Writer Nicholas Nicastro’s Hell’s Half-Acre

Written by Middleburg author Nicholas Nicastro in the same murderous genre as Sweeney Todd and The Assassination of Jesse James comes an unforgettable and bone-chilling historical taleabout the horrors hidden in American history.

This and That

Happy New Year: Stone Springs Hospital Center just east on Rt. 50, welcomed its first…

Sylvia McClain Has the Harp in Her Heart

As a child, nothing seemed more beautiful to Sylvia McClain than the sounds of the harp. Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, McClain attended Birmingham Symphony concerts several times a year with her school. She took piano lessons, but after her first visit to the symphony, something else caught her eye.

Federal Street Cafe Finds a Backstreet Niche in a Hurry

Zan Dial, chef and owner of the Federal St. Cafe, has worked in restaurants ranging from high-end gastronomy to pub fare. His new restaurant falls somewhere in between, and it’s exactly what Middleburg needed. 

Hill School’s Team and TEEN Saturday Make a Powerful Difference

Maria Arellano was the first in her family to graduate from college two years ago, and she’s now a legal assistant in a Washington law firm still thinking about applying to law school. She also knows that because of a program at The Hill School she joined while still a third grader in a local public school, none of the above would have been possible.

John Pennington Knows That Writers Write

John Pennington still remembers the day he came home from the University of Virginia and told his mother he was going to major in English. A child of the Depression, she’d hoped he and his four siblings would find a profession safe from the vagaries of the economy, and she was a bit skeptical about her son’s course of study.

20131: A New Fresh Face in a Very Old Philomont Post Office

Amy L. Vollmer knew she had some big shoes to fill when she stepped into the role of Philomont’s postmaster in March, 2015.  After all, she was taking over the job formerly performed by Laura Pearson, who had retired in January after serving as postmaster for more than 50 years. And the post office had been in the Pearson family for over a century.

They’re Making Sweet Music All Around the Piedmont

The Community Music School of the Piedmont (CMSP) began humbly in 1994 with two teachers and six students in one modest building in The Plains. It was born out of necessity. Long-time Middleburg residents Martha Cotter and Shannon Davis simply wanted their children to learn how to play an instrument without having to add even more car-pooling miles to their respective odometers.

The Plains Has a Front Porch, Back Porch and Side Porch

By Sophie Scheps Food fanciers around the area felt the loss of Forlano’s Market in…

A Master Craftsman Turns Wood into an Artform

On a front lawn near the intersection of Zulla Road and Route 55 just outside Marshall, you might spot a tiki, a totem pole, an octopus and owls whose eyes seem to follow your car down the road. They represent the latest creations of artisanal woodworker Joshua Paul Frederick. This is also the headquarters for his business, J.P. Woodworks.