November 2010
The Greater Raleigh Court Civic League
www.grccl.org
R a l e i g h C o u rt — A H i s t o r I C A L N E I G H B O R H O O D L O O K I N G F O R WA R D
Ralph Berrier, Jr., Local Author Writes a Masterpiece of Regional Literature By Ellen A. Brown Mention the phrase If Trouble Don’t Kill Me to an old time musician, and he’ll probably be able to fill in the rest of the line, I’ll Live a Long Time, and maybe even sing a few bars of the melody. For the rest of us, who are more familiar with lyrics of songs by the Beatles or Bob Dylan, this book serves as an introduction to a fascinating slice of regional history and culture. Ralph Berrier, a long-time features writer with the Roanoke Times and a fairly new resident of our neighborhood, picked this old song as the title for his new book as a perfect way to advertise the content – “A Family’s Story of Brotherhood, War, and Bluegrass.” People who are already fans of this sort of music can really appreciate the ‘back-story’ information presented here in such a fresh and charming manner. To the uninitiated, the book serves up a delightful mix of humor, pathos, and colorful stories about people living in an almost forgotten world - of “making moonshine, working blue-collar jobs, picking fights in bars, chasing women, and living hardscrabble lives.” Berrier, along with his wife (Ruth Babylon) and daughter (Lucy), moved to Roanoke in January, 2010, after having lived in Radford almost 25 years. He started his career in journalism with the Radford News Journal in 1989, moved to the Roanoke Times in 1993, and became a features writer in 1997. Because of his deep appreciation for regional music (he wrote an excellent series of articles on the Crooked Road, Virginia’s Musical Heritage Trail), and his desire to make sense of his own family roots (as
Inside This Issue
President’s Message..................................................... 3 In-Laws from “Down Under”..................................... 4 Center Opens for TAP - Head Start............................ 5 Catalog Homes, by Erica Taylor.................................. 6 Norwich Cemetery, by Nelson Harris.......................... 6 Big Dog Guards Fire Station #7................................. 7 Civic League Hits a Homerun.................................... 7 Things You Need to Know........................................ 10 Calendar................................................................. 10
the grandson of Clayton Hall, and great-nephew of Saford Hall, who were the famous “hill-billy” musicians of this story), he has been working on this book since college days. Now that the book is published, he says it will be another 25 years or so before he writes the next one, but I hope he won’t wait that long. It is supremely difficult to write about one’s own family, especially when there are many unflattering stories to —continued on page 3
November Meeting Communication in the Neighborhood It seems like communication and media are changing faster that we can say “change.” New media, social media, e-mail, texts, blogs, the decline of traditional media; it all has an affect on how neighbors communicate with one another. In many ways, the increase in communication tools is bringing neighbors and organizations closer together. Join us at 7 pm on Thursday, November 11 for a conversation with social media and new media guru Jeremy Holmes, who has consistently and successfully found ways to integrate the changing landscape into both his non-profit work and personal life toward a goal of Building Community. Location: Fellowship Hall of Christ Lutheran Church, located at the corner of Grandin Road and Brandon Avenue.
Greater Raleigh Court Civic League Officers 2010-2011 OFFICERS President: Chad Braby 798-2576 chadbraby12@gmail.com Vice-President: Vacant Treasurer: Ruth Dickerson 345-2187 ruthD@colecpas.com
Martha Graves mgraves@wdbj7.com Immediate Past President: Susan Koch 345-9977 s.koch@verizon.net COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Membership: Greg Brock
Special Projects: Tony Stavola 345-0010 astavola@carilion.com Greenways: Mike Urbanski 344-1388 mike_urbanski@cox.net Building Management: Bobby Hartman 204-1440 Rjhartman74@yahoo.com
Recording Secretary: Keith Dabbs 342-2446 kdabbs@carilion.com
Adopt-a-Highway: Kurt Navratil 343-7373 kdnavrat@cox.net
Corresponding Secretary: Cassandra Van Hyning 798-1996 cvanhyning@spectrumpc.com
Brook Dickson bdickson@hollins.edu
Web & Social Media: Jake Gilmer
Neighborhood Affairs Committee: Vacant
The Court Reporter is published by the Greater Raleigh Court Civic League fives times a year on or about the first week of September, November, January, March, and May.
