Winchester Tales

05/29/2026

THE RADIO AT PUD STEELE’S STORE
Stephens City, Virginia – October 5, 1930
The customer pushed open the old wooden screen door, and a line of small bells announced his arrival. Inside, several men sat around the pot-bellied stove while others leaned against shelves stocked with newspapers, magazines, ci******es, coffee, and nearly anything else a person might need. This was Pud Steele’s store, a familiar gathering place in Stephens City. The Steele family had been merchants in the town for decades, and on this particular afternoon the attention of everyone inside was fixed on something new—the town’s first radio. As the broadcast crackled through the speaker, neighbors listened to Game 4 of the 1930 World Series, played that day between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Athletics. For many, it was the first time hearing a major event unfold live from hundreds of miles away.

The old store once stood at 5317 Main Street, where generations of townspeople stopped for supplies, conversation, and news. The building is gone today, replaced by a newer structure, but it is easy to picture the scene. I often think of Pud Steele standing outside in his visor, cardigan sweater, and cigar, greeting folks as they passed by. One can almost hear him asking if they’d like to step inside and listen to the radio, while the bells on the screen door rang once again and another neighbor joined the crowd.

05/28/2026

The Stephensburg (Stephens City) Market House was already coming to life on this particularly cool morning in 1825. Wagons rattled down the Valley Pike while farmers from the fields west of town guided cattle, sheep, and squealing hogs through the intersection. The log structure sat on a square smack in the middle of the intersection...you couldn't miss it! Women arranged baskets of beans, cabbage, onions, apples, and fresh-churned butter on rough wooden tables as the smell of damp earth and livestock drifted through the air. Horses stomped on the packed dirt while merchants called out prices to passing travelers heading north and south along the great wagon road. But the market house was more than a place to buy vegetables or barter for livestock. It was the heartbeat of the town. Men told news from Wi******er and Alexandria while others argued over crop prices, land deals, and rumors coming out of Washington.

The Stephensburgh market house is believed to have been constructed sometime in the late 1780s as the village along the Valley Pike began to grow into an important stopping point for travelers, wagon traffic, and local farmers. No surviving record has yet identified exactly who built the structure, though it was likely erected through a cooperative effort of local townspeople and lot owners who needed a central public market and meeting space. By 1830, the building clearly appeared on the town plat created by the Anti-Quitrent Society, standing in the middle of the public square at the intersection of today’s Route 11 and Fairfax Street. The market house also became a gathering place for meetings of the Anti-Quitrent Society as residents challenged lingering colonial-era quit rent claims tied to the heirs of Lewis Stephens. The old structure disappeared around 1835 as improvements to the Valley Pike and the coming of macadamized roads reshaped the crossroads, leaving behind only the unusual setback of several corner buildings and the memory of the town’s original public square.

05/27/2026

This is going to be an incredible tour!

Sign up now for author-led Second Battle of Kernstown tour on July 25, 2026.

05/25/2026

Some video of Wi******er’s George Mercer VA Regiment representing in the National Memorial Day Parade in DC. I’m the short guy in the middle. 🇺🇸😂

05/25/2026

So proud to march in the National Memorial Day Parade today with the George Mercer Virginia Regiment. I’m the short guy in the middle…what a great experience honoring our veterans who gave their lives for our country! 🇺🇸

05/24/2026

Frank Staling stood quietly along the Valley Pike south of Newtown, now known as Stephens City, as the afternoon light settled across Stephens Run. The young German immigrant had arrived in the Shenandoah Valley only a short time before, carrying with him a talent for sketching the everyday life around him. In 1858, he captured a familiar roadside scene — a small log toll house beside the Pike, a fenced garden, and the long wooden gate pole that would stretch across the dusty road. Travelers moving north and south through the Valley were required to stop here and pay a fee before continuing on. Inside the cabin sat his mother-in-law, Mrs. Lucinda Nisewanger, who operated the toll gate and collected the money used to maintain this important stretch of road. Once payment was made, the heavy pole was pulled aside and the wagons rolled onward toward Wi******er or Strasburg.

