Virginia Johnson

The Pilgrims get the fame for their feast in New England, but two years prior on December 4, 1619, thirty-eight Virginians at Berkeley Hundred celebrated “a day of thanksgiving’ to God as required by their charter:

Our libraries will be closed on Thanksgiving and the day after, so now's the time to pick up some reading to take you through the holiday. We have many cookbooks to help plan the feast, but of our other collections these three books tell stories especially true to life and true to the heart to help make your holiday a warm one.

Four Mayors of Fredericksburg: An Oral History by Archer Williams.
Former mayors Charles Cowan, Josiah Rowe, Edward Cann, and Lawrence Davies give their impressions of the city's growth under their administrations, from the 1950s to the 1980s.

You can search genealogy collections from North America, Europe, Australia, and more with Ancestry® Library Edition. There are over 4 billion listings for individuals found in more than 4,000 databases. Ancestry® includes many censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, court & legal documents, directories, photos, maps, and more.

The Central Rappahannock Regional Library has books addressing issues that face cancer survivors and their families. Check out our booklist, Resources for Cancer Survivors for books to help patients and their families.

This month, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution declaring October 20th to be the National Day on Writing. The National Writing Day Project is sponsored by NCTE--National Council of Teachers of English. Check out their site for the National Gallery of Writing where you can submit stories, poems, recipes, emails, blogs, audio, video, and artwork. The gallery will open to the world on October 20 so now is the time to get going. The site features an online tutorial to aid you when making your submissions.

On October 17 & 18th, 2009, the public is invited to observe an archaeological dig at the Historic Magistrate's Office--Stafford County's oldest existing municipal building, dating to about the 1820s.

Archaeologists are conducting a small dig along the foundation to try to determine when the building was constructed and if there was anything present prior to this building. Visitors will learn about the history of the site and methods of archaeology.

Parking is available in the lot behind the Historic Magistrate's Office; entrance from Washington Street.

Whether they're Galas, Granny Smiths, Yorks, Winesaps, or Ginger Golds, apples are one of Virginia's loveliest and most useful crops and were much enjoyed by the early colonists and pioneers as well as today's families. Crisp, sweet apples-- harvested in the chilly days of October, can be part of your celebrations in November and December. Click here to learn more about local apple festivals, apple recipes, apple crafts, and apple books for young readers.

With steaming cups in hand, today's Fredericksburg area coffee shops continue a tradition which dates back three centuries to the founding of the town.

Walk in gentlemen, rest at your ease,
Pay for what you call for, and call for what you please.

This verse hung over the doorway of The Coffee House in colonial Fredericksburg.  Read on for details of the Old Town's revolutionary brew of politics and polite society.

Mr. Safire had no college degree, yet he went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1978 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2006. Already in his forties when he joined the NYT staff, Safire had previously worked as a U.S. Army correspondant, as a publicist, and as a radio & television producer. He also wrote speeches for Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew and was outraged to discover that Nixon's administration had been secretly taping his phone conversations.