John Cummings speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville
On Thursday, March 28, 2013, John Cummings presented the forth lecture in our six part Thursday series entitled The Civil War Through Different Lenses (2013).
In this podcast Cummings talks about photography during the Civil War. Listen to the story Dr. Reed Bontecou, an army surgeon who took it upon himself to photograph the effects of war on the human body. You’ll also hear the story of G. O. Brown and how he “acquired” the many Civil War photographs that bear his name.
John Cummings is considered to be an expert on photography in the Civil War. His blog discusses the social, political and cultural aspects of the American Civil War battles fought in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
The lecture series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.
Beth Parnicza speaking at the
Senior Center in Charlottesville.
On March 21, 2013, Beth Parnicza presented the third lecture in a our six part CPN Thursday series entitled The Civil War Through Different Lenses (2013).
How does an action like the looting of Fredericksburg reflect on the culture of the army of the Potomac, and of the country at large? How do we think about the looting in the great scheme of battle? How is it that the looting of Fredericksburg can be considered a form of victory? These and many more questions are answered in this interesting podcast.
Beth Parnicza is an historian with the National Parks Service at theFredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park where she supervises the Chancellorsville Battlefield Center and manages volunteers and social media. A 2011 graduate of West Virginia University, her research interests focus largely on the human element of the Civil War, particularly in understanding the steps taken by individuals toward a harder kind of war and their motivations to do so.
The lecture series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience.
Satyendra Huja, mayor of the City of Charlottesville and Ann Mallek, chairman of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors spoke at the Wednesday, May 8, 2013 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at The Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following opening remarks by the participants questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV President Sue Liberman.
Ann Mallek and Satyendra Huja speaking at the Senior Center Wednesday.
Satyendra Huja
Satyendra Huja is the president of Community Planning Associates, and is also adjunct faculty at the University of Virginia School of Architecture and teaches Urban Planning courses on a regular basis. He was director of Strategic Planning for the City of Charlottesville from 1998 to 2004. Prior to that he was director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Charlottesville for 25 years. He received his Masters Degree in Urban Planning from Michigan State University.
He was elected to the Charlottesville City Council in 2007 and is currently serving as mayor. His experiences are in the area of downtown revitalization, housing, historic preservation, transportation planning, art and culture activities, and neighborhood revitalization.
He has received honors from the Virginia Society of American Institute of Architects, recognition from the PEW Foundation for downtown revitalization, and a special recognition award from Piedmont Council for the Arts for his outstanding contribution and support for the arts. He also has been a consultant to the City of Pleven, Bulgaria, for Economic Development and Tourism Marketing.
Ann Mallek
Ann H. Mallek, chairman of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, represents the White Hall District. She is an educator and program coordinator for Central Virginia for the Virginia Museum of Natural History. She received her B.A. in Zoology from Connecticut College, New London CT.
Ms. Mallek was elected to the Board in January 2008 and is currently serving as chairman. She serves on the following standing committees: Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission; Piedmont Workforce Network Council; Acquisition of Conservation Easements; Property Committee; Rivanna River Basin Commission; Charlottesville/Albemarle/UVA Planning and Coordination Council Policy Committee; LEAP Governance Board; CIP Oversight Committee; and the Crozet Community Advisory Council.
She is a member of the following organizations: League of Women Voters; Albemarle County Farm Bureau; Charlottesville-Albemarle Chamber of Commerce; Piedmont Environmental Council; Southern Environmental Law Center; Rivanna Conservation Society; Ivy Creek Foundation and the League of Conservation Voters.
Richard Nicholas speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville.
On March 14, 2013, Richard Nicholas presented the second lecture in our new six part CPN Thursday series entitled The Civil War Through Different Lenses (2013).
Finding the high ground was important to Civil War commanders for many reasons. Listen as Nicholas explains the role that this and other geological features played in the outcome of the war.
Richard L. Nicholas is a native Virginian and UVA graduate. He obtained his graduate degree from the University of Kansas. Richard has worked for Shell Oil as a geologist where he rose to the rank of chief geologist by the time of his retirement in 1991.
Richard has had a life long interest in Virginia history, especially the Civil War and has written two books, in the Virginia Regimental History series. He has written numerous articles for The Magazine of Albermarle County History. Mr. Nicholas recently completed a new book, Sheridan’s James River Campaign of 1865 Through Central Virginia.
The lecture series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.
Dale Floyd speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville.
On March 7, 2013, Dale Floyd presented the first lecture in a new six part CPN Thursday series entitled The Civil War Through Different Lenses (2013).
Henry Halleck defined fieldworks as “the art of disposing the ground in such a manner as to enable a small number of troops to resist a larger army the longest time possible.” According to Floyd, creating such fortifications was often difficult work. “To the scarcity of entrenching tools, many of the men were obliged to use their sabre bayonets, tin plates, and in some cases merely their hands to scrape up the dirt for the breastworks.” says Floyd in this podcast.
The lecture series was organized by award-winning historian and Charlottesville-based author, lecturer, and cartographer Rick Britton in conjunction with the Senior Center in Charlottesville.
