Edinburg

Newsletter

EDINBURG NEWSLETTER
September 2026
113th Edition

GREETINGS FROM THE MAYOR
AND TOWN COUNCIL

I hope this finds you enjoying summer as it winds down. It’s always hard to believe that school has already started and the County Fair is quickly becoming a memory. While we definitely didn’t have a shortage of 90 plus degree days, we could have once again used more rain. I know we don’t want anything as severe as what has been plaguing other parts of the Country, but it would be nice to have a year without a drought.

The warm temperatures did bring folks to the Town Pool again this year. Regrettably, once school is back in session we are forced to cut the Pool hours to just weekends due to a lack of lifeguards. The Pool will be open for the season the last time on Monday, September 7th.  It will open again for our canine friends on Saturday, September 12th for the annual Paws in the Pool from 10 am to 2 pm. This popular Shenandoah County Parks and Recreation event allows our four-legged friends to cool off and enjoy some doggy paddling in the Pool.  It’s great fun for everyone. 

Even with the Pool closing, there are still a few activities that are bringing folks out to the Park. We have been seeing more people using the Disc Golf course and also enjoying the renovated Tennis Courts. We weren’t successful with a grant application that was going to allow us to do additional improvements that included exercise equipment and additional playground items. The grant application did require us to include matching funds in this year’s Budget and the Council has decided to move forward with scaled down plans for improving the Playground equipment and perhaps extending our walking trail. Three pieces of Playground equipment have already been ordered with the help of a $1,500 donation from the Mt Jackson-Edinburg Rotary.

Some of you might have attended the Ole Time Festival Committee’s “Party in the Park” in August; think of that as a lead up to the big event, the 45th Annual Edinburg Ole Time Festival! The Opening Ceremony will be Friday, the 18th at 5:30 PM in St Paul’s Heritage Center, 106 S. High Street followed by Ole Time Sing Along which will once again be led by the ShenCo Ukulele Circle. If you missed the Ukulele group last year you are in for a real treat; come check it out.

Plan to start Saturday, September 19th with a Pioneer Breakfast (7-11) at the St. Paul’s Heritage Center at 106 S. High Street.  Breakfast will be Co-hosted this year by Edinburg Lion’s Club and Mt Jackson-Edinburg Rotary. After breakfast go out and explore the Town, or perhaps the Fun Run (8:00) is more your thing.  Or you can stop in at the Edinburg Volunteer Fire Department to Meet a Fire Truck. (Sat. 9-1:00 and Sun. 12-2)  As always, there will be crafters, food vendors, entertainment and demonstrations around the areas of the Edinburg Mill, in the old bank parking lot on Main St, in front of the Charterhouse School and all points in between. Take a ride on a hay wagon or in an antique taxi and check out everything without walking your legs off. 

Don’t miss the “March Through Town” Parade on Saturday at 1:00, and Saturday evening will find everyone at a Party in the Park with Food, Beer and Wine with the Instigators providing the music. The Party is from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Check out the Festival schedule for things like the OLE TIMER’S BASEBALL GAME, the BED RACE and don’t forget to buy your DUCK RACE tickets. There is so much more that will be happening that weekend; no matter what you like to do, there is sure to be something at this year’s Ole Time Festival for you to enjoy. Learn more at: edinburgoletimefestival.org 

Some of our more popular residents, the Ducks at the Edinburg Mill, usually make a quick exit during Festival Time. They do love it when everyone comes down to the Mill to feed them, but the crowds, the music and the sound of Civil War muskets tends to be a little too much for them. Don’t worry they will be back on hand when things quiet down.

Although you might miss the Ducks when visiting the Mill, we hope you will stop in to see a special exhibit that will be there during the Festival. We the People is another exhibit on loan from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and will be at the Mill’s Museum from September 1-October 12.

The Exhibit will explore the people from around the world that have come to Virginia from the earliest days of colonial settlement to today. It will talk about the diversity of the immigrant experience and profound impact immigrants have had on Virginia’s history and identity. As the brochure on this exhibit points out, “Throughout the centuries, immigrants have shaped the culture, driven the economy, and connected Virginia with the world, while also defining the nature of citizenship and what it means to be a Virginian and an American.” 

