Photo by Ashlee Glen & Courtesy of Melanie Layne Hylton
Art has been part of my world since I was old enough to grasp a Crayola crayon,” said Melanie Layne Hylton.
“My mother, an introverted homemaker, was my earliest creative influence. A wonderful example in so many ways, she encouraged artistic expression from toddlerhood.”
A Bedford, Virginia, native, Hylton has had a long and meandering relationship with art, spurred along by supportive parents and teachers who championed her creativity. While Hylton has dabbled in many mediums over the years, one art form in particular sparked: pyrography.
Pyrography, or woodburning, is a freehanded artform where the artist will create burn marks on wood or other materials to create intricate designs.
“My familiarity with pyrography goes back to childhood when an older brother received a woodburner for Christmas,” Hylton remembered. “Mama warned us girls that the tool was not a toy and, like the hooks and lures in his tacklebox, we must leave our brother’s things alone. I fondly recall the sweet aroma while watching him burn simple lettering on a grainy round of wood. I was not allowed to get close, but the deliberate intensity of his hand fascinated me as it moved over tiny peaks and valleys in the grain.”
As Hylton grew older, she acquired a woodburner of her own and taught herself how to burn.
“Through experimentation, my own techniques emerged right away,” she said. “My lifelong signature style of hyperrealism transferred naturally to burning. I was completing large complex woodburnings at nearly the same skill level previously acquired in my drawings.”
While Hylton often completes detailed portraiture, landscapes, still life, and architectural subjects on large scale pieces of wood, she is also well-known for her wood-burned Christmas ornaments. She applies her same hyperrealistic focus to small pieces of wood, creating winter wonderlands, commemorative pet portraits, and custom designs to don customers’ trees.
“Making art on organic material requires patience and flexibility,” she explained. “Dark streaks, knots, and checked areas are often visible upon inspection of a round of wood. But not all flaws are hindrances. Some prove to be assets, adding interest to a work of art.”
While some ornaments are left organic—with only the intricate burn marks—Hylton will often finish her ornaments with a pop of color.
“Second only to burning, color is the most joyous part of my creative process,” she said. “I thoroughly enjoy marrying the mediums to create special effects in my work.”
To follow along with Hylton’s work, find her on Facebook at Olde Dominion Artworks. She is currently booked with commissions for the current holiday season.
Celebrating Culture & Coffee
Lynchburg’s First Latin Café
Recently opened El Mariachi Café and the adjacent El Mariachi Restaurant provide downtown Lynchburg residents with a taste of Latin American culture through stellar beverage offerings as well as authentic Latin cuisine.
For cousins and El Mariachi owners Daniel Sanchez and L.J. Pumagualle, the restaurant business has been a longtime family affair. The duo’s family opened its first El Mariachi restaurant in 2008 in Amherst County before starting a second 10 years later in Lovingston, Virginia. In August, Sanchez and Pumagualle decided to open a branch of their own, but this time with the addition of a café.
El Mariachi Café, the first Latin American café in Lynchburg as well as the first café for the El Mariachi brand, offers a robust selection of caffeinated beverages and desserts to customers.
“We live in a diverse world, so it’s nice to have something for each area,” said Pumagualle, who is Ecuadorian. “Lynchburg didn’t have a Latin café, so we are pushing Honduran coffee, Guatemalan coffee, we want to start pushing Ecuadorian coffee, and Mexican bread and food. The Latin style is very important to me because you can do so much with it.”
While the restaurant provides patrons with a wide selection of lunch and dinner items, as well as a fully stocked bar, the café provides a more laid-back atmosphere for customers as well as includes breakfast options that aren’t available at the restaurant. It also offers specialty drinks that combine coffee with staple Latin favorites such as “horchatte” (horchata and latte combination) and a churro affogato.
Photos by Ashlee Glen
Through these offerings, the business looks to share its passion for Latin culture with residents of Central Virginia as well as anyone else passing through the area.
“I’m Mexican and I’ve kind of been disconnected from my heritage for a lot of different reasons, but this has been a way for me to connect back with my heritage through something I love, which is coffee,” manager Jeremy Angione said. “Not only are you getting the influence through the food and the aesthetics, but you’re also getting it through the people.”
As the café begins to grow and find its niche in the downtown scene, it will continue to evolve as it seeks to best serve its customers. Yet, its focus on authentic Latin cuisine will not change.
“We’re a people with a rich heritage that we like to pull from, with fresh ingredients,” Angione said. “We want to be seen as something more than just a theme or a character in a restaurant. We want to be seen as a people with a rich and diverse culture that we want to share with the people of Lynchburg and Virginia overall.”
