Progress Edition 2023

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The evolution of the chamber

BY TITUS MOHLER

The scope, tools and methods of the endeavor may have changed, but the mission remains the same for the Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re a connector, we’re a convener, we bring people together for the good of their businesses and the community,” Chamber Executive Director Teresa B. Beale said.

The chamber has been seeking to strengthen area businesses and enhance the community from 1954 to now, and it has been seeing notable progress across that time period.

Beale and former Executive Director Donna McCullough helped compile a

detailed history of the chamber for a special supplement to The Tidewater News in 2004, and that history serves as the source for much of the information conveyed in this story.

THE BIRTH OF THE CHAMBER

It was on April 1, 1954, that what was then known as the Franklin Chamber of Commerce opened for business at 203 W. First Ave. with a budget of $6,600. The town of Franklin agreed to rent the former Franklin Police Office at that location to the chamber for $15 per month.

The Certificate of Incorporation for the Franklin Chamber of Commerce was issued on July 23, 1954, with 107 members having joined the chamber.

CHOWAN UNIVERSITY

Though the chamber has had temporary headquarters in a couple of instances, it has had only two permanent locations during its 69 years of existence.

On March 1, 1968, the chamber moved to what was previously a residence at 108 W. Third Ave. in Franklin. This building, which was built in the 1870s, remains the chamber’s home today in 2023.

In addition to the founding of the chamber, the 1950s also featured major achievements by the chamber that reverberate to today.

BARRETT’S LANDING

In August 1954, the Civic Committee, headed by Vice President E.B. Gatten,

proposed to the chamber board that one of its priorities was to appoint a committee to study the possibility of establishing a public wharf and park at the junction of Main and South streets in Franklin. This was an idea that eventually came to fruition in the form of Barrett’s Landing, which was completed 45 years later in 1999.

GENERAL THOMAS HIGHWAY

Additionally, a long-range project under the joint leadership of the Civic and Industrial Division that made progress in 1955 was chamber sponsorship of opening the highway between Franklin, Newsoms and Boykins, which is the current General Thomas Highway.

HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

In the 1960s, the chamber leadership had been promoting the need for Franklin to create a Housing and Redevelopment Authority to address clearance and redevelopment projects.

Using a weekly ad in The Tidewater News, the chamber urged citizens to vote “yes” for the referendum that was on the ballot in July 1963. The referendum passed, paving the way for the appointment of a housing authority.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE

In 1966, the chamber and community leaders began exploring the idea of a community college for the Franklin Southampton area. A resolution supporting this idea was presented to the city in support of its bid for the college.

Four years later, Paul D. Camp Community College was formed, and Beale noted that the chamber has interacted with it throughout its now more than 50 years of existence.

“We’ve held a lot of events there,” she said.

THE CHAMBER EXPANDS TO THE REGION

The minutes of an April 14, 1964, chamber meeting reflected a discussion of “enlarging the membership roster of the chamber by including Southampton County as part of the organization.” The chamber opted to work toward obtaining the support of both the city and county and, in this way, increase the chamber budget and broaden the scope of industrial development in the area.

In December 1968, the Franklin Chamber of Commerce voted, and an area chamber was established.

In an annual report prepared by the 1968 chamber president, Broun C. Dameron, he stated that “an area chamber can make a real contribution to our community by presenting a coordinated, united effort in consideration of programs which may include education, industrial development,

highways, water and air pollution, recreational facilities, zoning and even markets.”

The Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce’s membership has varied through the years, but it stood at 225 as of early March 2023.

And Beale noted that while the chamber board does not share its budget total, she said it has increased considerably from its $6,600 starting point in 1954 and is now six figures.

The chamber’s staff has not changed significantly over the years, and it currently is composed of Beale and Office Manager Melissa Rose.

BUSINESS AFTER HOURS & BREWING UP BUSINESS

It was in the 1980s when the chamber’s popular Business After Hours event made its debut.

The chamber’s website notes that Business After Hours “allows members to gather in a relaxed atmosphere and exchange ideas.”

However, in a March 2, 2023, interview, Beale referred to this event in the past tense when talking about the chamber’s Brewing Up Business event, which is described on the website as a “monthly morning networking event” held at a member’s location where chamber members can share what is going on in the community and consider how they can work together to help each other.

“We used to have Business After Hours for years, which is sort of the same thing, only it had gotten harder for people to come in the afternoons, I guess,” Beale said, noting that people have children involved in sports and other after-school activities. “It seems like (Business After Hours) just kind of faded a little bit, so we started doing the morning things, and I’d say we started that, I don’t know, ’17, ’18, maybe.”

Rose said Brewing Up Business events average about 20-25 people, and Randolph Cook, chamber vice president of government affairs, board member and past president, said the events have occasionally drawn significantly larger crowds.

