Hometown Stories

As Webb's mission begins, Robinson's comes to a close.

This is a story about a baseball team that played better than it ever has. And then... lost. In this episode of Hometown Stories, we take you to Blacksburg, Virginia where an underdog team is proving that some wins don't show up on the scoreboard.

Bedford, Virginia is home to the National D-Day Memorial for a devastating reason. The small, tightly knit community lost more men on D-Day per capita than any other city in the United States. As part of its continuing outreach, the memorial is now offering a podcast, intended to reach people in Bedford and Beyond. In this episode of Hometown Stories, we speak with podcast host and professor John McManus about examining the pivotal moment in fresh ways.

Opera Roanoke is closing out its season with a show that's not technically an opera. It's a requiem - a Catholic Mass for the dead. More specifically, it's Guiseppe Verdi's Requiem. Opera Roanoke Conductor Maestro Steven White says they're using the nearly 150-year-old music to honor those lost to COVID and war. In this episode of Hometown Stories, White shares a modern take on an ancient text.

Books and Crannies in Martinsville, Virginia found customers from all over the country during the pandemic. Givens Books in Lynchburg found a loyal customer who returned week after week for another Agatha Christie novel. And while Oracle Books in Wytheville opened shortly before the pandemic, the support it's received from the community has them feeling right at home. In this episode of Hometown Stories, cozy up and join your next virtual book club.

God's Pit Crew is a robust group of staff and volunteers dedicated to helping people following a disaster. They've been kept busy by the tornadoes and wildfires that have swept the southeast over the last several months. In this episode of Hometown Stories, one of those immediate responders sets down his chainsaw to tell us what he's seeing on the ground.

In 2007 the Virginia Tech Campus became the focus of international attention when a gunman killed 32 people in one morning. For local journalists first on scene, what they saw and heard that day is forever engrained in their memories. In this episode of Hometown Stories, we sit down with the journalists who were the first to tell the stories of the horror that unfolded on April 16, 2007. Two reporters, a photojournalist and an anchor describe the camaraderie developed out of grisly work that tie them together forever. In this candid round table, they share the memories from that day that never made air.

NASA researchers have just shared an image of their record-breaking discovery from the Hubble Telescope. The image shows a red arc in a distant part of our universe. In the midst of that red arc, they discovered a star. The light from that star is so old, NASA says this Hubble image shows us the farthest star ever seen. They've called it Earendel. In this episode of Hometown Stories, NASA Astrophysicist Dr. Padi Boyd explains why Earendel is important, even if you're not an astrophysicist.

In 1948 a man was arrested and fined $5.00 for refusing to sit in the Colored section of a train. That man happened to be Virginia's first Black Olympic gold medalist and a Tuskegee Airman. In this episode of Hometown Stories, we take a look at how Norvel Lee's fight in the ring and the courtroom is being recognized today.

WDBJ7 shares a special connection with Ukraine. Over the years, several journalists visited the country in an exchange program which also brought Ukrainian journalists to Roanoke. But many say the trip was farm more than just a professional exchange of ideas and had a profound impact personally.