El Mariachi Café and El Mariachi Restaurant are located at 1001 Jefferson St., Lynchburg, VA, and customers can also visit the business’ website at www.elmariachimexfood.com.
Photos by Ashlee Glen
Enchanting Escapes
The Most Festive Holiday Hotels of the Season
As the holiday season beckons with the promise of warmth, joy, and a touch of magic, what better way to embrace it than through travel? As winter casts its snowy spell, families and friends embark on journeys that lead to reunions or new adventures.
For many, traveling during the holidays is a cherished tradition, a time-honored ritual that brings loved ones together. Airports hum with a festive energy, adorned with twinkling lights and the sound of cheerful carols. Trains and buses echo with the anticipation of shared stories and laughter. The journey itself becomes a part of the holiday experience, weaving a tapestry of memories.
Exploring new destinations during this time can be transformative. Streets adorned with holiday decorations offer a unique perspective, as traditions shine through in vibrant displays of lights, nativity scenes, and bustling downtowns.
Whether you’re looking for a wintery escape this season or a festive place to stay while visiting family or friends, Virginia has a host of holiday hotels to choose from.
Photo Courtesy: The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
The Hotel Roanoke
Famous for its annual Fashions for Evergreens event, which runs from Thanksgiving morning until New Year’s Day, The Hotel Roanoke comes alive with holiday cheer. Each year, dozens of organizations and businesses compete for the coveted People’s Choice award by trimming trees in an assortment of themes. In years past, guests have enjoyed whimsical Alice in Wonderland trees, trees with historic flourishes, and trees that act as living memories of those who have come before us. The designs get more delightful and immersive with every passing year, and this season promises to be one of their best yet.
The Hotel Roanoke is also offering professional holiday portraits this year in front of their lobby tree, as well as an interactive Elf on the Shelf activity for the hotel’s youngest guests. S’mores are also roasted on the patio every Friday and Saturday in December to help guests feel even more cozy.
The Omni Homestead is a stunning destination no matter the season, but particularly in the winter months, when the Allegheny Mountains are blanketed in white. Skiing, snowboarding, tubing, mini snowmobiles, and ice skating all await guests who book a holiday stay at the Omni Homestead. Touted as the birthplace of southern skiing, the Omni Homestead has nine trails at varying skill levels for skiers and snowboarders. Not to mention, a section of their two-acre waterpark, Allegheny Springs, fed by natural springs in the area, is converted to an ice skating rink in the winter.
Winter sports aside, The Omni Homestead offers a full seasonal lineup of activities for guests, from bedtime stories with Santa’s elves and an interactive winter fairy garden for children to a Homestead holiday express hayride and seasonal craft beer tastings for the adults.
Holidays at Primland Resort are as cozy as they come. Tucked just off the Appalachian Trail, this luxurious back-to-nature escape is the perfect destination for a winter retreat. On its 12,000-acre mountain estate are romantic log cabins and treehouses perched above the Dan River Gorge, giving guests a glimpse of holiday in the backcountry while still enjoying the amenities of the number one rated resort in the Southeast (Condé Nast).
Primland decorates each guest’s room with their own Christmas tree and offers cookie decorating and wreath making in the afternoons. This year, Primland Resort is launching its Winter Solstice Experience, a unique nightly stargazing opportunity in their observatory. Other holiday activities include Christmas Eve cocktails and a prix fixe meal, an ornament-making workshop, classic holiday movies in their theater, and storytime with Santa.
The Jefferson Hotel has a reputation for its glitz and glam during the holiday season. This year, the hotel will be adorned with hundreds of live poinsettias, thousands of twinkle lights, and yards of garland with unique displays trailing up the grand staircase and along the circle drive. More than 20 decorated trees will grace the hotel corridors, but one is guaranteed to outshine them all: a 30-foot Christmas tree in the rotunda that will be embellished with hundreds of oversized ornaments.
Their annual gingerbread display will also be up throughout the season. Each year’s theme is different (this year’s theme won’t be announced until November 27!) but past themes have included Santa’s sleigh; Santa’s workshop; and a Christmas village complete with a gingerbread tree, packages, and quaint gingerbread cottages. Holiday brunches and seasonally themed meals will also be served throughout Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. For a family-friendly meal, don’t miss their coveted holiday afternoon teas served Monday through Saturday through January 6.
If you’ve never been to Leesburg during the holidays, consider this your invitation. The cozy historic town comes alive during the winter months with parades, tree lightings, and twinkle-lit corner restaurants to tuck into. Adding to that charm is Lansdowne Resort & Spa, where traditional celebrations abound.
