Beards, beards and more beards! Facial hair in the Pepper!

This time I have blogged on beards...... yes,  facial hair.  That is what this blog is all about....GWABs(guys with a beard). It seems to me that there certainly are more beards now than at any other time in my life.  I think they are a bit like tattoos.... when I was around 20 a beard was a statement of lifestyle (hippy) or protest (anti war) in many cases.  Not too many "mainstream" guys were walking around with beards.  Much like with tattoos, at that time there was a bit of a stigma, but one that the hair wearer (I love that term... nice rhyme) was happy to live with.

Check this picture of me quickly because you won't see it again.  I have had a beard three times in my life and the picture above shows the latest and last beard I will ever have.... 2011.  I just had surgery on my cheek and neck and could not shave for a while so I grew the beard.  In all due respect to some of the guys below..... I have never understood why you would grow a beard of gray or white that makes you look older.  I look old enough as it is. 

Now it seems  at least every third guy sports a beard.  One young man told me:  "Having a beard is like a deer having antlers, the bigger it is the more of a man you are."  Well, obviously 90 percent of the beard guys would disagree, because they are steady groomers who  keep the size under control and wear a beard as a matter of fashion.  However, it seems like almost everyone has one....I mean people from all walks of life, ages and professions.  In this blog I  feature samples from the Pepper.  I am not planning to go into depth about who these people are, just briefly their name and what they do....although there may be an exception or two. 

Just a comment on getting these pictures:  I have mentioned before that it is not the easiest thing in the world to get people to stand while I take my pictures.  I have found that most women will let me take their picture if they think their hair looks ok.... if not they will turn me down for that reason.  Now I am a confident guy, but there are a lot of men who look stern and unapproachable.  A few men have turned  me down politely because they just don't want to and a couple have even just brusquely said, "no" and walked away.  Others will say that they don't like their picture taken because they don't want anyone to know who they are and I  even had a guy run from me, yelling back over his shoulder than he had three warrants for his arrest out on him.  Sooooooooooooo   when I decided to do this "beard blog"  I expected a lot of rejection.  I thought and thought about how to approach these bearded beasts.  I hit on this:  I simply walked up to them and said, "Can I talk to you for a minute about your beard?"  Almost every man became friendly and let me shoot a picture or five which I always do.  They love this facial hair.... no doubt and are pleased to chat about it. 

 

Enough chatter.....Here we go.....showing that all types of guys are bearded (young/old and rich/poor), have all kinds of occupations, and their beards come in all shapes and sizes.

 

PLUMBER.... This is Ed Reno.  He was the  first bearded guy that I  shot.  I saw him walking into LOWES and stopped my car and tracked him down.  I was 90% sure he would not let me take his picture, because he looks like the rugged individual that you so often see around Culpeper and those guys  occasionally don't want their picture taken, but he just said,  "Shoot away!" Ed informed me that his dad had been a plumber and that he is too.  His wife, Diane who was with him, was a real sweetheart,  I really enjoyed these guys.

 

 

  

MOTORCYLE CUSTOMIZING SHOP OWNER...  Shane Hull.  I almost never put the same person in more than one of my blogs, but I am making an exception for Shane.  He is featured in my last blog for the shop he owns,  but he is also a GWAB (guy with a beard) and so here he is!

 

 

 

LOWES EMPLOYEE.... This is Aristotle Kastrinos and he has worked at Lowes for 9 years and tells me that he is in a very serious relationship. 

 

 

 

FATHER....This is Brian Palmer and he has a very different beard from the others... so far.  He is my friend and has a very cute young family.  I know he works, but as far as I am concerned, he is a dad!

 

 

 

MECHANIC.... I ran into David Milbourne and his family in Food Lion.  He told me that he has been a mechanic his "whole life."

 

 

 

SCHOOL TEACHER.... Bill Davidson is a school teacher for Fauquier County Schools and lives in Culpeper.  He has been nominated for "Teacher of the Year"  in the high school where he works. 

 

 

 

 

RETIRED GOVERNMENT WORKER.... Anthony Thompson has lived in the Pepper for the last 16 years.  He spent the last few years of his work life commuting to Ft. Belvoir..whew!

 

 

 

PRIVATE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR.... Shane Jefferies and his wife and two kids moved to Culpeper in the last few years. 

 

 ASSISTANT STORE MANAGER AT FOOD LION.....Paul Anderson.   I have decided that the two best places to find men with beards in Culpeper are Lowe's  and Food Lion.

 

 

 

 CO OWNER OF HARRIET'S GENERAL STORE.... Arie Shrewsbury.

 

 



 



ABC CLERK....  Nathan Rivas who may just be the winner of the thickest beard contest.  He says his beard is a point of pride.

 

 

 

MARKET MANAGER FOR FOOD LION.... Larry Brown.  Larry  says he grew his beard to keep warm.





 

 





HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT..... Nate Lake is still in school and just 18, but he can grow a heck of a beard!

 

 

REMODELING AND HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING GUY.... Michael Ankrom sports one of the smallest beards....that takes a lot of clipping....or maybe not.

 

 

 

RETAIL MANAGER.... Tom Johnson

 





 

 

RETIRED WATER AND SEWER SUPERINTENDENT....  Don Echols

 

 

 

RETIRED TRUCK DRIVER.... William Holmes Sr.

 

 

 

UNDECIDED.... Robert Bradford

 

 

 

SANTA CLAUS!!.... Mike Lawson.  He really is Santa Claus at Christmas time.  He also teaches Medical Education and Training. 

 

 

COOK AT DENNY'S.... Ryan Moore

 

 



GENERAL LANDSCAPER AND TREE GUY....  Dan Jenkins.  I have to comment .... I saw this stern looking guy sitting in his well worn pickup and thought that he might be a tough nut to crack.  As it turned out Dan may have been the nicest guy of any I shot for this.

 

 

CORRECTIONS OFFICER.... Peter Smith.  This guy is a KISS fan extrodinaire.  Most of the skin he has showing (and some that is not) has tattoos with a KISS theme.  When I post my next tattoo blog you will see many of the tats. 

 

 

PROFESSIONAL DETAILER.... Bernard Settle III

 

 

 



SURFACE BLASTER (dynamite) AND DRILL OPERATOR.... Eric Kidd.  What a cool guy!  He has a broken thumb that is still in a small cast (almost through with casts).  I had my thumb joint replaced a couple of years ago and so we had hand casts and painful rehab to share and talk about.  It makes me cringe because I am not too far from needing the joint replaced on the other thumb.  If the people I shoot give me an email address I send them a copy of the picture.  Of all the people that I shot for this, he is the only one to reply with a brief "thank you" note.....AND the only man ever to do that!  I am impressed.

 

 





 RADIO SHACK SALES ASSOCIATE..... Howard Jefferson

 

 

 

PLANT MANAGER OF TANOM MOTORS ....  This is Chris Hall sporting a tightly trimmed beard.  I have to digress from just beards on this one.  Chris is managing something that I am excited about.  Tamon Motors is about to open its national plant right here in Culpeper.  Watch for their product announcement.  Their  operation here in town will employ about 300 people. Shortly I will feature them in my "Snapshot of Culpeper."

 

 

 



ELECTRICAL ENGINEER FOR TANOM MOTORS.... Terry Holloway

 

 

 

 

ROAD PAVER.... George Smith.  George told me that he first grew his  beard in high school and has never been without it since.  In fact, he said,  "my face has never felt a razor."



