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.

Dec. 11, 2003: Dogs howled, chickens jumped from their roosts and old country homes shook as Rappahannock County was rocked by an earthquake Thursday afternoon, centered about 25 miles west of Richmond that measured 4.5 on the Richter scale.

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.

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.

August 15, 1985: Steve Wetton suffers from culture shock. He’s from a large industrial city in England. In England, they call soccer football. The hood of a car is called a bonnet and the trunk is called a boot.

January 5, 1984: RCES principal Maggie Piper says she thinks fingerprinting the county’s children is an “excellent” idea.

Jan. 7, 1998: In early December, after more than 30 years, Woodville Contract Postmaster Ruth Orange retired, closing the book on one of the oldest post offices in the country.

Feb. 24, 1983: Even something as tragic as a flu epidemic has its humorous side. Pauline Bruce’s memories still bring a smile to her face. 

May 15, 1986: The documents contained in the clerk’s office at the courthouse are being preserved on microfilm by the Archives Division of the Virginia State Library.

Sept. 30, 1998: This summer’s drought combined with the record heat is causing pastures to stop growing, streams to dry up and orchards not to produce at their peaks.

The story of a sewer system might seem an odd chapter to feature in 200 years of village history. But without that sewer system, there likely would be no village — at least not the vibrant and bustling Sperryville of today.

March 8, 1979: Electoral Board members, county government employees and friends feted Mrs. Mary Cleverley with a retirement party in the Health Department offices last wee

Jan. 13, 1966: Wade Wallihan Massie, an eighth grade student at Rappahannock County High School, has been selected to serve as a page in the Virginia House of Delegates for the 1966 session of the General Assembly.

October 13, 1960: Miss Dorothy Wood, a former resident of Rappahannock County now living in Las Cruces, N.M., has been awarded the New Mexico Delta Kappa Gamma special scholarship.

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.

March 29, 1984: Usually something has to be around for years before it’s accorded the status of institution. Not with Rae Haase’s Nature’s Foods and Cafe.

Oct. 3, 2002: The historic Middleton Inn represents 19th century American architecture in the set of three tour homes chosen by the Episcopal Church Women of Trinity Church for their 2002 Dried Flower Sale and House Tour. 

March 8, 1979: Electoral Board members, county government employees and friends feted Mrs. Mary Cleverley with a retirement party in the Health Department offices last week.

March 9, 1978: Petitions circulating around the town now carry approximately 60 signatures in opposition to the new sign advertising the Lake Motel.

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. 

Oct. 9, 2003: Applause filled the courtroom Monday afternoon as Rappahannock’s Board of Supervisors voted to look into the creation of a parking ordinance for the county

Jan. 6, 1999: The dusting of snow and a few sprinkles of rain recently did nothing to ease the drought that has gripped Rappahannock and the rest of Virginia for the past six months. 

Jan. 7, 1998: In early December, after more than 30 years, Woodville Contract Postmaster Ruth Orange retired, closing the book on one of the oldest post offices in the country.

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

Sept. 28, 1950: A caution light has been installed on the corner of Main and Middle streets in Washington. This light has been badly needed for years, as this is one of the most dangerous corners in town.

April 20, 1978:How bad is the drug problem in Rappahannock County? “No worse than New York City on a per capita basis,” according to Bob Trainer.

Dec. 16, 1976: According to the Hagerstown Almanac, cold rains are forecast for April 22, and April 23 and 24 will be clear and cold.

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.

October 17, 1985: Mired in debate, the Washington Town Council postponed a decision to ban helicopter landings in town, a proposed ordinance some say is directed solely at the activities of a local restaurant.

It was estimated that as many as 80,000 visitors would come to the county for three main attractions: the Sperryville celebration, the Annual House Tour and Dried Flower Sale and the autumn colors in the Blue Ridge, all available on the same weekend this year.

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

May 30, 1985: The permit will allow Kvarnes to establish a craft village on Route 211 near Sperryville. Kvarnes had originally applied for a special use permit to add a wall to a building so that it could be used as a shop by potters. A decision on that application was postponed one month so that the request could be advertised.

Aug. 8, 1985: A secretary to the Rappahannock County zoning administrator has this week been named deputy administrator.

Raymond M. Johnson, Chief Forest Warden of Rappahannock County, recently named the men who are to assist in forest fire control in the county during 1960.

Kerri Wagner of Washington started out with short walks in April 1995, and her walks grew progressively longer. “Now I am a walking addict,” she said. She walks in extreme heat and cold, through snow, rain and fog. 

Feb. 16, 1978: A new ambulance has been purchased by the Sperryville Rescue Squad. The vehicle is a 1977 Dodge chassis.

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.

Pearl and Marshall Barron of Amissville had active and passive solar systems built into their dream house.

Imagine that today is July 6, 1862, and you are standing at the top of Chester Gap, looking toward Front Royal, and you see a long column of soldiers, horses, wagons and cannons winding slowly up the mountain road.

Aug. 12, 1976: “The country is different. You’re either rich or very poor; there is no in-between class."

Aug. 19, 1965: Flint Hill Stone Company, a division of Culpeper Stone Company Inc., has begun quarry operations on the property of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Gentry.

March 4, 1976: Emergency service in Washington was wiped out Saturday afternoon when a water tanker and ambulance collided on Route 211.

April 5, 1990: Viewtown Post Office is having a birthday. The tiny office, always located in Viewtown Store on Route 643 in Viewtown, is 100 years old.

Dec. 10, 1997: He says he has always been a dreamer and calls making his jewelry a magical progress.

Sept. 5, 2002: Mary Kay independent beauty consultant Pat Giles of Washington is on the road to success. This month she earned the use of a new Pontiac Grand Am.

Dec. 12, 1968: A modern 4,500 square foot IGA food store will open in Washington on Gay Street on Dec. 19.

Dec. 23, 1998: Hackley’s Store will close for business on Christmas Eve, ending 64 years of continuous operation for the general merchandising store in Amissville.