The four crooners belt it out early in the show.

The Crooners Satisfies Mill Mountain Audience

Mill Mountain Theatre's latest concert event, Music of the Crooners, was met with enthusiasm by a mostly-older, surprisingly large crowd as it opened a three-performance last night on its main stage.

Musical standards that were originally sung by some of America's greatest singers were the fare, presented by four singers who have performed on the Mill Mountain Stage before, one of whom, Leonela Hernandez, is now the MMT's Education Associate.

The other signers include Devin Altizer, a native of this area, who has been in previous MMT musical productions; Nick Walker Jones, who has been in three full-length musical productions at the theatre in the past; and Maddie Mae, a former member of MMT's Apprentice Company.

The singers and their pickup band (Michael Havens, Seth Davis, musical director, and Taylor Cobb of Roanoke) brought considerable enthusiasm to a long list of songs, some from most of the five or six decades before the turn of the century. 

They were joined at one point by MMT Business Manager Larry Kufel, a man old enough to have heard most of the tunes performed when they were originally released. His smooth delivery and stage presence brought the house down. That was followed by a lovely rendition of "At Last," the Etta James classic, sung by Ms. Hernandez.

The classics included songs from Bobby Darin, Doris Day, Harry Connick, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong, Mel Torme and Neil Diamond, Paul Anka, Peggy Lee, Tom Jones and Vic Damone. The definition of "crooner" (i.e. "a signer, typically male, who sings sentimental songs in a soft, low voice") was less than strict, allowing some good songs by the women and some belt-it-out blues ("At Last") to be included.

It was an appreciative crowd enjoying an end-of-warm-seasons evening, masked and content.

Tickets are available today at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. by calling 540-342-5748 at $18 to $25. 

Linwood Holton (left) with his daughter Tayloe on the way to school in 1970.

The Death of an American Hero

Linwood Holton, Virginia's former governor who died at 98 yesterday, was a genuine American hero when America needed all the heroes it could get.

I had the honor of knowing him for some years, partly because my favorite ex-wife's family was close to the Holtons and we had dinner occasionally, and partly because I was assigned to his good son, Woody, when Woody was an intern at The Roanoke Times. Woody later became a historian, an author, and a professor at VCU. I met Holton's daughter Anne, the former Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth, later and admired her greatly, as well.

Holton and son-in-law Tim Kaine.

Holton first came to my attention when I saw an AP Wirephoto of him walking his high school-age daughter Tayloe to school in Richmond (photo above). That wouldn't normally have been unusual, except that the Holtons insisted on sending their children to public schools at a time when violence and protest were the order of the day as integration insinuated itself into the conversation.

Holton was a Republican (who first ran for public office as a Roanoke lawyer) because it was a default setting in the Star City, not so much because he was dyed-in-the-wool. 

Linwood, of course, watched in horror as the Virginia GOP took a hard swing to the right with George Allen and they was mortified with the presidencies of Bush and Trump (I'm not sure how he felt about Reagan; I never asked and he never offered, but I doubt he was enthusiastic about the B-movie actor as president).

He was a long-time supporter of John Warner, Virginia's GOP Senator, and a man whose views were similar to his own. Holton went so far as to endorse people like Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (his son-in-law) for governor and the U.S. Senate.

The best I can say about Linwood is that he was a good man, an honorable man. He nearly became vice president under Richard Nixon, and ultimately president when Nixon resigned. When Spiro Agnew disgraced the office of Vice President, Nixon considered appointing Linwood to fill the spot, but settled on Gerald Ford, a completely non-controversial figure who had never done anything of note as a member of congress. Meaning he hadn't pissed anybody off.

Would that we could find some Republicans today who believe Linwood Holton got it right, but I've looked hard, overturned rocks, looked in closets and could only find people who admire Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Green. Linwood would not have cared for them and their ilk. He had entirely too much honor, dignity and a stable ethical base. 

These young women are tuning up for their cross country run at Green Hill Park. 

 Knowing What They Need to Know

I am often astonished at what young people know. And what they don't know.