Their inaugural tree lighting ceremony marks the start to the holiday season each year, and it only snowballs from there. Guests can enjoy a traditional breakfast with Santa complete with cookie decorating, ornament building, and an opportunity to meet the Big Man himself, or soak in the sounds of the season with live caroling while sipping on delicious hot cocoa.
Each year The Cavalier Hotel kicks off the holiday season with their Grand Illumination event, a time where the Historic Cavalier, Marriott, and Embassy Suites are flooded with lights and festive cheer. Santa joins in on the fun before his busy season starts, and the hotel grounds are awash with carolers and dancers from The Nutcracker. This beloved tradition is one you won’t want to miss if you’re looking for a beach getaway this season. Photos with Santa, hot cocoa, and holiday-themed drinks in their stunning Raleigh Room await you.
The Cavalier Hotel also hosts an annual Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Their delectable three-course meal will be one you and your family talk about for years to come—and will perhaps start a tradition of your own. And, while you’re there, be sure to take a stroll to the neighborhood adjacent to the Cavalier on 43rd and 44th Streets where residents go all out on their holiday décor, attracting a steady stream of annual visitors by car and on foot.
Image by Jerry McCoy for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
The Williamsburg Inn
The holidays aren’t the holidays in Coastal Virginia without a stroll down Colonial Williamsburg’s famed Duke of Gloucester Street to admire the artistry of the 18th-century inspired, handmade wreaths and garlands bedecking its charming Colonial-era homes and shops. But that stroll also isn’t complete without a turn down Colonial Street, where you’ll be dazzled by the façade of the legendary Williamsburg Inn, its warm white holiday lights magically mirrored in the reflecting pool that welcomes visitors to its classical portico.
The Williamsburg Inn, once graced by Queen Elizabeth II herself, is a popular stop for visitors during Colonial Williamsburg’s annual Grand Illumination celebrations, happening Dec. 2, 9 and 16 in 2023, which include fireworks displays from the Capitol and the Governor’s Palace. Make it an event and book a “Holiday Getaway Package” that includes a three-night minimum stay, breakfast for two, tickets to Colonial Williamsburg for the duration of your stay, a boxed holiday ornament and a retail shopping pass.
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, the holidays serve as a pause button, allowing us to reflect, reconnect, and create new traditions. Whether it’s a grand adventure or a quiet retreat, traveling for the holidays has the power to kindle the spirit, filling hearts with gratitude and the knowledge that, no matter where we roam, we carry the warmth of home within us.
Oh, Christmas Tree!
Meet the Farmers Growing Christmas Trees
Everyone has their own traditions when it comes to the Christmas season. But there is perhaps no tradition more classic than going to a local farm to get your very own tree chopped to prop up in the living room, for all to see, and smell. While many may opt for a fake, pre-decorated tree from a hardware store, you just can’t capture the same old-fashioned charm that a Christmas tree farm can give.
Fortunately, if you decide to keep the tradition alive and choose your own farm-grown tree, Central Virginia is home to several plots of land dedicated to the Christmas custom.
Bedford Evergreen Christmas Tree Farm
1893 Robertson ROAd, Bedford, VA 24523
For Dan Young, growing and cutting Christmas trees is not only a tradition, it’s a legacy.
“I grew up in Prince Edward County, on a Christmas tree farm, near Farmville,” Young said. “So, I kinda grew up doing it.”
Dan bought a farm of his own in Bedford County about 16 years ago and started to grow trees of his own. Due to his long history in the field, Dan says he knows exactly how a tree should be cut and shaped, and that the quality shape of his trees is a trademark of his farm.
“We got it down to a pretty good art form,” he said.
Bedford Evergreen also offers hayrides and will offer to cut and load your tree for you.
“For me, I grew up always getting a tree,” Young remembered. “The feelings that engenders are fairly powerful. Because it just becomes part of a tradition. In a way, by continuing to do this, I’m continuing a tradition that I grew up with.”
According to Young, shoppers should be sure to get their trees as early as possible. He says there is a shortage in Virginia, due, in part, to older growers retiring without new growers to take their places.
Season: Begins Black Friday and will open the following two weekends.
Dancing Hill Christmas Tree Farm
1401 Dancing Hill Road, Bedford, VA 24523
With a claim to having the longest run Christmas Tree farm in the area, Richard Miles started Dancing Hill Christmas Tree Farm in 1980, as a way to pay for his children’s college education.
Although the farm does not produce as many trees as it used to, Dancing Hill specializes in larger trees, mostly for commercial use, such as for businesses or church events.
“We’ve scaled way back from what we started,” Miles said. “We used to be open for a month. We’re only open one weekend now and we sell everything we’ve got in one weekend.”
Miles says that running the farm for so long has produced some rewarding results.
