Page 3 - Demo
P. 3
“After all, life is lived at the local level, and the
uniqueness of each
locality filters how
national trends are
transmitted and
experienced by the
public in towns and
This edition of Lynch’s Ferry is an exception. As a rule, our editorial board does not favor theme issues. But this particular collection of articles and oral histories proved irresistible: It is rare to see so many local historians and Lynch’s Ferry contributors delving into a single decade, revisiting events that—though they happened over a half century ago—still remain charged with emotion and surrounded by controversy.
The material also proved irresistible to the extent that it was practically presented to us on a silver platter. Most of the prep work and heavy lifting had already
been done by the outstanding, dedicated staff at Lynchburg College’s Center for the History and Culture of Central Virginia. During the fall semester of 2005,
the Center sponsored a six-part public history series titled “A Loss of Innocence: America and Central Virginia in the 1960s.” Many of the articles and all of the oral histories in this issue of Lynch’s Ferry first appeared in a source book assembled for that occasion. Regular Lynch’s Ferry readers will recognize the authors: Thomas G. Ledford, Michael W. Santos, and Carolyn Wilkerson Bell.
In addition to featuring familiar authors, the 1960s theme gave us an opportunity to showcase new contributors. One is Henry Faulkner Heil, an instructor in history at Woodberry Forest School, whose master’s thesis on the integration of Lynchburg’s public schools was quoted in Jim Elson’s marvelous history, Lynchburg, Virginia: The First Two Hundred Years, 1786–1986. Heil’s article is followed by several interviews on the topic of school integration in Lynchburg, many of which were either conducted or transcribed by Jeffery W. Ewers, a research fellow at the Center for History and Culture. Ewers’ devotion to the Center’s oral- history project was inspired by his own recollections. His personal essay about the integration of Armstrong Elementary in the fall of 1969 is a must read. The other
T editor
from the
cities across”
the new contributors are a group of Brookville High School students who enrolled
country. — MIKE SA
in Judy Gibson’s advanced placement United States history class in the spring of 2005. After completing their examinations, they took on the task of interviewing Central Virginia’s Vietnam veterans. The oral histories they gathered were included
NTOS in the Center for the History and Culture’s source book. Typically, the histories surrounding foreign wars do not fit Lynch’s Ferry’s mission to describe the cultural history of Central Virginia. However, here again, our 1960s theme provided the opening we needed to print riveting eyewitness accounts by local citizens who served in Vietnam. As Mike Santos eloquently explains in his introduction to these oral histories: “Indeed, it is in studying the impact of larger social, economic, and political developments at the local level that we come to understand what these changes meant for average citizens. After all, life is lived at the local level, and
the uniqueness of each locality filters how national trends are transmitted and experienced by the public in towns and cities across the country.”
On a personal note, I would like to thank Nancy Blackwell Marion for inviting me to guest edit her first solo venture. She is now serving as both the principal designer and the new publisher of Lynch’s Ferry magazine. The
legacy established by former publisher Peter Houck is not
only secure, but also will flourish in Nancy’s capable hands. As for an editor to replace Jim
Elson? Don’t look at me.
I wouldn’t pretend to
fill those shoes.
SPRING/SUMMER 2006 5


































































































   1   2   3   4   5