Smaller showers on Friday morning, but steadier rain expected Sunday.
One of two serial robbers involved in a multistate crime rampage that authorities said terrorized employees of banks, hotels, gas stations and convenience stores was sentenced to four years in federal prison for holding up Victoria Jewelers in Henrico County and taking $136,245 in jewelry, gold bars, coins and cash.
Federal prosecutors said between October and December 2021, Jesann L. Willis and her felon boyfriend, Rickley J. Senning, held up at gunpoint 15 different victims across multiple states and nine businesses in a series of robberies that ended with their arrests on Dec. 2, 2021, in Washington, D.C. The pair confessed to robbing Victoria Jewelers at 8191 Brook Road in Henrico and other crimes on the East Coast.
Willis
Montgomery County, Md., Police
They were implicated in eight additional armed holdups in Maryland and Pennsylvania, including robberies of an Essex Bank in Rockville, Md.; a PNC Bank in Potomac, Md.; and an M&T Bank in Frederick, Md. Those three holdups netted the defendants more than $18,000, federal prosecutors said.
Following a sentencing hearing Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Judge John A. Gibney Jr. sentenced Willis, 36, of Gaithersburg, Md., to 48 months in prison on her earlier guilty plea to robbery affecting commerce in the Victoria Jewelers holdup. Willis also was ordered to make restitution in the amount of $139,939.35.
In exchange for her guilty plea in June, the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed not to prosecute her for the eight other robberies.
During the take-over style holdup of Victoria Jewelers, authorities said Willis and Senning removed hundreds of items from store showcases. The loot included 36 pairs of diamond rings, 117 additional rings, 220 gold bracelets, 42 pairs of gold hoops and heart earrings, five gold bars, five gold coins, 28 chains, 262 charms and $5,100 in cash.
Authorities said this surveillance photo shows Jesann L. Willis and Rickley J. Senning robbing Victoria Jewelers at 8191 Brook Road at gunpoint of nearly $137,000 of items.
Henrico County Division of Police
As Senning pointed the gun directly at the owner’s face, the owner’s son tried to escape. Senning then hopped over the counter and grabbed the son. While robbing the store, Senning advised the owner that he knew where he lived and would kill him if necessary, according to the government’s summary of evidence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Simon Jr. urged the court to sentence Willis within discretionary federal sentencing guidelines, which for Willis was calculated at a range of 108 to 135 months behind bars. However, the judge granted, in part, a defense motion for downward variance in Willis’ punishment that shaved 60 months off the low end of the guidelines.
Assistant Public Defender Nia Ayanna Vidal argued a variance was warranted based primarily on the significant traumas Willis faced as a youth, the effect those traumas had on her adult life, and the threats and coercion she endured by her co-defendant boyfriend, who Willis contends forced her involvement in nine armed robberies across three states.
The defense argument was supported in part by Dr. Lucy Guarnera, a clinical psychologist and University of Virginia faculty member, who conducted psychological testing on Willis and reviewed records of the defendant’s history and assessed her involvement in the crimes.
While Vidal said the egregiousness of Willis’ conduct is not in dispute, the attorney said Willis involved herself with a violent man who controlled her. He physically and sexually assaulted her constantly and continuously threatened physical harm to her, her family and other innocent people, Vidal said.
“Ms. Willis had been law abiding for all 36 years of her life and a devoted mother,” Vidal said. “There can be no doubt, that leaving her children to go on a crime spree can only be the result of serious underlying issues that collided terribly with her involvement with a violent, unstable man.”
However, Simon noted that seven of the nine robberies occurred after Willis was given an opportunity to speak one-on-one with a female officer outside of the presence of her boyfriend, when her employer sought the return of the car Willis and her boyfriend had stolen and used in the first two robberies. She did not express fear for her safety or being under duress, nor did she mention the robberies that had occurred two weeks earlier, Simon said.
To the contrary, Willis misled law enforcement, the prosecutor said, and after her boyfriend was released on bond for a firearm violation stemming from an Oct. 30, 2021, investigatory stop conducted by Rockville, Md., police, she reunited with him. “And, more disturbingly, she facilitated his possession of the semiautomatic pistol that was used at seven of the nine armed robberies that occurred in November and December,” Simon said.
Senning was indicted in March by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to commit robbery, robbery affecting commerce and using a firearm in a crime of violence.
Senning’s case was delayed after his attorney told the court in July that his client suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and the medications prescribed to treat the illnesses have been changed or adjusted several times, triggering hallucinations and other mental health symptoms.
The judge agreed to a defense motion to have Senning evaluated by a psychologist to determine his mental competency to assist in his defense. The court was notified Wednesday that the evaluation was complete and a report on the findings would be provided by Dec. 12.
More than 150 photos from the RTD archives
In August 1956, firefighters worked to put out flames at the Carter-Venable Grain Elevator at 12th and Canal streets in Richmond. The fire, which drew a crowd of hundreds, caused an estimated $100,000 in damage to machinery and supplies. Friction in a stalled conveyor belt sparked the fire.
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In May 1958, Richmond Mayor F. Henry Garber crowned Grace Jacqueline Allen as Miss Richmond during a ceremony at the Jefferson Hotel. In addition to winning a trip to the Miss Virginia contest in Roanoke the next month, Allen received a silver bowl, a $200 scholarship, jewelry and cosmetics. She was a student at the Richmond Professional Institute.
Staff photo
In March 1962, Nancy Beth Heller took a break from her duties at the Wickham-Valentine House in Richmond to enjoy the garden. Westfield was a fine arts major at the Richmond Professional Institute; for school credit, the museum trainee spent about 12 hours each week conducting tours and helping with exhibitions.
Staff photo
In November 1963, workers completed the first three of 10 tiers at the George Wythe High School amphitheater in Richmond. The 1,200-seat venue encircled a stage that was used for commencements, plays and concerts. The amphitheater’s roots were planted four years earlier, when the contractors who built the school excavated dirt from a nearby hill to fill in the school’s football field.
