Page 5 - Demo

GIRLS IN FIRST CLASS IN BACKYARD: Floyd taught her first classes in the backyard of 903 Wise Street. FLOYD AS A CLOWN: Floyd is pictured here at 903 Wise Street dressed as a clown.
The clown persona was one she loved. Later, in her 80s, dressed in the same fashion, Floyd would visit the children’s ward of Virginia Baptist Hospital and entertain the sick youngsters.
Lynchburg Dancing
FLOYD WARD & HER SCHOOL
BYELIZABETHFORSYTHHARRIS
Soon after I was approached to write and speak about Floyd Ward, founder of Lynchburg’s longstanding Floyd Ward School of Dancing, her nephew Peter Ward and his wife Jessica invited me to their house for dinner on the occasion of a Ward family gathering.
At Jessica’s gentle prompting, each member present that evening shared memories of their illustrious, eccentric, talented, and intrepid aunt. Taking turns around the table, they recalled stories ranging from the funny to the outrageous. Chris Ma, Floyd’s nephew- in-law had the last turn. He had been silent during the process. There was a significant pause before he spoke. “Well,” he finally said, “she was certainly the first woman I ever met who carried a firearm in her handbag.”
Carrying a concealed weapon was not an isolated eccentricity of Floyd’s but one in a long list of
unconventional behaviors that designate her as one
of Lynchburg’s formidable women in a city that has produced many such individuals. Actually, Floyd carried a pistol for practical reasons. At the height of
her teaching career she owned and operated some
22 dancing schools spread out all over Virginia and stretching as far west as Pikesville, Kentucky. Often
she would return from teaching in these far-flung places late at night over dark mountainous roads and must have felt the need of a handgun for personal safety. I doubt she needed that added protection. My sense is that she could have held off any foe by the sheer force of her will.
The stories told about the family and about Floyd
in particular undoubtedly have a kernel of truth, but some were so embellished by Floyd herself as to become apocryphal. The most outrageous were often stories told about Floyd by Floyd.
FALL/WINTER 2006 