The toll system played an important role throughout the Shenandoah Valley before the Civil War. Toll keepers were responsible for maintaining designated sections of roadway, and the fees helped pay for repairs, drainage, and grading along the heavily traveled Pike. But many locals looked for ways around the gates whenever they could. Wagon drivers sometimes slipped through nearby fields, crossed private lanes, or followed back roads that eventually met the Valley Pike again between toll stations. Others simply chose entirely different routes to avoid paying at all. Frank Staling’s sketch preserved more than a roadside cabin and garden — it captured a disappearing piece of everyday Valley life just before the coming storm of the Civil War changed these roads forever.

05/24/2026

He leaned forward beneath the soft glow of an oil lamp as rain tapped lightly against the windows of his Pennsylvania office. At nearly six-foot-five, Judge John Handley seemed even larger seated behind the heavy walnut desk covered with papers, contracts, and correspondence from across the country. Steel mills, railroads, coal, banking ventures…his business empire stretched far beyond the room in which he sat. Yet on this particular evening, his thoughts drifted south toward Wi******er, Virginia. With pen in hand, he paused for a moment before signing his name in one long sweeping motion across the paper — “John Handley.” No title. No flourish of office. Just the confident signature of a man who already knew who he was. The ink curled boldly beneath his name as he wrote friends and associates about new ventures, investments, and ideas he hoped might breathe fresh life into the little Shenandoah town he had grown so fond of.

Those who later viewed Handley’s letters often noticed the same thing — he never seemed to need the word “Judge” before his name. By the 1880s, his reputation already carried enough weight. The broad underline beneath his signature almost resembled the final stroke of a railroad track cutting across the page. In Wi******er, few could have imagined that these quiet letters being written hundreds of miles away would one day help shape the city forever. Years later, his fortune would build schools, libraries, and opportunity for generations yet unborn. I thought I would share his signature because so many people have probably never seen it before. It is a simple thing really…just ink on paper. But it was written by the same hand that would one day leave one of the greatest gifts Wi******er has ever known.

**Special thanks to Toby at the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives for locating these remarkable signatures within their collection.

05/22/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

Wi******er’s Connection to the Powerful Howe Family

Robert Rutherford, a Wi******er native and longtime resident of the lower Shenandoah Valley, married into one of the most powerful military families in British history. His wife, Mary Howe Rutherford, had first been married to Brigadier General George Augustus Howe, one of the most respected British officers of the French and Indian War. George Augustus Howe was the older brother of General William Howe, commander of the main British land forces during the American Revolution, and Admiral Richard Howe, who led the British naval fleet against the American colonies.

It is remarkable to think that Wi******er and Frederick County were connected by marriage to the very family that would later direct Britain’s war against the colonies. On June 17, 1775, General William Howe personally led British troops during the bloody Battle of Bunker Hill, one of the opening major battles of the Revolution, while Admiral Richard Howe would soon command British naval operations along the American coast. George Augustus Howe never lived to see the Revolution unfold. He was killed near Fort Ticonderoga in 1758 during the French and Indian War and was mourned throughout the colonies as one of the finest officers in the British Army. Years later, his widow Mary would marry Robert Rutherford, forever tying one of Wi******er’s earliest families to one of the most famous military dynasties of the British Empire.

05/22/2026

After months of thought and preparation, I finally submitted my proposal to the Frederick County School Board to incorporate a dedicated local history component into the current curriculum. It’s a cause deeply important to me, because the fields, streets, buildings, and stories surrounding our students every day are living classrooms that deserve to be understood and remembered.

My hope is simple: to help ignite a stronger connection between young people and the history of Wi******er and Frederick County, so they can better appreciate the sacrifices, struggles, and achievements that shaped the community they call home. And if this idea can truly take root in our county and city schools, then perhaps it can grow beyond our region—into the Virginia state legislature, and maybe even become a model for schools across the nation.
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PROPOSAL FOR LOCAL HISTORY EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP
Presented by Mike Robinson – Wi******er Tales

This proposal is respectfully submitted to the Frederick County School Board to offer a community partnership focused on bringing local history education directly into Frederick County Virginia high schools.

The purpose of this program is to help students better understand the history that surrounds them every day — the roads they travel, the fields they pass, the buildings downtown, the neighborhoods they live in, and the people who helped shape both this community and our nation.

Through engaging presentations, storytelling, historical photographs, artifacts, and discussion, students would gain a deeper understanding of the important role Wi******er and Frederick County have played throughout American history, while also recognizing the sacrifices made by those who came before us to preserve the freedoms and way of life we enjoy today.