Times-Dispatch
In April 1967, jet cars approached 200 mph as they sped down the track at the Richmond Dragway in Sandston. In the lead was Fred Sibley, with Ted Austin close behind. The dragway was built in 1964 by the Weis family, which continues to operate it today.
Times-Dispatch
In May 1950, workers positioned steel plates during construction of a 2 million-gallon water storage tank on Cofer Road in South Richmond. The tank aimed to increase water pressure in South Side and protect against a river-crossing water line break.
Times-Dispatch
In January 1950, a worker put the final touches on the vault inside the Bank of Virginia’s newest branch at Fourth and Grace streets in downtown Richmond. It was the bank’s fifth local office. Paul Wright Jr. (far right) was the manager; with him were several staff members.
Times-Dispatch
In May 1963, farmer H.R. Beadles lamented his tomato plants, which suffered from a prolonged drought that had spread across Virginia. “I’ve never seen a drought as bad,” he told a Richmond News-Leader reporter.
In May 1963, farmer H.R. Beadles lamented his tomato plants, which suffered from a prolonged drought that had spread across Virginia. “I’ve never seen a drought as bad,” he told a Richmond News Leader reporter.
Times-dispatch
This June 1988 image shows a quiet moment on the dance floor at the Pyramid Club, a bar on North Boulevard in Richmond. On Wednesdays, the club hosted House Night — which featured house music, a danceable electronic genre. Admission was $1, and several hundred patrons might fill the un-air-conditioned club.
Times-Dispatch
In December 1970, Broad Street Station in Richmond was quiet amid a nationwide labor strike by rail workers. City officials had taken measures to accommodate stranded passengers and take care of perishable items. The walkout, which centered on wages and work rules, was short-lived: Within a day, workers were returning after a federal judge threatened hefty fines against a key union.
Times-Dispatch
In January 1964, Jewell Mason, one of Richmond’s few female cab drivers, chatted with her husband, Otha, who also drove cabs. Mason, who started working for the Yellow Cab Co. in 1958, said she never had issues because of her gender. But she did note that female drivers were unjustly maligned: “Women are as careful as anyone else,” she said.
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In September 1980, East Grace Street between Fourth and Fifth streets in downtown Richmond was closed for a Sunday afternoon “dinner on the grounds,” hosted by Centenary United Methodist Church. The city permitted the street closure for two hours.
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In July 1959, Phyllis Grove (from left), Alta Strickland and David Fridley analyzed cigarette smoke using a gas chromatograph at Philip Morris in Richmond. A story about area laboratories and scientists noted that medical concerns about smoking had spurred the tobacco industry. It said, in part: “The cancer-cigarette link may be pretty poor science, as some say, but it is indirectly producing some very good research.”
Times-Dispatch
In April 1966, an announced crowd of 7,400 watched the Richmond Braves’ International League season opener at Parker Field. R-Brave Dick Kelley delivered the first pitch to Dave May of the Rochester Wings, who won 3-2. The R-Braves came to town that year as the AAA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
Times-Dispatch
In March 1943, workers unloaded tin cans into a storage container at the RF&P Railroad yards near Broad and Lombardy streets in Richmond. The cans were collected in the area as part of the “Win With Tin” campaign during World War II. The first day yielded 30,000 pounds of tin.
Staff photo
In January 1958, traffic moved through the intersection of Grace and Belvidere streets in Richmond. At the time, police said it was the most accident-prone intersection in the city.
Times-Dispatch
In August 1957, postman William Johnson delivered mail using his Mailster (in the background) for the first time. Two months earlier, the Richmond Post Office received 18 of the scooters for use in suburbs and fringe areas of the city. They cost $900 each, and with 7.5-horsepower engines, the Mailsters could carry a quarter-ton of mail in the trunk.
Staff photo
In June 1983, Carroll Alvis posed for a photo on her tractor-trailer. Alvis was the bookkeeper for John L. Ratcliffe Florist on East Grace Street in Richmond during the week, but on nights and weekends, she drove big rigs. Alvis had been driving trucks for five months and usually worked with Central Banana Carriers out of Richmond.
Staff photo
In December 1990, hockey fans Billie Mottley (left) and Berny Parton tied the knot during intermission of a Richmond Renegades game at the Richmond Coliseum. As they walked down the icy aisle, the Renegade players gave them a high-sticking salute.
Times-Dispatch
In August 1976, at Glendale Drive and Henrico Avenue in western Henrico County, neighborhood boys showed off their handstand and skateboarding skills. From left were Robert Rice, Bill Robertson, Rusty Hamilton and Kenny Rice. The boys spent the summer practicing handstands, wheelies and other stunts.
Times-Dispatch
In September 1984, Bremmer Carter Jr. placed loaves of freshly baked bread on a rack for cooling and slicing at Weiman’s Bakery in Shockoe Bottom in Richmond. The bakery was opened in 1945 by Jacob Weiman and produced nearly 120,000 pounds of baked goods each month at its peak. After almost seven decades, Weiman’s closed in February 2013.
Times-Dispatch
In March 1987, Tom Pivec, president of Master Clean Car Wash on Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond, showed off a new robotic washing system that used a 100 percent cotton cleaning curtain. Pivec said the operation could accommodate 1,200 cars per day. The location previously had been Hot Springs Car Wash, whose owner, Joseph Enning, was a familiar face through his television commercials.
Times-Dispatch
In September 1973, two Richmond women modeled fashions they created from their own recycled blue jeans.
ALEXA WELCH EDLUND
In March 1959, postal worker Sam H. Mellichampe delivered mail in a long line of boxes at a trailer park near Petersburg. He said the row of mailboxes was the longest on his route. Mellichampe previously was a sergeant for 10 years on the Prince George County police force.
Times-Dispatch
In May 1972, a Volkswagen Beetle made its way through deep water in South Richmond. Heavy rains the day before caused flash flooding and closed many roads in the Richmond area. The rainfall led to a local monthly record for May of 8.87 inches.
