Edinburg
Newsletter
EDINBURG NEWSLETTER
November 2025
111th Edition
GREETINGS FROM THE MAYOR
AND TOWN COUNCIL
As I sit writing this, the wind is blowing and the days are getting cooler. Once again an extended drought will be affecting the leaves as they turn into fall colors and gently fall to the ground. Whether these leaves turn a beautiful color or not, it’s a sure thing that we will all soon be raking leaves. The Town’s leaf vacuum might have already started making its rounds as you are reading this. Please contact the Town Office at (540) 984-8521 when you have your leaves out to the street for pickup and we will schedule the truck to come by. This is always a popular service every year and a great help to us all.
While the leaves and the temperatures continue to fall, we also know what might not be too far behind, SNOW! The Edinburg Town Maintenance crew is gearing up for the coming of winter.
It seems that we are due to have a big snow again one of these years. Whether it’s a big snow or a light dusting, we are going to have to deal with whatever comes our way. The Town is ready to assist VDOT here in Town again this year as well as taking care of Rt.11 and a couple other roadways. If you haven’t seen it yet, you will notice a new truck doing some of our plowing this year. The Town purchased a new dump truck this past year. We special ordered the truck to meet VDOT’s requirements for plowing on Rt. 11 without the need for a Commercial Drivers License (CDL). It is getting more difficult to obtain a CDL which limited who could operate our old dump trucks. The new truck helps us with staffing during the snow season as well as eliminating the CDL requirement when hiring for the maintenance department.
Speaking of the Maintenance Department; we have two new members with Tony Green and Francisco Ortega who joined our crew in August. I had the pleasure of working with the two of them recently on the installation of a new roof structure on the pump house at our Well #2 and can tell you that they both bring a great work ethic and work experience to the Town staff. Make sure to welcome them when you see them around Town.
As always, the Town Crew will continue to help as much as possible with sidewalk snow removal, especially on Main Street. However, please keep in mind that the sidewalk in front of your home or business is actually your responsibility. So if you are able to, get out there and enjoy some fresh air and exercise; or consider hiring someone to help you out. If you are, or know someone, interested in being hired to shovel snow, please provide contact information to the Town Office. This will allow us to give people a list of names and numbers if they are seeking assistance.
While it is probably a little late for playing Tennis this year, we have finished the resurfacing of the 2 courts at the Town Park and they are ready for next spring. This work was approved quite a while ago; however, the contractor was dealing with rain in many of the areas that were ahead of us on the schedule. We hope our tennis and pickle ball players will be pleased with the update.
The Town Council recently authorized me to move forward with another project that we think will be a nice addition to the Town; we are planning on a “LOVE” sign. This has been a project that I have been thinking of for years, but never could come up with a location for it. There are folks that travel all over the State to take their picture with all of the different “LOVE” signs; so it had to be placed in a visible and easily accessible location. You might remember the map that we used to have at the Christmas tree lot; it got knocked down by the wind a couple years ago. We had a new map made that shows actual photos of all of the sites on the Town’s Walking Tour including the Edinburg Mill. We decided to place the new map somewhere at the Edinburg Mill since the Mill is stop number 1 on the Walking Tour. This opened up a location at the Christmas tree lot for the “LOVE” sign.
Our “LOVE” sign will feature realistic digital photography applied to 6 foot tall aluminum letters. The “L” will feature a field of wheat blowing in the wind against the sky to represent the agricultural community. The “O” will be the waterwheel of a mill and visitors will be able to actually make it turn. The “V” will represent the Edinburg Gap with green foliage and spring blossoms on the left and colorful fall foliage on the right, with the Sun rising in the Gap between. Our “E” will be covered with the flowing water of Stony Creek and have our Ducks swimming along the three arms of the letter. The budget for this project is around $20,000. The Edinburg Heritage Foundation has approved a donation of $5,000 and the Ole Time Festival Committee has approved $2,500. We will also be applying for a Virginia Tourism Grant of $1,500. There have also been a couple of other organizations suggested for possible donations to the project. We plan on doing a permanent plaque on the site listing all of those that donate and we welcome any amount, large or not so large, to help fund what we think will be a popular addition to the Town.
