Prom, May 1965, WBCH

I already shared a link to the Times Dispatch’s photos of this year’s Open High prom, but here is a photo from a prom held at the William Byrd Community House back in 1965. This was posted to a FaceBook group called Oregon Hill Reunion Group. (Ed. note: I will probably be sharing more photos from there in the future for ‘Throwback Thursday’.)

Linda Hester, who contributed the photo, wrote:

In picture top is Hector Martinez, Linda Hester .Bottom left is Butch Neisz and Janie Ho. Bottom right is Beverly Overton and Tommy Clary.Such fun times growing up on the hill and going to the community house for all kinds of activities!!

Birdhouse (Byrd House) Market Moving To Randolph

From the Enrichmond Foundation newsletter:

Birdhouse (formerly Byrdhouse) is a leader in the local food market effort in Richmond. This year the market will be leaving their longtime Oregon Hill location for a new home at 1507 Grayland Avenue near the Randolph Community Center and a few blocks away from the historic Second Baptist Church.

For more information, email: byrdhousemarket at gmail.com or you can always email our Partnership coordinator: ejenkins at enrichmond.org

“What Doesn’t Burn.”

Harry Kollatz Jr’s most recent column informs of new attention to Grace Arents’ legacy from local librarian and writer Wendy DeGroat. A New Jersey transplant, DeGroat was inspired by a previous 2009 Kollatz feature on Grace Arents called The Invisible Philanthropist.

Kollatz excerpt:

Segue to 2015, and DeGroat is composing a group of 20 to 30 “documentary poems” under the title “What Doesn’t Burn.” The title is imbued with meanings: DeGroat like researchers before her, is left with scant material about Arents who, like her wealthy uncle Lewis Ginter and others of their time, ordered the destruction of her personal papers. What somehow didn’t burn were a commonplace book and two travel journals. In constructing the poems, to give herself Arents’ voice, DeGroat charted the frequency and choice of words and broke them into their proper categories, whether noun, verb and so forth. To frame the poems, she created letters that Grace could have written to her younger sister, Minnie, in New York City.

But, DeGroat points out, what also doesn’t burn is what one gives away, whether energy or material. It is a particular poignant observation, giving that the William Byrd Community House, a direct portion of Arents’ legacy – which withstood economic depressions and many variations of the monetary climate – closed this year.

She’s found in Arents not a schoolteacher spinster, as she’s perceived, but an independent woman who at age 49, through inheritance of the Ginter fortune, became a person of means, too. Arents chose to exercise her will by making her part of the world a better place and doing so in a way that didn’t attract undue attention to herself. Arents’ humble nature seems to have come through either example or genetics of her Uncle Lewis. The tobacco magnate who bankrolled the construction of the Jefferson Hotel ordered that his name not be seen anywhere in the building. This kind modesty isn’t exemplified by latter-day tycoons.

WBCH No More

Confirming what Oregon Hill residents have known for a while, the Times Dispatch has an article on the William Byrd Community House shutting down.

Some excerpts:

The William Byrd Community House, an influential force for early childhood education and helping low-income families, is in the process of shutting down, according to the organization’s former executive director.

The nonprofit’s board of directors has not met to vote for its dissolution, but former executive director Shelia Givens said her last day was Friday.
“It’s pretty much inevitable,” Givens said of its closing.
After years of financial woes brought on by compounding debts and dwindling contributions and grants, the early-education center that received a rare and sought-after four-star rating from Virginia Star Quality Initiative furloughed most of its staff last month and shut down its preschool program.

The nonprofit’s origins trace to the early 1900s when a group of nurses funded by philanthropist Grace Arents, the niece of Lewis Ginter, banded with social workers to provide cooking, hygiene and infant-care classes and community recreation. The building, constructed in 1903, was Richmond’s first free library before it became the William Byrd Community House to serve poor residents.
In addition to the early childhood education center, the nonprofit provided mortgage, rent and utility assistance to low-income families in the area as well as a food pantry and weekly farmers market that accepted SNAP benefits.

The Byrd House Market will officially end Oct. 27, but in speaking to the vendors, it sounds like ‘the renegade market’ can happen till the end of December. After that, ‘all promises are off’.

What’s even more worrisome is that the St. Andrew’s Association has not announced future plans for the building and grounds. There have been some rumors of a St. Andrew’s Middle School or longterm plans for elderly housing.

WBCH Liquidation Sale

The William Byrd Community House is selling the following items. If you are interested or would like to go by and take a look please call Shelia Givens at 804-901-3763 or stop by 224 S. Cherry Street.
40 passenger bus
Bookshelves
Cabinets
Computers
Printers
Fax machines
TVs
Tables
Chairs
Lamps
Sofas
Fish tank
Piano
Organ
Desk
Freezers
Refrigerators
Push Lawnmower
Riding Lawnmower
Lots of yard equipment
Office supplies
School supplies
Coffee maker
Trash cans
White boards
Free books
2 stoves
Lots of other items

Byrd House Market Today

From email announcement:
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Cool Weather
Groovy Foods
yeah, baby.

See You At the Market!
3:30 – 7:00 pm
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:-( NO MORE $5 Tokens!
Please spend the ones you’ve got and check with your favorite vendors to see if they can take your credit or debit card for purchases.

SNAP EBT still Good :-)
through the market season

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Fall Veggies & Fruits & CSAs Abound
and Everyone’s Back this Week!

Baked Goods
Organic Wheat Breads and Turkish Pastries
Irish Porter Cakes and Soda Bread
Baklava

“Dine In”
Brunswick Stew
Asian Noodles with Fresh Vegetables
BBQ Pork Buns
Chicken and Beef KeBobs
Vegie, Chicken & Shrimp Spring Rolls
Pork Rinds and Popsicles
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Greater Richmond Dietetic Association
will be in the house!
with recipes & quick tips for fruit & veggies

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