Edith Wharton was born on January 24, 1862 to a wealthy family in New York.

Unhappily married (and divorced in 1913) she wrote a lot of her books about the travails of high society and unhappy marriages.

Her very first book, The House of Mirth, became a bestseller. She frequently wrote for women’s magazines of the day and her popular novella, Ethan Frome, is one of her best known writings.

Her 1920 novel, Age of Innocence, won the Pulitzer Prize.

She lived in France during World War I and assisted refugees. Because of her courageousness and selflessness she was made a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor in 1916.

The battle of Fisher’s Hill was fought September 21-22, 1864 near the town of Strasburg, Virginia. It was part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864.

It was a gorgeous Sunday so we brought the boys to show them the landscape of the battlefield. It was incredibly peaceful and hard to realize the carnage that happened years ago.

Some interesting facts about the Battle of Fisher’s Hill:

• The battle took place between North Mountain and Massanutten Mountain in the Shenandoah Valley
• Union forces from New York and Confederate forces from Alabama were heavily represented
• This campaign was also known as “The Gibraltar of the Valley”
• The area was only 4 miles long and had nearly 4000 casualties
• The battle between both sides was very exhausting with the South losing confidence with General Jubal Early. At one point, General Early even threw rocks at his men’s heads to stop them from retreating.
• It ended as a victory for the North

Today in American history…President Benjamin Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio, in 1833. Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of “Old Tippecanoe,” William Henry Harrison who was the ninth president of the United States. 

He would go on to become the 23rd President of the US when elected in 1888.

We had a wonderful visit to Meems Covered Bridge in Historic Mount Jackson, Virginia yesterday.

What have you done historic lately?

Cindy and I got to take a special tour of The Wayside Inn today in Middletown, Virginia. Did you know The Wayside Inn is the oldest inn in the US that has run continually since it first opened in the 1700’s? Also learned that George Washington slept here when he was 16 years old.  Pretty fascinating! Please stop by and visit if you are ever in Middletown, Virginia.

Last month we were picked by The Northern Virginia Daily readers as the BEST bakery in all of Shenandoah County.  Thank you to my wonderful staff: Cindy Cherry, David Yablonski, Audrie Wieber, Dylan Collins, John Price and Annabelle Shye for all of your incredibly hard work.  Yay team! Thanks to my husband, Jim, and my dad, Roger Husband for all of your love and support xoxoxo