A first at the fire company, thirty people with brush cutters in a cemetery, eighty-five thousand anonymous dollars for the schools, and a hundred meals put together in a few days.
The year began with a first
In mid-January, at the John H. Enders Fire Company and Rescue Squad's annual banquet, Maria Zimmerman was sworn in as president. She is the first woman to hold the office, and she took it up as the company began its 125th year. Zimmerman had long served on both sides of the house: the operational staff who answer calls, and the administrative staff who keep the books, mind the building and get the community suppers out the door.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
Maria Zimmerman was sworn in as president of the John H. Enders Fire Company & Rescue Squad at its annual banquet in mid-January 2025, the first woman to hold the office, as the company began its 125th year.
What the source supports
When she took office, that she is the first woman to hold it, and the company's year.
Uncertainty
From one local paper. No company record, minute book or roster was consulted, and the claim of a first rests on the paper's statement rather than on any search of the company's history.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Mar 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-03 (publication)
Locator: page 10
Relevant passageAs the John H. Enders Fire Company & Rescue Squad begins its 125th year of serving the Clarke County community, it does so with its first-ever female president. Maria Zimmerman was sworn in during Enders' annual banquet in mid-January.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
A light back on at 26 East Main
Main Street started the year with a light back on in a building that had been dark a long while. Coiner Grand Emporium opened at 26 East Main Street on December 6, 2024, in the old Coiner's Department Store, which Emmett G. Coiner founded in 1896 and Chet Hobert later ran. That opening belongs to the year before this one, and it is dated here to when it happened rather than to when the county read about it. The new store is a general store in the old sense: hats, antique radios, comic books, baseball cards, candy.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
Coiner Grand Emporium opened at 26 East Main Street in Berryville on December 6, 2024, in the building of Coiner's Department Store, which Emmett G. Coiner founded in 1896 and Chet Hobert later ran.
What the source supports
The opening date and the building's earlier trade.
Uncertainty
The January 2025 issue reports an opening on December 6, which is therefore December 2024: a 2024 event the county read about in 2025, and it is dated here to when it happened. The business, the building and the earlier store are three different things; nothing here establishes ownership of the building or a legal successor to the department store.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jan 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-01 (publication)
Locator: page 2
Relevant passageOn December 6, Coiner Grand Emporium had its grand opening.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jan 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-01 (publication)
Locator: page 2
Relevant passageCoiner's Department Store was founded by Emmett G. Coiner in 1896 and later purchased by Chet Hobert, who ran it until its shutdown almost a century later.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Boyce, and a depot between uses
In February the paper spent a page on the 1913 Norfolk and Western depot at Boyce, which is not a museum and not a ruin but something in between. It is under the stewardship of the Boyce Railway Depot Foundation, looking toward preservation and community use. The February issue said the building had no interior visitation then, and invited readers to look at the exterior and watch the freight trains go by.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The 1913 Norfolk & Western depot at Boyce is under the stewardship of the Boyce Railway Depot Foundation, which the paper described in February 2025 as looking toward preservation and community use.
What the source supports
What the paper reported about the depot's stewardship and intentions.
Uncertainty
An intention reported in February 2025 is not a completed project, and nothing here says what has been done since. No deed or lease was consulted.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Feb 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-02 (publication)
Locator: page 13
Relevant passageIt is now looking toward future preservation and community uses under the stewardship of the Boyce Railway Depot Foundation!
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Thirty people and a lot of brush
On a Sunday afternoon in March about thirty volunteers turned up at Milton Valley Cemetery in Berryville to clean old headstones and clear overgrown brush. They came from Berryville and Winchester, from Frederick and Clarke counties, and from as far away as Woodbridge. The work was organized by Jim Weinmann and David Branham, two Frederick County residents who have been identifying, locating and restoring African American cemeteries in this area. It is slow work and it is done by hand.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
About thirty volunteers cleaned headstones and cleared brush at Milton Valley Cemetery in Berryville on a Sunday afternoon in March 2025, in work organized by Jim Weinmann and David Branham of Frederick County.
What the source supports
That the work happened, roughly when, and who organized it.
