Cold Cold Culpeper

 

Brrrrrr!  I noted in my last blog that we had gone a long time without any really cold weather.  I like cold weather..... at least for a while.  It must be because I grew up in cold cold Idaho.  Anyway, we ended up getting plenty of cold....even for me.  When it is cold outside it is a lot harder for me to find people to photograph because they are just not hanging around outside.  There are places I know that will always have people regardless of the weather, but not many.  They tend to be stores and restaurants.....IHop, Chick Fila, McDonalds, Walmart, Martins etc.  However, next time that you are at one of those places in the winter observe what the people do.  If they can, they stay in their car.  If they venture out of the car they do it at high speed or at least at "their" highest speed.   If a guy like me says, "Excuse me, can we talk for a second?"  they look at me like I just escaped from the Looney Bin and they double time it out of there.  There is no doubt that it is easier to get pictures in warmer weather. 

 

Let's see who the champions are who stopped for a second and waited for a picture.  Trust me....they represent a minority.

 

 

 

I really had an exact idea of the picture that I wanted to start this blog on the cold weather.  I watched for several days for the right person with no luck.  I was looking for a woman with a fur lined hood or a stocking cap and a scarf who could smile in spite of the cold.  Then I found Amanda  Halsey and she was perfect!  She is not only a cutie but very conversant.  Amanda lives in the Pepper, but commutes to Charlottesville to attend Piedmont Virginia Community College.  She has not definitely tied down her career yet, but says it will be either in the medical field or in criminal justice.

 

 

Last summer on a day that was 100 degrees I went out to take pictures of those brave souls who were out working or playing or ....... whatever when the heat was blistering.  I found quite a few interesting people that day.  Soooooo......on a day when it was 20 degrees I decided that I would go see who

was out and about when it was way below freezing.  They were not so easy to find.  The first group I saw was a group of men working on the power lines by Wendy's.  I discovered that not one of those guys lived in or even near Culpeper so they didn't work for this blog and other than those guys the town looked fairly deserted.  Then I saw a lady dressed in a white coat, Claudi Wade, and I had my first brave soul of the day. 

 

One of the things that has surprised me just little is how many people who live in Culpeper have fairly recently come from other countries.  Claudie and her husband had lived a few different places in our general area for the last two years.  Before that Claudie was living just outside of Paris, France.  To prove it, she has a delightful accent.  I asked her what the hardest adjustment from Paris to the Pepper was and she told me that there was not as much entertainment here.  No kidding!!  From one of the most exciting cities in the world to such a quiet town is quite a leap.  However, she was not complaining and is enjoying living here.....she loves her new house.  Oh....you can meet her where she works....TJMaxx. 

 

 

I moved on looking for those out braving the 20 degree temperature.  Did I mention that the wind was blowing which made it even colder?  The truth is that there were very few men out in this weather and even the women were all clustering around stores....such as Martins.   I am generally pretty bold and/or positive about approaching people for pictures.  However, on this particular day I had a hard time motivating myself to get people to stand out in the cold to talk to me.  I developed the approach of asking people on the way into Martins if I could photograph them for this blog and then walking into the store with them and talking by the rows of carts.  It turned out that that did not really work all that well.  So back out in the parking lot I found Kevin Young who says that he "hates the cold" but it is part of his job to go out and get the carts that the shoppers have left in the parking lot.  He was a good sport, but even all wrapped up, he looks cold.

 

 

On the 20 degree day I learned that people from the Madison area come to Martins to shop.  I ran into two ladies in a row who were out in the cold.  They were both school teachers from Madison and had a free day because the schools had closed due to the threat of snow. This is Gail Wasalko and she teaches Spanish at Albemarle High School.

 

 

SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED FOR SNOW AND THERE IS NO SNOW....

