VMHC Lectures

On April 4, 2008, Mike Foreman and Warren Hofstra delivered this lecture at the 2008 symposium, "Sweet Dreams: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline."

(Includes comments from oral history interviews)

Mike Foreman is an adjunct assistant professor of political science at Shenandoah University and a history instructor in the School of Continuing Education. Mr. Foreman co-edited Images of the Past; he is the author of A History of the Nurses Training School, Winchester Memorial Hospital, 1903–1964; and is currently working on Some Worthy Women, featuring biographical sketches of pioneer women leaders from Winchester and Frederick County.

Warren R. Hofstra is Stewart Bell Professor of History at Shenandoah University in Winchester. In addition to teaching in the fields of American social and cultural history and directing the Community History Project of Shenandoah University, he has written or edited five books on American regional history, including The Planting of New Virginia: Settlement and Landscape in the Shenandoah Valley; A Separate Place: The Formation of Clarke County, Virginia; George Washington and the Virginia Backcountry; After the Backcountry: Rural Life in the Great Valley of Virginia, 1800–1900; and Virginia Reconsidered: New Histories of the Old Dominion.

(Introduction by Sandra G. Treadway, Library of Virginia)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On April 4, 2008, Mr. Malone delivered this talk at the 2008 symposium, 'Sweet Dreams: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline.' Bill Malone is Professor of History, Emeritus, at Tulane University. He is author of Country Music, U.S.A.; Southern Music, American Music; Don't Get Above Your Raisin': Country Music and the Southern Working Class; and to be published this June, Working Girl Blues: The Life and Music of Hazel Dickens. He also produced and annotated the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Country Music. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow. He has delivered the Lamar Lecture at Mercer University, published as Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers: Southern Culture and the Roots of Country Music. He has served as a joint visiting scholar at Duke and the University of North Carolina. His weekly radio show, "Back to the Country," on Madison, Wisconsin's WORT-FM has been on the air for years and has regularly garnered listeners' choice awards. In all, he continues is his role as the dean of country music scholarship, combining, in his words, "the passionate predilections of the fan . . . with the wary skepticism of the scholar."

(Introduction by Nelson D. Lankford)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On May 20, 2010, Internationally renowned historians and hosts Edward Ayers, Brian Balogh, and Peter Onuf present "Paying Up: The History of Taxation." From the very beginning, Americans have been arguing about whether their taxes are fair and just. The American History Guys will explored taxation's complicated and turbulent history—from the Stamp Act of 1765 to the Tea Party Movement of 2010—and discuss Americans' attitudes toward the Tax Man.(Introduction by Paul A. Levengood)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On March 16, 2012, Ben R. Cohen delivered a lecture entitled "Notes from the Ground: Science, Soil, and Society in the American Countryside." This lecture was session two of "From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future," a free day-long conference on the historical relationship between Virginia's environment and its people. The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Andrew Talkov)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On March 16, 2012, Sara M. Gregg delivered a lecture entitled "Managing the Mountains: Land Use Planning, the New Deal, and the Creation of the Federal Landscape in Appalachia." This lecture was session four of "From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future," a free day-long conference on the historical relationship between Virginia's environment and its people. The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Elaine Hagy)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On March 16, 2012, Roy T. Sawyer delivered a lecture entitled "Eco-History of the Tidewater: The Long View." This lecture was session five of "From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future," a free day-long conference on the historical relationship between Virginia's environment and its people. The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Andrew Talkov)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On March 16, 2012, Hon. Gerald Baliles, Ann F. Jennings, Gerald P. McCarthy, and Hon. W. Tayloe Murphy, Jr. participated in a roundtable discussion entitled "Message, Money, and Management: A Roundtable Discussion on the Future of the Chesapeake Bay." The roundtable discussion was session six of "From the Earth: The Environment in Virginia's Past and Future," a free day-long conference on the historical relationship between Virginia's environment and its people. The conference is made possible by a generous grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment. (Introduction by Paul Levengood)

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On August 10, 2016, veteran Richmond Times-Dispatch sports columnist Paul Woody, and Hall of Famer Willie Lanier gave a Banner Lecture at the Virginia Historical Society.

Virginia native Willie Lanier is known as one of professional football’s greatest defensive players of all time. A 1963 graduate of Maggie L. Walker High School, he was the first African American to play middle linebacker in professional football when he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967. During his ten season career with the Chiefs, he helped lead the team to victory in Super Bowl IV, won the NFL Man of the Year award in 1972, was a six time Pro Bowler, and was enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame in 1986. Join us for a casual conversation as veteran Richmond Times-Dispatch sports columnist Paul Woody chats with Willie Lanier at the Virginia Historical Society.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On June 22, 2016, Edward L. Ayers spoke with Paul Levengood in a Banner Lecture entitled “The Roads from War to Reconstruction and Beyond.”

Reconstruction is central to American history, deeply interesting, and yet also deeply confusing. This conversation with Paul Levengood, VHS President and CEO, will attempt to unravel some of the complexities and mysteries of those years and why those years still matter today.

Edward Ayers is President Emeritus of the University of Richmond, where he now serves as Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities. A historian of the American South, Ayers has written and edited ten books. The Promise of the New South: Life after Reconstruction was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In the Presence of Mine Enemies: Civil War in the Heart of America won the Bancroft Prize for distinguished writing in American history and the Beveridge Prize for the best book in English on the history of the Americas since 1492. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2013.

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

On June 7, 2016, Douglas Brinkley delivered a Banner Lecture entitled “Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America.”

In Rightful Heritage, acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley chronicles Franklin D. Roosevelt’s essential yet under-sung legacy as the founder of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and premier protector of America’s public lands. FDR built from scratch dozens of State Park systems and scenic roadways. Pristine landscapes such as the Great Smokies, the Everglades, Joshua Tree, the Olympics, Big Bend, Channel Islands, Mammoth Cave, and the slickrock wilderness of Utah were forever saved by his leadership. Brinkley traces FDR’s love for the natural world from his youth exploring the Hudson River Valley and bird watching. As America’s president from 1933 to 1945, Roosevelt—consummate political strategist—established hundreds of federal migratory bird refuges and spearheaded the modern endangered species movement. Rightful Heritage is an epic chronicle that is both an irresistible portrait of FDR’s unrivaled passion and drive, and an indispensable analysis that skillfully illuminates the tension between business and nature—exploiting our natural resources and conserving them. Rightful Heritage is essential reading for everyone seeking to preserve our treasured landscapes as an American birthright.

Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University, bestselling and award-winning author, and presidential historian for CNN. He serves as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly. He is the author of numerous books—many of which have been bestsellers and New York Times Notable Books of the Year—including The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast (2006), The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America (2009), The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom, 1879–1960 (2011), Cronkite (2012), and his newest bestselling book, Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America (2016).

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.