Directors at Large: Greg Brock GBrock@wdbj7.com Melissa Morgan 312-3587 Melissa@RealEstateReborn.com Jake Gilmer jgilmer@rcarc.org Matt Pritts pritts@woodsrogers.com
Grandin Road Merchants Liaison: Kurt Navratil
Program: Melissa Morgan Mary Dykstra Dawn Werness 343-2151 dawn2151@cox.net Newsletter: Ellen Brown mynewestchapter@verizon.net
Green Up Lawns & Landscapes
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From the President
President’s Message I’ve been thinking about gratitude. It doesn’t come easy to me, this emotion. I can be a bit of a curmudgeon; show me a silver lining and I’ll be happy to point out the smudges. But as we slide into fall, I’ve discovered a piling up of things for which to be grateful. Thanksgiving is around the corner. A day set aside for gratitude. Apparently, I’m not the first to experience an autumn onset of appreciation. Maybe it’s hard-wired in our DNA. The more mystical among us might even say it’s something deeper. Thanksgiving is the celebration of the harvest and the bounty. I’m grateful for the local bounty. The Grandin Village Community Market has overflowed with fall foods from local producers every Saturday, and the West End Community Market will continue operating every Wednesday afternoon through November and December. A new coffee shop, CUPS, has opened in the Village, filling a much-needed void. The restaurants and bars seem to be doing a steady business and there’s rumor of a new addition in the coming months. I’m grateful for football. It sounds trivial, but I love football. Saturdays find the TV on most of the day, with a college ballgame on. I’ll stop and watch in between chores and activities. If the Ohio State Buckeyes are playing, I’ll make a deep dent in the couch and scare the kids and neighbors with some hollerin’. This fall I discovered Patrick Henry football, as I took my daughter to her first game. What a treat to be able to walk down to the local stadium on a crisp fall night and catch a game. My daughter loved the spectacle, if not the nuance of the game itself. “Tackle him? Kind of mean, isn’t it?” Maybe the game will grow on her. You’ll recall PH’s local stadium didn’t come easy. I’m grateful for the City of Roanoke and Roanoke City Public Schools. Both entities are staffed and led by committed, hard-working, smart people. It’s easy to find things to complain about, and the coming difficult budget season won’t help. But when you step back and look at the forest, there are a lot of great things happening. Just this morning I received an e-mail announcing the unveiling of the greenway bridge at Vic Thomas Park behind Black Dog Salvage. The result of a partnership between the City and a multitude of other for-profit and non-profit organizations, the bridge serves as an important link between long sections of the fantastic Roanoke River Greenway. A different partnership, documented here in this month’s Reporter, found a way to utilize the empty Raleigh Court Elementary building in a way that will serve to improve schools around the City for years. Finally, I’m grateful for the Greater Raleigh Court Civic League and the opportunity to participate in its efforts toward Building Community. I get to work with the wonderful and committed people on GRCCL’s Board and Committees who do a lot of the heavy lifting. I get to meet residents and hear about things
we can do to build on the neighborhood’s reputation as the best place to live in Roanoke. We have lots of ideas, and lots of positive momentum. We could always use a few more volunteers, so if you want to make a difference, raise your hand. I’ll see you around the neighborhood. If I happen to be surly or grouching about this or that, please remind me to be grateful. Berrier—continued from page 1
relate, but this author has pulled it off! Just to give a taste of his style, this is how he described a scene when the young Hall twins (Saford and Clayton) were approached by a couple of bullies who made ugly remarks about their father… Now, what the twins knew about having a daddy could have fit into a shot glass. No man ever pitched a ball to them, took them fishing, or brought them pieces of hard candy. Plenty of women were available to whip them for various offences – which included, but were not limited to, sassing, cussing, spitting, smoking, fighting, and dipping Granny Hall’s snuff – and their older brothers struck the fear of God into their hearts with basic orneriness and meanness, but otherwise the twins never had much to do with grown men. For those interested in learning more about our fair city, back in the day, you’ll enjoy reading this issue of the Court Reporter - about Norwich Cemetery (by Nelson Harris) and catalog houses (by Erica Taylor). If Trouble Don’t Kill Me also makes a substantial contribution, with its description of concerts by the Blue Ridge Entertainers at the Academy of Music Theater, radio broadcasts from WDBJ (sponsored by Dr. Pepper), and of the everyday lives of local people caught up in the dramatic events of the 1940s. And, for all of us who feel indebted to the generation of men and women who fought overseas during WWII, Berrier offers a sensitive and moving tribute to the amazing wartime experiences of these two veterans, his grandfather and his great uncle. If you’d like to read more, look for a review by Eddie Dean, in the Wall Street Journal (August 6, 2010), or search the archives at the Roanoke Times to read what Berrier put together about the Crooked Road (Journey Starts in the Heart – October 2010). Best of all… purchase your own copy, and maybe one more as a gift for a friend. You’ll be glad you did!
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From “Down Under” to Raleigh Court! By Keith Dabbs
Recently we enjoyed having my wife’s sister and her family (Nadine, Brad, Cherry, Sally and Jo Rundle) visit us from Australia. This was their first ever trip to the US, and I was curious to learn their thoughts about our fair city and neighborhood. Their first impressions, after observing the city from the air, were of greenery and of two-story dwellings- not found in the small town of Katanning, Western Australia. My mates from the “bush” were quite taken by the size of the houses in Raleigh Court and most notably, the lack of fences surrounding and dividing property lines! In Australia, most houses have fences surrounding one’s property. My brother-in-law “reckons” we must “get on well with our neighbors.” We took full advantage of one of the greatest features of living in Raleigh Court - the opportunity to walk to a “grid iron match”, or football game, at Patrick Henry High School. PH had several home games during their stay. Our visitors were happy to see our sport with its highly organized form (with cheerleaders, marching band, and halftime entertainment.) High schools in Australia do not have organized sports leagues such as we have in the US. Though sports are very important to all Aussies, they are mostly played in clubs or through a localities’ sports program. Children and adults alike in Australia enjoy having a venue for all of their major sports where they can participate. No matter the size of the city or town, you can always find a place to play your favorite sport. Speaking of sports, we did manage to watch the Grand Final of Australian Rules football via satellite. This would liken to our Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Collingwood “thrashed” St. Kilda in the match. You really need to watch this game to believe it. Imagine our football with no pads! We took in a VA Tech ice hockey and an NBA exhibition game at the Civic Center – all of which are great fun to attend whether the “rellies” are in or not! After the obligatory trip to Disney with the “fam,” we spent long hours roaming around downtown Roanoke and strolling along the streets of Raleigh Court and Grandin Village. The Mill Mountain Star, as expected, was a hit. Everyone was “well chuft” with the trip here and very appreciative of the hospitality extended to them wherever they went. Keith Dabbs is recording secretary for the GRCCL
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Child Development Center Comes to Raleigh Court By Amy Hatheway On the afternoon of September 24 , the former Raleigh Court Elementary School was filled once again with children and parents, teachers and community members. The occasion was the grand opening of Total Action Against Poverty (TAP) Head Start’s new Raleigh Court Child Development Center and Early Childhood Resource Center, which now occupies two buildings of the former elementary school. Over 130 people were on hand to celebrate the new center. Remarks were given by Superintendent Rita Bishop, City Council member Court Rosen, and GRCCL’s own Chad Braby, among others. Community members, including many from the neighborhood, also had the opportunity to tour the renovated center. th
Since 1965, TAP Head Start, a kindergarten-readiness and family-self-sufficiency program, has provided free high-quality child care and education for income-eligible young children and comprehensive health and family services to enrolled children and their families. In 2009, TAP’s Head Start program was funded to serve 881 young children and pregnant women from low-income families in eleven localities. Even so, in that year, we were serving fewer than 5% of income-eligible infants and toddlers across our service area. The communities we serve, including those in the Roanoke area, had, for years, been clamoring for increased affordable child care, particularly for infants and toddlers. When the opportunity came to apply for funding to do just that, TAP was ready. Once the Recovery Act, which contained provisions for the expansion of Early Head Start services, was signed into law in February 2009, TAP started working on a proposal to the Department of Health and Human Services for these nationally competitive funds. An application was submitted that summer and in November 2009, TAP Head Start was awarded a two-year $3.1 million grant to expand its Early Head Start services for infants, toddlers, pregnant women, and their families.