Times-Dispatch
In September 1985, Corey Green peeked out the school bus window on his way home after the first day of school at John B. Cary Elementary School in Richmond.
Times-Dispatch
This June 1964 image shows a section of North Boulevard between Marshall and Leigh streets in Richmond that offered more than 30 parking spaces in the median. The city was discussing a beautification program that, had it been approved, would have replaced the spaces with trees, shrubbery and grass.
Staff photo
In July 1975, children sat around the small Statue of Liberty in Chimborazo Park in Richmond. In the early 1950s, the Boy Scouts of America erected about 200 mini-versions of the statue around the country as part of the organization’s 40th anniversary. The 8½-foot-tall, 290-pound copper statues were made in Chicago by the Friedley-Voshardt Co. The Richmond statue was erected on Feb. 11, 1951, and rose nearly 17 feet, including the base. The project’s cost was about $1,000.
Staff photo
In November 1983, toppled mannequins on the sidewalk added an eerie element to the scene as firefighters responded to an explosion that damaged the Wise Fashions department store on East Broad Street in downtown Richmond. Eleven people were injured in the blast, which was believed to be a natural gas explosion. A six-block area around the store was evacuated during the response.
Staff photo
In January 1980, musicians from Mississippi and Tennessee visited Richmond-area schools to play folk music and Southern blues on instruments including fifes, jugs and drums. The musicians (clockwise from the bass drum at back) were Abe Young, Calvin Jackson, Hammie Nixon, Jessie Mae Hemphill and Napoleon Strickland, who were led by musicologist David Evans of Memphis State University.
Staff photo
In April 1949, men and women in Richmond collected money during a “pyramid club” party. The concept was a dollar gets you in, and 12 days later you could be more than $2,000 richer. Clubs spread quickly across the U.S. and into Canada, but interest was short-lived for many when the profits didn’t materialize as hoped.
Times-Dispatch
In May 1946, a young Randy Morris peered over a truckload of watermelons, which was en route to be sold at the 17th Street Farmers’ Market in downtown Richmond.
Staff photo
In October 1982, two people ate lunch together at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Richmond. A free-lunch ministry among downtown churches served about 150 people per meal, up from only about 25 two years earlier.
TIMES-DISPATCH
Firefighter Frank Epperson manned a watchtower near Williamsburg in March 1954 and used an alidade device to locate fires. The winds of March were a sign of spring to Virginia foresters, which meant a higher chance of fires. If he saw smoke, Epperson could line up the device’s sighting bar with the smudge and identify the corresponding spot on the topographic map, which could approximate the fire’s location.
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In February 1961, the Nace quadruplets of Henrico County — Richard (from left), Judith, Patricia and Edward — celebrated their 10th birthday by enjoying cake. The family had moved to the area two years earlier.
TIMES-DISPATCH
In August 1978, about 100 Elvis Presley fans gathered at the Regency Inn South on Midlothian Turnpike for a memorial service to “the King of Rock ’n’ Roll,” who had died a year earlier. The service — sponsored by the local Taking Care of Business Fan Club — included a meditation period that featured some of Presley’s gospel recordings, which brought an emotional response from fans.
Times-Dispatch
In November 1951, 5-year-old aspiring cowboy Johnny Rollins did his best Roy Rogers impression — albeit with a smaller hat, toy pistol and rocking horse — while visiting a toy store in Richmond.
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In December 1982, a group of Richmond school bus drivers modeled new uniforms, which included light blue shirts, navy slacks or skirts, berets or caps, and jackets and ties. There was no money in the school system budget for uniforms, so Julia Armistead (right) initiated the effort to get drivers out of plain clothes. The school system’s 180 drivers had the option of buying a uniform, which cost about $80.
Times-Dispatch
In November 1968, Richmond Mayor Philip J. Bagley Jr. (right) donated the first toy to the year’s Richmond Toys for Tots campaign. The mayor presented a doll to “Miss Toys for Tots” Dale Baker at a ceremony in the mayor’s office. Also present were E.B. Baucom (left) and F.X. Harrington of the Marine Reserve, which led toy collections at several shopping centers in the city.
Times-Dispatch
In December 1959, the Seventh Street parking garage in Richmond was the largest of 54 properties, valued collectively at about $1.2 million, that were slated for condemnation by the city as part of plans to build a civic center downtown.
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In March 1951, members of the Victory Garden Club planted a tree at Jahnke Road Chapel in Richmond. From left are Mrs. S.G. Snellings, Mrs. Randolph Byrd and Mrs. Martha Clements.
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In April 1992, some veterans at Sally Bell’s Kitchen in Richmond — Lucille Zimmerman (from left), Mary Newcomb, Dorothy Daniels and Anne Mulfinger — posed with one of the countless cakes they had prepared over decades of working together.
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In October 1990, Tim Finnegan, chairman of the Finnegan & Agee Inc. ad agency in Richmond, served customers at a McDonald’s in Mechanicsville. Finnegan’s firm had represented the fast-food restaurant for the previous 15 years. Finnegan’s shift marked the birthday of Ray Kroc, who developed McDonald’s into a global enterprise; Kroc died in 1984.
Times-dispatch
In October 1971, Marvin Cephas delivered bills to Virginia Electric and Power Co. customers in Richmond’s West End. As postal rates rose, VEPCO introduced its own bill delivery service for about 90,000 local customers in densely populated areas. It said the cost was less than a nickel per bill, compared with a postal cost of 8 cents.
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In February 1953, employees at the Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles office in Richmond processed license plate registration forms, placing them in destination slots for bulk mailing. More than 1 million new orange and blue plate sets were expected to be sold in the state that year.
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In April 1977, a flying circus near Washington held tryouts in Fauquier County as it sought four new wing-walkers. Of the 28 applicants, one of the winners (shown here) was Nour Hzyan, a White House photographer who had seen a recruitment ad pinned to a board in the White House pressroom months earlier.
