Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 46
Weekend:
Crazy for Patsy Cline,
'lost' in West Virginia
Take a summer road trip into Virginia's
northern Shenandoah Valley and into the
wilds of adjacent Hardy County, West Virginia.
Story and Photos by Deborah Huso
The sewing machine at the
Patsy Cline house was used
by her mother Hilda to make
many of Patsy's dazzling
costumes for the stage.
I grew up listening to Patsy Cline, her atonce mournful and catchy melodies
like "Crazy" and "I Fall To Pieces."
My mother played them often on
the record player in the dining room,
and, according to my grandmother,
she played them in her bedroom in
the small Minnesota farmhouse
where she grew up as well. It's easy
to imagine a redheaded teenage girl
in pedal pushers lazily sprawled
across a bed absorbed in lovesick
country songs.
Perhaps that's part of the reason
why, on my northern Shenandoah
Valley road trip, I make the simple
and unassuming Patsy Cline
House the centerpiece of my visit to
the songstress' hometown of
Winchester, a city which has only
recently begun to embrace this tragic
country star.
Rocking in WinchesteR
Better known for its commitment to
historic preservation as well as hold-
Hilda engaged in everything from
dressmaking to laundering and
babysitting to helP make ends meet.
46 BlueRidgeCountry.com
ing title as the nation's apple capital,
Winchester hosts an annual Apple
Blossom Festival in May, and sports
the world's largest fireman's parade.
Up until her death in 1963,
Winchester native Patsy Cline rode
in the parade even though she was
never officially invited to participate. A driven, opinionated young
woman prone to wearing pants and
smoking cigarettes, Cline was never
happily embraced by her hometown
during her lifetime. But she often
managed to finagle a spot in the
parade anyway.
Born to a 16-year-old mother in
1932, Virginia Patterson Hensley, as
she was named, moved 19 times in
the first 16 years of her life, often
thanks to the hapless nature of her
once-bootlegger father. Cline's
mother, Hilda, an accomplished and
hardworking seamstress, eventually
struck out on her own with her three
children, renting the house on Kent
Street that is now open as a museum.
Hilda engaged in everything from
dressmaking to laundering and babysitting to help make ends meet.
Meanwhile, young Patsy imbibed
her mother's work ethic, quit school
at age 16, and went to work herself,
all the while practicing on the piano
http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015
Sweet Summer Weekends & Overnights in 7 States
The Great Divorce: Virginia-West Virginia
Swimming Holes for Summer: The Photoessay
Grand Hotel Comebacks of Western Virginia
SUP in the Mountains?
Northern Shenandoah Weekend
A Home in, on and from the Mountains
Far Beyond Sweet Tea: Great Restaurants of Upcountry South Carolina
From the Editor / Worth a Click
Mill Creek Stories
The Hike
Creature Feature
Great Home Buys in the Mountains
Festivals & Events
Country Roads
Mountian Garden
Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 6
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - From the Editor / Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Mill Creek Stories
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Great Home Buys in the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Festivals & Events
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 16
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Country Roads
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Sweet Summer Weekends & Overnights in 7 States
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - The Great Divorce: Virginia-West Virginia
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Swimming Holes for Summer: The Photoessay
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Grand Hotel Comebacks of Western Virginia
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - SUP in the Mountains?
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Northern Shenandoah Weekend
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - A Home in, on and from the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 52
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Far Beyond Sweet Tea: Great Restaurants of Upcountry South Carolina
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 59
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Mountian Garden
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Cover4
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