HILLTOPPERS
Locally, the Mike Shirkey family seems always to live on a
high hill.
Regardless of where they have moved in recent years, they are always living above the surrounding terrain where one can see for miles in just about all directions. Each place they have lived has also become the site of our family Fourth of July Fireworks Watching outing. Each year we can see the 4th being celebrated at four or five locations off to the East or the South primarily.
The first place they called home as a family of four was built a hill above a larger, older brick dwelling known as “Storm Hill” just north of Verona, Va. Evelyn Shirkey was grew up in that old house which was so-named because when it was being built after the Civil War severe storms delayed the construction so often the site became known as”Storm Hill”. The Shirkeys lived in a smaller house built atop the hill called “ Storm Hill”. Theirs was smaller house build for her Mother and father by her Grandfather Marcus Arndt and Evelyn''ls father Frank McCue. They enlarged that house considerably and added a sizable workshop building nearby, added a swimming pool and a two-car garage unit to the house itself. Adept in such tasks on a do-it-themselves basis. It sold promptly when they decided to go into the poultry business on a farm near Fulks Run, Va. in the west edge of Rockingham County, just a short distance from Mathias, West Virginia.
The farm had two dwellings and they could have lived in the lower one, but, true to form, they chose the smaller house on top of the steep hill overlooking their two, large, double-decked poultry houses. Our Fourth of July observations suffered somewhat by that move, because across the steep valley one could see nothing seemingly endless expanses of National Forest covering massive ranges of mountains to east and west The Shirkeys did very well at then broiler raising operation, but it became evident that sufficient help was not to be available in the rather remote area and they decided to shift to a more readily manageable farm operation raising eggs for hatchery needs.
That called for a move to a new location in Augusta County ,Virginia with a few miles of “Storm Hill”. The transition was effected smoothly, and where did the Shirkeys decide to self-build their new home - on the hilltop, of course, a bit west of the laying house operation. In so doing they have restored our Fourth of July fireworks watching privileges to the best situation yet. We can now view the displays at Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton, those in Waynesboro, a the Wintergreen Resort in Nelson Count, and the massive display set off by Massanutten Village Resort just east of Harrisonburg in Rockingham County and other smaller attempts in between each of those.
Thanks to the Michael Shirkey family - Mike, Evelyn, Chris and Jon - our family Fourth of July celebrations have been restored, enlarged and and invigorated.
A.L.M. September 8, 2003 [c595wds]
