Warren, Shenandoah and Frederick offices get a holiday ‘two-fer’

With Friday (the 13^th) and Monday closings marking one state and one federal holiday, respectively, government offices in the Counties of Warren, Shenandoah and Frederick are looking at a four-day weekend approaching.  Schools, meanwhile, will close only on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day; while County offices also mark Lee-Jackson Day on Friday.

Martin Luther King Jr. and President Lyndon B. Johnson ponder the dynamics of Civil Rights in the 1960s – Public Domain Photo

We note that in its informative newsletter the Skyliner, the Rotary Club of Front Royal provides information on the infamous Friday the 13^th.  We can only guess where all the “facts” come from, but thought some of them worth repeating.  Who knows, for example, why the date is feared, and perhaps fortunately can occur no more than three times in any given year?

The Skyliner suggests the origins of “Friday the 13th’s” reputation are unclear.  Some say it arose in the 19^th century when the Italian composer Gioachini Rossini died on a Friday the 13^th.  Others believe the fear of Friday the 13^th goes back to Biblical times because Christ was crucified on a Friday, and that 13 attended the Last Supper the night before the crucifixion.

The author, shown here hosting the Front Royal Memorial Day event he propelled forward five years ago, just keeps getting the accolades regardless of the date – ALL well deserved his colleague (and photographer) is certain – congrats to Nicki too this Friday the 13th, even if we couldn’t find a file photo of you! Photo/Roger Bianchini

Regardless of the date of Rossini’s death, Italians buck the international trend, choosing Friday the 17^th as their national day of bad luck.

However, for this writer and Samuels Library Director Nicki Lynch as Front Royal Rotarians this Friday the 13th will be a lucky day.  It’s a day we will be recognized as “Paul Harris fellows” for our services to Rotary and the community.  We will tell you about the great American Paul Harris in a future article, on an appropriate date.