For the Love of the Land

Land protection is the bread and butter of our business, but our passion is connecting people with our work. It puts a smile on our face to say a property is protected forever, and the cherry on top is when that protection fulfills the landowner's hopes and dreams. The stories we hear from landowners move us and inspire us to work harder, for the land and the people that live on it. In the town of Manassas, two neighbors learned that love for the land runs thicker than blood.

Katherina Chaloupka lives in a wood cabin adorned with mementos of nature, from dried flowers to abandoned wasp nests hanging from the ceiling. Her late husband, Bedrich, purchased the property in 1958, eleven years before Lake Manassas was created. “My husband already had this cabin built when I married him. He had cattle on this property. During the winter, it was difficult to get the cattle fed because so many roads would get blocked with snow. So, my husband’s solution was to build a home so he could care for his herd all year round.” Since 1966, Katherina has not moved; she has seen the forest grow and change around her. “When I started living here, it was all pine wood, and pine lives about 40 years; then oaks start moving in.” After her husband’s passing, she

resided on this property alone until Charles “Chas” O’Neill, a renter, moved into the apartment only a few steps from her cabin. Little did she know that her neighbor would soon become a friend for life who would help her leave a conservation legacy behind.

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Chas was already familiar with the area before signing his lease. He first encountered Lake Manassas years before he decided to live there. He recalled a time in his youth when he was in the area looking for a spot to fish. “I had heard of a lake that would be good for fishing. I went to the country store and asked around for this mythical lake.  Someone finally helped by giving me directions and advice to get there at 4 am to catch big fish. I got lost twice; I followed a lit-up trail. Best fishing of my life. While living in the area, I came to this lake every weekend until I moved to Colorado.” Chas lived life in Colorado and then came back to Virginia to settle down. After his sons had moved out of the family home, Chas decided to settle down somewhere quiet and familiar. “My realtor showed me this property, and once I recognized it, I told her ‘I  gotta live here.’ I told her I used to fish the lake. I wrote a letter to Janice (Chas’s realtor), and she forwarded it to Ms. Chaloupka; it was about why I wanted to live there.”

Chas’s letter made it evident that he loved and appreciated the land as much as Mrs. Chaloupka. Chas moved into the apartment in 2023, and the rest is history. Over time, Chas and Mrs. Chaloupka became friends, helping each other during snowy winters and getting to doctor appointments. They both know the property like the back of their hand and make a point of getting up at the crack of dawn to watch the wildlife wake up. Chas shared that his children come visit him on the property from time to time. "My son has visited this property before, and last time he was here we went to fish on the lake, and it was the perfect scene. A bald eagle flew by, and an osprey caught a bass jumping out of the water, and a great blue heron was sitting across the shore, watching it all happen just like us.”

Chas is always there for Mrs. Chaloupka, and her most recent request for assistance was the biggest ask yet: protecting the land they lived on for the long term. “Originally, when Mrs. Chaloupka asked for help on the trust, she was looking it over and thinking about Faulkner County ASPCA. She had no next of kin, and when I asked her about her attorney, she said he had passed long ago.”

Chas’s first step was to assess what resources were needed. “I looked up a lawyer and talked to him on the phone. Then I connected him with Mrs. Chaloupka, and they hit it off, and he was into European history, and she’s lived through a portion of it!” Mrs. Chaloupka was born in 1934, making her 7 years old at the time of World War I. “He gave us a list of professionals we needed to get in touch with to get everything taken care of, and he also gave us the names of a few organizations that could help us preserve the property.”

Chas first contacted a larger organization in the area, since they were at the top of the list. “The first organization I called recommended NVCT. They told me they typically don’t handle properties of our size, but that you all would be a perfect fit for this project. He said NVCT was known for working on local projects in the region.” Chas then got in touch with our Conservation Director, Matt Gerhart, and the area's Land Conservation Specialist, Rentz Hilyer. Rentz went out for the initial site visit with Chas. “We walked around; he was all hyped up about this. He laid out what he was going to do and what he needed from me. I probably dealt with six different professionals in total, and coordinating them was not easy. But NVCT was nothing short of amazing.”

However, unexpected challenges arose. Mrs. Chaloupka fell ill and had to spend nine days in the hospital. “It was very touch-and-go; my hope was that she would live to see her wishes fulfilled, and this certainly got me worried that wouldn’t be a reality.” Mrs. Chaloupka pulled through, and today she is up and around like nothing ever happened!

In honoring her wishes for the property, there are no provisions for future buildings. “I was told I could include a few building envelopes, but I refused. We both wanted this property to stay as is for the rest of time.’

We’re happy to share that 45 acres of land on Lake Manassas are protected in perpetuity. We asked how Mrs. Chaloupka reacted after Chas shared the good news. “She’s a woman of few words; she’s lived through it all so nothing really moves her in either extreme of emotion. When I told her the good news she said ‘thank you sir’ and that was all the thanks I needed.” The cherry on top? Mrs. Chaloupka has assigned Chas as the landowner and steward of the property when she passes.

“Throughout this process, she has become like a second mother to me, and I’m so happy this was done exactly as she wanted. It means a lot to me. My goal at the beginning of this journey was to have it done and for her to be able to see it.” For us, thanks are due to Chas and Katherina, for seeing the beauty and worth in their property and deciding to protect it forever.