Nov. 17, 1966:  The annual awards dinner sponsored by the Culpeper Soil Conservation District was held Monday evening at Graves Lodge in Syria. A. Y. Stokes of Sperryville was the Rappahannock farmer recognized as the Conservation Farmer of the Year.

Feb. 16, 1978: A new ambulance has been purchased by the Sperryville Rescue Squad. The vehicle is a 1977 Dodge chassis with a Maxi Van body by Wheeled Coach Corp of Florida and was secured from Hearse and Ambulance sales in Richmond.

May 16, 1985: The “First Washington’s Museum” was officially opened in 1970, although its founder, Ruby Jenkins, had been saving and collecting Rappahannock and Washington memorabilia ever since she was in the first grade

April 21, 1966: Newly installed x-ray equipment is the latest advance in an expanded dental health program for the children of Rappahannock County. This, and other improvements in the program, the Rappahannock County Dental Health Committee announced this week, has been made possible by grants from the Public Welfare Foundation and from state and local contributions.

Aug. 8, 1974: Tom Lee and his brother John Lee are still raising sheep in Rappahannock, and have one of the largest flocks in the county. Tom agreed that sheep farmers are getting scarcer and he wasn’t sure why, but he was ready to talk about raising sheep, to take a little time off from picking peaches.

October 20, 1960: Mr. “Buck” Brown of the Lee Highway Garage, has made and donated to Rappahannock County High School, three volleyball net supports. These supports are constructed of used automobile wheels complete with inflated tires.

June 23, 1966: Dame Fortune smiled on Mrs. Dorothy Davis of Washington on Friday, when she was awarded a check for $20,000, first prize in a national contest sponsored by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in connection with their diet drink, Tab. 

Sept. 29, 1983 — Poor Farm: Home to the Pauper: People limped through the Depression without the government assistance programs that today ease the life of the poor. There was no Aid to Dependent Children, no food stamps, no general relief, no Medicaid and Medicare, no Supplemental Security Income.

Aug. 28, 1986 — Planners Say Yes To Sperryville Flea Market: Rappahannock County planning commissioners gave the nod to James Russell’s proposal for a flea market, recommending that the county’s board of zoning appeals grant a special use permit for the venture.

March 25, 1998 — Mike Massie: A steward of the land: Commercial cattle farmer Mike Massie of Hampton Stock Farm near Flint Hill recognized the importance of marketing and business in the farming industry while he was still in high school. 

March 16, 1978: It appea.rs that the Rappahannock Ski Corporation’s suit against the county Board of Zoning Appeals will be settled out of court. According to Commonwealth Attorney George Davis, the supervisors met with him in executive session on Wednesday, March 15, to discuss a consent order submitted by attorney Douglas Baumgardner

Feb. 28, 1974: Approximately eighty 5-year-old children will enroll in Rappahannock’s first kindergarten program in September 1976, according to a report submitted by the County School Board to the State Department of Education.

July 8, 1965: On Sunday, July 11, 1965, a service of Dedication will be held at Willis Chapel Methodist Church, Huntly, for the recently paid for church school rooms. Dr. Hugh M. Burleigh, Superintendent of the Charlottesville District of the Virginia Annual Conference.

Oct. 6, 1966: A pair of vandals caught stealing gasoline from a county school bus last Thursday were apprehended and held at gunpoint by a local citizen until an officer could be summoned.

Dec. 30, 1998: A proposal seeking federal and state funding to finance improvements on Sperryville’s Main Street, a footbridge, and a hiking-biking trail will be presented to the Board of Supervisors at 7 p.m. on Monday night. The board’s support is critical.

Bill Johnson, 17, and Mark Jamieson, 13, were rock-climbing near their home in Rappahannock Lakes on Saturday, Aug. 9, when a basketball sized rock broke loose from the hillside and tumbled down, striking Mark in the back of the leg just below the knee.

Jan. 21, 1960 • 14 Hikers Mount The Devil’s Stairs: Sunny skies Sunday lured 14 hikers out to tackle the Devil’s Stairs, a rocky gorge in Harris Hollow, which defies description.

The old Toll House on the highway between Sperryville and Washington has seen 125 years of change in Rappahannock. During its history, the little structure has known many different owners and been used for everything from antique sales to a residence to business offices.

May 20, 1998: Students save a life in Roanoke. Three students from George Washington Carver-Piedmont Technical Education Center saved a stranger’s life Saturday, April 25, at the Civic Center in Roanoke, where the students had been participating in skills competition.

June 8, 1978: Almost half of the students at Rappahannock elementary school are reading a year or more behind grade level, according to a recent survey taken by the administration.

Aug. 8, 1974: Tom Lee and his brother John Lee are still raising sheep in Rappahannock, and have one of the largest flocks in the county. Tom agreed that sheep farmers are getting scarcer and he wasn’t sure why, but he was ready to talk about raising sheep, to take a little time off from picking peaches.

Nov. 1, 1990: When Dr. John P. Snead, III died on Oct. 7, Rappahannock didn’t lose one of the last of the old-time country doctors. That the county lost 19 years ago when Dr. Snead gave up his practice just outside Sperryville.

May 4, 1978: On a summer afternoon in 1969, Greg Bright celebrated Christmas in August by tossing a glass bottle with a message sealed inside into the Thornton River at Sperryville. Nine years and 100 miles later, Greg’s message reached its destination.

April 22, 1976: The Early Birds of Amissville have been just that — working early and late to prepare a new diamond for the baseball games scheduled this season. The Early Birds are sponsored by Early’s Carpet Sales and Service in Amissville. 