“We do those at different places … to try to get people to maybe places they haven’t seen or been,” Beale said.

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

In 1991, the chamber began handing out the Business Person of the Year award, and it has since become known as the Business of the Year award.

The chamber initiated the award in 1991 to recognize the enormous contribution that small businesses make to the local community and to recognize an individual who has excelled in his or her profession.

The first honoree was Blake Blythe and Blake Ford Mercury Mazda Chrysler Dodge.

This year, the chamber is celebrating Southampton Veterinary Clinic as the 2022 Business of the Year.

CHAMBERGOLF

In 1993, ChamberGolf was born — a golf tournament that offers a day of fun, food and networking on the links for chamber members.

“We have a lot of businesses that will

bring people from out of town to be on their team, so that way more people come into town,” Beale said.

Cypress Cove Country Club in Franklin features an 18-hole golf course as well as a restaurant.

Most chamber events are held to help members network with each other, and there are different kinds of events because some appeal to certain members more than others.

“Sometimes it hits different segments, so we try to do a variety of things to be able to help all of our members at some point,” Beale said.

EGGS AND ISSUES

And sometimes, like with Business After Hours transitioning to Brewing Up Business, the events evolve.

Cook noted that the chamber’s Eggs and Issues event, which historically has featured state legislators, will feature local government officials this year, including the Southampton County Board of Supervisors and Franklin City Council.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

SUBMITTED | TERESA B. BEALE

This photo offers a historical look at the Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce’s office located at 108 W. Third Ave. in Franklin. Previously a residence that was built in the 1870s, it remains the chamber’s office today in early 2023.

Area students will be invited to attend to listen and ask questions, learning how their local governments work.

The event will be held at Camp Community College.

CHAMBER COMMUNITY EXPO

The chamber held the first Mini-Trade Show at the Airway Motel, and it was later moved to the Cypress Cove Country Club in the late 1990s to handle the larger crowds.

This show is what is now known as the Chamber Community Expo.

“The Chamber Expo was one thing that really grew,” Beale said.

It was at one point a mem -

ber-to-member event, similar to Business After Hours.

“And then it evolved until we went to the Workforce (Development) Center and then opened it to the public, which I think that was a big step, because we were able to showcase our members to everybody, not just each other (via) networking, but we expanded it to the whole community,” Beale said. “And so that’s become, really, one of our big, signature events.”

Rose asked, “What would you say attendance was when it was member-to-member? A hundred?”

“Probably a hundred,” Beale said.

“It was pretty nice,” Cook agreed. “I would say around a hundred.”

“Because now it’s 500 to 600,” Rose said. “So that’s huge.”

The Expo was opened to the public in 2001.

“And now we have members from Ivor to out toward Emporia that are

showcased, (along with members) all over the county and, of course, a lot right here in the city,” Cook said.

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

The Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber initiated its scholarship program in 1995 with an award of a $500 scholarship to an area graduating senior. The purpose of the program is to provide financial recognition to a student involved in the community who has demonstrated a capacity for leadership and academic achievement and has a financial need.

FSEDI

As noted at www.franklinsouthamptonva.com, Franklin Southampton Economic Development Inc. was incorporated in August 2005 as an economic development organization to

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

serve the residents of the city of Franklin and Southampton County.

The chamber played a role in helping create FSEDI, and Beale noted that its existence has given the chamber another strong partner.

“It’s really a great partnership with FSEDI,” Beale said. “We’ve just been closely tied to them since FSEDI started.”

The Franklin Business Center, which opened in May 2005, is a mixed-use incubator coordinated by FSEDI that exists to help new and developing businesses get established.

“Because it’s an economic development thing and starting new businesses and that type of thing, we’ve been involved and partnered since it’s started,” Beale said. “We have a lower rate for businesses that are in there — for membership — because we want to help them get started.”

FRANKLIN-SOUTHAMPTON AREA CHAMBER FOUNDATION

In 2010, the Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber Foundation was incorporated.

“It plays a supporting role to the chamber,” Beale said. “(The foundation) own(s) the (chamber office) property, so (it) maintain(s) the property. We also give scholarships from the foundation, so we were able to do that. We have support from grants and foundations that come to that (which) support things that the chamber operationally does.”

Cook said that if businesses or individuals want to give money toward scholarships, it is now tax deductible because the foundation is a nonprofit organization.

“So that’s another advantage for having a foundation,” he said.

The foundation also makes possible the Franklin/Southampton Crime Solvers line at 757-516-7100 and other ways to submit tips to law enforcement anonymously, including www. P3tips.com and the P3tips app. Information that leads to an arrest can earn the tipster a cash reward while remaining anonymous, and the reward comes from the foundation.

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY

Beale noted that historically, if people do not know where to call when seeking different kinds of information, they call the chamber.

