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The Bassett Historical Center is pleased to announce a symposium on regional history to be held October 4, 2008, from 9:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the Historic J. D. Bassett High School Auditorium, now owned by EMI Imaging, who is providing the facility free of charge in Bassett, Virginia. Proceeds from this event will go to the Bassett Historical Center Building Fund. All speakers are coming free of charge to support the project to expand the library. Advance tickets are $25 and $30 at the door. Students and Senior Citizens are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Please include e-mail address for ticket conformation only. E-mail addresses will not be sold or given to others.

Visit the webpage of the Bassett Historical Center http://www.bassetthistoricalcenter.com or call 276-629-9191 or email baslib@hotmail.com for more information. Advance payment can be sent to Bassett Historical Center at 3964 Fairystone Park Highway, Bassett, VA 24055.

Collections at the Bassett Historical Center http://172.22.0.52/Bassettcollections.htm

The Bassett Historical Center has been called ‘the best little library in Virginia’. The Center has grown considerably since we merged with Blue Ridge Regional Library in 1992. From that time through 2004, our patron count increased 1359% over a period of 13 years. Since 1998, we have had an increase of 125% per year. People from all 50 states and nine foreign countries have visited the Center. Our family files now number 9496, local history files number 2628, and our books number 12,000. It is time for expansion of our facility. We need to double our present size so that we will be able to accept new collections that otherwise may be sent to another facility outside of our immediate area. An estimate of $800,000 has been given to add 4195 square feet to our existing building. Tax-deductible donations for memorials or honorariums would certainly be considered for shelving, furniture, display units or sponsor 1 to 3 of the proposed large rooms. Our day begins with a discussion on the Virginia 24^th Calvary given by R. Darryl Holland, who has written the book “The 24th Virginia Cavalry Regiment”. The 24^th Virginia Cavalry regiments were considered the “Doorkeepers of the Invincible City” whose sole duty was to guard the countless approaches and roads which lead to Richmond-the capital of the South. The Virginia 24^th was a ten company mix of local troops and ranger battalions, with two companies from Georgia. Riding all the way from Henry County was Company H, the only western company in the 24th. Led by mustering officer, Captain John R. Robertson, they met at the Henry County Court House, in Martinsville, on March 8, 1862. Most of the Henry Rangers were from Henry County, but some were from nearby Patrick, Franklin, and Pittsylvania Counties.

Next will be a discussion on the price that Bedford County paid during World War II. Mr. James W. Morrison will discuss his book “Bedford Goes to War: The Heroic Story of a Small Virginia Community in World War II”. Bedford County is believed to have lost more men per capita on D-Day than any other community in America. Bedford had about fifty men participating in the Normandy Invasion and lost twenty men in action that D-Day, with nineteen from the 116^th Infantry, which had been a National Guard unit from Bedford. Bedford had men fighting and dying in all major theaters, on the ground, in the air and at sea. Bedford has honored and memorialized those men who fought and died and proudly hosts the National D-Day Memorial.

After a Lunch break, Julie Williams Dixon will present her documentary “Melungeon Voices”, on the Melungeons of far Southwest Virginia, Western Kentucky and Tennessee. The Melungeons are a dark skinned group of peoples from this area, with certain physical traits, and no one is quite sure where they originated. There have been many myths and with DNA testing we

might get some clues. “I’ve written and produced hundreds of programs in my career, but nothing has ever been as difficult to capture and explain as the story of the Melungeons.” Julie is quoted as saying.

Our last speaker of the day will be Tom Perry. Tom will speak on “William J. Palmer: The Man Who Didn’t Burn Martinsville”. William Jackson Palmer, Brevet Brigadier General, came through Henry County in April of 1865, as part of George Stoneman’s Raid at the end of the War Between the States. Stoneman never made it into the county as he was further west in Patrick, however Palmer did. Palmer went on to Colorado to build a railroad business but he received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Civil War.

We look forward to seeing you for an informative and fun day of History. We also hope you will make plans to join us on March 7, 2009 for our Third Historical Symposium.

SPEAKERS

R. Darryl Holland is a life-long resident of Henry Co. He is a graduate of Patrick Henry Community College, holds a Degree in Animal Science from Virginia Tech and has a Masters in Agriculture from Texas A&M. The “24^th Virginia Cavalry Regiment” is his third book, and while Agriculture is his Profession, history is his love. Darryl and his wife, Lillian, live on the family farm near Horsepasture.