Uncertainty
The paper gives no exact date, so the letter does not invent one. The volunteer count is the paper's approximation.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, May 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-05 (publication)
Locator: page 10
Relevant passageAbout 30 volunteers gathered in Berryville's Milton Valley Cemetery on a Sunday afternoon in March to clean old headstones and clear overgrown brush.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, May 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-05 (publication)
Locator: page 10
Relevant passageThe work was organized by Frederick County residents Jim Weinmann and David Branham
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Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Two children and a reading contest
The March issue looked back to February 15, when the Josephine School Community Museum held its nineteenth Helen O. Carr Dramatic Reading Contest. Two children took the top places: Theodore Birgler, a third grader visiting relatives in the county, and Sabre Schultz, a fourth grader at D.G. Cooley Elementary School. The contest is named for a founding member of the museum, who helped start it and later served on its board.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
Two children, Theodore Birgler and Sabre Schultz, won their categories in the Josephine School Community Museum's nineteenth Helen O. Carr Dramatic Reading Contest, held on February 15, 2025 and reported in the March 2025 issue.
What the source supports
Who won, when the contest was held, and that it was the nineteenth.
Uncertainty
Reported by the paper about a month after the contest. Nothing here describes the readings themselves beyond the account the issue gives.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Mar 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-03 (publication)
Locator: page 2
Relevant passageThree judges tallied scores and awarded the top spots to Theodore Birgler and Sabre Schultz.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The passage that dates the contest.
Clarke Monthly, Mar 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-03 (publication)
Locator: page 2
Relevant passageThe Josephine School Community Museum hosted its 19th “Helen O. Carr Dramatic Reading Contest” on Feb. 15 at the museum on Josephine Street in Berryville.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Eighty-five thousand dollars, no name attached
In April the Clarke County Education Foundation announced two new funds paid for by anonymous gifts totaling $85,000. One, the Clarke County Studio Arts Fund, started with $25,000 and will put up to $2,500 a year into fine arts and photography across the school division. The other supports the International Baccalaureate program at Clarke County High School. Somebody gave that money and did not put their name on it.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The Clarke County Education Foundation announced in April 2025 that anonymous gifts totaling $85,000 had created two funds, one for studio arts and one for the International Baccalaureate program at Clarke County High School.
What the source supports
The gift total and what the two funds are for.
Uncertainty
Reported, not audited. No filing or fund agreement was consulted, and the donors are not identified in the source.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Apr 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-04 (publication)
Locator: page 9
Relevant passageThanks to generous anonymous gifts totaling $85,000, these funds will provide sustainable support for both studio arts education and the internationally recognized International Baccalaureate
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Two appointments and a guide to twelve walks
The April issue reported that Jack Schutte of Clarke County had recently been named by Governor Glenn Youngkin to a four-year term on the Virginia Sheep Industry Board. At the end of the month the Conservation Easement Authority put out an updated edition of Take a Hike!, its guide to twelve outings in the county, from short and flat to genuinely demanding. It is the sort of small publication that quietly answers the question of what to do with a clear Sunday. The Clarke County Litter Committee, meanwhile, planned its second annual Earth Day event for April 26 at the fairgrounds.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The April 2025 issue reported that Jack Schutte of Clarke County had recently been named by Governor Glenn Youngkin to a four-year term on the Virginia Sheep Industry Board.
What the source supports
The appointment as the paper reported it, in April.
Uncertainty
No appointment record from the Commonwealth was consulted, and the paper gives no date for the appointment itself.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Apr 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-04 (publication)
Locator: page 4
Relevant passageJack Schutte of Clarke County was recently named by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin for a four year term on the Virginia Sheep Industry Board.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
An updated edition of the Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority's guide Take a Hike!, offering twelve outings, was announced in a column published in May 2025.
What the source supports
That the guide was updated and how many walks it carries.
Uncertainty
The guide itself was not obtained. The columnist describes receiving the announcement in late April.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, May 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-05 (publication)
Locator: page 19
Relevant passageTake a Hike! offers 12 outings for hikers of all abilities and interests
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The Clarke County Litter Committee planned its second annual Earth Day event for April 26, 2025, at the Clarke County Fairgrounds.
What the source supports
The planned event, its date and its place.
Uncertainty
Announced in the April issue. No source read here reports the day itself.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Apr 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-04 (publication)
Locator: page 15
Relevant passageThe event, to be held on April 26 at the Clarke County Fairgrounds, will bring together dozens of community members to celebrate the day.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
A mile and a half, and a hundred and fifty years
On June 7 a free ninety-minute tour called A Journey to Freedom: Josephine Williams was set to connect two places about a mile and a half apart, beginning at Clermont Farm and ending at the Josephine School Community Museum on Josephine Street. At Clermont, visitors were to hear about Ellen McCormick, who after her husband's death owned the farm and owned Josephine Williams and other African Americans. In 1870, free, Williams negotiated for land. The community that grew from those negotiations is a few hundred yards from where the tour ends.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
A free ninety-minute tour, “A Journey to Freedom: Josephine Williams,” was announced in the June 2025 issue for June 7, 2025, connecting Clermont Farm and the Josephine School Community Museum.
