COOPERATIVE FOCUS
Becoming a Nature Hero
An inside look at wildlife rescue and rehabilitation April 2025 by Amanda S. Creasey, Contributing Columnist One of the greatest thrills of spending time outside is encountering wildlife. Whether it’s a box turtle or bird, fox or frog, rabbit or raccoon, seeing native...
The Journey to the Top
A CEO’s journey is a testament to her determination, resilience and the power of dreams March 2025 by Laura Emery, Staff Writer “I remember my mother bringing a calculator to the grocery store,” says Sonja Cox, president and CEO of Southern Maryland Electric...
Breaking Down Barriers
Rapidan River project seeks to increase local fish populations January-February 2025 by Jeff Poole, Contributing Writer For more than two centuries, a dam across the Rapidan River in Central Virginia was an economic imperative. It propelled manufacturing and commerce...
Community Roots
Charles “Charlie” Cawley and his wife, Jane, aren’t just tree farmers. They are also the creators of holiday memories.
Of Light & Magic
Every Halloween, Noel Dickover turns the front lawn of his Centreville, Va., home into a sprawling showcase of beautifully intricate, hand-carved pumpkins, all softly aglow.
Breeding Success
Whenever Elaine Shirley leads visitors on tours of the agricultural exhibits at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster, Md., she always stops to showcase a plywood cut-out of a dairy cow.
It’s not that the museum lacks any living livestock. Shirley, the museum’s curator, is trying to make a point. The exhibit is painted with markings matching a Sheeted Somerset — a breed that went extinct in the 1930s. She says the reason for the board bovine often catches guests by surprise.
Where Life is ‘Just Peachy’
Welcome to Fruit Hill Orchard in Palmyra, Va. August 2024 by Laura Emery, Staff Writer “Just peachy” perfectly describes life at Fruit Hill Orchard in Palmyra, Va., from July 2 until shortly after Labor Day. That’s because it’s peach season, and there are peaches...
A Showcase of Safety and Skill
Lineworker rodeo promotes camaraderie, development, peace of mind July 2024 by Jim Robertson, Staff Writer A lineman receives a phone call on a stormy night. The power is out. The kids are asleep. His wife nervously smiles as she tells him goodbye and to be safe. She,...
Called to Serve
Smith Point Sea Rescue celebrates 50 years June 2024 by Audrey T. Hingley, Contributing Columnist Nonprofit groups are often borne from need, and Reedville’s Smith Point Sea Rescue in Virginia’s Northern Neck is no exception. In 1973, a father and his two young...