Second Quarter Newsletter, April 1

Second Quarter Newsletter 2025

Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

Racing Towards Preservation

Payne's Farm

March 8, 2025

With the permission of the American Battlefield Trust, FOWB hosted a 5K/10K race, put on by Bishops Events, to increase awareness of the Payne's Farm Battlefield site and to raise money towards preservation.

We truly appreciate all of our sponsors who helped us make this event happen. Special thanks to the American Battlefield Trust, Battlefield Tours of Virginia, the Brandy Station Foundation, Breeden's Auto Repair, the Civil War Study Group at Lake of the Woods, Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, the Fredericksburg Walking Club, The Market, Orange County Tourism, the Piedmont Environmental Council, and UVA Imaging for their wonderful support.

We couldn't have done it without you. Many thanks to Mike and Linda Pierce, and Travis Bishop, for their guidance and assistance while we learned about the world of racing.

FOWB, the Fredericksburg Walking Club, UVA Imaging, and the Piedmont Environmental Council had information tables set up to talk with people and answer questions. The Market graciously allowed us to place a directional sign on their corner to help runners, walkers and spectators find the event!

Special thanks to Kevin Hunt, Mike and Linda Pierce, and Beth Stenstrom for being sure the course was marked ahead of time for the event and making sure there were not any fallen trees across the trail or other hazards.

Many thanks to Zoar Baptist Church for graciously granting us permission to completely take over their parking lot for this event!

Photos by Beth Stenstrom

It was so much fun to see Deanne Marshall come out and run! She had a great time!

Mike and Linda Pierce were very helpful in making this event happen. Linda even won a Second Place Medal in her category! She was delighted!

Don Shockey and Dian Epp both placed in their category, as well! Dian won a First Place Medal and Don won a Second Place Medal! Congratulations!

Fundraiser at Harry's Ale House

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

We had a nice display, and a lot of people stopped to take a look! Photos by Beth Stenstrom.

On Tuesday evening, March 18, FOWB had a "Spirit Night" at Harry's Ale House in the Harrison Crossing Shopping Center and we packed the place! It was so much fun to see friends and get to visit with them over delicious fare from Harry's. Harry's Ale House gives non-profit organizations a small percentage of their profits from 4:00 PM until closing the day of the "Spirit Night", and we bring in lots of people to their restaurant that evening, so it is a win-win all around!

Sad News

We regret to inform you of the passing of Richard (Dick) Charles Rankin on February 10, 2025.

Dick was an active volunteer with FOWB for many years, and FOWB interpreters have many happy memories working side by side with him as an interpreter at Ellwood, and at various living history events throughout the year. He was an active board member for many years and his many ideas and contributions to our organization were thoughtful, meaningful, and helpful.

We are all so sorry to hear of his passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dick and his family.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Association, https://www.alz.org/, or to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, https://give.bcrf.org. There is also an option to plant a tree in his memory, which you will find in his obituary.

You may read his full obituary here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/richard-rankin-obituary?id=57830419

We have a new

Rack Card!

Thanks to having several published authors and historians on our amazing board, we now have a new Rack Card for the Mine Run Campaign, with emphasis on Payne's Farm. We are actively distributing these to various visitor centers in Culpeper, Orange, Prince William, and Spotsylvania Counties. Special thanks to historian and author Mike Block, for helping to create this nice rack card. Also, many thanks to graphic designer, Ashley Lieberman, with Creative Color for helping us with the finishing touches and formatting!

Upcoming Events:

Mark Your Calendars Now!

April 26: Park Day at Payne's Farm

May 3: Open House for Volunteers at Payne's Farm

May 17: Training for Interpreters... Location TBD

November 1st and 2nd: Living History Event at Payne's Farm

Did you know?

Making gifts to FOWB during your lifetime:

When you make a gift to Friends of Wilderness Battlefield as a QCD (qualified charitable distribution) from your individual retirement account (IRA) or Roth IRA, you do not pay income taxes on the distribution. Funds gifted from your IRA will NOT subject your Social Security income to higher tax levels and will count toward your annual required minimum distribution (RMD). If you are 73 or older, you can make a gift in 2024 from your IRA up to $105,000 per IRA owner or beneficiary. Contact your tax advisor to determine if this is appropriate for your situation.

Making gifts to FOWB at your death:

Would you like to leave a legacy to Friends of Wilderness Battlefield? A gift through your will, trust, a direct beneficiary designation, or estate is the easiest gift you can make today. You may add a provision in your will or trust designating either a specific amount, a percentage, or all or part of the residue of your estate to FOWB. Bequests provide flexibility in that they allow you to make a gift commitment now by including a provision in your will or trust while preserving the right to make changes at any time in the future should your circumstances change. Certain bequests in trust are not subject to estate taxation. Your assets remain in your control during your lifetime. You can modify your gift to address changing circumstances. It’s a great way to help support the mission of Friends of Wilderness Battlefield.

FoWB, Inc. is 501 (c) (3) Not for Profit Organization. Tax ID # 42-1689437