Kathy and ‘Skip’ Rogers Celebrate a Personal Milestone with Family & Friends at the Virginia Beer Museum

This reporter took advantage of an invitation to Able Forces veterans assistance administrative couple “Skip” and Kathy Rogers to attend a landmark personal milestone, the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary. The celebration of lasting love was held Saturday, August 16th, at Front Royal’s Virginia Beer Museum.

The event drew a diverse and overflowing crowd that filled all the Museum’s first-floor rooms, including the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson rooms, where a tasty and expansive selection of food was presented. The party also spilled out onto the front porch and rear Beergarten area.

Mike Hasty begins an event toast, and below CHEERS to the honored couple’s first 50 years together. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini unless noted otherwise.

With some event photos taken, we asked the couple if they would mind sharing their celebratory occasion with Royal Examiner readers. With a positive response, we promised Skip to submit some questions in the following days, so as not to distract the couple from the celebratory event, as it transpired. Below are those questions and replies:

Q – Can you comment on what it was like having so many friends and relatives gathered together to help you celebrate a very special occasion on Aug.16, 2025? And how far did some of them come from??

“Kathy and I were so honored to have so many of our old and newer friends share our 50th Anniversary. We have wonderful memories of every person who attended, and it was truly an unforgettable afternoon. Old friends from Northern Virginia, family from Indiana and Florida surprised and brought Kathy to tears. And so many of our local friends were there,” Skip told us.

A trio of guest and greeting shots, first Malcolm Barr Sr. congratulates Skip; then Kathy with Barbara Principe; and Skip with Tris & Rich Miserendino. Third shot, Courtesy of Shawna Ryan

Q – Do you have a secret to share with us on keeping a relationship alive and growing positively for over half a century? — Does the shared experience of Able Forces have anything to do with it??

“I don’t think there’s just one thing that keeps couples together, and for everyone it’s different. It is a commitment, and when you care for your partner more than you care for yourself, you can survive those most difficult of times. For most of our married life, Kathy and I  have worked together. We published a book together, ‘Who, What, Where in Silicon Valley’. Kathy had a clothing line, ‘Hasty Gatherings,’ that we worked together on. And of course, she has been an intimate member and founder of Able Forces Professional Services and Able Forces Foundation. She is my partner, my best friend, and someone I anxiously look forward to seeing every morning I wake up.”

The honored couple shares a Golden Anniversary kiss.

Q – How old were you both when you began the relationship?

“Kathy and I met in 1973. She was 19, I was 23, and we met in California,” Skip said of the blossoming of what would become a lifelong partnership and marriage, the latter dating to 1975 if our cross-century math is correct.

Q – You mentioned some catering of the broad variety of food available — care to mention who was prominent in providing the nourishment to keep everyone going through a few toasts to the happy couple?

“We must give credit to Krishna and Gopal, owners of Royal Zaika on East Main Street for the incredibly delicious food and wonderful Mango Lassi, gorgeous cake and beautiful flowers; our girls Shawna and Lisa for all their work on decorations and beautiful cakes; thank you also to Chris Laurence for the wonderful Scotch Eggs which were a huge success; and a Huge thanks to David Downes and Patty Baggerly for making The Beer Museum available and providing our wonderful and close friend Katlin Clay, who managed to provide the best service of wine and beer to our friends.”

Granddaughter Annabelle Salomon guards the array of anniversary cakes until some ceremonial first cuts can be administered. Kathy and Skip with friend and event hostess/barkeeper Katlin Clay. First two shots Courtesy of Shawna Ryan

Q – I was curious about the old, early 20th Century wedding photos up against the mirror in the George Washington room — Any family stories behind those, or just a random addition to the scene?

“The old photos on the mantel were photos of our family from pregnant with our 1st daughter, Shawna, to the family minus little Annabelle, who surprised us years after the last photo was taken,” Skip said of the photo on the far right side of the mantel

It seems that wedding-related photos are a family tradition dating back a few decades or centuries.

Q – Remind me of the story behind the CD with the photo of Skip, when I believe he was 15, looking like a young pop star on the climb.

“I began to write a song for Kathy shortly after we began dating in 1973, and finished it on our 25th Anniversary. It was always titled ‘Lady Red’. The cover on the CD was my 1st effort to write the song with backup from my brothers-in-law. For our 50th anniversary, I found a songwriter to take our 50 years of experiences and create ‘My Lady Red’, which was then taken by my daughters, Shawna and Lisa, who found photos, and Shawna created my 50th Anniversary gift to Kathy.

Here’s the link:  https://plus.smilebox.com/play?g=555ec58d-ddfa-46df-94a8-774c99ff56e7&sbid=3466

“Take a listen,” Skip invited us to share the finished product decades in the making. And now you can click and listen to our little episode of “Front Royal’s Got Talent Too” — even if that talent didn’t begin here in “River City”.

Skip’s Golden Anniversary present to Kathy, a CD with updated lyrics to the song “Lady Red” composed by Skip around the time the couple began dating, circa 1973. The emerging classic rock star photo was identified to us as Skip, circa 15 years old.

And with that shared musical adventure and two more family-and-friend event photos below, we’ll call an end to our exploration of not only a celebratory day but of a celebratory lifetime together. — Thanks for sharing the moment with us, Kathy and Skip.

And two final event reunion shots, first from left, Kathy’s youngest sister, Margie Hasty, Kathy, Gretchen Carswell, and Skip, and Kathy’s daughter, Shawna; and below, Shawna and her Aunt Margie. Courtesy Photos Shawna Ryan