Up and Coming at
George C. Marshall's Dodona Manor
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Dodona Manor Awarded the 2020 Travelers’ Choice Award, Thanks to Visitors Like You.
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Tripadvisor recently awarded Dodona Manor a 2020 Travelers’ Choice Award. This means that we are now in the top 10 percent of attractions worldwide. The award is offered to attractions, buildings, restaurants and businesses that have received rave reviews. We appreciate every single visitor who left his or her feedback on Tripadvisor.
For those who have yet to visit Dodona Manor since our recent reopening, now is a good time to experience the house. We offer tours of Dodona Manor exclusively by appointment on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Per current safety measures, masks are required, social distancing will be practiced, and no walk-ins are allowed.
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Find Your Zen at Our Not So Secret Garden |
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Taking Stock of Summer Produce |
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Since George C. Marshall’s Dodona home was restored and open to the public in November 2005, the gardens have been a feature of tours. Marshall first planted his vegetable garden here in the summer of 1942, and he ordered seeds from a Burpee Catalog. The restoration of the gardens and grounds was a project of the Garden Club of Virginia. The club developed the plans for the landscape work, which began in January 2006. The work was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The garden is referenced several times in Katherine Marshall’s memoir, Together.
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Jackie Ellis, the gardening coordinator, has been working on the property since 2006. Post-restoration, the garden has been built to grow and show the produce the Marshalls had in their garden. This year, corn and horseradish were added. New volunteers have helped with the garden and lawn maintenance. “You can get a lot done when you have a lot of helping hands,” said Ellis. She started taking horticulture classes at NOVA Community College in 1986 and has also worked at Oatlands Historic House and Gardens. For the past 14 years, she has worked with the garden at Dodona Manor. |
Ellis speaks highly of her team and associates, including Leslie Solitario, landscape architect at Rivers Edge Landscapes. Her expertise is exemplified in the restoration of the Marshall House gardens. “She has a good eye,” said Ellis. Among the flora maintained at the garden is Katherine’s rose garden.
A call for lawn and garden volunteers added some new faces to help maintain the garden and assist with weed maintenance. “With this epidemic going on, it is a great way to get out,” said volunteer Larry Messner. No pesticides are used on the vegetable garden, which will continue to produce crops through October.
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Former garden volunteer Benjamin Frank with Jackie Ellis |
Garden produce such as tomatoes and squash are donated to Loudoun Hunger Relief, a local food bank. This practice reflects Marshall’s values of selflessness and caring. Over 210 pounds of produce have been donated this year. Crop rotation and the application of compost also help with crop production. One long-time garden volunteer who is missed is Benjamin Frank, a resident of Falcons Landing Military retirement community in Sterling, who died this year at the age of 90.
Fences keep unwelcome visitors such as deer and raccoons from intruding into the garden. The vegetable garden and grounds remain a place for visitors to enjoy and reflect on George C. Marshall’s appreciation for gardening. “Whenever they were here, he would garden as much as he could,” said Ellis. Marshall would certainly approve how the garden has been restored and put back into use. “He loved to garden, and we hope it will inspire people,” said Ellis. “When you’re in the garden, it is kind of a Zen moment.”
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Cleaning an Array of Cutlery |
On Aug. 11, Director of Museum Operations Cody Youngblood and six volunteers cleaned and shined the silverware of Dodona Manor. The volunteers included docents Jack and Amber King and Bob Holcomb. “People always find the kitchen to be interesting,” observed Bob. The volunteers cleaned forks, knives, spoons and candelabras. “They are going to look like they just came from the store,” said Jack. |
With the protection of facial masks, the participants got to the hard work and restored luster to the set. The silverware is not the original silverware the Marshall family used, but is from a similar time period. The entire cleaning process took about three hours and the 76 pieces of silver and 33 pieces of brass were cleaned well enough to meet military standards.
"Yearly silver polishing is just best practice. Polishing keeps the silver looking nice and as it would have been when the Marshalls were living here. It's our goal, after all, to have the house look as if the Marshalls had just left," said Youngblood.
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Celebrate Veterans Day at the Marshall Center |
Every Veterans Day, the United States honors and celebrates those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The George C. Marshall International Center, the town of Leesburg, and Loudoun County mark the day with an annual celebration at Dodona Manor.
On Wednesday, Nov. 11, Dodona Manor will welcome Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, USN (Ret.) to speak at our annual Veterans Day commemoration. Admiral Lynch served as the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy from 1991 to 1994 and director of the Navy Staff at the Pentagon from 1994 to 1995. He served thirty-one years in the U.S. Navy and commanded the Eisenhower Battle Group during Operation Desert Shield. We are excited to have Lynch as our keynote speaker this year to highlight and reflect on the risks, sacrifices, and accomplishments of those who served our nation in uniform.
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Our celebration will begin at 10:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public. We will practice social distancing. We hope to see you there. |
In Case You Missed It: Videos Exploring Marshall's Youth
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Did you know that we unveiled a new video series last month about Marshall’s youth? The three-part series, narrated by Marshall historian Rachel Yarnell Thompson, is a detailed look into the formative years of the future general’s childhood and adolescence in his birthplace of Uniontown, PA, to the start of his brilliant career at the Virginia Military Institute. All three episodes are available to all for free on our YouTube channel.
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Edward M. Gabriel and Jean AbiNader to Talk Foreign Policy with GCMIC |
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Edward M. Gabriel, former U.S. ambassador to Morocco from 1997 to 2001 |
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Jean AbiNader (left), founder of AbiNader Advisory Services |
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On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the George C. Marshall International Center will host our recurring Foreign Policy Brown Bag Lunch discussion. For this month’s discussion, we will be joined by Edward M. Gabriel, former U.S. ambassador to Morocco, and Jean AbiNader, Executive Director of the National Association of Arab Americans.