I was over at Green Hill Park in Salem earlier today, getting in some steps before my next appointment, when I ran into the scene above on the huge open field, one so big that polo is played there. I was wondering just what was going on and had my camera with me, so I went over to investigate.

A young woman in a burgundy track warmup suit was walking toward me, head in her cell phone and I stopped her (it took three trys at "Miss! ... Miss! ... Miss!" before I got her attention). "What is going on here?" I asked.

"Cross country meet," she said. 

"Is this an HBCU meet?" I asked, referring to Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

She gave me a blank look, so I explained: "I don't see any white athletes."

"Oh," she said. "It's CIAA."

"What's that stand for?"

"Dunno."

Then it occurred to me (an old sportswriter): Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, a group of 12 HBCUs basically on the East Coast. The CIAA cross country championships were scheduled to begin--in Salem, where none of the schools is located--at noon with the women's run. The closest school in this group to Salem is Winston-Salem State, which is 100 miles south and, of course, not even in Virginia. 

But the young woman was content for the road trip, the social occasion, and her cell phone. I hope she won.

My Best Girl's Book Signing to Benefit SARA

Linda Kay Simmons, my significant other and a novelist with special skill, will sign copies of her new book "Pissant and Cinderella: The Fairy Tale That Wasn't" Friday, Oct. 29, 2-5 p.m. for the benefit of SARA.

Author Linda Kay Simmons 

SARA, located at 3034 Brambleton Avenue in Roanoke (near the Coffee Pot bar), is the organization--celebrating its 10th anniversary under director Teresa Berry this month--that counsels rape and other sexual abuse victims. 

It is a truly effective, efficient, beautifully-run group with many volunteers and solid support from private individuals and organizations. It also gets some government funding, but every dollar counts at SARA.

"Pissant and Cinderella" is a blunt, forcefully-detailed, beautifully-written account of sexual abuse within a family that can be hard to read because it is so straightforward and honest. It is based on true events and Linda Kay is a master at delving into the underbelly of difficult situations, as she has done in the past with "Lightening Shall Strike," "Cahas Mountain" and "Lamb on a Tombstone," all ballads with a Roanoke Valley setting and a national appeal.

Linda Kay will donate $5 per book sold at the event to SARA. The cover price is $15. If you can't make the signing, you can find Linda's books at on Amazon.com.  

 

This view of the Catawba Valley (Virginia Tech farm) is the exception: No Apco lines.

The New Catawba Valley Greenway Trail: 

Not Much To Recommend It 

I took a short drive out to the Catawba Valley this morning to walk the new Catawba Greenway spur, which ultimately leads up to McAfee's Knob (after 5.9 miles of walking, mostly uphill). I did the modified hour and a half version and, frankly, I saw all I needed of this trail.

It is not one I would recommend for any reason other than the exercise and the quiet (given that it runs parallel to Rt. 311). You see little of the lovely Catawba Valley (which I once observed while riding upside down in an open cockpit bi-plane) without the intrusion of Appalachian Power lines. That simply spoils the view.

The walk is up and down (mostly up), but not exhausting or even particularly challenging. It is a hike I likely won't take again because there simply is little to it.

This young fellow pranced out across the road in front of me.

This view is indicative of what's ahead. Not much. 

These random steps help you climb a fence that crosses the trail.

The view here? Appalachian Power.

 

My best girl and me with a spectacular view of the Peaks of Otter at lunch. 

Out Into the Virginia Mountains on a Lovely Fall Afternoon

Linda Kay and I love these unplanned Saturdays when we take off into the mountains with no agenda. Today, on the spur of the moment, I suggested we drive up to the Peaks of Otter and have lunch and maybe a walk around the lake. Good pick.

We didn't expect the nearly steady light rain for much of the drive, nor did we expect the absolutely spectacular light on the mountains. They were kissed by hanging clouds, creating a postcard view of Franklin and Bedford Counties that made it difficult to drive for the distraction.

The lunch at the Peaks of Otter Lodge was pedestrian (my well-done burger was well done!), owing, I guess, to its lack of buffet because of Covid. But Linda's grilled cheese was pronounced spectacular and when I asked if it was as good as the ones I cook for her, she handed me the sandwich and told me to judge for myself. It was every bit as good.