I GET IT......I REALLY DO

Here is the buzz on closing schools for snow when there is no snow.  This is  for those who smugly say they would never close schools:  School officials are responsible for the safety of thousands of children and they make decisions from weather reports that are  generally very conservative in order to safeguard that safety.  They have to make a call that they know will be unpopular (doesn't matter which way they go.....it will be unpopular) but will protect the kids.  These decisions are no doubt the most second guessed decisions in the world.  All school systems in order to be fiscally prudent have to use their buses over and over each day for different grade levels. A decision to close the schools once they are in session takes hours to complete because all of one grade level has to be delivered home before the buses can go back for a second round and usually  that is repeated for a third round.  A lot can happen with the weather in three hours it takes from start to finish.  Besides that, there are hundreds of small narrow roads in Virginia that the buses have to traverse.  If these roads get bad it is very likely that a car will slide off and block the road or worse, a bus will slide off the road and injure students.  If you think people are upset when they have to keep their kids home you should see how they are if the kids are trapped at school.  One year when I was working in Fairfax County they decided to take a chance with the weather and have the kids go to school.  About ten o'clock it was obvious that the kids had to get home.  With snow getting heavy and traffic snarling, buses could not get in and out of one elementary school.  The children and staff were trapped in that building until 10 pm.  when enough roads were cleared to start getting the kids out.  Parents were absolutely beside themselves as you can imagine.  Far far better to close the schools and have no school than to have children injured....even one child....or to have a busload of kids off the road somewhere.  So, I really do get it....I hope you get it now.

 

 

Same day....another teacher at Martins.  This charmer is Liz Ford and she is also from Madison where she teaches Kindergarten at Graves Memorial School.  She is a mother of two girls.  There is something special about teachers.  These last two ladies gave me big smiles and chatted with me like it was balmy outside. 

 

 

BARELY ENOUGH SNOW

 

We have had very very little snow this winter and since it is now the end of February, the chances of significant snow are slim to none.  A couple of weeks ago, however, we had a brief but beautiful snow.  I watched out the window as these kids tried to sled and snowboard down the hill, but there just wasn't enough snow.  So they did the other thing that kids do in the snow....they built a fort....and a pretty good one. In the next three hours almost all of the snow melted, but the fort held firm.  The next day it was still looking good and as I submitted this picture to the Culpeper Times for my "Snapshots of Culpeper" feature.  I took some license and said that it lasted a week....and it would have except the next day they all came back a stomped it to smithereens.  That's another thing that kids do. 

 

 

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY

 

It seems that this year we have had a lot of cold rain.  On this day it was raining and was a cold 38 degrees.  Thirty eight may not seem so cold but when you add significant rain and wind  to that.....it is cold.  On February 26th I was wrapping up this blog but thought I needed a rain picture....probably someone under an umbrella because it is hard to see it raining in a photograph, but believe me it was raining quite hard. Lots of times I take a camera with me as I go about my business and take pictures for this blog if I happen to see something that appeals to me. Other times I specifically go out with the intent of finding new faces.  This was one of those times.  I thought about where people feel like they must go in spite of the weather and Pet Smart came to mind.  I went over to their parking lot and watched for my perfect candidate.  It was raining hard enough that I had to keep the wipers going.  It became clear right away that I had chosen the right place except everyone was running in and out.  I saw a man with a mustache come out with an animal carrier, but I could not grab my camera and get out before he was in his car and pulling away.  Then came a cute family....I think there were five of them and all but the dad had multi colored hoodies, but they really moved.  Then I saw just the perfect guy.  He strolled out of the store like there was no rain.....a perfect manly man.  He had two heavy bags on his shoulder and looked the kind of fit that comes  from  workin  physically.  I told him who I was etc.  and he was very accommodating.  I took my shot and then had him climb in his car while I got the info.  This is Jeff Woodall and he is a horse trainer.  He lives just outside of town with his girlfriend and her daughters....I think, three. He has lived in Culpeper for ten years and the bags were not for horses,  they were dog food.   Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night stops a man from getting food for his dogs.   Hmmmmmm maybe that is a postman.  Oh, well.

 

 

WRONG, WRONG

 

 I have been saying quite often lately that we were too far into the year to have any more significant snow......Wrong!!!!!   We got our biggest and best snow storm the first week of March.  We even lost power for about five hours.  So to make ammends I went out looking for one more picture to add to this blog although I published it about a week ago.  Right in front of TJMaxx I saw DeAndrea Kontir all bundled up and her son CJ running around and around.  Since DeAndrea was looking like a model or movie star, I decided that I better get her picture.  She lives in Rixeyville.

