Third Quarter Newsletter July 1 - September 30, 2025
- Beth Stenstrom
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Third Quarter Newsletter 2025
Inquiring Minds Want to Know...
Summer Interpretation at Payne's Farm:
Beginning Saturday, June 21, from 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, weekends only, through Sunday, August 17.
FOWB Interpreters will be at Payne's Farm, in Locust Grove, VA, to visit with people and answer questions about the Civil War Battle that happened there in 1863. Come out and walk the 1.5 loop trail through the woods and read the interpretive panels along the way. We hope to see you there!
Our Volunteers
What Do They Do?
What do our amazing volunteers do? You have seen them setting up information tents and answering questions about various battles in the area, and you may have seen them out on the trails, making sure the trails are clear and safe. But what else do they do? Is there something you would enjoy doing with us?
There is actually quite a bit of work that goes on behind the scenes. Some volunteers research genealogy lines, others research troop movements and locations, others research history in the area...Yes, you will often find us wandering around libraries and museums, and spending time in cemeteries! We love cemeteries!
Some send out press releases for various events and keep up with Facebook and social media, and, of course, the website needs to stay up to date on everything. We are truly grateful for our wonderful webmaster, Deborah Newman!
We are learning about Invasive Species and Bird Habitats, and pollinator gardens, as Payne's Farm is an excellent site for those activities. We are working with the ABT Land Stewardship Manager, Tom Saielli, on controlling invasive species, and we have various groups asking to come out and help us for service projects.
Many of our volunteers are interpreters out on the Payne's Farm Battlefield, and several are tour guides and give tours of multiple battlefields in the area. We even have several who are published authors.
We would love for our members to become more involved. Everyone has different interests, and skill sets, and we would love for you to share them with us. Let us know what your interests are and how you would like to help!
Park Day 2025
by Kevin Hunt, Battlefield Resources Chair
On Saturday, 26 April, the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield (FOWB) participated in American Battlefield Trust’s (ABT) Park Day, an annual event that ABT sponsors to spruce up battlefields throughout the country. FOWB’s focus was at Payne’s Farm, where we invited volunteers to complete all kinds of tasks to clean and improve the battlefield. We had several youth groups attend, including about 50 kids and 10 adults representing the Church of Latter-Day Saints and 30 high school Junior ROTC members from Chancellor, Courtland, and Riverbend High Schools. The youth groups focused on removing Japanese Honeysuckle, an invasive plant that is pervasive at Payne’s Farm and something ABT wants to eliminate. They were very successful, removing piles of the honeysuckle. Several volunteers cleaned the informational panels along the battlefield trail. Several of the Junior ROTC volunteers even got started removing barbed wire along the edge of the woods by the fields. They removed about 100 feet of barbed wire, an excellent start to a future project.
In addition to the youth groups, we had about a dozen FOWB volunteers participate, completing everything from picking up trash along the entire Paynes Farm frontage along Zoar Road, clearing the trail of debris, and touching up the blazes on the trail. Overall, a very successful day.
Volunteer Open House
Saturday, May 3, 2025
Payne's Farm, Locust Grove, VA
FOWB board members set up a welcome/information tent at Payne's Farm on Saturday, May 3, and visited with interested parties about volunteer opportunities with Friends of Wilderness Battlefield. The parking lot was full the first half of the event, and we even had dog walkers, runners, and hikers stop by to check out the 1.5-mile trail! We were delighted to see so many interested people come out and visit with us and we are looking forward to getting to know them better!
A Little Black Mystery Box!
by Bob Epp, Board Member
Have you heard this one? FoWB has come into the possession of a kind of mystery box in the form of a computer. It has come to us as a gift of Mrs. Linda Alderman, wife of her late husband, Paul Alderman. Paul passed away last spring and left his computer for the asking. Linda offered it to the "Friends" and we gratefully accepted it.
Paul was a long-time historic researcher, much of which was conducted in Orange County, Virginia. He offered tours of things that he had researched, such as the Grasty Gold Mine, or the Jacob’s Ford Road, and other local features. His friends have reported that Paul had acquired the skill of producing maps that compiled old features on current maps. Copies of those maps are likely to be on the black box.
Unfortunately, Linda did not possess the password for the computer. Therein was the problem. Fortunately, we were given a possible solution in the person of Mr. Charles Moncrief, a computer whiz. Mr. Moncrief worked on the computer for several weeks. Along the way he discovered that Paul had been operating on old software that is no longer supported. Charles was able to update the system and hopefully we will now have access to Paul’s files. We are looking forward to discovering what treasurers were on the hard drive.
Workday at Cedar Mountain Battlefield
Friday, May 9, 2025
by Beth Stenstrom, Volunteer
On Friday, May 9, several different organizations came together to assist the American Battlefield Trust clean up sections of the Cedar Mountain Battlefield, in preparation for ABT to turn it over to the State of Virginia. Friends of Cedar Mountain, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, and the Children of the American Revolution had volunteers on hand to haul out tons of trash, including a sofa, an upholstered chair, lots of metal, the remnants from an old shed, lots of glass bottles and empty cans, and 33 tires!
