President's Message
First, I want to say that I am grateful and humbled to be elected President of this wonderful organization. The move from Vice President to President seems like a small and logical step, but July was filled with the challenge of trying to get accustomed to the differences in the roles. This involved being more proactive - figuring out what needed to be done and trying to identify a good approach to do it - rather than reactive - responding to the requests for opinions or actions on already formulated plans. It is a transition for sure, but I am so grateful to Past President Nancy Fahy for her guidance and willingness to answer questions and suggest different approaches which invariably were more efficient and less time consuming than mine. Her help has been invaluable.
After the stumbling of July, the Annual Board Retreat in August demanded attention and organization. Profound thanks to Vice President Stephanie Turman for organizing and editing the Collaborative Work Plan (CWP). This lengthy document which catalogues the projects and events planned by both Friends of Chatham and the National Park Service for the two coming fiscal years is always challenging. As we have accumulated more experience with it, we can now borrow from past models and from the lessons learned so we no longer have to reinvent the wheel each time. Stephanie has been making additional revisions and putting the final touches on the document so the Board can act on it, and it can then go to NPS for their input prior to final approval and signatures.
At the Board’s regular meeting in July, Facilities Manager John Storke spoke with us and provided updates on work being done at Chatham. He indicated that all of the collections had been moved out of the main house to appropriate storage facilities. Folks with offices in that building have also been moved out. The installation of the fire suppression system is estimated to take four months to complete. The next project will be redoing the interiors of the building, including plaster repair and carpet installation. NPS hopes to have the funds for this project by January and not to have a lapse between the two projects. Mr. Storke also announced that a volunteer coordinator position has been filled at the park. Metal detection activity has been initiated in the field previously used for overflow parking. That will be followed by shovel testing and hopefully after that parking will again be permissible.
We look forward to seeing everyone during this upcoming holiday season at one or more of our member mingle events, as detailed in this newsletter. Thanks to all for your membership and service with the Friends of Chatham.
With respect,Carol Hyland, President
Upcoming Events
13 Oct 2024 (4:30-6:40 PM): Chatham Photographer Meet and Greet
A Meet and Greet for local photography (camera and cell phone) enthusiasts will be held at Chatham Manor. Participants will gather at the picnic tables on the north side of the screened-in summer house. After introductions, and some comradery accompanied by free pizza and soft drinks, participants will stroll Chatham grounds snapping photos for later submission into a winner-takes-all contest - for a $100 downtown gift card prize. The contest theme will be announced at the beginning of the event, with photos required to be taken on the day of the event. The judges for the photography contest will be the Friends of Chatham Board of Directors.
Contest entrants will be capped at the first 20 people who arrive and sign in for the event. Additional photographers beyond the first 20 will be considered as visiting Chatham on their own (which everyone is welcome to do), but not as officially recognized as part of this participant-capped event.Reminder, vehicle entry to the Chatham grounds is not allowed after 5 PM (although vehicles may exit onto River Road later until sunset). If vehicles arrive after 5 PM, they must park at adjacent Pratt Park, which allows parking until 8 PM.FOC Publicity and Marketing Director, and “On the Fredericksburg Va Trails” Facebook Group Administrator, Kevin Brown is the creator/coordinator for this event.In the event of inclement weather on 13 Oct 24, the backup date for the event will be 27 Oct 24 (4:30-6:30 PM).
Other upcoming events:
22 October 2024 (9:30 AM): Join Friends of Chatham members at Eileen’s Bakery & Café, 1115 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, for a Dutch treat member mingle. Enjoy coffee, delicious pastries and conversation. Please text Pat Baughman at 540-848-4492, or email friendsofchatham@gmail.com by 17 October if you plan to attend.
17 November 2024 (2-4 PM): Bowling Alley Member Mingle at Bowlero Fredericksburg, 12100 Kilarney Dr, Fredericksburg, VA 22407. Please text Stephanie Turman at 540-842-6263 or email friendsofchatham@gmail.com by 1 November if you plan to attend.
6 December 2024 (10 AM): Wreath Making at Chatham Manor. Limited attendees. More details to follow by email.
18 December 2024 (7:30 PM): Fredericksburg Symphony Holiday Concert at James Monroe High School: Friends of Chatham seating section (please text Kevin Brown at 571-488-0827 or email friendsofchatham@gmail.com to be included in seating reservations)
Friends of Chatham Member MingleAt Tapa Rio on 27 July 2024
Photos of members at the Member Mingle held at Tapa Rio’s restaurant. Members enjoyed drinks, tapas, great conversation, and personally visiting with friends.
From the Garden
The garden has been as busy as the bees and butterflies that inhabit it. Despite the 45 days of at least 90 degrees heat, with 5 of those being 100 degrees or above, the garden has thrived and is beautiful. Master Gardener Scott Blake has spent many hours making sure everything stayed watered and alive. After planting all the summer annuals (lantana, marigolds, zinnias, impatiens, petunias, and salvia) in the parterres and other areas, we concentrated on keeping the beds weeded. The perennial gardens were cleared of dead stalks and spent blooms, to include the goldfish pond and summerhouse areas.