James W. Morrison is the author of “Bedford Goes to War: The Heroic Story of a Small Virginia Community in World War II”. He is retired from the Department of Defense, having served 3 years as an Army Officer and 27 years as a Civilian Executive in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. A graduate of Indiana & Columbia Universities and the National War College, he also served as a visiting

fellow at the National Defense University, where he wrote two short books on International Affairs. He volunteers at the National D-Day Memorial giving tours.

Julie Williams Dixon is a native of Southwest Virginia, even though she has lived in North Carolina since the early 80’s. She earned a degree from VPI in 1981 and acquired a Graduate degree from UNC- Chapel Hill in 1985. Residing in Raleigh with her husband and two sons, she is the owner of “Words and Pictures” where she splits her time between Scriptwriting, video editing and still photography. Her film “Melungeon Voices” was begun in 2000 and she says that it is still a “work in progress” and may never really be done, though it has been shown several times too much acclaim. “I’ve written and produced hundreds of programs in my career, but nothing has ever been as difficult to capture and explain as the story of the Melungeons.”

“The whooping crowd fell silent

And scattered, as a single man walked out

Toward the engine-house, a letter in his hand.

Lee watched him musingly. A good man, Stuart.

Now he was by the door and calling out.

The door opened a crack.

Brown’s eyes were there

Over the cold muzzle of a cocked carbine.

The parleying began, went on and on,

While the crowd shivered and Lee watched it all

With the strict commonsense of a Greek sword

And with the same sure readiness.

Unperceived,

The dawn ran down the valleys of the wind,

Coral-footed dove, tracking the sky with coral…

Then, sudden as powder flashing in a pan,

The parleying was done.

The door slammed shut,

The little figure of Stuart jumped aside

Waving its cap.

And the marines came on.”

From John Brown’s Body by Stephen Vincent Benet on J. E. B. Stuart and John Brown at Harper’s Ferry in 1859.

Stephen Vincent Benét was born on July 22, 1898, and died on March 13, 1943. An American author, poet, short story writer and novelist who is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Brown’s Body (1928) and for two short stories, The Devil and Daniel Webster and By the Waters of Babylo. Benet won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929 and in 1944.

What I did not know about Benet was that he spent part of his youth in Augusta, Georgia, my mother’s hometown. Just up the hill from my Aunt Kathryn’s home is Augusta State University that was Augusta College and before that the United States/Georgia Arsenal. The latter brought the future author to the Garden City of Georgia. Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, he spent most of his youth in California. One source said that, “His father was Colonel J. Walker Benét. Frances Neill (Rose) Benét, Stephen’s mother, was a descendant of an old Kentucky military family. Because his father was an avid reader, who especially loved poetry, Benét grew up in home, where literature was valued and enjoyed.”

His father Colonel Walker Benet lived in the Commandant’s House at the Augusta Arsenal, now the President’ Home at Augusta State University. Benet moved into the home in 1911 and lived there until 1915. He was 13 on arriving and 17 when he left. He went on to a military school and Yale receiving an MA in 1920. Interestingly, both his siblings Laura and William were writers. He lost money in the stock market crash of 1929. He died at age 44 of a heart attack. He received a second Pulitzer posthumously in 1944 for his poem Western Star. Several movies came from his works including obviously The Devil and Daniel Webster, but also John Wayne’s Big Jim McClain and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. The house today is on the National Register of Historical Places. It is part of the Augusta State University History Walk, which I will blog about later.

Read More About The Benet House Here

Read More About Benet’s Father

I began my favorite book J. E. B. Stuart’s Birthplace: The History of the Laurel Hill Farm with Benet.

“Call the shapes from the mist,

Call the dead men out of the mist and watch them ride.

Tall the first rider, tall with a laughing mouth,

His long black beard is combed like a beauty’s hair,

His slouch hat plumed with a curled black ostrich-feather,

He wears gold spurs and sits his horse with the seat

Of a horseman born.

It is Stuart of Laurel Hill,

“Beauty” Stuart, the genius of cavalry,

Reckless, merry, religious, theatrical,

Lover of gesture, lover of panache,

With all the actor’s grace and the quick, light charm

That makes the women adore him—a wild cavalier

Who worships as sober as God as Stonewall Jackson,

A Rupert who seldom drinks, very often prays,

Loves his children, singing, fighting, spurs, and his wife.

Sweeney his banjo-player follows him.

