Slip Sliding Into Spring In Culpeper, Virginia

Spring here we come......

After a seemingly long and brutal (well snowy at least) winter, spring startedcoming pretty quickly.

In Culpeper it was a last big snow and two days later 59 degrees.  Most of us were really ready for that. 

When I saw a neighbor after the last storm clearing his walk with a snow blower, I took a picture and quickly got in touch with the editor of The Culpeper Times to make sure it was published the very next week which it was.  I knew that snow would be gone in a week and so would the memories ..... well sort of.   So as I write this it is March 16 and 73 degrees.  This time I think we really have spring.  So let's slip and slide into it the Culpeper way and visit some residents through my pictures.  

Just up the street from my place  I found Anthony Beltran snow blowing his sidewalk. I parked my car and walked back to him and he stopped for a minute to chat with me.  We had not met before. I learned that Anthony is the vice president in charge of Safety and Risk Management for Comfort Systems USA.  They are located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland which is just above Andrews Air Force Base.  Now, that is a drive!  Anthony told me that he has three kids and a "lovely wife."

Hopefully this is the last storm of the season!!

When all this dirty snow melts, maybe, just maybe it will be spring, but this stuff doesn't melt quickly.  When there is no more of this, we are there......spring.





A SPRINGLIKE BUSINESS

Girl Scout Cookies for sale!  It is that time again when enterprising girls and their parents find a place where there are people and set up for business selling yummy cookies.  The girl scouts here are Skyler and Laelia.  Skylers' father is Peter Revutin.  He wanted to make sure that I understood that this was not an "official" sales location, but more an entrepreneurial activity on the part of the girls.  My granddaughter was also selling these cookies and I bought six boxes from her so I was not in the market.


SIGNS THAT SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER

Brave new flowers poke their heads above the ground.

 

A sure sign of spring is young moms walking their kids and wearing short sleeve shirts.  It was just a tad chilly, but these stay-at-home moms did not care because they had their children out in the sunshine and were enjoying the weather themselves.  Heather Stegeman and Anjlai are on the left and Rachel Horn and Emily are on the right.  Rachel also has a child in kindergarten.   They are such pleasant people.

While looking for people who were showing signs of thinking it is spring, I met this charming lady.  She had slipped out for lunch and was enjoying the sunshine.  That is a great smile!  She was on E. Davis right across from the L O V E sculpture.  If  you look closely you will see that the bench is just a couple of feet away from a small drift of snow.  She is Trisha Canedy and she came to us from Cape Cod.  I have never met anyone from there before.  She has two kids and is a hairstylist at New Way Imagine Salon. 

Wow, this is quite a group of kids with their moms at the Memorial Park.  These ladies were just enjoying a nice day at the park with their kids.   When they told the kids to come over for a picture, they amazingly came immediately and even posed themselves.  When kids behave like that, mothers smile like this.  On the left is Shannon Easterlin  with Wes, Izzy and Brooke..... pretty sure that is not the correct order.   On the right is Alana Warshaw with Seamus, Duncan and Kathryn.

Do you know what makes this picture special?  It is the fact that it is a three generation picture.  I have never wandered into one of those before.  Mom and Grandma were just having the best time with little Joshua.  Mom is Brandy Edwards and Grandma is Pamela Taylor.  When I asked where they came from originally, they said all over, because they had been military.



A sure sign of spring is new babies at the farms.  These are Clydesdales.

I am so pleased to have gotten this picture.  Culpeper is surrounded by farms and farmers and yet they are the hardest people for me to get pictures of.  Why?  Because they are always working,  that's why.... AND not working where you readily see them.  These two guys were completing a transaction buying and selling the hay you see on the truck.  Allen Tuel on the left grows that hay and sold it to Milton Nicholson.  They both have been around here a loooong time.  Allen is a "lifer".  He owns one hundred acres of land.  When I commented about how hard farmers work, he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, "Naw, I just get to play.... driving tractors and things."  Allen shared with me that when he was a young man he walked four miles from home to work on this very land that he now owns and four miles back.  He earned $1 a day! He must have loved it because he is still here.  Milton has lived here 45 years.  He originally came from the Skyline Drive area.

What does this have to do with spring?  I think everything!  Spring signals a rebirth or a new start.  Who ever made this romantic sign clearly was starting a new phase of life when it was planted pointing down the driveway to their home.  In addition, there are beautiful spring flowers at the base.

