continued from page 1

INSIDE
BARN SWALLOW
ARTISTS
page 3
PERFECT ATTENDANCE
page 4
C.C.C. GIFT 0F
CHRISTMAS PAST
page 5
HISTORIC BUILDINGS
page 7
CARDINAL POINT
page8
HOLIDAY EVENTS
page 11
MUTUAL AID
page 13
BILL DOLLINS
page 14
FLYING TO THE RESCUE
page 16
TURKISH STAR
page 17
SCHOOL REDISTRICTING
page 18
NEW TRAIL
page 20
NEW IN TOWN
page 21
MT. ZION’S
ANNIVERSARY
page 22
BETHLEHEM VILLAGE
page 23
CROSSWORD
page 24
SANTA DROPS IN
page 28
CROZET
gazette
the
DECEMBER 2006
VOL. 1, NO.7
crozetgazette.com
DCA Prepares for
Downtown Zoning
Changes
Anticipating the County’s hiring of
an urban planning consultant who will
draft zoning rule changes for a special
downtown Crozet district, the recently
formed Downtown Crozet Association
has begun investigating the relevant
ordinances for themselves. At a meeting at Mountainside Senior Living
Dec. 4 they discussed building setback
requirements that leave virtually all the
downtown properties with no space
left to build on should they need to
make a change.
Downtown business owners are trying to become sufficiently informed
about the planning rules to be able to
assert their own specific ideas about
what changes would be effective.
Discussion also touched on building
height limits, the status of Crozet
Avenue under the County’s entrance
corridor policy, and a regional storm
water drainage solution. The thorny
problem of defining a flexible parking
requirement will be discussed at the
DCA’s next meeting Jan. 8, and the
issue of how Crozet businesses and
property owners will influence the
oversight of the new district is slated
The Crozet Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary hosted the 2nd Annual Crozet Christmas Parade
on Saturday, Dec. 2. The parade went through downtown, ending at the Crozet Firehouse where
the children young and old met with Santa. Story on page 28.
ASAP Asks Crozet for Backing
on County Growth Limit
Some 400 affordable housing units
are slated to be built in the Crozet
Growth Area, Ron White, the County’s
affordable housing planner, told the
Crozet Community Advisory Council
at its Nov. 16 meeting, all proffered by
developers during recent rezoning
actions. None have actually been built
yet.
White did not know how many of
the houses in Crozet are currently
Albemarle County should ask what its optimum population size would be and
base its growth policies on the answer, Jack Marshall told the crowd at the Crozet
Community Association meeting Nov. 9. Marshall is the president of Advocates
for a Sustainable Albemarle Population [ASAP], now four years old and with 300
dues-paying members. He came to explain ASAP’s position and to ask the CCA
to make a formal declaration of support.
“The local population has grown at 2 percent per year over the last four decades,
resulting in a doubling of the population every 33 years,” Marshall said. That rate
is about 2,000 new residents in the County every year and an additional 1,300
cars.
“It will be much faster here in the Crozet Growth Area. You know better than
most the impacts of that.”
You can “applaud, ignore or complain” about growth, Marshall said. Most
localities settle on a so-called “smart growth” coping strategy.
But that approach is faulty too, he said, “because it is premised on the myth
that growth is inevitable. They don’t ask whether it should occur.”
Designated growth areas are a smart growth policy that is supposed to protect
the rest of the community. Then when the growth areas get full, they are either
expanded or the allowable densities in them are increased, both admissions that
the policy didn’t really work.
“Growth will stop,” Marshall asserted, “if it runs out of resources such as water;
if the expanded population makes the area unattractive; or because residents look
down the road and ask what kind of community they want to be.
“Growth is counterproductive after a point. No finite area can grow forever. A
thoughtful county must identify the point at which it wants growth to stop.”
“There is little [growth] planning above the day-to-day level of looking at
continued on page 19
continued on page 12
continued on page 9
CCAC Investigates
Local Availability of
Affordable Housing
page 2

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
from the Editor
to the Editor
Santa’s Elves
VIVA THE VILLAGE
Santa Claus is the ultimate world traveler. He’s seen
it all over many times. So it’s always pleased me that
Crozet is one place he’s guaranteed go early in the runup to Christmas. Of course he likes the view as he flys
in, the undulating crest of the Blue Ridge that looks
like mighty ocean waves holding still, but when I interviewed Santa at the Crozet Christmas parade recently I
found out the real reason he likes being here.
The first thing Santa brought up was his elves. He’s
so grateful to them. Nothing would happen if it weren’t
for the bustling elves, cheerfully working around the
clock, trying to make everybody’s Christmas wish come
true. From the way Santa talked, you’d think he had
nothing to do with Mr. and Mrs. Claus’s unblemished
track record of causing joy. Santa doesn’t think it’s about
him. It’s all about the elves. But, I bet if you asked the
elves they’d say they don’t deserve any credit either.
It’s hardly surprising that Santa has a special relationship with the volunteer firemen, guys who work their
jobs all day and still get out of bed in the middle of the
night to answer the siren’s wail that is calling out danger, or maybe tragedy, somewhere near us. They’ve got
the same work schedule as the elves. And obviously they
don’t think it’s about them either. Any of you who have
last minute messages to send to Santa should get them
to Preston Gentry at the Firehouse. He seems to have
Santa’s unlisted number and is sure to get him here
every year to hear from Crozet’s kids. Or try Donna
Pugh. She’s obviously tight with Mrs. Claus. Or Judy
Schmertzler. She’s got great elf connections.
Santa has got other helpers around Crozet too.
Wayne Clark at Henley’s Orchard is spearheading a
drive to get 500 bushels of apples to Southwest Virginia
before Christmas to share with people who can’t get
Virginia’s best. That’s too many to fit in Santa’s sleigh,
so Wayne took on the job.
June Andrews and Nancy Virginia Bain at The Green
Olive Tree, two veteran elves who have earned goldbraided rank, are busy sorting and packing Crozet’s
cast-off clothing to send it to missions on Indian reservations in the frigid Midwest.
At Mountainside Senior Living, super-elf Charlie
Bell is checking off a special part of Santa’s Christmas
list. But more on that next month.
The fact is that Santa’s got such a strong roster of
elves in Crozet that if global warming melts the foundations under his North Pole home, I expect he’ll call
Crozet his new hometown. He has a mighty workforce
already in place. Elves prefer to keep a low profile. It’s
part of their it’s-not-about-me attitude. But Santa has
seen them all over Crozet.
Dear Editor,
Thank you for printing Marlene Condon’s
thoughts [November Letters to the Editor].
Developers and corporate industry have a
vision of progress, but it is in most cases unsustainable. I believe you would not want to
replace all of Crozet village with one giant
Walmart, would you? The common consensus
seems to be that this would wipe out all small
businesses that have been sustained for decades
by local people.
But the small steps to the larger Walmart
store are subtle. You have a wonderful small
but full service grocer in Great Valu; you have
your own farmer’s market on Saturday; you
have the small Green Olive Tree thrift store
that is not part of the national Goodwill super
chain and you have a unique small train station library. These are all worth keeping. A
strong County would diversify and sustain
these things. A strong County might build a
French-German library in Covesville, or Afton,
or Earlysville; or a small political history
library, or even a geology or mountain folklore
library in one or more of these places and keep
the old railroad library and develop its
strengths unique to Crozet. But an industrial
development corporation would do the opposite. It will fold in all the small guys: businesses, libraries, elementary schools to concentrate in the name of economizing (and profit).
It would build one super library or regional
library. And as it goes for schools and libraries,
it will go for super stores and super streets
(Main streets, malls and 29 North developments).
The small village, the small library approach
is very expensive. Lancaster County in
Pennsylvania has struggled to keep the small
village alive for rural folk and they are as a
result one of the richest ag counties in the U.S.
The small unique villages, which Marlene
Condon wrote to defend, have a greater chance
at sustaining and creating this diversity than
all the moneyed developers “with dollar signs
in their eyes.” This conflict of global developers trying to remake every American village is
already carefully examined by Wendell Berry,
whose books are in our small train station
library of Crozet.
GENE KIM
Crozet
the
Meet Kathy Johnson
CROZETgazette
Don’t miss any of the hometown
news everybody else is up on.
Pick up a free copy of the Crozet
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or dorm room. Mail subscriptions are available for $18 for 12
issues. Send a check to Crozet
Gazette, P.O. Box 863, Crozet,
Virginia 22932.
Published on the first Thursday
of the month by
The Crozet Gazette LLC
P.O. Box 863
Crozet, Virginia 22932
z
Michael J. Marshall
Publisher and Editor
434-466-8939
www.crozetgazette.com
Kathy Johnson is a contributing writer for the Gazette.
© The Crozet Gazette LLC
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 3
BARN SWALLOW ARTISTS OFFER ART
INSPIRED BY NATURE
By Kathy Johnson
pieces of driftwood, handcrafted
chairs made of maple, giant stoneIf the beauty of a bird’s egg, the
cast seashells, semi-precious gemsmoothness of wood weathered by
stones of jewelry, miniature birdnature and the mystery of seashells
houses with dried flowers, small
combined with the artful skill of a
stone barn swallows, paintings and
talented craftsman add joy to your
photographs of flowers and leaves,
personal nest, then a trip to The Barn
and Magnolia leaves covered in gold.
Swallow should be just the thing.
“We keep changing and adding to
Mary Ann Burk and Janice Arone
the barn—we’re going online next
have found the perfect setting at The
year selling barn swallow-type things.
Barn Swallow to showcase their talThe things you find here are a little
ent and that of other area artists simdifferent,” Mary Ann grins, “out-ofilarly inspired to create functional
the ordinary, one of a kind,” she
pieces from glass, pottery, wood and
paused to smile and then, “We like
stone.
to do (and offer) things that are
Arriving here from Illinois after a
unique, handmade and special.”
10-year stay in Fort Collins,
Janice started at Virginia
Colorado, Mary Ann and her husCommonwealth University and she’s
band were looking for a new home.
been working as a potter for 30 years.
“We moved here on our second trip
Teapots, special lamps, plates, dishes
to Virginia. We thought it was advenand bathroom sinks are her specialty.
turous,” said Mary Ann and she
“I have tons of sketchbooks that are
laughed. She laughs easily, and you
my idea books,” she says. “I like
could see the twinkle in her eye as
doing commissioned pieces.” She
the adventure played back in her
takes the more thought-driven path,
mind.
working from her designs and ideas
“We were sort of waiting for a
and then offering high-fired stonesign.” They had little luck finding
ware. Celadon is one of her favorite
what they wanted as a home and
glazes and the rich green patina is
were ready to try North Carolina
visible in many of her finely crafted
when Mary Ann’s mother-in-law
pieces.
said, “Just try one more time.” She, Janice Arone and Mary Ann Burk welcome visitors to their Crozet shop, the Barn Swallow.
