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Over a hundred Citizens for Fauquier County and their friends gathered at North Wales on a perfectly crisp and sunny Sunday, October 4, 2009, to celebrate the organization’s 40th anniversary. North Wales staff, lead by General Manager Johnny Lloyd, ushered celebrants on picturesque hayrides around the vast estate, providing fascinating insights into the history of North Wales, the work under way to restore historic buildings on the property, and efforts to be environmentally sensitive stewards of the land.
North Wales is significant to CFFC: it was the site of a signal victory in the preservation of Fauquier County’s historical and environmental riches from a proposed housing development that would have doubled the County’s population at that time! The small group of individuals who came together to fight this development evolved into the present Citizens for Fauquier County.
The owners of North Wales, Patricia and Michael Prentiss, placed the property in conservation easement shortly after acquiring the estate in 1998, guaranteeing that such a battle will never have to be fought again—at least not to preserve North Wales. As is all too well known, however, the struggle continues on many other Fauquier County fronts.
It was thus inspiring for new CFFC “soldiers” to hear from four key combatants in the 1960s Battle for North Wales: Hope Porter, author of the fascinating book Saving North Wales (available from Citizens for Fauquier County), along with William Backer, Hugo Blankingship and Til Hazel. Perhaps their greatest lesson was that one must never give up, never stop inventing new ways to clear obstacles and, above all, never forget that every achievement, no matter how small it may seem, brings all citizens of Fauquier County closer to the ideal quality of life we want for ourselves and our children.
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