 

 

FARM MANAGERS, MONTERRIAN FARMS.... Amazingly this is a father/son team.  When I saw the father in the parking lot at Target I knew I had struck gold for my blog on beards.  His is a face with a lot of character.  However, when I approached him, his son stepped out of the pickup truck and I knew I had stumbled on one of the key pictures for this blog.  This is Joe (father) and Josh (son) Keys.  Nice guys.  Oh, and you can forget any ZZ Top references....I tried it and they have started to grow a bit tired of it.  By the way, both of them say that they have never shaved.  Like father, like son.

 

 































SUBSTITUTE TEACHER APPLICANT....  From one extreme to another......  Jared Brumfield asked "Who doesn't have a beard?"  Of course the obvious answer is (inspite of my picture at the top of this blog): ME!!!!!

 

 

 





CRAFTSMAN...... Seth Plaster with Plaster Family Furniture.  When I asked Seth's wife what "craftsman" meant in Seth's case, she told me that he hand makes amazing custom furniture.

 

 

 

PROPERTY MANAGER, CAR WASH.... Junior Baker.  Junior was not too sure about having his picture taken, but once again, this guy has so much character in his face and I am glad he let me take the shot.

 

 

 

SERVICE ADVISORS BATTLEFIELD CHEVROLET.... Patrick Coppage and Robby Allen.  Robby had been helping me with my still amazing 2004 Trailblazer (ten years and absolutely no trouble) and so I talked him into letting me take a picture of his face and beard for this blog.  That office had been all business until we started on beards and these guys became a riot.  I had to get these two friends together showing off their  beards.  Fun guys!  It turns out that Patrick had a "Duck Dynasty" beard until a few weeks ago.  It seems like a lot of guys are trimming those down because I ran into more than my share of guys who said something like:  "You should have seen it two weeks ago."  That's called a near miss.

 

 

 



GROCERY MANAGER.... James Robertson.  Food Lion is a great place to meet guys with beards.  I was told several times that, "You need to see James, he has one of those 'Duck Dynasty' beards."  So I went back three times before I caught him and lo and behold he was one of the guys I just mentioned who had recently done a trimming.  Still a great beard!  He was just a little "freaked out" with me taking his picture, but he gave me a good one.

 

 



 SALES ASSOCIATE AT LOWES..... goes by "Wink."  I don't know about the wink part, but he sure has a twinkle in his eyes.

 

 

 

RETIRED PLASTICS WORKER AND HANDIMAN......OH, MY GOSH!!!!! I DID NOT WRITE HIS NAME DOWN!!!!   I  remember this, though...he told me that his beard was a winter thing that when summer comes he shaves his beard and his  head!  Sooo if you see a guy who looks like this only without a beard, hat and hair... you may want  to tell him that I didn't get his name.  :)

A reader gave me his name....Richard Pierce!  Glad to have it and a big thanks!!!

 

 

DRYWALL MAN (THE KIND ON STILTS) AND OWNER OF RENTAL PROPERTIES....  Floyd Miller.

 

 

Whew.... that is a lot of GWABS.  Once I started looking for this kind of guy, it seemed like I could not stop.  Now everywhere I go I see great beards on guys that I want to get in a picture.  I had so many interesting conversations with a ton of men AND only one turned me down..... only one!  This was such a good opportunity to meet people (yep! people... lots of these guys were accompanied by a woman)  that I would never have a chance to talk with.  I can tell you this.... there will be a part two.  I am finishing up a part three on tattoos and next winter will  do a new blog on beards.  Young, old and in between and again representing all walks of life right here in the Pepper.

 

There is just one beard left that I could not do a "beard blog" without......

MY GRAND FINALE....  TAH DAH!!!!! 

 

 

LAWYER..... Matthew Crowley is not only an attorney in Culpeper, but in my opinion he is the best attorney in the Pepper.  I might be just a little biased because he is my son, but...... it is my blog!!

 

 

OK... that is it for this time.  This has been a lot of fun.  I hope you enjoyed it.  You can always join up to be a "follower" of this blog.  Be sure to tell the guys you saw in here that you know, that they looked like a rock star..... even if they didn't. 

