| J.R.'s:
Alive and Very Well |
| In August 2000, I wrote a column about how western Fairfax
and eastern Loudoun counties must have looked like 30 or more
years ago and how development has changed all of that. |
| The Observer staff had spent a marvelous day at J.R.'s Festival
Lakes near Leesburg. J.R.'s is on Fort Evans Road, just off
Route 7 near Route 15. It is about 10 miles from Herndon and
a beautiful place to relax. |
| The Observer staff, along with the staff of our printer,
Silver Communications in Sterling, had a combined an end-of-the-summer
picnic between the two companies. It was a great afternoon
of prizes, games, beverages and food. |
| I had never been to J.R.'s before and I was struck with
its beauty, the center of which is a 50- or 60-acre meadow
surrounded by tall trees of oak, pine and cedar. J.R.'s Festival
Lakes has all you would need for a company picnic: fishing
lakes, paddle boats, wagon rides, and a variety of sports
like volleyball, softball and horseshoes. Above all, they
have food. |
| In last August's column I wrote: "As the day wore on
I began talking to one of the employees of J.R.'s. He said
this was the last summer that J.R.'s would be using this site.
It had been sold (he said) to a developer and the entire area
would be" used for new housing. |
| I was wrong. I either misunderstood the employee or he misstated
the facts. The area around J.R.'s is being developed with
huge homes in gated communities, but J.R.'s survives. |
| Obviously, J.R.'s management wasn't too pleased with me,
but I'm here to say that this year J.R.'s Festival Lakes marks
its 20th anniversary. |
| Peggy Jarman, director of marketing for J.R.'s, said in
a letter to me that, "While many Loudoun County farms
have been turned into housing developments, Festival Lakes
has been transformed from a cornfield into a shining jewel
of open space. |
| "Stands of mature hardwoods and three lakes dot the
serene landscape of Festival Lakes. Wildlife abounds in this
natural setting." |
| It was this feeling of "time-standing-still" that
made me write last year's column in the first place. |
| Ms. Jarman goes on to say that a year ago this month, James
M. Wordsworth, owner of J.R.'s Goodtimes, accepted the National
Philanthropic Society's highest honor for his organization's
community service in the Washington, D.C., area. J.R.'s had
the highest percentage of annual giving per revenues of any
organization in the metro area. |
| The Loudoun YMCA has used J.R.'s Festival Lakes to raise
more than $1.5 million over the past 15 years. J.R.'s has
donated thousands of dollars of "in-kind" service
to the the Y. |
| That's quite an accomplishment. |
| "We plan to continue and improve upon that tradition
in the years to come," Mr. Wordsworth said. |
| "We have expanded even further and now operate All
Sports Concessions at the three Loudoun County sports fields." |
| While development continues at a furious pace around J.R.'s,
J.R.'s still offers a peaceful, wooded site for picnics and
events. |
| My original column had nothing but good intentions and good
reviews about J.R.'s. But as often is the case, the road to
you-know-where is paved with good intentions. |
| J.R.'s is alive and well and can be reached at 703-821-0545
or at www.jrsbeef.com. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
