Wednesday, May 16, 2012
An evening of bathroom humor — though not in the way you might think
If you are ever presented the opportunity to discuss your bikini-area laser hair removal, family events where you saw your grandfather in boxer shorts and your parents driving through a car wash naked in front of a large group of people who you are then quite likely to run into at the local grocery store … I enthusiastically recommend doing so. As a matter of fact, it is exactly what I did last Thursday night at the Vale Schoolhouse as a guest of Vale Club for an event that raised money for FamilyPASS. And I don’t mean to brag, but in those couple hours, we raised a tiny fraction of a percentage of a million dollars for the charity. Because this was my first presentation as a humorist and that alone didn’t make me nearly nervous enough, I …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Feelin' the love. Or not.
I really will try almost anything once. I am a firm believer that life begins at the end of your comfort zone; that it is not a spectator sport and that one should go big or go home. I am also a firm believer in avoiding clichés like the plague. This is why I'm absolutely qualified to talk about writing in front of a group of people — like I'm doing tomorrow night. Courtesy of a gracious invitation from the Vale Club, I’ll be doing my first-ever speaking gig to present some of my blog posts and columns at an event that benefits FamilyPASS, an organization with which Vale Club is affiliated that helps local families in need. Reading my columns in public is a definite stretch out of the comfort zone for this formerly shy person. (Aside: I …
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Women's clubs join together to unveil sign recognizing local activist
When Trish Strat set out to prove the historical significance of the Vale Schoolhouse, she accidentally proved the historical significance of the woman who kept the building open long after its days as a schoolhouse ended: Florence Jodzies. After learning about Jodzies through the application for a highway marker for the schoolhouse, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources nudged her to also submit one in honor of Jodzies. On Tuesday, Vale Club and Oakton Women's Club hosted a celebration of libraries, women's clubs and Jodzies at the Vale Schoolhouse as part of an unveiling ceremony for a historical marker in Jodzies' honor. The marker is located near the intersection of Fox Mill Road and Helmont Drive, near Jodzies' home at Harmony…
38.8911
-77.3483
Vale Schoolhouse
3124 Fox Mill Rd, Oakton, VA
/articles/historical-marker-honors-florence-jodzies
2017017
/locations/6899293
Monday, October 17, 2011
Ceremony honors listings on National Register of Historic Places, Virginia Landmarks Register
Oakton residents celebrated the historic Vale Schoolhouse with a mini farmers market and dozens of other local crafters and organizations filling schoolhouse's grounds. Vale Club, the social club based out of the schoolhouse, honors the building's tie to the community with a fall festival every year, but Saturday's festivities marked another important moment in Vale Schoolhouse's history. Earlier this year, the building was listed on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places, which will be marked with a plaque on the schoolhouse. A replica of that plaque was unveiled Saturday. The ceremony — opened and closed by fifth- and sixth-grade chorus members from Waples Mill Elementary School — included …
Monday, October 10, 2011
Members donate, put together supplies for soldiers
When Anne McVey begins to plan a soldier care package day at Vale Schoolhouse, she begins combing through the thousands of requests posted to Any Soldier's website. The site is filled with thousands of requests from squadron representatives for materials the soldiers in their camp need. Among the requests was a medic who wrote how he sees the soldiers saddened by their inability to send gifts to their kids for Christmas or their birthdays, so he requested the care packages include gifts the soldiers could send back home. Then there are the soldiers who live in rougher conditions than most and ask for basic supplies such as underwear, deodorant and food. And the wife who wrote in to ask for help in buying her husband new boots. "Each one …
Monday, June 27, 2011
Vale Club to host celebration in October
Within three months of earning a spot on the Virginia Landmarks Register, Vale Schoolhouse has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register, administered by the National Park Services, lists national landmarks deemed worthy of preservation. Constructed around 1884 as a one-room schoolhouse, Vale Schoolhouse — at the corner of Vale and Fox Mill roads — expanded to two rooms in 1912 and was closed in 1931. Four years later, the Fairfax County School Board allowed the schoolhouse to reopen as a community building for the Vale Home Demonstration Club, founded by Florence Jodzies, who had just recently moved to the area. Vale Club, which exists today, is a direct descendant of the home demonstration club. …
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Application also submitted for national consideration
When the application for Vale Schoolhouse was to be considered for a spot on the Virginia Landmarks Register, members of the Vale Club and Friends of Vale Schoolhouse wanted the reviewers to know just how much it meant to them. So they loaded up the caravan with about a dozen people to sit in on the March 17 presentation. "Because it's a community landmark, it's really nice that so many ladies wanted to come down and share that event with us. It's not what typically happens, and it shows how much they cared," said David Edwards, director of the Northern Regional Preservation Office in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. And the review board did not disappoint. Vale Schoolhouse is now on the Virginia Landmarks Register and has …
Kathleen Canedo
8:28 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Alex - I know. Sorry you weren't there. Next time... Justine - I can neither confirm nor deny. TStrat - Just saw that you confirmed for me. Excellent! Kim - So glad you made it. Perhaps I could be like the Bloggess and just hold court in the bathrooms from now on...she may be onto something. Adriana - Is it the touching of men or convening in the bathroom that sold you on it? TStrat - Thanks for … more ›