 

 

 

 

 

That's all for this time.  I am always interested in new faces for my blog and for my "Snapshots of Culpeper" feature in the Culpeper Times.  If you have ideas for this blog or would like to be included be sure to contact me at:

 

facesofculpeper@gmail.com



It's Pony Time!!  My Visit to the Library of Congress Archives for Media at Mount Pony.

AND

Winter Comes to the Pepper....Christmas and All.

I love the winter season!  It never gets very cold here and even though no snow has stayed on the ground yet.....we have had beautiful snowfalls.  Andrea and I spent a good part of December in California with my middle son and his family, but came back before Christmas and celebrated with my two sons who live in this area and their families.  Just before I left for California I received a call from Cory O'Dell  who invited me up to Mt. Pony to see their Christmas tree.  So when I got back I called him right away to get a picture of the tree.  When I got there I had the bonus of a personal tour.  I had never been there before.....shame on me.  It is fascinating.  Long halls and halls of doors and each door leads to a work place where restoration, preservation and cataloging takes place or a vault of old films and old recordings....I mean really old.....like the oldest in existence.  I met the people who worked there and who labor on our behalf to save this part of our history.   I had a great time.

This blog is a bit all over the place, but who cares?  In this blog I also have pictures of people preparing for Christmas downtown and a touch of winter.  First, let's jump in at Mt.  Pony!

As the song goes......boogaty, boogaty, boogaty shoo.....It's Pony Time!!!!

Here is the Library of Congress for media, right outside of Culpeper.  It is officially listed as located at Mt. Pony.  It actually is located on and in Mt. Pony since the building goes a long way underground.  Here are located the archives for media such as movies and recordings.  The building was built around 1963/64 for an entirely different purpose.  This is where Congress would have been relocated had there been an nuclear attack or some other disaster in Washington DC.  Later it became the repository for the back up supply of actual money that the United States would need to restart the economy if some disaster occurred.  When it was no longer needed for either of these uses, it was purchased by David Packard and donated to the Library of Congress.  Up to that point, there were several places around the country where bits and pieces of what would become the total collection were housed.  Having this facility allowed the Library of Congress to centralize everything under one roof.  The experts who now staff this part of the Library came from all parts of the country and  gathered in Culpeper to create, restore and shepherd this amazing collection.

Here is the Christmas tree in the foyer at the Library of Congress, Mt. Pony.  This is Cary O'Dell who is the Assistant to the Advisory Boards.  Cary, like so many others who work at Mt. Pony came to Culpeper because of his job.  He is an interesting guy and provided me with a great tour of the facility.



This Christmas tree is a lot of fun.  It is decorated with ornaments of many of the big stars of film.  On the very top of this tree, the angel is Shirley Temple.  

On this part of the tree is Elvis, Fred Flintstone and Arnold Schwarzenegger among others.

Top to bottom:  Marilyn Monroe, Laurel and Hardy, and James Dean.

This is typical of just one of the many many rooms at Mt. Pony.  The shear volume of movies and other films that are maintained here under very exacting conditions is breath taking.

This is George Willeman and he is the manager of the Nitrate Vault.  As I understand it, very early films were made from nitrate.  They are very volitale and so have to be kept under very specific conditions.  George told me that two weeks ago an early Hoot Gibson movie from the 1920s had been donated to them and it came to him to restore.  It is called Superstition and had thought to be lost.  George is holding a film from1918 that they just received.  It is the original film of Little Orphan Annie.  It is in terrible condition.  You can see that this kind of film rusts.  Because it is one of a kind, George is going to make a concerted effort to save some, if not all of it.  I wish him good luck.....it looked like a goner to me.  Before Mt. Pony was designated the as the site for saving all of these films, they were stored in a vault at Patterson Air Force Base in Springfield, Ohio.  George along  his wife moved here in 2007 to work his magic.

Many of those who work at Mt. Pony are the best in the United States at what they do.  This is Ben Harry who is an audio transfer technician.  He made a point of telling me that he worked on the presentation of the saved materials and not the restoration of them.  Ben moved here three years ago from New York.  He is married and he and his wife have four children ages three through nine.  

This is a very specialized film projector.  I think I better stick with that description.  When I was in high school I worked at a movie theater in Boise, Idaho.  The projectors were nothing like this one. 

