Ivakota Farm, 1915 to 1962 Lynne Garvey Hodge
Lynne Garvey Hodge
Lynne Garvey Hodge served as Immediate Past Chairperson of the Fairfax County History Commission in 2007. She has been a resident of Fairfax County for 20 years and has been a resident of Clifton, Virginia for seven years, where she is extremely active in preserving the historicity of Clifton. She has served as an officer in the Clifton Betterment Association and is where she Chairs the Clifton Oral History Project, which is currently aggressively preserving the history and memories of citizens in the area. She was also the Founding Chairperson of the Clifton History Commission. She is currently writing a book – a pictorial essay on the history of Clifton.
Ms. Garvey Hodge also researched and coordinated a dedication ceremony for Fairfax County’s 24th Historic Marker, Ivakota Farm. The marker was dedicated with a special celebration on May 12, 2007. In attendance were Gerry Connolly, Chairperson, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Elaine McConnell, Springfield District Supervisor, Tim Hugo, Delegate, 40th District, Commonwealth of Virginia, Tom Peterson, Mayor of Clifton, members of the family of Dr. Kate Waller Barrett, representatives from the Kate Waller Barrett chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Alexandria, Virginia, representatives from the Clifton Community Women’s Club, many neighbors within the area, Balmoral Greens Historian, Andy Morse and representatives from the Fairfax County History Commission. The marker indicates the land where Dr. Barrett’s most famous National Florence Crittenton Mission (NFCM) Home once stood, named for the farm land once owned by Ella Shaw who had lived in Iowa, Virginia & North Dakota (hence, Ivakota).
Ms. Garvey Hodge has also co-Chaired for six years in a row the Annual Historic Candlelight Tour of Clifton – held on the first Saturday of December. She also Chaired Clifton’s 100th Anniversary celebration in 2002. Ms. Garvey Hodge has given presentations using music, photo boards & games on the History of Clifton to local groups including the Herndon Historic Society, Union Mill Elementary School and the Northern Virginia Association of History.
Ms. Garvey Hodge has a BFA from the University of Colorado, majoring in art history, an MPA (Masters in Public Administration) with a major in Human Resources also from the University of Colorado and a MTS (Masters in Theological Studies) from Wesley Theological Seminary – where she completed her theses on “Corporate Ethics in the Workplace” in 2003. She researched, gathered and organized the information used in the Commission’s “Speaker’s Bureau” document, which was presented to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in November, 2004. She currently sits on the Publications, Awards & Ethnic committees of the Commission. Lynne Chaired the Second Annual History Conference, entitled, “Preserving and Documenting Our History” in 2006 and spear-headed efforts to launch the First Annual Fairfax County History Conference in 2005, “People, Places and Preservation.” She also Chaired the Third Fairfax County Annual History conference in 2007, “The Fairfax 400 – Four Hundred Years of Fairfax County History” and is the Chairperson for the fourth Annual History Conference which will be held November 15, 2008, “Our 20th Century."