And after them troop the young Virginia counties,

Horses and men,…”

“It’s the end of the world as we know it, but I feel fine.”

Oh my gosh you would have thought this week the world had ended. VIRGINIA TECH LOST A FOOTBALL GAME! If you get to the ECU 5 and 9 yard lines on your first two drives and do not score then you deserve to lose. Kick two field goals and you win. Score one touchdown and you win. So now Frank is going to play two quarterbacks. All is right with the world.

Beamer To Play Taylor

http://www.hermasreaders.com

“In an effort to promote reading across the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Virginia Tech football team will hold its inaugural “White Out” on Sept. 6, 2008 when it plays Furman at Lane Stadium/Worsham Field. White Out T-shirts will be available to purchase from the University Bookstores, including the stadium store, beginning Saturday at Tech’s annual Maroon-White spring game. The shirts will sell for $6 and the proceeds from the sales will go to Herma’s Readers. Herma’s Readers is a non-profit organization that promotes the power of reading and literacy to youngsters during their formative years, grades K-3. The organization was formed as a tribute to Tech head football coach Frank Beamer’s mother, Herma Beamer, a teacher for over thirty years in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Hokies will wear a special white uniform against Furman that will include white helmets. The white uniforms will feature components of past uniforms in honor of a group of former Virginia Tech head coaches and teams (1961-86). It will mark the first time that Tech has worn all-white uniforms at Lane Stadium. The jerseys will have stripes on the shoulders to represent the Jerry Claiborne era, and the helmet will be white with an orange state of Virginia displayed on the sides, honoring the Charlie Coffey years. The stripes on the pants will be representative of Jimmy Sharpe’s tenure, while the T within the V logo used during Bill Dooley’s early seasons will be incorporated on the front of the jerseys.”

Click Here For This Week’s Game Notes

http://www.hokiesports.com/football/notes/20080906.pdf

“Funds from licensing revenue are directed to Virginia Tech’s scholarship fund. Per university policy, licensing revenues go nowhere else.”

Virginia Tech Gets Licensing Boost

http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/174994

Hokies Under Frank Beamer

http://www.roanoke.com/datasphere/wb/173579

Even the football uniforms are getting into the White Out. “The Virginia Tech football team will wear a special white uniform when they take the field vs. Furman on Saturday, Sept. 6. The white uniforms will feature components of past uniforms in honor of a group of former Virginia Tech head coaches and teams from 1961 to 1986. The helmets will be white with an orange state of Virginia displayed on the sides. Following the game, each player will autograph his helmet to be put up for auction on hokiesports.com. The auction will begin at 7:00 p.m., Saturday night, Sept. 6, and will continue through until Sunday, Sept. 14, at 5:00 p.m. Anyone wishing to bid on these helmets can do so by going to hokiesports.com/auction. There will be a minimum bid of $200 and all orders will have a $25 shipping fee added to the end of the bid. All proceeds will go back to the Virginia Tech Football program.”

This Week’s Fearless Football Forecast

Virginia Tech over Furman

Virginia over Richmond

Wake over Mississippi

Boston College over GA Tech

N. C. State over William & Mary

Maryland over MTSU

Duke over Northwestern

Florida over Miami

South Carolina over Vanderbilt

ECU over West Virginia

Minnesota over Bowling Green

BYU over Washington

Cal over Washington State

Temple over UConn

Emory & Henry over Ferrum

VMI over St. Francis

Liberty over Glenville

Washington & Lee over F&L

James Madison over NC Central

S. Virginia over Lincoln

Last Week’s Fearless Football Forecast was 16-4

L: 27-22 VT over ECU

W: 52-7 USC over UVA

W: 34-10 Alabama over Clemson

W: 34-0 South Carolina over NC State

W:41-13 Wake over Baylor

W:14-7 Maryland over Delaware

W:35-27 UNC over McNeese State

W: 21-0 Boston College over Kent State

L: 31-7 JMU over Duke (UPSET SPECIAL)

W: 28-10 Richmond over Elon

W: 17-13 Hampton over Jackson St

W: 48-21 WVU over Villanova

W: 27-2 Kentucky over Louisville

W: 24-13 Vanderbilt over Miami (OH)

L: 25-23 Michigan over Utah

W:52-42 Missouri over Illinois

W:41-13 LSU over App State

W:41-13 Navy over Towson State

W:49-10 Liberty over North Greenville

L:42-16 South Virginia over Morehead State