History -- Preservation -- Education
Chatham Chatter
1st Quarter, January - March 2025
President's Message
Here’s hoping that all of you and your families have had a very enjoyable holiday season. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I wish you all a New Year filled with good health and happiness.
The Friends of Chatham received some good news in November 2024, when we learned that we have been awarded a $5,000.00 grant from the Fredericksburg Savings Charitable Foundation Fund of the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region. The funds from this grant are to be used to preserve and enhance Chatham’s gardens, including compensating part-time gardener Scott Blake.
The Friends of Chatham Board and its committees are busy planning and acting on events and undertakings for the coming year. To be ready to again grow the summer annuals for the garden in the greenhouses, orders have been placed for plant plugs of four varieties of Lantana as well as Ageratum and Agastache. These should be shipped to us the week of March 10, 2025.
The events committee is busy planning for the annual January dinner event to be held January 27, 2025, at Ristorante Renato. We will be in a different location but will feature the familiar basket raffles and 50/50 raffle as well as a small auction. On Thursday, March 13, 2025, we will have our annual lunchtime St. Patrick’s Day Member Mingle at the Colonial Tavern.
We are very grateful to all the members who are working to plan 2025 events and to the volunteers who work in the garden every Wednesday. We are also profoundly grateful to all of our members for their faithful support of Friends of Chatham. We hope to see you on the grounds of Chatham and at future FOC events.
All the Best,
Carol Hyland, President
Upcoming Events
27 January 2025 (6 - 9:00 PM): Fun & Membership-raising dinner
Our annual fun and membership-raising dinner will be held at Ristorante Renato at 422 William St, Fredericksburg, VA 22401. Members and guests will gather for food, drink, fellowship, and fundraising via bidding on fabulous gift baskets and other raffle items. Sign up at friendsofchatham@gmail.com by 20 January. The cost is $60 per ticket.
14 February 2025 (7:30 PM): Fredericksburg Symphony Valentine’s Concert.
Fredericksburg Symphony Valentines Concert at James Monroe High School: Friends of Chatham seating section. Please text Kevin Brown at 571-488-0827 or email friendsofchatham@gmail.com by 10 January to be included in our FoC section seating reservations (first come, first serve, limited seats available). Cost is $53/ticket.
13 March 2025 (1130-130 PM): St. Patrick’s Day Member Mingle.
Join fellow Friends of Chatham members for a festive lunch at the Colonial Tavern, 406 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg, VA 22401. Please text Stephanie Turman at 540-842-6263 or email friendsofchatham@gmail.com by 27 February if you plan to attend.
March/April 2025 (Date TBD): Chatham Photographer Meet & Greet.
A Meet and Greet for local photography (camera and cell phone) enthusiasts will be held at Chatham Manor. Details will be published via social media and email once a date is finalized.
Recent Events
Member Mingleat Eileen’s Bakery on 22 October 2024
At the Member Mingle held at Eileen’s Bakery in October, members enjoyed sandwiches, pastries, pleasant conversation, updates on Friends of Chatham activities, and personally visiting with friends.
Member Mingle at Bowlero on 17 November 2024
Starting a new tradition, Friends of Chatham members and family joined together at Bowlero for a fun afternoon of bowling, pizza, and drinks. Vice President Stephanie Turman set up this congenial event, while also providing experienced guidance on proper bowling techniques and etiquette which were greatly appreciated, but not always followed with coordinated precision, by the participants.
Holiday Wreathmaking at Chatham Manor on 6 December 2024
Continuing a tradition that began in 2018, a select group of Friends of Chatham gathered in early December to create holiday wreaths from greenery obtained from the Chatham grounds. Carol Ann Campbell, Joyce Childress, Liz Phillips, Beth Strenstrom, Carol Fry, and Mary Ann Amburgey joined FOC President Carol Hyland and Gardener Scott Blake to fashion the wreaths. A festive time was had by all, with beautiful wreaths subsequently hung on the doors of Chatham buildings for the holiday season.
Holiday Pops Concert at JMHS on 18 December 2024
Continuing a new tradition that began in 2024, Friends of Chatham members joined together in a specially reserved seating section at the Fredericksburg Symphony “Holiday Pops” concert. Close camaraderie and fellowship were enjoyed while listening to a first-class, seasonal presentation of instrumental and vocal excellence featuring our finest local musicians.
