2026-04-30T22:38:48-04:00 Zend_Feed_Writer http://shenandoahstories.org/ Shenandoah Stories http://shenandoahstories.org 2018-04-11T17:08:19-04:00 2018-12-18T12:11:34-05:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/307 The Shenandoah Stories Team During both WWI and WWII, country residents sought ways to memorialize their family members, friends, and neighbors who were serving in the armed forces. One of the most popular ways they found was by erecting an honor board. These wooden signs listed the names of locals in the military. Special notation was usually provided to observe individuals killed in action. Boards such as these were erected in each Shenandoah County town. This board was designed to honor those residents of the Ashby Magisterial District, which surrounds and includes Mt. Jackson, who served in the conflict. After the war most of the boards were removed, often when more permanent memorials were erected. However, the Ashby District Board remains in Mt. Jackson and lists the names of those who served in that town and surrounding communities. For more, view the original article. 2018-04-11T16:32:42-04:00 2021-07-06T16:40:45-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/305 Shenandoah County Library In 1907 the Strasburg Textile Manufacturing Company opened on this site. The company manufactured various finished silk products. In 1934 Charles Platt and his son Nathan Platt purchased the company and focused on producing silk casket linings using raw materials imported from overseas. It eventually became the largest employer in Strasburg. When World War Two began in 1941, the oversea supply of silk was cut off. This led the Platts to invest in the production of nylon which had recently been engineered by the DuPon Chemical Company. By 1942 the Strasburg plant was manufacturing bolts of nylon that was used to make parachutes, rope cord, and other war materials. After the end of the conflict, the Strasburg Textile Manufacturing Company returned to the production of casket linings until its closure in 1977. Today, the building is still in use as the Strasburg Emporium, a popular antiques mall. For more, view the original article. 2017-10-12T13:36:03-04:00 2018-12-18T12:15:15-05:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/277 The Shenandoah Stories Team After Pearl Harbor Americans feared that their communities could be targeted by the enemy, so a civil defense organization was created. Though officials realized the risk of attack was slight, they supported Civil Defense to help monitor military flights and to connect citizens to the war effort. Part of this program involved the construction of aircraft observation towers in Shenandoah County’s towns and some rural communities. These observation posts were funded by private donations and were staffed around the clock by volunteers, usually boys too young to fight, men unfit for the draft, and women. They recorded airplanes flying overhead to assist with an early version of air traffic control and would have been the first ones to alert the community in the event an enemy attack had occurred. The New Market observation tower was dedicated on April 22, 1943. It was located on the New Market Fire Department’s carnival grounds and that group played an important role in constructing the structure. By 1944 the success of US Armed Forces eliminated the need for Civil Defense so the volunteer groups were disbanded and observation towers were demolished. For more, view the original article. 2016-07-27T12:05:16-04:00 2018-10-19T11:46:21-04:00 http://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/133 The Shenandoah Stories Team The Shenvalee began in 1926 when Roland F. Hill came to New Market and purchased what was then called the “Dr. Strayer Farm.” Hill would use the land to create a resort hotel and golf course. Local newspaper publisher John G. Miller would eventually chose the name Shenvalee, a combination of the words Shenandoah, Virginia, and Lee for the site. That era’s economic prosperity had allowed numerous tourist attractions to emerge in Shenandoah County. Shenandoah, Endless, and Luray Caverns, Civil War sites in Strasburg and New Market, and resorts at Orkney Springs, Bryce, and Shenandoah Alum Springs brought thousands of visitors to Shenandoah County each year. Many of these visitors were residents of Washington DC and its suburbs who were looking to escape the city during the summer. Roland Hill’s attraction was designed to attract these individuals and to add to the county’s appeal. Hill took the dwelling that stood on the property and enlarged it into a two-story hotel whose rooms surrounded a large ballroom. He also created a nine-hole golf course on the site. This was the first golf course opened in Shenandoah County. What is today known as the “Olde Course” was constructed by teams of men using picks, shovels, and wagons. Both the hotel and course opened on July 7, 1927. Bobby Jones, a popular amateur golfer and co-founder of the Masters Tournament, was the first to tee off. Shenvalee developed the tagline “The Home of Hospitality” to promote the site. It advertised its proximity to local attractions, natural beauty, quiet atmosphere, and golf facilities. Visitors, and numerous locals, also flocked to the resort for its well-known food and dining facilities. A fire that heavily damaged the hotel in 1929 led to a complete renovation that added a third floor and eliminated the ballroom. During the Second World War the Shenvalee Hotel was selected by the US State Department to house diplomatic internees. From October 4, 1943 until December 5, 1944 the resort was closed to the public and 19 Italian diplomats who had been captured in North Africa or detained in the United States were held at the site. Although the detainees were guarded by New Market residents and a guard dog, they had an easy time. There were allowed the freedom of the hotel grounds and the town, enjoyed mountain hikes, tennis, and golf, and were not required to work. Many had concerns that these interaction with “the community will result in serious repercussions,” a concern that was realized on one occasion when two of the detainees were attacked by a group of young men. In addition, one Italians, Luigi Bosinco, proved to be an adventurous type. He first caused a scandal by passing “letters of admiration” to a Mrs. O’Roark, a married desk clerk at the hotel who fell in love with Mr. Bosinco and offered to leave her husband and child and “run away with him.” Making the situation more delicate, Mrs. O’Roark was also the daughter of the police chief. Mrs. O’Roark was discharged and “advised that her secret would be guarded” in order to spare her scandal. In May 1944, Bosinco also became the only detainee to escape, making it to Mt. Jackson before being recaptured. On December 5, 1944, the detainees left the hotel for repatriation to Italy. Most were, understandably, unhappy to be leaving, knowing that they were trading their carefree lives at Shenvalee for the harsh environs of war-torn Italy. After the detainees departed, Shenvalee reopened to the public and began to thrive in the post war years as the tourism industry boomed. This lead to an expansion of the resort starting in 1960 when a pool and the accompanying Pool Side Motel opened. Four years later an additional 9-hole course was completed. In 1969 the Golf Course Motel was added and was expanded in 1973. A final 9-hole course was added in 1992, making Shenvalee a 27 PGA hole course. Today, Shenvalee remains one of the area’s more popular attractions and continues to attract a wide array of visitors who come to golf or to enjoy the resorts amenities. For more (including 12 images), view the original article.