“We used to say we’re kind of the front door to the community,” she said. “People would call — not as much now as it used to be — and say, ‘Send me some information about the area.’ Well, now they go online, so that’s a change with technology.”

They go to the chamber website (fsachamber.wildapricot.org), the economic development website (www. franklinsouthamptonva.com) or the tourism website (www.visitfranklinsouthamptonva.com).

“There’s just a lot of resources out there,” Beale said.

Rose said that with technology and social media now at the chamber’s disposal, it has helped with communi -

Clarence Harris General Agent

This is a painting by LaVerne K. Schmidt of what has been the Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce’s office from 1968 to the present day.

cation.

“We don’t send out newsletters anymore,” she said. “You send them out electronically.”

Beale said, “We used to send mailings and big packets of fliers, and now most everything is electronic.”

Previously, people would call up the chamber office to find out which dates were open so they could schedule events. Now they can simply check the community calendar on the chamber website and post their own events.

“We have a jobs board on our website as well,” Beale said. “So that helps the business community.”

Technological advancements had a huge impact on the chamber’s operations when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

“We learned a lot about technology because we had to,” Beale said. “Our board met by Zoom.”

The chamber promoted a pick-meup event for members on Zoom and conducted Zoom Brewing Up Business events, along with an adapted Chamber Community Expo.

Employing a similar premise to that of The Today Show’s Deal of the Day segment, chamber staff set up a table in the chamber office during the pan -

demic and had some volunteers come in and highlight products from different businesses in the community on Zoom.

“So we did that every day at a certain time just to keep people engaged and connected, just to remind people, ‘Hey, these businesses need your support,’” Beale said.

The chamber also created a restaurant list and put it on its website, noting when restaurants were open and

whether or not they offered takeout or delivery.

“So we kept that up to try to direct people to our local restaurants,” Beale said, “just anything we could do or think of to support the businesses, especially, but the community as a whole.”

Betty Jo Bain

This photo offers a modern look at the Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce’s 108 W. Third Ave. office in Franklin.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

A GROWING NUMBER OF PARTNERSHIPS

The chamber aims to create partnerships between itself and other organizations and between its members, and those partnerships have grown in number across the chamber’s 69

years.

And more are on the way.

Beale said the chamber is going to partner with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce in the summer in relation to a recently passed health care consortium bill.

“It’s going to be an opportunity for small businesses to get in a larger group of all chamber members all

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across the state and hopefully lower their health care costs,” she said. “So we were very involved in that.”

Beale emphasized that the chamber and its partners are united by pur-

pose.

“Whatever we all can do together to lift up the community is what we’re all focused on in our different roles,” she said.

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The chamber has grown from being the Franklin Chamber of Commerce with 107 members and a budget of $6,600 in 1954 to being the Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce with 225 members and a six-figure budget in 2023. The chamber also moved in 1968 from its original office at 203 W. First Ave. to the office seen above at 108 W. Third Ave.

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Chugging into history

to operate branch lines as neededfor the Surry Lumber Co. - not to exceed 20 miles in length.

In 1889, additional timber was purchased southwest of Wakefield and in Southampton County. A second sawmill was built in Dendron and the S. S. & S. was extended to Wakefield, passing under the Norfolk and Western Railway, and 2 miles beyond. Shortly thereafter, the S. S. & S. was extended to Boston — so named by the company; however, the Postal Service would not accept that name and it was changed to Dory. A logging camp was established there, and a station was constructed. At that time, Dory was as far as the chartered line reached – it never made it to Jerusalem (changed to Courtland in 1888).

In the meantime, the Dendron mills continued to expand, and additional timber was needed. In 1897, a branch line headed west and reached West Hope in 1898. That line crossed the Assamoosick Swamp; the Plank Road — about 1 mile north of the Southampton-Sussex line; the Nottoway River at Peter’s Bridge via a trestle and a truss bridge; and then swung in an arc north-northwest to West Hope on Route 40, a mile or two west of Sussex Courthouse. In 1899, a logging camp was established at West Hope and, in 1900, one was started at

Surry Lumber Company and Surry, Sussex & Southampton Railroad

Straw Hill where Route 35 crossed the Sussex-Prince George county line.

In 1904, the Dory camp was closed and another one opened at Upson. A line then ran south from Upson toward Sebrell, splitting at a wye (Urquhart’s Wye) just north of Sebrell. The Upson logging camp remained in service until 1915.

Also in 1904, a line (called the Berlin branch) was put in south from Dory approximately 4 miles and a new lumber camp was established and named Vicksville; it was made up of some 25 permanent buildings. When Vicksville was in full operation, about 1907, the Straw Hill camp was closed and all operations in that area were then handled by West Hope.