 

Don't forget to check out my weekly contribution to the Culpeper Times called , "Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper."

 

 

















Snow.....finally a big one in the Pepper!

 

 

 

Three years ago in September I bought a new shiny sleigh for my grandkids to use on our hill in the snow.  Because we have had so little snow, in that time they have ridden it maybe.....twice.  Finally some serious snow!  I know it is disruptive for so many people, but I am retired and have the luxury of just enjoying the it.  I started this blog in December, but I am beginning with a picture I took today (February 13) because it is a nice winter shot.  Then I jump back to earlier in the winter.  Once again I am featuring some really nice people.  Let's get at it!!

Yeah, snow! 

Earlier this morning I looked out my upstairs window and saw this man shoveling the snow in his driveway.  About every fifth shovelful he would toss on one of his kids.  It looked so fun and made me lonesome for the time that my children were that small.  I walked up the street (I had forgotten how demanding it is to walk in deep snow) to meet this good dad and to get a picture.  He was willing to stop for a minute and chat.  This is Brandon Miller and he has the important job of being an air traffic controller.  He and his wife have three children.

 

 

 

 

Let's go back a ways.

This is our town and we are proud of it!  The city installed these new signs on all of the major entrance roads into the city.   Pretty nice.  I asked my friend, Amanda Mason to brighten the signs up by standing next to this one on Business 29.  Amanda is the mother of two and is married to Aaron.  She is an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher in Fauquier County Schools.   I think that is a tough job and oh so important if we are going to successfully integrate all of the students who are coming to the United States from the various non English speaking countries.

 

 

 

My son and daughter in law had given us a gift certificate for "It's About Thyme" which is arguably the best known restaurant in Culpeper.  We had decided to go to lunch and were standing on the curb discussing whether to go to the restaurant or the deli when this nice gentleman came out of the restaurant and encouraged us to "come on in."  So we did and after a brief wait, since it was full, had a great lunch.  He checked with us several times to see how things were going.  On his last visit to our table I asked him if he was the manager......duh!  He told me that he "sort of" was the manager.  I am probably only one of ten people in this town that did not know that he is the owner of the restaurant, the deli and Copper Fish.  His restaurants have brought much acclaim to our town.  While I was commuting to Fairfax to work, lots of people told me that they came to the Pepper just to eat at his restaurants.  Now I am one of the people who knows the very well known  face of John Yarnall. 

 

 

During the last couple of years, I have had the pleasure  to get to know Mellissa Reynolds.  She is a doctor here in Culpeper and judging by the award she has won.... a darn good one.  Dr. Reynolds was awarded the Hamid A. Hadi M.D. Award of Excellence in Maternal Fetal Medicine.  Melissa grew up in Maryland and West Virginia.  She joined Blue Ridge OBGYN in 2011.  She is an interesting lady and says that she came to our town with, "a desire to care for the women of Culpeper."  I heard a rumor that she is getting married this year.  Stay tuned.............

I was driving past Wine St. Memorial Park the other day and noticed someone sitting on a park bench reading a magazine.  That's not so unusual unless it is 25 degrees outside, which it was.  You know me, I made a quick turn, grabbed my camera and went to meet her.  What a neat lady!  When I told her my name, she right away commented that she always looks for my "snapshot" in the Times.....big points right there!  She was at the park with her dog, Sophie, and since no one else was there Sophie could romp and have a great time while she enjoyed reading and the beauty of nature.  Her name is Susan Werner and she is a local Pediatrician. She sure seemed to have the personality for that work.  She was interesting to talk to, but I was freezing............

Just before Christmas my wife and I took friends who were visiting from Colorado shopping in the downtown  area.  One of our stops was at Pepperberries and our wives had a great time shopping while we husbands chatted.  The sales woman above, Sheila Lyles, came over to me rather secretly to tell me that my wife had admired a certain necklace if I wanted to consider it for a Christmas gift.  I needed one more gift and so came back the next day to buy it.  I really appreciated Sheila giving me the hint.  She moved to our area in 2003 and along with her husband have three daughters and 5 grandchildren. 

