Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 47
her mother had bought her eight
years before, and looking for every
opportunity she could to sing.
"She never learned to read music,"
says Scott Simmons, a docent at the
Patsy Cline Historic House. Rather,
she learned to play by ear and
received constant encouragement
from Hilda, who also sewed most of
Cline's dresses and costumes even
once she had become a star.
"The two were so close in age,"
Simmons remarks. "They were more
like sisters than mother and
daughter."
Cline, who finally gained national
recognition when she appeared on
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in
1 9 5 7 , s i n g i n g " Wa l k i n ' A f t e r
Midnight," was responsible for
developing what became known as
the "Nashville Sound." Her music
topped both popular and country
music charts. According to
Simmons, she was the first crossover
artist in American music history.
Her success as a working-class girl
rising to stardom is spellbinding, but
her personal life was often rocky. She
married young, divorced, had a torrid love affair with her manager,
then married again, happily at least,
to Charlie Dick, three years her
junior, in 1957. (You can, in fact, still
visit the nostalgic department store
where Dick bought his wedding
suit-Bell's on Loudoun Street!) But
even as she rocketed to fame, her run
was short-lived. In 1963, she died in
a plane crash.
But lovers of her music can
explore the often hardscrabble world
that inspired her to work so hard at
her craft, see the dresses her mother
made for her, and stand in the bedroom she shared with her mother
and siblings.
Next stop on this slightly nostalgic road trip is the Loudoun Street
Pedestrian Mall downtown. This
four-block renovation project cost
Winchester $7.1 million. To fully
experience downtown's architectural heritage, I sign up for an
Architectural Walking Tour at the
downtown visitor center. In the summer, the mall hosts Friday Night Live
concerts, and every first Friday of the
month year-round, downtown
shops stay open late.
Valley DriVe
Patsy Cline lived in this
modest house on Kent Street
in Winchester with her
mother and two siblings.
Winchester's recently
revitalized downtown
Pedestrian Mall invites
walkers to dine, shop,and
play on Loudon Street.
As I head south along Route 11 from
Winchester through rolling farmscapes below the soft outline of the
Blue Ridge Mountains to the east, it's
July/August 2015 47
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015
Sweet Summer Weekends & Overnights in 7 States
The Great Divorce: Virginia-West Virginia
Swimming Holes for Summer: The Photoessay
Grand Hotel Comebacks of Western Virginia
SUP in the Mountains?
Northern Shenandoah Weekend
A Home in, on and from the Mountains
Far Beyond Sweet Tea: Great Restaurants of Upcountry South Carolina
From the Editor / Worth a Click
Mill Creek Stories
The Hike
Creature Feature
Great Home Buys in the Mountains
Festivals & Events
Country Roads
Mountian Garden
Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 6
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - From the Editor / Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Mill Creek Stories
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Great Home Buys in the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Festivals & Events
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 16
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Country Roads
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Sweet Summer Weekends & Overnights in 7 States
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - The Great Divorce: Virginia-West Virginia
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Swimming Holes for Summer: The Photoessay
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Grand Hotel Comebacks of Western Virginia
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - SUP in the Mountains?
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Northern Shenandoah Weekend
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - A Home in, on and from the Mountains
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 52
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Far Beyond Sweet Tea: Great Restaurants of Upcountry South Carolina
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 59
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Mountian Garden
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - Cover4
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