Staff photo
In July 1985, Tom Thomas kicked back on his Harley-Davidson outside Newgate Prison, a bar in the 900 block of West Grace Street in Richmond. The bar was popular with bikers; other businesses in that stretch, including an adult theater, attracted a diverse clientele that could make the area a hot spot for police. The Newgate Prison site was later home to the Virginia Commonwealth University police headquarters for more than a decade.
Times-Dispatch
An image from January 1960 shows the Byrd Field Weather Bureau, which had been established at the airport in Henrico County in 1928. Over the decades, the station had various stints of closure or service — including during World War II, when Richmond’s airport was an Army airfield. The local weather office was closed permanently in 1996, and operations were moved to Wakefield.
TIMES-DISPATCH
In November 1957, birds flew over the marsh at Presquile Island, located in the James River at the eastern tip of Chesterfield County. The largely untouched 1,329-acre island was designated in 1953 as the Presquile National Wildlife Refuge, which harbors wildlife, including bald eagles. The refuge may be visited, but only with advance reservations.
Times-dispatch
In June 1985, Edward Harris lit the Virginia Special Olympics torch at the University of Richmond. The event drew thousands of disabled athletes, coaches and volunteers. The torch arrived on the campus at the end of a 20-mile relay from the state Capitol. The first International Special Olympics Games were held in July 1968.
TIMES-DISPATCH
In July 1972, auctioneer Bernie Pleasants of Red Gate Horse Farm in Montpelier sold about 50 Assateague Island wild ponies at the annual auction in Chincoteague on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Co. continues to host a pony auction to help control the herd’s size and to raise money for operations.
Times-Dispatch
In June 1976, 4-year-old Beth Vetrovec had a difficult time selecting a kitten for adoption at the Richmond SPCA. (An adoption advocacy poster on the wall behind her featured Morris the Cat, the popular advertising mascot for the 9Lives brand of cat food.)
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In August 1953, city workers trimmed trees along the 700 block of West Grace Street in Richmond.
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In May 1987, patrons at Regency Square in Henrico County filled the mall’s new food court, which included 11 eateries on the mall’s lower level between Miller & Rhoads and Sears. The dining space accommodated up to 450 people and was the first phase of a $5 million renovation at the mall.
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In August 1970, Richmond students waited for the buses at the corner of Westover Hills Boulevard and Forest Hill Avenue in South Side as the school year got underway.
Times-Dispatch
In April 1937, workers with the Works Progress Administration built riverfront dikes to protect Richmond from flooding. The James River was expected to reach a 26-foot crest after heavy rains, which had shut down major bridges and roadways. The WPA was a New Deal employment program, and this flood project involved about 200 workers.
Times-Dispatch
In February 1959, the parking lot was full at the new Food Fair grocery store on West Broad Street in Richmond, near downtown. The chain, founded in Pennsylvania, was one of the largest in the country at the time and was planning a half-dozen or more stores in the Richmond area. (The grand opening here was supposed to feature retired Army Gen. Omar Bradley, who was on Food Fair’s board of directors, but he instead had to appear as a witness at a trial.)
Times-Dispatch
In February 1942, a blackout test during World War II — in case enemy aircraft flew over the city — darkened the interior of many buildings in downtown Richmond. The one-hour exercise, which covered the Richmond and Tri-Cities areas, required that buildings and residences turn off lights or prevent light from being seen from the outside. Buses, ambulances and personal vehicles were also asked to stay off the roads.
Times-Dispatch
In July 1967, beauty queens and convertibles gathered on Interstate 64 to celebrate a new 9-mile stretch of highway from the Bryan Park area at Interstate 95 to Short Pump in Henrico County. In lieu of a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $23 million project, the lead car drove over a traffic counter cable.
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This October 1988 image shows East Broad Street looking west into downtown Richmond from Church Hill. That month, radio stations WRVA-AM and WRVQ-FM announced plans to leave their Church Hill studio building after 20 years for new space in South Richmond.
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In March 1989, Willie Vance Harris of Smith Advertising Co. changed a billboard at the intersection of Wythe and West streets in Petersburg.
Times-dispatch
In February 1971, James Herbert Bryant (left) and Paul Jackson assessed construction on their new McDonald’s restaurant on Mechanicsville Turnpike in Richmond. The city natives started Bryant-Jackson Corp. and invested about $300,000 to build the restaurant.
Times-Dispatch
In May 1959, Ronald Yaffe performed a levitation magic trick. Yaffe, a 19-year-old freshman at Richmond Professional Institute, planned to study optometry but enjoyed performing magic as a hobby.
Times-Dispatch
This October 1943 image shows a building near West Cary and South Nansemond streets in Richmond’s Carytown area. Built around 1851, it once served as a tollkeeper’s home but later became an office for Williams & Harvey Nursery. A shopping center is on the site today.
Times-Dispatch
This April 1955 image shows The Hauke Press, a commercial printing business at 6 E. Main St. in downtown Richmond. The firm, which printed everything from newsletters to stamps, was owned at the time by Heywood Hartley, who also was a dog breeder and served as president of the Virginia Kennel Club.
Times-Dispatch
In July 1966, master craftsman G.H. Boyer (right) gave apprentice Carl C. Spivey instructions on how to inlay wood at Biggs Antique Co. on West Marshall Street in Richmond. Biggs was a leading U.S. manufacturer of Colonial reproduction furniture, and its work could be found in private homes as well as the Hotel John Marshall and the Miller & Rhoads Tea Room. Biggs was purchased in 1975 by the Kittinger Co., which had a long association with Colonial Williamsburg.
Times-Dispatch
In September 1991, housekeepers Josephine Scott (left) and Joy Brown competed in a regional Super 8 Motel bed-making competition at a Radisson Hotel ballroom in downtown Richmond. Twelve finalists from the Mid-Atlantic states vied for three spots in the Super 8 national contest slated for the following February in New Orleans; the national winner would get a new car.
