P. Buckley Moss e-newsletter

Dear Friends:

The Barn and the Museum are decorated so beautifully for Christmas, and it was a thrill to walk into The Barn and see all the wonderful color. The Christmas tree was gorgeous, sporting the ornaments made by the students at Hugh K. Cassell Elementary School in Waynesboro, Virginia, under the guidance of their teacher Holly Lotts. It was such fun to see their faces light up as they found their ornaments on the tree when they came for our tree lighting ceremony Saturday morning. The ornaments, which incorporated used music CD’s, were a total delight and reflected not only the Christmas lights but also the students’ and their teacher’s creativity. Next year we’ll invite another local school to make ornaments for our tree.

In the quiet before anyone arrived, I got to enjoy my home and the wonderful decorations that my daughter Ginny hung.

Some of our wonderful Barn Show volunteers, L. to R.: Gina Goodale, Shari Hyberg, Shirley Collins, Vernie Dean, me, Pat Byrd, Dot Hiter, Nancy Sheppard, & Karen Morris.

I was so happy my friend May Johnson (sitting with me) could make it down from Morrisville, PA. The quilt hanging in the background is my daughter Mary’s, and the decorations on the front of my desk are some of the ones made by the students at Hugh K. Cassell Elementary.

Shailey Elkins was very excited when we found her ornament hanging from the stair rail.

Members of the Augusta County Junior Orchestra performed at the Museum during the weekend’s show. Their teacher Sonja Dillard is pictured at the bottom of the stairs in the red top.

Sunday morning, members of the Moss on the James Chapter of the P. Buckley Moss Society arrived with delicious breakfast dishes and treats for our annual Sunday Christmas breakfast. Also present were members of Pat’s Blue Goose Chapter and several other friends. We missed some of our old friends, but hopefully they’ll be able to make it next year. This is an annual treat that we all look forward to.

Members of Moss on the James Chapter are pictured with me above, along with Dell Philpott (standing at my right side, your left), former Program Coordinator for the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education, and Bob Almond (behind me), former Executive Director for the Foundation. The Moss on the James Chapter came for our annual Sunday Christmas breakfast, which was so good. It was wonderful for all of us to be together.

Monday morning I flew down to Kingsport, Tennessee, for a show with my friends at Up Against the Wall, and I got to spend some time with about 25 Virginia High School art students in Bristol, Virginia, that afternoon. I talked to them about my personal experience of being dyslexic and how it enabled me to see the world in an artistic way. I told them that it is important to find what they are good at and enjoy doing and to develop that skill.

I really enjoyed my talk with Deborah Martin’s art students at Virginia High School in Bristol, VA, Monday. The students are blessed with caring faculty. Photo credit: Andre Teague, Bristol Herald Courier.

Some of the students’ artwork is on the wall behind me.

I was so impressed when I walked into the school and saw the students’ artwork. It was absolutely fantastic. They have a marvelous, caring teacher. The Principal and Superintendant stopped in to say “hello”, and the Superintendant told me that he had taught my granddaughters Kate and Sarah in Radford, Virginia.

My time in Kingsport and Bristol was a whirlwind of press conferences, interviews, and the show—all to unveil my second in a series of prints and posters in celebration of Bristol’s Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival. As busy as it was, I’m so glad I got the chance to have a burger at the legendary Burger Bar, where Hank Williams is said to have had his last meal.

The Burger Bar.

At the unveiling for this year’s print and poster. L. to R.: Margaret Feierabend of the Bristol, TN, City Council; me; and Guy Odum of the Bristol, VA, City Council.

One of my interviews was with Morgan King for WJHL’s Daytime Tri-Cities program. By the way, he’s a collector!

Another interview was with Tarah Taylor, far right, at News 5. I was delighted to hear that she’s getting married in the spring. Seated beside me in the red sweater is Kimberly Leonard with the Bristol, VA/TN, Chamber of Commerce.

I’m back in Mathews, Virginia, now and “recharging my batteries” for Christmas.

Love,
Pat

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