“We’ve been at it for so long, we’re selling to people who came up as kids who are now adults with their own kids,” he said.
Dancing Hills was the best option for Miles and his family after his retirement from the Department of Forestry. He figured his expertise was expansive enough to provide a great service to others.
Miles says that shoppers should get their tree early, and to call before coming to ensure they haven’t already sold out.
Season: Begins Black Friday and continues while supplies last
Green Needles Christmas Tree Farm
1175 Yew Tree Lane, Coleman Falls, VA 24536
Jon Perdew is the third owner of Green Needles Christmas Tree Farm and has operated it for 18 years.
According to Perdew, the scenic mountain locale, the fresh hot chocolate, and the old-fashioned fun of tire swings make Green Needles a unique, and warm experience for tree shoppers.
Perdew admits there wasn’t a special reason he got into the Christmas tree business, he only wanted the land and had the prior experience of running apple and peach orchards.
Green Needles also makes and sells wreaths and even has food trucks for its guests. Much like his peers, Perdew advises that shoppers snag their trees as early as possible.
Season: Begins the Saturday before Thanksgiving and continues while supplies last.
Joyful Tree Farm
16145 Forest Road, Forest, VA 24551
Although the Joyful Tree Farm began operation in 2019, the business has already found success. Mary Gribbin, a professor of the PA Medicine program at the University of Lynchburg, and mother of seven, owns and operates the business with her husband Bill.
According to Mary, Joyful Tree started as just a fundraiser for the PA program, where the students would provide and package trees for customers while enjoying coffee and ice cream from Rookie’s.
“We were looking to uphold that tradition of people getting together and being able to enjoy Christmas during Covid, and it kinda just blossomed from there,” she said.
Joyful Tree only works with Fraser fir trees, which Mary says do well in the local climate. While they do provide trees up to 10 feet, Mary says Joyful Tree also sells smaller, three- to four-foot trees. Mary even teaches a wreath-making class.
Unsurprisingly, Mary suggests buying early.
“So far, every year we’ve sold out,” she said. “I already have orders for more than 200 trees.”
Season: Begins Black Friday and continues while supplies last.
These farmers are doing their part to make Christmas and the rest of the holiday season an unforgettable experience for families in Central Virginia. Be sure to grab some hot chocolate and support your local farmers this Christmas season.
2023 Senior Planning Guide
It’s never too early to plan for the future.
This comprehensive resource is a great way to get started.
Glowing in the Golden Years
Some might argue that your golden years are the most enriching chapters of your life. The kids are out of the house, you have the joy of simply spoiling your grandchildren, and you have a renewed sense of freedom to enjoy. This Senior Planning Guide is all about thriving in this stage. From aging gracefully and staying active to finding the right community, you’ll find advice, tips, and information within these pages, You’ll also hear from experts in senior care along the way.
18th Annual Gift Guide
Look What I Found!
Not sure where to start with that holiday shopping list? You’ve come to the right place!
Our annual Holiday Gift Guide is an overview of unique gift ideas, all found in local stores.
So you’ll not only feel good about what’s under the tree, but you’ll also know your purchase helped support the local economy.
Patrick Henry Through The Eyes of His Descendent
Patrick Henry Jolly Gives A New Perspective at Red Hill
Photos by Ashlee Glenn
I personally believe that if we think of our founding fathers, obviously George Washington would be on the highest pedestal—but I firmly believe that if, given the opportunity, he would reach down, take Patrick Henry’s hand, and pull him up on that same pedestal. I really do,” said Patrick Henry Jolly, the fifth-great grandson of Virginia statesman and revolutionary, Patrick Henry.
Patrick Henry’s home, Red Hill, sprawls over 1,000 acres, straddling Charlotte and Campbell counties. From the house at the top of a hill, one can see down over the fields to where the Staunton River flows. The land is owned by the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation, which works to preserve Henry’s third and final Virginia home and keep the legacy of Red Hill alive.
The Revolutionary orator, lawyer, and politician from Virginia became most famous for his “Liberty or Death” speech, uttering seven words that remain on the tongues of almost every United States citizen today. While other figures like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington might be more prominent in the public mind, Patrick Henry was also a founding father.
Many visitors to Red Hill might have met or seen Jolly giving a tour, or reciting Henry’s most famous speech at the organization’s annual July 4 event. For 35 years now, Henry’s fifth great-grandson has been working with Red Hill and helping to educate others about his forefather, the place he lived, and the people who lived there with him.
Growing up, Jolly always knew he was descended from Patrick Henry through his mother. They even had a family heirloom: the now-famous ivory letter opener Henry held when he made that famous speech and, in the spirit of the Roman senator Cato, declared: “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
“I’ve heard people say it has more significance to the American Revolution than the Liberty Bell,” Jolly said of the letter opener. To him as a child, he said it just looked like “an ivory popsicle stick.”