Something that is already a popular thing at this time of year are Edinburg’s Christmas lights; whether it’s the lights on the Town tree or a single strand along someone’s front porch. Edinburg always shines brightly during the holiday season with the lights wrapping our light poles, decorations on the Gazebo and the outlining of the Town Hall welcoming visitors coming in on Stony Creek Blvd. And each year we see more folks around town adding to the holiday glow everywhere you look.
We will once again be recognizing all of this effort with the Edinburg “Outdoor Decorating Contest”. Each year we see more and more folks decorating and the Judges will be out this year between December 8th-15th. We are hoping we can count on even more folks this year to decorate and who knows, you just might claim one of Edinburg’s coveted outdoor decoration awards. I have always decorated for my own pleasure and the joy of seeing the lights come on when the switch is thrown just makes me smile. Although, there is no denying that it is something special when you hear you have the best decorations on your block. Once again this year, the winners will be receiving Gift Certificates to the Museum’s Gift Shop at the Edinburg Mill. If you haven’t been there yet, please check it out. It is definitely one of the more unique shops in the County.
The Official start to Christmas in Edinburg will be on Thursday, December 4th with our annual Christmas Parade. Vice Mayor Steve Wood is organizing the Christmas Parade again with the Line-up starting at 5:00 pm and everything getting underway at 6:00 pm. The Town Office, (540) 984-8521, has registration forms and information for anyone interested in participating in the Parade. Edinburg’s Christmas Parade just keeps getting better every year
Then plan on sticking around for the Tree lighting right after the Parade. We are hoping the High School Bands can be with us as in years past. We place them in the middle of the parade line-up to give them some extra time to set up at the Gazebo so they can perform your favorite holiday songs as the last float crosses the finish line. This is always a popular part of the evening and we hope the weather cooperates this year to allow the Bands to be there.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will also be near the middle of the line-up again this year. This will give them time to join their elves waiting in the Edinburg Fire Department for the annual Children’s Christmas party right after the tree lighting. The popular event includes free Hot Dogs, Rt 11 Chips, Sweets, Hot Chocolate, Christmas Games and Crafts. Everyone had a great time last year and we can promise more of the same this year. Santa’s elves will once again be handing out gift bags after he and Mrs. Claus hear all of the children’s Christmas wishes for this year.
If you are interested in helping with this popular event, please contact the Town Office, (540) 984-8521. We can always use help with the Crafts and Games, and Monetary Help if you are so inclined. The event is sponsored by the Town and the Edinburg Heritage Foundation; and this year the Mt.Jackson/Edinburg Rotary members will be on hand to help make the event a real success.
We will be doing the WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA program again at Cedarwood Cemetery on December 13th. Our set-up last year worked well and we were pleased by all the people that showed up on that Saturday
Please contact the Town Office (540) 984-8521 or edinburgtownclerk@gmail.com if you have a Veteran that you would like to place the wreath for. It is important that we know this prior to the December 13th event. Please let family and friends that do not get our Newsletter know that they will need to let us know if they plan to be there for a family member’s wreath. We don’t want to disappoint anyone, but a volunteer could be placing that wreath if we aren’t aware of someone else planning on being there.
We are thinking that we will need 6-8 volunteers at each wreath location again depending on how many family members sign up for placing a wreath. Please contact the Town Office if you are interested in helping with this as a volunteer on December 13th or when we take the wreaths out of the boxes to be fluffed and have the ribbons straightened prior to moving on to the cemetery on December 13th.
Wreath placement is going to begin on December 13th at 12:00 Noon and continue until they are all placed. Things went really quick last year, so get there at 12:00 if you have plans to place a specific wreath.
On behalf of the Town Council and Staff,
I wish you and yours the very best of this Holiday Season.
May all your dreams and wishes come true during this most joyous time of year; may all paths lead to home and may you be filled with a child’s wonder and awe this Holiday Season.
Please stay safe; and let the bells of peace finally ring loud and clear throughout the world, while keeping those far from home safe and in our thoughts and prayers.
Have a Great Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas and
the Happiest of New Years! Your Mayor, Dan Harshman