This lady is the face of the Library of Congress at Mt. Pony and also the voice you hear when you call to make reservations.  Her name is Jenny Paxon and she came here from Ohio. She lives in Redwood Lakes..... I don't know where that is.  She is the proud owner of a dog and two cats.  She told me that she is really enjoying Culpeper.

This  is a rather lovely atrium that is right in the middle of the building.  Staff members can take a break here or eat their lunch or something that gets them out of their offices.  All work and no play.....you know. 

This fun lady is Dyanne Holt.  You can tell by the uniform that she is "Officer" Holt.  She is located at the security desk as you come in the building and makes sure that everyone has a valid reason for being there and then provides them with a pass.  She has raised her family.  She told me that she is a direct descendant of a Culpeper Minute Man.  Pretty cool!!!


That is it for now about my visit to Mt. Pony.  I hope everyone will get a chance to go there.


NOW LET'S LOOK AT A LITTLE PRE CHRISTMAS WINTER

Before we left for California, Andrea and I went downtown to find a new nativity and to take a couple of pictures for the Culpeper Times.  It was bustling, especially in the specialty shops.  It reminded me of the song "Silver Bells"  where it says, "Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile....."
As always I met some pretty neat people.

While visiting all the fun Christmas stores in Culpeper, we stopped at Designer's Choice.  There I met this mother/daughter team who were perfect for a blog picture with all of the Christmas displays that are found in that store.  The daughter is Candice Southard and she is a realtor at Remax here in the Pepper. Her mom, Mary Lou Phillips, is now retired.  Their family moved here in 1988 and so I think they qualify as old timers.  To steal a line from certain TV commercials, but wait.....there's more!  They moved here from Fairfax which is where we moved from, and Candice attended Robinson Secondary School ("Secondary" because it houses grades 7-12....about 4200 students) until they moved here in 1988.  In 1989 I went to work at Robinson as an administrator!  Okay, so it is not THAT great a coincidence, but I thought it was pretty neat and was something we had fun talking about.

My wife had wanted to check out the "new" store on Davis Street  which features old time candy.  That store is called, "Found and My Secret Stash."  It is two stores in one space and there is so much more than candy , although there is a great variety of that.   This is Allison Haught who is the owner.  She opened the store in February and it is a lot of fun!  You owe it to yourself to drop in.

Oops!
This is out of order.....but, what the heck.  I was cruising through some parking lots on Black Friday afternoon.  I knew that all the eager beavers had completed their shopping hours ago, but  I thought there would still be some people taking advantage of the bargains.  I entered the Kohl's lot and there was Linda Hoffman with two BIG sacks of bargains.  When my wife shops "really good sales" she comes home and says, "Crowley (she calls me that rarely, but almost always in this situation) you are not going to believe how much money I saved you."  From the looks of things, Linda saved herself a bundle.  In talking with her I learned that she owns the "Bonnie Reb Boot Shop" and discovered that they do shoe repair.  One hour later I took a pair of dress shoes in for new heels.  Linda has five children and 16 grandchildren.

And now for the big finish.  I stopped at the Christmas tree lot on the corner of 29 and Ira Hoffman and found this family happily engaged in looking for a tree. The little guys were having a ball darting in and out of the rows of trees and it was a bit like herding cats to get them together for a picture. This cute family of Jason and Amie Davis includes: Jason Jr., Makayla, Zachary and Benjamin.  Jason is a chimney sweep by trade and his business is Davis Chimney Service.  If you have a wood burning stove or fire place then you need to get in touch with him right away. I had a chimney fire once and if there had not been several inches of snow on my roof, I may have had a disaster.  That was all I needed to employ a chimney sweep once every year.  This is the guy to call.


That's it for now.  Don't forget to check out my "snapshots" in the Culpeper Times.   If you would like to comment or connect with me for any other reason you can email me at:

facesofculpeper@gmail.com

Soccer and Air Shows in Culpeper

  Soccer and Air Fest....Fall in Culpeper

 

 

 

 

Time really seems to be slipping away from me this year.  After a summer filled with family from Fresno, new grand babies, the beach, surgeries, 50th class reunions and too much heat....fall has finally arrived in all of its beauty.  It is my favorite time of the year and I am trying to enjoy each and every moment of it.  So far, so good!  Don't you just love the cool nights?

