Category Archives: history

‘Dirtwoman’ Documentary Benefit

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There is documentary being filmed for one of Oregon Hill’s most infamous progeny and Richmond’s most famous drag queen, Donny Corker, aka ‘Dirtwoman.’ In order to raise funds and capture memories, the Sound of Music studio, now in Scott’s Addition (1710 Altamont Ave.), will be holding ‘Dirtwoman Toast’ on Sunday, May 21, at 7 pm. The admission cost is $10.Part of the proceeds will go to producing the documentary and part of them will go to Corker to help defray medical cost hardships.

Excerpts from recent Style article:

Everyone over a certain age has a Dirtwoman story. Corker’s antics as Richmond’s most well-known 400-lb. drag queen are legendary, from the 1993 pin-up calendar to running for mayor, to his years as Mrs. Claus at the annual Hamaganza. Just as noteworthy is Corker’s pre-Stonewall role-modeling: He’s been unabashedly out as gay since he was a teenager.

In the works is a documentary about Dirtwoman that began 15 years ago on the occasion of Corker’s 50th birthday with an event at Caffeine’s featuring go-go boys, drag queens and people sharing their own Dirtwoman tales. Now at 65 and with major health issues, Corker’s life story is on track to finally be completed by local video producer, Jerry Williams.

“This is the culmination of my 45 years as a video producer and director,” Williams says of the passion project. “I’ve never had a story that I was willing to commit a year of my life to making, but this is it.”
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For those who missed Dirtwoman’s glory years, the Toast is also an opportunity to hear anecdotes from a life so colorful that even John Waters’ biggest star, Divine, was a fan. And for those curious about how the name Dirtwoman originally came about, let’s just say it involved some inappropriate behavior in the back seat of a cop car and leave it at that.

From the FaceBook event page:

The TOAST is being held to compile stories from Donnie’s fans for the documentary. Everyone who attends will be invited to spend a few minutes on stage with Donnie to pay tribute and share their favorite memories. There will also be a special “private” studio for people who would prefer not to go on stage. People are encouraged to bring any pertinent photos or other memorabilia.
To have an idea of timing, Williams requests that people who want to speak, please email him at TVJerry@TVJerry.com.

The Foundry Series- Combat, Racial Violence & Resilience

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Quite a title, right? The American Civil War Museum at Tredegar is hosting this event Thursday evening:

Following the Civil War and Emancipation, Union veterans and African American civilians faced physical and mental challenges that put their resilience to the test in new post-War environments.

Gather for snacks, drinks, and socializing at 6pm, talks begin around 6:30pm.

Featuring:

Never Get Over It: What Night Riding Meant to African American Families
Kidada E. Williams, Ph.D., Wayne State University
From 1868-1871, armed southern white men raided African American communities, holding families hostage and subjecting them to torture, rape, and assassination. Using victims’ testimonies before Congress, Kidada E. Williams presents the story of how survivors understood the consequences of this violence, specifically how it unmade their families and compromised their ability to fulfill their visions of freedom.

Sublimity,Terror and Love: Veterans and the Psychological Impact of War
Stephen A. Goldman, M.D., FAPM, DFAPA, Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, American Psychiatric Association, and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Tools of war have undergone significant technological advances since the American Civil War, but the experience of battle and its effects on the combatant remain strikingly similar and profound in our time. The multifaceted psychological impact of war includes not only combat stress reactions, but also emotional resilience and successful societal reintegration. Explore the great influences, positive and negative, of combat and military service on veterans’ lives, and what has been learned throughout history about treating those who’ve been under fire. Following a remarkable group of severely wounded Union soldiers and sailors, discover how their powerful warrior identity spurred commitment to Reconstruction and racial equality, and sustained their collective belief in the causes for which they had fought.

Program Partners
Black Minds Matter Project
YWCA Richmond
Virginia War Memorial
Virginia Veteran and Family Support

Cost: $10.00, $8.00 members

The Women of Hollywood Walking Tour

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Bring mom out for a specialty walking tour in Hollywood tomorrow!

The Valentine museum is sponsoring:

Explore the role that women’s groups played in Hollywood Cemetery’s history from the Civil War to the present. Visit grave sites of women who were educators, authors, preservationists, suffragists and humanitarians. Meet at the Hollywood Cemetery entrance at Cherry and Albemarle streets, near the rear of the stone structure to the left. Please note that this tour is 1.5 to 2 miles and involves several inclines. Comfortable shoes and water are recommended.

$15 per person
$5 for Valentine Members
Walk-ups welcome.
Cash or check.
On-street parking

You may also want to bring an umbrella!

eBay Auction Prompts Historic Interest In Steinmann Storefront

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The Shockoe Examiner blog has picked up on an eBay auction of some old Oregon Hill photos and ephemera.

It’s a wonderful image of the Laurel Street Market located at 349 S. Laurel St., corner of Laurel and Albemarle Streets in Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood

  • (Editor’s note: Where Rest In Pieces store is now)

    • . The seller shows the back of this photograph where it’s written: “Taken Feb 27 – 17” – so I assume it was taken on Feb. 27, 1917. The store was owned by John Frederick Ernest Steinmann (1871-1934).

    Steinmann’s 1911 will, which is listed for sale in the same eBay auction, notes 346 Laurel St. with “house and lot” was bequeathed to his son Henry, and 344 Laurel with “house and lot” was bequeathed to his son Charles.

    The building permit is for “store and dwelling.” So the brick building was brand new when the photo was taken that is on sale on ebay.

    Neighbor Charles Pool found a notice of the building permit in the July 1, 1911 Times Dispatch and it supports the current owner’s research that the family lived upstairs.

    Interview With Beth Marschak, Richmond Earth Day Founder

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    Style magazine has a nice interview with Beth Marschak, one of the founders of the Richmond Earth Day celebration (and a former Oregon Hill resident).

    Here’s an excerpt:

    Beth Marschak, now an HIV prevention specialist, was 20 when she helped organize the city’s inaugural Earth Day at Monroe Park in 1971.

    In a nod to Saturday’s yearly acknowledgement of the planet, Style spoke with Marschak about some of the progress made — and to worry about the future.

    Style: Why did you want to bring Earth Day to Richmond?

    Marschak: I was in a student group at Westhampton-University of Richmond called S.H.A.M.E – Studying and Halting the Assault on Man and Environment. That was back when people liked names like that.

    Most of the people in our group were science majors. I was a chemistry major at that time. People had a fairly sophisticated view of the problems affecting the environment and ecology from a scientific standpoint.

    And, of course, if you looked at the James River back then, it was terrible. Sewage was going directly into the river. You would not want to get into it. Now people tube down it and swim in it and fish. You could not do that then. You wouldn’t put a toe in it.

    So it was really one of those things where, right here in this area, you could see some major impacts from not having policies protecting clean water, clean air.

    She also recently wrote a letter to the Planning Commission, asking that they spare remaining mature trees in Monroe Park. However the Planning Commission voted in favor of removing the trees.