Jolly always felt proud seeing Henry’s portrait in school history books, and hearing his name mentioned—but not until his late 20’s did he really start learning about his forefather.
“It was in the late 1980s that I was asked, in Ohio, to do a talk about Patrick Henry for a DAR group,” Jolly said. “I agreed, and as I began to prepare, I realized I didn’t know that much, which is a little bit embarrassing.”
Jolly first visited Red Hill as a high school senior with his mother, and he instantly fell in love with the place. It was as though something in him remembered it.
More visits to Red Hill followed over the ensuing years, and by the late 1990s, Jolly was more involved with Red Hill as an organization. He played the violin, taking up the instrument Henry played; he met with school groups and led tours whenever he was in town; and finally, he started dressing in period costume to read Henry’s “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech on Independence Day.
The original property was comprised of 3,000 acres, said Hope Marstin, executive director of Red Hill. It was always in the hands of descendants, up until 1944, when one of Henry’s great granddaughters died and Red Hill was not passed on. Concerned citizens banded together to save it, since Patrick Henry himself was buried there. Thus, the foundation was born.
“It started out, the place was kind of in ruins when his great-granddaughter died, and the Foundation formed to save it, and just started restoring and preserving everything slowly until [we got] where we are now,” Marstin said.
Over the last few years with renewed vigor, Red Hill continued its mission to restore humanity to the enslaved people who also called Red Hill home—67 of them who are known.
Jolly and Red Hill have been actively working to tell an honest and complete history of the estate and Patrick Henry.
“I just think Red Hill… they’re committed to telling the complete, truthful story of Red Hill, and slavery is part of that story. This is Patrick Henry’s Red Hill, and Patrick Henry’s Red Hill included 67 enslaved individuals,” Jolly said.
When asked what his favorite part of Red Hill is, Jolly will say it’s the house, and its stunning views down to the river. The most special place, however, is another question altogether and, for him, the most special place at Red Hill is the Quarter Place cemetery.
One day in 2019, Jolly wrote down all the names of enslaved people recorded in an inventory of Henry’s possessions—listed along with articles of furniture, instruments, and other items—walked down to the Quarter Place cemetery alone, and read each name aloud among the 147 total graves. Not all those buried there are known.
Jesse. John. Peg. Critty, who is believed to have been the cook. Maria, Eliza, Violet. Bob and Peter; Polly and Betty. The list goes on. To this day, Jolly reads the names off as he leads lantern tours down to the Quarter Place cemetery.
“To me, these people need to be celebrated,” Jolly said. “Patrick Henry wrestled with the concept of slavery, as many founders may have. He knew that it was wrong, but at the end of the day, he was a slave owner. He owned other human beings, 67 of them here at Red Hill… what I can do, personally and as part of Red Hill, is to celebrate their lives. To honor their lives.”
Multiple descendants have been identified through the genealogical research conducted at Red Hill, Marstin said, both out of state and “around the corner.” Red Hill recently had its third annual event honoring and remembering the enslaved people who lived at and operated Red Hill, and descendants were invited.
“We had always—well, for decades—done genealogy on Patrick Henry’s descendants, but now, working the other side of it with the enslaved descendants, it’s a nice way to bring those two groups together, to just talk about the past, and make that connection,” Marstin said.
Red Hill’s top priority is education, Marstin said, and this includes working in and with schools around the area, especially elementary grade classes.
Three of Jolly’s main takeaways he hopes to impart on visitors are the character of Patrick Henry; his significance to history and legacy in the modern day; and the beauty of Red Hill as a home and land.
“One takeaway would be Patrick Henry’s character, and his modesty. Another one would be his importance, not only in Virginia history, but in American history,” Jolly said.
The property of Red Hill—the final home of the three Henry owned over the course of his life with the other two, Pine Slash and Scotchtown, located in Hanover County—is also special. Its rolling fields, wooded areas, stretch of river, and cemeteries all contribute to a serene home. The house itself is modest, not a Monticello or Mount Vernon mansion, Jolly said. That is fitting, he said, because that was Patrick Henry.
“When he called this one of the ‘garden spots of the world,’ it still is,” Jolly said.
Welcome to the Modern South
A Look Inside the Ever-Evolving Edloe Glades
Photos by Ashlee Glen
Approaching Edloe Glades is a transportation back in time.