Big supporters of the Artisans
the mother-in-law, liked the Crozet
Center of Virginia, both artists
area and thought they might find something here. “We came in from the
appreciate the support of the organization and recently participated in the
west end, over Mechums River. We saw the barn here.” They stopped.
annual Studio Tour. “Other artists who want to have a place to showcase
The barn was the Crafter’s Gallery at the time, owned by Bob Leiby. Mary
their work should check out the center,” said Janice. The Barn Swallow is
Ann looked around and mentioned she was a potter. She told him they were located on Gilliums Ridge Road (Rt. 682, just off Route 250 near Mechums
looking for a home but couldn’t find what they wanted. Leiby had a house River.) For other information, call 979-4884.
nearby that he had stopped showing because of the “less than appealing”
possible tenants that had wandered by.
“He told us to go on back and take a look. There was a potter’s wheel in
the basement and I knew it was a sign. I was still supposed to do pottery.” It
must have been a sign for Bob Leiby too. He sold the house to them, and
Mary Ann and her husband have been working on the house for 20 years.
“It was really meant to be!” she says. “First I sold pots in the Crafter’s
Gallery and then later, Janice and I purchased the barn.” Backtracking on
her story, Mary Ann said she comes from a family of artists, including several photographers. “Art was an integral part of how we lived. I remember
throwing my very first pot and then I knew.”
In addition to selling at the gallery, Mary Ann would do shows in the area
and that’s where the partnership began. She and Janice Arone would set up
near one another and then if one needed to go to the bathroom or get something to eat, the other would watch her things. It grew into a deep friendship. “Would you be interested in having a gallery together?” Mary Ann
asked Janice. She was. “We’ve been going strong for six years.”
Asked about her pottery, Mary Ann says, “I’m always thinking of the
functional part of it, but we really try to keep our things nature-inspired.
Rustic (mixed) with some really fine pieces.” The Barn Swallow showcases
not only the work of Burk and Arone, but also the work of other area artist’s
work with a similar interest in nature-inspired creations.
On display, there’s a beautiful pottery bowl filled with downy bird feath- Nature inspired pottery, paintings, furniture, jewelry and other finely crafted pieces at the
Barn Swallow Gallery.
ers, a beautifully crafted teapot, a large mirror surrounded by weathered
page 4

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
Perfect Attendance
Ben Hurt (left) accepts a Lions Club lapel pin marking his 35 years of
perfect attendance at club meetings from vice president Bob Stamara at the
Crozet Lions’ annual Charter Night dinner Nov. 6, this year at Golden
Corral. Lions can make up a missed meeting if they attend another Lions
Club meeting somewhere within 13 days of the one they missed. “It’s hard
to do,” acknowledged Hurt about his astonishing attendance record. Hurt
has been in the Lions Club 60 years and made a few remarks on Club history. The club’s name is a reminder of its motto, Hurt said: liberty, intelligence, our nation’s safety. “We’ve done a lot for Crozet,” he said, “But we
won’t go into that. To me it’s a real inspiration to be in the Crozet Lions
Club.”
Club president Susan Miller (center) was emcee for the event, which
included a door prizes raffle and a “50/50” cash raffle in which $130 was
split among three winners.
McCauleys Mark
Golden Anniversary
Ray Page McCauley, the barber
of Crozet, and June Bernice Van
Nosdoll McCauley celebrated their
50th wedding anniversary Nov. 25,
Thanksgiving Day, with a family
party hosted by Gordon and Sandy
Merrick. On that day in 1956, they
stood before Rev. Robert Harold at
Crozet Baptist Church and said
their heartfelt vows. From that
union came three children, Virginia
Leigh, Ray Page Jr., and Lisa Ann,
now married to Troy Gardner Miller,
and all make their homes in Crozet.
The golden couple have five
grandchildren: MacKenzie Page
Smith, Jordan Hurst Smith, Tiffany
Skylar Miller, Ariel Kaylyn Miller
and Shannon Nicole Miller, all of
Crozet.
June’s wedding dress was sewn by
Ray’s mother, Virginia McCauley.
Lions Club Traveler Snack Stop
Crozet Lions Club member Phil
Eaton (left)—joined Lions from
Waynesboro, Jim Friend, Choppie
Witry, and Vince Emmett—for the
late morning shift at the Crozet rest
stop on Interstate 64, where the
Clubs traditionally joint-sponsor a
travelers’ snack stop on Sunday of
the Thanksgiving weekend. With
gregarious hospitality, the clubs gave
away gallons of coffee, soft drinks,
coffee cakes, honey buns and snack
cakes to people headed home from
holiday visits.
The highway was crowded with
Hokie fans feeling expansive after
Virginia Tech defeated U.Va. 17-0
in Blacksburg the day before.
“There’s a lot of Hokies on the
road,” noted Witry, who was wearing a Tech cap and sweatshirt. It was
true; Hokie garb was everywhere in
the parking lot. “We do our best to
tolerate them,” answered Friend
jovially.
“We didn’t have to listen to the
Good Ol’ Song even one time!”
gloated Hokie fan Kathy Barefoot
of Virginia Beach, who visited the
stand along with her husband Ken,
a former Hokie player who went on
to an NFL career with the Redskins
and the Detroit Lions. Both of their
sons also played football for Tech.
The holiday dinner table has nine
Tech grads at it, Kathy said proudly.
She was in a mood that took everything as fun.
Other Crozet Lions manning the
snack stop were Tom Amato, Chris
Scherer, Leigh McCauley, Larry
Claytor, Dave Ellis, Skip and Pat
Thacker, and Carrol Conley.
Eroded Base Forces New Light to Be Installed
The earth under the foundation of the traffic light boom at Miller School
Road eroded away and forced the construction of a new pole, which is supported by a massive 12-foot-deep footing. The new light has cameras and a
“preemption” system that allows fire engines to control the signal as well as
those at Henley Middle School and Western Albemarle High School.
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 5
by Phil James
The C .C. C. Christmas Gift
Christmastime in the 1930’s was a study in contrasts. The 1920’s had
closed out with the collapse of our nation’s financial system. The subsequent
economic depression affected nearly everyone in some way. Big city newspapers pictured urban families waiting in long lines for a free bowl of soup.
The country’s rural midsection had been devastated by a historic drought.
Western Albemarle County’s economy during the 1920’s and ’30’s continued to be grounded in the fruit industry. Local peach and apple growers
employed many of the available local hands during the fruit harvests. For
most of the workers in the fruit industry, however, it was a seasonal bonanza.
As local populations gradually increased, fewer agricultural labor positions
remained, and the nation’s economic woes pressed ever closer to home.
The Presidential administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt hit the
ground running in the spring of 1933. Elected in the fall of 1932 by a nation
of voters clamoring for a reversal of fortunes, the new administration quickly
put into operation a plethora of government–backed programs designed to
restore hope and initiative. History has proven that many of these programs
were crucial to the recovery of our nation. Along with economic recovery a
social/psychological recovery also took place.
The Civilian Conservation Corps, considered to be among the most successful of Roosevelt’s recovery programs, established Camp Albemarle at
White Hall in May 1933. Although the camp had begun as a tent camp, the
boys—many enrollees in the CCC program were previously unemployed
teenagers—by November had erected a mess hall and several barracks on the
White Hall site and were well settled into the camp’s daily work routine.
Beginning in 1933, a Crozet native, Capt. Russell Bargamin, Jr., the CCC
Company Commander at White Hall, initiated a camp–sponsored Christmas
outreach to the less–fortunate children in the surrounding communities.
Enrollees erected a huge Christmas tree on the camp’s parade grounds. The
tree was trimmed with tinsel and other decorations and lit with 175 electric
lights of many colors—an amazing display since many homes in rural areas
still didn’t have electrical service. Children were invited from a list supplied
by the local welfare agency. Many area retailers and wholesale suppliers contributed toys, candies, cakes, nuts, oranges, apples and tangerines.
On Christmas Eve the children were picked up by transport trucks and
delivered to the camp site where they were greeted by camp personnel and
Santa Claus (played by the camp’s Educational Advisor). The party began
with caroling around the lighted Christmas tree, followed by refreshments.
Crozet’s early prosperity was a result of the local fruit industry. This winter view, looking
north from the C&O Railroad tracks, showed orchards where homes now stand.
Afterwards each child
was handed presents in
addition to a red stocking filled with candy,
nuts and fruit. At the
end of the evening’s festivities, the children were
returned to their homes.
By 1935 this local
Christmas tradition was
serving 125–150 children, and the White Hall
CCC camp had garnered
the interest of people all
over Virginia. Happy
Days, the nationwide The Civilian Conservation Corps camp in White Hall
weekly newspaper of the was in operation 1933–1942. The ‘boys’ were carried to
Civilian Conservation remote job sites on the back of transport trucks.
Corps, headlined the
camp’s benevolent celebration in its Spotlight Department.
Many CCC camps published bi–weekly or monthly camp newspapers
with an emphasis on their local camp’s activities. Camp Albemarle’s newspaper, The Trumpeter, carried this feature in 1935:
OUR CHRISTMAS GIFT
Once more the members of old 338th Co. have jointly and conclusively decided to bring Yuletide greetings to the unfortunate
youngsters of this vicinity. Following the custom of the past two
years, a huge Christmas tree will be erected and appropriately lighted
for an ideal kiddie’s Christmas. The program in short, will be much
the same as that of last year …
This is done, not as duty to humanity, but as a privilege. To watch
the faces as they gaze appreciatively upon the tree, as they thankfully
receive the gifts, as they gratefully express their thanks, is more than
continued on page 6
CCC enrollees performed manual conservation work, and many also seized opportunities
to further their education during their ‘free’ time. This 1934 group was also involved in
hosting area children for a Christmas Eve party in the camp.
page 6

DECEMBER 2006
CROZET gazette
Christmas—continued from page 7
Main Street with a blanket of snow. The village Christmas Tree in The Square has often
been the site of community caroling in Crozet.
enough to soften the most cruel heart, to bond the strongest will.
In the face of these facts, we do not strive to be heroes or philanthropists, but merely a part of the community, to do our part toward
assuring a happier Christmas, a brighter life, and to perform the
ordinary community function.
The CCC camp did not close for the holidays, but camp personnel were
allowed a week to return home for Christmas. Half of the boys returned
home the week leading up to Christmas, while the other half went the week
following Christmas. Many of the fellows who were assigned to Camp
Albemarle were from areas in the northeastern United States, and a significant part of their time off was spent in travelling to and from their home
states. Local boys like Truman Huckstep of Free Union and Early Baber of
Batesville only had to begin walking towards home with the hope that a
benevolent local driver would pick them up and carry them on their way.
Some other local Christmas–season traditions were shared by Crozet’s
own Pete McCauley during a recent visit I made to the Modern Barber Shop.
During the 1940’s and ’50’s, there was more emphasis on observing the birth
of Jesus Christ. Many get-togethers were centered around singing: area
churches combined their choirs for a special program of song and celebration; local residents gathered in The Square for the lighting of the community Christmas tree and the singing of carols; homes with a piano or organ
often hosted family and neighborhood Christmas sing–a–longs. Hot chocolate seemed always to be available along with other fresh–baked treats. The
Capt. Russell Bargamin, Jr. organized an annual Christmas party at the White Hall CCC
camp for under-privileged area youth. Camp personnel also learned the responsibility of
community service during those economically depressed years.