In addition to the We the People exhibit we will have 2 other special exhibits at the Mill as part of the 250th Anniversary. Edinburg Heritage Foundation Board Member Juanita Leisch is providing a selection of uniforms that were actually worn in Philadelphia Parades during earlier 100 and 200 year anniversary celebrations of the United States; plus an exhibit titled Flora’s Declaration of Independence. In 1856, 12 year-old Winchester school girl, Flora Baker, corrected and updated the Declaration of Independence in her pursuit of new rules of fashion of the time. Please plan on checking out these 3 special exhibits as well as what might be new at the Mill’s Museum. We have now had visitors at the Museum from all 50 states, plus DC and Porto Rico, 67 Countries and 8 Canadian Provinces.

I’m sure you have noticed the planters around Town; Kim Green and Tabatha Dellinger, along with the assistance of the Central High School Horticulture students, have once again done a great job with the planters along Main Street and out Stony Creek Blvd. Generous donations from Residents, Local Businesses, the Festival Committee, Edinburg Heritage Foundation and the Town allow us to continue this program.  Thank you to all those that have assisted to make this happen; I’m looking forward to what the fall displays might bring this year.

I reported last year around this time that the large Catalpa Tree in front of the Edinburg Mill was  dying and had to come down. Large sections of the tree were taken to Larry Gochenour who will be turning them into useable lumber. Plans are that we will have items made out of the wood once it is ready that will be sold in the Mill’s Museum Gift Shop.

We will be saying goodbye to long-time Edinburg employee, Bobby Ryan, in October. Bobby has worked in our Maintenance Department since 1998 and has decided to retire this year. He has been an important part of the hard working Edinburg Crew and he will be missed. Please join me and the Town Council in thanking him for his years of service and wishing him all the best as he starts a new chapter in his life.

Have you noticed the LOVE sign? We have received a ton of great comments and hope you like it. If you are one of the folks who would like to see the bench in front of it moved; it is going to be moved soon. As I told you back in November of last year, the budget for the sign was $20,000. The final cost for the Town was around $5,000 with the balance being paid for with donations. There is a sign next to the LOVE sign that identifies all those who donated and also explains the significance of the images on each of the letters.

Night-time lighting is still planned for the sign once we decide what will be the best way to do it. The original idea was to install 2 poles behind the sign and use an old fashion green enameled fixture, like you might have seen at a railroad depot of the past, reaching out over the LOVE sign to light the front. The poles were planned to be simple and smooth to match the style of the block letters, and would be centered between the “L” and “O” and between the “V” and “E”. But when the actual sign was in place, we started second guessing ourselves about adding anything to detract from the simple block letters.

We discussed lighting it from the ground in front with flood lights. This would require special lights that would be 100% waterproof and able to stand up to accidental, and intentional, bumps and abuse. We would also need to be careful that they do not shine onto the property and buildings behind the sign.

Another idea is to install one of our historic style street lights next to the small informational sign to the front left of the LOVE sign. We have a shorter 8 ft pole that could be used and should give general lighting to the area out in front of the sign.

What do you think? We are open to suggestions. I keep going back to the original idea of the 2 poles, but still struggle to visualize the impact on the sign. I think we are going to need to prop up 2 poles behind the sign and take a look before ruling it out. Let us know if you have an opinion, and who doesn’t have one of those?

We are also planning on doing some type of planting along the fence at the rear of the property behind the sign. We will need to be careful not to block access for a bucket truck to be able to reach the big Christmas tree for holiday lighting. The thought here is to just block some of the visual confusion of the parking lot and buildings with plantings.

Election Day is November 3rd and it is also a local Town Election this year. We have me, Steve Wood, Brad Dellinger, and Fay Wymer-Hollar up for reelection this year. There will also be another Town Council position listed on the ballot for the person chosen to replace Tabatha Dellinger who left the Council when she moved out of Edinburg in July. Please come out and VOTE.

Now let’s fast forward to December 19th when we will be again participating in the WREATHS across AMERICA program at Cedarwood Cemetery. This event was once again a great success last year. If you know of anyone that doesn’t receive our newsletter, please pass on this information.

The hope is always that we will have a family member or a friend on hand to place the wreath on the appropriate grave. To that end, we do ask that you contact the Town Office (540) 984-8521 if you have a specific Veteran you would like to place the wreath for. We will send more details with our fall newsletter

That’s it for now, see you at the Ole Time Festival! Your Mayor, Dan Harshman