Your feet pad softly along the grass while Antebellum-era boxwoods on either side guide your journey—their scent bringing to mind long, leisurely summers in a pre-war South. As the intricate gardens usher you along, you get your first glimpse of the 19th-century Federal-style home. Lace-like cast iron railings direct your gaze upward to the second-story entrance, an imperial staircase leading the way.
The entrance is where the historical accuracy ends, however. A keen eye will notice variations in the brick along the front facade, the first indication that the historic manor home has had a journey of its own.
“The house has burned twice,” explained Chloe Cubbage, owner of Edloe Glades along with her husband Doug. “It was fully rebuilt by the Earley family in the 1950s.”
The center footprint is original to the home; it’s one room deep and faces directly north and south so the winds cool the home in the summer and the sun warms in the winter. But after enduring the two fires, little remains beyond that of the original home. Expansions and extensions were made when the Earleys took ownership, including additional wings off the east and west side of the home, rounding out the square footage of the four-bedroom, five-bath home to just over 4,500 square feet.
Walking through the front door, sweeping 11-foot ceilings, built-up crown molding, and lavish floral wallpaper greet you to your left. The home has an impressive eight fireplaces, six of which—including the fireplace in the front room—feature ornamental mantles of imported marble from New Orleans. A gilded mirror is anchored atop the mantle.
“We literally wrote the mirror into the contract,” Chloe said, describing the process of buying the 1826 home back in 2020. “Lillian Earley owned this home before us and she was an eclectic collector. She brought so many beautiful pieces from the French Quarter [in New Orleans].”
In the front living room alone, evidence of Earley’s varying tastes can be found in every corner, from the cornice window surrounds that she sourced from a French chateau to the hand-painted grand piano, another piece Chloe ensured stayed with the home.
“The Earley family owned a cotton farm in Arizona, which is where they would spend their winters,” Chloe said. “Lillian would arrive here in March for Easter and leave right after Thanksgiving.”
There are marked similarities between the Earleys and the Cubbages, almost as if Edloe Glades itself has a type. Just as the Earleys only spent half of their year at Edloe Glades, the Cubbages also split their time.
“This was a pandemic purchase,” Chloe explained, as they purchased the home in 2020 just as the COVID pandemic took hold. “At the time, Doug worked for the Virginia DOT. We were living in Richmond and, once the pandemic hit, they transitioned their office to partially remote. Doug had lived in Lynchburg once upon a time and was always traveling outside of the city to be in the mountains so we thought, ‘why not find a house there?’ Doug wanted outdoor space, I wanted a space for a horse. When we found this place, we knew it was the one.”
Chloe resides at Edloe Glades almost full time, with Doug still shuffling in between the Amherst county home and their Richmond home. Eventually, the two will remain at Edloe Glades full time.
Chloe isn’t your typical Southern estate owner, just as Lillian Earley didn’t seem to be. A North Carolina native, Chloe’s days are full, spiriting from one task to another, sleeves rolled up and farm shoes on. An avid thrifter and collector, Chloe has furnished the entire home from Facebook Marketplace and thrift store finds—the entire decor budget totalling just $10,000. When she’s not decorating her home or the home of clients via her interior design business, Hive Interiors, she’s tending to the myriad animals they have on the property. Guineas, goats, ducks, chickens, pigs, rabbits, birds, cows, horses, and one sassy llama pepper the 16-acre property. The Cubbages started taking in animals in 2021 when neighboring farms and animal owners had animals they could no longer care for or were too old to be productive on a working farm. In 2022, Liberty Meadows Farm Sanctuary officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. They work with animal controls around Virginia and take in owner-surrenders.
Chloe’s interior design aesthetic reflects her personality—passionately curious, creative, and whimsical with a down-to-earth air that invites anyone and everyone (four-legged friends included) in.
“I knew I wanted to play in each space and I actively tried to make things look different than what you would see in a beige catalog page,” she said. “This house has given me so much flexibility to play. The downstairs and the library are much more my natural aesthetic—plaid, velvet, deep greens, rich wood.”
The house is still in flux, the Cubbages taking their time to meticulously work their way through renovations and interior upgrades. Chloe attributes the house’s own impermanence—its two fires and subsequent renovations—to the flexibility she’s had in designing a space she and Doug will love for years to come.
“We don’t want to add chic modern finishes,” said Chloe. “Part of that means living in flux with terrible carpet or not having the budget to finish the stairs just yet.”
The work the Cubbages are doing—creating an animal sanctuary, designing a space that welcomes everyone, and forging their own aesthetic path in a pre-war plantation home—is a reminder that change can be beautiful and that writing a new story within a well-loved and -lived in space is perhaps what the future of a historic home is all about.
