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The Stafford County NAACP will return to Colonial Forge H.S. for their 2nd Annual Juneteenth Commemoration and Celebration of June 19, 1865! So many participants are eagerly returning and many more are joining. It is promising to be quite a joyous, educational and fun-filled occasion so, please save the date and join us!!

Invite_ Participants Stafford NAACP Juneteenth

Please join us June15, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. for our monthly meeting. Our speaker will be EUNICE E. Y. HAIGLER. After retiring as a Mental Health Professional working in every aspect of human services Eunice E.Y. Haigler has become a local historian, activist, advocate and the Community Liaison to former Commonwealth of Virginia State Legislator, Joshua Cole. Eunice specializes in Human Relationship Building and has diligently worked to eradicate racism by advocating for change, being a resource for education, instilling diversity awareness and understanding, and by improving information access.

Eunice’s advocacy and activism activities with the Virginia Organizing team has led to many changes in Virginia. When the Unitarian Universalist Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia wanted to become more racially diversified, upon reaching out to Virginia Organizing, the Race Coalition was organized. Out of that effort, Eunice looked for actions that would lead to sustainability and she discovered that it was the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth. However, Juneteenth was not a state or federal holiday. She set forth on a seven-year project to make Juneteenth a legal state holiday. This was accomplished on October 13, 2020, when then Governor Ralph Northam proclaimed Juneteenth a legal statewide holiday in answer to Mrs. Haigler’s years of hard work and prayers.

Joining Eunice will be her cousin Frank White reading a poem he wrote about Juneteenth.

This presentation will also be live streamed via Facebook. To view the presentation from Facebook, go to https://www.facebook.com/StaffordHistory. You should see the live feed listed at the top of the posts. If not, you may need to refresh your page.

Discover Stafford cordially invites you to join us on June 3, 2023 from 5 PM to 9 PM at scenic Hartwood Manor for Cheers to Stafford. We’ll crack open the cold and refreshing taste of local history with our first annual history-themed dinner party! Come enjoy an evening of food, music, raffles and live auction set among the Hartwood Manor’s numerous rose gardens.

Stafford is literally the county that build the nation, but our story is largely unknown. Our Society’s primary focus since its inception has been to support the creation and operation of a Stafford Museum and Cultural Center that highlights the county’s rich local and national history, showcases the county’s current role in shaping society, and cultivates a vibrant future for the county through programs of critical acclaim. Your attendance is an important step forward to our being able to achieve that goal.

Prior to Adventure Brewing Co., the only previous brewery in Stafford County was the Marlborough Brewery opened in 1766 by John Mercer. John was a prominent entrepreneur, attorney, and landowner and almost single-handedly rebuilt the failed town of Marlborough. Ever the optimistic entrepreneur, Mercer seized upon the idea of establishing a brewery at Marlborough. He built a brewhouse and a malthouse together with cellars, cooper’s house and all the buildings needed to run his brewery. Unfortunately, the brewery lumbered and stumbled and the beer that Mercer’s brewers made was of such “bad character” that only two casks were sold. The brewery lasted only one year and was closed by 1767. Cheers to Stafford is partnering with Adventure Brewing to release a new beer, Mercer’s Second Chance Shandy, made in honor of John Mercer. We’re happy to report it has “good character”!

This year’s theme is the Revolutionary period and will include colonial-period music by Colonial Faire.

This is an exclusive FREE event — tickets are limited to the first 200. Please reserve your tickets promptly at https://stfhistsoc.wpengine.com/store/cheers/ to secure your place.

with Daniel M. Chichester

This presentation will also be live streamed via Facebook. To view the presentation from Facebook, go to https://www.facebook.com/StaffordHistory. You should see the live feed listed at the top of the posts. If not, you may need to refresh your page.

Discover Stafford County’s Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve!

Bring the family on a self-guided “volksmarch,” a tradition of non-competitive fitness walking originating in Germany, and receive a commemorative token.

Access the trailhead off Raven Road and take whichever trail suits your fitness level (not wheelchair accessible).