Crozet Volunteer Fire Department collected and repaired toys for redistribution to the less fortunate children in the region.
Stringing popcorn, painting pine cones, making paper chains for tree
garlands, collecting running cedar and hunting mistletoe—these and other
traditions were once commonplace locally. As the CCC boys worded it in
their newspaper, much that was done was only considered “ordinary community function.” We would all do well to begin—or begin again—similar
traditions that bring us together as family and neighbors and community.
As the year draws to a close, I want to express my special thanks to Mike
Marshall and his Crozet Gazette staff for allowing me the privilege of passing along some glimpses of our shared local heritage.
My wife, Sally, and I hope for you a renewed reality of the Christ of
Christmas this holiday season. Merry Christmas, 2006!
Phil James invites contact from those who would share recollections and old photographs
of life along Albemarle County’s western mountain border. Contact him at: P.O. Box 88,
White Hall, VA 22987 or philjames@firstva.com. © 2006 Phil James
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 7
Crozet’s Historic
Buildings to Be Identified
expected to begin after the first of the year. Details
about survey criteria will be announced later.
Nearly 300 buildings in Crozet will be evaluated for their historic importance thanks to a
grant from the Virginia Department of Historic
Resources.
“The Crozet Master Plan does not include specific guidance for proceeding with new development while preserving Crozet’s significant historic
resources,”
said
Albemarle
County
Communications Director Lee Catlin. “The survey will provide up-to-date documentation to
help in developing effective strategies for the
coexistence of new development with resources
that define the special character of Crozet and its
place in Albemarle County history.”
The survey will create a reliable information
base to coordinate downtown development with
historic preservation goals, she said.
Owners of properties identified as historic will
be eligible for tax credits for renovations of the
building so long as the improvements are consistent with the building’s original condition.
The grant will be administered by the Virginia
Department of Historic Resources in coordination with Albemarle County. DHR will provide
$12,500 in funding for the project, and Albemarle
County and the Piedmont Environmental
Council (PEC) will combine to provide the
matching $12,500. Work on the project is
Crozet Water Supply
to be Studied
To meet a new state law passed in response to
the drought conditions of three years ago, the
Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority will prepare
water supply plans for Albemarle County, the
City of Charlottesville and the Town of
Scottsville.
‘”The Local and Regional Water Supply
Planning Regulations require that all cities, counties, and towns in Virginia develop a water supply
plan by 2011 to describe current water supply
resources, document projected growth of the area,
and identify the need for future water supply
sources,” said RWSA Executive Director Thomas
L. Frederick, Jr.
“The significant recent work by the Authority
leading to the decision to expand the Ragged
Mountain Reservoir will meet the legal requirements of this new state regulation for the City of
Charlottesville and the urban area of Albemarle
County around the City. Most of the new work
by the Authority will focus on water supply planning for the Crozet Growth Area and Scottsville,”
he said.
RWSA officials have met with County planners to talk about the data needed to conduct the
study, especially what population size the Crozet
water supply is meant to serve, and the County is
now collecting that information. An official population projection for Crozet by the County is
expected by spring, Frederick said. The study will
include a field analysis of Beaver Creek reservoir.
The RWSA received a $20,000 grant to perform all the studies. It will run out July 1, 2007.
page 8

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
Jorgensen Honored for Helping the
Disabled Find Jobs
Cardinal Point
An Afternoon’s Delight
By Kathy Johnson
Wine, oysters, music, and great weather
stirred gently—not shaken—created an afternoon delight during the 2006 Annual Oyster
Festival at Cardinal Point near Afton. Terrific
weather (at least the first day) added to the
enjoyment of those who attended the last official
Cardinal Point festival for the year.
Family and friends (volunteers) were pressed into helping with the festival. Several hundred people turned out for the warm weather, wine and
entertainment on Saturday (and even braver souls for the cool weather on
Sunday). Everyone celebrated the Indian Summer event by kicking off their
shoes, wearing shorts and sleeveless shirts, and enjoying the taste sensations
along with ocular and culinary opportunities.
A family-owned and operated winery located in the foothills of the Blue
Ridge, Cardinal Point was established in 1985, when Paul (and Ruth)
Gorman retired from the army and moved their family to the shadows of
Afton Mountain. During the next two years they planted two acres each of
Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon on what is now Cardinal Point Vineyard.
John, an architect, and the eldest Gorman son oversaw renovation of the
old farmhouse (and later designed the winery buildings), while his younger
sister Sarah and brother Tim tended the vines when they were home from
school in the summer. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in horticulture in
1993 from James Madison University, Tim Gorman returned to Cardinal
Point, experimenting with trellising systems, adding acreage to the winery
and becoming the official Cardinal Point Winemaker.
“It’s totally family and that’s the fun,” said Sarah Gorman. “Mom did a
lot of rain dancing” (to get the vines started). Sarah now spends her time
managing the business side of the winery, overseeing festivals, planning and
managing the events and taking her turn in the wine tasting room.
The Oyster Festival was followed closely by the release of their first vintage of 2006, the Nouveau Red. “Nouveau is never in oak,” said Sarah at the
official release. “It’s very fruity—fruit forward—with a nice little tartness at
the end.”
A group from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was there tasting and the first
comment was, “Oh wow.” Sarah explained, ”It’s a great wine for the holidays,” and the group must have agreed since the two couples each left with a
case of the Nouveau and several other wines, as well. Tim Gorman is the
only Virginia winemaker producing this early release red and the winery
produces only a short run.
Seventy-five to 80 percent of the grapes used by Cardinal Point for their
wines are grown in their own vineyards, with the balance coming from vineyards from the same area. For more information about Cardinal Point, their
wines and 2007 events, log on to www.cardinalpointwinery.com.
Thomas C. Jorgensen
of Greenwood, the
owner and president of
The Bradford Company,
located in Verona,
recently received both
local and statewide
awards for the company’s work with the disabled. Recognized as the
“Disabilities Employer
of the Year” by the local
Disability Awareness Council, The
Bradford Company was also selected
as one of the five statewide “Disability Employment Champions” by
the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services. At a Governor’s
Employment Champions Awards
Breakfast, Jorgensen received the
award with other honorees: Busch
Gardens, John F. Kennedy Center,
Food City and Virginia Crossings
Resort.
“It was beyond exciting to even
think that the Bradford Staffing
Company could be an equal with
organizations like Busch Gardens
and the Kennedy
Center. I and everyone
in the company has
worked hard doing
what is only right to do
in society,” Jorgensen
said. “We will continue
the work we have done
for years, helping all
types of candidates
become productive and
find the correct staffing
solutions so desperately needed by
companies in the area.”
Two of the Bradford Group’s
seven
in-house
staff
are
disabled. During the past year, the
company has secured the permanent
placement of 22 people with a disability and also has 37 disabled
employees on their present payroll
and 59 individuals with disabilities
awaiting placement. According to
Jorgensen, The Bradford Company
has filled over 12,000 positions with
their candidates since 1967.
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 9
Zoning —continued from page 1
for their February meeting. Cliff
Fox will compile a summary of
issues and options to facilitate the
next discussion. Fox praised the
rules in effect in Charlottesville’s
Downtown Mall and will provide
them for consideration as well.
The group had first thought to
name itself the Downtown Crozet
Business Association, but agreed, at
President Sandy Wilcox’s suggestion, to remove the term business
from the name to make clear that
the group’s aims are not purely commercial, but include preserving the
downtown area as Crozet’s cultural
heart and the center of the town’s
identity.
Organizers wrestled with how to
define membership terms for the
association, some concerned that
including citizens with no commercial stake in downtown would distract from the Association’s emphasis on commercial issues. Downtown
business owners and property own-
ers are natural members and after
some deliberation it was agreed that
membership is open to anyone committed to working for the prosperity
and vitality of downtown.
Fabulous Foods owner Heather
Penny said, “I like the idea of interested community members being in
these meetings if they have pride in
downtown. I see my business as a
service to the community. I take
pride in that. I would want to open
up the membership.”
The question of whether the
DCA should formally incorporate
and set dues was deliberated, but
those decisions were deferred in
order to make progress on the substantive zoning issues.
The County has advertised for
the consulting job and the selection
process expected to begin in January.
The County has invited Blue Goose
Building owner Sandy Wilcox and
Crozet Gazette editor Mike Marshall
to sit in on the interviews.
Maupin Music and Video
November
Fought-for Flicks
Pete’s Picks*
Pirates of the Caribbean II
Cars
Da Vinci Code
Superman Returns
Ice Age II
MIII
Little Man
Me, You and Dupree
Monster House
Danny Deck Chair
Millions
The Station Agent
Eulogy
Powder
*backed by Zack
page 10

DECEMBER 2006
CROZET gazette
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 11
Upcoming Ev ents
The Virginia Consort to
Present “A Blue Ridge
Christmas”at Rockfish
Presbyterian Church
Wintergreen Performing Arts will
present “A Blue Ridge Christmas”
with The Virginia Consort, Judith
Gary, conductor, Sunday, Dec. 10
at 4 pm at the Rockfish Presbyterian
Church, 5016 Rockfish Valley
Highway, Nellysford. Now in its
13th season, the Virginia Consort is
a 35-member Charlottesville-based
chamber chorus that has performed
at The White House and the World
Bank in Washington, DC., and has
provided background music for several television offerings, including a
PBS documentary. Tickets are $30.
To order tickets: (800) 594-8499;
www.wintergreenperformingarts.
org. For information: (434) 3258292; (866) 984-6874; info@winte
rgreenperformingarts.org.
Albemarle-Charlottesville Pilot
Club meets the second Tuesday of
each month at 7 p.m. at the
Meadows Community Center in
Crozet. New members welcome.
295-1783.
Holiday Events at
Tabor Presbyterian
The Tabor Presbyterian Church
choir will present their annual cantata, “Born a Savior, Born a
King,” Sunday, Dec. 10 at 11 a.m.
and at 3:30 p.m. A reception for the
choir following the morning service
will be held in the Fellowship
Hall. This event is open to the public and everyone is invited.
The “Tabor Tabernacle,” as they
call themselves, has given holiday
concerts for many years. Music
director Ruth Chiles leads the 15member choir.
Since Christmas Eve falls on
Sunday this year, Tabor will have a
Christmas Eve service at 11 a.m.
and a candlelight service at 5:30
p.m. During the morning service,
the children of Tabor will present a
play, “Michael Mouse,” depicting
one aspect of the Christmas story, as
seen through the eyes of a
mouse. The candlelight service will
feature lessons, carols, readings and
poetry, with communion offered.
Everyone is invited.
Blue Ridge Family
Chorus’s Winter Cabaret
December 17
The Blue Ridge Family Chorus
will offer its 6th annual winter
performance—Winter Cabaret—on
Sunday, Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the
Earl Hamner Theater in Nellysford.
Come for a little light and warmth
as this community chorus sings winter and holiday music and shares
free refreshments. Admission is
free. Donations to cover the cost of
renting the theater gladly accepted.
For more information, please call
434-823-5717 (Katrien) or 434361-1999 (Hamner Theater).