to a public bus stop and its location in the southwest area of the city makes it well-suited to serve income-eligible families in Raleigh Court and surrounding areas, including adjacent areas of Roanoke County. Its location next to Patrick Henry will also make it convenient for parenting teens to use the center. The new services we provide at Raleigh Court allow more parents to go to work, more pregnant women to get the information and care they need, and more children to receive the education and nurturing they need to develop and grow to their fullest potential – and to be ready for kindergarten and beyond. This program expansion has also created jobs in the area, many of which come with support for further education of new staff. In addition, as part of an innovative partnership with Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) and Smart Beginnings of Greater Roanoke, Raleigh Court Child Development Center also houses an Early Childhood Resource Center which includes a library/resource room, a VWCC classroom for students in its Early Childhood Development program, a large staff training space, and a model infant/ toddler classroom. It also will provide opportunities for VWCC students to observe and learn from Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms. Thanks to the expansion, TAP Head Start now has funds to serve 997 children and pregnant women each year, 767 of whom are in the Roanoke area. Raleigh Court Child Development Center now serves 53 of those children in four classrooms. If you are interested in learning more about the center, about TAP Head Start, or about volunteering or enrolling a child, please see our website at www.tapintohope.org or call the center at 777-0914 or TAP’s main offices at 345-6781. Amy Hatheway is a Research and Grants Developer for TAP Head Start
In the Roanoke area, the grant enabled TAP to set up five new infant/toddler classrooms, establish home-based services for infants and toddlers, and provide support services for ten additional pregnant women, all of which began over the last few months. Once the grant was awarded, TAP worked for six months to secure locations to serve the additional 116 children and pregnant women. The agency was thrilled when, with the generous support of the City of Roanoke, Roanoke City Council, the Roanoke City School Board, Roanoke City Public Schools, and GRCCL, we were given permission to renovate two of the buildings that once made up the school and turned them into a first-class child development center. While repairs to the building, paid for through the grant, were extensive, the site’s previous use as a school minimized structural renovations. Its proximity page 5
You Might Be Living in a Sears Catalog Home! By Erica Taylor (Part One) From the turn of the century until the early 1980s, the growing American public had access to a housing choice that was uniquely its own – the catalog home. What was a catalog home, you ask? It is just as it sounds, a house ordered via a mail-order catalog and delivered as a ready-to-assemble kit. While there is no official tally of the number of catalog homes that still survive today, there are a great many throughout the United States. Being a railroad town, Roanoke is a perfect example of a logical place for catalog homes to have been built, as rail was required for the successful delivery of the catalog home pieces. Roanoke has many neighborhoods that were constructed during the heyday of catalog homes (Wasena, Raleigh Court, Morningside, Melrose-Rugby, etc.) in which many homes resemble catalog homes in exterior design and interior layout. The turn of the 20th century brought about new transportation technologies such as the automobile and streetcar trolleys that allowed families to live in the newly platted suburbs (many of which were constructed solely of catalog homes) and still work in the downtown. During World War I traditional house construction declined due to the lack of skilled labor and lumber available for non-wartime production, while catalog houses came with everything necessary and could be constructed with little-to-no skilled labor. Additionally there was large-scale demand for modestly-priced, well built homes for returning soldiers and new immigrants (Sears, Roebuck and Company actually advertised that they could translate any order in any language.) To make their homes more affordable and enticing to working families and the middle class, many catalog companies offered home financing in a time when mortgage loans were hard to obtain. By the close of World War I in 1918, the catalog house had become the most prevalent residential structure available. For 26 years, the catalog home was the affordable and easy “go-to” house for the American public, but as the Great Depression loomed, so did the end of the catalog house’s popularity, and by the 1960s the catalog home no longer provided the savings that they —continued on page 8
Norwich Cemetery: Raleigh Court’s Oldest Community Burial Ground By Nelson Harris While many in Greater Raleigh Court may think that the first, and perhaps only, community cemetery in our area is Evergreen (it opened in 1916), there is one that pre-dates Evergreen by a few decades. It is Norwich Cemetery. The Norwich Cemetery, sadly, is abandoned and is on a site now overgrown with thick brush and trees. It is located on the north side of Roanoke Avenue, on a knoll, above the intersection with Irvin Street and the storage facility located there. Norwich Cemetery dates to the 1870s when the first residents of Norwich began to settle in the section. Years ago, many older residents asserted that Norwich Cemetery may contain as many as three hundred graves. Today, there are at least a few tombstones still present with one dating to a burial in 1936. Death certificates obtained by some of the families in Norwich from doing
genealogical research on ancestors have listed as “place of burial” Norwich. Thus, there is much documentary evidence for Norwich Cemetery aside from anecdotal references and memories. Given the above, one may wonder why the cemetery was abandoned and its graves no longer tended. According to some living in Norwich, the land was sold with the stipulation that the graves be moved and the bodies reinterred at Fairview Cemetery per a Court order. This never happened, but such a proffer did effectively erase the cemetery from city deeds and maps. Even today, there is no notation in city documents regarding the plat for that lot that a cemetery exists there. It is privately held by Walker Foundry. Through the efforts of myself and others, the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation listed Norwich Cemetery as one of its “endangered sites” this year, along with the general observation that several other city cemeteries are approaching the same condition. Hopefully, this might bring some added attention to this piece of neglected Raleigh Court history. Norwich was the first section in Greater Raleigh Court to be developed, to have industry, to have streetcar service, and to have a school. The Norwich Cemetery most certainly contains
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—continued on page 8
Dog Guards Raleigh Court Fire Station
Raleigh Court’s newest piece of public art is drawing smiles from everyone passing our historic fire station #7. Designed by local artist Anne Glover, Trojan Dog will be guarding the fire house for the next eighteen months. Trojan Dog looks like the traditional Dalmatian associated with firefighters, but he was actually inspired by wooden carvings from the Japanese Edo (1616 – 1868) period. Looking at the Japanese guard dogs, artist Glover saw that they have “the look of a childhood toy and a primitive folk art piece.” Glover was also inspired by the Trojan horse. Trojan Dog is hollow, has a door and wheels on the front and back. Glover has been influenced by the site selected in Raleigh Court and has made a significant effort to fit the sculpture to
the neighborhood. She met with the firemen at Station #7 and modified her original design by adding small spots to Trojan Dog. At the request of the firemen, she added a medallion with a #7 to his collar. To figure out how to place Trojan Dog at his new home, Glover drove up and down Memorial Avenue. She finally concluded that she wanted to turn him towards Virginia Heights Elementary School and the James Tarpley Park to capture the imaginations of the neighborhood kids and their parents. Headless Dog The sculpture was fabricated in a local studio of marine plywood, epoxy, resin and paint so it can withstand the weather. However, he’s already come under human attack. Raleigh Court residents were alarmed over Labor Day —continued on page 10