 

 

 

I noticed that a new shop had opened on the corner of Main Street and 522.  It has the intriguing name of "Custom Rocketz"  and has really hot looking motorcycles in the window.  I went for a visit.   I was greeted by Shane and Mary Hull who own the place.  This is a specialty shop that customizes the motorcycles that everyone refers to as "Rockets."   I wondered aloud if there were enough of these bikes in Culpeper to justify this kind of facility.  Shane told me that they service the entire East Coast and that even though they had been open less than a week, they had been contacted by a guy in Florida to work on his machine.  That, my friends, is the power of social media in spreading the word.  I wish these guys the best, they certainly were friendly and patient in explaining things to me.

 

 

 

I was at the car wash on Sperryville Pike when I ran into (figuratively speaking) Jenny Ventura.  First..... what a cute personality she has!  She was getting ready to pull her mud covered jeep into the wash when I intervened and asked if I could shoot her with her vehicle.  I thought it was a perfect example (although maybe extreme) of what has been happening to our cars and trucks this winter.

She was a bit embarrassed because of the condition with  all the mud, although she had recently been out to a friend's farm and had blasted through some serious mud holes.  The way I look at that is; why have a jeep if you are not going to put it through its paces once in a while?  Jenny is a mom and is the shop manager at Shear Artistry. 

 

 

These signs are all over the downtown area.  I agree with the message and hope all of us can support our local merchants.

I know, I know..... I have never featured a picture of myself in my "Faces" blog, but my wife took this picture and I couldn't resist slipping myself in here.  This deserves an explanation.  I have mentioned several times that I was born and raised in Idaho.  Although I have lived in Virginia much longer than I lived there, my roots run deep.  One thing that I am fanatic about is getting Idaho potatoes.  The difference between a good Idaho potato and one from anywhere else is the difference between hamburger and steak.  However......... they are not so easy to get.  The one place that I know of is a market in Falls Church.  So yesterday while my wife was at the Dr. in Centreville, I drove clear down to Devonshire Street in Falls Church and picked up 20 pounds.  You can see that I am one happy guy.  It's like having money in the bank!


MARCH 3, 2014!!

I am going to end as I began with a picture from the "big snow."  This is a neighbor, Chantel  Brausen who got dressed up and headed out for cross country skiing.




WAIT!!!!   THERE'S MORE!!!!!

Just as I thought we were through with old man winter and snow... March 3rd rolled around and look what happened.  The picture above was taken at 10 am.  It was 18 degrees!!!!  When was the last time you saw Davis Street empty like this?

A guy snow blowing on the same street.

 

 

If you look closely here you can see the snow falling and blowing.

 

OK!

 

MARCH 17TH , 2014
ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!

 photo by Andrea Crowley

 

That's it for right now.  Just a reminder to keep a look out for my feature in the Culpeper Times

called "Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper."  It is now a permanent feature and will always appear on page A2 in the upper left hand corner. 

 

 



 

Christmas in Culpeper....in brief.

                CHRISTMAS IN CULPEPER, VA ..... IN BRIEF                

FACES OF CULPEPER

 

 

 This year has seemingly been a banner year in Culpeper.  The outward appearances are that lots of people are shopping and the economy is on the upswing.  Spirits seem to be high.  However,  I spent very little of the actual Christmas season here in town and so my Christmas blog is briefer than usual.