 

Along with fall comes the main soccer season for the little ones.  My granddaughter at age 5 is participating for her second season and is really making progress.  In addition to that, my son invited us to go to the Air Show with him.  I have lived here for five years and never once made it.  What a  treat!

 

Let's get on with pictures and comments about people I have met at these two places. 

 

 

SOCCER

 

I am sure that as my grand kids get older and play more, I will have lots more comments about soccer but for now I will be a bit brief.    One of the things that impresses me about the Pepper is the Sports Complex that is next to Eastern View High School.  Coming here from Northern Va and with three sons, all of whom played soccer, I am pretty familiar with soccer fields.  These are just the best.  What a perk for the citizens of this community.

 

 

 



As I was walking to Lottie's (my granddaughter) game I saw this family walking my way.  The dad was carrying a bag of soccer balls and so I knew that he wasn't just another father.....he was a coach.  When I asked if I could take a picture of the Capellini family, they were most agreeable. In fact the two oldest boys who had just had their team pictures taken the week before dropped right into the accepted soccer team pose.  It was really cute!  The youngest has a ways to go before he gets that pose down, but the parents looked great and they were as pleasant as they look.  Jeff Capellini is a civilian with the Marines and Cara is a speech clinician with the Culpeper County School system.  If you have read my blogs at all, you know that I worked in public education for 42 years.  I admire the people who are dedicated to the young people and so my hat is off to her.  Their three boys' names are: Braden, Baylor and Beckett.  I think those are fun names!

 

 

 

 

While at Lottie's game I noticed this guy sitting on a bag of soccer balls, but not really sitting near any of the fields.  In fact he was sitting a ways away from two fields, but right where he could watch both of them.  He had this big grin on his faces as his head moved from one field to another.  I had to meet this guy, but first I shot his picture.  As we talked I found out that he is Roy Flores and he that did not have a child on either field.   He  told me that he is married and has "three beautiful daughters" but none of them were on these teams.  It turns out that he is what he calls, "sort of a league official."  He oversees the U5 and U6 groups.  Last December I featured Hannah and Mark a young couple who had moved here so that Mark could organize and supervise the soccer programs.  Well.....Mark and Roy work together.

 

 

 

 

I love this picture!   There are a lot of interesting men in Culpeper.  One day I hope to do a series that truly is just faces of those men.  It is hard enough to approach people and ask if I can take their picture....I think it would be much harder to say, "I think you have an interesting face, can I take a picture of it?"  I suspect they would want to know why their face is interesting and very often it is because it reflects a life hard lived.  This man, however has an interesting face because of the scarf, the shades, the beard.....AND the really quick smile.  In talking to him I felt like he is a bit of a character and totally his own man. He seemed like he would be fun to hang out with.   I feel fortunate when I run into a true character because I believe that they are the people who enrich our lives.  We talked and joked a bit, but I really did not learn much about him.  He is Chas...his wife is Cindy... he has a granddaughter who plays soccer and he has lived here since 2007.  He is retired from the Air Force.  I can just see him with Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters or even better yet.....I can see him in the next "Expendables" movie.  I am going to be looking for him.

 

 

THE AIR FEST

I get surprised every once in a while by the quality of some particular event here in Culpeper.  One of the events that really impressed me recently was the Air Show last Saturday.  First, I have to comment on the size of the show.  I was not expecting anything even approaching the depth and breadth of this event.  Second, it was so  very well done.  Culpeper should be proud.  I have lived here for five years now and every year I would think that maybe I should "drop in" at the air show one of these times.  Well, last Saturday my son invited Andrea and me to go with him and the grand kids to the Air Show and so we went.  Man, we were so pleasantly surprised!!!!

The first thing to meet my eyes once we got past the car show was all of the planes that were lined up so that we could walk by an examine them.  This picture is just a drop in the proverbial bucket of the number of planes on display.  They were so interesting and I had a great time looking at them.