In 1906, the Tidewater Railroad, predecessor to the Virginian Railroad, running east-west from Norfolk to West Virginia was under construction. Surry Lumber Co. owned or had under contract large tracts of timber south of the proposed Virginian. The S. S. & S. Railroad, running north-south from Wakefield toward Vicksville, was being built so that their timber in that area could be accessed. The two railroads were under construction at the same time. It was obvious that at some point the two railroads would probably cross each other. Because of the expense involved in building a crossing and

not wanting to get blocked from their timber land, the Surry Lum ber Co. moved quickly to get to the likely crossing point first. Since Surry Lumber Co. did get there first with their S. S. & S. construction, the owners of the Tidewater/Vir ginian line had to pay for the cross ing that they required for their standard gauge tracks. The S.S. & S. line to Vicksville was extended south to a point on Route 546 a few miles south of the Virginian Rail road crossing.

The crossing point of the two rail roads was at a place that was to be come a town named Sedley – on property now occupied by the Hub bard Peanut Co. In 1907, after the Virginian Railroad was in opera tion, the Surry Lumber Co. laid out

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

store house was located on the present-day Hubbard property.

Surry Lumber Co. operated at full capacity until 1927. By that time most of the available timber land had been cut and it would be necessary to begin re-cutting the timber land where they had originally started cutting. This would increase costs due to the quality and quantity of the timber. Another factor was that the older heads of the company had died and most left no heirs who were interested in the lumber business. So, in 1927, a notice came “out of the blue” that the company was closing down.

Dendron, having developed into a rather significant town with a population of about 2,000 people, soon went into an economic decline. However, the place still exists, mostly residential; many people now occupying

the houses that were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s are descendants of the original occupants.

The S. S. & S. lasted for a while longer than the lumber company. Francis Waters was president of the S. S. & S. and the last president of the Surry Lumber Co. In July of 1930, the State Corporation Commission finally granted permission to shut down the S. S. & S. Railroad.

In Southampton County, three communities were established by the Surry Lumber Company. Dory, established in 1889, existed until 1930 when the S. S. & S. ceased operations. Vicksville, established in 1904 as a logging camp, lasted into the 1920s when logging ceased in that area. (Incidentally, Vicksville was also the location of the former H. P. Beale and Sons meat packing Co. – early 1930s to late 1980s.) Today, nothing remains of those two communities ex-

cept a few residences and some traces of the old railroad beds —and a name on the county maps.

The third community, Sedley, established in 1907, survived and continues to this day. Eventually, over time, Sedley developed into a very nice and progressive village – with many nice residences. Eventually, the “town” had a hotel, a bank, a movie theater — and many other places of business such as grocery stores, general merchandise stores and gasoline stations. Churches were organized. And, Southampton County’s first hospital was there: the clinic of Dr. R. L. Raiford – which in later years, in Franklin, became Raiford Memorial Hospital and Southampton Memorial Hospital. Johnson & Elder Cornmeal Co. existed there for decades. The world-famous Hubbard Peanut Co. (HUBS) was established there in 1954 by Dorothy (“Dot”) Owen Hubbard

(C. B. Owen’s daughter) along with her husband (H. J.) as partner and No. 1 salesman. Today, Hubbard Peanut Company is still owned and operated by Dorothy and H. J. Hubbard’s family — their children and grandchildren; daughter Lynne Hubbard Rabil is president and CEO.

Now, Sedley is mostly a pleasant residential community – mostly due its proximity to Franklin; most of the retail businesses are long-gone. It is now the nucleus of a broad-ranging residential and farming community.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: “The Company,”H. B. and Anne Bryant Archive, Lynne Hubbard Rabil, Southampton County Historical Society, Surry County Historical Society and James Irving Beale IV.

Goodwyn makes history on Courtland Town Council

BY TITUS MOHLER

Southampton County is known for key events from its past that loom large in the grievous story of slavery in America. In 1831, it was the site of Nat Turner’s violent rebellion as he sought to lead African Americans out of slavery.

History.com notes that only a few miles from Jerusalem, which is now known as the town of Courtland, Turner and all his followers were dispersed, captured or killed. After confessing without regret to his role in the bloodshed, Turner was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. He was hanged in Jerusalem. His uprising involved the slaughter of some who were not directly involved in the slave trade, and the response to the rebellion also involved the murder of those unassociated with the revolt.

Nearly two centuries later, Southampton has changed dramatically, and while some would note there is still progress to be made, the county has un -

deniably come a long way from those harrowing days.

A notable example of that progress occurred in November 2022 when Perry A. Goodwyn became the first known African American man to be elected to the Courtland Town Council.

Born and raised in Capron, Goodwyn is a 74-year-old Purple Heart-awarded Vietnam War veteran who has since worked for the Federal Reserve Bank and the Department of Defense.