One of my sons lives in Fresno, California and so we flew out of Charlottesville on December 4th to spend about ten days before we continued on to Salt Lake City to help celebrate my mother in law's 90 birthday.  When we are in Fresno in December we have a Christmas dinner with that part of the family and open our gifts to them.  We were busy busy on that trip......  AND it was cold!  Even Fresno, which would normally be in the 60s was in the 20s and 30s and believe me....the people there are not equipped with winter clothes....especially my grandkids.  In Utah it was 8 and 12 degrees some of the nights and the highs were in the 20s.   But we had a great time, especially with the four grandkids in Fresno.  I can't seem to get enough of them.   We were not back until after 10 pm on December 18th and then there was a lot to do before Christmas.  So we missed out on the great December blizzard in Culpeper....or not so great a blizzard.  But I understand there was enough snow for kids to ride down the hill behind our house. We had last minute shopping, but not much.  Then we had our other two sons and their families over for what has become a traditional early Christmas Eve dinner.  We had a great time!  Andrea, my wife, works so hard to see that everyone has a good time and a great meal (along with major contributions of the daughters in law).  Anyway.... not much time for picture taking for this blog, but what I have I will share. 

SO LET'S GET TO IT!!!!

 

 

                                                                              

 

 

                                                        

 

So that is how that happens!

 

So that's how that happens!  Since I have moved to Culpeper, one of the things I enjoy the most is the decorating of the downtown area for various holidays or seasons.  Our downtown looks so nice.....and it is as if by magic.  One day I drive through town and everything looks normal and the next day, voila...beautiful decorations.  They especially grab me at Christmas time.  I have wondered how they seem to just, poof,  appear.  I have long suspected Santa's elves, but now I know the truth.  It is the city workers (i.e. Santa's elves) who make our town so lovely.  Thanks, guys!

 

 

Thanksgiving wasn't even over when I realized that Christmas was just around the corner and I better be getting some Christmas "snapshots."  This is such a great time to go to the downtown area and just walk around and browse.  Of course it is also a great time to buy with all of the very special stores that we have there.  My wife and I went into the store that is called, "Found" and "My Secret Stash"  and found a cornucopia of candy and Christmas treats with lots of free samples.  It was all soooo tasty that we just had to make a purchase. These two ladies helped and encouraged us.  I think it is obvious that they have sparkling personalities to go with all the amazing treats available in the store. They are: Katie Silata who is a mom of three and Ana Rodriguez who began working there recently.  Drop in and see them... you won't be sorry.



 We were in Cameleer looking for a Christmas elf when I noticed this young lady checking out tree ornaments.  I could not resist taking her picture and she graciously obliged.  In chatting with her I discovered that she is a school teacher.  If you have followed my blog or my "snapshots" then you know that I have a real soft spot for teachers.  We moved to Culpeper after I retired from public education in Fairfax County.  This is Emily Wolfford and she teaches at Culpeper Middle School.  She is originally from Pennsylvania 

 

 

 

 

On my Christmas visit to the downtown area, I stopped at Harriet's General Store which I quickly discovered is one of the most eclectic and special of the cool stores in our town.  Harriet's has to be experienced.  I found a really neat glider plane that quickly took me back to my youth and that I had to buy to share with my three year old grandson.  At Thanksgiving I learned that everyone from three to fifty three wanted a turn with this glider...some even asked it I would get them one for Christmas. So we got two.   What a hit! Here is Arie Shrewsbury who along with his wife, Kate, own the store. He is standing near a very creative Christmas display and holding....ta dah!.....THE GLIDER.

 

 

 

This is a feel good story.  This house is owned by a gentleman named Tony who is originally from the Philippines and it is pretty spectacular.  In my opinion it is the best decorated house in Culpeper.  It has a very impressive light and sound show that is run by computer through a program  Tony made.  He has the sound broadcast so that it will play through the radios of cars that are passing by if the just dial 107.1.  The lights are synchronized with the sound.  It is so fun!  When Tony first came here he found that wanted to provide a gift for his kids and all the other kids in Culpeper.  He has done that and then some.  Tony is a Registered Respiratory Therapist and is here with two of his three sons, Carlos and Christopher.  They live on Belle Avenue right at the top of the hill.....can't miss it.