ABT Land Steward Manager, Tom Saielli, worked with a large group of volunteers from local law enforcement, who brought some wonderful machinery with them to help.
It was definitely a team effort, and we got it done! We were a dirty, bloody, tired mess by the time we finished, but that's why people have showers and washing machines, right?
Everyone was happy to help and ABT truly appreciated every single volunteer. We were all pleased with what we accomplished!
More Workdays!
This one was at Payne's Farm on Friday, May 16, carefully digging up milkweed and dogbane for transplanting at other sites for pollinator gardens!
2025 Scholarship Recipient
Congratulations to our 2025 Scholarship Recipient, Motourayo Ajibulu!
Motunrayo Ajibulu is the fourth student in as many years to receive the FoWB $1,500 history scholarship. She will major in history in her freshman year. She is an “A” honor roll student at Orange County High School who also found time to volunteer working with younger children after school.
She is involved in the Kids First project and Life Letters, both dedicated to writing and producing youth film works. Her activities include Drama Club, American Legion Auxiliary Virginia Girls State and the “We are Empowered” group.
In the Drama Club she performed and worked on eight OCHS productions during her time there. She was inducted into the International Thespian Society and ran the Drama Club Instagram page. At Girls State she participated in the mock election process, collaborating on the layout of a city plan and budget. She also found time to sing in the Girls State Choir. She served as the secretary for the We are Empowered group and helped raise money through that organization for Breast Cancer Awareness with bracelet sales.
Her awards include “Best Actress in the Region 4-D of the Virginia State High School League”, two-time winner of the “Exceptional Performance Merit Award”, Virginia Seal of Biliteracy (Spanish) and was selected as an AP Scholar.
In her application essay she stated, “Taking the AP United States History class allowed me to further my enjoyment of American History, but it also allowed me to expand my critical thinking and research skills”. We wish Motunrayo nothing but the best as she continues her studies at the next level.
Photo provided by Bob Lookabill.
In Memory
Richard "Dick" Rankin
by Bob Lookabill, President
Dick Rankin passed away February 10th, 2025 but on Sunday May 18th, 2025, a large contingent of his friends assembled at Fawn Lake Country Club to remember his life and wish him a fond farewell. Dick served with distinction as a member of the FoWB Board of Directors for many years until Covid forced a suspension of activities and Dick and his wife Carol moved from the area to be closer to their grandchildren. Dick’s many achievements as an Air Force colonel, a Department of Defense contractor and super volunteer in many areas were highlighted by a bevy of speakers. In addition to his splendid interpretation for visitors at Ellwood Manor, one of his finest achievements for FoWB was the development of the “Untold Stories” series wbich was performed by volunteers in various Fredericksburg churches. It brought Civil War stories from the battlefields all over the area to folks in the downtown area of the region. It was immensely popular and entertaining. Dick will be sorely missed by his wife Carol, their three children and 8 grandchildren and by all of us whose lives were touched by his hard-work, dedication and good humor. RIP Dick.
Mark Your Calendars Now!
There will be a Living History Event at Payne's Farm the first weekend in November! Come out and see reenactors portray soldiers who fought at the Battle of Mine Run in 1863.
Also, FOWB is working with the Historic Germanna Foundation to co-host a Living History event about colonial era life on Saturday, October 18, at Salubria. Details soon.
Did you know?
Making gifts to FOWB during your lifetime:
When you make a gift to Friends of Wilderness Battlefield as a QCD (qualified charitable distribution) from your individual retirement account (IRA) or Roth IRA, you do not pay income taxes on the distribution. Funds gifted from your IRA will NOT subject your Social Security income to higher tax levels and will count toward your annual required minimum distribution (RMD). If you are 73 or older, you can make a gift in 2024 from your IRA up to $105,000 per IRA owner or beneficiary. Contact your tax advisor to determine if this is appropriate for your situation.
Making gifts to FOWB at your death:
Would you like to leave a legacy to Friends of Wilderness Battlefield? A gift through your will, trust, a direct beneficiary designation, or estate is the easiest gift you can make today. You may add a provision in your will or trust designating either a specific amount, a percentage, or all or part of the residue of your estate to FOWB. Bequests provide flexibility in that they allow you to make a gift commitment now by including a provision in your will or trust while preserving the right to make changes at any time in the future should your circumstances change. Certain bequests in trust are not subject to estate taxation. Your assets remain in your control during your lifetime. You can modify your gift to address changing circumstances. It’s a great way to help support the mission of Friends of Wilderness Battlefield.
FoWB, Inc. is 501 (c) (3) Not for Profit Organization.
Tax ID # 42-1689437
