VIRGINIA RESTAURANT LINEN, MEDICAL LINEN, AND UNIFORM RENTALS

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Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply provides uniform rental services, restaurant linens, medical linen and apparel, towel service, mat rentals, facility supplies, and first aid cabinets to customers in the following Virginia zip codes: 20101, 20102, 20103, 20104, 20108, 20109, 20110, 20111, 20112, 20120, 20121, 20122, 20124, 20131, 20132, 20134, 20143, 20146, 20147, 20148, 20149, 20151, 20152, 20153, 20158, 20159, 20160, 20163, 20164, 20165, 20166, 20167, 20168, 20169, 20170, 20171, 20172, 20175, 20176, 20177, 20178, 20189, 20190, 20191, 20192, 20194, 20195, 20196, 20598, 22003, 22009, 22015, 22027, 22030, 22031, 22032, 22033, 22034, 22035, 22036, 22037, 22038, 22039, 22040, 22041, 22042, 22043, 22044, 22046, 22060, 22066, 22067, 22079, 22081, 22082, 22095, 22096, 22101, 22102, 22103, 22106, 22107, 22108, 22109, 22116, 22118, 22119, 22121, 22122, 22124, 22125, 22150, 22151, 22152, 22153, 22156, 22158, 22159, 22160, 22161, 22180, 22181, 22182, 22183, 22185, 22191, 22192, 22193, 22194, 22195, 22199, 22201, 22202, 22203, 22204, 22205, 22206, 22207, 22209, 22210, 22211, 22212, 22213, 22214, 22215, 22216, 22217, 22219, 22225, 22226, 22227, 22230, 22240, 22241, 22242, 22243, 22244, 22245, 22246, 22301, 22302, 22303, 22304, 22305, 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310, 22311, 22312, 22313, 22314, 22315, 22320, 22331, 22332, 22333, 22334

Virginia: A Brief Overview

The Commonwealth of Virginia, one of America’s original thirteen colonies, played an important role in our country’s development right from the beginning. It was most likely named after Queen Elizabeth I, the royal who granted Walter Raleigh a charter to form a colony in the new world, though it’s not known for certain. Due to favorable weather and diverse plant and animal life, full-fledged native towns and a relatively well-developed trading system sprang up quickly. By 1570, after seeing an influx of European colonists, more than 30 Algonquian-speaking North American Indian tribes united into the Powhatan Confederacy. The first attempt to create a colony in Virginia occurred at Roanoke Island in 1585, and relations with the natives there were strained. On August 18, 1587, Virginia Dare was the first English child born into the New World. When ships returned with more colonists two years later, they found the site abandoned and the previous settlers, including the child, missing. What ultimately happened to them remains a mystery.Establishing a colony in Jamestown was the second attempt to settle in the new land. Relations between the natives and the colonists were good at first, with Europeans being perceived as offering valuable trade connections but weak and in need of help. The story of Pocahontas is well known. As the daughter of Wahunsenacawh, otherwise known as the powerful Chief Powhatan, she was very important. Her friendship with the English and conversion to Christianity provided the settlers with a source of information and a go-between with her people. Without her help, Jamestown may have failed, just like the first colony.Jamestown was the site of the first silk production in America. As it was thought the colony would evolve into a silk-making powerhouse, due primarily to the climate, silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds were brought to the New World in 1603. Sadly, the results were a failure. It’s interesting to note that although tobacco was used by the natives in Virginia, it was a bit too strong for English preferences. In 1612, John Rolfe acquired seeds for Spanish tobacco, a different, milder breed. When he used these seeds to create the state’s first important cash crop, he saved the colony from financial ruin. Ironically, at the time, smoking tobacco was thought to be a healthy practice with almost magical medicinal properties

The demand for New World goods in Europe, including agricultural products like tobacco, sugar, and eventually cotton, led to Virginia’s economic success. By the time of the American Revolution, Virginia was the most populous and richest of the thirteen colonies, and many of her settlers took leadership roles in the war, including George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson. Virginian James Madison, the future fourth President, drafted the Virginia Plan and The Federalist Papers and – eventually – helped frame the Bill of Rights. In fact, Virginia is referred to as the Mother of Presidents, as eight of her sons held the highest office.In 1792, Virginia gave up land to the Federal government in exchange for it taking on the state’s debt from the Revolution, acreage that became known as Kentucky, the bluegrass state. In Virginia and the surrounding region, slave-based agriculture was simultaneuously a primary source of wealth and an Achilles heel. Problems with basing an economy on a commodity and unpredictable slave revolts combined to create instability at every turn. Around 1863, West Virginia ceded from Virginia to become the 35th state, now nicknamed the Mountain State. After Virginia entered the Civil War, the capital of the confederate states moved to Richmond, and many of the most important battles were fought on Old Dominion soil. In 1865, Virginia’s defeat was a death knell to the Confederacy, and the war was basically over when Virginian General Lee surrendered to Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse.

Virginia sprang back quickly during the reconstruction era, with the locals rolling up their sleeves to modernize the state’s economy, eventually becoming the economic powerhouse it is today. The state has always been home to agriculture and manufacturing, as well as a diverse population, even before a flood of post-Civil War immigrants arrived. Since day one, Virginia has been very successful at changing with the times, economically and socially, a strength that contributes to and improves the American Way of life to this day.

Virginia’s storied history includes the fact that, over time, it’s had three capital cities: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Richmond. Another city, Bristol, is actually comprised of two cities, with one half located in Virginia and the other half in Tennessee. They have different governments but share the same name and main street. The world’s largest – and only – oyster museum can be found on Chincoteague Island, also home to world-famous beaches and the beautiful, wild Chincoteague ponies. Forests cover 62% of the state, and selling timber generates $17 billion in annual revenue, a critical part of the state’s economy. Twenty-eight species of frogs, including green tree frogs, populate the region, also with flying squirrels, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and the state bird, the northern cardinal.