 

We had not even walked all of the way in when we heard a very large explosion and saw a huge fireball leap up from the runway.  This is the smoke from the explosion.  Most of the crowd began running toward the runway and everyone was very concerned.  However, when I got to where I could get a good look I noticed that the fire engines on the runway had not moved.  None-the-less I was concerned and quickly read the article in the Star Exponent (all the Crowleys call it the "Culpaper") Sunday morning until I noticed that they had explosives that they used to simulate bombing and other explosions.

 

 

 

This is the first family that grabbed my attention just inside the gate.  I loved her hat and outfit and his sweater and the shades etc and had to shoot them.  They are Eden and Brian Coltrane and their son Dashel.  In the 60s I would note that they were "very mod."  Now I will just say that they were very cool!

 

 

 

These guys were checking out this plane.... actually they were just standing by the plane chatting.  I thought she had a familiar face and when she told me who she is I was a bit embarrassed that I had not recognized her.  After all she had just been on the front page of the Star Exponent.  In front with the dogs are Greg and Megan Frederick....she is running for Commonwealth Attorney.  With them are friends Bill and Lida Anderson.  Greg said that Bill is "The World's Greatest Custom Builder."

 

 

 

The funnel cakes always seem to be a big hit wherever they are.  I did not get the entire line here, but people were happily waiting in line.

 

 

 

 

One of the best things about taking my camera to the events around Culpeper is that I always end up meeting special people.  Here are Erick, Candice, Kayden, Karston and Kalenga.  Candice grew up in the Pepper and works at the hospital.  Eric has been here 12 years and has a ministry.  His church is called, "His Village."

 

 

 

Lots of people and lots of families.  Right up near the planes it was very crowded.  The same was true, not too surprisingly near the food vendors. 

 

 

 

I did not get names here, but it is obvious that these guys enjoy their jobs.  These are two friendly deputies who have stopped to chat with a young man.  Check the smiles.  This is a friendly conversation and after I took the picture the deputy on the left waved.

 

 

 

 

More of the crowd!

 

 

 

This group caught my eye....well first the tank caught my eye.  Pretty cool to have a British tank at an air show.  These folks are D Company, 23rd Battalion of the Virginia Defense Force.  If the National Guard is called up then these people automatically assume the tasks that were being handled by the National Guard.  Here we have Pfc Nora Lee, Spc. Ronnie Lee, "Eric" the K9,   1LT Tom Woolman and Cpl. Chris Hoover.  If anyone has questions about joining, the contact is:  http://www.virginiadefenseforce.net

 

 



These people were a riot.  Honestly I could not keep the attention of 100% of the group to get the picture.....well to be honest all but one were giving me their best.  I won't mention the person by name who wasn't, but I'll bet you can figure it out.   Ah, boys, boys, boys!  These are all Culpeper friends and either live here or lived here.  I believe they, like me, are retired.  Connie Weis, John Weis, Bob Bice, Mary Bice and Kathy Eddy.  I had fun with them!!

 

 

 

Sometimes I like to sneak my family in my Faces blog.  This is my son, Matt and his two kids, Nathan and Charolette with my wife Andrea.  The other people in the picture know Andrea as Mom and Grammie. We are all residents of the Pepper.

 

 

 

A little camera competition for me from some non Culpeper residents.

 

 

 

 

This is extremely hard to show photographically, but it was one of the best parts of my day.  The plane in the picture is a Harrier.  It is unique because it can move forward, backward, up and down plus it can hover which is what it is doing in this shot.  So impressive.

 

 

So...............We loved our visit to the Culpeper Airfest.  If you have never gone be sure to put it on your bucket list.....or at least your calendar. 

 

That's it for now.  If you would like to contact me for any reason just write me at:

facesofculpeper@gmail.com

 

Be sure to watch for "Rich Crowley's Snapshots of Culpeper" in the Culpeper Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YOU KNOW IT IS SUMMER IN CULPEPER WHEN................................

   

I spent some time this winter talking about what a wimpy winter we were having.  Well......summer has come with a vengeance this year.  It is hot, humid and dry.....a real scorcher!  I got to thinking about sure signs that summer has hit the Pepper.  Let's see what I came up with.