Times-Dispatch
In February 1971, the Boulevard “Nickel” Bridge got a new automated toll plaza with enclosed toll booths and a chute into which drivers could pitch their coins. With its four booths, the new plaza accommodated two lanes of traffic in each direction. The old booths are in the background.
Times-Dispatch
In February 1950, Shepherd “Shep” Walker carried 60 pounds of flour, meal and sugar in a bag on his head in Palmyra in Fluvanna County. Walker, 75, said he started using the technique when he was a boy, after seeing his mother carry a bucket of water on her head without spilling a drop.
Times-Dispatch
In March 1956, A.B. Buchannon ascended a fire tower on U.S. Route 60 near Sandston in Henrico County to begin his daily watch for forest fires. Virginia’s brush-burning law had just gone into effect, and through mid-May, trash or brush could be burned only between 4 p.m. and midnight.
Times-Dispatch
In August 1976, what is now known as the Weisiger-Carroll House was still in rough shape at 2408 Bainbridge St. in the Manchester area of South Richmond. That year, a new claimant on the title led to the discovery of the house’s historical significance. The 1½-story frame and brick dwelling was estimated to have been built in the 1760s and served as a private home as well as a hospital during the Civil War. The home is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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In February 1954, Norma Cook inspected and graded eggs at E.C. Alexander & Co. of Richmond. The staff would produce thousands of cartons per year that were sealed according to federal-state labeling guidelines; the company also handled a large volume of poultry.
Times-Dispatch
In May 1968, Barbara Yost, who was Miss Virginia 1967, reflected on her time as a beauty queen during a visit to the Executive Mansion in Richmond. The 19-year-old Roanoke native planned to attend Radford University. She said her favorite moments as Miss Virginia included attending the festivals throughout the state and participating in the March of Dimes telethon in Tennessee.
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In January 1978, Mr. and Mrs. Donald Miller assessed the damage done to their car by a tree that fell after a night of strong wind. The Chesterfield County couple had just purchased the car.
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In May 1977, A.S. “Slim” Mistr showed off his pick of the day at his strawberry field off Darbytown Road in Henrico County. Mistr and his family owned one of eight pick-your-own strawberry farms in the state at the time, and he and his 8,000 plants were expecting plenty of visitors in the upcoming weeks.
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In July 1963, riders boarded an “executive special” bus on Patterson Avenue at Three Chopt Road in Richmond. Virginia Transit Co.’s expedited service to and from downtown had limited stops, and the maiden voyage into downtown took 24 minutes. The morning bus left Three Chopt at 8 a.m., and the evening bus left at exactly 5:10 p.m. from 10th and Broad streets.
Times-Dispatch
In May 1952, Caesar Wilkins (right) passed the mail to Rudolph L. Cavan for rail transport from Broad Street Station in Richmond. The RF&P Railroad’s No. 16 train then took the mail to Washington. On an average day, nearly 3,000 sacks of mail and parcel post were handled by 270 railway mail employees working out of Richmond.
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In July 1978, Chris Trebour (in chair) worked on a custom skateboard in the company of friend Jeff Brongon. Trebour, a rising junior at Clover Hill High School in Chesterfield County, learned to make his own boards after realizing how expensive the hobby could get. So he started Zodiac Skateboards and sold his boards locally.
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In September 1989, former teacher Thelma Smith visited Bellevue Elementary School in Richmond to offer help on the first day of class: She pinned bus numbers on pupils as they arrived.
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In February 1957, pedestrians on East Grace Street at North Fourth Street in downtown Richmond endured some light snow during the afternoon.
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In May 1960, the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals held its Be Kind to Animals Week. Here, the organization’s Mrs. Samuel B. Taylor accepted a 50-cent payment from Deborah, a 4-month-old chimpanzee.
Times-Dispatch
In May 1983, patrons of Stonewall Café on West Main Street in Richmond dined on the restaurant’s patio. The building was constructed in the 1880s and was used as an elementary school until 1962 — it was once Stonewall Jackson School and West End School, and earlier, it housed the Richmond Normal School. The building was sold to a developer in 1980, and today, the space houses the Baja Bean Co. restaurant.
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In August 1956, refuge manager John Walther checked fence poles that were part of a deer-prevention project on Presquile Island, located in the James River at the eastern tip of Chesterfield County. The largely untouched 1,329-acre island was designated in 1953 as the Presquile National Wildlife Refuge, which harbors wildlife, including bald eagles. The land was originally part of a peninsula before it was severed to create a channel for boats in the 1930s. Historically, the island was occupied by Native Americans.
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In July 1949, shoppers ducked into doorways or under awnings on Grace Street between Fourth and Fifth streets in downtown Richmond. Summer heat left the block unusually quiet for a Saturday afternoon.
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In April 1966, Richmond police officers (from left) Christopher Stokes, John W. Harris and H.L. Coleman reviewed items recovered from a series of North Side burglaries. There had been about two dozen residential break-ins in the Washington Park, Ginter Park and Barton Heights areas in the preceding two months. Police initially recovered about $1,700 in stolen property (equivalent to nearly $14,000 today) and arrested five 14- to 16-year-olds and a 19-year-old in some of the burglaries.
Times-Dispatch
In July 1952, workers were preparing to restore and convert a 115-year-old home into offices on the southwest corner of Franklin and First streets in downtown Richmond. Part of the project included removing the mansard roof.
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In March 1967, Richmond police officer Glenwood W. Burley took a moment away from his patrol work to play baseball with youths in the Fulton neighborhood. Burley turned up the volume on his car’s police radio so that he could still monitor calls. (In 2016, long retired from the department, Burley completed his efforts to relocate a neglected Richmond police memorial from downtown to Byrd Park.)
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In September 1956, children played in an alley on Harrison Street near Main Street in Richmond. An accompanying story noted that although there were 38 playgrounds and 22 athletic fields in the city, the space was limited and usually crowded. Several areas, particularly in the Fan District and west of Monroe Park, lacked playgrounds altogether, so youths played in the streets and alleys.