In a January interview in Courtland, he shared his reaction to his breakthrough electoral achievement.

“At first, I didn’t think too much of it, not really, because everything that I’ve done has been exciting,” he said. “But then the more I think about it, I think, ‘Well, dang, this is alright.’”

He began to consider the accomplishment in the broader context of county history.

“It’s something to behold, because there’s a lot that went on in Southampton County, a lot of killings and lynchings and hangings and shooting people. A lot of that went on between whites and Blacks in this county,” he said.

Reflecting on his status as a Courtland town councilman in contrast to that history deepened his appreciation of his electoral victory’s historical significance.

TITUS MOHLER THE TIDEWATER NEWS Perry A. Goodwyn was awarded a Purple Heart for his service in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, he has worked for the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Federal Reserve Bank and the U.S. Department of Defense, and he is now a historic member of the Courtland Town Council.

“I said, ‘Well, dang, this is great,’” he said. “My brother in Philadelphia said, ‘Boy, do you know you just made history?’ I said, ‘You know, you’re right.’ I said, ‘Think about it — your brother, this old Goodwyn boy, just made history.’”

Growing up, Goodwyn lived in Capron, and he went to school in Courtland at Riverview High School.

“To me, this is home,” he said. “I know everybody down here.”

He played football in high school, but though he grew up around a farm, he said he was not the typical farm boy.

“I hated working on the farm,” he said.

He noted that people told him he was never going to amount to anything because he did not want to work.

But it was simply a different kind of

SUBMITTED | HELENE BYNUM GOODWYN

Southampton Circuit Court Clerk Richard L. “Rick” Francis, left, swears in Perry A. Goodwyn as a member of the Courtland Town Council. Race references have long been removed from records pertaining to oaths and ballots, but Goodwyn is the first known African American man to be elected to the town’s council.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

work that he found interest in. While the Virginia countryside is where he has longed to be for much of his life, his desire as a teenager was to leave it behind.

He never graduated from high school because in 1968, he followed through on his desire to leave.

“I volunteered and went to the Marine Corps,” he said.

He spent only two years in the military, but in that time he experienced more combat and loss than many veterans do in their entire careers.

He went straight from basic training to Vietnam.

“I stayed there for 13 months,” he said.

While serving there, he was wounded and was sent to a hospital in Yokohama, Japan.

He noted that his experience of ser-

vice in Vietnam was a scary one marked by getting shot at every day.

“I didn’t like that,” he said. “That’s a scary feeling, and then some of your best buddies… you have to wrap them up in a poncho and carry them and put them on a helicopter, and they were dead. They were dead. I did that many times.”

Through tears he said, “They were friends.”

When he was released from the hospital in Japan, instead of sending him home, the Marines sent him back to Vietnam.

“They sent me straight back to the unit that I was in when I got wounded, and when I got back, all of my friends that I had made over the last 11 months were all dead,” he said. “I saw a lot of death.”

Goodwyn was later given the opportunity to leave the military because of his service in Vietnam.

“I jumped on that because I didn’t want to go back to Vietnam, because if I had reenlisted, they were going to send me straight back to Vietnam,” he said.

He received the Purple Heart, which is a distinguished military decoration awarded to a veteran that was wounded or killed while serving.

After leaving the Marine Corps, Goodwyn returned to Capron.

His Marine background gave him the qualifications to work for the Virginia Department of Corrections, which he did for two years as a corrections officer at the Deerfield Correctional Center in Capron.

“Then I kind of got a little tired of that because it mainly reminded me so much of the Marine Corps, so I left,” he said.

He later moved to New Jersey and worked in New York for the Federal Reserve Bank for seven-and-a-half

years. He was a registered mail auditor and handled money in the millions.

“I was responsible for every bit of it on paper,” he said. “All my paperwork had to coincide to what all the other departments brought in … I had to tabulate all of their paperwork and make sure that they had everything right. Sometimes I stayed two, three hours after work just to find one penny.”

Goodwyn later became employed with the U.S. Department of Defense and worked for that department at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

He went back to school and earned an associate degree from Tidewater Community College in 1993.

The Department of Defense sent him to Glynco, Georgia, to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers.

“So I graduated from that and came back to Portsmouth and worked at

Norfolk Naval Shipyard for 33 years,” he said.

His job title with the Department of Defense was physical security specialist.

“We were just a force that made sure that everybody was doing what they were supposed to be doing according to the book,” he said.

He noted that the security specialist job was not like a job to him because he liked it so much.

“I just loved to get up in the morning and go to work,” he said.

Goodwyn injured his leg and went out on workman’s comp in 2014.

He noted that he lived in Virginia Beach for the entire time he was actively working for the Department of Defense, and he continued to live there until 2022.

