March 11, 2007 - Spring Lecture

Dr. Carol Scheppard of Bridgewater College spoke on “Old Testament Roots of Covenant & Community” at 4 p.m. at Weavers Mennonite Church, 2501 Rawley Pike, Harrisonburg.

Febrary 2, 2007 - CrossRoads Annual Dinner highlights center’s vision   

Harrisonburg, Va. (VBMHC) – Bridgewater College Professor Steve Watson encouraged 177 dinner guests attending the CrossRoads annual meeting Feb. 2 at First Church of the Brethren in Harrisonburg to “know who we are so we know where we’re going. We must remember our history to have a clear identity,” he said, noting that a heritage center can play an important role in this task.

Professor Watson warned, however, against withdrawing into a monastery. He encouraged the Center to lift up values like peace and social justice rather than creating a quaint curio. The mission of the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center (CrossRoads) is “to share and celebrate the story of Jesus Christ as it has been reflected in the lives of the Mennonites and Brethren in the Shenandoah Valley.”

Among 2006 accomplishments that Executive Director Steve Shenk highlighted was the official opening of the Center to the public on June 18. Visitors to date fall into two categories he noted: pilgrims who come to learn more about their history in the Valley and tourists who come to explore the faith and values of Brethren and Mennonites.

Board Chair Robert Alley expressed gratitude to donors for their financial support of the Center, including major gifts from two families, and recognized new and outgoing board members.

Projects for 2007 include placing the Wash House on a permanent foundation and rebuilding the Weaver-Brunk Log House. The basement has already been dug for the Wash House, the foundation poured and the walls laid.

During the dinner meeting, Rebekah Hertzler shared how her grandmother, also a CrossRoads board member, brought her, her brother and three cousins last summer to the Center to play house and school.

The Center is now available for families, small groups and whole congregations to use. The Whitmer School/Cove Church has already been used for a wedding, for Sunday school and church socials and for family events. Call (540) 438-1275 to make a reservation. See photos of this event (photo credit: Tom Sawin).

November 18, 2006 - Bounty of Hearth & Heritage Historic House Tour - The 2006 annual Bounty of Hearth & Heritage house tour featured homes in the Dayton, Va. area,

Sunday, October 15, 2006 - Fall Lecture - John Ruth, historian, storyteller, writer, and filmmaker from eastern Pennsylvania, presented the second CrossRoads lecture of 2006 on the theme,“Strains of Anabaptist Identity in Early Germantown.” on Sunday, October 15, 7:30 p.m., at Bridgewater (Va.) Church of the Brethren. A largre turnout enjoyed this presentation.

Saturday, September 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Harvest Day - Some 750 visitors enjoyed Harvest Day 2006 on September 30, which began cool and damp but then turned quite comfortable about noon. Children enjoyed making dolls using yarn or apples, painting pumpkins, creating things from leaves, pods, stones and other things found in nature, eating freshly made pancakes with butter churned on the spot and molasses and corncob jelly, enjoying potato candy, rolling marbles, playing ancient board games, riding a horse-drawn wagon or a wagon pulled by an antique tractor, pressing apples into cider, watching molasses being boiled from syrup pressed from sorghum stalks, sawing a log with a crosscut saw, and watching women spin thread from flax and wool and quilt bed covers. Blacksmiths forged hooks and nails from steel. Youth and adults enjoyed stories and music from years past, including the Trout Pond Pickers, who played and sang bluegrass numbers both old and news. All enjoyed homemade soup, ham sandwiches, hot dogs, pies, cookies, drinks and more. A country store sold cider, molasses, honey, pumpkins, a variety of baked goods, and more. See Photo Album for this event.

Sunday evenings in July and August, 2006, 7 p.m.- Vesper Services - Vesper attendees experienced the serenity of Sunday evenings in a lovely woodland setting with music and inspirational meditations. The services were held every week in July and August, at 7:00. See photos of the Juy 2, 2006 vespers.

Thursday, August 17, 2006 - Civilian Public Service Reunion - CrossRoads sponsored this reunion for World War II conscientious objectors who served in Civilian Public Service (CPS). Speakers included Harold Lehman and Ted Grimsrud.

Saturday, July 15, 2006 - Tears and Ashes Tour - The 2006 Tears and Ashes Tour took place in the Broadway area, with 47 participants. Lunch was served at the Linville Creek Church of the Brethren prepared by Kristy Rhodes and Anita Rhodes. See photos of this event.

Sunday, June 4 2006, 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. - Whitmer School/Cove Mennonite Church Homecoming - The day included singing, special music, and sharing in the morning and a hymn sing in the afternoon. Lunch was held in the lower level of the Welcome Center.

Sunday, June 18, 2006 - CrossRoads Opening - The Dedication and Open House for the CrossRoads Welcome Center was attended by over 100 persons. See photos of the dedication.

Friday and Saturday, May 12-13, - Spring Cleaning - Twenty-five volunteers, including 14 students from Eastern Mennonite High School, helped plant shrubbery, clean out the Wash House and a tool shed at the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center on May 12-13. Mark Hershberger and Jared Troyer erect a fence to keep the deer from eating the newly planted trees. Bethany Gingrich is digging a hole to plant a lilac bush.

