A recent article in the The Nation magazine opened with this provocative statement- ‘Today, thanks in part to the efforts of a single Virginia family, as many as 97 percent of Americans have toxic flame retardants in their blood.” While it goes on to look at the insidious chemical industry and in particular Richmond’s Gottwald family and what was the Ethyl Corporation, it prompted some old Oregon Hill memories to resurface.

Besides its questionable international trade practices, the Ethyl Corporation bought a large swath of Oregon Hill overlooking the river and tore down many of the old houses.

While there are many important aspects to the history- here’s one to remember:

Around this time pubic radio station WCVE broadcasted a national environmental issues show called ‘Living On Earth‘. Worried about offending their main corporate sponsors, local NPR WCVE balked at broadcasting a show that was critical of Ethyl. When Chris Maxwell (an Oregon Hill resident at that time) complained to their board about it, one of them obnoxiously told him to go ahead and start his own radio station then. So Maxwell started Radio Free Richmond Project which eventually lead to WRIR 97.3 fm Richmond Independent Radio. And that is the true story about how WRIR got started- but don’t expect the local corporate media to repeat it. This is an important lesson for Richmond to remember- do NOT always trust large entities to tell the true stories and nonprofits should NOT become dependent on large corporate entities.