Note: Gayla Mills served as Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association president in the early 2000’s. The couple has since left the neighborhood but they are missed.
“Oregon Hill” by Gayla and Gene Mills
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Category Archives: history
There Is A Wolf
A recent Style Magazine story on Coby Batty reminded me of a post that I have wanted to do for a while:
There is a wolf, she sees with golden eyes;
She follows me, she knows my lonely mind;
How many times she is singing in my dreams and she knows all my songs;
And if I am right, she will sing along…At Idlewood and Cherry late at night;
The moon is full, the Hill waits for the sun;
Ol’ Salome and haze settle along the yellow lines
Hollywood bones love to sing along…
(I still need to capture that full moon though)
Do You Remember The Band, Flat Stanley?
I did not discover the local band Flat Stanley until after they had already broken up, but I did enjoy their recorded music. This video has some great film footage of Richmond, including VCU and Monroe Park.
912 Idlewood
Yesterday’s flooding pictures on Idlewood brought to mind the structures that used to be along that stretch of road. Click here for a 1997 photo of 912 Idlewood on Flikr.
Here’s the caption:
This former storefront / house on the 900 block of Idlewood Avenue burned and was demolished in 1998. It sat at the alley immediately south of the 200 block of south Cherry Street. The community garden is located precisely where it and its neighbor at 914 sat. Oregon Hill, Richmond.
Poppa Joe’s Grill
Now Mamma Zu’s, but exact date of photo is unknown.
From the Richmond Counterculture – 1970 – 1990 Facebook photos…
Rifle Volleys In Hollywood Cemetery on Saturday
From Hollywood Cemetery:
The Stuart-Mosby Historical Society will hold a memorial service for General JEB Stuart at his gravesite in Hollywod Cemetery on Saturday, May 14, 2011.
The service is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and end between noon and 12:30 p.m.
There will be rifle volleys fired as a part of the service.
Accidentally shot, 1864
From The Daily Dispatch: May 9, 1864:
Accidentally shot.
–A gentleman from Oregon Hill, while assembling for militia drill Friday afternoon, accidentally lost his hold upon the musket which he was carrying, when it fell with the butt to the ground, the force of which discharged its contents, inflicting a serious wound in his arm. For the time being he is disqualified for service.
A Happy, Lucky Combo From the 1930’s
great shot courtesy of beth stanford of oregon hill band from the 1930s
Leathy’s Death Notice, 1861
From the Daily Dispatch, May 4, 1861:
Died.
Yesterday afternoon, Leathy, infant child of Baylor S. and Leathy Martin, aged 2 years9 months and 12 days.That once loved form, now cold and dead,
Each mournful thought employs;
We weep our earthly comforts fled,
And withered all our joys.
Hope looks beyond the bounds of time,
When what we now deplore
Shall rise in full immortal prime,
And bloom to fade no more.The funeral will take place from the residence of her father, on Oregon Hill, this (Saturday) afternoon, at 4 o’clock. The friends of the family are invited to attend.
Editor’s Note: Baylor Martin was one of the founders of the Pine St. Baptist Church and lived at 401 S. Pine
ThroTTle on Empire
Speaking of magazines, the journey continues through ThroTTle’s archives:
“News” stories gathered under the “ThroTTle / Facts” section included another Sampson piece on McAlister C. Marshall, president of the Empire Monument Company in Richmond’s Oregon Hill.
Would love to read the full article. I may have to venture to VCU’s Special Collections.