Easter Sunday, 2006 - Sunrise Service - Sun greets early risers. Jeff Kauffman, pastor of Weavers Mennonite Church, challenged 130 early risers “to be witnesses to the living Christ,” during the first annual Easter sunrise service held on the CrossRoads hill overlooking the Valley (last year’s service was held at Weavers Church because of inclement weather). As sunshine warmed his back, Kauffman drew lessons from John 20:1-18 and challenged each present to be able to say, “We have seen the risen Christ.” Photo Credit: Tom Swain

Friday, February 3, 2006 - Annual Dinner Meeting - The CrossRoads Annual Dinner Meeting took place February 3 at Shady Oaks Hall, Weavers Mennonite Church, along Route 33 west of Harrisonburg. Becky Hunter and Nate Yoder shared testimonials and Executive Director Steve Shenk reported on 2005 activities and plans for 2006. Daphna Creek, a bluegrass band from Broadway, provided special music.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 at 7 p.m. - Forum -The Massanutten Regional Library in downtown Harrisonburg hosted a forum on the third book in the series on the Unionists and the Civil War Experience in the Shenandoah Valley, with about 70 people in attendance. This volume highlights families in the Dayton and Bridgewater areas who lost cattle, feed, firewood, and food stuff to the Union Army during the Civil War and submitted claims to the federal government for reimbursement after the war. Presenters were Norman Wenger, Dave Rodes, and Emmert Bittinger. The forum was sponsored by the Massanutten Regional Library and CrossRoads.

Saturday, November 19, 2005 Bounty of Hearth & Heritage Tour - This annual tour featured historic homes in the Broadway area of Virginia. See details here (pdf) .

Sunday Vesper Services, July and August, 2005 - CrossRoads offered Sunday evening vesper services during the months of July and August in an amphitheatre in the woods at the 711 Garbers Road Church campus. These 45-minute outdoor services began at 7 p.m. and focused on music, particularly hymns, and storytelling. The first Sundays of each month featured hymn singing, the second and fourth Sundays of the month were led by a Mennonite or Church of the Brethren congregation and the third Sundays featured a music group. The church-led components included a children's time, a meditation, an anthem, and song leading. campus

August 27, 2005 - The second CrossRoads lecture of the year: Local historian Nancy Bondurant Jones shared insights on the life of Roberta Webb and the story of how one woman broke barriers of race and gender to enrich her life and that of many others.

July 16, 2005 -The Tears and Ashes Annual CrossRoads Tour - The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center hosted an all-day bus tour in the Dayton (Va.) area on Saturday, July 16, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Norman Wenger and David Rodes, researchers and compilers of Unionists and the Civil War Experience in the Shenandoah Valley, led the tour. Sites included Meigs Lane, Silver Lake Mill, Doc. Gabe and Margaret Swank Heatwole's house that hid Unionists fleeing the war, and the Pleasant View Old Order Mennonite Church.
See photos of this event.

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June 5, 2005 - The Whitmer School Homecoming was held Sunday, June 5, 2005.

Former students, teachers, and members of the Whitmer School/Cove Mennonite Church in Mathias, W.Va., met at CrossRoads (the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center) on Sunday to worship, reflect, reminisce, fellowship and share in a potluck meal. Event planners Lucy Helmick and Irene Mullenex, who grew up in the Mathias area, welcomed the group and later shared stories of life in the cove. Song leader Bernard Martin began the service by leading, “The Church in the Wildwood” and Roland Good, pastor of Morning View Mennonite Church (pictured here), led the group in a meditation on being “joined to our head, Christ.” About 60 persons attended this first annual homecoming to be held at the CrossRoads site at 711 Garbers Church Road. The service included the singing of many songs from yesteryear and storytelling.

Photo supplied by Tom Sawin.

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April 10, 2005, 3 p.m. - The first CrossRoads lecture in 2005 provided an opportunity to reflect on the 140th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. Pat and Keith Gibson of Lexington, Va., discussed music and culture of the era and CrossRoads President Robert Alley reflected on Brethren and Mennonite experience of the time.

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March 27, 2005 - A sunless sunrise service was held on Sunday, March 27, at 6 a.m., at Weaver's Mennonite Church in celebration of Christ's triumph over the grave.

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February 4, 2005 - The Annual Meeting of the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center was held Friday, Feb. 4, at the Bridgewater Church of the Brethren. Noted Civil War historian John Heatwole spoke on "The Everyday Lives of Our Ancestors," with about 180 in attendance. See photos of this event.

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December 7, 2004- Library hosted forum on new books
The Massanutten Regional Library hosted a forum December 7, 2004 on two new books, with about 35 persons in attendance. Historians Samuel L. Horst and Edsel Burdge, Jr., discussed Building on the Gospel Foundation. This 927-page hardcover traces the three-century history of Mennonites in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania and Maryland. Because of historic links to the Shenandoah Valley during pioneer days and the Civil War era, the book is of special relevance to Valley residents.

Volume II of Unionists and the Civil War Experience in the Shenandoah Valley features 32 families of northwest Rockingham County who lost crops, cattle, saddles, food stores, firewood, and the like to the Union Army during the Civil War, and who submitted claims for compensation after the war. Researcher and compiler Norman Wenger, with collaborators Dave Rodes and Emmert Bittinger, led this discussion.

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December, 2004-- The Cove Mennonite Church Move - A pictoral record of the move of the 100-year-old Whitmer School/Cove Mennonite Church in Mathias, WVA. It was moved in early December to the CrossRoads site where it will now reflect the early education and mission work of the Mennonites and Brethren in the Valley.

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November 20, 2004-- Tour of Historic Homes, "A Bounty of Hearth and Heritage". About 225 people participated in the tour, which included the well-kept pre-civil war homes of Harry and Beth Jarrett, Bill and Becky Hunter, Byron and Deanna Peachey, the By the Side of the Road Bed and Breakfast (the Peter Burkholder house), and the Burkholder-Myers house, where refreshments will be served.
The Jarrett house contains one of the first, if not the first, poultry incubators used in the valley. The Wamplers were leaders in the early development of the poultry industry in the area, and both Charles and Bill Wampler will serve as tour guides on November 20. The house also contains a bench from the first Garbers Church of the Brethren meetinghouse. Further, an old log house on the property is said to be the one George Washington walked past in his visit to the Valley many years ago.

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October 16, 2004-- Harvest Day
- The first annual Harvest Day celebration was sponsored by the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center on Saturday, October 16.

The day included stories and a barnyard animal petting area for children. Other activities included an old farm machinery exhibit, crosscut log sawing, the boiling of sorghum molasses, apple cider making, storytelling, a variety of music and food.

Sorghum as it was made in the Mennonite-Brethren community was a highlight of the day. Kenton Brubaker, retired biology professor at Eastern Mennonite University, has been overseeing the production of half an acre of sorghum at the CrossRoads site. Sorghum and recipes for its use were available for purchase during the day.

"We hope this first-ever event will be the start of a long-lasting annual tradition," says Director Steve Shenk. See photos of this event.

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September 25, 2004-- Address by Dr. Donald F. Durnbaugh
Dr. Donald F. Durnbaugh, a life-long scholar, teacher, writer and leader for the Church of the Brethren, spoke on the theme, "Like Precious Faith: Brethren and Mennonites through Light and Shadow."

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July 17, 2004 -- Tears and Ashes A day-long bus tour of local sites of historic interest to Brethren and Mennonites took place on Saturday, July 17. The tour, "Tears and Ashes: Civilian Lives in an Uncivil War," explored the sites, stories, beliefs and lifestyles of the peace-loving Dunkards and Mennonites who opposed both slavery and war. Norman Wenger and David Rodes, researchers and compilers of Unionists and the Civil War Experience in the Shenandoah Valley, served as tour guides for 45 participants. See photos of this event.

June 19, 2004 - CPS Program - A special program explored the Civilian Public Service program available to Conscientious Objectors during World War II. About 50 people attended the showing of the video, "A Life of Peace in a Time of War," which was followed by an animated discussion. Various exhibits, with photos and artifacts, highlighted the CPS story. The video is available from WVPT for $24.95. (info available for download in Microsoft Word format).

May 21 & 22, 2004 - "Smoke & Sorrow: Shenandoah Valley 1864" was the theme for a two-day symposium on the American Civil War exploring the story of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley in the final autumn of the war. For more details, visit the Shenandoah At War web site.

April 17, 2004 - Annual Dinner

Fall, 2003 - Publication of the Southern Claims Commission historical documents with their stories of Brethren and Mennonite families during the Civil War era, Unionists and the Civil War Experience in the Shenandoah Valley. This 750-page hardcover is now available for $49.95, plus tax, from Reflections of Yesteryear, Dayton (VA) Farmer's Market. For mail orders, send $58.50, including tax and shipping, payable to Valley Research Associates, PO Box 526, Dayton, VA 22821. For wholesale prices, e-mail VRAssociates526@aol.com

September 25, 2003 - Steve Longenecker Shenandoah Religion at the Massanutten Regional Library in Harrisonburg.

September 7- Dedication Ceremony of CrossRoads featured Rev. Robert Alley, Dedicatory Speaker, singing of cherished traditional Hymns, tours of the Burkholder-Myers House and the adjoining site plan, and refreshments. See photos of this event.

June 1 - John L. Heatwole, Valley historian and author, conducted a talk and walk in "Folkways and Traditions of the Shenadoah Valley". See photos of this event. This began with an outdoor presentation at Shady Oaks at Weavers Mennonite Church and concluded at CrossRoads.



June 6 - 8 and 13 - 15 - "Jordan's Stormy Banks," was presented at Bridgewater College's Cole Hall. Read more about the scriptwriter, Elizabeth Beachy.