What the source supports
The tour as announced, its date and the two places it joined.
Uncertainty
The June issue announces the tour. No source read here reports that it took place, and the letter does not say it did beyond what the announcement supports.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jun 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-06 (publication)
Locator: page 13
Relevant passageOn June 7, “A Journey to Freedom: Josephine Williams” is a free 90 minute tour that connects two historic properties
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Juneteenth, for the fourth time
Two weeks later the fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration was scheduled from noon to seven on Saturday, June 21 at the Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds, free and open to anyone who came. The announced hosts were three organizations whose names carry much of the county's Black history in them: the Josephine School Community Museum, the Josephine Improvement Association, and the Clarke County Training School and Johnson-Williams High School Reunion Association.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
Clarke County's fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration was scheduled for noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds, free and open to the public.
What the source supports
The event, its hour, its place and its cost.
Uncertainty
Announced in the June issue. No source read here reports the day itself.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jun 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-06 (publication)
Locator: page 10
Relevant passageClarke County's fourth annual “Juneteenth Celebration” is from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at the Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds in Berryville.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
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Somebody to visit
In July the Retreat of Berryville, an assisted living and memory care facility, started an Adopt a Grandparent program, open to high school students willing to visit and keep visiting. It is a small idea with an obvious catch in it, which is that the visiting has to continue after the novelty goes.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The Retreat of Berryville, an assisted living and memory care facility, launched an “Adopt a Grandparent” program for high school students, reported in July 2025.
What the source supports
That the program was launched and who it is open to.
Uncertainty
Reported at launch. Nothing here says how many students took part or whether it continued.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jul 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-07 (publication)
Locator: page 10
Relevant passageThe Retreat of Berryville, an assisted living and memory care facility, has launched an “Adopt a Grandparent” program.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
The Downstream Project, the conservation nonprofit based in Berryville, has launched its online tool called WaterWatch that makes it easier than ever for people to check the health of the Shenandoah River before heading out to paddle, fish, or swim.
Fair week
The August issue put the fair at August 10 to 16, with music on the evening of the 9th. The fair as the county knows it began in the mid-1950s, when the Ruritan Club took over a community event that had been running in one form or another since the Berryville Colt and Horse Show of 1901. Two graduating seniors wrote in the paper about what fair week had been for them: late-night barn checks, ice cream with friends, nerves before showmanship, and the particular pride of having finished something.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The 2025 Clarke County Fair was scheduled for August 10 to 16, with music announced for the evening of August 9. The fair in its present form began in the mid-1950s, when the Ruritan Club took over a community event.
What the source supports
The dates as the August issue published them in advance, and the paper's account of the fair's origin.
Uncertainty
The dates were published in the August issue, before the fair. The origin account is the paper's own history feature and cites no record.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Aug 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-08 (publication)
Locator: page 4
Relevant passageThis year's fair takes place August 10–16, with music the evening of August 9.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Aug 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-08 (publication)
Locator: page 10
Relevant passageThe Clarke County Fair we know and love today — the one hosted by the Clarke County Ruritan Club — started in the mid-1950s when the Club officially took over the community event.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
An award for the ground itself
The Clarke County Ruritan Club, which runs the fair, received a Steward for Excellence in Preservation Award for vision, dedication and commitment to safeguarding the historic local fairgrounds for future generations. The club's own account of the place is worth repeating: a hub for the fair and for markets, concerts, motorsports, youth agriculture education and the annual fireworks, on land it calls both historically significant and vulnerable to development.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The Clarke County Ruritan Club received a Steward for Excellence in Preservation Award for safeguarding the fairgrounds, reported in July 2025.
What the source supports
That the award was made and what it was for.
