Lynchburg Neighborhood

For 69 years and counting, 87-year-old Henry Fulcher has been telling stories and playing music on the radio. Starting out in 1956 at WFLO, Henry has been a consistent presence on local radio for seven decades and is known to many as The Voice of Farmville. More than anything else, Henry wanted the listener to feel that he loved them and was speaking right to them. With his focus on playing country, western, and bluegrass music, Henry befriended so many popular artists of that era, even appearing on the popular Hee Haw program alongside Roy Clark. In this episode, Henry recounts moments in music and radio history from his legendary career, but there's so much more to his story including a childhood battle with polio and countless stories of the amazing things he's seen, heard, and experienced throughout his life.

To help you get a sense of the music of this era, I put together a Henry Fulcher playlist on Spotify with all the artists and songs mentioned on this episode. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2HSBGwVKJSSuHEfunrNEPJ?si=8093c07e70b34e7e

Artists mentioned in this episode include: Don Reno, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, Porter Wagoner, Mac Wiseman, Eddie Adcock, Rhonda Vincent, Roy Clark, Roy Acuff, Charley Pride, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Alison Krauss, The Carter Family, George Jones, Billy Crash Craddock, Willie Nelson, Faron Young, The Statler Brothers, Arthur Smith, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Jimmy Dean, J.D. Sumner & The Stamps Quartet, Little Jimmy Dickens, Grandpa Jones, and Johnnie & Jack. 

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.

In this conversation from Summer 2024, I talked with my 94-year old neighbor Charlie Layne about growing up in Lynchburg in the 1930s and 40s, serving in the Navy, working in the family printing business, falling in love, caring for a family, dealing with loss, leaving a legacy, and tending roses. After his stint in the Navy in the 1950s, Charlie joined his father in the family business at Service Printing, which has served the Lynchburg community from 1922 to today. 

Learn more about Service Printing here and Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation at this link.

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.

In this episode, I get a chance to sit down with my dear friend Daryl Calfee to discuss his newly released book "Let's Skip the Bull: Lessons from Dad After Your Mom Died" and talk about life, death, grief, creativity, and love. 

To learn more about Daryl, check out his website here. To buy his new book, use this link to visit Blue Hat Publishing.

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.

In this episode, I sit down with 92-year-old Noland Skinner on his front porch on the Fourth of July to hear about what it was like in the old days, growing up in a country store during the Depression, boxing on Navy ships in the Pacific during World War II, going out dancing all the way into his nineties, and much more. 

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.

In this episode, we have a special guest appearance from the Farmer of Mimosa Hill to talk funeral flowers before we hear the story of The Last Round, which was first told fifteen years ago at my father's funeral. A written version of that story can be found here.

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.

The story of how two boys born 50 years apart became dear friends. This story was told live at the HopeX storytelling event at the Academy Center of the Arts in downtown Lynchburg in March 2024. Find out more about Lynchburg Beacon of Hope here.

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.

In this conversation with Laura Hamilton, we learn what it was like growing up as a city manager's kid, how she got from Nebraska to Virginia, her public policy work in the Clinton administration right out of college, her work as executive director of Lynchburg Beacon Of Hope, the backstory on their HopeX storytelling event, and a deep dive into Beacon's history and their ambitious mission to provide support, opportunity, and hope to students of all ages in our community. Find out more about the Beacon of Hope here.

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.

"Library history is community history." 

In this conversation with Deb Smith, we learn about her work as executive director of the Jones Memorial Library in Lynchburg, Virginia, take a deep dive into the library's founding, early history, and the characters that shaped what it became, and explore the important discoveries still being made in the Jones archives to this day. Find out more about the Jones Memorial Library here.

Note: Being the excellent librarian and researcher that she is, Deb reached out shortly after the interview to let me know that the architects that designed the original Jones Memorial Library on Rivermont Avenue were Frye & Chesterman. 

Cover Image: Front Cover Seth Woodroof Account Book MS 1047

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.

In this conversation with Beau Wright, we talk about his experience on Lynchburg City Council, how he thinks through the challenges facing Lynchburg, where he sees opportunities, why he is running again for an at-large seat, and reflections on his time in the White House.  Find out more about Beau's campaign and work on council here.

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.

In this episode, I sit down with Shelley Blades, the farm manager and executive director of Lynchburg Grows, to hear the story of their farm and the work that they do. Lynchburg Grows has taken an abandoned, seven-acre rose farm right in the middle of our city and transformed it into a thriving urban farm with a mission to provide access to fresh, local produce and purposeful jobs to individuals with disabilities.  In our conversation, we talk about how Shelley ended up in farming and in Lynchburg, the people who have helped her along the way, her fondness for radishes, what she's noticed from tending the same soil for several seasons, and what she loves about the work. Visit Lynchburg Grow's website to find out how to connect, volunteer, or support their work.

If you enjoyed this episode, want to connect, or have a good story to share, reach out to me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram @billyhansenmai. Billy Hansen is a commercial real estate broker, appraiser, writer, and teacher living in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Thank you for listening to the Lynchburg Neighborhood podcast. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, please leave a review and share with friends. Visit us at the Lynchburg Neighborhood Podcast

Music by: Ryan Andersen. Song: Coming Home. Ryan Andersen is an American composer and producer currently making music in Paris, France. Visit him here.