AND NOW FOR THE BIG FINISH..... THIS TIME IT IS A  TRIBUTE

I was saddened when I heard the news that Clarke Hardware was closing in June.  I have only been here about seven years, but I was told about this store when I first was thinking about moving to Culpeper.  I probably didn't buy enough there, but I made a few key purchases.  I was thrilled that they had Radio Flyer toys.  The little red wagons reminded me of a time when I was very young and  when kids played outside and rode wagons.  You would put one knee in the wagon, hold onto the tongue with one hand, hold on to the side with the other hand and propel the wagon by pushing on the ground with the free leg.  I immediately bought a Radio Flyer rocking horse(see below) for my grand kids.  There have been a lot of miles logged on that horse that someone named Kathy.  In business since 1906..... wow!
Well, this little lady, Carrie Breeden,  has been working there for the last 27 years and if Clarke Hardward is iconic, then she is an icon herself.  What a sweet soul!  As I talked with her it was clear that her emotions were pretty near the surface.  I don't think she will mind me telling you that she is 82.  She explained to me that for years before she came to Clarke that she worked at the store that was where Taste is now.  I could not quite get the concept of the store, but I think it was something like the old Montgomery Wards.  
I am sure that everyone joins me in wishing her godspeed.

Kathy will always be a reminder of Clarke Hardware to the Crowleys.



Well that is it for now.  Be sure to visit the "Faces of Culpeper"  Facebook page and "like" us.   Also checkout my weekly feature in the Culpeper Times called, "Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper."

2015 Starting a new year in Culpeper

Welcome to Culpeper, Virginia 2015.  I had a very busy December and Christmas.  We spent two weeks in California with our son Jeremy, his wife Shelly and their four kids and had a ball.  Then back to the Pepper just a few days before Christmas.  Some of our traditions had to be changed this year and it became the first Christmas eve and morning that Andrea and I had spent alone ever!  We made the most of it and spoiled each other a bit.  However it was a very nice Christmas with celebrations on both coasts and fun with all of the grandkids except one who could not come east this year. Then I bought a new car taking advantage of the year end sales and now I am eagerly awaiting this new year.  As I looked about for faces to shoot, I discovered that everyone had just slipped back into their own routines.  That is part of what makes life great.  All of these people let me interrupt their lives for just a few minutes.  Thanks to all of them.  Let's get on with seeing them they are all very cool people. 

I have known Misty Turner ever since I moved to Culpeper seven years ago.  So I  have known that she is a hairstylist, but I had never visited her salon until recently.  It is where she plies her trade and  works her magic.  She has a very loyal (and sometimes vocal) following.  I can see why.  In addition to regular stylist skills, in October Misty passed the prestigious ABCH exam which is very difficult and has less than 50% passage rate on first attempt.  Passing that test makes her an American Board Certified Master Haircolorist!  The customer, Rose, was most gracious in allowing me to take her picture while having her hair done.  Coincidentally I discovered that Rose is from my hometown of Boise, Idaho.  It seems like their are quite a few of us here.  Most of the Idaho transplants work for Micron which is a Boise based company with a plant in Manassas.  However that is not why Rose is here.  Back to Misty.....  you can contact her at:  HairbyMisty.com or 540 547 2002.

I wanted to do a picture for my Culpeper Times feature called, Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper, that showed how low the gas prices had gotten here in the Pepper.  I recruited Robin Mulkern a stay at home mom who writes as yet unpublished, childrens books, to pose by the gas price sign.  Within two days it had dropped to $1.99 and as I write this it is $1.95.  So sorry Robin, we did not make the paper on this one because the prices won't land in one spot long enough.   So far, that is good news.

I was busy waiting for my wife at TJMAXX (meanwhile she was busy waiting for me to pick her up at Belk.....just a small communication breakdown. :)  SORRY!!!) when I saw this young man working at the dressing room desk.  I could not resist making him one of my "faces of Culpeper."  This is Bobby Zajkowski and he is very cordial as you can see and appears to like his job.

Davis street was brightened a bit when Jill Engh began working at Harriet's General Store.  Pretty smile.

There is a tasty new restaurant/donut shop in town.  You can see that it is the famous Dunkin Donuts.  I used to stop by the shop in Fairfax occasionally and so it is very nice to have one here.
 This onehas a drive thru for convenience or just a quick hit.  They also feature sandwiches, soft drinks and coffee.

Pravina Patel is the manager.

This is the crew.  This picture started out as perfectly centered against the wall of donuts and only included Pravina and Sam, the gentleman on the left of her.  However, they started grabbing other people and calling for still more and soon the whole group was there.  For me that was perfect, the more the merrier.  The only problem was that we had lost our perfect centering and customers were starting to line up behind me.  There are few people in the world that are more anxious than people whose mouths are watering for donuts.  So...... as an act of self preservation I hurried and shot the picture...uncentered.  As I am writing on this blog they have been open about ten days and I have purchased 14 donuts.  That is more donuts than I have had in the last five years..... they are that good!