You know it is summer in Culpeper when:

The guys play shirts and skins outdoors

One thing I learned is that you know it is summer when you are out looking for signs of summer and everyone is inside. This day was a hot one, but it is never too hot if they guys are going to play a game.  Once the guys discovered that I was there to take a picture of them, only a handful of them got the ball and once they had possession they did not give the ball up until they had shot.  Oh, wait a minute!  That is almost always the case in pickup games.  Oh, well I saw the shirts and skins as a sure sign that summer was here.....oh yeah, and it was a school day and they were all out an playing.  Must be summer.

Men begin barbecuing in the heat

These guys were barbecuing at a church picnic I was attending and I hustled to my car to get my camera while I could get action pictures with meat on the grill.  I think they must have hustled with equal speed because when I got back they had the meat off the grill and the corn ready to go.  They are:  Sean Clubb on the left and Mike Paul on the right.  Their blinding speed kept me from getting the  A+ picture I wanted, so I settled for this.....about a B.

Girls start wearing shorts

They are everywhere during the summer!  It is a sure sign that we are immersed in summer heat.  This is Kayla Jenkins and she is a genuine Culpeper native!  She is taking classes at Germanna and works as the desk clerk at that Holiday Inn.

The Farm Show is held in unbelievable heat!!!!

This is Shawn Walters from the Sheriff's office and his son, Trenton.  He told me his wife was pretty tickled when they came out if matching outfits. It was darn cute, actually.   Trenton was having a great time with the animals although it had to be waaayyy over100 degrees in those buildings. 

Here we are in the arena and goats are being judged.  These young people raise and take care every day  of the animals they bring to the show.  The best ones are awarded ribbons.  Certain of the animals that are raised are auctioned off.  It is important for the young people to learn and  understand the difference between livestock and pets.

This is a group of really good looking young men. They are the ones who have raised pigs to be auctioned for market.  This was a Friday and the judging had occurred the evening before and the auction would be on Monday.  Right in the middle is a young man who is just a tad older than the others.  He is a father of one of the boys and his name is Alex O'Dell.

The Crowley grand kids come all the way from Fresno, California to visit

It is such a rare treat (once a year) to have these good kids in our home.  Left to right, Tanner, Chase, Emery and Carsen.  This year we got to have them for sixteen days.  Other grandparents will understand the joy when they arrive and the emptiness when they leave.

The Fourth of July Parade goes through town

There are lots of fun reasons to like living in the Pepper.  This parade is one of them.  It takes me back to when I was a little boy.

Here we go with just a few comments.

A policeman shakes my granddaughter's hand.

I complained when there were no horses in the parade.  This year there were some....WHOOOPPPEEEEE! To me, a parade is not a parade without some horses.

That Marlys Houston is such a clown!!!

Whew!  That was a lot of pictures.  Let me remind you of what we are doing.

YOU KNOW IT IS SUMMER IN CULPEPER WHEN......

You know it is summer when you see a young man skateboarding without his shirt.  When I walked out my front door I was met with  the first image above.  I was a bit concerned until the person  turned around and started down the hill.  Austin O'Rourke is a friend of the kid next door.  He is a musician (drummer) and says that he plays a lot of gigs.  Good for him.  Being a musician myself I can relate.....well, not to the skateboarding, but to playing rock and roll.

This young lady is Britany Walton and she has one son who is full of energy.  She went shopping at Target in great summer attire.  She works in accouting for a heating and air conditionin company. Bet they are busy.

It is summer when you see this cute family waiting for the bus in the heat and smiling.  This is the Moyo family and they have been in Culpeper for about five years.  I could tell by the musical lilt in her voice that she did not come from the Pepper.  The mom is originally from South Africa.  I suggested that she probably was accustomed to the heat and she said that she was, but not the humidity.  I learn new things all the time.

It is a great time to just hang out.  In this case hanging out in the parking lot of the Regal Cinemas.  It was hot but these two did not mind.  They describe themselves as "long time good friends."  She is Katie Kincheloe and says she lives on a farm.  He is Caleb Jackson and he said that he is just enjoying the summer.  He was pretty protective of his long time friend. 

HERE COMES THE BIG FINISH!!!!!!!

You know it is summer in Culpeper when your thermometer reads 103!!!!!

I think that wraps this blog up. You can contact me at facesofculpeper@gmail.com

Be sure to watch for "Rich Crowley's Snapshots of Culpeper"  in the weekly Culpeper Times.