Note from the Editor
What is community? The members of the Country Road Car Club certainly have enjoyed getting together weekly since 1998. While they gather for friendship and a shared hobby, they also collect their energy – and donations – for charities, including weekly food donations to the Jefferson County Community Ministries food pantry in Charles Town. At the July 23 event (above), the club presented the Lions Club of Charles Town with a check for $1,000.
The elementary school buildings in Ranson and Shepherdstown have been near the center of these communities since the 1950s. Both locales retain a strong sense of the small towns they were, but after more than 60 years, both school buildings struggle to meet the needs of communities that have expanded far beyond their immediate vicinity. The schools will be bringing many memories and traditions to their new campus locations – and will no doubt create new traditions and continue to welcome both old and new families.
Katie Tertell, organizer of the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival, is a frequent visitor to Harpers Ferry and finds a special sense of community in and around Jefferson County. In her work as a professional musician she travels around the world, yet she is in constant connection with her network of fellow musicians. She hopes to introduce both of these communities – local and global – to each other with an event that not only celebrates the music, but becomes itself a recognized tradition of this place we call home.
By Steve Pearson