Lynchburg Neighborhood

For 69 years and counting, 87-year-old Henry Fulcher has been telling stories and playing music on the radio. Starting out in 1956 at WFLO, Henry has been a consistent presence on local radio for seven decades and is known to many as The Voice of Farmville. More than anything else, Henry wanted the listener to feel that he loved them and was speaking right to them. With his focus on playing countr...

In this conversation from Summer 2024, I talked with my 94-year old neighbor Charlie Layne about growing up in Lynchburg in the 1930s and 40s, serving in the Navy, working in the family printing business, falling in love, caring for a family, dealing with loss, leaving a legacy, and tending roses. After his stint in the Navy in the 1950s, Charlie joined his father in the family business at Service...

In this episode, I get a chance to sit down with my dear friend Daryl Calfee to discuss his newly released book "Let's Skip the Bull: Lessons from Dad After Your Mom Died" and talk about life, death, grief, creativity, and love.  To learn more about Daryl, check out his website here . To buy his new book, use this link to visit Blue Hat Publishing. If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or...

In this episode, I sit down with 92-year-old Noland Skinner on his front porch on the Fourth of July to hear about what it was like in the old days, growing up in a country store during the Depression, boxing on Navy ships in the Pacific during World War II, going out dancing all the way into his nineties, and much more.  If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share,...

In this episode, we have a special guest appearance from the Farmer of Mimosa Hill to talk funeral flowers before we hear the story of The Last Round, which was first told fifteen years ago at my father's funeral. A written version of that story can be found here . If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @bill...

The story of how two boys born 50 years apart became dear friends. This story was told live at the HopeX storytelling event at the Academy Center of the Arts in downtown Lynchburg in March 2024. Find out more about Lynchburg Beacon of Hope here . If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy H...

In this conversation with Laura Hamilton, we learn what it was like growing up as a city manager's kid, how she got from Nebraska to Virginia, her public policy work in the Clinton administration right out of college, her work as executive director of Lynchburg Beacon Of Hope, the backstory on their HopeX storytelling event, and a deep dive into Beacon's history and their ambitious mission to prov...

"Library history is community history."  In this conversation with Deb Smith, we learn about her work as executive director of the Jones Memorial Library in Lynchburg, Virginia, take a deep dive into the library's founding, early history, and the characters that shaped what it became, and explore the important discoveries still being made in the Jones archives to this day. Find out more about the...

In this conversation with Beau Wright, we talk about his experience on Lynchburg City Council, how he thinks through the challenges facing Lynchburg, where he sees opportunities, why he is running again for an at-large seat, and reflections on his time in the White House.  Find out more about Beau's campaign and work on council here . If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good st...

In this episode, I sit down with Shelley Blades, the farm manager and executive director of Lynchburg Grows, to hear the story of their farm and the work that they do. Lynchburg Grows has taken an abandoned, seven-acre rose farm right in the middle of our city and transformed it into a thriving urban farm with a mission to provide access to fresh, local produce and purposeful jobs to individuals w...

"The best stories are the truth. The best stories are accounts of what really happened. There's no better setup or crescendo than what really happened." - Walter Virgil Jr. on the power of honesty and authenticity in storytelling.  In this conversation with Walter Virgil Jr., we talk about his childhood growing up in New Jersey, how he made it to Lynchburg, Virginia, the work that he is doing in o...

In this episode, I sit down with former Lynchburg city manager Kim Payne to talk about his early childhood years growing up here, his life in local government, downtown revitalization, what makes a good city council member, and how things get done in our city.  If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhan...

Born in 1938, Aubrey "Chub" Barbour has lived in the Tinbridge Hill neighborhood his entire life. In this conversation, Mr. Barbour shares about the rich history of his neighborhood, what it was like to grow up on Polk Street, his early love of music, his 42 years as the supervisor of the Yoder Center, and his diligent work in the Tinbridge Hill community garden providing fresh produce to his neig...

In 1948, J.P. Vaughan and the rest of the Lynchburg Mighty Mites sandlot football team headed to Philadelphia to play in the Pop Warner National Championship. Some players remembered seeing a film crew at the game, but the footage was lost to history. For the next 70 years, their memories, a few black and white photographs, and some faded news clippings would be all they had to remember that time...

In this conversation, John Abell, Professor of Economics at Randolph College, teaches us about the history of redlining in Lynchburg. John also shares with us about his career in academia and how his Randolph students sparked his research on local food deserts.  Visit John's website to connect with him or find out more about his work. If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good st...

In this conversation with Reid Wodicka, the Deputy City Manager for the City of Lynchburg, we discuss how a class at E.C. Glass High School sparked Reid's career in local government, what a typical day is like at City Hall, and how the City of Lynchburg is working to address affordable housing.  In this episode, I mention a special written edition of the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast that is a de...

Baseball has been put on hold for a little while at every level from Little League to the Majors. This episode is a love letter to baseball and a deep dive into Minor League baseball right here in Lynchburg, Virginia. Baseball fans can't help but enjoy all the fun that goes on at a Lynchburg Hillcats game, but there's something happening behind the scenes that the typical fan can't see. In my conv...

In my conversation with Rodney Ferguson, we talk about growing up in downtown Lynchburg in the 1950s and 60s, the closing of the pools in the Summer of 1961 and swimming in the first integrated pool at Camp Kum-Ba-Yah, the integration of Lynchburg City Schools, and what it's really like to own and operate a cemetery. If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reac...

As everyone in the Lynchburg Neighborhood adjust to a new normal, we wanted to check in with all of you  from here at Mimosa Hill. If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia. Thank you fo...

Anne Spencer was a Harlem Renaissance poet who lived right here in Lynchburg, Virginia at 1313 Pierce Street from 1903 to 1975. In that home, Anne raised a family, tended a garden, wrote poetry on the walls and in her writing cottage, and hosted some of the greatest African American thinkers, artists, and leaders of the 20th century. Anne's granddaughter, Shaun Spencer Hester, is now the director...

In January 1962, Owen Cardwell, Jr. and Lynda Woodruff desegregated E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia. Dr. Owen Cardwell, Jr. is a pastor, a Civil Rights advocate, and the Rosel Schewel Distinguished Chair in Education and Director of the Center for Education and Leadership at the University of Lynchburg.  In our conversation, Dr. Cardwell and I discuss his work and ministry, the impac...

Every place has a history. A few years ago, an unexpected knock on the door let us in on the history of Mimosa Hill and introduced us to the family that lived there for nearly 100 years. Join me for a walk down memory lane through Lynchburg of old with Jane McCraw. If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @bill...

Meet Joe Stinnett, a longtime newspaperman here in Lynchburg, Virginia. In our conversation, we talk about journalism, how the news gets made, Joe's career as a reporter and editor, and the history of our local newspaper. If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial rea...

Meet Bill Harris, a local lawyer and magician. In our conversation, we talk about Bill's lifelong love of magic, his artwork, and his friendship with Bev Cosby. While many of our recent episodes have been about big, systemic issues in our community, this is a smaller, more personal conversation about magic, friendship, and the joy of doing things simply for the love of it. The cover art for this i...

As I explore my neighborhood, one name keeps coming up over and over again: Bev Cosby. To get to know this neighbor that so many in our community love and appreciate, I sit down with Dan Harrison, the pastor of Church of the Covenant in Lynchburg, Virginia, to learn about Bev's life, his faith, and his ministry. Find out more about the church here . If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or...