Written By: Kirsten Milloy
Meet our neighbor, Windy Hill resident, Kevin Hill! Kevin Hill was born on Windy Hill Road and has been a part of the Windy Hill community ever since. Kevin was just 12 years old when he first met Rene Llewellyn and started to see the transformation of Windy Hill Road. Follow along as Kevin looks back on Rene Llewellyn’s impact, his experience watching the evolution of Windy Hill Road, and his family’s everlasting legacy in the town of Middleburg.
Kevin Hill and his family have been members of the Middleburg community for generations. Kevin’s parents, Shirley Hill and James Washington, are pictured on Windy Hill Road as teenagers in 1958. Until 2000, Shirley and James lived on W Washington St and raised their 3 children, Kevin, Eric, and Sharon (Tammy). Kevin looks back on their family home and says, “we didn’t have indoor plumbing in that house, and we had to go down the hill to the little spigot that you pull water from, but it was a nice house.” Many members of the Hill Family and Washington Family lived on Windy Hill Road, “A lot of my cousins lived around here at the time, in fact some of the Washington family is still around.” Many of his relatives are still members of the Windy Hill community.
Even from the beginning, Windy Hill residents have had a strong sense of community between one another, “we were all very close, us kids used to run over to our neighbors to borrow sugar and stuff like that.” As Kevin reflects on the early years of his adolescence, he recalls spending hours a day riding bikes with his neighbors and playing outside. One of Kevin’s many relatives, Edna Washington, was also a member of the Windy Hill community. “Back then, the road was pretty bumpy and unsafe. Us kids didn’t mind, we would take our bikes and ride through really quick over the bumps. But my aunt Edna always had a medical bag so she would just call us in and fix us up if we got hurt.”
In 1981, fifteen families shared six outhouses and two cold-water spigots on Windy Hill Road. There was no running water, no indoor plumbing, and some of the houses still had dirt floors. Windy Hill Foundation’s history began when Irene Llewellyn, or “Rene” walked down Windy Hill Road and became determined to improve the families’ living conditions. Edna Washington, or “Aunt Edna” played a significant role in the revitalization of Windy Hill Road. Rene shared her vision with Edna and entrusted her to ensure that the residents were on board with the plan to renovate their home.
Kevin, who was 12 years old at the time, holds fond memories of Rene Llewellyn, “When I first started seeing change was when I met Ms. Llewellyn. When she started coming around Windy Hill Road, she used to walk around and talk to us kids. She would ask us how our grades were, and we all looked forward to her coming by to visit. She didn’t talk to us like we were kids.” For more information on Rene Llewellyn’s impact, click here.
Rene Llewellyn’s vision and determination led to the creation of Windy Hill Foundation. Over the next 10 years, the Foundation installed water and sewer lines and renovated the homes one by one. Kevin distinctly remembers watching the evolution of Windy Hill Road, “I watched the whole process going on and it was fascinating to watch the builders come in and fix everything up” Kevin and his family lived up the hill on W Washington St (which is now Levis Hill House) until 2000. “My family and I didn’t have indoor plumbing yet, but I remember the excitement when my neighbors finally did. It was just amazing to see, I was so happy for my friends and family who got to have indoor plumbing and a nice home.”
Once all the homes on Windy Hill Road were renovated, the Foundation’s efforts did not stop there. “Back in 1990, they smoothed out the road and made it safer for us kids” Kevin recalls, “and then there was Llewellyn Village Apartments of course.” In 1997, Windy Hill built an affordable housing apartment complex at the end of Windy Hill Road, named after the Foundation’s visionary Irene Llewellyn. “It was a big deal for our community when they were building it [Llewellyn Village Apartments]”.
In 2000, Kevin and his family moved into the newly built apartment building. “When we moved to Llewellyn, my mother had cancer, and she wanted us to have a nice place to live before she passed away.” Kevin’s older brother, Eric, sadly passed away in 2003. Eric worked at the Safeway in town for over 25 years. “He started as a cashier and worked his way up in the store, he was always working hard.” To this day, Kevin walks down Main Street and sees people he has known his whole life. “Everybody knows everybody (In Middleburg) especially when you go to the Safeway.” Kevin’s sister, Sharon, lived in a cottage on Windy Hill Road until she passed away last year. Sharon was a chef for years at Foxcroft School.
Taking after his siblings, Kevin remains an active member of the Windy Hill and Middleburg communities. Kevin does custodial work for various local businesses, including Loudoun Construction, Scruffy’s Ice Cream Parlor, and many others. “I actually started cleaning local businesses with my sister as a summer job back in the day to make some extra money, and it was a job I enjoyed doing so it stuck with me.” In addition to knowing Rene Llewellyn in his youth, Kevin has many connections with his Middleburg neighbors. “I worked for Kim Hart up until March of this year, and I’ve known him for 25 years. I’ve met Mr. Levis, Ms. Llewellyn, Judy Washburn, lots of great people in town.”
The Hill family is a wonderful example of the impact our Windy Hill neighbors have made on our Middleburg community for generations. When you support Windy Hill Foundation, you are supporting the wellbeing of our neighbors, coworkers, and families. To learn more about the history of Windy Hill Foundation and the revolution that began with Rene Llewellyn, click here.