Zephyrus to Present
Christmas Music at
St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church, Ivy
Zephyrus, Central Virginia’s
Early Music Ensemble, will present
two Christmas concerts, at 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 9, at First
Presbyterian Church on Park St. in
Charlottesville and at 3:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 10, at St. Paul’s Ivy.
These a cappella programs will feature a set of contemporary Christmas
music as well as a selection of favorite early works from Zephyrus’s first
two recordings. In addition, the
group will perform a selection of
carols in a variety of languages:
English, German, French, Spanish,
Italian, Czech and Polish.
General admission tickets are $15
for adults, $10 for students and
elders. They are available at
Greenberry’s at Barracks Road,
Mincer’s on the Corner, New
Dominion Bookstore on the
Downtown Mall and at the door.
For more information, call 2935339.
page 12

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
ASAP —continued from page 1
cumulative effects. It’s like counting calories but
not portions. A ‘smart growth’ strategy is unacceptable for the best place to live in America,”
said Marshall.
“This is a cutting-edge idea even though it’s
common sense,” he said.
Acting on this reasoning, ASAP in September
asked the County to pass a Comprehensive Plan
amendment to require identification of a sustainable optimal population size, or range, for the
Charlottesville/Albemarle community, which has
a combined population of about 130,000 now.
No zoning changes should be made until the
optimal figure is known, they said.
“Nobody has identified that goal,” said
Marshall. “It’s driven now by those who want
growth.”
The figure should be “democratically arrived at
and in harmony with environmental factors. If
any county can do it, Albemarle should be able to
do it,” he claimed. He mentioned Boca Raton,
Florida; Petaluma, California; and Boulder,
Colorado as other places where similar growth
planning is being undertaken.
Marshall asked for a formal resolution from
the CCA that supported the ASAP initiative.
“We want to stipulate the ideal size of the
County,” he reiterated.
“County planners are sympathetic, but they
are worried it will mean a hell of a lot more work
for them.
Jack Marshall
“This is entirely legal,” Marshall reassured the
crowd. “The Comprehensive Plan is a policy document. We’re not talking about a moat around
the County. There is already a cap. That’s what’s
in the zoning. Add it up. Is that the number we
want? We may need to downzone in an equitable
way.”
Heidi Sonen asked, rhetorically as it turned
out, why conservation easements, which she
called a “highly underutilized tool,” were not
more widespread. “We’re driving out families who
have lived here for ages,” she said.
“I would be in favor of us supporting it,” said
Mary Rice, chair of the Crozet Community
Advisory Council. Others declared support too.
Rice recalled the town’s experience with the
County’s pre-existing zoning for the Growth
Area, according to which the Master Plan was
premised on a final town population of 12,500.
Then the County’s first rezoning decision effectively raised the official projection to 24,000.
“There was no context whatsoever for the
implications of that,” she said.
CCA rules forbid action on a motion or resolution until the meeting after it is introduced.
The rule aims to prevent action from being taken
impulsively or on topics that were not published
on the agenda until the public has a chance to
weigh in. So the matter of a formal endorsement
of the concept was deferred until the Jan. 11
meeting.
Marshall said ASAP suggests that a citizens
committee be established to do the work of calculating the optimum population. “We’ve been
working on a methodology,” he said. “There are
four variables to consider: natural resources, public services and infrastructure, fiscal and tax issues,
and community character and scale.”
ASAP has not suggested a figure.
The CCA also discussed the need for a recycling center in Crozet and it elected officers for
2007. They are: David Wayland, president; Heidi
Sonen, vice president; Emery Taylor, treasurer;
and Judi Burbes, secretary.
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 13
A New York Yankee in Chief Bubba and Hubba’s
Firehouse
By Tom Loach
YOUR FIRE IS OUR FIRE: HOW MUTUAL AID PLANS BOND OUR COMMUNITIES
Make no mistake, fighting a fire
is both man-and-machine intensive.
Putting out a fire is accomplished
by small teams of fire fighters going
toe-to-toe with it. And the fire
always has the opening advantage.
The truth is a fire of any significant size will need additional help
from outside the local fire department. Because of this need for additional resources, the concept of
mutual aid developed. Mutual aid is
a predetermined plan for requesting
assistance from fire departments in
the areas surrounding the one in
need. Several weeks ago, the Crozet
Volunteer Fire Department, along
with the Wintergreen and the Faber
Fire Departments, was called to aid
the Rockfish Volunteer Fire
Department in fighting a house
fire.
Crozet sent a fully staffed engine
company directly to the scene.
Assistant Chief Mike Walton was in
charge of the Crozet contingent,
with Captain Will Schmertzler in
command of the engine company.
Driver and engineer Kevin
Sandridge was in charge of pump
operations with the help of two
Junior Fire Fighters, Chase
Sandridge and Adam Shifflett.
On arrival, Chief Walton conferred with the Incident Commander
from Rockfish to coordinate the
attack on this fully involved house
fire. Then Captain Schmertzler was
ordered to lead the remainder of the
engine company—firefighters Eric
Marshall, Rick Hagedorn, Mike
Barnett and me—to the second
floor of the house to search for and
put out any extension of the fire.
Twice Chief Walton pulled us out
of the building when the fire threatened to reach the room below us.
Once allowed back on the second
floor, we hastily made openings in
the wall—only to face a wave of
flame, which we quickly knocked
down. After we had the fire contained there, we moved to the roof,
where we helped establish ventilation openings to allow heat and
smoke to escape the structure.
It took time, but the fire was
finally put out. Totally exhausted by
the ordeal, we dragged ourselves
back to the engine for the ride
home. It’s an incredible compliment
to the men and women of the fire
service who, at any time day or
night and regardless of the weather,
answer the call to protect not only
the lives and property of Crozet residents, but also those of neighboring communities.
And there are other unsung
heroes behind the scenes who make
mutual aid work. Once the need for
help is apparent, it’s the job of the
staff
at
the
Emergency
Communication Center (ECC) to
put the plan into operation. Sitting
in the engine cab listening to the
radio communication, it is indeed
impressive to hear ECC personnel
choreograph the movement of men
and machines to assigned locations.
The radio chatter reminded me of
war movies where radar operators
would vector Spitfire and Hurricane
pilots to meet the enemy bombers
over the skies of England, only in
this case the enemy, just as lethal, is
fire, injury or illness.
Twenty-five percent of firefighter
deaths occur on the way to an emergency. ECC operators are responsible for helping fire fighters headed
into unfamiliar territory get to the
emergency safely in the shortest
amount of time. They do a tremendous job. The community can take
comfort in knowing that 24 hours a
day, someone will answer a call for
help.
If you think you would like to be
part of the team, just stop by the
Crozet firehouse any evening, sit
down and talk with a firefighter
about how you might help.
Remodeling to Close Page’s Store in Batesville
Teresa Parker, of Page’s Store in
Batesville, says that shocked looks
are the order of the day. “What’s
going on?” people are asking. “Why
are you closing?” All good questions and all in response to the
innocent-looking little notice at
Page’s Store in Batesville announcing that the store will close on
December 23. Unless patrons continue reading, they may assume that
the closing is for the holidays.
Wrong.
Page’s Store, at the heart of the
Batesville community and lifeblood
for lunch items, milk, bread, pop,
conversation, information, wine,
and forgotten items, will close on
December 23, and not reopen until
sometime toward the end of
February or mid-March.
“It’s just a good time to get some
needed remodeling done,” said
Parker. “It’s a nice time to get some
things done that need updating.”
Parker said they would be back and
better in the spring.
But meanwhile it’s going to be a
long winter in Batesville without
Page’s.
page 14

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
One of Us:
Bill Dollins, Cattleman
The radio in the blue Dodge pickup was tuned
to 107.1 FM, a Christian station out of
Appomattox. It was not noticeably loud, but it
was the good old time religion. God is always
there, it was saying, telling you the truth, even
when you’re not really listening in.
When the truck rumbled across the cattle
guard into the back field on Yellow Mountain
Farm, a couple of miles south of Crozet, three
donkeys picked up their ears, then flicked their
heels, and let go excited squeals. Bill Dollins had
a five-gallon bucket of bread slices in the back—
easily enough to make ten loaves—and they knew
it. They knew it like they’d been listening in.
There were two ninnies and one gelding and they
rushed the back of the truck as Dollins stopped.
“They’ll follow me anywhere,” he said. “I just
have ‘em for pets. That’s all.”
But that’s his philosophy of animal husbandry:
Be calm. Be gentle. Throw out plenty of treats on
a frequent basis. Get rid of bad behavers fast.
Most times, if you love them, they love you back.
Farther on down the pasture slope were some
dozen or so cows and their new calves. They recognized the truck too, and there was a frolicsome
stampede towards it. A big Hereford cow got
there first and insisted on more than her share.
One, two, three, five, eight slices disappeared
across her pleading tongue. “It’s a good thing they
haven’t got teeth on the top,” Dollins remarked.
“I’d get bit pretty bad.” Dollins finds out-of-date
loaves and buys them up to keep his stock swooning over the sight of him.
The calves are rather young for the season—
there’s a bull back in the pasture now—but they’re
vigorous. “I like to have them in good shape
before bad weather,” Dollins said. “I wean them
off in the spring.” He has 40 to 50 head on the
place over the course of a year.
Nestled in a clearing
beyond the fence is a log
cabin, built around 1845,
the only building on the
place when Bill and his
wife Charlotte bought it in
1959 and had it cleared
with a bulldozer. They renovated the cabin (“It still
has all the original timbers
in it,” Dollins noted.) and
now it’s rented out. A former tenant gave them the
handsome farm sign that
swings at the driveway.
A hundred years ago the
land was in his family. His
granddad’s sister owned it.
They gave it up and even- Bill Dollins
tually he bought three parcels back. His family’s roots
in the neighborhood trace to the 1700s, maybe
earlier, he thinks, but he’d have to consult his
genealogy records before he would say so positively.
Five years ago his road was a familiar rural lane
with cattle grazing behind old fencerows. Not
long before that it was still just gravel tracks. Now
it’s lined with new manor-style houses set back
on small acreages.
“They’ve been rocking ‘em,” said Dollins about
the building boom. “It ain’t much you can say
about it. If you don’t own the land you can’t control it. There’s not a lot you can say about it any
more.
“Most of us poor farmers, if we weren’t under
land use [taxation rules] we couldn’t stay where
we’re at.”
Dollins keeps his pipe handy in his left shirt
Bread slices fly like parade candy when Dollins checks on his cows and calves.
pocket, stem down, bowl cradled up on the
pocket lip. He’s stuck with Carter Hall boxes for
40 years. Every little bit he’ll relight it or tap out
a little ash and aromatic shavings of tobacco. His
pipe and his green cap with “Yellow Mountain
Farm/ Bill Dollins/Crozet, Va.” in yellow embroidery are pretty much part of his uniform.
Dollins was on his way to Union Stock Yard in
Staunton, where he’s a fixture in Fridays. Saturdays
he goes to the sale in Charlottesville, but as farming declines in Albemarle that sale has shrunk. It’s
all over in an hour and a half. “The prices aren’t a
whole lot different,” he said about the two sales,
“but you’ve got a lot more buyers in Staunton,”
where sales still last several hours.
