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President's October Message
VOLUNTEER HOURS WILL NOW INCLUDE OUTREACH WORK
“Give thanks with a grateful heart.”
                        Henry Smith. Jr.
November is a time when we specifically and deliberately give thanks for all we have. I am especially thankful for all of you—for the high levels of participation that keep this club functioning, for the friendship you extend to newcomers, and for the grace you give each other—and me—when problems arise. This is a wonderful group of extremely talented women, and I am very grateful to serve as your President.

I want to extend a warm welcome to our three new members, Vicky Good, Patrice Winter, and Shannon Power. We hope you will find lots of opportunities to join us in social gatherings and general good times.

In an effort to increase volunteer hour opportunities, the board has decided to extend credit for working on Outreach projects. Several people have asked about this and we listened. Outreach is part of our overall purpose in addition to preserving and maintaining the Schoolhouse and providing social activities for our members, so it makes sense to provide volunteer hour credit for such participation. This will apply only to specific volunteer activity—which will be noted on Signupgenius (SUG.) It will NOT apply to monetary donations to our sponsored charities or individual work with those charities outside of Vale Club sponsored events.

Reminder that our Holiday Party this year will be Wednesday, Dec 16. Since the blast announcing this, we are already full. Please note the change in Wait List procedures. To sign up for waitlist, where you would normally click Plan to Attend, instead click on the Join Waitlist tab in that section. This will allow SUG to automatically move people up when vacancies occur. Since so many want to attend, if you are signed up and find you cannot attend after all, please remove your signup.

We have a lot of activities coming up so be sure to check the newsletter and SUG, so you don’t miss anything. I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and look forward to seeing you soon.

Diane Wakeham
Vale Club President

FVS History Highlights: “A Place to Tie To” 

‘A Place to Tie To. Part 2’
Below is Part 2 of the serialization begun last month of the pamphlet “A Place to Tie To.” It is reproduced here word for word as written in 1976. Since 1976 we have uncovered more accurate information about our history. I have been asked then, “why reproduce it word-for-word?” The answer is that the Vale Club membership has requested reading the original document which led to using the phrase A Place to Tie To.

The section below is about the use of our building as a school. Our written history states that our schoolhouse served the children of the Vale community. It is important to note that the school served only white children in the Vale area. School segregation in Virginia was legally established in 1870 and persisted until the mid-20th century. Thus, any children of color in Vale were assigned to attend the Forestville Colored School in the village of Forestville, later renamed Great Falls. I have noted, in parentheses, errors in the original writing. The demographics of Vale community in the late 1800s and early 1900s are a topic worth exploring and I welcome anyone who would like to assist with this research; perhaps now is the time to accurately rewrite this 50-year-old document!

Vale School
A one-room school house was built to serve the elementary age children of Vale in 1890. (the building was actually constructed circa 1884) A second room was later added when another one-room school was dismantled at Money’s Corners and reassembled to form an addition to the vale School House. (research done since this essay was written reveals that a two-room schoolhouse in Floris was dismantled and one of the rooms was brought to Vale by horse and wagon and added to the existing structure)

Dora Crosen, who attended Vale School as a student, and later taught grades 1 through 3 there, describes the interior of the school house after the second room was added: In the “big room” (original school house) were grades 4 through 7, while the “little room” was for the first three grades. There were approximately 15 children in each classroom. A wood burning stove was to be found in the center of each room for warmth. The older boys took turns making the fires and carrying in the wood from the shed behind the present day kitchen. This wood had been provided by one of the men in the neighborhood for a small fee paid by the county. The teacher’s table was in front of the room, with a long, narrow seat called a recitation bench directly in front of it. The class called upon would leave their desks and come up to sit together on the recitation bench to do oral work; when they were finished, they returned to their large, two-seat desks behind the bench. Behind the head teacher’s desk was the rope with which he/she rang the school bell to announce the beginning of school, lunch, the end of recess and of the day.

Looking back on the two years she taught at Vale School, Mrs. Crosen doesn’t remember having much of a problem with discipline. Other current members of the community who were among those attending school at Vale have somewhat different memories. They recall some pranks they used to play on the teacher, such as cutting partly through the switches they were sent to gather, so they would break when applied by the teacher. Club Treasurer Peggy Lee’s husband, Aubrey, attended school there and recalls receiving a spanking every day. Wilma Fos Rosch tells about the time the teacher tried to make her say “yellow” instead of “yeller,” as she was wont to do. She was made to stand up on the little platform in front of the class and say “yellow” for all to hear; willful Wilma stamped her foot and insisted “yeller!”

Until construction of its own facility in 1895, Vale Methodist church used the school building for its Sunday services.

Darlene Williamson
Historic Preservation Chair

Vale Club

Vale Club is dedicated to enriching the lives of women in the Vale community. Our goal is to provide our members with a variety of social, educational, and volunteer opportunities throughout the year. The majority of our members live within the Oakton community. We have multiple member activities each month, primarily scheduled from September through May, with a few Special Interest Groups meeting during the summer months ...
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WINTER GIVING PROJECTS
​Our Outreach Program supports two local 501©3 Non-Profit Charities: Helping Hungry Kids and Shelter House. In an area often perceived as affluent, it can be easy to overlook neighbors who are facing hardship. Our giving projects have an immediate, positive impact for our families. For more information, please contact me or go to their websites: ShelterHouse.org AND HelpingHungryKids.org

SHELTER HOUSE: To allow our families to purchase items needed for their children and homes we are asking for Walmart Gift Cards in any amount. You may bring them to the October or November meeting, drop them off or mail them to Patti Cooksey. DEADLINE: December 8th, 2026. 

HELPING HUNGRY KIDS: HHK provides weekend and holiday break food packs for students in our community. When children are fed, brains are nourished. From now until December 15th, we will be collecting any brand, any flavor granola bars and instant oatmeal packets. You may bring them to the monthly meetings or drop them off at Nancy Singer’s home. DEADLINE: December 15th, 2026

NOTE: Participation is 100% voluntary and does not count for our two-hour obligation.

Vale Schoolhouse

A brief history of The Vale Schoolhouse as recorded by the Fairfax County Public Schools of Yesteryear and Today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUOCcwvqBB0

Vale Schoolhouse, at the corner of Vale and Fox Mill Roads in Oakton, VA, was built c.1884 as a one-room public school. A second room was added in 1912. The school closed in 1931 when many Fairfax County schools were consolidated ...read more

Friends of Vale Schoolhouse, Inc. is Vale Clubs 501(C)3 charity for the maintenance and preservation of the historic Schoolhouse property which was placed on the VA Landmarks Register and the National Register ...read more