Uncertainty
Written by the club's own vice president and printed as a community dispatch, so it is the organization's account of its own award.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jul 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-07 (publication)
Locator: page 9
Relevant passageThe Clarke County Ruritan Club recently received the “Steward for Excellence in Preservation Award” for vision, dedication, and commitment to safeguarding our historic, local fairgrounds for future generations.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
The river, and the end of the summer
The September issue reported that The Downstream Project, a conservation nonprofit based in Berryville, had launched WaterWatch, an online tool that puts Friends of the Shenandoah River's long-running monitoring data into plain maps and graphs, so a person can check summer E. coli results before deciding whether to get in the river. The 21st Watermelon Pickers' Fest was set for the Ruritan Fairgrounds from September 4 to 6: three days of music, dance workshops, jamming, local food and craft beverages.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The Downstream Project, a conservation nonprofit based in Berryville, had launched WaterWatch, an online tool presenting Friends of the Shenandoah River's water monitoring data as maps and graphs, as reported in September 2025.
What the source supports
The tool, who launched it, and whose data it presents.
Uncertainty
Printed as a community dispatch submitted by the organization, which the paper states. The issue gives no launch date, only that the tool had launched by September 2025.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Sep 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-09 (publication)
Locator: page 17
Relevant passageWaterWatch brings FOSR's long-running water monitoring program to life with clear, easy-to-read maps and graphs.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The passage that names the nonprofit.
Clarke Monthly, Sep 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-09 (publication)
Locator: page 17
Relevant passageThe Downstream Project, the conservation nonprofit based in Berryville, has launched its online tool called WaterWatch that makes it easier than ever for people to check the health of the Shenandoah River before heading out to paddle, fish, or swim.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The 21st Watermelon Pickers' Fest was announced for September 4 to 6, 2025, at the Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds.
What the source supports
The festival's edition number, dates and place.
Uncertainty
Announced in the August issue. No source read here reports the festival itself.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Aug 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-08 (publication)
Locator: page 12
Relevant passageThe 21st Annual Watermelon Pickers' Fest returns to Clarke County for three days of music, fun, and community. From September 4 to 6
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
The county's own band
September also brought a piece on the Low Water Bridge Band, which the paper called one of the most well-traveled and better-known musical acts to come out of the Northern Shenandoah Valley in years, and which is from here.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The paper described the Low Water Bridge Band in September 2025 as one of the most well-traveled and better-known musical acts to come out of the Northern Shenandoah Valley in years.
What the source supports
What the paper said about the band.
Uncertainty
A columnist's description, not a measurement. Nothing here establishes the band's reach beyond that sentence.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Sep 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-09 (publication)
Locator: page 20
Relevant passageone of the most welltraveled, better-known musical acts to come out of the Northern Shenandoah Valley in years
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
What the ground produced
In Millwood the Burwell-Morgan Mill and Chilly Hollow Brewing made a beer together from grain ground at the mill, which is about what you would do with a mill that old if you wanted it used rather than admired. East of Berryville, Wayside Farm opened for the fall: 120 acres at 5273 Harry Byrd Highway, owned by the brothers Philip and Mark Shenk with Theresa and Beth Shenk, who grew up on it raising beef cattle and growing corn, hay, wheat and soybeans.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The Burwell-Morgan Mill and Chilly Hollow Brewing collaborated on a beer made with grain ground at the mill, reported in October 2025.
What the source supports
That the collaboration was described in print.
Uncertainty
Written by the historical association's own director and printed as a community dispatch, so it is the organization's account of its own project.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Oct 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-10 (publication)
Locator: page 14
Relevant passageBurwell-Morgan Mill and Chilly Hollow Brewing
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
Wayside Farm, east of Berryville at 5273 Harry Byrd Highway, is a 120-acre family farm owned by the brothers Philip and Mark Shenk with Theresa and Beth Shenk, reported in October 2025.
What the source supports
The farm's size, address and the family that owns it.
Uncertainty
Reported; no deed or parcel record was consulted.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Oct 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-10 (publication)
Locator: page 4
Relevant passageWayside Farm, owned by brothers Philip and Mark Shenk and their wives Theresa and Beth, is a 120-acre family farm located at 5273 Harry Byrd Highway east of Berryville.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Good food, made convenient
Out at Paris, five miles east of the Waterloo intersection, the Taylor family opened Mountain Gap Market at 119 John Mosby Highway. They sell donuts made with beef tallow, coffee, ice cream, local meat and dairy, pies and produce. Andrew Taylor, who grew up in Round Hill and has farmed here for years, put the idea plainly: the point was to make good food convenient.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The Taylor family opened Mountain Gap Market at 119 John Mosby Highway in Paris, about five miles east of the Waterloo intersection, reported in November 2025.