“Then we moved back here because we had a house that was left to us,” he said. “And we said, ‘Well, what the

heck are we doing up here in Virginia Beach paying all this rent and we’ve got a house down in the country that’s ours?’”

It was veteran Courtland Town Councilwoman Maxine Nowlin who first got Goodwyn thinking about serving on the council.

“We went to high school together, grew up together, and she just knew me, so when I came back, we would run into each other around town, just talk,” he said. “And then she talked me into running for Town Council. And I said, ‘Ah, OK, I’ll do it.’”

Campaigning involved going through the neighborhood and letting people know who he was.

“And Maxine was the one that was taking me around,” he said, “and she would look at me, and she’d say, ‘Perry, everybody already knows you. I know you’re going to win because they already know you, so you ain’t

got to do nothing but show your face.’ She was just shocked.”

He recalled explaining to her, “Well, everybody knows me because I was born and raised here, and Courtland and Capron came together all the time. The kids in Capron and the kids in Courtland would all play together.”

He also recalled her saying that the tally of votes he received was greater than those she received in her previous years on the council.

Goodwyn said he was shocked by the level of support he received.

“It really shocked me because everybody was telling me, ‘We know you’re going to win,’ but I said, ‘No,’ because a lot of people knew me, but I didn’t get the feeling that a whole lot of them like me too good, because they always said I was a no-good kid,” he said. “But then they all looked and saw that when I went away, I always had a good job. I’ve only had three

Accelerating Franklin Forward! Accelerating Franklin Forward! Accelerating Franklin Forward!

jobs in my life, and that was corrections, Federal Reserve Bank and Department of Defense.”

As he begins his two-year term, he is acclimating himself to the council, but he made something clear to his fellow council members right away.

“I said, ‘Any task that y’all feel like that y’all need me to do, don’t feel afraid to ask me, because I’m not afraid to do anything. And I’m always willing to do anything that will help somebody.’”

Decades of fun for

BY SANDRA HEEREN

It has been 42 years since the first Franklin-Southampton County Fair. Many things have changed in that time, both physically and by events being held.

In the beginning the fair wasn’t a fair. In the 1970s four events were held at different times of the year. These were put together by area extension offices and they included the 4-H steer show, market hog show, the district veggie show and a horse show. The agriculture extension office funded these events individually and it was decided to combine them and have it once a year to save on expenses.

In 1980 the extension offices of Southampton, Isle of Wight and Suffolk got together to form Agriculture Week and it was held at the Southampton

County Fair grounds and stockyard. There were not any buildings on the fairgrounds at the time, so tents were erected where the “big” building is today.

Because each event was held at different times of the year it made financial sense to hold all of the events at the same time, share the expenses and the advertising, and call it a “county fair.” The Franklin Southampton County Fair was officially born.

In 1981 there were 15 board members. J. Paul Councill Jr. was the first president, and the first queen was Connie Jean Newsome. When the first fair was held there was rain (not surprising) and the fair grounds were extremely muddy. Straw and boards were placed in areas around the grounds to help with the mud. There were multiple events including home arts as well as

agricultural events. There were Navy bands that came out to perform and Silver Street was one of the first “modern” bands to perform. The fair was held for three days, and it concentrated on agriculture in the area.

The extension office and the 4-H community are a large part of the fair. From the very beginning the livestock and 4-H program were part of the fair. Livestock shows included pig, steer and lambs. Young children in the area, carry on the family tradition of raising animals and keeping farm life alive in the county. As the livestock program grew the shows included chickens and rabbits. Children in the county raised animals from birth, to show at the county fair.

In 1985 the fair attendance for the first few years was around 3,000 people, over three days, and the admission price was .50 cent per person. There wasn’t a midway (rides) and the fair concentrated on agriculture and livestock along with home arts such as

canning, baking, needle point, quilting etc. Fair attendance has grown over the years to as many as 16,000 guests, over four days, and admission has increased.

In 1986 the fair committee put together the first Premium Book Cover Contest. The winner that year was Michele Bowers from Southampton High School. The fair has received thousands of entries since 1986 and each entry is considered and chosen with great care.

During the mid-80s the fair board decided that a building to house some of the fair events would be a great addition to the fairgrounds, so they decided to hold a fundraiser. The fundraiser was called Help Us Grow. LeeAnn Williams commissioned a painting that was a projection of what the building would look like. Board members attended Ruritan Club meetings and spoke with organizations to promote the project. The fair was blessed to have individuals, businesses and or-

ganizations donate to the campaign to build the building and eventually the group reached its goal of raising $120,000. Today this building is referred to as the “big” building.

The pavilions on the fair grounds were built, one at a time, as funds became available. Throughout the years fair board members have continued to build or upgrade structures at the fairgrounds — made possible by gifts from local businesses and sponsors. The fair was, and is, funded solely by fundraisers, sponsors and donations.