The Rose Garden took two weeks of cleaning up, weeding, and pruning to get it ready for next Spring; the transformation was very rewarding.
Recently, we have been concentrating on cleaning up the area around the Diana statue, and the surrounding large boxwoods that had become overgrown with vines and weeds. The hedges down the path towards the greenhouses were given a good trim, and the boxwood tunnel at the entrance was given much needed attention.
We will continue to focus on keeping the weeds in check and tidying up any areas that are in need, as the summer season closes out.
Fall will soon be upon us, and the Asters are ready to give us a great show of blooms.
We have a great group of volunteers, and recently we had two more join us. One of the new volunteers heard about the opportunity from social media, and the other was visiting the gardens and inquired as to how she could become a volunteer. Both have been a great asset to our group.
Membership Drive
WIN A $200
DOWNTOWN FXBG FINE DINING GIFT CERTIFICATE!!!!
To your choice of:
Fahrenheit 132 https://www.fahrenheit132.com/r
or
Chop House V https://www.facebook.com/FiveChophouseVA/
How do I qualify??? It’s easy!!!! Just sign up to become a member or renew your membership to the Friends of Chatham @ https://www.friendsofchatham.org/membership
The first 40 people to sign up will be placed into a drawing for the $200 grand prize FXBG downtown fine dining gift certificate.
Friends of Chatham membership drive progress and prize winner announcement will be shared on:
(along with personal notification to the winner)
Gift Memberships
If you need a gift for a special friend or family member, consider buying them a Friends of Chatham gift membership. Just send the recipient’s name, mailing address, and email address to Friends of Chatham, PO Box 36, Fredericksburg, VA, 22404 and a card acknowledging your gift will be sent to the recipient. Membership Levels – Individual-$25; Family- $50; Sustaining-$100; Contributing-$250; River Terrace-$500; and Faberge Circle-$1000.
Donors who purchase membership gift cards are eligible to participate in the aforementioned membership drive $200 fine dining raffle.
Friends of Chatham Board of Directors
Endowment Fund Update
Joe Haydon and his late wife, Coreen, moved to the City of Fredericksburg after a long career in the US Army where tours of duty took them from upstate New York, to Huntsville, Alabama, Northern Virginia, and Micronesia. Patsy Thompson, Friends of Chatham Director of Fundraising, was their real estate agent when they purchased their home on Sophia Street. The historic home faces the Rappahannock River and Chatham across the river. Joe's interest in history led to him volunteering at Chatham for many years, and he loved to visit the grounds when his volunteering days had passed.
Joe recently moved to be closer to family, and he, his daughter and son offered the furniture and personal property that Joe and the family would not be taking to Patsy and Friends of Chatham to sell with the proceeds to be donated to the Friends of Chatham Endowment Fund. Patsy arranged for the personal property to be sold by Estes Auctioneers, LLC.
The sale was held recently and realized a net profit to the Friends of Chatham Endowment Fund of $2,915.25. Patsy and John Thompson have generously pledged to donate an additional $2,085.75 to make a wonderful donation of $5,000 in honor of Joseph and Coreen Haydon. The combined legacy gift is greatly appreciated by the Board of Directors of Friends of Chatham.
The Endowment Fund is growing, and with the generosity of our supporters, we are getting closer to reaching the funding base that will lead to having the ability to frugally access funds to support the preservation of Chatham, its historic grounds and gardens, and future educational endeavors supported by Friends of Chatham and the National Park Service.
Website and Social Media Update
We encourage everyone to visit our new and improved Friends of Chatham website at www.friendsofchatham.org and see the terrific design and content improvements that have been made with the help of our new website manager, Deborah Newman at arts@petitetaway.com. Deborah has also helped us transition our payment acceptance from Paypal to Givebutter, which allows a greater variety in payments methods, to include Paypal and credit/debit cards, as well as facilitates fundraising efforts.
Our Facebook page, Friends of Chatham, Inc., is very active with beautiful photos and news related to Chatham being posted and shared on a daily basis. We encourage you to follow our Facebook page, if you are on social media, so you can automatically view our content.
For Sale: $35 each*
FoC is selling signed and numbered limited edition prints of Chatham Manor by Joseph M. Serino, 18 1/2 in. x 23 3/4 in. If you are interested in buying a print you can email us at friendsofchatham@gmail.com. Prints can also be purchased online from our homepage at www.friendsofchatham.org.
Did you know you can support FoC when you buy bulbs for your garden from Brent and Becky's Bulbs? Go to www.bloominbucks.com. Select Friends of Chatham in the drop down menu, follow the prompts, and start shopping. Twenty-five percent of your purchase will go directly to Friends of Chatham.