Dec. 28, 1994: The Planning Commission endorsed the application of Charles Eddie Sutphin to build a 40- by 50-foot addition onto his farm equipment repair shop on Route 729 between Flint Hill and Ben Venue.

Nov. 24, 1999: Jerry and Sherri Mills opened the Amissville Consignment Shop on Saturday, Oct. 30. The shop is located in what used to be a beauty parlor. On sale is what Mr. Mills describes as “antiques and collectibles.”

“Sorry, Mr. Bankston.” That was Supervisor Chairman E. P. Luke’s response to game warden Jim Bankston after the Rappahannock Supervisors turned down two proposed hunter control ordinances at last Thursday’s Board meeting.

Dame Fortune smiled on Mrs. Dorothy Davis of Washington on Friday, when she was awarded a check for $20,000, first prize in a national contest sponsored by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company in connection with their diet drink, Tab.

June 21, 2000: Rhonda Jenkins has been coaching at the high school for seven years now, and writing about it for the Rappahannock News for the past year. Mrs. Jenkins was born and raised here in the county, and is herself a graduate of Rappahannock High School.

May 24, 2000: Members of the Washington High School Class of 1950 gathered for a 50th reunion, Saturday evening, May 13 at the Flint Hill Public House.

November 1, 2000: Alma Viator and Ben Jones are both looking forward to “getting back home,” returning to the stage after many years and some very interesting detours.

July 11, 1985: Mrs. W.M. Fletcher, better known as Mattie Ball, added some Rappahannock flavor to NBC’s Today Show on Friday, July 5 when information on her and her recipes were used during a feature on a new cookbook. Mrs. Fletcher lives in Washington.

June 12, 1986: Mike Brown, owner of B and B Service Center on Rt. 211 just west of Washington, has opened a parts department in his station. Mr. Brown, well-known to Rappahannock residents for more than nine years, has become part of the National Automotive Parts Association dealer network.

The worldwide trend of publishing nude calendars for worthy causes has reached rural Rappahannock County and taken a somewhat different twist.

March 17, 1960: R. Taylor Hoskins, Superintendent of Shenandoah National Park, has announced that Park Ranger James R. (Bob) Johnson has been promoted to the District Ranger position being vacated by Charles A. Budge.

Dec. 23, 1965: W. A. Miller will retire from the position of Postmaster of the Washington Post Office, effective December 30. He has served in this capacity for 31 years, taking office in 1934 after his appointment by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Dec. 31, 1981: By late spring, sedentary secretaries, lawyers, clerks and other office workers in the town of Washington will be able to chin-up, push-up, squat, jump and jog their way through lunch hour on the new one kilometer fitness trail that will be part of the county’s first park.

Sept. 19, 1985: A public hearing Sept. 11 on a proposed ordinance banning helicopter landings within the town of Washington was abruptly halted when Councilman Wallace Critzer walked out of the meeting, leaving the council without a quorum.

Sept. 1, 1966: Rappahannock’s generally quiet Harris Hollow echoed with shouts of glee and vibrated with music Saturday as 47 handicapped youngsters of the Metropolitan area frolicked on the hillsides at an all-day outing sponsored by the Downtown Jaycee Chapter of Washington, D.C.

February 11, 1960: A nationally known garment manufacturing company is very interested in locating a plant in Rappahannock County. The company would employ from 125 to 150 people, 90 percent of whom would be women with an annual payroll of a quarter of a million dollars.

Sept. 25, 2003: Rappahannock County dodged Hurricane Isabel only to be hit with relentless rain and flooding earlier this week that left three motorists in jeopardy, one clinging for life on a telephone pole.

Dec. 1, 1999: Elizabeth Lee-Harris went before the Rappahannock County Planning Commission on Nov. 17 with an application to change a 36.4 acre plot of land near the town of Sperryville from agriculturally zoned to rural residential. The commission decided not to approve the application. But Lee-Harris will present another application to the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 6.

April 27, 1972: Joseph J. Scherschel of Flint Hill captured the White House News Photographers Association “Photograph of the Year” award, adding another top honor to his 22 years as a photojournalist.

September 20, 2000: Rappahannock Sheriff Larry Sherertz announced this week that law enforcement officers will be mounting a “focused effort” to ensure that the 35 mile-per-hour speed limits in the county’s two public school zones are strictly observed.

February 25, 1960: Miss Alice Wood, daughter of Mrs. Downing Wood of Washington, was the lucky person given the clock radio by the seniors of Rappahannock County High School at the basketball game Saturday evening at Sperryville.

Sept. 16, 1998: In an informal work session, the Town Planning Commission reviewed one-half of the 24 pages of the Town of Washington’s Comprehensive Plan. The commission made changes in the text that corrected grammatical and typographical errors, and updated changes in the town’s business community and sewage system planning.

Sept. 13, 1962: Announcement is made this week of a change in ownership of Rappahannock News. Basil C. Burke, attorney of Madison, has sold the newspaper and real estate to Angus M. and R. Duff Green of Culpeper and Orange.

Feb. 7, 1980: The ski area in Harris Hollow is no longer for sale. According to Eric Adamson, Front Royal attorney and partner in the operation, the Rappahannock slopes will open in December 1980 — “November, if there’s snow” — as a private club.

July 12, 2000: The guest of honor arrives an hour ahead of time at the Rappahannock Library, and is greeted by a small gaggle of supporters. Before the parade Lee Bird, Meredith Gorfein, Bill Tieckelmann, Linda Dietel and other supporters get a chance to chat with Sen. Chuck Robb.