Times-Dispatch
In May 1971, as Amtrak consolidated passenger rail service in America, E.M.C. Quincy (left) of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce presented a gift of Richmond tobacco products and a record about Virginia to Amtrak’s Teresa Cunningham at Main Street Station in downtown Richmond. A number of Virginia mayors, including Richard Farrier of Staunton (center), attended the ceremony, which welcomed Amtrak service on the former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway line from Newport News to Cincinnati.
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In August 1952, Ryland Wilkinson, 14, played with Kinky, the kinkajou he discovered at a used-car lot while helping make milk deliveries near Carytown in Richmond. The exotic animal, about the size of a cat, had escaped from the Cavalier Pet Shop on West Cary Street, about two blocks from the auto lot. Ryland returned Kinky and received a $5 reward.
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In July 1989, the Annabel Lee docked at Westover Plantation in Charles City County as passengers prepared for a tour. The reproduction paddle-wheeler offered dinner cruises and entertainment on the James River from 1988 through 2003. The boat had seating for more than 200 passengers, plus two full-service bars and two dance floors. After attendance declined, the owners moved the Annabel Lee to the Washington area at the beginning of 2004.
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In August 1976, former child movie star Shirley Temple Black visited Colonial Williamsburg as part of her duties as the first female chief of protocol of the United States. The president of Finland was visiting the area, though onlookers were more interested in spotting Temple. She previously served as U.S. ambassador to Ghana, and she later was ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
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In February 1968, members of the Virginia Federation of Women’s Clubs from Northern Virginia toured the state Capitol, Executive Mansion and General Assembly during a visit to Richmond. From left are Mrs. Earle Mountcastle, Mrs. William Walker, Mrs. Olin Bockes and Mrs. James B. Roberts.
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In May 1966, Richmond police officer Jesse W. Williams worked at the communications desk while nearly 400 people peered through a seldom-opened viewing window during a tour of police headquarters. The tours were arranged as part of National Police Week.
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In January 1967, professors Richard Terman (left) and Ian Callard (second from right) of the College of William & Mary biology department worked with students Steve Vore (middle) and Dick Friesen (right) on a lab research project related to population ecology.
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In May 1972, Charles Reuben styled a wig for Rhonda Johnson at Thalhimers in downtown Richmond. The department store had just introduced a line of wigs for African-American women; Reuben said short styles were in fashion for the upcoming summer months.
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In June 1970, Pizza Castle was among several areas that tempted customers at the new Giant Open Air Market along Maywill Street in Henrico County. The market, open 24 hours, included a series of smaller specialized stores — in addition to Pizza Castle, options included The Patio for prepared meals, The Marketplace for international foods and wines, and the Candy Circus with sweet treats. The Norfolk-based supermarket chain (no relation to the Giant chain in the Washington area) merged with Farm Fresh Inc. in the mid-1980s.
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In April 1941, a U.S. Navy dive bomber from Washington performed an exhibition over Hermitage Airport in Henrico County in which a two-way radio conversation with the pilot was broadcast on loudspeakers. At the exhibition (from left) were Dr. George Williams of the Naval Reserve Medical Corps, bomber pilot Lt. Thomas Wagner, Congressman Dave Satterfield Jr., Lt. Cmdr. Lewis Lee (who accompanied Wagner), and George Mercer of the West Richmond Business Men’s Association, which sponsored the exhibition with the Naval Reserve cadet training program.
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In March 1977, Charlotte Swann, manager of the Williamsburg SPCA kennel, held a litter of puppies. She noted at the time that 7 of 10 dogs didn’t find a home in the first month after they were brought to the kennel.
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In April 1966, about 100 people waited in line outside the Division of Motor Vehicles headquarters on West Broad Street in Richmond to purchase 1966 license tags before the deadline. DMV reported at the time that about 1.3 million of 1.6 millions sets of 1966 tags had already been purchased.
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In September 1972, 11-year-old Todd Trimble of Richmond was one of the 101 players in the Virginia Chess Championship, held over three days at the Sheraton Motor Inn in Richmond. In the final, Williamsburg’s Charles Powell defended his title by beating Richmond’s Lev Blonarovych in a five-hour match.
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In March 1953, a bus enjoyed a clear path to pick up passengers at a stop on Broad Street in downtown Richmond. A new parking ban on Broad and some surrounding streets aimed to relieve downtown traffic during the business day.
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In March 1953, a bus enjoyed a clear path to pick up passengers at a stop on Broad Street in downtown Richmond. A new parking ban on Broad and some surrounding streets aimed to relieve downtown traffic during the business day.
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In June 1957, a boy rode his bike along a sidewalk on a summer day in Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood.
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In June 1984, actress Mary Tyler Moore had her makeup touched up between takes at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond on the set of “Finnegan Begin Again.” The HBO romantic comedy film was shot all over Richmond and co-starred Robert Preston and Sam Waterston.
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In October 1965, North American forestry experts visited the Virginia Division of Forestry in Sandston and examined a pile of pine cones, which were being dried for seeds to use at the state tree nursery. The officials, in town for a two-day tour in Virginia, came from all over the United States, Canada and Mexico to discuss conservation and tree production.
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In June 1949, a worker carried potatoes from a field on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. An accompanying article said about 14,000 migratory workers reached farms on the Shore for the harvest season; some journeyed from Florida, to which they would return in winter. Fast workers could fill 125 hundred-pound bags in six hours.
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In March 1942, members of the Henrico Red Cross Motor Corps participated in a test drill in uniform. The women had completed courses in basic and advanced first aid, motor mechanics and blackout driving. The motor corps was established by the American Red Cross in 1917 during World War I to transport wounded soldiers to local hospitals and deliver supplies.
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In September 1944, Richmond city employees hurriedly made preparations for a James River flood by filling and loading sandbags. The James ultimately rose to 24.2 feet in the city after heavy rains throughout the river’s watershed.
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In September 1944, Richmond city employees hurriedly made preparations for a James River flood by filling and loading sandbags. The James ultimately rose to 24.2 feet in the city after heavy rains throughout the river’s watershed.