In the mid-80s the fair was open five days a week which included Wednesday through Sunday. Admission increased to $1 before 7 p.m. and $2 after 7 p.m. Gate attendance averaged between 6,900 to 7,400.

During the 90s the fair added national recording artists performing on the main stage — which at the time was a flatbed trailer. Eventually the stage was covered and today there is a permanent stage on the grounds. What the

fair calls “side” entertainment was also added in the 90s. Side entertainment includes pig racing, magic circus, comedy side shows and so much more. Side entertainment have always been a family favorite.

In 2003 the board decided to change the fair to a four-day event and close on Sundays. It was a difficult decision as Sunday was considered “family” day, but attendance slowed on Sundays and the board thought it would be best to close. These days Wednesday is “family” day and “kids” day is held on Saturday.

The Queen’s contest has seen tremendous growth over the years. This pageant is for ladies ages three thru 22 years of age. Pageant Director Janet Joyner changed the Queen’s competition to a scholarship pageant. In 2017 Joyner added a Ms. division to include ladies 23 and up with very few restrictions. Joyner found a need for this divi-

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sion as the community grew. In 2018 Joyner added a Miss Heart title to be presented to the contestant that did the most fundraising. Monies raised from pageant contestants goes into the scholarship fund. Over the years the Franklin Southampton County Fair has awarded over $20,000 in scholarship money. The Queens also participate in many community events, volunteer at East Pavilion, The Village at Woods Edge and adopt families during the holidays. The Fair Board is very proud of this group of ladies and all they have accomplished through the years. The fair has grown in many areas,

adding rodeo’s, lumber jack shows, four-wheeler mud bogs, wood carving shows and even Monster truck rides. The fair continues to bring fun and excitement to people of all ages while keeping the original community feel.

The fair is committed to providing an opportunity for all residents to place on display what they have made, grown or produced; to compete in friendly competition; and enjoy four days of festivities each August. The fair still has the same goals — to put the community and all it has to offer on display. For the latest information about the Franklin Southampton County Fair visit the website at franklinsouthamptoncountyfair.org or the Facebook page.

See you at the fair!

Law enforcement development across 4 centuries

BY TITUS MOHLER

The Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office has a history older than the lifespan of the United States of America.

Capt. Tommy Potter, operations commander and public information officer for the sheriff’s office, said, “When you look back at the history of this region, you’ve got the Jamestown settlement, you’ve got some of the early settlers, and you’ve got Isle of Wight County established in the 1600s, and the first sheriff was set in place in 1634.”

SHERIFFS, OR CONSTABLES

Pulling from information obtained from “Historical Notes on Isle of Wight County, Virginia” by Helen Haverty King, as cited at www.isleofwightsheriffsoffice.com, all sheriffs were appointed by the British crown until 1776.

From 1776-1851, the sheriff was appointed from a list of magistrates, and then in 1857, the office of the sheriff became an elected position.

The sheriff’s office website lists all the known sheriffs from 1634 to present. It is not known who the original sheriff was who might have served from 1634-38, but the first known sheriff was Sylvester Colton, who served in 1639.

The 107th listing on the website features the current sheriff, James R. Clarke Jr.

Maj. Joseph M. Willard, chief deputy and resident historian for the sheriff’s office, indicated that it was likely that sheriffs were called constables back in the 1630s.

SERVICE AREA

The office’s service area would have been a bit different back then as well.

“What we refer to as counties now, back then they would have been the original eight shires — that’s the old English world. Isle of Wight was one of the original eight that was established,” Potter said. “Today, our service area would be smaller, because in 1634, when you’re looking at the eight

original shires or the eight original counties, those geographical areas were much larger.”

He noted that as more of the land was settled and developed, more concrete boundaries were put in place by the local government.

Present now in the county that would not have been in the distant past are the towns of Smithfield and Windsor, each of which has their own police departments.

“The county sheriff’s office does have jurisdiction in those two towns, but the independent police departments are the primary response for law enforcement within the town of Smithfield and the town of Windsor, but we do work with those agencies to back them up on calls,” Potter said.

“We do the civil process service of court papers and court documents for those two towns; the sheriff’s office handles those. And we do animal services today, which (in the past) would not have been the case. So we do have an animal control chief and four animal control officers here that fall under the mandate of the sheriff’s office, and they provide services to the county and to the two towns as well.”

Summarizing the sheriff’s office’s modern service area, Potter said Isle of Wight County is composed of 316 square miles in

terms of land, with some shoreline and water in addition to that. He said the county has a population of roughly 39,000.

Though the original shire might have represented a larger service area, Potter highlighted the growth of the county as one of the biggest factors to affect the sheriff’s office from the more recent past to now.

“Isle of Wight County is experiencing significant growth, residentially, (and) we see some commercial growth on the horizon,” he said. “So our agency has had to adapt to that over the years.”