A Year in the Life
Local Musician Jamie Trent Chronicles His Daughter’s Life Through Song
Photos by Ashlee Glen
Everyone knows the “Happy Birthday” song played at parties and sung right before the birthday boy or girl blows out the candles on the cake. Lynchburg local Jamie Trent transforms the idea of the classic birthday song when he creates a new song for his daughter’s birthday every year.
Since she turned one, Kardigan’s father has written her a song and played it over a slideshow of photos for her birthday. The songs feature lyrics about her and her life. Trent’s wife came up with the idea and suggested it to Trent as an original way to capture memories.
Trent has been a musician his whole life. His father and other relatives sang at church, he played in high school bands, and he even performed as a way to help pay his way through college after he served in the military.
About ten years ago, Trent took his music in a new direction—one of healing. He started volunteering with SongwritingWith:Soldiers, a nonprofit that connects veterans and songwriters, where he would partner with wounded veterans and those who suffered from PTSD to write songs as a way to process their experiences.
“Music is such a powerful tool. You don’t have to be famous or make money from it,” Trent said. “It grips at those emotional heart strings, whether it’s a happy song or a sad song. It can take you places you never thought you could go.”
After finishing eight songs for Kardigan, Trent has a process laid out. He jots down notes throughout the year on everything from milestones to little moments in Kardigan’s life. When he sees something that catches his eye, he might snap a picture of it to put in the slideshow that accompanies the song.
By the time her next birthday rolls around, he has about 50 ideas. However, he condenses them into a single song, often cutting 90 percent of the list.
“As she gets older, it’s becoming more demanding. She’s expecting these songs now,” Trent said. “She’s very in tune with it. In a couple months, she’ll start saying, ‘Dad, what’s up with my song? You started taking any pictures, you got any ideas, what’s the title gonna be?’”
For the past few years, Trent has collaborated with Arlis Albritton, a professional songwriter based in Nashville. Together, they keep the songs fresh and stop them from being redundant.
To kick off the songwriting process, he tends to start with a title or bigger picture of what he wants the song to look like.
“I’m a very good title and idea guy. [Albritton is] a very good rhythm and chorus guy,” Trent said. “I start with the idea, then bring the music in afterwards. You know what—I say that now, but it could be the exact opposite the next time. I don’t fight it. It’s whatever comes naturally.”
Though he originally had other artists sing the first few songs, Trent now sings all the songs he writes for Kardigan.
Through trial and error, Trent has discovered what type of songs his daughter likes the most. He avoids writing sappy ballads, since Kardigan better appreciates a fun, upbeat song where the chorus is something the listener can sing along to. He describes most of the songs as upbeat with a country flair.
According to Trent, music “puts a sparkle” in his daughter’s eyes.
It’s hard for Trent to pick a favorite song. Each song is better than the last, because as Kardigan grows, so do the songs.
Due to the emotion behind it, Year to Remember was one of the most rewarding songs for Trent to write. Trent wrote it during the lockdowns of 2020. That year, he and his family grew closer together and realized they didn’t need the outside world as much as they needed each other.
One of the lyrics Trent is most proud of writing is one that references when Kardigan hit the head pastor at their church with a water balloon. Though it happened years ago, Kardigan still remembers the lyric and what happened.
“It’s moments like that when it’s like, man, she is gonna remember these songs,” Trent said. “At nine years old, she’s thinking back to five years old about [that verse] in the song. I feel like [they resonate] with her, and that’s the goal.”
At the heart of it all, Trent wants to show his daughter how much he and his wife love her.
“I want her to know how deeply we love her. She’s adopted, so … I would never want her to think that she isn’t massively loved … that she wasn’t loved to the moon and back. That’s first and foremost,” he said.
Trent hopes that other parents find their own way to capture life’s special moments, whether it be through songs, scrapbooking, or eating together at the dinner table. To put it in perspective, Trent references Kenny Chesney’s song Don’t Blink because he knows others don’t want to blink and miss out on life’s special moments.
“We only have so many Sundays, so many weeks left in our kids’ lives until they’re out the door,” Trent said. “That time is precious, and these songs are a constant reminder of that for me.”
2023 Community Impact Appreciation
What does it mean to give back? For some, giving back means supporting one of the hundreds of nonprofits and faith organizations in our area who are the boots on the ground, serving our community day after day. For others, giving back means rolling up their sleeves and doing the work themselves. Each year, we have the privilege of honoring the latter—the businesses making a big impact outside of their day-to-day responsibilities and giving back to our community in tangible and sometimes unexpected ways.
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services
Dawson Ford Garbee & Co., Realtors® Founded: 1905 Number of Employees: 40
How has your business recently impacted the community? Most recently, our company has started a podcast to provide a platform for nonprofits and those alike. We provide, weekly, a media space for these groups to engage with the community, and to let people know all about their mission and needs. The podcast is called “Community Love”. People are excited and we are booked six months out.
