When Jack Goehring, III, began trimming trees, he was in high school in Connecticut. He was so good at it that his family and friends began calling him "Jack the Ripper." Flash forward to today, and Jack is still trimming trees, much preferring to work in the natural environment than as a lawyer, for which he trained at the University of Virginia and George Washington University.

"The name just stuck," he explained when discussing why he recently decided to focus part of his McLean headquartered arborist business called "Jack the Ripper" Tree Experts, Inc., on the Middleburg area. "That name has been very good for marketing," he said smiling.

The full-service company provides a wide range of arborist services and welcomes opportunities to review and bid on projects of all sizes.

Goehring came to Middleburg in 1965, and returned to the area in 1969 after he completed his service in Vietnam with the U.S. Army. He trained at Ft. Bragg graduating from the JFK Center for Special Warfare and was assigned to a twenty-man, fully armed propaganda team that was in the field every day in the Mekong Delta.

"It was very good to get back to this beautiful area."

"I love Middleburg," he says. "The beauty and history here are extraordinary, and I am a very enthusiastic Civil War buff from the Yankee perspective. I can't help wondering how individuals interacted with their neighbors in a border area if their sympathies lay with opposing sides of the conflict. It must have been awful."

"Jack the Ripper Tree Experts" is a small company allowing Jack to be in close and consistent touch with his customers whether the job is simply removing a dead tree or stump or the revitalization of a multi-acre property. The company prides itself on long customer relationships that allow them to maintain the trees under their care.

For many customers, Jack watches their property carefully, year in and year out. "In this way, I can let them know when things need to be done. It saves a lot of time and money to practice this kind of preventative maintenance."

Commenting on Middleburg's trees, in addition to his conviction that they are a major factor in the beauty of the village, Jack said he agreed with the recent removal of the elm tree in front of the Methodist church.

"It is always sad to lose a beautiful tree, but everything has a life cycle, and it was terribly dangerous to leave it standing."

Asked what he would most like to do in Middleburg, he immediately said he would be thrilled to work with the Beautification Committee. He would also like to help the Committee improve the west entrance to Middleburg by clearing the median strip of brush and planting shrubs and wild flowers.

"That entrance to Middleburg should be as beautiful as the village," he emphasized. "I'd love to help with that."

Jack has been married to Mary Kirk Goehring, whom he describes as a brilliant and beautiful Mississippi Delta girl, for thirty five years. Their three boys, Jody, Kirk and Lee, have all worked in the business.

"Jody and Kirk are out of college now, and Lee will go to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Carolina Scholar this fall. All three of them working outdoors in a highly responsible and accountable job has been good for them. Whether they love it as much as I do remains to be seen," he says chuckling.

To contact "Jack the Ripper Tree Experts" call (703) 734-6180 office, or cell (703) 727-8941. Goehring will be operating from the family property on the Middleburg battlefield at the intersection of Rt. 50 and Zulla Road.