My Virginia

Born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8th,  1932, Patsy Cline grew up in the Shenandoah Valley, and spent most of her life in the sleepy laid back town of Winchester. She was affectionately called  "Ginny",  and got her start singing in bars and roadhouses of the Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland area. Patsy Cline was known as tough, but a stand out. A "rough hewn"  cowgirl singer, she developed her singing talent to become synonymous with "The Nashville Sound": The smooth and lush arrangements with backing vocals, and added stringed effects, that took Country Music "Uptown".  In her earlier days she sang on "Town and Country Time" hosted by Jimmy Dean- a regionally syndicated Country Music program in the Washington DC. area. It wasn't long before her powerful bold Contralto voice and charisma would take her to the top. She wanted it badly, because she wanted to get the heck out of Winchester, Virginia. The truth i...

Virginia is located at the very northern tip of the South- or the Southern end of the Mid-Atlantic region, whichever way you look at it. We Virginians are Northern-Southerners. Because of this, Virginia is in a unique position. Her cultural identity was firmly rooted in the Old South, but  with the advent of the jet plane, Virginia is at New York's doorstep! Northern Virginia, close to Washington D.C., is a melting pot of people from all nations and all backgrounds. Spreading out as far as Winchester to the west, and stemming from Fairfax and Loudoun County to the East, and as far south as Fredericksburg. This area with its transient feel, represents a culture far removed from Old Virginia, despite having its old roots left in the plantation homes and historic markers and schools named after Confederate Generals. This is also the most liberal area of Virginia, and pushed Virginia into a "blue state" during both the 2008 and 2012 elections, although by a narrow margin. ...

Chances are when people list typical Southern cities they rarely, if ever think of our Nation's Capital. However, Washington D.C. has always been a Southern city at heart, and despite her awkward crowning as the Union Capital during the ill-fated War, the city itself and her people were Southern. Washington, now considered by most to be part of the Northeast corridor, has a pace of life that is slower than its sister cities to the North, and the layout and structure of Washington is very different than the densely populated Northeastern cities. Baltimore is often considered a Southern city as well- yet to me, that is where the North ends. As Baltimore much leans more towards Northern culture than Southern, Washington is the opposite. Washingtonians like to sometimes drawl, and they like their BBQ and the city is a sweltering mess during the summer time. While being hot in the summer doesn't make a place particularly "Southern" (New York can be hot as heck too), its j...

If you ever want to take a trip to God's Country, this is the place ! The Shenandoah is an Indian name meaning "Daughter of the Stars". The Valley is situated on a level and fertile ground and lies in between two mountain ranges. The Blue Ridge Mountains to the East, and the Appalachian Mountains to the West. The Shenandoah Valley was noted as "The Breadbasket Of The Confederacy" because of its market towns and many farms that dotted the landscape. It stretches approximately 180 miles going Southwest from Winchester to Roanoke, but the valley actually starts in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia at the crevice of the Potomac and Shenandoah River. The Shenandoah Valley's elevation climbs upward as you move South, so the Northern Shenandoah Valley is actually referred to as the lower part of the valley, and the Southern end is the Upper Part of the Valley. The Shenandoah Valley was a prime location during the War Between The States, and places such as...