Dispatches from the Front
I hope all of you are having a wonderful summer and are enduring this hot and humid weather in our area. Since April, the Kernstown Battlefield (KB) has opened on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We have had good crowds, but attendance has been a little light at times due to the intensly humid weather. Still, we just finished the tour for the Second Battle of Kernstown with author Scott Patchan and had a nice turnout of interested history buffs.
The work on the Pritchard House has been completed. The new drainage system around the foundation has been dug, installed, graded, and the area seeded. All windows now have shutters, thanks to your donations, but a few need a little painting. Dan Heim (Board Director) and Jef Lesnoff (Volunteer) have taken on a painting and repair project for the first and second floor front doors and porticoes. The Pritchard House, now on the NPS National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Historic Registry, looks magnificent. We had JC (last name withheld by request), a Boy Scout from Troop 3, ask for an 8-hour Community Service Project as he works towards his Eagle Scout Award. He painted the 5 barn-type doors on the Visitor Center and Farm Shed facing the parking lot. He was supervised by his father and did a great job with the painting and clean up. The KBA enjoys a partnership with Troop 3 with four major Eagle Scout Projects plus their Winter Camp in the fall.
On June 20th, we held the KBA Third Annual Golf Tournament at the Rock Harbor Golf Course, Winchester, Virginia. Holding this event as a fundraiser for the KBA was the brainchild of George Mangano, one of our Board Directors. This is a year-long effort on his part by going out to contact potential sponsors, setup with Rock Harbor, and obtaining advertising. George spent over 20 years in the insurance business as a property damage specialist and developed the excellent people skills that he applies to make this a very successful event. This event not only generates additional funds for our KB Project List, but gets the name and mission of the KBA out to the public. George certainly deserves a lot of credit for his efforts.
Another unsung member of our staff is our “resident custodian” – Dr. Charles Hagan. Charlie is a Board Director and KBA Secretary. Charlie is a retired Anesthesiologist who has twenty jumps from perfectly good airplanes as a member of the 81st Airborne Division. Charlie has many interests to include birding and nature. Four Kestrel boxes are now on the property with Kestrels creating broods each year. Charlie created and is cultivating a Memorial Garden, if we can get the deer to leave it alone. As KBA Secretary, Charlie takes the notes of our Board Meetings and transcribes those notes into Minutes in a timely manner. You’ll find Charlie on the Battlefield most Mondays emptying trash cans from the weekend opening, ensuring the two bathrooms are clean and stocked, and hauling trash to the landfill. Charlie does all of this for the KBA quietly in his unassuming way and his efforts are greatly appreciated.
Back in April, we partnered with the Glass-Glen Burnie Garden Club to care for our seven KB gardens. Up to this time, all of our gardens were tended by Susan Sheppard. The club was amazed that one person was doing all of that work. So, six of them have pitched in, allocated their own money for native plants, expanded the seven gardens, and created an eighth – Medicinal and Herb Garden. The gardens are beautiful and add another dimension to the Battlefield.
Our 2025 Season marches on. The KBA continues to do our utmost best to preserve and maintain the property, expand our knowledge of the 290 years since the property was first farmed, and present it to you, the public, for appreciation of its historical nature. Come on out to see what we are doing!
Gary Sheppard
KBA President