Staunton, Virginia - A Small-Town Treasure

Staunton is my home town. I was born there in Kings Daughter's Hospital in the middle of a snowy January, and grew up there. As a child and then a teenager, I always thought there was nothing to do there. It was boring. But now, having moved away, when I come back I notice how much there is to do, and how much I didn't appreciate what I had until it was gone.

Staunton is very much a small town, with a small-town feel and many times small-town attitudes. But it makes a pretty decent attempt at culture and sophistication. History buffs can take a tour through Woodrow Wilson's birthplace (his home for a whole three weeks), museum fanatics can take a stroll through the Museum of American Frontier Culture. Here are some of my favorite things about Staunton:
1. Gypsy Hill Park -- This park, in the center of town, is named for the gypsies that used to roam there and the hills that Staunton is famous for. It features a golf course that my dad frequents quite often, a duck pond where you can feed the swans (make sure to bring your stale bread for them), and the Gypsy Express -- a train that takes the kids on a circular track and through a "tunnel" -- quite the thrill when you're 5.
2. Museum of American Frontier Culture -- I have a unique perspective on the museum, as I worked there for a summer. The museum represents all the cultures that settled the Shenandoah Valley as they passed through the mountains on their way west. The Germans, Scotch Irish and English. Farms from each country were brought to the museum, and the staff works them as if they lived there. There's also an early American farm that shows the blending of these cultures.
3. My mom and dad's house. It's not on the tourist trail, but it remains the highlight of every trip.

Quick Tips:

Staunton is a small town in Virginia that is strategically placed at the intersection of two key interstates, I-81 and I-64. This makes it quite the stop over for weary travellers. However, venture a little further into the city, away from the Interstate exit, and you'll find a quite different town than what you expected.

Just a note of caution -- the streets in downtown Staunton are almost all one way. Make sure to pay extra attention to the road signs, otherwise you may find yourself facing the wrong way in traffic. Not good.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you're going to see the sights in downtown Staunton, you'd do best to park in a garage and stretch your legs. Staunton recently added a trolley service, so if you get tired of walking, you can catch a ride. Otherwise, you'll need some mode of transportation to view the other sights.

When you pull up to the "Servus Fone" at this 50s-throwback diner with curbside service, you can easily imagine yourself sitting in a '57 Chevy with the radio playing "All Shook Up."

Just push the button, and out pops one of the many area teenagers that are employed at Wrights Dairy Rite. (As a matter of fact, when I was growing up in Stauton, if you had to get a job, this was one of the more acceptable form of employment - as far as "coolness" factor goes.) Place your order, and about 10 minutes later your food arrives and is set up for you on the window of your car. If curbside service makes you worry about your nice leather interior, no fear. Just park and go inside the diner. The dining room was redone in the early 1990s, but kept the 50s retro feel - jukebox and all. The walls are decorated with pictures of famous folks that have been in the establishment, including local heroes, The Statler Brothers. (see entry for Statler Brothers Museum ) Each summer, the nostalgia gets even stronger, as Wright's hosts Cruise Ins, where classic car owners (and modern hot-rod owners) can drive into the parking lot and show of their rides. There are contests, prizes, games, etc. It's quite the local draw.

But let's get to the heart of the matter. You want to know about food. If greasy spoons are your thing (as they are mine) you'll love it. My favorite thing is a burger (leave the pickles off please) and the thick crinkle fries. (Make sure to order them EXTRA crispy.) Top that off with a thick vanilla shake, and I'm in heartburn heaven. Other choices include foot-long hot dogs, chicken breast filet, pulled pork BBQ sandwich (topped with slaw), subs and more. There's a low-fat menu as well, but come on, you're in the south! If you want healthy, keep driving. :)

I'd say that a person could eat here for $5 or less, unless you go all out with the fried chicken dinners. The food is great, and it's just what you'd expect from a 50's dinner. So put a quarter in the jukebox, pick an Elvis song (or the Statler Brothers) and enjoy your trip back in time.

This museum is a showcase of all the farming cultures that came together to settle the Shenendoah Valley. It is a living history museum that employs people to actually work the different farms that are showcased. First, you visit the visitor's center to purchase tickets and look at the exhibits. The Octagonal barn that hosts the gift shop is an actual Virginia barn that was disassembled and moved to the museum grounds. All of the farmhouses were also original buildings that were moved to the site. The first farm on the path is the German farm. The interpreters explain to visitors what they are doing, and tell stories about German life in the mid-18th century. The next farm is the Scotch-Irish farm, with its whitewashed stone construction. Next comes an English farm, and then the American farm. In each, you can learn how they cooked, the animals they raised and their uses, what they planted, when and how they harvested and also how they spent extra time. All of the farms are very hands-on with visitors. You can help comb the wool on the English farm, or play games at the American farm. Definitely worth the visit.

The Statler Brothers are a big country music quartet whose roots are in Staunton. Their hometown has honored them by turning their old elementary school into a museum. Visitors learn all about the Statlers' youth, and there's even a display of all the gifts that fans have sent them over the years. The museum isn't the biggest in the world, but it suits a popular group that has always remained a grounded part of the community. (They always talk to the people they know, and everyone knows everyone else in Staunton).

Blackfriars Playhouse, built in 2000 in downtown Staunton, creates a Renaisannce-theater experience for its audience--it's the world's only re-created version of Shakespeare's London Globe Theater. What I would call wagon-wheel chandeliers hang from the ceilings and hover above the two-story wooden stage. (You need a balcony for plays like Romeo and Juliet, you know.) The bench-style seats are also wooden and the detailing of the balcony railings adds to the theater's beauty and atmosphere. See attached photos.