Civic League Hits a Homerun! Ellen Apperson Brown, who moved to Roanoke just one year ago, recently offered to take over as editor of the Court Reporter, and seems eager to help us uncover stories about our neighbors and stir up interest in the latest happenings. With her broad liberal arts education ( three masters degrees), experience as director of museums and non-profit organizations, and her passion for teaching history to anyone she meets, Ellen is pleased to try her hand at this editing assignment. While not exactly an expert in Roanoke history, she does have a book to her credit, a history of the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke (published January, 2010). She and her dog, Roscoe (looks like a friendly black wolf), are familiar sights to everyone who lives near the Co-op, the restaurants, and the SevenEleven, as they make the rounds there several times each day. Having lived on Maiden Lane with her family years ago (1992-1995), Ellen is delighted to have landed back in this neighborhood, and hopes this will be a good location from which to launch her business, Community Archives of Southwest Virginia, LLC, and develop her innovative website, a digital archive (www.vahistoryexchange.com). She has started offering workshops throughout the region, teaching the rudiments of Virginia history and encouraging folks to learn from their “treasures in the attic.” Her latest course idea: Virginia History for Yankees and Other Outsiders, and her tag line…Learning History can be Meaningful, Practical, and Fun! Please let her know if you have ideas for articles, or if you know of people with interesting stories to tell! page 7
Catalog Home—continued from page 6
Norwich Cemetery—continued from page 6
once did to make them marketable. Due to more readily available financing, most people could hire a contractor for the same or less than purchasing a catalog house. There were a large number of catalog home manufacturers, in a wide variety of company sizes, but two of the major players were Sears, Roebuck and Company and Aladdin Homes. Sears, Roebuck and Company started the catalog craze as a way to market their company’s goods to settlers moving west during the Western Expansion of 1890s. By 1895, Sears, Roebuck and Company was selling building materials and in 1908, published ‘Book of Modern Homes’ featuring building materials and 44 house plans ranging from $695 to $4,115 on 68 pages. In 1911, Sears began offering mortgage loans with easy payment plans and loan qualifications. Typical loans were for a 5 year period with 6% interest, and could include financing of the lot and the labor necessary for construction of the house. Ordering was simple. The customer sent a dollar to Sears and received a materials list and full blueprints, and this dollar was credited to the actual order for the building materials. A few weeks later, the materials and an instruction manual (which warned ‘Do not take anyone’s advice as to how this building should be assembled’) arrived by rail. Almost everything was included down to the nails and the paint, although masonry products such as bricks, cobblestones, concrete block or plaster were not included and had to be obtained locally. Due to the pre-cut nature of the catalog house, labor costs were usually 40% less that that of traditional construction, and the houses were typically assembled by local tradesmen.
the remains of Raleigh Court’s earliest residents, aside from Native Americans and early farm families. In fact, near Norwich Cemetery was for many years “Granny Mitchell’s Cabin”, a log house also known as “Indian Fort” due to the large amount of arrowheads used in the mortar. The cabin predated the City of Roanoke itself! Norwich Cemetery may have actually begun as the Mitchell family burying ground, as the home of John Mitchell was also on the same knoll. It, too, has long since been razed. Today, Norwich Cemetery contains only four marked graves: John Thomas Sweeney (1851-1927), Morris Greenville Sweeney (1877-1923), W. T. Mitchell (1903-1936), and one simply containing the initials “M.J.T.B.” Nelson Harris is the author of Greater Raleigh Court: A History of Wasena, Virginia Heights, Norwich and Raleigh Court (The History Press), which is available from online and local book retailers. If you know some interesting history about our area, please email him at nharris@virginiaheights.org.