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In July 1985, Farm Fresh Inc. prepared to open a grocery store on Brook Road in Henrico County. This was the fifth store in the Richmond area for the Norfolk-based grocer. The Brook Road location, which was open 24 hours a day, totaled 93,000 square feet and had 18 checkout lanes. In addition to groceries, the location had a bookstore, delicatessen, post office, cheese shop, restaurant, video entertainment center and bulk sales department.
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In June 1976, an automobile (minus its tires and gas tank) was fed into a fragmentizer, which could crush the vehicle in less than a minute using an array of hammers weighing nearly 400 pounds each. The fragmentizer was in Richmond’s Deepwater Terminal area and was used by Peck Iron and Metal Co. Inc. to crush vehicles into fine chunks of metal. Peck Iron estimated that the fragmentizer “ate” 100,000 autos during the previous year.
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In October 1967, Mark Thacker of Ocean City, Md., a freshman at Richmond Professional Institute (now Virginia Commonwealth University), leapt over a hurdle during an RPI skateboarding championship. Thacker finished second in the competition, which involved about a dozen students. The contest, held according to U.S. Skateboard Association rules, included required and freestyle maneuvers.
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In April 1972, J.J. Phaup, a 92-year-old farmer in Buckingham County, plowed his 550-acre farm. Although farming technology had improved over the years, Phaup preferred his horses over a tractor — even if he could cover only about 8 acres per day. He said he had been working since he was 10 years old.
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In December 1972, 16-year-old auto mechanics student Linda Turner practiced her trade at the Richmond Technical Center. Turner was the first female in the program. “If I ever got stranded,” she said, “I wouldn’t want to wait two days for somebody to come help me.”
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In September 1984, a crowd of almost 6,000 watched the Richmond Braves play their final Triple-A baseball game at Parker Field on the Boulevard. Days later, the stadium was leveled to make way for the Diamond, which debuted the following year and is now home to the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels.
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In January 1950, postal officials inspected a new highway post office bus that would operate between Richmond and Sanford, N.C. The privately owned and operated service would transport and sort mail while in transit.
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In September 1981, newlyweds Judy Meese and Branch Carpenter got married life off to a flying start: They took a hot-air balloon ride after exchanging vows in a field in Hanover County’s Montpelier area. The ride would take them to Hanover County Airport, and family and friends would await them at a reception in Richmond.
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In August 1963, magician Mark Wilson performed a levitation trick on Terry Bryant at the Hotel John Marshall in Richmond. Wilson created and starred in a nationally televised Saturday morning show, “The Magic Land of Allakazam,” and was in Richmond as a featured guest at a magician conclave. The gathering brought together almost 200 magicians for two days of training.
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In April 1966, professor Robert Gay adjusted equipment in a newly air-conditioned and heated laboratory at Richmond Professional Institute (Virginia Commonwealth University today). The temperature-controlled lab for engineering technology students was believed to be one of the most advanced in the country.
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In February 1966, off-duty Richmond police officers Walter Reid (left) and Robert Mallory played pool in a new recreation facility in the basement of the Safety, Health and Welfare Building in downtown Richmond. The lounge featured three pool tables, six game tables, two large sofas, four lounge chairs and a television.
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In February 1986, an explosion rocked a row of houses on Davis Avenue in Richmond’s Fan District. The blast inside one home blew out bricks, windows and a back wall. Police and fire officials also discovered a fire in the home’s basement, but the cause of the fire and explosion was not immediately known.
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In September 1965, the El Rancho, an Italian cattle ship, loaded 88 tons of hay at Richmond’s Upper Terminal shipping yard on the James River. The mountain of hay would feed a herd of about 400 mostly dairy cattle from Virginia that would make the trans-Atlantic journey to Italy. The cattle shipment was the first of its kind for Richmond.
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In October 1986, a plaque dedication ceremony marked the addition of Richmond’s Fan District to the National Register of Historic Places. The event, which included songs from the Fox School choir, capped a two-year effort by the Fan Woman’s Club in cooperation with state landmark officials. More than 3,000 buildings in the Fan were photographed and surveyed in the campaign.
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In August 1950, Richmond police officer J.T. Parks studied a set of fingerprints. The police force had amassed 80,000 sets starting in 1915, and officials were discussing plans to expand space for fingerprint files.
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In June 1967, students at the Richmond Professional Institute (the predecessor of Virginia Commonwealth University) walked outside the school library. At the time, the library’s collection had grown to about 85,000 volumes but was still well short of what a college accreditation council said was appropriate for a school of RPI’s size.
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In September 1961, T.W. Redmond of the State Highway Department assessed the stock of anti-snow chemicals in a Richmond-area department storage shed on Midlothian Turnpike. Although the chance of snow was months away, preparations for winter weather were made far in advance.
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In January 1943, William H. Haskins beheld what was left of his Health Centre Inc. bowling alley at Hermitage Road and Meadow Street in Richmond after a fire. The sprawling brick building, which opened in 1928 and had 36 lanes, was destroyed.
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In June 1982, a peacock checked out the Italian Garden at Maymont. Peacocks roamed free in the Richmond park for many years until the early 1990s. Maymont has not had peacocks in its animal family since 2013.
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In February 1981, Richmond Mayor Henry L. Marsh III operated a backhoe to kick off Project One, which included the construction of the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The project was part of a deal between Marriott Corp. and the city housing authority to finance and build a hotel/convention center in downtown Richmond.
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In January 1946, these overflowing trash cans typified the conditions of Richmond’s yards, alleys and back porches at the beginning of the year. Because of the holidays, illness, bad weather and manpower shortages, the city was far behind on trash collection. Pictured is an alley between First and Foushee streets near Grace Street downtown.
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In September 1976, seven former Prince Edward County residents reunited on the lawn of the former R.R. Moton High School (later Prince Edward County High School), from which they were bared in the 1960s during the state’s Massive Resistance to integration. From left are Frank Early, Betty Ward, G.A. Hamilton, Hilda Thompson, LaNae Johnson, Bessie Shade and Douglas Vaughan. Hundreds of former county students from the era attended the reunion.