 I was fortunate to catch this man in a quiet moment at Sleepy's Mattress so I could grab his picture.  This nice guy is Ryan Davis and he is a genuine resident of Culpeper.  He graduated from CCHS and now works at Sleepy's.

It is that time of year....darn it!   It is time to start thinking about filing taxes. Lettie Glenz and America Rodriguez were outside the Liberty Tax office and it was freezing.  They kept their smiles and I got their picture.  They are dressed as the Statue of Liberty if you hadn't guessed,and these two attract attention.  By the way, Lettie, along with her husband  is the co-owner of this Liberty Tax.  I told him that she needed a raise and he agreed.

It seems that most of the time I shop at Staples, Monica Newman is the woman that takes my money or maybe I should say that she checks me out.  Since that is case, I could not resist putting this great smile in my blog.

Eddie Decker has lived in Culpeper four years.  He is from New York (pretty sure he says New Yawk) and works at Culpeper Light and Power Department.  He lives here with his wife Stacy and has two daughters.  AND his truck looked spotless.  Every other vehicle was covered with salt and grime, but Eddie's sparkled.





BIG FINISH

My next blog is going to feature people of Culpeper and their canine pets.... their dogs.  It seems that everyone but me has one.  Here is Vicky Hale from Culpeper who is a dentist with her office located in Orange,  She is with her two sons and Clementine her Bloodhound which she refers to as her child. Notice that Clementine has ear rings and that her nails are painted.  There will be lots more of these kinds of pictures in the next blog.  If you want to be a part of it, email me at richcrowle@gmail.com

That's it for now.  Keep an eye out for me so that you too can be one of my Culpeper faces.  Be sure to check out my picture in the Culpeper Times each week.  My feature is called Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A Touch of Culpeper Christmas

It certainly seems like Christmas goods appeared early this year.  I read several places that people were complaining about Christmas displays and advertising starting before Halloween.  I kind of feel the same way, but I asked my wife to give me her read on it and she said that she loved it.  She loves the Christmas season and would be happy if it was six months long.   Well, that is probably an exaggeration, but this can be such a fun time of year.  Culpeper is a great place to be at Christmas.  I read in the paper that our town was among the "top ten holiday destinations" in Virginia.   Let's check out some holiday people.   

MY CHRISTMAS SONG
Here is a Christmas song I wrote and sing.  It is called
On That First Christmas Day
The video was conceived and produced by
Gabrielle Crowley




PRECHRISTMAS PICTURES

Lowe's had their artificial trees out real early and I saw these two pretty ladies in the store and asked if I could take a picture of them in the trees.  They were both most gracious.  This is Megan Burrows (mom) and Lily (daughter)  Megan works at Plow and Hearth.  Interestingly her husband owns Shenandoah Spice Company.  

 

Just as I approached these guys I heard the man say, "Let's get the big one."  What a cute family this is!  The little guy in the middle... Jacob, has tons of personality.  Before I get ahead of myself I should introduce the rest.  Dad is Steve; Mom is Tricia:  Jacob I already introduced; baby is Joshua.  They are the Kiblers.   Steve is a software engineer and accounting executive.  They were doing some early Christmas wreath  shopping at Target and they did buy the big one.   

The first snow of winter falling on the Christmas tree lot on the corner of Ira Hoffman and Business 29.

 The Star Exponent had just run a picture on their front page of Cameleer with the statement, "Cameleer on East Davis Street always has the prettiest Christmas displays."  They certainly have one of the best, anyway I headed down there to see who was shopping.  These folks, Kathi and Kees Dutilh, are very new to the area, actually Sperryville, and were looking at things Christmasy.  They have moved down from Northern Virginia.  

This was taken on a very cold day and we were all bundling up.  I was at one of my favorite stores, My Secret Stash, when I met Gayle Wilson who was shopping.  What a delightful person!  She had already purchased some candy (the main reason that I go there) and was checking out some Christmas items.  I learned that Gayle is an artist and that her pottery and handwork is on display at the Loft Gallery.  I saw some pictures of her work and it is impressive. 

One of really nice things about Culpeper is that the streets are decorated for special occasions.


WINDOW DISPLAYS

City sidewalks busy sidewalks dressed in holiday style.  In the air there's a feeling of Christmas


Davis Street is a treat during this season.  The window displays remind me  of "back in the day."
Let's check some out.