And there is no shortage of need for the agency’s services.

“We answer in excess of over 40,000 calls for service a year here at the sheriff’s office alone,” he said.

PERSONNEL

The size of the agency’s force has likely varied significantly over its 389 years of existence.

“I don’t know how many would have been under the original charter back in 1634 — one, maybe even two, three people,” Potter said. “The duties were, back then, moreso to collect taxes, enforce some of the laws, basically, as the new country here was being formed and set-

tled.”

Willard, who has served with the sheriff’s office for more than 35 years, said he remembers when there were 14 deputies patrolling Isle of Wight back in the mid 1980s.

Potter said, “I fast-forward to today — we are an agency of 60 full-time deputies. We have four part-time individuals that work for us, and where the original primary duties were to collect taxes and things of that nature, of course now that’s handled by the treasurer’s office, but we are a full-service law enforcement agency that provides law enforcement, civil process and court security to the citizens here in Isle of Wight County.”

BUDGET

Potter admitted he was not sure what the agency’s budget would have been back in the 1600s.

“The budget back then probably would have been pennies on the pennies, very miniscule amount, but this past fiscal year, the Isle of Wight County budget for the sheriff’s office was roughly $6.9 million,” he said.

The modern budget has allowed for a significant expansion in resources compared to previous eras.

“We’re able to provide a fully functional digital forensics lab here,” Potter said. “We have a fully functional marine unit — we have a boat, we have several Jet Skis. We have a 14-member Special Response Team that is able to respond to high-risk warrants and high-risk situations within the county. We have five K-9 units that cover a number of different specialties, from one of only four electronic detection K-9s in the entire state to patrol utility, to explosives, to narcotics, to bloodhounds, so we have a fully functional K-9 unit. Our court service people run numerous courts in the courthouse every day. They serve thousands of civil papers every year.

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“Our team of investigators has over a 90% solvability rate when we look at some of the violent crimes we deal with in the county,” he added.

The sheriff’s office has a community support division, and it also has school resource officers in every public school in the county now.

“So I think everybody within the agency brings a resource to the table to make this agency an effective organization,” Potter said.

TECHNOLOGY

One of the factors that distinguishes the modern era from others is technology.

Willard said he was with the sheriff’s office before it had its first computer.

With the significant development that has since taken place in the tech field, Potter noted that all law enforcement throughout the country has had to decide exactly what the role of technology is within the law enforcement profession.

“Under the leadership of Sheriff Clarke now (and) Sheriff (Mark A.) Marshall before him, that technology has always been a priority for our office,” Potter said.

It was Clarke who established the sheriff’s office’s first digital forensic unit.

“We do quite a bit of digital forensic investigations concerning cellphones, computers,” Potter said. “We have people on staff who are certified by the National Computer Forensics Institute as advanced examiners.”

He noted that the sheriff’s office has standalone investigators who have received advanced training and equipment

through the agency’s partnership with federal agencies. The sheriff’s office now has the ability to conduct in-depth, digital forensics without having to go out to the FBI or to Homeland Security or to the state labs.

Consequently, the sheriff’s office is able to solve crimes more efficiently and faster because it has those resources in-house, Potter said.

Communications, research and record-keeping have been revolutionized within the last 20 to 30 years.

“(Previously,) you wanted to make a call, you went to the nearest pay phone and called 911, and they would switch you through the 911 center to whoever you wanted to call,” Potter said. “Now we have in-car computers. We’re able to write reports in our car, we’re able to search files. … So we have technology at our fingertips in our vehicles.”

He concluded his point in the context of the sheriff’s office by saying, “I think how we’ve embraced technology and used technology to our benefit has probably

been the sole, biggest (development) here.”

ACCREDITATION

Another element that Potter highlighted as a key area of development through time for the sheriff’s office came in the form of accreditation.

“Whether you want to go back to 1634 or go back to even 15 years ago, the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office was not an accredited law enforcement agency, and we have made that a priority over the last 10 to 12 years that we’ve not only become accredited, but we’ve gone through the re-accreditation process and have gotten re-accreditation — this is our third time,” Potter said.

He noted that there are roughly 198 different policies relevant to accreditation.

“So we have these policies, we’re meeting these policies, and these are the gold standard of policies as far as professional law enforcement agencies are concerned,” he said.

He indicated that at the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office, these high standards are paired with the cultivation of good relationships in the community.

“We work hard to build strong relationships with our community, and I think that, today, pays off for us every single day,” he said.

He also explained that the sheriff’s office works hard to create a culture where its staff feels appreciated.

“Each one of these 60 individuals that comprise the sheriff’s office, each one of them brings something very special to the table that makes us very different today than what we would have been in 1634 or even the 1990s or whenever,” he said.

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