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j-uisi wees, me Confederate Civil War Memorial next to the County Administration Building was surrounded by scaffolding for the first deep cleaning it’s had in some 60 years. Watching employees from Conservation Solutions Inc. delicately restore the monument’s marble and sandstone drives home the fact that history does not preserve itself.
Also approved last week was an archaeological survey for the 4-acre lot where Tbwn of Washington leaders plan to build a wastewater treatment plant. Such surveys are a matter of course in historic areas of Virginia, but it makes one think about what clues to Rappahannock’s past remain buried in the county’s undeveloped expanses.
And, last but not least, a group of go-getters used their own time and muscle on Saturday to drag some garbage out of the Rappahannock River.
Terri Diley, her children and some friends received several kudos on the county’s community e-mail listserv, Rappnet, for taking it upon themselves to pull several old tires, chairs, beer bottles, barbed wire and other waste out of the historic river that gave the county its name.
As is often the case with projects in a small community, local citizens were the sparkplugs behind the Civil War Memorial and trash-removal projects.
Jim Gannon and Bob Lander initiated the Courthouse Grounds Improvement Project that includes the memorial’s restoration. The men are members of the Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection and former participants in the now-dissolved local chapter of the Civil War Roundtable. Both organizations, which are funded by citizens’ donations, contributed money to the project.
The Rappahannock River trash removal began as a simple observation by locals who didn’t like seeing garbage in what is designated as one of Virginia’s “Scenic Rivers.” Rather than just complaining about it, they did something to make the situation better.
Rappahannock would not be the unique and beautiful place it is without a firm appreciation and dedication to history and the environment.
The county is blessed with people who “walk the walk” in addition to “talking the talk.”
As Rappahannock moves forward, hopefully “restoration” and preservation” will continue to be common words in the county’s vernacular.
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