Top and bottom, My Secret Stash

Top and bottom Cameleer 

Green Roost

Lollipop Station

Clarke's Hardware



 MORE PEOPLE IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

There is a brand new Christmas tree lot just south of town towards Charlottesville right next to the Old Country Store.  The day I went by it was pretty busy.  I met these guys and grabbed their picture.  This is Peter and Norma Nelson with their daughter Ella.  Obviously they were selecting a tree.  They run an assisted care facility in Riva.  That is taxing and important work.... they must be good people.

I have to admit that for a long time I had my eye on this spot in
Cameleer for one of the shots for this Christmas blog 2014.  One day  I stopped in with my wife for just at few minutes and viola (!) here were two perfect subjects.  They are left to right, Kaitlin Rousell who is a hairstylist apprentice and Suzanne Wood who is a Head Start teacher.  I really respect teachers!  Merry Christmas you two and thanks for letting me photograph you.


That's going to do it for this season.  As this is my final blog of 2014 I want to sincerely thank all of the people who have appeared in my Faces of Culpeper blog.  You have all been great and provided a lot of interest for lots of people.  This blog has now been visited over 35,000 times!
Also don't forget to check the Culpeper Times every single week for my, "Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper" piece.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

miles of smiles

MILES OF SMILES ... HAPPY PEOPLE

of  CULPEPER, VIRGINIA

                                         This grandson makes me smile!

Where has this year gone?  Oh, sure I know we still have almost two months left, but it seems like just last month I was posting my blog on tattoos (extremely successful and wide-read btw).  That one added a lot of new followers.  The last blog was the summer one and now we are well into a rainy, but beautiful fall.

Time to move on with the year.  Thanks to everyone who has appeared in my "Faces of Culpeper" over the last four years.  I think about 600 of you have graced (frankly I think that "graced" is a dumb word when you really mean "appeared"  She "graced the cover of People Magizine."  Not so much in my opinion. ) my blog pages.  This is far more about pictures than words, so I am going to quit with the words so that you can get on with the pictures.

Here we go.........

BJ's Ice Cream moved this summer and nobody told me.  One day  I had my mouth all set for the  creamy stuff and drove over to an empty lot.  BJ..... a sign that you moved would have eased my angst.  They are out by the new Old Country Store.  I decided that I was going to do pictures of smiles for this blog and thought what better place for great smiles than BJs.  Amber Taylor  (left)   Heather Helmick, obliged me big time.  Nice happy faces to lead off a blog about happy faces.  Both of these young women are recent high school graduates and are either going or planning to go to Germanna Community College.

This is the same store in a new place.  Being in the open makes it look more bright and shiny and smiley than ever before!

  

Sometimes I just get lucky.  I had gone downtown to get some "smile" pictures and immediately ran into sisters Jennifer Richardson and Jillian Peatross.  Good luck on my part and amazing smiles for this blog.  Nice people and pretty to boot!   Jennifer moved away about a year ago and was back to the Pepper for a visit.   Jillian is a resident who manages the Best Western in Ruckersville. 

  

                                              Ok!  I have seen the store on Davis Street called "Taste" for a long time, but had never gone in to see what was there. Surely nothing that would appeal to me , I thought.  Actually it took a friend of mine in Fairfax who has been my barber for 25 years to motivate me to go in.  He had been to Culpeper and been to "Taste" and was blown away by how cool it was.  So I went in and talked with George Farrar, who is the owner,  and Corey Deighan, who is his assistant.  Really nice guys and a most interesting establishment.  George owns another in Fredericksburg plus a "chocolate" store that just opened there.   I can tell you that you have to experience this store to appreciate it.  You will love it.  I am so sure of it, that I will give you a free 8x10 picture of George and Corey if you don't....... just kidding. 

KANAKLES!!!!  Just the mention makes my mouth water.  On most of my visits downtown I use the parking lot behind Kanakles.  Then I torture myself by walking on the brick walkway that runs right alongside of the bakery.  It smells like heaven and I always want to dash in the back door, grab a pastry (any will do, they are all delicious), and make a run for it.  Naw.....I always want to go in and buy something. Occasionally I do just that.  Kanakles is one of thosse few places in the Pepper that is known way beyond beyond the city limits.  People come from far and wide just to get a taste of their products.  Here are Stephanie Jones and manager Beth Whitt who will help you and always greet you with big smiles.  They are a part of the "Miles of Smiles" for sure.  Their motto is visible on the wall behind them: "A Balanced Diet Is A Cookie in Each Hand."

