In my continuing effort to downsize, usually thwarted by better things to do or by sentiment, I came across a picture that I am pretty sure was taken in the summer of 1974. It was of “my gang” (most of them at least) from my high school years. We were Christiansburg High Class of 1971,…
Tag: Christiansburg
Imogene, My Mom, and January 1953
This past week was my birthday, another trip around the sun in trendy parlance. A good time to reflect, or at least put down on paper, some random thoughts that pop into my mind regarding my many trips in that orbit. While I was giving my approach to the subject some thought, I remembered an…
Christiansburg of the 1960’s (or, No Walmart and No Lowes, but Lots of Nice Folks)
I entered first grade in the fall of 1959, attending the old school on Junkin Street (directly across the street from my grandmother’s house) and graduated from the beautiful old school on the hill – Christiansburg High – in 1971. A quick check of Wikipedia shows that in the 1950 census, Christiansburg had 1,970 residents,…
Bowl Game Memories (or, Of Roses, Peaches and a Tangerine Too)
I am a frustrated sports writer. My first ambition was to become the next Dan Jenkins, an iconic Sports Illustrated writer who covered college football and professional golf for SI for a quarter century. Dan also wrote about a dozen raunchy and irreverent sports novels, the best known of which is Semi-Tough, published while I…
Mutt Byrd (Atomic Bomb, Cantaloupe Life-savers and Caring)
The Christiansburg of my youth was full of good people and interesting characters who left me with great memories, a good perspective on life, and great subjects to write about. I challenge anyone out there who could have outdone my hometown for nice folks who helped their kids grow up right. One of Christiansburg’s true…
Leon, gone but not forgotten
Panel 48W – Line 9. If you go to the Wall – the Vietnam Memorial in D.C. – that is where you will find “Leon David Willard”. Born in Christiansburg, Virginia, on April 13, 1948, killed in action on August 13, 1968 in Long An Province, South Vietnam. You can find the details at the wall-usa.com. In…
Snow Day
Snow day! What a glorious sound! Even now the words make me smile, fill me with a lift of excitement. Last week we had a beautiful snowfall in North Central West Virginia, enough to lead to cancelation of the local schools. It brought back great memories. It has been over 40 years since I last attended the schools in…
The Christmas Orange
I was in the grocery store the other day doing a little Christmas stocking up. I spied an item that must be seasonal – a bag of spectacularly colored apples – reds and greens – and brilliant oranges. I wasn’t used to seeing them packaged that way and I had to buy them. If nothing…
Memories of Autumn Saturdays
I am writing this column very early on a chilly Saturday morning in early fall. It is that wonderful time of the year when the seasons change and the heat of summer is giving way to crisp autumn weather. Having lived most of my life in the mountains, or close by, I have had the…
Colonial Heights (a lesson in fairness)
Colonial Heights. To most young boys growing up in Christiansburg, Virginia in the early 1960’s, these 2 words were magical, almost mythical. It meant one thing – the Boys Invitational Baseball (BIB) Tournament sponsored by the Optimist Club of Colonial Heights, Virginia. Started in 1957, the tournament involved 16 Little League teams (11 and 12…
Bud-Hoo 