Birthday, Day Trip to Mathews Farm, Hillsville and Harmons Museum

Well, Wednesday August 6 th was a special day as I'm officially a senior citizen with discounts galore. I'm writing this blog on Thursday morning(usually write it when it's fresh in my mind the same day,now that I'm older) after being unable to access the Internet last evening. Anyhow I'm back on the air waves with an exciting fun filled day.

First the morning was warm with a near 70 degree morning and our outside inspection of the gardens turned out with no deer damage; yet once again needing rain. I hand watered the evening before but that really doesn't compare to a good gentle tin roof sound soaking. After our quiet time with the Creator we began to get ready for a busy day as we were meeting with our mountain buddy's Helen and Joe at 9:30.

We exchanged some veggies, books, canned beets and jam with them before venturing out to Galax and the Mathews Farm. Now this farm is a working farm which means the farm is going back to the early era of the 1800's and trying to recreate the methods of farming for those days. They are trying to farm with horse draw equipment as well as using some old methods of refrigeration by using a spring house which has water running through and into a building from a fresh spring. The water is very cool and would suffice to keep things from spoiling for several days. We also saw their chickens, a fat hog and several sheep which has recently been sheared for their wool. Their garden was magnificent however there was evidence of deer, racoon and ground hog damage. This can be expected as the farm is without a caretaker at present. We observed a lot of old, old tools, appliances and what knots that were used to make a farmers family life easier, however ladies you never had it so good as you do now.

After leaving Mathews we were a bit hungry from climbing in old barns, an old log cabin, dodging "meadow muffins" that is sheep , horse and cow droppings. So it was time for a visit McAdoo's Restaurant downtown Galax. We ate too much as their sandwiches are huge which caused us to change our plans for dinner at Appleby's later in the day. After lunch we headed to Hillsville, Va.

Well this little sleepy community is nestled in some very rolling hills(hence the name Hillsville)with surrounding farm land, Christmas tree farms and apple orchards. The old court house is guarded by a huge statue of a Confederate Soldier that's indicative of the feeling's that once surrounded this area 140 years ago. Whats most interesting is the court house shooting that took place there in 1912. A tragic shooting that once dominated the headlines of newspapers through out the nation only to be out done by a greater tragedy, 3 days later; the sinking of the Titantic. There is a museum with a mock up of how and who were involved in the shooting as well as; lots of Indian artifacts, tools of the era, WWI and WWII memorabilia from local residents who served their nation proud as well as the first local women KIA in the Gulf War. Kudos to this community for their attempt to honor their residents and local hero's.

When we first got to the court house we had the privilege to meet a lady who was very excited about our interest in this area and who was originally from Hillsville but had moved away yet returned to her roots. Her great grandfather Marshall had been an influence in the writing of the book THE MAN WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN. He is pictured on page 111. Thanks to Janet Hylton Tate for her enthusiasm and willingness to be a fountain of information. She is definitely a "bubbling" fountain.

We left the court house and observed possibly the largest house in the area and was definitely the finest house in the area at that time. The Carter House (which sits next to the court house)is being refurbished and there is no admittance into this extravagant house. We did learn much about this mining baron who was very prominent in this area at another museum in Woodlawn. Before leaving town we drove by the Signa Allen house outside of town This house also was very magnificent with his architecture design and appearance of wealth. He was a major figure in the court house shooting and eventually was captured and tried. I don't have enough space to go into the particulars but these were well to do folks and the talk is that politics played a major role for what happened there in 1912.

Well on our way back to Galax we first stopped at Yoder's (Amish or Mennonite) grocery store in Woodlawn. After perusing their huge stock of bulk dry goods and home baked desserts we headed for Harmon's museum(just down the road in Woodlawn). When you first arrive you would never know there was such a collection of; Indian, civil war, local history, revolutionary war, a stuffed 2 headed calf with 6 legs, photos and artifacts. This museum is truly a week worth of time to read all of the original documents that date back to the 1500's. This is a small Smithsonian in miniature. If ever you have the chance to visit this place you will be amazed at its contents. On a personal note I found a document(the will of James Wood) that my high school alma mater in Winchester,Va is named after.

Well we could not have a day trip that did not end with a stop at Wal-Mart for some goodies. We also stopped at Hortens Grocery outside of Galax for some of Joe's favorite boneless,skinless chicken breasts. At last we were on our way back to the cabin just a head of a big black cloud. Not long after getting home we had a nice rain and then again during the night we had a down pour several times. Thank You Lord.

Well will close for now as today will be a wind down day after yesterday. We just got word that Dean(accident victim) is now sitting up in a chair and conversing freely with all around him. Thank You Lord for answered prayers. Missing our family, friends and grand babies Ava and Annsley.