My wife took her sewing machine to the 145 Art and Design Studio for an evaluation.  There I met 

Noreen Smith who is the owner.  This studio is all about sewing and I thought Noreen was a most pleasing person to meet.  She took care of my wife very nicely.  Noreen is a most skilled and talented seamstress and quilter etc. 

Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

Before and

After

I can honestly say that I have never shot anyone for my blog or for my, Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper,  that are anywhere near as fun as these three.  What a trip!  First I told them that I wanted a picture of them for my blog, Faces of Culpeper, and the result was the first picture above.  Then I advised them that the theme of the blog is, "Miles of Smiles" and they started mugging.  What a cast of characters!  Here is the thing..... these ladies are amazing professionals who do a great job at the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce, but they do know how to have fun.  They are: Linda Dodrill who is the Social Media Coordinator; Martha Snider (in black) who is the Membership Coordinator; and far right in back is Debbie Stohlman the Acting President/CEO of the Chamber.  


   

Not far from my house is the Jiffy Lube franchise for Culpeper.  I generally get my oil changes done there and sometimes a couple of other things.  I have intended to include this crew in one of my blogs for a long time and my "Miles of Smiles" theme was perfect.  The really big problem is finding them when they are not busy.  It took me several visits to find the right time to get this shot. They were a good bunch to work with although it appears that a couple of them did not get the "smile" memo.  They have one young woman, Jessica, who works there and I regret that she was not working at the time I was able to get this picture.  The manager, Mike Huffman is on the far right on the back row.  The others in no order are:  Ed Klaus, Danny Wright, Jason Newcomer

Shawn Sawyer, Dane Rinehard and Ryan Zorich.

This was a tough one!  Even since I moved to the Pepper, I have enjoyed eating at the China Garden. In my opinion they have a great buffet and they stay very busy.  Sooooo, I went in to get a picture of a couple of the waitresses and almost all of them ran for cover.  Shy bunch... all except the tall young lady pictured here.  In fact in order for me to get two employees in my shot they went into the back and found the other lady to get in the picture.  Whew!  I try to be low key, but we had quite a show going for the patrons.  My angel helper is Crystal Lin here on the right....however, they told me that I probably would not be able to understand the other woman's name.  So I suggested that they try me and after some confusion they told me it is Fanny.  That one I get, but I know her real name is much more complicated and is not, Fanny.  Great place and great Chinese food.  If you have not been there then be sure to go. 

A friend of mine, Jenn Clubb, suggested that I check out the newest dance school in Culpeper where she works.  So I made an appointment and went over to talk with the owner of  Marie School of Ballet,  Ms. Amber Marie Daigler.  It was an interesting visit.  First I waded through about twenty feet of young girls who were eagerly and excitedly waiting for their lesson.  Then up the stairs to the studio and office where Amber and I sat down to chat. Amber Marie comes to us from Nevada.  As an adolescent she was accepted into the Nevada Ballet Company and she left home for Las Vegas to study and dance.  She subsequently danced on many stages in Las Vegas.  She brings all of that skill and background to our town to teach our children.  Amber is nothing if not ambitious.  She has in the works, a presentation of the Nutcracker this December.  The community is welcome and can purchase a seat or a group may purchase a table for the evening.  By the way, the school has open enrollment and is still taking students.  You may want to check it out.   www.marieschoolofballet.com


PETE'S PIZZA

I am going to have my big finish be a family of some of the nicest people in Culpeper.  Everytime I enter their restaurant I am greeted with great smiles, and since this blog is my first about smiles and the happy people of Culpeper, there was no way I could not include these guys.  Lately there has been a great deal of attention to the new food businesses that have opened in  town...and that is big news.  However, many of the very best places to eat have been here for a long time.  For example, Pete's opened February 6, 1976... if my math is correct that makes 38+  years.  They told me that their place is the  "longest established restaurant under one owner in Culpeper."  That is pretty cool.  I will tell you this:  Not only do their pizzas taste great, but in their  case a "large" pizza is really a "huge" pizza.  AND the Philly Cheese Steak is the best in my opinion.  So who are these people?  They are the Katrakilis family, Pete, Eleni and daughter Georgia.   Check them out ... you won't be sorry.

So ends my first blog of the smiles (miles of them!) of the happy people of Culpeper.  Hope you enjoyed it.  Please visit my "facesofculpeper" Facebook site and "like" it.
Every week I have a photo feature on the inside cover of the Culpeper Times called "Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper."  All of the faces shown here have been featured there.  Hmmm
You can contact me at:

facesofculpeper@gmail.com