Relic on the Lethe

I was invited to speak at the event unveiling a new historical plaque concerning the Conrad House and the door at the Joint Judicial Center on Friday (part of why the blog has been fairly quiet recently). The presentation will be printed in an upcoming version of the Journal. As usual, I took some questions from the audience at the end of my lecture. That's always a good way to see what I might have overlooked in my first pass through a topic. While I don't know if anyone at the presentation who asked questions will follow up with my blog, here are a few answers to their questions (and others).  Due to the more recent nature of many of the questions and heavy reliance on the Winchester Star, you may need to have your Handley Regional Library card barcode handy and create a free account at newspaperarchive.com to access the full articles linked here. The Property Layout: The property consisted of four lots in total originally: two faced Cameron Street, and two faced Kent Street,...

While perusing through the first issue of the Morning News-Item, there was a notice about a Mr. Dooley visiting Winchester and his thoughts on the town. Breaking news pushed the item to the following day, December 4, 1906 . Not being familiar with who this Mr. Dooley might be but curious to get his impression of the town, I read on for a snapshot of Winchester at the end of 1906. Mr. Dooley and Mr. Hennessy on Their Way to Work, 1907, The New York Times.Reprinted in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Feb. 17, 1907 . Our plucky reporter seems to have caught up with Mr. Dooley on the corner of North Loudoun and Piccadilly streets, where Mr. Dooley had spent the night at the Hotel Evans , now demolished. He was "contemplating the beauties of the Shenandoah Valley National Bank ," located across Piccadilly Street from the hotel, which still exists. The reporter quizzes Mr. Dooley on his experiences in town so far, and we can glean he "walked from me father George Washington Dooley...

Spring is in the air, the plants are flowering, and life is returning...including the pesky insect kind. It's a struggle as old as time for humans to repel insects, and the home is one area of special concern. No one wants to find bugs chilling in their kitchen or climbing in bed with them at night. In addition to squeezing through cracks and under gaps in doors, windows are a traditional entry point for insects into the house. Until about 150 years ago, there was not a good way to enjoy fresh air and keep the flying bugs from coming inside.  A failure in fly-paper , detail, from Puck, v. 16, no. 397 (October 15, 1884)   Window screens came into use after the Civil War, when wire mesh became easier and cheaper to manufacture. Despite the benefits, window screens were not universally hailed as savior of the summertime when houses would need to have the windows opened for ventilation. If you were not an early adopter of screens, what other method could you use to keep flies awa...

While perusing local news items in the July 16, 1896 Daily Item , several notes on construction projects and locations in Winchester jumped out. Let's see if we can track down where these building may be, and if they are still in existence. Miss Marie Wood, daughter of Col. Robt. C. Wood , of New Orleans, is the guest of her aunt, Mrs. B. T. Dandridge on Braddock street.  This was a well-known house that no longer stands. Mrs. B. T. Dandridge is Betty Taylor Dandridge , who acted as First Lady when her mother declined the role. The house, located at 116 N. Braddock St., was demolished in 1934, but several images of it are available at the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives . Mr. J. S. Haldeman, of the creamery on Kent street, received yesterday 5000 pounds of milk and manufactured 387 pounds of butter.  One of Haldeman's buildings still stands at 21-25 South Kent St. ( another building in the complex was demolished to provide parking). Although much altered by later uses, the buildi...