We had promised ourselves to stop at the Gross & Sons Orchards on the way back down the mountain on Virginia 43 (going through the Town of Bedford before running over the Moneta, where Linda lives) and I nearly missed it. That would have been a mistake. 

We had a delightful time at the apple festival we discovered and I came away with a big bag of Stayman apples, my faves, and a pint jar of sugar-free orange/cranberry marmalade. Linda got a bottle of scuppernong cider, among other things. I was delighted with the fair prices, as well.

It was a thoroughly nice day. And we need lots of those.

I like the smile.

My best model was in top form today. 

The wind-blown look.

Hey, nice hat, Pamps.

Pampa finds his roots.

Yeh, she's pretty, but man is she smart!

My best girl looks happy in the rain. 

Apple Boy at the bin. 

I can't reach it, Princess! Dang it!

Old men tend to find the bathrooms no matter where they are.

Linda finds the tiny pumpkins.

Perils of 'Pick Your Own': Rot!

Pampa finds some Staymans, his faves.

The Gross & Sons Orchards held a festival today and the apples flowed.

That pile of rocks over Linda's shoulder was part of her grandparents' home.

A Season's Change and Remembering the Dead

It isn't quite leaf season in the Roanoke Valley, but on the edges, there are some mighty fine-looking trees. Today, LindaK and I went out to Franklin County on her family's ancient farm to wander the fields, cross the streams, climb the damn hills and investigate a graveyard that holds her ancestors.

The graveyard was a good point of interest, going back, as it does, at least 200 yards and mostly memorializing silently. There are only four gravestones in the small cemetery with headstones and the people under them were born in about 1850. Other graves, those unmarked, but for a flat piece of river rock or shale are more sad than spooky, especially those small stones marking the resting place of children, some tiny.

It was a quiet walk for both of us as Linda thought who those long-lost people might be, how they survived, how they dealt with the deaths of probably half the children they bore. But the beauty of life, death and the seasons were all around us. 

Here are some photos from the walk.

The Roanoke Times used to live here, but it no longer does.

The Shrinking, Shrinking, Shrinking Newsrooms

It was interesting to chat with some people in the Roanoke-area journalism know last night at the Kendig Awards after-party. I discovered that Lee Enterprises, owner of The Roanoke Times and other papers across Virginia, considers these former independent entities "bureaus" now.

That's why, said one newsie, that Danville has one reporter in the newsroom. Danville has a population of 39,000 (losing people for the past few years) and the Bee has a circulation of about 15,000. The news division at The Times has (according to its website) 14 newsroom employees, four in sports and one in features (with the loss of Mike Allen to the editorial page, where he is alone).

The Times has daily "readership" (nowhere can I find "circulation") of 33,000 and Sunday "readership" of 54,000. When I worked at The Times in the 1970s, circulation on Sunday was 125,000. We had bureaus in Wytheville and Lexington, and we had four editions a day, the earliest (for the coalfields) with a 9 p.m. deadline, same as the single paper The Times produces daily now.

"Readership" is a fancy inflation of "circulation" that can't be proved. In most cases I've seen, it generally is triple the circulation number because of "pass-along," meaning more than one reader per paper. Most publications prefer you to know their readership and not their circulation. (Online readership can add considerably to the print version.)

You will notice that in the daily reporting on The Times' pages, there are dispatches from Fredericksburg, Richmond, Danville, Charlottesville, Bristol, Lynchburg and other Lee-owned properties, which I assume are now "bureaus" for The Times. That makes for better local coverage in those areas, but Roanokers, in my experience, want coverage of Roanoke first.

'Course that would meaning hiring more people and doing something to keep them working, which doesn't seem to be a priority these days.

Pat Wilhelms accepts award
from Roanoke President Mike Maxey

An Homage to Roanoke Valley Theatre

Todd Ristau

I was delighted last night to see Roanoke's live theater excellence honored with Perry F. Kendig Awards at Roanoke's Olin Hall (which also won an award as a venue).