Next Issue: How to tell if your home may have been ordered through a catalog… Erica Taylor is Preservation Planner for the City of Roanoke
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Things you need to know… Grandin Children’s Holiday Parade will be held Saturday November 20th at 11 am. The event is organized by the Grandin Village Business Association, and the Civic League assists with providing volunteers for traffic control at the closed cross streets. We need volunteers. It’s easy duty; you can watch the parade with your family while wearing a snazzy orange vest. Contact Chad Braby at chadbraby12@ gmail.com. Thanks! Grandin Village Holiday Open House will be Saturday, December 4th (from 12 until 5 pm). Join us for a fun day in Historic Grandin Village & shop local for the holidays! Capture the holiday spirit with light refreshments, special sales, great local gift ideas and ENTER TO WIN a Grandin Village Shopping Spree! For details… www. grandinvillage.org Leaf Collection Schedules from the City of Roanoke (some important changes) Leaf Collection will begin the week of November 15th and conclude through Friday December 17th…Only leaves placed in paper bags will be collected…No plastic bags during the three leaf collection weeks…The city will not provide free or paid collection of any loose leaves…Paper bagged leaves and regular bulk items will be collected on alternating weeks…no regular brush will be collected during leaf collection weeks. If this leaves you feeling a bit confused, you can contact Bob Clement, Roanoke’s neighborhood services coordinator… phone 540-853-5210, or look up the flyer with further information on the city website (www.roanokeva.gov)
Firehouse Dog—continued from page 6
weekend when they saw Trojan Dog headless--his head, ear and collar lying on the ground. His body was wrapped in yellow Crime Scene tape. It turns out that a woman enjoying the pleasures of the Village Grille had decided to top off her evening by climbing up the sculpture. She accidentally yanked off his head. Since she confessed, she wasn’t charged with vandalism. It took several days to restore the big dog. Public Art in Roanoke Trojan Dog’s creator Ann Glover is a Roanoke native and longtime artist who is mostly known for her oils and water colors. Her works are included in private and public collections around the country. Another Ann Glover public sculpture will be installed at the Port of San Diego next month. This year Glover was awarded a Professional Fellowship from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Arts Council of the Blue Ridge. She has taught at Hollins and in the Roanoke City schools. She has a studio on Campbell Avenue and more of her work can be seen at www.annglover.com. Trojan Dog replaces Second Chances, the fish-swallowing bird sculpture that previously stood in front of the fire station. Both sculptures are part of the Art in Roanoke program which places temporary installations around the city. AIR is funded through the Percent for Art Program which sets aside a small portion of the budget on certain capital projects. There are currently eight temporary installations around Roanoke. All of them were selected by citizen volunteer groups.
According to Ralph Berrier The Roanoke Times has an unofficial “Raleigh Court Bureau.” Quite a few of Ralph’s colleagues live just down the street or around the corner, including Rex Bowman, Beth Macy, Heidi Green, John Gibbons, Mark Taylor and Mary Welchel. He also mentioned a few others who should probably be considered members of the “bureau,” including Michelle Crim, Dan Casey, and Kyle Green. Who have we forgotten to include??? Comments about the neighborhood Ruth Babylon (Ralph Berrier’s wife) thinks that life in the Grandin Village is like being on vacation, especially since they can so easily walk everywhere – to a restaurant, a movie, or to buy an ice cream cone. What fun! Introducing a young photographer, Cambria McMillan-Zapf ...who came along for the interview with Ralph Berrier and took the nice candid of Ralph and his daughter, Lucy. If anyone else has a camera and is willing to share photos for the newsletter, please do. It would be nice to create a visual record of all the happenings in the village: at school festivals, art shows, parades, market days, etc. You can send copies electronically, at mynewestchapter@verizon.net or call me (540981-0206) and we’ll make other arrangements. Thanks!
Calendar Grandin Holiday Parade............................................Sat, Nov 20 Grandin Village Holiday Open House......... Sat, Dec 4, 12-5pm Old SW Holiday Tour.............................. Sat & Sun, Dec 4 & 5 Upcoming GRCCL Membership Meetings: Christ Lutheran Church..........................Nov 11, 2010, 6:30pm Christ Lutheran Church............................Jan 13, 2011, 6:30pm Christ Lutheran Church...................... March 10, 2011, 6:30pm Christ Lutheran Church..........................May 12, 2011, 6:30pm
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Greater Raleigh Court Civic League P.O. Box 3092 Roanoke, VA 24015
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