Category: History

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100 Year Anniversary of UVa’s Skinner Organ

In today’s show, written by Jane Ford, Senior News Officer for the UVa News Department, we celebrate the one hundred-year anniversary of the E.M. Skinner Organ, which was installed in UVa’s Cabell Hall in 1907.

AUDIO SLIDE SHOW: E.M. Skinner Organ Celebrates 100 Years

On March 29th, 2008, UVa celebrated the 100th anniversary of the E.M. Skinner Organ, an iconic fixture of the University of Virginia since its installation at Cabell Hall in 1907. At the turn of the 20th century, pipe organs were models of cutting-edge technology and American engineering, an organ expert told an audience celebrating the 100th anniversary of the E.M. Skinner organ…

For more information about the show or to see the full text, visit the Oscar Show’s blog.

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Diary of Tobias Lear

In today’s show, adapted from an article recently published on the Oscar Web site written by Matt Kelly, a writer for UVa’s Media relations, we examine the works of Tobias Lear, secretary to George Washington and envoy to North Africa for President Thomas Jefferson.

In 2007, the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, received a firsthand glimpse of George Washington’s last days through the writings of Tobias Lear, secretary to President Washington and envoy to North Africa for President Thomas Jefferson.

For more information about the show or to see the full text, visit the Oscar Show’s blog.

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Dick Dyszel on the heyday of local television on WDCA

Dick Dyszel played an integral role in Virginia’s horror heyday as host of Creature Feature, which aired Saturday nights on WDCA Channel 20 in D.C. Dyszel played Count Gore De Vol, Captain 20 and even Bozo for the station from 1973 to 1987. He was a guest on the show and answered questions from Coy Barefoot and Hawes Spencer of The Hook.

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Saying goodbye to the voice of Charlottesville

WINAvDj(tm)s Dick Mountjoy died earlier this month at the age of 61 following a long battle with cancer. Jane Foy joined Coy Barefoot on the March 28, 2008 to celebrate the life of one of CharlottesvillevDj(tm)s icons. Guests include DickvDj(tm)s son Mike Mountjoy who announced that the Memorial Service will be held at St. Thomas Aquinas at 11:00 AM on Monday, March 31.

Other remembrances:

  • Chris Callahan describes DickvDj(tm)s start in radio and how he became CharlottesvillevDj(tm)s Mayor in the Morning
  • vDjnjVoice of the CavaliersvDjkj Mac McDonald talks about how he learned from Dick
  • Former WINA News Director Sarah McConnell explains how Dick taught her how to do the news
  • Bob Gibson of the Daily Progress reminisces about knowing Dick for 40 years
  • Other past WINA employees and listeners phone in with their memories



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Investigative reporter’s new book explains Ahmad Chalabi

Investigative reporter Aram Roston is the author of The Man who Pushed America to War: The Extraordinary Life, Adventures and Obsessions of Ahmad Chalabi. He joins Coy Barefoot on the March 25 edition of WINAvDj(tm)s CharlottesvillevDj”Right Now to talk about the rise of the former mathematician who Roston claims engineered U.S. policy by rigorously lobbying for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

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Virginia’s eugenics movement: 2001 documentary (part 2)

And now, the second installment of my series on Virginia’s eugenics movement, produced seven years ago with a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. The first part can be heard here, and relates a general history of the eugenics movement, and the role Virginia played in legitimizing forced sterilizations.

This second seven and a half minute installment begins with the voice of the late Mitch Van Yahres reading a list of the offenses that could get you a vasectomy or your tubes tied, courtesy of the state. We then hear the voices of two former “patients” of the Virginia Colony for the Epileptic and the Feeble-minded, just north of Lynchburg in Madison Heights. Both live in Lynchburg, and I’m not sure what’s happened to them. When I spoke with them, the resolution expressing the state’s “profound regret” had not yet passed.

Since posting the first story last week, I was contacted by Paul Lombardo, the U.Va historian and bioethicist whose scholarship helped revive academic attention into this chapter of American and Virginia history. Paul tells me he’s writing a book on Buck v. Bell, which will come out this summer. He reminded me that then-Governor Mark Warner apologized for the eugenics era on May 2, 2002, the same day that a historic marker commemorating Carrie Buck was unveiled outside Region 10’s headquarters on Preston Avenue. Pictured on the left is Jesse Meadows, and Paul Lombardo is on the right.

