A Pivotal Piece of History for a Pivotal Man: Dewey Vaughan Honored by Town for Sixteen Years of Service on Board of Architectural Review

I know a little bit about everything and a lot about nothing!”

Gary Duane “Dewey” Vaughan is a fountainhead of self-castigating wit. Asked how he wanted his name to appear in the paper, he quipped: “I prefer ‘your majesty’. I am also fine with ‘your highness’.” Accompanying his ability not to take himself too seriously, Dewey is a wealth of information about the history of Front Royal and Front Royal in general, information that has made him an asset to the Board of Architectural Review, where, as of November 2025, he had served for sixteen years.

Above: Planning Director Lauren Kopishke presents Gary Duane “Dewey” Vaughan a piece of Front Royal history in recognition of his sixteen years of service on the Board of Architectural Review. Below: A close-up of a pulley from the old Murphy Opera House. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh

“You were here from the beginning,” Chairman Collin Waters said to Dewey at a BAR meeting on January 13 when the members took a moment to recognize and honor this BAR veteran. Waters may have been employing hyperbole, but the sentiment was not lost on anyone in the room. “You provide details that no one else could provide,” Waters continued, emphasizing the Front Royal encyclopedia which is Dewey Vaughan.

Planning Director Lauren Kopishke recalls her time of service on the BAR when Dewey’s knowledge played a key role in influencing her decisions on certificates of appropriateness. Royal Examiner reporter Roger Bianchini can think back to 1986 when he arrived in Front Royal as a co-owner of the Champion’s Pub where he met Dewey and Dewey’s brother James. Dewey and James were performing there as musicians and in fact many in the community have recognized the Vaughan brothers in their capacity as musical artists. To those who know him, Dewey is “the king”, like Elvis Presley, and thus it might not actually be inappropriate to address him as your majesty or your highness, if one remembers that he is exceedingly down to earth.

It was Kopishke who at the meeting presented to Dewey a pulley taken from the old Murphy Opera House, where it likely served to operate the curtain or in some other capacity on the stage. This piece of Front Royal history goes to a man who both deserves it and will appreciate it. He can remember the highs and lows of the past sixteen years, but ultimately, he says he has always tried to be fair. The message is consistent: he will be missed in his role on the BAR. But he is not leaving Front Royal.