What the source supports
The business, its address and roughly where it sits.
Uncertainty
The business and the building are separate things and nothing here establishes who owns the premises. The report gives no opening date.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Nov 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-11 (publication)
Locator: page 17
Relevant passageMountain Gap Market, located at 119 John Mosby Highway (Route 50) in Paris, about five miles east of the Waterloo intersection
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
A hundred meals
Late in the year Debbie Holbrook had an idea about supporting FISH of Clarke County with a special meal, and within days it had become the 100 Meals Project. Volunteers from FISH, Christ Church Cares, the Clarke County Nutrition Alliance, the Clarke County Democratic Committee, a local food truck owner and a former member of the House of Delegates met, chose a menu, and split up the buying, baking, cooking, packaging, loading and delivering. Twenty-three volunteers took assignments.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
Debbie Holbrook's proposal to support FISH of Clarke County with a meal became the 100 Meals Project, reported in December 2025.
What the source supports
That the project formed and what prompted it.
Uncertainty
A guest commentary by a participant, not a news report, and written from inside the effort.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Dec 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-12 (publication)
Locator: page 3
Relevant passageDebbie Holbrook's simple idea to support FISH of Clarke County with a special meal quickly blossomed into The 100 Meals Project.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
What December was reporting
The December issue reported growing concern over a proposed resort on the Blue Ridge. Citizen groups, among them the nonprofit Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains, raised clear cutting, water use and traffic. That is the account this letter has: what the paper reported in December.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
The December 2025 issue reported growing concern over a proposed resort on the Blue Ridge, with clear cutting, water use and traffic raised by citizen groups, among them the nonprofit Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
What the source supports
What the December issue reported, and who was raising it.
Uncertainty
A dispute in progress as of that issue. Nothing here describes the proposal's terms, its standing before any authority, or what happened after December 2025.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Dec 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-12 (publication)
Locator: page 14
Relevant passageConcern Growing Over Proposed Resort on Blue Ridge Clear cutting, water use, traffic sited by citizen groups
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
A chore for the winter
Doug Pifer, who writes the paper's natural history column, spent December on the spotted lanternfly, and specifically on its egg masses, which look like tan smears of dried clay on anything hard and flat. It is the kind of column that turns into a chore for whoever reads it, which is presumably the point.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
A natural history column in the December 2025 issue described spotted lanternfly egg masses as looking like tan smears of dried clay or mud on hard, flat surfaces.
What the source supports
How the column told readers to recognize the egg masses.
Uncertainty
A columnist's description written for recognition in the field, not a determination of the insect's spread in the county, which nothing read here measures.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Dec 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-12 (publication)
Locator: page 16
Relevant passageThe egg masses look like tan smears of dry clay or mud on hard, flat
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Where this comes from
Every item above was read in the 2025 issues of Clarke Monthly, the county's own monthly paper, which publishes each issue in full. This letter is drawn from that one paper, so what the paper did not cover is not here, and county, town and school proceedings in particular are outside it. Where an event was announced ahead of its date, this letter says it was scheduled and does not say it happened.
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
Coiner Grand Emporium opened at 26 East Main Street in Berryville on December 6, 2024, in the building of Coiner's Department Store, which Emmett G. Coiner founded in 1896 and Chet Hobert later ran.
What the source supports
The opening date and the building's earlier trade.
Uncertainty
The January 2025 issue reports an opening on December 6, which is therefore December 2024: a 2024 event the county read about in 2025, and it is dated here to when it happened. The business, the building and the earlier store are three different things; nothing here establishes ownership of the building or a legal successor to the department store.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jan 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-01 (publication)
Locator: page 2
Relevant passageOn December 6, Coiner Grand Emporium had its grand opening.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jan 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-01 (publication)
Locator: page 2
Relevant passageCoiner's Department Store was founded by Emmett G. Coiner in 1896 and later purchased by Chet Hobert, who ran it until its shutdown almost a century later.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
A free ninety-minute tour, “A Journey to Freedom: Josephine Williams,” was announced in the June 2025 issue for June 7, 2025, connecting Clermont Farm and the Josephine School Community Museum.
What the source supports
The tour as announced, its date and the two places it joined.
Uncertainty
The June issue announces the tour. No source read here reports that it took place, and the letter does not say it did beyond what the announcement supports.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jun 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-06 (publication)
Locator: page 13
Relevant passageOn June 7, “A Journey to Freedom: Josephine Williams” is a free 90 minute tour that connects two historic properties
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Source note: Clarke Monthly, 2025
Clarke County's fourth annual Juneteenth Celebration was scheduled for noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds, free and open to the public.