Footnote:  I feel very bad about this picture.  I had asked to have it published in my Culpeper Times piece called, "Rich Crowley's Snapshots of Culpeper" on the 19th.  While I was out of town there was some confusion and it ran the week after Christmas instead of before.  Anyway, be sure to catch this display. 


So, there we go....short and sweet.  It is such a great season of the year and it gave me the opportunity to meet more Culpeperites who are really really cool.  I hope that your season was a good one and will close here with a final:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

FACES, FACES, FACES OF CULPEPER!!!

 

 

 

It seems like such a short time ago that I started doing my "Faces of Culpeper" blog.  In actuality it is well over three and a half years since my first one.  Conservatively, I estimate that I have featured over five hundred faces in this blog.  I have only repeated two faces that I know of.  That's quite a few "peperheads" that have been in my photos in this space.  The "Snapshots of Culpeper"  in the Culpeper Times is younger but still is a bit over three years old.  Soooo....come February I will have completed my fourth year of this blog.... time flies.    I have slowed down on the number of blogs but not on the great faces in each one. 

 

Let's get on with it.

 

 

 

Let's start this edition with local artist Beau Curtis who can be found all over town drawing and painting.  He also goes on the road to other areas.  In addition to selling those works he has already completed he accepts commissions for personalized work.  He may be emailed at     Greywolf32105@Yahoo.com

 

 

 

I received an invitation to visit Cornucopia Volunteer Farm Foundation which is located on Cherry Hill Road.  This is a project to "plant, maintain, and harvest fresh produce and proteins for the hungry in Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock counties" and is managed by Chuck Jackson.  This organization is supported by the donations of individuals, churches, groups and grants.  Here are some volunteers in action.  They are: Lindsey Dolan, Michael Watts (local veterinarian), Emily Watts (recently enrolled in Va Tech studying Agriculture) and Rebecca Watts.  The two youngest girls are students at Epiphany Catholic School.   

 

 

 

 

                                                                  

I stopped in to the Chrysalis Counseling Center the other day.  I had been planning to do it for some time, but just hadn't.....no good reason....just hadn't.  For about four years since I moved here I had been distressed by the terrible condition of the building that was to become this counseling center.  I remember reading in the Star Exponent that someone named Elsie A. Stevenson had purchased the building and I was hopeful that she would improve it....at least a little.  Wow!  Were my expectations ever low.  She made it into a showpiece and improved Culpeper at great deal with the renovation that I could see that she had done.  It was not, however, until I went inside that I experienced the true beauty of the transformation.  The inside of the building, in my opinion, is spectacular!  The big plus to our community is that Chrysalis can provide the counseling and therapy that many in our community are in need of.  Elise is impressive and engaging.  I had fun talking to her.  I supervised the 700 plus school counselors in Fairfax County Public Schools and so my heart is with mental help services.  Now I see that they have taken over the car dealership building plus another building in the back.  This program is on the move and we are the winners!

 

 

 

This is Eric Moon.  He is my next door neighbor along with his family.  He is the manager of the Mosby Meadow Market which is his family business.  It is a very nice convenience store and is located on Rixeyville Road directly across from the roller skating rink.  One of their claims to fame is that they sold a million dollar Powerball ticket....... but not to me!  Dang, it!!!

 

 

 

 

I have noted several times that we have several interesting older men in Culpeper.  It will not be too long before I will join their ranks......well, I hope it will be several years, but anyway, this guy is one of them.  He is Steve Sabol and I stopped him in Walmart for a chat concerning his tattoos.  Right away he said they were "the most foolish thing I have ever done!"  I found out that Steve was a navy vet and that he served from 1951 until 1970.  I hope he won't mind if I reveal at this point that he lied about his age so that he could enlist at age 17.  Steve is a life long resident of Culpeper.  I was checking on the tattoos because I am currently working on another blog on tattoos that people in Culpeper have.  Steve has the variety of tattoos that servicemen wore "in the day."  At that time tattoos were not common, but were often worn by our warriors.  One of his says, "Death Before Dishonor."  The other one is an eagle.  He is a really interesting and upbeat guy.  It was my pleasure to have met him.  Sometimes I just get lucky.  He will also be in my tattoo blog which I will post sometime soon. 