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In October 1957, Loxelley Cashion Jr. of the Richmond Public Works Department operated a heating and planing machine to smooth pavement over a portion of Broad Street.
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In December 1973, Richmond police bicycle patrolman William W. Fuller Jr. stopped for a downtown chat with policeman Glen A. Brinson of the mounted unit.
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In October 1958, chemists Owen R. Blackburne (left) and Bill Simmons distilled volatile acids at the Richmond Sewage Disposal headquarters near Rocketts Landing.
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In January 1965, librarian Jean Bear scanned the Richmond Public Library’s new paperback rack. The soft-covered books were associated with mystery, sex and lesser forms of literature, with a reputation of being found at drugstores and wearing down after a few reads. Though cheaper for libraries to acquire, paperbacks were not preferred by patrons at the time, according to several Richmond librarians. The main library had only about 200 volumes available.
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In June 1957, a boy and girl sat outside the fire station at Cumberland and Laurel streets in Richmond’s Oregon Hill neighborhood. The station, built in the late 19th century, housed two fire companies by the mid-1960s, when it was slated to be replaced by two new stations elsewhere.
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In September 1978, plastic drain pipe was shaped into a 60-foot “serpent” in the Yeocomico River near Kinsale on Virginia’s Northern Neck. Richmonder John Tighe created it to surprise fellow members of a Richmond boating group that was gathering for its annual fish fry. The sculpture mimicked a giant serpentlike creature – later nicknamed “Chessie” – that some people claim to have spotted nearby that summer.
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In November 1948, traffic moved through the intersection of Cowardin Avenue and Hull Street in South Richmond. The city was planning several pedestrian safety upgrades at the busy intersection, including painted crosswalks, new signage and a fence along Hull.
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In July 1942, manpower and a cart were a means of transporting new books to the Rosa D. Bowser Branch of the Richmond library during the gas-rationing days of World War II. Bowser was a prominent African-American educator and social activist in Richmond from the 1880s to the 1920s. The branch was the city library’s first that was open to African-Americans.
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In October 1963, Sussex County peanut farmer J. J. Lilley Sr. highlighted how that year’s severe drought had impacted his crop. At left are damaged vines from that season, compared to normal ones at right. The first commercial peanut crop in the U.S. was grown in Sussex in the 1840s, according to an industry marketing association.
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In April 1969, the Brook Hill mansion on Richmond’s North Side was part of a Ginter Park home tour. Dating to the early 18th century and known for its blend of Gothic Revival and Italianate architecture, the original structure was masked by 19th-century additions.
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In September 1954, Richmond Mayor Thomas P. Bryan cut the ribbon at the opening of the F.W. Woolworth Co. department store at Fifth and Broad streets in downtown Richmond. The $1 million building housed several departments for the nearby Miller & Rhoads, which had an earlier store on the site in the late 1800s.
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In March 1988, Helene Kahn stood in her GiGi Hats shop on East Grace Street in downtown Richmond. Kahn, who opened the store in 1950 and operated it until her death in 1996, offered hats, wedding veils and other millinery. In 1968, she was the first woman to lead the Downtown Retail Associates trade group.
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In March 1957, a barge was being filled with grain at the Upper Terminal shipping yard on the James River in Richmond.
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In July 1988, 15-year-old John Moncure — who was 5 feet, 9 inches tall — was dwarfed by the roots of a tree that fell through his neighbor’s house on Lakeside Avenue in Henrico County during a storm. The teen’s father estimated that the tree was 150 feet tall.
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In July 1988, 15-year-old John Moncure — who was 5 feet, 9 inches tall — was dwarfed by the roots of a tree that fell through his neighbor’s house on Lakeside Avenue in Henrico County during a storm. The teen’s father estimated that the tree was 150 feet tall.
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In November 1964, the Richmond Planning Commission was considering proposals, including a tobacco exhibition center, for the former Libby Prison site from the Civil War. At the time, a junkyard occupied the block bounded by 20th, 21st, Cary and Dock streets downtown.
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In December 1991, wrestlers Hulk Hogan (left) and Ric Flair battled in front of a huge crowd at the Richmond Coliseum. During the match, Flair snuck in brass knuckles and got on the bad side of referee Earl Hebner.
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This March 1985 image shows a hillside in South Richmond’s Woodland Heights neighborhood, near 27th Street, where homes would be built. The builders planned two-level houses with the living room, dining room and kitchen on the upper level and bedrooms and a sitting room downstairs. Both levels would have decks overlooking Riverside Drive.
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In February 1962, the third annual City Women’s Bowling Tournament was underway at Sunset Bowl in Richmond. The two-day competition, organized by the Greater Richmond Woman’s Bowling Association, drew almost 80 teams. The Security Industrial Loan team won.
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In January 1991, Chamberlayne Co. Inc. workers Wesley Boyette and Craig Simpson put finishing touches on a parking garage in Richmond’s Carytown area while the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Crenshaw Avenue facility was held at street level.
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In May 1987, Larry Ingram, president of Neighbors of Chimborazo Park, stood at a contaminated spring along slowly shifting land on Chimborazo Hill in Richmond’s East End. The Church Hill group had expressed concerns about the hill; city officials said the issue was being studied as part of a multiyear improvement program.
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In April 1982, instructor Noel Baebler (left) guided students in the use of video equipment during a visual literacy program at George Mason Elementary School in Richmond. With him are students (from left) Darrell Quarles, Rodrecus Robinson, Vernon Taylor, Freeman Coley and Carolyn Burchett.
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In June 1966, a woman picketed in front of a Western Union office in Richmond. Members of the Commercial Telegraphers Union, including about 50 locally, walked off the job for several hours to dramatize their demands for pay raises. On the same day, the union and Western Union agreed to a one-week contract extension to avoid further disruptions while negotiations continued.
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