“I don’t miss many,” he said. For 40 years he’s
been there virtually every week. “This is where I
do my selling. I get the best prices. They’ve got
good men who really know cattle. Lots of cattle
from over the mountain come here—Free Union,
White Hall, Nelson.”
He goes mainly to follow prices and to snag a
bargain or two to bring home. He used to hire
out to transport cattle, too.
“I gave up hauling. My heath isn’t the best any
more,” said Dollins, now 78. “I do a little bit.”
Maybe the cattle have a sprightliness advantage
too. “I can’t move fast enough to work ‘em,” he
lamented. But the fact is he can read their minds
and can anticipate their moves. The stockyard’s
truck docks are infrequently used now that trailers have become popular. “Trailers are better
because you can load anywhere,” Dollins
explained. “Cattle will just step up in there.”
Mainly, he doesn’t like to drive at night and
doesn’t want to have to stay at the stockyard late
into the evening to load. He’ll leave the sale these
days sure to have plenty of time left to do his
chores before evening falls.
His father was a carpenter who built the building that now houses Parkway Pharmacy, the apple
packing shed on White Hall Road and numerous
local houses. “I never did much of that,” Dollins
said. “I kinda liked foolin’ with my cows. If I
get a wild one, they don’t stay around. I like ‘em
gentle.”
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 15
The sale ring at Staunton Union Stock Yard
He keeps up with wider agriculture news by
following the Mid-Atlantic Country Folks Farm
Chronicle, a two-section weekly tabloid published
in New York that does a surprisingly good job of
noticing things in the Virginia Piedmont. He
brought one with him to pass along an article to a
friend he hoped to see at the sale.
Everybody—that’s everybody—around the yard
knows Dollins. “Hey, Bill! Get your money out.
There’s good stuff in there,” one called out as he
neared the steps. Friends from Nelson County
stop him to visit first. “I’m doing well,” he told
them, in a modest, reassuring tone.
The first stop was the scale office where Dollins
checked in with David Hewitt. The scale is now
David Hewitt and Dollins in the scale office
electronic, but only last year it was still a beam
scale that Hewitt adjusted with a gear-driven
weight to reach the balance point. “His uncle
[Clay, who runs the stockyard] is a mighty nice
man,” Dollins commented. “I can’t say enough
[good] about him.”
The next stop was the catwalk to scout the pens
from above and watch the sorting and grading.
“I’ve been here when every one of these pens was
full,” he mused. A yellow sticker on the spine
means sell separately. A dab of paint there means
sell with the other animals in the pen with the
same color dab. There’s a head gate handy along
an alley so that pregnancy tests can be run. The
pens are kept dimly lit to help calm the animals.
Sales are organized by sex and
weight, with lighter animals
going into the ring ahead of
heavier ones. “They do a right
good job here, but I tell them
that [the market] should be in
the middle of a 50-acre field.”
Jack Clark of White Hall was
at the sale, taking the pulse of
the market just as Dollins was.
“Ethanol [manufacture] is
driving up the price of corn, so
cattle prices are falling,” Clark
said, meaning that fear of feed
prices was keeping buyers wary,
worried that they won’t be able
to recover their costs next year
when the cattle reach slaughter
weight. “I expect a larger corn
planting next spring if corn
prices stay up,” he added, noting that competition for feed from Valley poultry raisers was an
additional pressure on cattlemen. Prices have
been falling since last spring, sinking as gas prices
spiked.
Outside the lunch counter, Dollins met
Conrad Hicks of Ivy, who runs 300 cows now,
down considerably from his heyday, Dollins said.
“I’m just looking today to see what they’re
doing,” Hicks said. They sat on a bench outside
the lunch counter together, quietly, two taciturn
farmers, or maybe long, long friends who know
each other’s minds too well to bother with talk.
They were glad for each other’s company. There
was tale-telling going on before the sale started,
and they listened in, but were not much amused.
Then they went to their familiar seats in the
sale room, high on the right, above the ring entry
door, where they could watch Clay Hewitt as he
bought on order for buyers who weren’t there and
because it made a better perch for surveying the
crowd to pick up on who was bidding, bids being
the most subtle, secretive and fleeting gestures
that would seem to be undetectable—except that
the auctioneer Jeff Showalter in fact could catch
them.
“I stay up here in case someone doesn’t like my
tobacco smoke,” Dollins said. And that was true
too.
The ring was hosed down to dampen dust.
Nearly 100 men, mostly wearing weathered baseball caps, some in cowboy hats, a pair of brothers
in snappy black fedoras, most looking to be past
continued from page 26
page 16

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
BY DR. ROBERT C. REISER
said, “and we’ll be fine.”
And, furthermore, “Nope, haven’t
got any radar, Doc.”
My initiation into the mysteries
of flight medicine continued when
we got to the outlying hospital. The
patient we were to transport was
brain-dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was
being tenuously maintained on a
ventilator and dopamine and dobutamine blood pressure drips. It was
hopeless and I asked the crew why
we had bothered to come. The crew
E
U
C
S
E
R
E
H
T
O
T
G
N
I
FLY
One of the more glamorous
aspects of Emergency Medicine is
the flying ambulances we use to
transport patients. Christened with
wonderfully evocative names such
as Pegasus, Lifeguard, Nightingale,
Angel 1, Aircare, etc., they cast a
halo on the institutions they serve.
But the recent rapid proliferation of
such helicopter services has created
significant concerns about flight
safety and about the overuse of such
services for patients who don’t need
to fly.
I remember well my first flight
on Lifeflight as an emergency medicine resident in Pittsburgh. It illustrates both the great promise for
lifesaving that helicopters offer as
well as the associated risks.
Knowing little of aeronautics, but
aware that summer was the high
season for trauma, I elected to do
my flight month in August. A heat
wave had settled over the city and
the police, fire and emergency
response services were on alert.
In my Nomex flameproof jumpsuit, flight helmet and new boots, I
approached the flight line on a sweltering summer evening for my first
foray. It was 8 p.m., dusk was closing in and the temperature hovered
around 100 degrees.
There were four crewmembers on
this flight: me, a flight nurse, a flight
medic and
the pilot. I sat in the front bubble in
the copilot’s seat. Excellent!
The twin jet engines began to
whine as they spooled up and then
screamed when the pilot pushed the
throttles forward. The doors were
closed and the pilot hauled up on
the collective. The ship gave a slight
shudder but nothing else happened.
The pilot thrust the throttles to the
firewall and the ship shuddered a
little more and wobbled a bit but
could not break the bonds of earth.
Over the roar of the engines came
the pilot’s laconic drawl on the
intercom, “Folks, I may have ask
one of you to get off. In this heat we
can’t seem to generate enough lift to
get off the ground.” I was happy to
volunteer but the pilot said, “No,
Doc, let’s just get these engines
really hot and we should be good to
go.”
Sure enough, after some more
wobbling we slowly rose above the
city and headed south into the
gloaming. At that point it occurred
to me to wonder how we could
return carrying one more soul, the
patient we were en route to pick
up.
“No problem, Doc. We will have
burned enough fuel that we should
be light enough by then.
“You just keep a sharp lookout
for any planes or power lines,” he
eyed me with the suspicion that I was a simpleton. Organ
donation of course.
Our flight that night (and the
family’s noble decision) helped save
two lives, a father dying of heart
failure, and a 23-year-old cystic
fibrosis patient dying of lung disease. Two kidney failure patients
were freed from dialysis and sight
was restored to a patient awaiting a
corneal transplant.
That was back in the early days of
helicopter medicine when calling
Dr. Robert C. Reiser
for a flight was a monumental decision. Since then the ships have not
become much safer (with an average
of one fatal crash per month) but
the number of flights has skyrocketed. Any first responder can request
helicopter dispatch with little review
of the indications for flight. I
recently received a patient by helicopter who had dislocated his shoulder falling off his mountain bike. I
relocated his shoulder and he was
discharged from the ED before the
continued from page 26
Crozet gazette
DECember 2006 s page 17
Turkish Star : The Bonds of the World Draw Tighter
Anxious to preserve traditional rural
Turkish craftsmanship from dying out as
poverty forces Turkish people off farms
into cities, where they abandon their traditional crafts, Peter Kaya, a Turkish
immigrant to the U.S. who fate brought
to Charlottesville, came up with the idea
of forming a cooperative of Turkish farm
weavers and marketing their rugs in
America. That’s Crozet, America, to be
exact, because the Turkish Star, a new
store in the new Clover Lawn shops on
Rt. 250, is the cooperative’s first retail
outlet.
The concept traces back to 1987, when
a German chemist researched traditional
Turkish natural dyes and discovered which
plants and flowers make which colors. He
then encouraged local weavers to use the
natural dyes in rug designs that would be Hanri Kaya and one of her Turkish rugs
popular in Europe and he formed a cooperative of weavers.
Some of those weavers have since left the original cooperative and “the
Turkish Star is buying those weavers’ rugs directly,” explained Hanri Kaya,
Peter’s wife, a native of South Africa, who now runs the store while Peter
travels in his home country looking for craft goods to import.
Peter knew about the weaving cooperative and conceived of the plan to
help more Turkish weavers find a market three years ago.
“He’s a real ‘heart’ person. He has to help,” explained Hanri. “I’m coming
behind with the details.” Peter recently returned from a buying trip to
Turkey, this time with an eye to expanding the variety of products the store
offers and finding more ways to support more rural craftsmen.
“They are so grateful to us for giving them a market,” Hanri Kaya said.
Turkish Star is representing 50 weaver families, most living in the districts of
Ayvacik, Afyon and Balikeser in western Turkey.
The store mainly features handmade rugs, but also carries Turkish ceramics, glassware and Travertine tile. “We’re trying to increase the variety of
things, but all of it will be handmade by Turkish artisans.”
“Ceramics are handmade on wheels and hand-painted,” Hanri explained.
Many designs feature the tulip, the national symbol of Turkey. “Some are
ancient designs and some are contemporary ones that art professors make
up.” Turkish designs tend to be geometrical or involve animals.
The rug weavers raise the sheep the wool is sheared from, collect the dye
materials and are completely engaged with the entire process that results in a
rug, Hanri said.
Every weaver’s initials are woven into their creations. Weavers use simple
looms. They farm during the day and work on rugs at night and through the
winter. Weavers are usually women,
though the store has one rug woven by a
man.
“Usually men don’t weave,” Kaya said.
“They don’t have the patience.”
A rug 10 feet by 8 feet would be considered large and two people would work
on it. Rugs at the store vary in size but
most are 6 x 8 feet, some are 5 x 3, and
some are 10 x 8. Runners are typically 2.5
feet by 7 or 10 feet.
Normal pricing of Middle Eastern rugs
is in the range of $75 to $85 per square
foot, Hanri said. The Turkish Star’s prices
are in the $50 to $65 per square foot
range. “We need enough profit to grow
the project and keep them busy. Our aim
is to provide work. We don’t want to hold
a big inventory. We want to keep things
moving,” she said. “Mothers are now
training their daughters to weave.”
“Rugs can last generations,” said Hanri, who is still using one that was
made in 1896. “Turks do not wear shoes in the home. It’s against their culture,” she explained. So rugs suffer a great deal less wear there.
