Fernbank Fanfare - Fernbank at Cress Creek
Transcript of Fernbank Fanfare - Fernbank at Cress Creek
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Fernbank
Fanfare
August 2020
President’s Report
I hope you are all doing well and staying cool! Back in June, Fernbank held its first
ever virtual annual meeting. A total of 47 unit owners voted online using the Fernbank
website, and the results were reviewed at a community-wide Zoom meeting on June 14th.
The main topics of discussion included approval of last year’s meeting minutes, the budget
for next year, the committee chair reports, and election of Fernbank board members. The
annual meeting concluded with unit owner input; there were multiple excellent questions
and suggestions raised by unit owners! The answers to these questions, along with the
rest of the meeting minutes, are available on the Fernbank website under “Unit Owners
Association: Documents & Forms.” Overall, we received positive feedback and will likely
utilize a partial online component in the future, although I do look forward to seeing
everyone’s faces in person again one day!
The Fernbank Executive Board welcomes two new volunteers. Julie Siler was
elected as a new board member during the annual meeting, and Piper Dankworth Sutton
was nominated as chair of the Communications committee during our monthly July board
meeting. Both are eager, hardworking volunteers, and we are confident that they will
bring some fresh perspectives!
Fernbank in-person socials have been postponed due to safety precautions.
However, we are open to suggestions for safe social distancing activities. Fernbank does
own a Zoom account, which can be utilized if anyone wants to host a virtual neighborhood
event!
Fernbank
Fanfare
August 2020
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Ideas may include hosting a virtual cooking lesson or an art lesson, giving a musical
performance, or even arranging a virtual happy hour amongst neighbors. If you would like
to help organize an event, please reach out to our social committee chair, Cindy Morrow.
Last but not least, if you see our new neighbor Lochlan Beard cruising around the
neighborhood, tell him to keep his eyes on the road! 😉 My husband and I are happy to
announce our son, Lochlan, was born on June 21st. Although he won’t actually be driving
for quite a while, you may see him on our stroller walks instead. Feel free to wave hello!
He is lucky to be surrounded by so many friendly neighbors!
Best regards,
Lisa Beard
2020-2021 Fernbank Board and Committee Chairs
Executive Board
President Lisa Beard Vice-President Bruce Lapham Treasurer Lex Miller Secretary Tim Whetzel Julie Siler ARC Jim Stovall Beautification Judy Moore Covenants Steve Schatken Safety and Security Bob Beckett
Other Committee Chairs Beautification Scott Beard, Co-Chair Communications Piper Dankworth Sutton Roads Gene Kelly Social Cindy Morrow Welcome Betse Hinkley
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Beautification and Landscape Update
Submitted by Scott Beard
What’s new!
Since our last newsletter, the Beautification Committee has been hard at work! There has
been a lot of progress on several projects in the neighborhood, including two workdays
with a group of volunteers to spruce up some circles. Special thanks to Elisabeth, Tim and
Bruce for joining Judy and myself on those hot days! In addition, Brightside has weeded
and “preened” all of the circles and is in the process of completing a new round of mulch
on those spaces.
Some diseased pear trees were removed handily and at a good price! We are also looking
at costs for potential pruning of the trees near the entrance. At the Fernbank entrance
new plantings have replaced the overgrown juniper. We’ve added an assortment of
winter gem boxwoods, dwarf butterfly bushes, yellow abelia and perennial allium for
color on all three tiers. Boxwood and other bushes have also been trimmed.
The stone wall on Fernbank has a new look as
well. Three of the four blue spruce were
overcrowded and diseased and were removed.
Shrubbery has been trimmed and a new skip
laurel will be planted in early fall. It’s a little too
hot and dry now!
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Long-term Strategies
Circles: The river stone edging on many of the circles has sunk into the soil and is easily
scattered by large trucks navigating the turns. It is also extremely labor intensive to weed
these borders and we’d like to avoid using harsh chemicals. At the recommendation of
Brightside, one solution we are considering is removing the stones and underlying weed-
block material (which has disintegrated in most cases) on several of the circles and
replacing them with mulch. It’s a much more environmentally friendly solution!
Stonework: We are also evaluating the condition of much of our stonework in the
development. We haven’t had maintenance for a few years, and finding a tradesman is
difficult. We’ll continue to keep the board updated on future resources needed to protect
the integrity of the structures that add much to our neighborhood.
Fall Pruning
Fall is a good time for cleanup and prepping our trees and shrubbery for the next season.
Part of the committee’s task is to monitor common areas for dead, diseased, and
overgrown plantings. As a reminder, removing ash trees, trees under 4 inches in
diameter, or any dead trees does not require ARC approval. As our landscaping and the
neighborhood ages, it is important to not only keep shrubbery and other plantings well
maintained for their health, but also to help maintain the value of your property and that
of our neighbors.
Don’t forget the drains!
We have a lot of challenges in our neighborhood with steep slopes and runoff from
properties outside of the development. Keep an eye on your drains and culverts to keep
them clear of overgrowth and debris, especially after heavy rainfall. If you see standing
water, please give Judy or myself a call.
Finally a reminder…..
As the dogdays of summer continue, please be mindful of your neighbors and remember
Fernbank’s policy regarding commercial mowers: “Commercial lawn mowers are urged
NOT to mow after 5:00 pm on Friday and Saturday and NOT AT ALL on Sundays. All
residents are requested to adhere to these hours.”
Thanks everyone for all you do to help keep our neighborhood looking great!
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Fernbank Urban Hunt Submitted by Tim Murphy
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has approved the 2020/2021
Fernbank Urban Deer Hunt, for the 2020 season. The “Urban” hunt is authorized to
local communities to manage the health and size of the Deer herd, and to reduce
damage caused by over-population. The WV Division of Natural Resources controls
the hunt dates, locations, and annual harvest.
The size of the local deer population, in and around Fernbank, is estimated at about
30% greater than the local area should support. The result: damage to Fernbank
plantings, local farm crops, and automobiles.
Fernbank has established rules to manage the hunt, which comply with WV DNR
regulations and which will minimally impact our residents. All hunters are
experienced, have received safety training, are licensed by the State of WV, and use
their personal equipment.
All hunters sign a personal liability waiver holding FUOA harmless (the same
waiver is used by the NCTC Urban hunt). Hunters are provided with a card to be
placed on the dash while in the Fernbank area, identifying that their vehicle is
authorized to be in that area.
Deer move through vegetation corridors, where they can browse the brush, stay
hidden from sight, and see, hear, and smell danger. I generally see deer in the early
morning and late afternoon / evening, when they return to the deeper woods to
bed down and eat. I have also seen where they bed down in my yard.
When you startle a deer, they usually stop, the head goes erect, turns towards the
noise, and the ears are up leaning forward. Deer have great hearing, a long snout
with great smell capability, and great eyesight. They are looking at you to see if you
are a threat. We Fernbank residents follow daily patterns that the deer observe,
and they are accustomed to seeing and hearing us. When we do not appear to be a
threat, the deer ignore us, and go back to eating.
Beginning in mid-August, the hunters will identify deer traffic patterns, put up
personal cameras, and plan tree stand locations, so as to not affect our residents.
Deer stands are located in high deer movement areas, and sites are selected based
on noticeable paths, verified by camera records. Note: deer stand heights above
ground at 10 to 15 feet, provide a downward slant of about 25 yards. No stands are
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placed near walking paths or areas used by residents. All stands, cameras and
other equipment are the personal property of the hunters. No hunter is in
someone’s back yard.
Deer meat is for the hunters and family’s personal use. Deer meat is also given to
“Hunters for the Hungry” which donates the meat to local charities to feed the
homeless. All donated meat is processed by WV certified processors that verify the
meat has no disease and is safe for consumption.
The Urban Deer Hunt daily hours are from ½ hour before Sunrise through ½ hour
after sunset. For the 2020 season, WV DNR has again split part of the season. The
authorized Urban Hunt dates begin on September 5, 2020 through December 31,
2020 and begin January 11, 2021 through January 31, 2021.
Questions, please contact coordinator, Tim Murphy
From Farmland to Golfing Community Submitted by Wayne Goodrich
The land we now know as Cress Creek has passed through many hands over the
years. During his lifetime, David Billmyer acquired several large tracts of land in
the Shepherdstown area. Some years after his death in 1897, his sons, Edward E.
and George W. Billmyer put together a slick real estate brochure, The Country
Estates of David Billmyer Near Shepherdstown, W. VA, offering for sale six separate
farms and tracts of land. Three of those farms, “Willow Dale”, “Orndorff”, and
“Etchison” were contiguous properties containing a total of 603 acres along
Shepherd Grade Road. It is difficult to say if any sales resulted directly from that
marketing effort but the lands were eventually sold.
On December 10, 1940, Walter H. and Eliza Crowl purchased two tracts of land, the
“Tolliver Farm” and an adjoining strip of land containing about one acre that the
deed describes as part of the real estate designated as the “Willow Dale” farm.