Joel Barrett, a resident of South Bend, Indiana, recently flew to NYC with his partner David to get married on their 7th anniversary. He is working on a book about his experiences of growing up “godly” but gay in a conservative Baptist home and of his struggles of going through 2 1/2 years of ex-gay therapy. He discussed some of his thoughts with reporter, Deepak Singh.
Reporter Deepak Singh was in New Orleans recently. Walking around the city, he talked with some of the street musicians and recorded their music. Take a listen!
Delegate Toscano speaking at the Senior Center Wednesday.
Delegate David Toscano provided his perspective on the issues that came before the 2013 Virginia legislature at the Wednesday meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. Delegates Steve Landes, Rob Bell and Matt Fariss were also invited to speak but were unable to attend.
Delegate David Toscano is serving his fourth term in the Virginia General Assembly. He represents the 57th District (Charlottesville and part of Albemarle County) in the House of Delegates and, since 2011, has served as House Democratic Leader.
David is a member of the Courts of Justice; Transportation; and Science & Technology committees. He also a member of the Disability Commission and has served on the special Joint Subcommittee to Study Land Use Tools in the Commonwealth and the Joint Committee to study Math, Science, and Engineering. He is also a member of the United Way Board. The Virginia League of Conservation Voters has named David a “Legislative Hero” five consecutive years for his work on environmental issues.
An attorney with Buck, Toscano & Tereskerz, Ltd., David specializes in family law, real estate transactions, and estate planning.
Delegate Toscano spoke at the Wednesday, April 10, 2013 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Bill Davis.
Deborah Gordon speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville Wednesday.
“We will never, ever run out of oil,” says Deborah Gordon in this interesting podcast on the future of fossil fuels.
Deborah Gordon is a nonresident senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Energy & Climate Program), where her policy research focuses on oil, climate, and transportation issues in the United States, China, and globally.
Since 1996 she has been a policy consultant specializing in transportation, energy, and environmental policy for non-profit, foundation, academic, public, and private-sector clients. From 1996 to 2000 she founded and co-directed the Transportation and Environment Program at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and from 1989 to 1996 she founded and then directed the Transportation Policy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Additionally, Gordon has worked at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (1988-1989), under a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Gordon began her career as a chemical engineer with Chevron (1982-1987). Ms. Gordon also authors a blog on the topic of unconventional oil.
Ms. Gordon spoke at the Wednesday, March 13, 2013 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Grace Zisk.
Douglas Blackmon speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville Wednesday.
The 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States, or did it? In this podcast, Pulitzer Prize winner Douglas A. Blackmon talks about what really happened during reconstruction.
Douglas A. Blackmon is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Slavery by Another Name: The Re- Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, chair of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center Forum program, and a contributing editor at the Washington Post. Mr. Blackmon’s book was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. The book also received many additional awards and citations and was a New York Times best seller. Mr. Blackmon is also co-executive producer of a documentary film based on the book which was broadcast on PBS last year. The documentary will be rebroadcast on PBS on February 22, 2013.
Until 2011 he was the longtime chief of The Wall Street Journal’s Atlanta bureau and the paper’s Senior National Correspondent. He has written about, or directed coverage of, some of the most pivotal stories in American life, including the election of President Obama, the rise of the tea party movement, the BP oil spill, and the hurricane Katrina disaster. Prior to his work at the WSJ, Blackmon covered race and politics at the Atlanta Journal Constitution for seven years.
Raised in Leland, Mississippi, Blackmon penned his first newspaper story for the Leland Progress at the age of twelve. He received his degree in English from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. At present he is time sharing between Charlottesville and downtown Atlanta where his family makes their home.
Mr. Blackmon spoke at the Wednesday, February 13, 2013 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV vice-president Bob McGrath.
Dr. Richard F. DeMong speaking at the Senior Center in Charlottesville Wednesday.
What role did the human factor play leading to the financial crisis? What are the difficulties of regulating shadow banks? In this podcast you’ll learn how the financial system goes awry when risk goes to zero. You’ll also learn the meaning of “moral hazard” and how it played a role in the financial crises of 2008.
Dr. Richard F. DeMong is the Virginia Bankers Association Professor Emeritus at the McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia. Dr. DeMong received a bachelor’s degree from California State University at Long Beach, an MBA from the College of William and Mary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. He is the author of numerous articles on subprime lending, managerial finance, investments, small business, and banking in leading finance and banking journals. Colonel DeMong is a retired United States Air Force pilot.
Dr. DeMong spoke at the Wednesday, January 9, 2013 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held at the Senior Center in Charlottesville. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Tom Boyd.
Steven has had a long time interest in local history. Listen as he talks about the historic ceremony to take place on Sunday December 23, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. at the Society’s building on Second Street NE. The ceremony is a part of Charlottesville’s 250th birthday celebration taking place this year.
Unlike the 1962 time capsule unearthed earlier this year, the new capsule will be encased in a specially made compartment in the ACHS building. By enshrining the capsule above ground it is hoped that its contents will fair better than did those of the 1962 capsule. Listen as Steven tells the story of both the old and new time capsules and of the steps to make sure tomorrow’s capsule will survive until it is opened in 2062.