From the Garden
The summer heat finally broke and cooler weather moved in. Summer annuals have been removed from the parterres and surrounding beds, spent foliage trimmed and 634 pansies were planted by the volunteers. The annual mulching of the beds has also begun.
Once again, Gardener Scott Blake and the volunteers gathered greenery from the property to make sure there was plenty of materials available for the annual wreath making event on December 6th that was held in the 1900 greenhouse.
We will continue to concentrate on keeping the beds clean and prepping them for the coming Spring planting season. Plugs have been ordered and we are looking forward to doing it all again. We are excited for the 2025 planting/growing season at Chatham Manor and working with the dedicated volunteers that show up every Wednesday, to help us keep this beautiful garden thriving.
Membership Drive
WIN A $200
DOWNTOWN FXBG FINE DINING GIFT CERTIFICATE!!!!
To your choice of:
Fahrenheit 132 https://www.fahrenheit132.com
or
Chop House V https://www.facebook.com/FiveChophouseVA/
How do I qualify??? It’s easy!!!! Just sign up to become a member or renew your membership to the Friends of Chatham @ https://www.friendsofchatham.org/membership
The first 40 people to sign up will be placed into a drawing for the $200 grand prize FXBG downtown fine dining gift certificate.
Friends of Chatham membership drive progress and prize winner announcement will be shared on:
(along with personal notification to the winner)
Gift Memberships
If you need a gift for a special friend or family member, consider buying them a Friends of Chatham gift membership. Just send the recipient’s name, mailing address, and email address to Friends of Chatham, PO Box 36, Fredericksburg, VA, 22404 and a card acknowledging your gift will be sent to the recipient. Membership Levels – Individual-$25; Family- $50; Sustaining-$100; Contributing-$250; River Terrace-$500; and Faberge Circle-$1000.
Donors who purchase membership gift cards are eligible to participate in the aforementioned membership drive $200 fine dining raffle.
Update from the Ways & Means (Fundraising) Committee Holiday Fund Drive 2024
We have always known that our community is a generous one and that fact has again been on display this holiday season!
We are grateful for the donations to Friends of Chatham as part of the recent Holiday Fund Drive initiative.
As we write this, Friends of Chatham has received over $13,000 in donations from very generous members and donors of Friends of Chatham. Thank you to all of the donors for your generosity and support.
The donations are earmarked by each donor to be added to either the Liz Thompson Memorial Fund for the Chatham Gardens and Grounds (Garden Fund), which is used to fund the compensation of the part-time gardener at Chatham, or the Friends of Chatham Endowment Fund, which is designed to be a permanent source of funding for projects like garden maintenance and educational programs funded by Friends of Chatham to the benefit of Chatham and the National Park Service.
If you would like to contribute to the Holiday Fund Drive, you can visit our website and click on Donate. Please note in the remarks that your donation is toward the Holiday Fund Drive and whether you would like your donation to be put toward the Garden Fund or the Endowment Fund.
Thank you for your continued support!Patsy ThompsonDirector of Ways & Means (Fundraising)
Website and Social Media Update
We encourage everyone to visit our new and improved Friends of Chatham website at www.friendsofchatham.org and see the terrific design and content improvements that have been made with the help of our new website manager, Deborah Newman at arts@petitetaway.com.
Deborah has also helped us transition our payment acceptance from Paypal to Givebutter, which allows a greater variety in payments methods, to include Paypal and credit/debit cards, as well as facilitates fundraising efforts.
Our Facebook page, Friends of Chatham, Inc., is very active with beautiful photos and news related to Chatham being posted and shared on a daily basis. We encourage you to follow our Facebook page, if you are on social media, so you can automatically view our content.
For Sale: $35 each*
FoC is selling signed and numbered limited edition prints of Chatham Manor by Joseph M. Serino, 18 1/2 in. x 23 3/4 in. If you are interested in buying a print you can email us at friendsofchatham@gmail.com. Prints can also be purchased online from our homepage at www.friendsofchatham.org.
* Includes shipping and handling
Did you know you can support FoC when you buy bulbs for your garden from Brent and Becky's Bulbs? Go to www.bloominbucks.com. Select Friends of Chatham in the drop down menu, follow the prompts, and start shopping. Twenty-five percent of your purchase will go directly to Friends of Chatham.