Crowl established a dairy operation at that site (near the intersection of Shepherd
Grade and Scrabble Roads) that produced, bottled and sold milk under the label
“W. H. Crowl, Willowdale Dairy, Shepherdstown, WV”. I guess Crowl thought since
he owned a small part of what once was the original “Willow Dale” farm that he
could use the name for his milk products. Crowl was not the only local dairy
farmer to bottle and sell his own milk, others doing the same included Dandridge,
Emery and W. H. Knode.
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Mary Grove Shepherd Ringgold became the owner of some of the Billmyer
property along Shepherd Grade, including the “Willow Dale” farm and the “Entler
Tract” lying west of Shepherd Grade. Mary Ringgold already owned some of the
land surrounding those tracts and when she died in 1960, all of Mary Ringgold’s
real estate was devised to her grandson, Henry Shepherd, V. On June 16, 1964,
Shepherd sold the “Willow Dale” farm, “Entler Tract” and other lands, totaling
about 360 acres, to William B. ‘Bill’ and Jane W. Snyder. The following year, on
January 7, William B. Snyder, Henry Shepherd and John B. Schley formed
Willowdale, Inc. with its stated purpose “to purchase, improve, develop, lease,
exchange, sell, dispose of and otherwise deal in and turn to account real estate; to
purchase, lease, build, construct, erect, occupy and manage buildings of every kind
and character whatsoever, to finance the purchase, improvement, development
and construction of land and buildings belonging to or to be acquired by this
company. . .”
On February 1, 1974, in a ‘straw-man’ transaction, Bill and Jane Snyder transferred
the 360 acres to Willowdale, Inc. The property on the west side of Shepherd Grade
was platted for development in two phases with Section I containing twenty lots
and Section II with thirty-eight lots. The long-term plan of Willowdale, Inc. was the
eventual development of its property east of Shepherd Grade as Willowdale East;
however, Bill Snyder was the major force behind Willowdale, Inc. and his death in
February 1979 ended the plans to develop Willowdale East. In 1983 and 1984, the
land owned by Willowdale, Inc. was sold to Margaret Drennen who later
transferred the property to Home Hill Corporation and began platting and
developing Cress Creek.
Editor’s note: Wayne Goodrich is a Shepherdstown native and Willowdale neighbor
ARC Update Submitted by Jim Stovall
This has been a relatively busy season for your Architectural Review Committee
(ARC). While there are currently no active applications for new home construction
we know of four lots on which owners are at various stages of planning. Your ARC
also has approved two deck enlargements, a front porch screening and several tree
removal proposals. Owners should note that while the Design Guidelines are
relatively detailed for new home construction there are fewer specifics for
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structural (hardscape) and landscape (softscape) alterations. In these cases the
Committee’s job is to balance the wishes of the unit owners with our charge given
in the Guidelines, to observe “consistency of development, while respecting the
natural setting and allowing creative expression within individual environments.”
We urge all unit owners to become familiar with the Guidelines, and to contact an
ARC member for assistance with any question about a project you may have in
mind. For easy access you can find the guidelines on the website
Remembering Our Neighbors
Sadly our community has lost three residents during the last few months. Long-
time Shepherdstown resident Mark Smith, 83 passed away on June 13, 2020 which
happened to be his and Susan’s 61st wedding anniversary. Mark and Susan moved
to Fernbank in 2013 after living in town since 1996. Mark was very active in the
community serving four years on the Town Council and also serving on the Library
Commission and the Water Board. According to Susan, Mark, a former naval
officer, was happiest at sea, whether he be on a 12 foot sailboat, the U.S.S.
Wisconsin, or the Queen Mary. It makes perfect sense then that his favorite city
was Venice. Mark was a lover of cairn terriers, single malt scotch, and chocolate
chip cookies. Mark’s family is what he loved the most and what was most
important to him.
Frank Staro, 79 passed away on July 23, 2020 from complications due to cancer.
Dr. Staro was a highly regarded surgeon for over 30 years on Long Island and well
loved by his patients. Upon retirement, Frank and then wife Elisabeth moved to
Shepherdstown, and became very involved in the community. Frank was an avid
golfer and long-standing member at the Club at Cress Creek and according to
golfing buddy Steve Schatken, “was full of life and always ready with a story or a
quip to keep us entertained.” Frank was very proud of his Italian heritage and
celebrated it through his love of family, friends, fine food and wine, and travel.
Although Frank and his wife Loraine Strait met unexpectedly later in life, they felt
very lucky for their time together even though it was short.
Stephen Kent, 84 passed away on July 10, 2020. Dr. Kent was a pharmacologist at
GW Medical Center who resided mainly in Potomac, MD with his son. He loved art,
music and theater and was very fond of CATF.