“A good quality rug with a deep pile should last a minimum of two generations,” she said. “The yarns still have their natural oils in them so they
resist stains.”
A Turkish rug knot is
tied to two strands of the
warp, not tied to one and
looped under a second in
the way Persian rugs are
made, she noted. This
knotting system also contributes to durability. All
the store rugs are inspected
by a fine arts professor at
a Turkish university who
provides written certificates of the knot count
and assurance that the Weaver Emine Onen in Cinarpinar, Turkey
rugs are properly made
according to traditional
methods.
When Kaya first came
to the United States eight
years ago, he headed for
Charlottesville because he
knew someone living
there. The Kayas have two
children now and live in
Lyndhurst.
They picked Crozet for
the store location because
of the construction boom. Weaver Gulseren Kaya and her two daughters
“We noticed Crozet is a very developing place. We wanted to be where new
houses are being built and there might be a need for our things. We’re getting there.”
page 18

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
Attendance Zones for
Crozet and Brownsville
Schools Likely to Shift
Some students now attending Crozet
Elementary are likely to be students at Brownsville
Elementary next fall. The School Board scrapped
plans to add on to Crozet Elementary at its Nov.
29 work session, scrubbing the item off its fiveyear Capital Improvements Projects list. An addition to Brownsville will proceed at the earliest
possible date. A board vote on the building plan
is set for Dec. 14. County school officials will
meanwhile begin working on the details of a
boundary shift between the two schools.
Crozet has been over its capacity of 342 students since 2002. It currently has 423 students.
The abandoned plan called for its capacity to be
raised to 608 students.
Happy Merry Joyful
Winter Break
December 22, 2006
to
January 2nd, 2007
Warrior Marching Band was
a highlight of the Crozet
Christmas Parade
Unweighted GPAs Unfair To Honors Students
By Scot Masselli, WAHS Western Hemisphere Features Editor
Albemarle County Schools
recently studied the high
school’s weighted GPA system
and whether or not to drop it.
Currently, students are awarded
one point for AP classes, half a
point for honors and a quarterpoint for advanced classes. The
points are added to the number
1-4 given based on grade in the
class. Standard classes do not
receive bonus points.
As with most committees,
the Program of Studies Steering
Committee seems to feel that
they must recommend change
to justify their existence, no
matter how illogical the change
may seem. The reasons and justifications committee members
gave, even though they supported the same change, directly
conflicted with each other.
Committee Director Don Vale,
the County Schools’ director of
curriculum and instruction,
said students would be more
likely to take difficult classes if
it did not affect their GPA.
However, Monticello High
School senior Britt Beringer, a
student member of the com-
mittee, believes that eliminating the current GPA system
will stop kids from taking
classes that may be over their
heads, and therefore not take
rigorous classes. Mr. Vale gave
no explanation as to why students would take on the challenge of harder material and
more work without any reward.
The extra work that an AP class
entails, which they might have
to take to attract competitive
colleges, may not be worth the
effort as it could potentially
pull down their GPA. As for
Beringer’s assessment, assuming
the new system is passed, complacent students who take standard and advanced level classes
will be rewarded the same as
those who do challenge themselves and often work late into
the night to get a B in an honors or AP class.
Western Albemarle math
teacher Chuck Witt’s comments about students not wanting to challenge themselves
with a lack of reward seems to
be the most realistic opinion.
People want and deserve to be
rewarded for their extra efforts,
he said. This belief is not only
applicable to high school and
college admissions, but also an
intricate part of our society.
Committee member Mark
Rooks, a guidance counselor at
Western, attempted to defend
the new system. Rooks said that
most colleges have their own
system of weighing a student’s
GPA.
However,
John
Blackburn, dean of admissions
at the University of Virginia,
believes that most colleges do
not go through the process of
re-weighing GPA.
While it seems that
Albemarle County wants to
recognize student accomplishments more completely at graduation, a point made by
Beringer, it cannot be forgotten
that they are diluting the
achievements of others. In a
feel-good world, this may be an
attractive approach, but in the
merit-based world we live in, it
would be best to quantify students’ achievements and reward
them all accordingly.
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 19
Affordable Housing —continued from page 1
assessed by the County at the affordable threshold, $191,000 (80 percent of the median County house
value), or what the same percentage
across the White Hall and Samuel
Miller magisterial districts might be.
He estimated that 40 percent of
houses countywide probably qualify
as affordable and that the percentage in Crozet is likely to be higher
because of the history of housing
types built here. According to federal data, the median income per
household in Albemarle is $66,500,
White said.
The County’s goal is to see 15
percent of the units in a development project that goes through a
rezoning process priced at or below
the affordable threshold, White
explained. But those units cannot
be mandated and the Planning
Commission and the Board of
Supervisors “have consistently used
the affordable housing policy as a
guide” in evaluating development
proposals, White said. Albemarle
would need state enabling legislation in order to enact a binding
County ordinance on affordable
housing.
Since the current policy was
adopted in 2004, 600 units
(Countywide) meeting the affordable criteria have been proffered by
developers asking for rezonings.
“We think that is pretty successful up to this point,” White said.
Of the 400 in the Crozet Growth
Area, 330 are in Old Trail and the
remainder in the West Hall, Liberty
Hall, and Wickham Pond developments, with all the projects offering
about 15 percent of their planned
units.
“We expect an affordable housing
component regardless of where the
development is,” said White, meaning even in future developments in
downtown Crozet.
White said the Planning
Commission is investigating ways
to increase the use of a “bonus density” provision enacted by the
County in the 1980s that allows
developers proceeding with by-right
projects to increase their allowable
units by 30 percent if those meet
affordable criteria.
“It’s only used in rare cases now,”
White said. The CT3 zoning type (a
semi-dense residential area) allows a
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density bonus for “accessory units,”
rental units such as garage apartments that cannot be sold separately
from the main dwelling.
“We don’t have an incentive–
based policy now. The only incentive [developers] have is they get
the rezoning.” White said the
County is looking for additional
incentives.
“Every development is different.
In the end, the planning
Commission and Supervisors look
at the development in total,” said
White. In other words, if the developer is proffering expensive road
improvements, County leaders are
less willing to press for affordable
housing concessions as well. Builders
are unwilling to discount their
investment in the construction
because they suspect the affordable
house buyer would simply put the
house back in the market and pocket
the value the builder had sacrificed.
White said raw land cost in
Albemarle is the main factor in high
housing cost in Albemarle. A ¼-acre
developed lot (meaning it has a
driveway, water and sewer) is worth
$125,000. “That’s what the market
will pay,” he said.
White put the cost of actual construction in Albemarle at between
$170 and $180 per square foot. The
same cost in Fluvanna County is
$130, he said.
People have a preference for single family homes, White said, and
rather than buy a townhouse in
Albemarle will live farther away
from their jobs, such as in
Waynesboro or Augusta County,
where land values are lower, if they
can afford a single family home
there.
“Many people understand that a
condo may be their only opportunity,” he said.
In Crozet Crossing, an affordable
housing project in which the
Charlottesville Housing Foundation
(which has since folded into the
PHA) and the County jointly developed 30 small houses at the end of
Cling Lane, houses sold for $80,000
to $90,000 in 1993-94 and are now
worth $130,000 to $150,000,
White pointed out. So even houses
built to answer the need gradually
become more expensive than many
people can afford.
Because mortgage lenders have a
75-25 rule of thumb they apply
when evaluating house value in loan
applications—75 percent of the
value is the building and 25 percent
is the land value—then high lot
costs mean that lenders are looking
for an equally expensive house to
judge the loan sound, White said.
Asked how the CCAC could promote more local affordable housing,
White offered three thoughts: pressure developers to offer more units,
pressure large employers to build
housing for their employees, and
increase funding for the County’s
housing subsidy programs.
The County provides $1 million
a year to the Piedmont Housing
Alliance and the Albemarle Housing
Improvement Project for their
affordable housing programs.
The CCAC also agreed to investigate school crowding issues, especially at Crozet Elementary, and
learned that the County has received
a state grant to inventory historic
buildings in Crozet.
page 20

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
30th Anniversary of Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch
By Nancy King
Every fall, armed with binoculars
and lots of patience, a small army of
dedicated birders watch for hawks
on top of Afton Mountain just west
of Crozet. Thousands of raptors
migrate south from mid-August
through mid-November, skirting
the Blue Ridge Mountains at
Rockfish Gap, on their way to their
wintering grounds in Mexico,
Central and South America. For 30
years, local hawk-watchers have
been counting the hawks, eagles,
vultures, and falcons as they soar
overhead.
Hawk-watchers scan the skies
and find what look to the untrained
eye to be tiny pin-pricks in the distance. As the tiny blobs get closer,
the real experts in the group can tell
by the shape, the flight pattern, and
the number of wing-beats what kind
of raptor is heading their way. The
birds, at this point, are so far away
or so high that observers can’t make
out color, markings or size!
“All raptors fly differently,”
explained Jennifer Gaden, president
of the Monticello Bird Club. “Some
fly on steady wing-beats, others ride
the thermals, and others do a kind
of ‘flap, flap, glide.’”
Raptors depend on strong
updrafts to help follow the ridgelines. They ride thermals—rising
bubbles of heated air—to great
heights and then try to glide long
distances without flapping, thus
conserving their energy as they
migrate thousands of miles to their
winter ranges. Rockfish Gap is a
popular migration corridor for 16
different kinds of raptors and it
offers a panoramic view of both the
Shenandoah and Rockfish Valleys.
By far, the most common raptor
on Afton Mountain is the Broadwinged hawk, a large chunky bird
with snappy black and white bands
on his tail. This year the team has
tallied more than 14,000 Broadwinged hawks among the 16,000
total birds spotted. Other birds seen
in large numbers include: sharpshinned hawk, Cooper’s hawk,
American kestrel, osprey, and turkey
vulture.
The Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch
began three decades ago with a small
group of friends sitting on folding
chairs in the parking lot of the
Holiday Inn. On one September
day in 1976 they counted 765 raptors, and a tradition was born.
Thirty years later, the folding chairs
have migrated to the patio of the
Inn at Afton, and most of the
observers come from three nearby
bird clubs. Volunteers try to put in
at least a few hours every day to
count the hawks.
Observers end up with sore necks
and weary arms after four hours of
hoisting binoculars and counting
hawks, but most return year after
year.
“It’s a very personal experience to
watch this phenomenon that has
been going on for thousands of
years,” Gaden said. “Migration is a
beautiful mystery to me. It may
seem dull and prosaic to sit and
count birds for hours on end, but
these numbers are necessary for bird
preservation.”
All the data collected at Rockfish
Gap is sent to the Hawk Migration
Association of North America,
which works to conserve raptor
populations.
New Trail Being Built in Mint Springs
Mint Springs Valley Park is getting a new hiking trail on Little Yellow Mountain thanks to the
efforts of volunteer trail builders. Designed to
accommodate two walkers side-by-side, not just
single-file, the new trail will connect to the
Hollow Trail near its start (not far from the playground) and meanderingly climb the north slope
of Little Yellow until it merges with an old logging road and eventually rejoins the Hollow
Trail.
Two dozen volunteers from the Charlottesville
Albemarle Mountain Bike Association [CAMBA]
spent several hours Dec. 2 “benching” (cutting
into the slope to make the trail level) the new
route. County greenways director Dan Mahon
said he is organizing volunteer groups, plus
inmate trustees, to keep up the effort and plans to
have teams on the trail every other Saturday for
the next few months. CAMBA volunteers are
experienced trail builders and until this first visit
to Mint Springs had put their energy into the 15
miles of bike trails at Walnut Creek Park.
“This is not the kind of trail they like to build
because it’s not death-defying,” Mahon observed.
“Our emphasis on the trails here at Mint Springs
is hikers first.
“I want more contemplative trails with places
along them to stop, overlooks,” said Mahon, who
noted that the trail needs a name, preferably one
with local meaning.
The County employs two men to maintain
Mint Springs Park, Beaver Creek reservoir, the
Meadows, Greenwood Community Center and
all the local schools, Mahon said, and with that
work load it is impossible for them to tackle projects like trails.
CAMBA trail builders and other volunteers
“The County is trying to find a way to connect
trails being built in the Crozet Growth Area to
Mints Springs, “ Mahon said.
Tucker Rollins, a new parks and trails service
officer, will do some maintenance work on the
MSVP trails and monitor them.
Carlos Otoya of Crozet, who retired recently
from Caterpillar Tractor in Fishersville, has been
volunteering to work on the trails and has cleared
most of the heavy obstacles, said Mahon. “He’s
done magic up there.”
Also on hand with muscle power was Bobby
Anderson, Crozet’s champion 24-hour mountain
bike racer, who has trained on the same slope and
10 years ago blazed a route with Mike Lamb that
follows nearly the same path.
Carlos Otoya, trail-building volunteer
Jeff Claman (left) of Crozet joined fellow mountain–bikers
Greg Castner (who is also an EMT-in-training with the
Western Albemarle Rescue Squad) and Eric Anderson of
Charlottesville to work a section of the trail that requires a
stone retaining wall.
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 21
New in Town • Linda and Ran Henry
By Margaret Kramer
Family ties and the beauty of the Blue Ridge
Mountains have brought Ran and Linda Henry
to Crozet. “I grew up in Ohio; Ran grew up in
West Virginia,” Linda explained. “After 21 years
in the Florida flatlands, we were ready for a
change. Ran has family ties to Virginia.”
“My great grandfather, Robert Randolph
Henry (I’m number IV), was a confederate lieutenant and led the Petersburg Rifles,” said Ran.
“He had 7 sons. One was my grandfather.
Another was Ashby Henry, my great-uncle. He
lived in Greenwood. His portrait hangs in
U.Va.’s Alumni Hall—he was president of the
alumni association. His son, my uncle Dick
Henry, can remember sitting with his father in
the President’s box in the 1930’s when HampdenSydney College beat U.Va. 8 – 0. Also, my cousin
Sam Weems was head of the Parks Department
in the 1930’s and oversaw the construction of the
Blue Ridge Parkway.”
“We were in Florida,” Linda continued, “talking about moving, and Ran said, ‘What about
Virginia?’ We looked at a map and decided to
check out the Charlottesville area. So we came to
Charlottesville, looked at houses there, picked up
a homes magazine, and saw a house for sale in
Crozet. We drove out to have a look. I just didn’t
want to be way out in the country in the middle
of nowhere. Crozet turned out to be right up our
alley. When we first rode into Crozet, we were in
awe. There at the BP gas station there’s a clock
tower, with the mountains behind it, and it was
so pretty and we were so taken with it. We had
done our time in Florida. We wanted something
more—mountains, camping, change of seasons.”
“She was raised a little more rural than I was,”
Ran said, “and she was concerned that if we just
bought a house in the country it would be a little
lonesome. But we found Gray Rock, and it’s a
great community. People are all embraced.
Sometimes we get together with the neighbors
and we’ll be outside for 2 hours before a single
car goes by.”
Answers to this month’s puzzle.
Linda and Ran Henry
The Henry’s own Blue Mountain Weddings.
Ran is also a journalist and author, recently completing a book about football great Steve
Spurrier.
“We were trying to create our life after our
daughter left for college,” Ran said.
“We wanted to move somewhere that we could
continue our wedding business,” Linda added.
“And to our delight, this area is a wedding mecca.
One recent Saturday we did two weddings. One
was at Wintergreen—the couple was from
Tasmania. The other wedding was at U.Va. chapel, with the reception in Ivy.”
“I tell you,” said Ran, “if someone has spent
even 6 minutes in this area in their whole lives,
they want to come back here to get married.”
Our talk turned to hiking. “Ran wanted to be
close to the Appalachian Trail, so he could just
hop on and hike.”
“We found out this summer that hikers have
trail names like Internet users have screen
names.”
“We ran into this one man on the trail,”
explained Linda, “and introduced ourselves as
Ran and Linda, and he introduced himself as
Whispers. We must have looked surprised
because then he told us, ‘That’s what we do here;
we have trail names.’”
Ran also expressed admiration for the Trail
Angels. “I’ve always been fascinated by the Trail
Angels network over in Waynesboro. What a
great tradition they have of helping hikers.”
The conversation came back to Crozet. “Just
about everything you need is here,” Linda commented. “You have your library, your little grocontinued from page 27
page 22

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
Greenwood Church Celebrates 121st Anniversary
By Kathy Johnson
Members and friends of the Mt.
Zion Baptist Church of Greenwood
celebrated 121 years of service
Sunday, November 12. Current
pastor Kathleen H. Burnett delivered the morning sermon and guest
pastor Tracie Daniels, from Mt.
Calvary Baptist Church in Ivy,
spoke in the afternoon.
Those attending were given a
printed history of the church with
photos of the current pastor and her
family and church members and
officers. After the morning service, a
potluck celebration was held, followed by personal remembrances of
church history and the afternoon
service. Choirs from both churches
provided music.
Established in 1858 in the small
black community known as
Newtown, and now known as
Greenwood, the original church
met in an old house by the
Greenwood Depot. A tract of land
was donated by a Mr. Dolling and
the original church was built in
1885.
Later, with donations from the
community and as far away as New
York, the church relocated to its
present site. Money to assist in
erecting the current building was
given by both white and black community members, including Mrs.
Gordon Smith, Lady Astor,
Reverend and Mrs. Marston,
Langhorne Gibson and Ben Smith.
In November of 1946, the first
sermon in the new church was given
by Reverend Sylvester Spears, but
the building was not completed
until sometime after that when
additional funds were raised by a
committee including Mabel Alwood
(chairman), Deacon Robert Green
(co-chairman) T. C. Smith (secretary) and B. F. Smith (treasurer).
Pastors for the church included
Reverend W. T. Hughes (the first
minister), Reverends Emmet Green,
Joe Lias, A. L. Upshaw, Carter Carr
and Reverend Wilson. Sylvester
Spears (who organized the internal
structure of the church) was the last
pastor to serve the early years of the
church; he was followed by the
Reverend James Lockett. The pulpit
was vacant between 1957 and 1959,
when Reverend Calvin Chew came
Celebrating 121 years of service in the Greenwood Community, Mt. Zion members Tressie
Boyd (left) and Phyllis White (right) are also busy getting the food out of the kitchen and to
the many guests there for the celebration. A joyous celebration, members enjoyed sharing
stories from the past and celebrating the future of Mt. Zion.
to Mt. Zion. In 1962, Roger J. Ford
was appointed pastor and he was
followed by the Reverend A. C.
Jones. In 1972, Reverend Booker
came to the church. Between 1984
and 1999, when Reverend Kathleen
Burnett came to Mt. Zion, the pastors were Reverend Betty W. Creasy,
followed by Reverend Wayne
Stevens.
Over the years a number of fundraisers have taken place and much
work has been accomplished including completion of the church basement, installation of storm windows, the addition of heating and
central air, installation of a bathroom off the vestibule, renovation
of the Fellowship Hall and making
the church handicap-accessible.
Currently, church services at Mt.
Zion are held at 11 a.m. on the first
through fourth Sundays. During
those months with a fifth Sunday,
that service is held at 10 a.m.
Communion is given on the second
Sunday of the month and is open
to all.
R a s ;
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 23
The Green Olive Tree Snippets
By Sheila T. Freeman
Green Olive Tree volunteers come
in all shapes sizes and vintages. We
have a number of retirees, as well as
younger workers who can lend us a
hand when time allows. On occasion a whole family will come to
sort, haul and clean.
Length of service is variable. This
ranges from a passing gentleman’s
“Let me carry in this heavy bag for
you,” to 27 continuous years.
As life’s directions change, so do
the volunteers move to new ventures
and paths. They stay for varying
lengths of time, depending on their
circumstances.
Except for two most exceptional
Crozet Ladies: June Andrews and
Nancy Virginia Bain. They are the
“Founding Mothers” of the Green
Olive Tree and have been running
the organization for 27 years.
June and Nancy are two of the
seven originators of the Community
Christian Thrift Shop. June is the
chairman of the Board of Directors.
Nancy Virginia is the official treasurer. They are the team who,
together with other active members
of the board, pray, propose policicies, ponder problems and practicalities.
June and her husband Martin
“Boots” taught and lived at Miller
School for a number of years. They
raised four children and now live in
Crozet. June keeps up an active
pace. She is a gifted musician, plays
piano, and sings in her church and
at other events. Would you believe
June has time to teach piano? June,
our capable leader, keeps us focused
on the task at hand.
Nancy Virginia Bain is hard to
miss with her twinkling eyes and
snow white hair. She and her late
husband Kirk raised six children in
Crozet. Nancy, an avid reader, is
involved
with
numerous
Charlottesville ministries, including
serving with the Hospice of the
Piedmont. It is said that customers
visit us just to see and talk to her.
She knows no strangers and caringly
listens and remembers all you share
with her.
Although these founding mothers are involved with home, community, grandchildren, trips and
friends, the Green Olive Tree service
has been unselfishly integral in their
lives.
Thanks again to the generous
community for all their donations.
This enables us to help many neighbors. Come in and shop our wellstocked Christmas Bazaar.
Peace on Earth
Dennis Hutchins of Western Ridge paused before loading his Christmas tree for a picture
with his daughters Ellie and Madeleine. The Hutchins got their white pine from Henley’s
Orchard, where Wayne Clark is trying to raise money to send a truckload of apples to
Southwest Virginia to distribute to poor families. Hauling 500 bushels to Wise County
would cost $5,000, total, Clark said, and so far his campaign to raise money from tree and
wreath sales has netted about $1,400. Clark had 30 trees delivered the last weekend of
November and sold a dozen in the first afternoon at $25 each.
“If the money comes in, we’ll go [to Wise] the week before Christmas,” said Clark, who is
praying for Crozetians to show their usual charity toward others. An account has been set
up at the BB&T bank in Crozet to accept donations.
Volunteers Get Ready for Annual Hebron Bethlehem Village
Volunteers from throughout the area are preparing their wardrobes for this year’s annual
Bethlehem Village at Hebron Baptist Church in
Rockfish Valley. Focusing on bringing to life the
little village of Bethlehem during the time Jesus
was born, their efforts have already been acknowledged by receipt of the Mayor’s Choice Award
at the holiday parade held December 1 in
Waynesboro.
Conceived in 1999 by Jim Ailor (Hebron
Baptist Church pastor at the time), Hebron
church members, along with volunteers from
Afton, Crozet, Nellysford, Waynesboro and
Charlottesville churches do their best to bring to
life the Bethlehem experience.
“We have several shops, a baker, weavers, potters, all working away at their crafts,” says David
Riley, director of the Bethlehem Project. “The
Bethlehem Village is a way of taking you back
and seeing what it was really like.” Roman
Soldiers, Wise Men with camels and shopkeepers
add authenticity to the experience, which will
typically draw some 6,000 to 8,000 people from
throughout the state during the three weeks of
operation.
Guests are invited to stroll the streets of
Bethlehem, enjoy an authentic meal (typically
fish or beef with some vegetable of the day, nuts
By Kathy Johnson
and dried fruits), and watch reenactments of the
nativity scene.
The event is scheduled for Friday, December
15 through Sunday, December 24, from 6 to 9
each evening. Special afternoon hours will be
available one day only, on Sunday, December 17,
and the restaurant will be open December 15–17
and December 21–23 from 6 to 9 p.m. only.
Visitors are invited to join church members for
communion in the Village on Christmas Eve at
8:30 p.m.
This special event is held at Hebron Baptist
Church on Tanbark Drive, just 3.5 miles south
on Route 151 from Route 250. Pastor Jim
Hardwick is the current pastor at Hebron.
Bethlehem Village is free to all those attending,
but a donation box is available.
For more information log on to www.bethlehemvillage.org or call the church at 540-4566868.
page 24

CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006
Christmas”
26. Sweet potato or pumpkin: e.g.
28. Scrap of food
29. 1st ladies, in a sense
30. Small compact mass
31. Difficult
32. Malevolent
33. Inhabitant of an ancient
Persian kingdom
34. Mental image
35. _______ Ball (toy)
36. Meat for scallopini
37. Simpleton
40. Wheat: French
41. Cool drink
43. Average grade
44. Keenly eager
45. Low (animal sound)
46. Wearies or annoys
49. You may have one on each
side of your throat
50. Depart
51. A local mountain or “What
can _______ do for you?”
52. Steer
53. Greek god who holds up the
heavens
54. Son of Adam
55. Something est. as a model
56. The Greek “Mars”
57. River tamed by the Aswan
Dam
59. Lhasa ______ (breed of dog)
61. One type of PhD exam
63. Snug, private retreat
65. Expression of surprise
Answers on page 21.
By Mary Mikalson
AC RO S S
1. Caviar source
4. Functions
8. The Mona _______
12. A local mountain or a native
of Istanbul
13. Soccer great
14. Habituate
16. Fifi to Pierre
17. Small food fish
18. Lancaster et al.
19. Push from below
21. Petty quarrel
23. Instruct. period
24. Coffee or tea server
25. Sheriff Taylor’s son
27. Sorrowful state
29. Speaker’s platform
30. “_____ and Peace”
(Tolstoy novel)
31. Shorten a skirt
34. Encroach upon
37. Malt kiln
38. “Hail” to Caesar
39. Azalea eaters
40. Below standard
41. Barren
42. Epoch
43. A local mountain or a
leg muscle
45. A local mountain or the
inbetween part
47. Half of a labor org.
48. Eden inhabitant
49. Ran swiftly
50. Hawaiian necklace, maybe
51. Packet of stamps
52. Nitrous oxide: e.g.
55. Not deranged
58. Way to fix a toe?
60. _______ River (Waynesboro
waterway)
62. Major or minor: e.g.
64. “How much?”: Modern Greek
66. Irritate
67. Dig deeply
68. What the Gators do best
69. Actor ______ Sandler
70. Perceived by the eye
72. “_____ Miserables” (Hugo
novel)
D OW N
1. Hearsay
2. Hunter constellation
3. Stretches
4. See 51 down
5. Blood infection
6. Reason for a ladder?
7. A coarse, stiff hair
8. Ad ____ (improvise)
9. Sign on a restroom door
10. Fully convinced
11. “Live _____” (theater in
Charlottesville)
12. Forbidden: var.
15. Letter before “tee”
20. A tailless, leaping amphibian
22. “______ the night before
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 25
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page 26

DECEMBER 2006
CROZET gazette
Medicine —continued from page 16
flight crew finished their paperwork. In
fact, 25 percent of helicopter patients
are discharged from the ED without
requiring hospital admission.
The problem is not the flight crews,
who have my deep respect for their talents and sense of duty, but rather a lack
of oversight of the industry. This is not
just an abstraction here in Charlottesville,
where the EMS and ER community
stills mourns the loss of C.A.R.S.
Assistant Chief Nikki Keilar last year in
a crash into the Potomac river.
While the FAA dithers, I call on all of
our local first responders to consider
carefully their role in promoting the safe
use of air evacuation for those who really
need it and continuing the good work
you do for our community.
Dollins —continued from page 15
retirement age, turned their attention to
the auctioneer’s pulpit, where the pattering chant of price bids was about to
start. Gas heaters hung from the ceiling
were burning and Showalter lightheartedly scolded the crowd not to get
drowsy.
“What young men you see are managers for a rich man’s farm,” Dollins
explained. Two women were on hand,
wives probably, and a half-dozen inattentive kids.
“Those calves don’t have the legs for
me,” Dollins remarked as the first pair
came through.
Eleven Angus steers came in averaging 450 pounds. They went for $1.13
per pound.
“That one’s too short from front to
rear. I’ve seen ‘em get down in the 60s
[cents] when they get short like that,”
said Dollins. “You’ve got have a long
body if you want them to ring the bell.”
Next, seven steers @ 470: $1.10.
Five steers @ 463: $0.98. (One had
horn buds that just shouldn’t have been
there.)
Four steers@ 500: $1.07.
Dollins puffed along contentedly,
scanning the bidders, and finally peeled
off his quilt-insulated shirt. He and
Hicks exchanged knowing nods now
and again. They were tracking bidders.
“You’ve got a lot of order buyers here,”
Dollins said.
Three bull calves @ 496: $0.77. “It’ll
take a month for them to recover [from
castration] and maybe by spring they’ll
look like steers,” he said to explain the
discount price.
A 500-pound Hereford steer came
through. “That was a good buy,” he said
continued from page 27
CROZET HARDWARE CO, INC.
CROZET gazette
DECEMBER 2006  page 27
Dollins —continued from page 26
approvingly.
Nine Angus steers @ 536: $1.02.
Fifteen more steers @ 566: $1.00.
Nine steers @ 571: $1.06.
Dollins leaned forward to tap his pipe
clean on the rail and coughed a little.
There are two tykes in the crowd now
but still not more than two dozen souls
under age 60.
“That bull wasn’t worried about
much,” Dollins observed as a calmly
confident bull made stately strides out
of the ring, oblivious of having been
sold. Bull calf prices were “a little soft,”
Dollins said.
“Look for conformation first and
then at the price,” he said. “If you get a
bad one, cut him out and take him back
next week and take the loss then. You’ve
got to get rid of the wild ones. They’ll
make the rest wild.
“You want a straight back and a good
distance from front to back. You don’t
want them too tall. If they’ve got their
head up high, back out. If they run
around and around the ring . . . .” You
can bet you’ll be hauling them back next
week. It means they weren’t getting
bread slices at home. From long experience on the farm, he knows: it’s calm,
steady love that gets the happiest
results.
Henry —continued from page 21
cery store. We get our hair cut here,
shop at the hardware store – we go to a
lot of places here in town. I would like
to have a bookstore, though. If we do
need to go to the city for something, the
ride to Charlottesville isn’t bad. Many
of our neighbors work there.”
Ran laughed as he said, “Now that we
are here, we don’t want to let anyone
else in!” In a more serious vein he said,
“I certainly don’t want to see the downtown lose its character and flavor. Linda
and I are so over-extended time-wise; I
wish we had more time so we could get
involved with civic matters. I think that
perhaps a real hard look needs to be
taken at how this growth is going to be
managed. I know a lot of people are
concerned. I can only imagine the sense
of outrage that some people who live
here must feel, seeing the place go from
a community of 1200 souls to all this
growth, with no end in sight.”
“We love Crozet,” Linda summed up.
“I can’t say enough about it. It’s perfect
for us.”
Ran and Linda Henry are here to stay
in Crozet, along with their darling dog
Greta.
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Santa Claus Visits Crozet
Kate and Mackenzie Whitely of Crozet asked Santa for
an American Girl doll, a craft set, a tea set and an Ariel
talking vanity.
Sara Nottingham of Charlottesville, who comes to
Crozet to meet Santa every year, asked him to bring her
moon shoes, moon sand, and a Bratz Diamond Doll.
Santa Claus took a break from the frantic bustle
of his North Pole workshops to star in the Crozet
Christmas parade Dec. 2 and hang out at the
Firehouse to hear the latest updates to Christmas
wish-lists from Crozet kids. He and Mrs. Claus
stayed long enough for the Firehouse’s tree to be lit
before dashing back north with a longer list of toys
to make before Christmas Day.
Santa and Mrs. Claus rode in a freight wagon
driven by Trey Dillard and pulled jauntily along by
Charlie and Gunner, two geldings known as the
Stage Junction Clydesdales, who had their harnesses merrily decked out with holiday decorations.
Trey’s wife Patty and kids Adam and Emily kept
Santa company as the parade wound from Carter
Street, through downtown, and culminated at the
Firehouse where heaps of cookies and vats of hot
chocolate waited.
Also starring in the parade were the Western
Albemarle High School marching band and cheerleaders, Engine 34 from the North Garden
Volunteer Fire Department, three antique tractors,
and Country 99.7 WCYK provided Christmas carols along the route though a loudspeaker system.
“The elves are working 24/7,” reported Santa
proudly, “but we’ll be able to meet the need.” The
things he heard the most demand for were cell
phones and iPods, he reported, with dolls and
skateboards also popular.
The CVFD Auxiliary, 10 devoted women who
support the firefighters, sponsored the parade again
this year and sold 3,000 raffle tickets, making
Santa’s visit one of the CVFD’s most important
fundraisers. When the raffle was drawn, Dana
Stickler’s name was called for both the $50 and
$100 prizes (proving the value of buying multiple
chances). The $250 prize went to Blair Anderson
and the top money, $500, was won by Todd
McAllister.
Judy Schmertzler, the Auxiliary’s president this
year, announced that the parade prizes went to the
WAHS band for best marching entry, to the Stage
Junction Clydesdales (first prize for best-appearing
entry—but they did have Santa after all) and the
WAHS cheerleaders (second prize for best-appearing entry).
Library
Pumpkin-Carving
Contest Winners
Crozet Library patrons voted for their
favorite carved pumpkin and chose three
winners out of nine contenders: Turner
Smith, Daisy Sandridge and (not pictured)
Elizabeth Groth. The contest was
open to pumpkin sculptors of all ages.