What the source supports
The event, its hour, its place and its cost.
Uncertainty
Announced in the June issue. No source read here reports the day itself.
Source
Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Jun 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-06 (publication)
Locator: page 10
Relevant passageClarke County's fourth annual “Juneteenth Celebration” is from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 21, at the Clarke County Ruritan Fairgrounds in Berryville.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
About the evidenceWhat the evidence says
One year of a county, read from the twelve 2025 issues of its own monthly paper.
All twelve 2025 issues of Clarke Monthly were retrieved in full and read. Within that limit the record is specific: named people, dated events, addresses, dollar figures and the organizations behind them. It is one paper, so what the paper did not cover is not here, and county, town and school proceedings in particular are outside it. Announcements printed ahead of an event are carried as announcements.
- That it was so✓ Supported by a source
Maria Zimmerman was sworn in as president of the John H. Enders Fire Company & Rescue Squad at its annual banquet in mid-January 2025, the first woman to hold the office, as the company began its 125th year.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceThat it was soMaria Zimmerman was sworn in as president of the John H. Enders Fire Company & Rescue Squad at its annual banquet in mid-January 2025, the first woman to hold the office, as the company began its 125th year.
What the source supports
When she took office, that she is the first woman to hold it, and the company's year.
Uncertainty
From one local paper. No company record, minute book or roster was consulted, and the claim of a first rests on the paper's statement rather than on any search of the company's history.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Mar 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-03 (publication)
Locator: page 10
Relevant passageAs the John H. Enders Fire Company & Rescue Squad begins its 125th year of serving the Clarke County community, it does so with its first-ever female president. Maria Zimmerman was sworn in during Enders' annual banquet in mid-January.
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
- That it was so✓ Supported by a source
The Clarke County Education Foundation announced in April 2025 that anonymous gifts totaling $85,000 had created two funds, one for studio arts and one for the International Baccalaureate program at Clarke County High School.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceThat it was soThe Clarke County Education Foundation announced in April 2025 that anonymous gifts totaling $85,000 had created two funds, one for studio arts and one for the International Baccalaureate program at Clarke County High School.
What the source supports
The gift total and what the two funds are for.
Uncertainty
Reported, not audited. No filing or fund agreement was consulted, and the donors are not identified in the source.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Apr 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-04 (publication)
Locator: page 9
Relevant passageThanks to generous anonymous gifts totaling $85,000, these funds will provide sustainable support for both studio arts education and the internationally recognized International Baccalaureate
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
- That it was so✓ Supported by a source
The December 2025 issue reported growing concern over a proposed resort on the Blue Ridge, with clear cutting, water use and traffic raised by citizen groups, among them the nonprofit Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
See the evidence
✓ Supported by a sourceThat it was soThe December 2025 issue reported growing concern over a proposed resort on the Blue Ridge, with clear cutting, water use and traffic raised by citizen groups, among them the nonprofit Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
What the source supports
What the December issue reported, and who was raising it.
Uncertainty
A dispute in progress as of that issue. Nothing here describes the proposal's terms, its standing before any authority, or what happened after December 2025.
Source
Reporting Evidence role: supports. The passage the statement rests on.
Clarke Monthly, Dec 2025
Clarke Monthly · 2025-12 (publication)
Locator: page 14
Relevant passageConcern Growing Over Proposed Resort on Blue Ridge Clear cutting, water use, traffic sited by citizen groups
Checked: Page text reviewed. Original image not independently inspected.
Open sourceSource family: clarke-monthly. Multiple passages from one source are not independent witnesses.
AI-assisted source check · 2026-09-11. How this project checks its sources
Each statement above is assessed on its own evidence. Nothing here is averaged, scored or voted on, and a well-attributed account can be documented while what it describes stays unconfirmed.
What did the county, the towns and the schools do in 2025 that this paper did not cover, and what became of the proposed Blue Ridge resort after December?
Know more about this story, or see something to correct? Help fill a gap. It stays private until it is reviewed.
Remember this place or someone in this story? Share a memory, even if you do not know the date. It stays private until it is reviewed.
Go deeper: every source under this story Follow another threadThe Clarke County Fair and its grounds
The fairgrounds turn up all through this year, and that story is how the grounds and the club and the fair came to be three different things.