Proposed Educational Program

Mike Robinson would volunteer his time to visit each participating high school once per semester (or more), with presentations geared primarily toward 9th or 10th grade students.

Program Highlights

-One local history presentation per semester at each participating high school.
-Age-appropriate and engaging discussions focused on local history.
-Historical storytelling centered around places students see every day.
-Use of historical photographs, maps, and artifacts.
-Interactive question-and-answer opportunities with students
-Encouragement of historical curiosity, preservation, and civic pride.

Educational Goals

The goal of this program is to:

-Help students connect local history to broader American history.
-Encourage critical thinking and historical awareness.
-Teach students about the sacrifices made by earlier generations.
-Inspire respect for preservation, heritage, and community identity
-Ignite curiosity and interest in history among young people.
-Encourage students to pursue history, education, preservation, and research.
-Help ensure that local stories and traditions are not lost to future generations.

History becomes far more meaningful when students realize major events happened where they live. A battlefield becomes more than an open field. A historic building becomes more than brick and mortar. Young people begin to understand that history is not distant — it is part of their everyday world.

Most importantly, students are the bridge that keeps history alive. If these stories are not passed forward to younger generations, they risk being forgotten.

About Mike Robinson

Mike Robinson is a local historian, author, speaker, and community educator best known for creating the Wi******er Tales local history platform.

Background & Community Contributions

-Author of 13 local history books
/Creator of the Wi******er Tales Facebook public history platform
-Founder of the annual Wi******er Tales History Scholarship presented at James Wood High School
-Recipient of the:
Stewart Bell Jr. Literary Award
Ben Belchic Award
-Donor of numerous historical artifacts to local archives and museums, including:
Stewart Bell Jr. Archives
Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum
-Frequent speaker and presenter on local and regional history throughout the community

Mike Robinson’s work has focused on making local history approachable, relatable, and meaningful for everyday people — especially younger generations.

Cost & Community Commitment
This educational partnership would be offered free of charge to participating schools.

Should any honorarium or speaking fee ever be offered, those funds would be redirected back into the Wi******er Tales History Scholarship to continue supporting local students interested in history and education.

Closing Statement
History is one of the few subjects that teaches students not only where we came from, but why our communities, freedoms, and traditions exist today.

By helping young people connect with the history around them early in life, we help build informed citizens who value preservation, sacrifice, service, and community identity.

The hope of this program is not simply to teach names and dates, but to ignite curiosity — the kind that encourages students to ask questions, explore their community, and carry these stories forward for future generations.

Because in the end, our young people truly are the trustees of our posterity.

Thank you for your consideration,
Mike Robinson

05/21/2026

A cold mist settled over the fields east of Brucetown as the weary men of the 13th Mississippi Infantry made camp after the terrible fighting at Antietam. Only weeks earlier they had battled near the Dunker Church and West Woods where the cornfields were left covered in smoke, blood, and shattered equipment. Campfires flickered across the damp ground while soldiers rested and reflected on what they had just witnessed. Somewhere among them sat 22-year-old Private George M. Mott of Company E, a young Mississippian who had once hoped to become a doctor. With careful precision, Mott carved an Enfield bullet with his initials on one side and the words “To Old Abe” on the other — a quiet and personal message left behind in the fields of Frederick County.

More than 150 years later, relic hunters Rocky Lockley and Jason Hinton searched those same rolling fields and uncovered evidence of the Confederate encampment. Mississippi buttons and dropped bullets began to emerge from the soil, but one bullet stopped them in their tracks. As Jason gently cleaned the Enfield round with a toothbrush, the inscription slowly appeared: “G.M. Mott” and “To Old Abe.” The carved relic had survived the war, the weather, and time itself. Mott would survive the conflict as well, while his commander, William Barksdale, would be mortally wounded at Gettysburg the following year. Today, the remarkable bullet is preserved on loan from Jason Hinton and is displayed at the Shenandoah Valley Civil War Museum in Wi******er, where it still tells the story of one young Confederate soldier who camped near Brucetown in the autumn of 1862.

05/21/2026

Congratulations Anna Hester!
It was truly an honor to present you with the first Wi******er Tales History Scholarship last night. Anna was not only a brilliant history student at James Wood High School but she is also an incredible athlete and will be playing soccer at George Mason University!