Why does your business prioritize giving back? Our company is over 118 years old. It is because of our community and the people who live here, we have been allowed to service folks in their real estate needs for over a century in south-central Virginia. It only makes sense to give back to those who have allowed us to make that happen, and to invest in this community that we hold so dear.
Black Dog Sporting Goods
Founded: 2013 Number of Employees: 3 with 1 full-time and 2 part-time
How has your business recently impacted the community? We help local charities and Volunteer Fire Departments raise funds through numerous raffles each year. The raffles are an excellent way for the groups to raise much-needed funds to carry on their charitable and life-saving work. A few examples include college scholarships, youth sports gear, and First-Responder gear and equipment.
Why does your business prioritize giving back? When you are in a position to help someone, it isn’t just a nice thing to do, it’s the right thing to do. We strive to give back to the community by helping others including many charities and Volunteer Fire Departments.
Collaborative Health Partners
Founded: 2014 Number of Employees: 310
How has your business recently impacted the community? Our VTO (volunteer time off) Program allows for employees to volunteer up to 4 hours per calendar year on company time at a charity of their choice. We also highlight one non-profit per month to educate our teams on our local resources, as well as to make them aware of opportunities where their VTO can be used. Isaiah House 117, Parkview Community Mission, The Center of Excellence for Polytrauma, YWCA’s Domestic Violence Program, and the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center have all benefited from our team members’ generosity and/or time this year.
Why does your business prioritize giving back? Excellence, Professionalism, Integrity, Compassion, and Teamwork are the values we live by inside and outside the walls of our organization. Our business takes pride in contributing to the well-being of our patients and our community. By engaging directly with local residents and charities, we better understand the needs and concerns of the communities we serve. We’re here to help people…attain better health for a better life!
FunQuest
Family Entertainment Center Founded: Skateland was founded in 1969 it became FunQuest in 1991 Number of Employees: 25
How has your business recently impacted the community? Our business has been here in our community for 55 years. Jim and Cindy Anderson who owned this facility previously poured into the kids, the schools and the businesses in this community. When Mason Drew started running the business, we kept that same focus. Every year we donate over 15,000 free passes to our local schools, we have given grants for schools through the Roller Skating Foundation to experience our STEM program for free. We donate to nonprofits and sponsor sports teams in our area.
Why does your business prioritize giving back? Our mark in the community speaks to who we are as a business. We truly aim to provide good family fun to the people in Lynchburg and surrounding counties. Our hope is that our small locally owned business would be missed if we were gone, mostly because of the way we have poured into and loved on our community to make it better.
Patrick Henry’s Red Hill
Founded: Patrick Henry’s National Memorial Foundation was founded in 1944. Number of Employees: 14 employees (6 part-time and 8 full-time).
How has your business recently impacted the community? There are many ways Red Hill has impacted the community. One being our recent addition of Red Hill Rediscovered. It is a hybrid virtual and in-person lecture series geared towards an older audience. It is aimed to tell the history of Patrick Henry, Red Hill and his connection through people and places you know through history.
Why does your business prioritize giving back? Red Hill prioritizes giving back through education, culture and providing a park like setting for people to enjoy. It’s our mission to reach the younger and older audience who have a passion for history and Patrick Henry. Red Hill aims to provide accurate information by telling the whole truth about its history, Patrick Henry, and the enslaved. Red Hill outreach efforts are on a national and local level to include Appomattox, Campbell, Charlotte, Danville, Halifax, Lynchburg city and Pittsylvania counties.
Timberlake Animal Hospital
Founded: 1963 Number of Employees: 14
How has your business recently impacted the community? We foster cats at our clinic for the Bedford Humane Society and Harmony Rescue. We also sponsor multiple schools and businesses in the area (JF, Brookville, Timberlake Christian, the Jamerson YMCA, local rescues and shelters, and multiple others). Dr. Pearson has gone into elementary and secondary schools to talk about veterinary medicine to students. We have had over 15 high school and college student volunteers come and shadow regularly at our clinic to learn more about veterinary medicine, as well as veterinary students on rotation from Virginia Tech.
Why does your business prioritize giving back? As a locally owned and operated clinic, we strongly believe in supporting our local community. We believe it is crucial to pour into our community because when Lynchburg is strong, we are all strong. Our clinic is one of the oldest in the area and we are proud of its history as it has remained locally owned and operated while other clinics have begun being owned by corporate companies located elsewhere. We also believe in investing in the future of veterinary medicine by encouraging the public to learn about its importance and educating the next generation of veterinarians as well!