 

 

It seems like the signs are everywhere that Culpeper is growing and the economy is recovering.  Sports Authority is a well known national store that just opened a store next to TJMAXX.  They had a gala grand opening and had lots of people came to check what they had to offer.  It is a nice large store with lots of interesting sports related merchandise.  I think this could be a big deal for Culpeper....I hope so.  This is the manager Ben Hoskyn who moved here from Virginia Beach to run the store. 

 

 

It is the season for mums, mums and more mums!  It seems that almost every store I go into is selling them this year.  We bought three huge plants this fall....beautiful yellow plants.  Two for our front porch and one for our deck.  I even bought a normal size mum for the flower garden that I made just this year.  This is Laura Allen.  I met her when we stopped by the Shenandoah Garden Spot to check out their excellent selection of.....you guessed it.....mums!   I only spoke with her briefly, but she was a most upbeat lady. I learned that she moved to Culpeper from Maine about six years ago.  She recently joined the staff at Shenandoah Garden Spot.

 

 

 Halloween is just a great time of year.  Every day....often several times a day....I drive past the "pumpkin patch" on the corner of 29 and Ira Hoffman.  What a cool place....especially for kids.  In addition to hundreds of pumpkins, they have treats and recreation items.....in particular a bounce house.  I stopped by and found this cute family schooling their baby early on the fine art of pumpkin purchasing.  The dad is Gordon Mackison and he is a fire fighter.  Mom is Cheyenne Fowler and she is a medical assistant at Medical Express.  Grandpa is David Fowler and he is a park policeman.  Baby is Paige Mackison and she is...well....a baby!

 

 

 

 There are so many great things that happen in Culpeper that I am not aware of....and I'll bet that I am not the only one lacking in certain awareness.  For example:  I had no idea that there is a group in Culpeper called, The Early Childhood Work Group which is a part of Healthy Culpeper.  Yep, there is such a group and I spoke with Tracey Forloines who has the title of coach with the Work Group.  They were having an information activity in Yowell Meadow Park on Saturday.  They were encouraging, "Community awareness for the citizens to know about resources for kids."  Right there at their program were these three, Sergeant Jeff Dodson of the Culpeper Police Dept., McGruff (really explorer police cadet Rebecca Hilmick) and explorer police cadet Marcus Tyler.

 

 

I have noted a couple of times in this blog that I love the reality shows that deal with restoring  older cars.  I saw this 1977 Chevrolet El Camino in the parking lot at LOWES and had to feature it in my blog.  The first thing that hit me was how long it is. I looked up the dimensions and it is 216 inches long. That is 18 feet, if my math is correct!  Dats long!!!!  I had a 1977 Ford station wagon when my family was young and it seemed extra long to me so I looked up the length of that wagon vs. this car (pickup...whatever...it is a hybrid).  My wagon was long....225 inches which is roughly 18 and 1/2 feet!  That was the last year that the American car companies made those behemoths, but they are sooo fun to look at and remember. Before I asked this guy whose name is Doug Furr if I could take a picture of him with his car, I watched him for a few minutes.  He walked around the car a couple of times and would touch it here and there and brush it with his hand.....he loves this vehicle.  He has been restoring it for a while and is getting close to completion.  I think it is beautiful!!!!  Doug is a retired guy who has lived in Culpeper for the last ten years.  He worked for 43 years at Shoppers Food Warehouse!

 

Well, that is going to wrap up this edition of "Faces of Culpeper."  Hope you enjoyed seeing our citizens and sometimes even learning about them.  If you would like to you may write to me at:

 

facesofculpeper@gmail.com

 

Be sure to check out my weekly contribution to the Culpeper Times,  "Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper."