published and the original manuscript is housed in the library of UVA in Charlottesville.  The Third Floor Secret Confederate Meeting Room was most likely used as a children’s bedroom.  Local legend has it that Confederate officers met secretly in this very room and wounded soldiers were tended to in the adjacent attic. As visitors walk across the deep door thresholds between the original frame house and formal brick “addition”, a contrast in building style, workmanship, and scale is apparent.  The brick mansion addition boasts massive rooms, plain wood trim details, and elaborate exterior workmanship. The front porch entrance to the Mansion grandly displays its signature, one-of-a-kind, cast iron columns made at the Cedar Run furnace, previously housed on the front yard of the Mansion.  Directly in front of the porch visitors can just imagine ladies in hoopskirts dismounting their horses by using the huge stepping stone, placed there for just that purpose.  An upward glance reveals a massive slate roof complete with dormers, a tower, ornate lightning rods, and exquisite Celtic crosses.  On the northernmost side dormer guests can read the original signature of the home’s Max Meadows builder. 

     The southern exposure yields a magnificent view of the ante-bellum Victorian porches and woodwork. The Victorian porches contain some rather unique windows and NO DOORS!  These elongated windows have 3 stacked panes which open to create a doorway for porch access.  In the 19th century, some southern homes were taxed based on the number of exterior doors, thus the creation of the “window door”!   Do not miss the “Secret Window Bedroom” as it contains a very unique window pane etching.   Legend has it that the etching was made by a bride’s   diamond ring on her wedding night!  The lovely cursive letters give us only a few clues….the date, February 24, 1884, 4 sets of initials, and the signature of one of the Graham family members.   What message was this bride trying to preserve for us? As visitors continue down the massive, elegant mahogany staircase and across the foyer’s heart of pine floors, it is difficult to imagine the daily maintenance of this home over 150 years ago!  The downstairs parlor and study feature arched, highly ornate mahogony doorways leading to the side Victorian sun porches.  Over the years much of the original glass, doors, decorative tile, light fixtures, and woodwork have been vandalized.  It is Josiah’s hope that opening the Mansion to the public during GrahamFest will eliminate these unfortunate events.

     The Living Room and Dining Rooms span the length of the brick addition. These rooms are separated by massive floor-to-ceiling oak doors!  It is said that the Graham women were very active seamstresses; we can just imagine them in their vintage dresses tatting or cross stitching here. Festival Guests are invited to walk the immediate grounds around the Mansion.  Please notice our Carriage House Stage, built by Josiah the summer of 2006 on its original building foundation.  Nearby you will find the fish “holding pond” where the Grahams kept freshly caught fish.  The Chimney House Stage, located behind the Mansion, is built on the actual foundation of a circa 1800s split level log cabin. Our intimate Childrens’ Stage is located at the Cedar Run Creek and Major Grahams Road junction.  The 120 x 60 foot Major Graham Stage located on the northernmost part of the grounds, will showcase Josiah and his Mountain Rock Music Show along with Crooked Road friends Stevie Barr, Wayne Henderson, and Jeff Little. 

     Don’t be surprised if Josiah brings back some of your favorite performers from the past as many are reported to still haunt the old Mansion!   The Pennsylvania Dutch General Store is the oldest structure on the property, built in the 1700s.  Legend has it that the nearby Wilderness Road saw many a family heading west stop at this authentic General Store!   Immediately adjacent to the General Store is Josiah’s Courtyard.  It is Josiah’s hope that his guests enjoy the 10 foot wide ribbon of walkway connecting the stages, the beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the history of one of Virginia’s founding families, the Squire’s Beer and Wine Garden, and, of course, the spirited music of GrahamFest 2008.  

     But what about the ghost stories….is the Mansion really haunted?  ….according to scientific investigations by the Virginia Paranormal Society, the answer is a definite yes, but you’ll have to make up your own mind! What are the facts?  Many local historians report that the frame section of the Mansion was built around a log cabin owned by John Baker in 1785.  Story has it that Baker and two of his slaves, Bob and Sam, were making moonshine “out back”.   Baker told the slaves that in his will he would give them their freedom upon his death.  Well the slaves hastened Baker’s untimely demise and put him in the mash.  At that time this area was part of Fincastle County.  In the Fincastle Courthouse there is a record of the sheriff arresting Bob and Sam, their subsequent trial, and their hanging from a Hickory tree on the ridge behind the Mansion.   There is also a record of the sheriff being paid 200 lbs. of tobacco for his efforts.  The basement of the Mansion clearly has wooden and metal bars on the windows and there are unexplained bullet holes in a living room window, unexplained “faces” and “lights” in the windows.  

     The Virginia Paranormal Society will be available during your Mansion Ghost Walk Tour.  You are invited to listen to and look at their actual ghost recordings!  We will also have videotaped interviews with local folks who are John Baker and Graham family descendents, our very own GrahamFest Clairvoyant Lynn Stringham, and others who have tales to tell about the Graham Mansion.  You decide!

     

American Indians will descend on Bland County later this month.  They will come to celebrate the All Nations Green Corn Festival Gathering and Powwow at the Bland County Fairgrounds.

The benefit event for the Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum will commemorate the Bland County American Indian Heritage Weekend of July 25-27.  It is designed to be a teaching gathering of Native American people, dancers, artists and storytellers with the local community for a time of learning, understanding and fun for all ages.

"Normally this would be called a gathering since non-American Indians are participating" noted Denise Smith, co-director of the Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum in Bastian.  "A powwow is considered an all American Indian celebration.  But since the Native Americans are involved in this event, they insist for them it is a coming together of American Indian people for a powwow and they want to bring an understanding of their people and culture to our community."

Since ancient times, the Green Corn Festival was a celebration of renewal.  It was a festival of thanksgiving for the survival of the past year and for the renewal of Earth's bounty and growth again.

The Master of Ceremonies will be Ric Bird, Eastern Band Cherokee.  Host Drum will be Bird Chopper.  The home of Bird Chopper is Qualla Boundary.  It is better known as the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina.  The drum previously called "Blue Earth" (1975-1996) was renamed in honor of Ric Bird's Grandfather, Bird Chopper Bird.  There are 3 generations of the Bird family who continue the traditions of both drum and dance.  Bird Chopper Drum sings Northern and Southern songs and they also have their own Cherokee songs.  They were the first drum to introduce the Cherokee Flag Song to the Powwow circle.  Ric Bird - lead singer for Bird Chopper, is known professionally as "Ric Youngblood" "Cherokee Warrior"- professional Wrestler (1978-2005).  Before his retirement, Ric achieved four World Titles during his wrestling career.  Along with Ric, all of their singers are champion dancers- Fancy, Grass, Straight, Traditional and Hoop.  Lead male dancer will be Cody Wolf and lead female dancer will be Libby Wolf.

There will be a special appearance of the POW-MIA-KIA Traveling Memorial.  Veterans are considered warriors and are honored in the Veteran's Dance.  First responders, firemen and police also are honored as Warriors.  Bear Killer and Storm Eagle, father and son, will showcase a Cherokee history educational booth.  Storm Eagle will wear the 17th century Cherokee regalia and will explain the meaning of his clothing.

Darius "Absa-roke" and Julia "Ahwa-holeh" Brown Carter have a Native American Christian Ministry and will hold a prayer service on Sunday July27th.  He is a traditional dancer from the Midwest and she is an artist, graphic designer and traditional woman's dancer and storyteller.

There will be demonstrations, Native American arts and crafts, food and storytelling.

Festivities will begin Friday, July 25th, at noon, Grand Entry at 2 PM and continue until 7:30 PM.  The event will continue Saturday, July 26th, from 9 AM, Grand Entry at 10:30 and continue to 7:30.  Sunday will be from 11 AM to 5 PM.

Admission donation will be $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 4-16, under 4 will be admitted free.  Cost for Seniors and Veteran's will be $3.

The Wolf Creek Indian Village and Museum will welcome sponsors to help with the event.  Any donations will be used to help defray the cost of accommodations for the large group of guests.

For more information contact Denise Smith or Penny Plummer at 276-688-3438.

Photographs of some of the American Indian participants are available by request.

2008 Chautauqua Festival a Raving Success!

If you missed the 2008 Chautauqua Festival, you missed a "whoppin' good time"!  There were events for every age, beginning with the Hot Air Balloon Glow on the ground of Wytheville Community College the night of June 20th!  The festival wrapped up with a literal "BANG" as fireworks lit the night sky in a myriad of yellow, blue and green lights on June 28th.   The first day included the annual Chautauqua Parade and such entertainers as the magician, Joseph Young, the country crooning of Karen and Company, and the names don't get much bigger than the opening nights main entertainment.  Lorrie Morgan wooed the crowd with her southern drawl and flashy white smile, sticking around afterward for pictures with her fans. 

The second day offered the same level of excitement as The Riches took center stage with a gospel homecoming performance as The Servants.  The act was followed by outtakes of "Smokey Joe's Cafe", performed by the Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatre troupe.  The closing act for the evening was the Wytheville Community College Band, and as expected, they did not disappoint.  The day included visits by "Becki the Balloon Lady", Wilusz, accordian artist, and David Smith, lariat artist extraordinaire.  All three entertainers performed their acts to the joy of the crowds throughout the week and offered entertainment to those brave enough to weather the brief afternoon thundershowers.

Days three and four had such musical acts as Moonshine Mafia, the amazing young Irish musicians, The Hunt Family Fiddlers and Ron Johnson, Ventriliquist, with his cast of comedic puppets.  There wasn't an empty seat in the park when Leggz, a tribute to Neil Diamond and Elvis Presley, hit the stage.  Young and old fans alike joined the band in song and dance, enjoying the band's crowd interaction. And of course, no one will forget the awesome sounds of bluegrass that filled the night air on day five.  The Cana Ramblers and Dailey and Vincent entralled their listeners with much loved favorites and old-time goodies our grandparents loved and still delight today's generation!

Day six had a wide spectrum of enjoyment, expecially for those of you who  like to be spooked and scared!  If fright is your cup of tea, you should have been at the Haunted Storytelling!  And who doesn't enjoy a Motown and Vegas Show Band?  The TFC Band wowed their fans with their renditions of time old classics to modern motown favorites. 

On night seven, children of all ages, but especially the wee folks, adored the antics and magic of Captain Jim and sat enthralled with "The Tangle of Tales" as told by Grey Seal Puppets.  But the night had just begun as such awesome acts as Cynical and Bonepony took the stage and were followed by the upbeat sounds of 80'z Enuff.

You would think those acts would be hard to follow but the last night of Chautauqua did not disappoint.  No one can help but tap their toes to the legendary sounds of America's Favorite Rock and Roll Comedy Show, The Legends.  The night that so many Wytheville natives waited for all winter long, as exciting as expected, was the sounds of beach music that flowed out of  Elizabeth Brown Park as the sky lit up with fireworks to mark the end of another great year at Wytheville's Chautauqua Festival!

 

The attendees of this years Festival and the Town of Wytheville want to say "Thank you and Kudos" to the Wythe County Arts Council, Ltd.  for a job well done!  They truly outdid themselves this year and are deserving of special notice. 

As with every year, the contests were a huge success!  Everyone did such a fine job on their entries, be it a float for the parade or a thick pot of steaming chili. We want to recognize the efforts of each contestant and a hearty congratulations to the winners!