The troupe believes, as Shakespeare said in Romeo and Juliet, that plays should consume only "two hours' traffic of our stage." Their stage adaptations keep audiences involved (the play goes on around you, and children can even sit on the stage itself).

I paid a visit to the theater during my Christmas visit to my parents' house, and my Mom and I had great pleasure seeing the Shenandoah Shakespeare troupe's version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was a wonderful two hours, with some contemporary references woven into an old play. When Scrooge asks the Ghost of Christmas Present whether Tiny Tim will live, the ghost doesn't answer. When Scrooge asks again, the ghost replies, "it's intermission, Scrooge." Ha!

The tickets you get suggest that you arrive a half-hour early to enjoy some pre-show entertainment. Local musicians played Christmas music and costumed carolers sang to us.

Tips, the seats are wooden, as I mentioned, and pretty hard on the tooshie. For $2, you can rent a cushion to sit on and, for another $2, you can rent a back for your bench as well. I recommend at least the cushion, but the play itself should be so engaging that you're leaning forward the whole time anyway. :)

To purchase tickets, visit Shenandoah Shakespeare. Prices range from $10-$50. (FYI: The expensive seats have backs and cushions and sit on the first floor alongside the stage; the center stage seats are better for seeing the play.) You may also order over the phone at 540/885-5588 from 10am to 5pm (EST) Monday to Saturday. Tickets for orders made over a week in advance will be mailed to your home address; you can also opt to pick them up at the theater.

Some of the upcoming productions for 2003 are Twelfth Night, Richard III, Julius Ceasar, and one of my personal Shakespeare favorites--The Taming of the Shrew.

Gypsy Hill Park got its name from both the hilly nature of the city of Staunton and the gypsies that used to live in the area. It's located smack in the heart of the city, and is probably one of the nicest city parks I've ever visted.

There's so much to do in the park that a visit here is almost overwhelming. One of the coolest things to visit is the duck pond. This fenced-in pond (though the ducks can come and go as they please) is home to all kinds of ducks and a pair of swans as well. We always bring our stale bread to feed them but you can put a nickel in the feed machine and get some duck food for them. (I think they like the bread better though.)

The park also features a mini train that kids and parents alike can ride. When I was a kid, we rode the train and loved to go through the 'tunnel'--we would always scream in the dark. The train seats are big enough for parents to ride with timid kids.

Once they're done with the train, kids can swing, slide, or just run around like crazy. Adults, meanwhile, can play volleyball, horseshoes, etc. There are always ball games going on somewhere in the park, whether it's high-school football games (go Leemen of R.E. Lee HS!) or little league baseball or tee-ball games on one of the several ball fields.

The 1.3-mile road that goes around the park is speed-controlled and lots of walkers/runners use it to get out of the gym in nice weather. There is stretching and warm-up equipment at the park entrance.

In the fall, the park is one of the best places to see the foliage. In the spring, flowers sprout everywhere. In the summer, there are picnic benches for family reunions and parties. There is also a golf course (Gypsy Hill Golf Course) and a swimming pool on site.

The end of the Civil War saw more and more Yankee occupation of the Shenandoah Valley, it being only three hours from Washington, DC.

A young Confederate soldier separated from his troop knew that he had to hide from his Northern Army pursuers. But where? He ran into a white house atop a hill in Staunton to escape capture -- or death. He turned around just in time to see an enemy soldier in Northern blue standing in the doorway, where he had just entered. I'm sure he drew his gun to fire, but not quick enough. He was shot in front of the fireplace hearth. His wound fatal, he sunk down onto the hearth and took his final breath. His blood seeped onto the floor and the wall, staining where it touched.

Not long after the war, occupants of what is now known as Selma house began reporting that they saw a soldier in uniform walking down the stairs, or standing by the fireplace. or walking out the door. Through the years, more and more reports flowed out of the house about the "nice gentleman" that could be seen throughout the house. A friend of a friend that lived in the house (now converted into apartments) claims that the "ghost" even helped out around the house. She had set her laundry down at the top of the stairs, and gone back to shut her door. She came back to see her laundry at the bottom of the steps.

These stories made Selma house famous, at least in certain circles. When we were in the 4th grade, our teacher, who lived on Selma Blvd, two houses down, read the story of Selma House from a book on registered haunted houses.

I recently read a story, that said a group of parapsychologists managed to set the spirit free, and the house is no longer haunted. Now what fun is that? However, I'm sure the Confederate Soldier was tired after nearly 100 years of haunting the house.

Selma house is a residence, not a museum or a tourist attraction. However, you can easily find it sitting atop of Selma Blvd., near the park in the center of town. You can get most anyone to talk about it. And perhaps, if you ask nicely, a resident will allow you to see the blood stains on the floor and the wall that could never be covered -- the blood would seep through all rugs, coverings, etc.

Mostly, it's just a fun local story, and the house itself is a beautiful southern house -- fit with columns and all -- that has stood since before the Civil War.

Located in Downtown Staunton, Trinity was established in the mid- to late-1700s. The graveyard that surrounds the church has graves so old that you can hardly read the inscriptions, and graves from several generations of Stauntonians. The story I've always heard is that when the American Revolutionary leaders were fleeing from Washington D.C. as the city was being burned by the Brittish, they stopped and held meetings at Trinity to decide what course of action to take next. The church itself is beautiful, and the stained glass windows are magical.