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Myth & Memory

Objects and ideas inform both history and contemporary thought and are the basis of the study of material culture. For Maurie McInnis, associate professor of American art and material culture and director of American Studies, understanding the antebellum South in the 19th century encompasses understanding art and objects from the perspective of class politics, social structures and hierarchies.

Working with Angela D. Mack, curator of the traveling show that originated at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, S.C., McInnis has spent the last four years creating Landscape of Slavery: The Plantation in American Art, an exhibition on view through April 20 at the University of Virginia Art Museum. The exhibition focuses on themes of race, slavery and the plantation from the 19th century to today…

For more information about the show or to see full text, visit the Oscar Show’s blog.

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Jennifer Gullette on what’s happening at Montpelier

Jennifer Gullette of James Madison’s Montpelier joins Coy Barefoot on WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” to talk about the fourth president’s 257th birthday. The home is slowly being restored to the way it was in 1809, part of a $24 million project. Two years ago, the new facade was unveiled to the public.

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Virginia’s eugenics movement: 2001 documentary (part 1)

In 2001, the Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution expressing the state’s “profound regret” over its role in the eugenics movement. More or less passed over in the history books, Virginia played a pivotal role in government sanction of a policy where the mentally ill and indigent were sterilized so they would not pass their genetic material on to other generations. In 1924, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the practice in Buck v. Bell, in which Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously wrote: “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” As a result of the case, Charlottesville native Carrie Buck was sterilized at the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded.

Earlier this year, former Delegate Mitch Van Yahres died. Seven years ago, it was his legislation that helped Virginia kind of apologize. I’m reposting this series I produced in part to honor his legacy, but also because I don’t think it gets mentioned enough. It’s been a while since I’ve heard this, and I’ve come a long way as a producer since then. Still, this series won a regional Edward R. Murrow award for best documentary. I’ll post the other three installments in the days to come.

This project was originally funded by a grant to WVTF Public Radio from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

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Piscataway Chief Tayac speaks at UVA

On February 24, 2008, Chief Billy “Red Wing” Tayac of the Piscataway Nation gave a talk at the University of Virginia on issues affecting today’s American Indians. His appearance was hosted by the American Indian Student Union and the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice. Representatives from those two organizations introduce themselves. More information about the event can be found here.

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Local NAACP celebrates group’s 99th anniversary

On February 17, 2008, The Albemarle-Charlottesville Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People celebrated the national organization’s 99th anniversary at an event held in the auditorium at Jackson P. Burley Middle School in Charlottesville. The theme of the day was “Standing on the Promises.”

We recorded the event, and now bring you the highlights. The master of ceremonies for the event is Mrs. Janette B. Martin, Vice-President of the Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP.
Timeline for podcast:

  • 0:51 – Reading of original poem, God, Give Me the Strength by Miss Bekenwari Idoniboye.
  • 3:38 – Mrs. Janette B. Martin welcomes the audience, and introduces the guests
  • 5:05 – Mrs. Shirley Roundtree, President, Fluvanna NAACP, reviews the history and purpose of the organization
  • 8:05 – Dr. M. Rick Turner, President, Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP, addresses the issue of continuing segregation in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
  • 4:27- Rev. Michael Turner, President, Staunton NAACP, speaks to the vitalness of the organization’s work.
  • 6:37 – Rev. Mildred Middlebrooks, President, Waynesboro NAACP, remembers those who sacrificed their lives for justice.
  • 22:22 – Mr. Brandon Kelly, President, UVA NAACP College Chapter, reviews current threats to and triumphs of the struggle for equality.
  • 24:28 – Mrs. Martin introduces the youth speakers, Christen Edwards and Shelby Edwards.
  • 25:18 – Dr. Turner introduces the featured speaker, Rev. Dr. J. Rayfield Vines, Jr., Virginia State Conference NAACP President
  • 28:00 – Rev. Dr. Vines speaks on the topic, “Where Are You Standing?”



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This Glorious Struggle: George Washington’s Revolutionary War Letters

George Washington wrote an astonishing number of letters, both personal and professional. The majority of the over 140,000 known documents are from his years as Commander-in-Chief during the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783. Historian Edward Lengel’s new book is called This Glorious Struggle: George Washington’s Revolutionary War Letters. Lengel is the associate editor of the Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia.