Cooperative Living April 2024 - 4

OUR COMMUNITIES
Cooperative Living
ISSN 1529-4579
VOL. 79, NO. 4 ●
OUR MISSION
To inform you about your cooperative and
its eff orts to serve your energy needs; how to
use electricity safely and effi ciently; and the
people who defi ne and enhance the quality of
life in communities served by electric co-ops.
GREGG MACDONALD * Executive Editor
LAURA EMERY * Deputy Editor
JOHN GROTT * Creative Services Coordinator
SONJA KINNEY * Advertising Account Representative
JIM ROBERTSON * Manager of Member Services
TOMMY CAMPBELL * Digital Producer
NINA JACOBS * Production Coordinator
Published by the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware
Association of Electric Cooperatives
C. MICHAEL SANDRIDGE * Chair
GEORGE N. GOIN * Vice Chair
FRANK W. BACON * Secretary/Treasurer
BRIAN S. MOSIER* President & CEO
Board of Directors: Christopher D. Bott, Belvin Williamson Jr., A&N;
C. Michael Sandridge, Bill Buchanan, BARC; George N. Goin,
Gary E. Wood, Central Virginia; Robert E. Arnold, Micheal E. Malandro,
Choptank; Jeannette S. Everett, Steven A. Harmon, Community;
James E. Huff man, Jeff M. Ahearn, Craig-Botetourt; Patricia S. Dorey,
Rob A. Book, Delaware; Fletcher B. Jones, John C. Lee Jr., Mecklenburg;
Russell G. Brown, Brad H. Hicks, Northern Neck; Wade C. House,
David E. Schleicher, Northern Virginia; David T. Kindle, M. Brad Coppock,
Powell Valley; Herbert R. Patrick, Sarat K. Yellepeddi, Prince George;
Sanford Reaves Jr., John D. Hewa, Rappahannock; G. Todd Van Horn,
Greg S. Rogers, Shenandoah Valley; Frank W. Bacon, Jason C. Loehr,
Southside.
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Preserving the Past
Culpeper vineyards' WWII museum continues to grow
by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer
WHEN YOU WALK INTO CULPEPER'S OLD HOUSE VINEYARDS' DISTILLERY TASTING
ROOM, it's like going back in time to a WWII offi cers' club in occupied France.
Military memorabilia line the walls while stoic mannequins stand at attention in their
uniforms. There's even a ceiling fresco of the Women's Auxiliary Air Corp parachuting in
from above.
According to General Manager Ryan Kearney, the tasting room was designed and
created in honor of World War II veterans by Old House owner and founder Pat Kearney,
who has a storied background of designing and building exhibit halls and visitor
centers. " Pat has built museum exhibits up and down the East Coast, " Ryan Kearney
says, " it has been his passion and primary occupation for 40 years. "
Launched on Father's Day in 2015, Kearney says the concept for the WWII design
at the distillery originated with the vineyards' neighbors, the Lenn brothers, Edwin,
Wayne and Boots. All three brothers were Army Air Corp WWII pilots who also helped
Pat Kearney get his vineyard up and running: welcoming his family to Culpeper in
the late 1990s.
Many of the fi rst pieces put on display in the distillery were donated by the Lenn
brothers. Pieces like the Honorable Service lapel button or pin that was awarded
to U.S. military service members who were discharged under honorable conditions
during WW II.
The lapel pin began being colloquially called the " Ruptured Duck " and served a
dual purpose. Primarily, it served as proof that the wearer was an honorably discharged
veteran returning from duty. Unoffi cially, it was also used as an identifi er to railroad,
bus and other transportation companies off ering free or subsidized transportation
to returning WWII veterans.
Kearney says that for the past several years, the museum has grown exponentially
as visitors continually bring pieces representing their own family's WWII history to share
with others at the tasting room. " We look forward to continuing to expand the museum
portion of the distillery, " he says.
*
Please recycle.
2 * Cooperative Living * April 2024
For more information, visit oldhousetoday.com.
co-opliving.com
PHOTO COURTESY OLD HOUSE VINEYARDS

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Cooperative Living April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living April 2024