In a message dated 10/16/03 4:55:43 PM Pacific Daylight Time, Hdanw@aol.com writes: > No wonder my Fauquier folks headed to Kentucky in its early days--too much > contention and dissenion back there in Virginia!!! > > Fauquier Co. is fast becoming a suburb of Washington, DC. What was isolated in 1800, is now full of newbies who do not always understand the culture. Often they become involved in issues when they do not have a full understanding of the problem. If a building is on a historic registry then it's integrity has to be preserved. That would indeed mean replacing the old with a like structure or repairing it. Of course to vote is only part of the problem. Paying for it is another. If you are going to require a congregation to shoulder the freight then you should be prepared to raise the funds to pay for it or keep quiet on the subject. For most of the last century, Fauquier enjoyed a rather quiet existence with the horses farms and hunt clubs able to support the economy. But the tracts that bring tacky shopping malls and townhouses and tract homes must have schools and other infrastructure. If you have not been to the area in the past twenty years you would not recognize it as the place your ancestors came from. Those who left in caravans for Kentucky are now coming back in droves and it is not a pretty sight. As far as California is concerned I think it has it's own share of people fleeing for a better life elsewhere. I know there are people in Washington State who are sorry for that. A busted economy is one reason. Perhaps too many demands on the public purse has taken it's toll. I, for one am glad mine stayed in Virginia. Proud to be a Virginian on my mother's side, and to paraphrase a quote often found when speaking of the state, I truly believe it is a benediction from above. Margaret R. Amundson, CGsm is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by Board-certified associates after periodic proficiency evaluations.