🌱 How two New Market friends finally finished college together after 30 years

Hey hey New Market! Your one-stop source for local news is here. Continue reading for all the updates. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

• How two New Market friends finally finished college together after 30 years
• How a New Market-linked chest helped drive six-figure auction bids

Today's riddle: What did one tuna say to the other after getting caught stealing files from work? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Thursday: Partly sunny and colder, with a high of 36 and low of 28 degrees.
• Friday: Afternoon snow showers; cold, temps: high: 33, low: 29.
• Saturday: Clouds breaking for some sun, with a high of 42 and low of 22 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Longtime friends complete degrees through Adult Degree Program (jmu.edu) — Two longtime friends from New Market are about to celebrate earning their college degrees together through James Madison University’s Adult Degree Program after more than 30 years of shared family and community life. Rebecca White and Donna Wampler balanced work, homeschooling, church involvement, and JMU jobs while encouraging each other to finish, turning their graduation into a tribute to perseverance, friendship, and family support.
   

• At Jeffrey S. Evans — Benny Long's Collection Goes The Distance (antiquesandthearts.com) — A high-profile Shenandoah Valley auction of the Benny Long collection featured a painted blanket chest linked stylistically to the Stirewalt family of New Market, Va., keeping important folk art in the region. Several Valley-made pieces, from blanket chests to pottery and cupboards, drew six-figure bids and institutional interest, underscoring the national appeal of local craftsmanship.
   

📸 Around New Market

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

📣 New Market Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Thursday December 11

• Trivia Night! — The Burn Barrel
  The Burn Barrel , 1618 Orkney Grde , Basye
  7:00 pm

Friday December 12

• Swim & Dive: G/V
  Westover Swimming Pool
  4:40 pm
• Swim & Dive: B/V
  Westover Swimming Pool
  4:40 pm
• Basketball: B/JV
  Broadway High School
  5:30 pm
• Basketball: G/JV
  Central High School
  6:00 pm
• Basketball: B/V
  Broadway High School
  7:00 pm
• Basketball: G/V
  Central High School
  7:30 pm

Saturday December 13

• Flashlight Candy Cane Hunt 2025
  New Market Community Park , 9670 Cadet Rd , New Market
  5:30 pm
• VOICE Ensemble Winter Concert
  Court Square Theater , 41-F Court Square , Harrisonburg
  7:00 pm

Tuesday December 16

• Winter Choir & Theatre Concert
  J. Frank Hillyard Middle Broadway, VA 22815
  6:30 pm

Wednesday December 17

• "It's A Wonderful Life" film
  Court Square Theater , 41-F Court Square , Harrisonburg
  2:00 pm
• Broadway High School vs. Monticello High School
  Broadway High School , 269 Gobbler Dr , Broadway
  5:30 pm

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• All northbound travel lanes on I-81 at mile marker 269 in Shenandoah County were closed due to a crash, causing a 6-mile delay, but have since reopened.
  7:31AM on Dec 10: All northbound travel lanes on I-81 at mile marker 269.0 in Shenandoah County are closed due to a crash. (Nextdoor )

• Food Lion posted a job opening for FT Specialty Merchandise Associate in New Market. Apply here.
• Tractor Supply posted a job opening for Merchandising Sales Associate in Timberville. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near New Market here.

🗞 Nearby News

Broadway

• Knights showing strength early with younger team (dnronline.com)

Shenandoah

• Shentel ‘exceeds expectations' to expand rural broadband access in Shenandoah Co. (whsv.com)
• Applications open for Shenandoah National Park's Artist-in-Residence program (whsv.com)
• Lambert honored by SNP (pagevalleynews.com)

Ok New Market! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I could get canned for this!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

👉 Help make Patch AM better

• Help us grow by suggesting local news sources.
• Shape this newsletter with your feedback.
• List items for sale or services offered

We use a combination of real people and machines to tell you what’s happening around town. Learn more about Patch AM.

Share to NextDoor     Share to Facebook