Also, don’t forget about the parade tonight!












Also, don’t forget about the parade tonight!












From the October 28, 1900 copy of the Richmond Times Dispatch :
Mr. Charles E. Barfoot had David Rowe arrested for stealing his orange-and-white hound pup.
The Great Dispenser knows much of human nature, and dreads a dog case.
The parties live on Oregon Hill, and Mr. Rowe declared he hadn’t been there long, and never had any trouble in his life until he went there. Since he lived on Oregon Hill he had slept on trouble, and had trouble for breakfast, lunch, and supper- trouble at every turn- and now he was accused of stealing his own dog.ANIMATED SECTION
Mr. Rowe declared if anybody’s life was too stale and too slow, all he had to do was move to Oregon Hill, where animation lays around in chunks.
The Great Lawgiver declared before he opened up the case that there was no telling what a man wouldn’t do for a dog- especialy if it was in hunting season.
He enquired first about the license- always the license first. There was no license on the dog. The warrant had not been paid for, because Mr. Barfoot did not have the ready cash.
“Then in the name of General Jackson and the James river, how did you buy a dog with no money,” bawled the Great Dispenser.
Mr. Barfoot modestly declared that he had borrowed the money from a friend to buy the dog.
Mr. Rowe swore the dog was his, and that he was not orange and white at all, but a white hound, with black spots and tan ears, that he had bought from a nigger for a pistol, and that he took the dog from Mr. Barfoot’s yard, in the presence of his wife, when he had a door over the dog, and sawed wood piled over the door to keep him from getting out.
The Great Lawgiver declared that unless Mr. Barfoot could disprove Rowe’s statements, he was out 75 cents and a dog, and the nigger in a pistol and the money, and that a warrant in detinue was the proper caper in the case.
Editor’s note: I left the term “n-word” in this account as that what was printed in the record and what was commonly used in that time period. Certainly, I recognize that today that term is considered a racist epithet and I do not mean any offense with this historical post.

From the Richmond Dispatch, October, 25, 1902,
Jack Burgess, who lives on Oregon Hill, in Richmond, suffered a terrible accident at work in the plant of the Richmond Standard Steel, Spike and Iron Company in Manchester yesterday afternoon. He was operating one of the heading spike machines when he slipped and fell and was thrown around the machinery. His jawbone was broken and he was otherwise hurt.
Dr. E.T. Rucker was called in and did all he could for the injured man.
Mr. Burgess was taken to his home in Richmond, where he was resting quietly this afternoon.
From the October 17, 1902 edition of the Richmond Dispatch :
Prisioners in City Jail Seeking Continuences Rather Than Face The Present Composition
The present jury in th Hustings Court is one after the heart of Judge Witt and Commonwealth’s Attorney Richardson. It has gotten such a reputation for giving good long penitentiary terms that all of the prisioners confined in the city jail awaiting trial are seeking to have their cases postponed a month rather than to face it. The prisioners evidently are of the opinion that it would be better to wait another month and save possibly a year or two on Oregon Hill than to be tried during this term of court.
The reference to Oregon Hill is because the state penitentiary used to be here, casting a particular pallor over the whole area. Here is an old picture of it:

At least part of the wall still exists as part of Ethyl Corporation/Afton Chemical’s complex on Belvidere.
But first, imagine what used to be on the Festival site- the Gamble’s Hill park and neighborhood and part of Oregon Hill neighborhood, the State Penitentiary, the functioning Tredegar Iron Works and working Kanawha Canal.
Hopefully the Richmond Folk Festival has proven somewhat sustainable (I know I volunteered and dropped my donation in the bucket!) and we will enjoy for years to come. But keep in mind there could be other new developments on the site, like the new Meade WestVAco headquarters. Personally, I keep hoping that the Richmond Transportation Museum idea can be dusted off…
Anyway, on with the photos from a great weekend…






Seems like just yesterday that I was standing in the Ethyl field with about twenty people taking in crazy Bulgarian wedding music on the very stormy first night of the National Folk Festival’s debut in Richmond.
Last night the second RICHMOND Folk Festival started with the best weather possible and a big crowd. It was truly a beautiful night and it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves while listening to wonderful music.
If you did not make it, don’t fret, the Festival continues today and tomorrow. Don’t forget to buy a Festival t-shirt and drop a donation into the bucket.
A few photos from last night:



From the Richmond History Center:
Mon.-Sat. (10:00-11:30a) Through October 31st
HIGHLIGHTS OF HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY A walking tour of historic Hollywood Cemetery, final resting place of soldiers, residents and presidents.Meet your guide just beyond the stone building at the cemetery entrance at Cherry and Albemarle streets. $10 (Pay your guide on the day of the tour. ) Members: $5
PLUS THIS WEEKEND:
Oct 11 (2-4pm)
HOLLYWOOD CEMETERY An extension of the daily “Highlights” tour, this version covers in more detail the cemetery’s unique history, landscape design, architecture, symbols and residents.
Meet your guide at the rear of the stone structure at the cemetery entrance at Cherry and Albemarle Streets. $10 (Pay your guide on the day of the tour. ) Members: $5

Community Movie Night
Friday, October 2 at 7:30 P.M.
Pleasants Park
80’s Classic Night: The Goonies
Refreshments served: grilled hotdogs, chips, and beverage

Potluck Veggie Dinner and a Documentary at the
Next Thursday, 10/1/09
Hosts: John Richmond and Caroline Cox RSVP Carolion1@yahoo.com or 783-6316
6pm Potluck- please bring a vegetarian dish, w/ plates, cups and silverware to save landfill space
7pm The Corporation – This film psychologically evaluates what kind of “legal person” a Corporation might be…and won 26 international awards and the Audience Choice Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival!