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The fire at Lynchburg’s Transient Bureau claimed the lives of nineteen men and prompted national reforms. SEE STORY PAGE16
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SPRING/SUMMER 2008 Official Publication of the Lynchburg Historical Foundation
PUBLISHER
Nancy Blackwell Marion
EDITOR
Mary M. Abrams
DESIGN
The Design Group
EDITORIAL BOARD Lamar Cecil
John d’Entremont Peter Houck
James Huston Greg Krueger
Thomas Ledford Nancy Marion Marilyn Martin William Young
Lynch’s Ferry is published twice a year by Blackwell Press 311 Rivermont Avenue Lynchburg, VA 24504 Telephone (434) 847-0939
Subscription orders and notice of change of address should be sent to the above address. Subscription rate is $10.00 per year (2 issues) or $18.00 for two years (4 issues) paid in advance.
Copyright 2008 by Blackwell Press All Rights Reserved
Lynch’s Ferry is for sale at the following locations: Barnes & Noble, Bookshop on the Avenue, Givens Books, Inklings Bookshop, Lynchburg Visitors’ Center, Macon Bookshop, Old City Cemetery, Point of Honor, Walgreens- Boonsboro Rd., and Lynch’s Ferry’s office at The Design Group.
contents
features
4 ‘Cile Turner by Bryan S. Wright. “As a white ‘Virginia lady’ championing the music of African Americans,” Miss Lucile Turner forged an unconventional career path. Today, reissues of recordings like Turner’s “Crap Shootin’ Sinner” have lead some “to speculate that she was an obscure African American singer of ‘gritty blues’ who lived hard and died young.”
16 Lynchburg’s New Deal Tragedy: The Transient Bureau Fire of 1934 by Jeffrey S. Cole. Lynchburg’s enviable position as a prosperous transportation hub proved problematic early in 1929 when jobless drifters began riding the rails
and hitting the highways in search of opportunity. The influx of transients tested the mettle of the city’s “better angels,” and sometimes even the best of intentions brought tragic results.
22 Douglas Southall Freeman: Renowned Man of Letters by James
A. Huston. Drawing on a combination of personal memories, glowing reviews, and biographical details, Huston revisits and renews his admiration for one of Lynchburg’s favorite sons. The process may inspire a new generation of Freeman readers.
32 Abram Frederick Biggers by Miss Mary L. Percy, with an introduction and notes by Gene Tomlin. Superintendent E.C. Glass never failed to mention him. And Miss Percy, too, tried to keep his accomplishments in the forefront of Lynchburg’s collective memory. Now, Gene Tomlin has taken up the cause in this excerpt from his new book, Abram Frederick Biggers and Biggers School.
40 Lewis Hine in Lynchburg with an introduction by John d’Entremont. Lewis Hine’s haunting images are brought home in this collection of photographs. John d’Entremont, Theodore H. Jack professor of History at Randolph College, explains why taking a picture involved taking a risk.
departments
3 From the Editor 44 History in Brief 48 Books of Interest
FRONT COVER:
A collage of some of the objects from the ’Cile Turner manuscript collection at the Jones Memorial Library
AT LEFT:
A paper bag painted for
’Cile Turner by Queena Stovall.