Gabriel has an extensive background in international affairs, national security, trade and energy issues. He is also the president of the American Task Force on Lebanon. AbiNader is notable for being the first registered Arab American lobbyist for affairs between the United States and the Middle East.
General Marshall’s contributions to foreign policy cannot be understated. As the mastermind of the Marshall Plan, the general subsequently provided aid to Europe after World War II. To follow in Marshall’s footsteps, the Marshall Center invites the public to participate in discussions concerning the current happenings in international relations. We bring in scholars and policy experts from around the world to weigh in and offer insight.
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Reflections From Our Summer 2020 Interns |
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Where Today Meets Yesterday |
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Several students worked at the George C. Marshall International Center this summer. They gained additional skills and experience in the museum field with Museum Director Cody Youngblood and other staff. As they leave to continue their studies, they shared their favorite locations at Dodona Manor, their future plans and what they gained while working here. |
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"Working at Dodona Manor, especially during this pandemic, has taught me that even during a quarantine, museums still require care and attention. With a historic house museum, someone still has to come in to make sure the collection and home are safe from the elements. My career plan is to continue volunteering as a historian at the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center. My goal is to gain enough experience so that after I graduate from college in 2021, I can obtain a full-time job as an interpretive park ranger at a national park. My favorite room in Dodona Manor is Katherine Marshall's bedroom because it invokes the sense of elegance and femininity that Katherine possessed during her career as an army wife." |
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"I learned almost all of my practical museum skills at Dodona Manor. Working at the house for the past year and a half has allowed me access to many projects I would not see at other house museums. I greatly appreciate all the curatorial and collections management skills I have learned at Dodona Manor. I am currently finishing up my bachelor of arts in historic preservation with a minor in museum studies from the University of Mary Washington. I hope that after I graduate this upcoming spring that I will be able to go on and earn my master's of fine arts in the history of decorative arts and design at George Washington University. My favorite room in the house has to be the library." |
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"While working at Dodona Manor, I learned a lot about working with a database for a museum. I also gained hands-on experience in properly handling and labeling objects. My future education plan is to graduate from Christopher Newport University in the spring, then continue to get my master's in museum studies. My favorite room in the house is the library because it houses an incredible collection of old books."
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"I think my biggest take away from working at Dodona Manor is understanding the behind the scenes collections work that goes into maintaining a historic site, both the objects side of it and the site itself. I learned how to catalog books and objects and I understand the system needed to record objects in a historic house museum. I am getting ready for my senior year of high school and applying to colleges for next year. My favorite room in the house is General Marshall’s library because I had the chance to catalog the books and I felt that his collection gave a glimpse into the man behind the house." |
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Marshall Center Bids Adieu to Cody Youngblood |
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Beginning a New Life Chapter |
Museum Director Cody Youngblood is returning to the University of Mary Washington in September to complete his bachelor’s degree in historic preservation. Since May of 2015, Youngblood has worked as a docent at the George C. Marshall International Center to supervise historic preservation projects, design interpretive exhibitions, organize and execute special events, and work with the local community to interpret General George C. Marshall's legacy. Work experience at Dodona gave him practical experience related to material he learned at college. “I gained a lot more respect for historic buildings and how fragile they are,” said Youngblood. |
An engaging smile and an appreciation for quirky, colorful socks are two features of this museum enthusiast. Youngblood views the reinterpretation of the house as a continuing longterm project, getting the house to feel that the Marshall couple has just left the building. This year’s pandemic did affect plans, and community outreach events including "Coffee with a Curator" were canceled. “It’s been tough for sure, but in the spirit of Marshall, we make the most of what is available,” said Youngblood. |
Youngblood delivered several online lectures, including one with Morven Park on Aug. 13. Remote lectures are different from person-to-person interaction, however. “It is difficult to educate without seeing people,” he said. From his years working at historic houses, Youngblood would like to see emphasis to preserve cultural sites into the 21st century. “This area is so rich in history. Unfortunately, we lost some of those physical reminders,” said Youngblood. He hopes that the historic house may one day regain several artifacts, including several Audubon prints and the painting "Evening," by Russian artist Vassily Baksheyev. The original was a gift to Marshall from Vyacheslav Molotov, foreign minister of the Soviet Union, in 1947 in appreciation for Marshall's efforts in World War II.
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Youngblood worked on "George C. Marshall and the American Red Cross," as well as a temporary exhibit, "The Marshalls in Leesburg," on display at the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg for six months, with objects selected from the collection of the George C. Marshall International Center. Youngblood expects to graduate in December, and has an interest in studying historic preservation in England. While Youngblood is leaving to begin a new life chapter, he intends to return to Leesburg to assist in a December project, a Marshall Tree Walk, and to help decorate the house for Christmas holidays.
Good luck, Cody, from all of us at the Marshall Center!
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What was Marshall up to in September? |
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Let's look at some interesting events that occurred around this time of year during Marshall’s impressive life. As history shows, September was a significant month for the general.
For starters, no account of Marshall’s life is complete without his beginnings. This month marks the 123rd anniversary of the start of his cadet status at Virginia Military Institute. Although he had to face freshman hazing, the future general would rise to the rank of first captain. At VMI, Marshall sharpened traits like wisdom, perseverance, honesty and stoicism that were especially important at this stage in his life.
Sept. 1, 1939 was another important date for Marshall’s career. On that date, he was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the Army Chief of Staff. Congress upgraded him to a four-star general on the same day the Nazis invaded Poland -- marking the start of World War II in Europe. Only 11 years later on Sept. 12, 1950, Marshall would become the Secretary of Defense.
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George C. Marshall International Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. |
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