The selection of Todd Ristau and Pat Wilhelms--a couple of theater veterans who have helped form the Roanoke Valley into a theatrical powerhouse--was gratifying to anybody who has watched the gradual growth of quality and depth of the region's players, from cleanup crew to star performer.

Todd worked for years with guru Ernie Zulia (who retired after last year's Hollins term ended) turning out writers at the Hollins Playwrights' Lab and built quite a bench of writers and performers with his unusual No Shame Theatre, which gained a national following. Pat, who has always been appreciated as a directorial and teaching professional, was nevertheless fired by Mill Mountain Theatre and Roanoke Children's Theatre in disputes with artistic directors (one of whom was later fired), but she came back in each case dramatically with yet another version of children's theater. 

This night was a triumph for local theater groups, all of them, because they are damn good and the atmosphere for theatrical production--even during the pandemic--is great. I mean, Showtimers last spring, struggled back with an awful, outside, on the spot play that was deeply appreciated by everybody involved. It wasn't about quality. It was about the show going on and it continues to do that in Roanoke, where even bad theater is appreciated.

Dwayne Yancey

The two guys who didn't take home the glass trophies in the individual artist category last night were journalist Dwayne Yancey and blues singer Kerry Hurley. Journalists don't usually make a dent in arts awards presentations (though I have two Kendigs, neither for the quality of my writing), but blues singers? Kerry is a guy who is internationally known and is an enthusiastic carrier of the message. He dresses like the Blues Brothers and sings like ... well, like Kerry Hurley, full-throated and soulful.

Dwayne, of course, is not just a much-honored journalist (Virginia Communications Hall of Fame, for example), but also a playwright, whose work has appeared all over the world (and who wrote the aforementioned Showtimers' play on the spur of the moment). Dwayne is not just good at both professions, but he is almost unimaginably prolific and recently, he left The Roanoke Times after 39 years to help roll out the Cardinal Press, an online-only publication that's heavy on coverage of rural Southwest Virginia. 

Kerry Hurley gets his award.

These awards covered the past two years because last year's ceremony was postponed by the pandemic and I will note that I nominated three of the individual finalists and that I have for years pushed for the inclusion of Hollins University and Roanoke College employees to be eligible (which they weren't because of the possibility of conflict of interest). 

This one, top to bottom, was rewarding on every level, but I suspect the theater arts crowd is still partying at the result.

My First Novel and Its Shadow: The Essay

I've been reading a novel I like a lot, The Essay by Appalachian writer Robin Yocum, which was released in 2012. It is about a high school boy living in dire poverty in Appalachia who finds his way out at least partly because of football and writing.

The plot is so similar to my own first novel, CLOG!, written in 2013 that I thought maybe Mr. Yocum had read my book before he wrote The Essay. Not so, as you can see the release dates. But the similarities are eerie. The name of the newspaper in the town where the plot takes place is the Vinton County Messenger. I used to edit the Vinton Messenger. The protagonist's football coach and English teachers are out to save him because of his writing "gift".

The boys' families have fallen apart, for very different reasons, but they dissolved, in any case. And there is a lot more, seemingly on every page. My book is a bit more romantic, his more involved with the actual writing of the essays. 

Even if I felt that Mr. Yocum had plagiarized NEWS! I wouldn't be pissed. I'd be flattered. He is a fine writer and I admire his book. I'm glad I found it. I'm halfway through and enjoying every word.

You can find The Essay here: https://www.amazon.com/Essay-Novel-Robin-Yocum-ebook/dp/B06XQ7ZTBH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=26BTOHAX9QVPI&dchild=1&keywords=the+essay+by+robin+yocum&qid=1633390382&s=books&sprefix=the+essay+%2Cinstant-video%2C158&sr=1-1

CLOG! is here: https://www.amazon.com/CLOG-Dan-Smith-ebook/dp/B00H2WP9UU/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=CLOG%21+by+Dan+Smith&qid=1633390962&s=books&sr=1-1 (Right now, mine's free on Kindle Unlimited.)