History Reinvented: The Stairs to Nowhere

Send us Fan Mail I'll be creating another History Reinvented Podcast soon (on Belle Isle), which I'm looking for sponsors for. In the mean, I'm about to launch a new (and yet another) podcast---the World Music Show - Interviews from the Archives. For almost two decades I hosted a World Music Show on a public radio station, where during that time, I interviewed dozens of musicians, a...

Send us Fan Mail So, it’s been awhile since season two of History Reinvented, Pine Camp, the stairs to nowhere wrapped up. But as luck would have it, I’ve got a few bonus episodes coming up. It all started because of listener Andrew Phinney. He grew up all over RVA and he’s a history buff too. He got in touch with me about another story related to Pine Camp, specifically the cemetery near where so...

Send us Fan Mail Now comes the time for me to think about Season three. But I need your help…I’m debating a couple of areas to dive into the history and future of and those include Brown’s Island and Belle Isle which have a rich and troubled history with the city but are turning into a special space for the city; And it includes the Nickel Bridge, which just celebrated its centennial—that could be...

Send us Fan Mail The conclusion  Kit West knows his trails in Richmond. He’s a certified trail groomer and designer for the city’s parks and rec department. Usually he and his team just help maintain the trails but at Pine Camp a few months ago, I caught him working on his trail design–one that would connect the glass loop trail to the community center.  He has to use a tractor to make the trail i...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of History Reinvented, Pine Camp, the stairs to nowhere, part two of my conversation with Emily Monroe, bike advocate and all around cool person, who once fixed my bike when she was a mechanic at Carytown Bikes in Midlothian–RIP that location. We continue our walk around the Glass Loop, checking out some of the lush greenery and berry plants. Plus we get a visit fr...

Send us Fan Mail On this installment of History Reinvented, Pine Camp, the stairs to nowhere, I walk a new bike and running trail on the edge of Pine Camp, right near John Marshall High School with Emily Monroe, a long time bike advocate and all around cool person in Richmond.  The beginner friendly loop, nicknamed the glass loop, is filled with invasive species, and families of deer — we see it a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of History Reinvented: Pine Camp the stairs to nowhere, we leave the past and head into the present. I speak with Diane Hayes of the Parks and Rec department in Richmond. She’s the cultural arts manager there at Pine Camp.  Growing up in Richmond, she’s seen the changes at Pine Camp and is now at the center of all the really cool activities that are going on there....

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of History Reinvented: Pine Camp the stairs to nowhere, I take us inside the Library of Virginia. It’s here that the great Librarians pulled a special pamphlet from their collection.  It’s called "Your Stay at Pine Camp." I say pamphlet but it’s got more than 20 plus pages of information, including drawings of stick figures, and a glossary of terms to hel...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of History Reinvented – Pine Camp, the stairs to nowhere, VCU professor Marie Vergamini and her students, who’ve been studying and digging into the history of Pine Camp, literally, take me to where they found the stairs to nowhere.  Once covered in a huge mess of debris, the team dug up the bits and pieces of the stairwell, which looks almost like some weird outdoo...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of History Reinvented – Pine Camp, the stairs to nowhere, VCU professor Marie Vergamini and her students, who’ve been studying and digging into the history of Pine Camp, literally, take me on a walk to look over what was the white hospital, which has been shuttered for years.  If you like History Reinvented and want to support my efforts then please consider subscr...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of History Reinvented – Pine Camp, the stairs to nowhere, we meet the team doing the research to uncover the history of the Black Hospital, which was torn down basically as soon as the Tuberculosis pandemic began to subside once vaccines became available. The white hospital, at least parts of it, still stands today–though, the building is boarded up. One of the hig...

Send us Fan Mail In this bonus episode on the History of Pine Camp, Christina Vida of the Valentine Museum, talks about another Sanitorium that was erected to battle Tuberculosis in 1908. It was in Church Hill — and it was created in part with the help of a citizen who many residents were not a fan of. In fact, you could say, her doing what she did was the start of the NIMBY movement (Not in my ba...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we’ll talk with Christina Vida from the Valentine Museum in Richmond, Va, who talks about Frances Branch Scott, founder of Sheltering Arms Hospital, who organized a meeting in her home in 1909 to address the lack of quality treatment for tuberculosis patients in Richmond. And we’ll hear about what preceded Pine Camp. In the late 19th century, the 160 acres along t...

Send us Fan Mail In this new season of History Reinvented we’ll uncover stories of Pine Camp.  In the late 19th century, the 160 acres along the northern border of the city of Richmond was known as the City Farm or City Jail Farm. Later on, Richmonders who were battling contagious diseases, including smallpox and tuberculosis, were isolated on the property.  But because this was the post Civil War...

Send us Fan Mail Hey—I’ve got an update on a new season of History Reinvented. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out what area of Richmond, Virginia I can take another dive into the history and future of.  Well, I’ve landed on one–but I don’t want to say what it is yet, until I get some recordings and interviews done.  That said, I’m dropping this little teaser to keep you all up...

Send us Fan Mail I want to start this off — this wrap up – about producing this two part series on the historic Mayo Bridge and Island in Richmond, Va by thanking all 1000-plus listeners, downloaders since I published the first episode last December.  It came after a time that I was let go from my job at a public radio station, where I was a transportation reporter, a general assignment reporter,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I hangout with Richard Hankins, Executive Director of Partnership for Smarter Growth, who are invested in making sure the updated Mayo Bridge is equitable for everyone–not just cars, but bicyclists, pedestrians, people who fish, and buses — and they want to help make sure there’s access to what will be a new and improved Mayo Island. History Reinvented is a two pa...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I take a last walk on Mayo Island with Nissa Richardson, Deputy Director for Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities through locked gates, past two osprey’s nesting high above on a light pole, through another fence, down a trail in hopes of reaching the mighty James River.  The trail is dense with foliage – If only I had brought my machete. On this small trek,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we return to Mayo Island–literally, to speak with Josh Stutz, Executive Director, Friends of the James River Park System,  about what’s going on with Mayo Island right now and what the city can do to help with a current funding need. History Reinvented is a two part podcast series that takes you on a trip around the Mayo Bridge and Mayo Island in Richmond Virginia...

Send us Fan Mail Richmonders love their public meetings–which is a good thing because when city officials or groups hold them, it allows the public to see what’s going first hand and to ask questions up front or have their concerns addressed in a more personal way than in an email or post on social media.  In this episode, we go back in time to some public meetings about the Mayo Bridge -- one hap...

Send us Fan Mail History Reinvented is a two part podcast series that takes you on a trip around the Mayo Bridge and Mayo Island in Richmond Virginia, from its early beginnings to what the future holds for this historic part of the city’s Landscape.  In this episode, we go back in time to hear from advocacy group leaders who want to make sure a new Mayo Bridge respects its history but also functio...

Send us Fan Mail Richmond’s history was built on the backs of the enslaved population. But their sacrifices, contributions and daily life were often swept into the currents of the James River. In this episode of History Reinvented we’re looking back at the contributions they made to both the island, the bridge and what they had to endure in their daily lives. New episodes will try to drop every fe...

Send us Fan Mail I wanted to take a quick moment, while I’m working on the next episode of History Reinvented, to apologize for not having weekly episodes drop as I originally promised. As a freelance reporter, where paychecks are sporadic, I’ve got to prioritize my time as to when I can work on these episodes.  History Reinvented is a sort of passion project for me–I’m fascinated by the history a...

Send us Fan Mail In this two part podcast series, I’ll take you on a trip through the history around Mayo Island and the Mayo Bridge, from its early beginnings to what the future holds for this historic part of the Richmond Landscape.  In this episode of the series, we’re diving into what’s next for the island. New episodes will try to drop each week but, as a freelance reporter, I could surely us...

Send us Fan Mail For many Richmond residents, the James River is a lifeline to nature, a respite from the day to day trials that encompass us all.  In this episode of the series, we’re diving into what’s next for the island – I spoke with people who worked on part of the island, interested parties, members of the parks department and with the sole owner of the remaining piece of land on the island...