THE FLOYD COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
P.O. Box 292
Floyd, VA 24091October 30, 2005
To: Floyd County Historical Society Members
From: Jean Schaeffer, president
For years now, our Historical Society by-laws have stated that a main purpose of the Society is “to encourage the collection, maintenance and preservation of significant historic material related to Floyd County.” I agree with this focus for, in many ways, it is the artifacts, the documents, the photographs, and other memorabilia that tell the story of Floyd County and its heritage.
Until I became president, I wasn’t fully aware of what the above entails – or should entail. I (and some of our members) now know that this work involves processing the acquisitions, cataloging, preserving, storing items properly, digitizing photographs, planning and constructing exhibits, and more. Volunteers sometimes do this kind of work (and have done it for us) but often volunteers assist archivists and curators who give leadership to the process for it is challenging and time consuming work.
Recently, our Historical Society was able to apply for some grant money to help care for our collections. On October 26th an announcement was made and grants were awarded. One of the grants was given to the Zion Lutheran Church. They were awarded $5000 to help repair the historic cemetery which was vandalized this past summer.
Our Historical Society received the other grant. The letter we received with the check reads, in part, as follows: “…Foundation for Roanoke Valley, Inc. has approved a grant of $25,000 to the Floyd County Historical Society, Inc. from the Larry Woodrow Vest Fund. A check for that amount is enclosed and should be used to put in place an office and staffing to enhance the Society’s ability to manage its acquisitions process, undertake important archival and preservation work and maintain the current collections through proper cataloging and storage.”
This is wonderful news! We have already begun working on the grant and have acquired office space. We also have hired two part-time employees to work on the grant – Kathleen Ingoldsby and Mike Ryan. As many of you know, both are Historical Society members and they have already been doing some volunteer work for us. Both of them have extensive experience in archival and preservation work.
The timing for all this couldn’t be better as we look forward to doing educational outreach in the community, in preparation for the Historical Society’s 30th anniversary and Floyd County’s 175th anniversary in 2006. This grant will also help us to be ready with exhibits for the museum, once it is open.
We are grateful to Larry Woodrow Vest and his family. He grew up in Floyd County and this place always meant so much to him, even though he lived in Texas for many years. He was buried in Floyd County this past summer. From his estate, a perpetual endowment fund has been set up by his family for Floyd County. We, and the Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery, are the first recipients of grant money from that fund.And now, a few other bits of information:
-Our next Historical Society meeting is Saturday, November 12th at 1 pm at the library. The program is on Native American history of this area. It should be a most interesting program and it is especially appropriate since November is “Native American Month.” An executive meeting will take place at noon that day.
-At our September 10th Historical Society meeting, Dr. Ralph Lutts gave a very interesting presentation on the history of the American chestnut of this area. His talk is based on a carefully researched paper he has published. He has given a copy of that report to the Jessie Peterman Library and he has also given a copy to the Historical Society.
- As you know, Floyd County will celebrate its 175th anniversary as a county in 2006. Several events are being planned for next year. On January 15, 2006, Floyd County will have a program at the courthouse to commemorate the actual date of the anniversary. As part of that program, a specially designed pictorial hand-cancellation stamp will be available for mailing letters. The hand-cancellation stamp can be applied to cacheted envelopes that will also be available on that date. Persons wishing to purchase the special commemorative envelopes, and have them hand-cancelled, may want to purchase both cacheted envelopes – one, a pictorial of John Floyd (the county and town’s namesake) and the other, a copy of a painting by a local artist of an early Floyd County courthouse. We give special thanks to our Historical Society committee of three who have worked hard on these postal projects. Dick Giessler, Kathleen Ingoldsby, and Maurice Slusher are that committee of three and they have been doing an awesome job!
-As Floyd County prepares for its 175th anniversary year, we’re hoping it will be a time of homecoming for natives who live outside the county. I know something about living outside the county and wanting to come home. I grew up here but moved away in the late 1960s when I was 23. I guess you’d say I left for love for I married a Virginia Tech graduate and we headed off to northern Virginia to start new jobs and begin our life together. Thirty-three years later, we returned to Floyd County to stay, and built a house on the farm where I grew up. Other people have stories about out-migration too and maybe some of you would like to share them. We hope to have a map with ribbons showing out-migration destinations and it would be wonderful to have some stories to go with the map. Historical Society member Ricky Cox had the idea for this project but we all think it’s a great idea. And it doesn’t have to be your story. It can be the story of your parents or your grandparents or some other relative or person you know about. For instance, we know that a lot of men, and often wives and children, once left the area to work in the mines in West Virginia, to build homes in Northern Virginia and Maryland, or to make textiles in Danville. Equally important to the County’s history are the stories of those who made their way TO Floyd County from the next county, or from other parts of the country. Some came alone and others came with their families, in search of better lives and different opportunities. We want to hear your stories, and chart your starting points, as well. Unlike the streams crossing the borders of Floyd County, supposedly carrying all the water out, the roads run both ways! People may send written items to Ricky Cox at 1014 Indian Creek Road, Willis, VA 24380 or email him at rcox@radford.edu.
-Some of you may remember C.C. Lane coming to one of our Historical Society meetings to talk about a 220-page book titled The Presbyterian Church of Floyd: Celebrating 150 Years of History. The book was first published in 2003 and sold out. It is being reprinted and orders are being taken. If you would like to order a copy, you could contact The Presbyterian Church of Floyd for more information. The deadline for placing orders is December 1st of this year. The price is currently $20.40 for each book, but the price may be less. (The more total books ordered, the cheaper the price for each book). Anyway, if you’re interested, you can contact the church and that phone number is (540) 745-2546. I’m not sure about shipping costs, but that would be extra. Both the Jessie Peterman Library and our Historical Society each have a copy of this book.