From Left to Right: Josh Owens, Scott Armentrout, Zan Armentrout, Kim Snider, Michael Dean, and Season Burzek

In 1929, Mark Kirby established an independent, community pharmacy at 217 West Main Street in Radford. Radford Drug, Inc. was not only a full-service pharmacy, but it also featured a soda fountain and hand packed ice cream. This made it a favorite gathering spot for the youth of those early decades.

Providing a necessary service to the people of Radford, as well as giving folks a great place to meet and enjoy themselves, was the perfect combination for a long-lasting, successful enterprise.
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Front: Debby Ring; Back left to right: Cameron Ring and Jessee Ring

By Jesse Ring

Fifty years ago, Jessee Ring met his future wife, Debby, while attending the University of Virginia. One of the things the young couple had in common was an interest in wines.

Wine intrigued them. Not only did they find it an enjoyable beverage, wine also presented them with never-ending opportunities for learning and variety. One could drink wine for a lifetime and never run out of new ones to try. The Rings also discovered that the world contains endless prospects for wine aficionados to dig as deep as they want into the characteristics of wine regions and the wines they produce.

Jessee jumped in with both feet. He read books and magazines about wine, popped corks, took tasting notes, started a wine collection, went to wine tastings, attended antique wine auctions, and is still going strong.
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Dana Giesen and John Giesen

In the spring of 1974, Dennis Sayers was an art teacher at New River Community College, while Jon Wyatt was Industrial arts teacher at Radford University. Sayers and Wyatt had been friends for many years, and both had backgrounds in graphics. Their mutual respect for graphics, as well as an entrepreneurial spirit, led them to begin trying their hand at screen printing. No one else in Radford was providing the service, and the two men thought that partnering in a screen-printing company just might be lucrative decision.

From 1974 to 1977, screen-printing remained a hobby for Dennis and Jon. They were just getting started and had to maintain their teaching positions to make ends meet. For those first three years, they fulfilled all their orders from Jon’s basement. Their very first job was for the Virginia Tech All Sports Camp, adding a screen-print decoration to hundreds of wooden paddles.

From that first successful order, word slowly began to spread.
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Gen. Gabriel C. Wharton Photo courtesy of Wharton-Radford Papers

Nannie Radford Wharton Photo courtesy of Radford Heritage Foundation

Back in 1972, an aspiring Civil War historian named William C. ‘Jack’ Davis set out to write a history on the Battle of New Market, Virginia. He reached out to dozens of people via letter, including descendants of key military figures from the battle. Among those was a descendant of Confederate Brigadier General Gabriel C. Wharton. In response, Davis received a cordial but disappointing letter, saying that the family had no documentation of Wharton’s war record in their possession.

Wharton descendant Sally van Solkema (right) with husband Frits van Solkema (left) with their granddaughter Charlotte (center). Photo courtesy of Wharton-Radford Papers

Some forty years later, however, Wharton descendant, Sue Heth Bell – with no knowledge of the previous exchange – approached Davis about her family’s papers related to the Civil War. During those forty years, the Wharton family had made the very difficult decision to sell Glencoe, a Radford residence that had been in their family for over 100 years. Contained within the home’s attic, they found trunk after trunk full of documents. Wharton descendant Sally, along with her husband, Frits van Solkema, had held onto and carried these trunks with them for decades.
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Bugz Forbes

By Colleen E. Grecus

Bugz Forbes, tattoo artist extraordinaire for over thirty years, has become a Radford institution in an industry few would expect. Born Hampton Edward Forbes IV in the state of Delaware, Bugz’s parents dropped all the extra syllables when he was a child and gave him a nickname that has stuck to this very day.
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Located at the center of the majestic New River Valley in southwestern Virginia, Radford is an exciting city with an identity that spans centuries. From the daring journey of Mary Ingles in 1755, to the academic excellence of Radford University, to the New River, to the people that live, work, dream, create, and work here. Whether it’s outdoor activities, art, shopping, intellectual interests, sports, or even the nightlife, Radford has so much to offer!

SAMPLING OF EVENTS:

Saturday, April 16
Light Up The Lake at Claytor Lake State Park

April 24 — 29
New River Valley Senior-Games

Sunday, April 24
St Albans Sanatorium’s April History Tour

Saturday, April 30
Owl Prowl Campfire at Claytor Lake State Park

Friday, May 13
St Albans Sanatorium’s May Flashlight Tour & Public Investigation

Saturday, May 21
Music and Merchants Festival in Downtown Pulaski

Sunday, May 22
St Albans Sanatorium’s May History Tour

Thursday – Monday, May 26 – May 30
Claytor Lake Music Fest at the Rockhouse Marina

Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, June 3 – 5
Little River Poetry Festival
www.LittleRiverPoetryFest.com

Saturday, June 11
Claytor Lake Festival at Claytor Lake State Park

Tuesday, June 14
Flag Day Boat Parade at the Rockhouse Marina

Saturday, June 18
Summer Solstice celebration at St Albans Sanatorium

Saturday, June 18
St Albans Sanatorium’s May Flashlight Tour
& Public Investigation

Saturday – Sunday, June 18 – 19
Floyd Artisan Trail Tour
www.floydartcenter.org/artisan-trail

Wednesday – Sunday, July 27 – July 31
Floyd Fest – www.floydfest.com

Thursday – Staurday, July 28 – 30
Bluegrass Gospel Revival at
The Little River Bluegrass Barn

Friday, Saturday, & Sunday, July 29 – 31
Mary Draper Ingles Festival
www.GlencoeMansion.org

September 1 – 4
Floyd Yoga Jam • www.FloydYogaJam.net
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William A. “Bill” Caldwell

Colonel Arthur R. “Ott” Giesen

Joyce Spivey “Jo” Alderman

By Colleen E. Grecus

707 West Main Street in Radford is home to the Giesen-Caldwell Agency, a Realty Agency with a story that starts way back in 1945, when Colonel Arthur R. “Ott” Giesen, a proud alumnus of the Virginia Military Institute, returned to his hometown of Radford from WWII. Along with his brother-in-law, William A. “Bill” Caldwell, Ott decided to establish a Real Estate agency in the New River Valley that would be named after themselves. They set up shop in a second-floor office on Norwood Street, now East Main Street, next door to Leggett Department Store.

They set out to broker Real Estate and insurance, and though they undoubtedly strove for success, they may not have known that their agency would still be thriving some seventy-seven years later! That’s longer than any other agency in the region!
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Photo courtesy of the Radford Heritage Foundation

Located at 600 Unruh Drive in Radford, Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery sits atop a knoll off West Main Street, shining as one of Radford’s main tourist attractions. Here, visitors of all ages can take in a three-in-one museum experience, including the Historic Residence, History Exhibits, and the Art Gallery. Adjacent to the site, visitors may also see the Mary Draper Ingles Cultural Heritage Park, with a statue of the pioneer heroine. There is also the New River Train Observatory.
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