The juxtaposition of historic events is just too rich to ignore and the story too full of fun and promise not to tell.
Our little town of Culpeper in red, RED Virginia opened it's Obama office Saturday (8/16) -- the first Democratic presidential headquarters in this sleepy village since 1964 (Probably not coincidently, that is also the last time that a Democratic presidential candidate won the state). Let me repeat that for emphasis: The Democrats have not had a presidential candidate office in this town for 44 years!
So opening any office at all is a really big deal for the fellowship-starved, lonely progressive souls out here in the Virginia hinterlands. But where the office is located, perhaps, is as much of a tale. You see, about 175 years ago, our Obama office was the boyhood home of Confederate General Ambrose Powell Hill.
This saga [complete with photos] continues after the jump....
For those not steeped in Civil War lore as we are here in this part of the Commonwealth, the short take on Gen. A.P. Hill is that he gained early fame as one of Stonewall Jackson's ablest subordinates and led troops in some of the war's most notorious and bloody battles. He later commanded a corps under Robert E. Lee in the Army of Northern Virginia before his death in battle just 7 days prior to the Confederate surrender at Appomatax.
Fast forward a century and three quarters.... As I've diaried here and here and here, this presidential campaign truly has been an eye-(and mind-)opening experience.
First, imagine my surprise when my candidate of choice, Barack Obama, wins my intensely red county with 57 percent of the vote. Then, Obama has the (dare I use the word?) audacity to assign one of the Organizing Fellows to this area and at the start of July, a full time paid staff member shows up to work in Culpeper and Rappahannock Counties. And two weeks ago, a second paid campaign staffer is assigned here, expanding the reach to Orange and Madison counties. And now, the campaign goes and opens a brick and mortar 7-days a week, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. operation.
Color me stunned.... and giddy.
Here's a look at one part of the office, just hours before opening (note: yep, those are original A.P. Hill floors and who knows? "Powell" Hill could have read his schoolbooks by the light of that fireplace).
Much to the surprise of the early arrivals to the office on Opening Day, one of our first visitors was none other than Richard Clarke (yes, that Richard Clarke, prominent counter-terrorism adviser to Presidents Clinton and Bush. He filled out an Obama supporter card and grabbed a "Rappahannock for Obama" button and promptly pinned it on his shirt.
My partner Dave and I arrived at the building about an hour before the official launch, our truck loaded down with chairs, desk lamps, a dry erase easel and some other used office paraphenalia we had picked up on the cheap at a local junk auction. (It's hard to read in the photo below, but that "Obama OEight" handmade bumper sticker has been on our truck since 2005).
[A word about local campaign offices: They need STUFF! If you have or will be getting a local campaign site, contact them and see what they need. Most do not yet (and may never) have a bucket full of operating funds so they need tables and paper and magic markers and bulletin boards and all manner of office accoutrements. If you don't have spare office furniture or supplies to lend or give away, then donate a gift card from Office Depot or Staples to the campaign. Also welcomed: gift cards to nearby restaurants that deliver to feed hungry volunteers.]
As we pulled up to the back entrance to Gen. Hill's home, we were greeted by a film crew from BBC America. (No, I am not kidding.... nor, as one friend suggested when I told him this, had I been drinking heavily this early in the afternoon). Turns out, BBC America is doing a series on Culpeper, Virginia and how several of its residents are regarding the Presidential election. (The first four installments in the series can be viewed on the BBC website here-- the most recent episode chronicles the hardships brought to the area by the economic downturn. e.g., Culpeper County has one of the highest home foreclosure rates in the state).
The office is already buzzing with activity as we hurry to get the chairs and tables in place and get that banner hung over the fireplace (BBC America also was quite taken with the historic irony of the office's location).
Thanks to an especially hardworking volunteer, there's a spread of food in one room that resembles the midnight buffet on a cruise ship. Here's perhaps the most devoted Democrat in Culpeper County, Harold Boyd, with his donkey-shaped chocolate cake:
We've got a committed core of folks putting the opening together, but will the people show up? We managed to get a small article about the opening in the paper and loads of invitations were emailed and phone calls made. I was astonished when our first organizing event drew 71 people in Madison County and we had a few more than that at the first Culpeper organizing meeting, but an office opening? Who would come? It's the weekend before school starts. The Olympics are on TV. It's the rarest of sunny August days -- crisp and bright with low humidity. Who'd want to be indoors?
But they came.....
And they came....
And then some more came....
Our local Democratic candidate (VA-07), Anita Hartke, briefly addressed the crowd. (The office is actually part of the combined campaign of Obama, Senatorial candidate Mark Warner and Anita Hartke).
[Show her some campaign love here; she's waging an uphill battle against Republican incumbent Eric Cantor].
[Tip to Campaign Offices: Invest in a button maker. We did and are able to make hundreds of custom buttons (e.g., Culpeper for Obama, Kids for Hartke, Virginia Families for Obama). Here's one of youngest supporters sporting one of are special "The O Team" buttons we created just for children:
And here's a collage of some more office opening activities:
Well, my fellow Virginians came through... big time.... more than 150 people attended the office opening. We signed up as many as we could to contribute hours as volunteers and now the real work begins in earnest -- the canvassing, the calling, the tabling, the precinct teams -- you know the drill; you're doing it in your community, too.
But here in Culpeper, we do have at least one really big task still to complete that's a bit different perhaps from some other locations. See, we've got permission to hang some big ole Obama signs around the cupola of General Hill's house -- the place where Confederate soldiers staged a lookout for Union troops during the Civil War. This landmark tower can be seen from all over town. See photo below:
Needless to say, we're kinda of psyched about getting this accomplished. The huge banners have been donated. All we need now is a rock climber or a tree service person crazy... I mean, er... skilled enough to venture out on that severely pitched metal roof five stories high and hang the dern things.
And you just gotta wonder:
What would General A.P. Hill think about that????
<>Cross-posted at Daily Kos and The Progressive Puppy