9/10/2021

Demontay Wimbush ’21 at Schoolfield Hall.

Ferrum College senior and National Guard Member Demontay Wimbush ’21 is spending the final semester of his college career preparing to mobilize stateside in November. From there, in January 2022, he will deploy to Africa where he’ll be stationed for nine months.

“Luckily, all of my wonderful professors are working with me to finish early, before I deploy,” said Wimbush. He doesn’t yet know what his job duties will be in Africa.

On August 21, 2021, Wimbush married his high school sweetheart Kyra, who recently graduated from Averett University. The couple resides in Bassett, VA. As expected, Kyra isn’t looking forward to Wimbush’s deployment, but is supportive of his endeavors.

This isn’t Wimbush’s first experience with deployment. After the events at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was deployed to Washington, D.C. to help with security. “I stood in front of the Capitol building for twelve hours a day for a month,” explained Wimbush. He completed the beginning of the spring 2021 semester remotely while also fulfilling his guard duties. 

As history major, Wimbush also worked as a McBroom Scholar at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum (BRIM) over the summer. His job included giving tours of the farm museum while wearing wool interpreter’s clothing and working over a blacksmith’s fire in the summer heat.

“From the very first day, he fit right in with the staff and was incredibly enthusiastic about having this opportunity,” said BRIM Director Bethany Worley. “He was always looking for something new to learn, either in the museum or at the 1800’s farm.”

Associate Professor of History Tim Daniels, who is also Wimbush’s advisor, remembered taking a group of PAWS students to the farm museum in July, where he found Wimbush weeding the garden. “He hopped up and gave us an impromptu tour, immediately engaging the students by drawing them into what life would have been like at a farm inhabited by immigrants to his area,” explained Daniels. See Wimbush in action in these Flickr album photos submitted by Daniels.

As a McBroom Scholar, Wimbush learned blacksmithing techniques from local Franklin County resident Bill “Spook” Parcell, along with gardening and farming. He said that his experience at the BRIM’s farm allowed him to appreciate the preservation of Blue Ridge history. 

Wimbush is also the first Ferrum College intern at the Booker T. Washington National Monument in Bedford County, VA. Daniels explained Wimbush’s duties: “There, he builds on what he honed at the BRIM, doing interpretation, manning the store, helping out in the garden and with animals, and developing educational materials that compliment the exhibitions and site.”

Researching and learning through history has always been Wimbush’s passion. “I enjoyed history during grade school,” he said. “My desire to seek the truth has allowed me to fall even more in love with my history major at Ferrum.”

Worley knows Wimbush is destined for great things, and said, “Demontay is just an extraordinary young man. His life experiences, combined with his education and his wonderful personality, set him apart from many people. I have no doubt that Demontay will make an impact in this world.”

4/16/2021

The Blue Ridge Institute & Museum of Ferrum College, along with the Outlaw Cruisers Car Club of Rocky Mount, will sponsor the sixth annual Moonshine Heritage Car Show on April 24, 2021 at the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum on the Ferrum College campus.

The show will highlight cars that either have a moonshine hauling history or were the type of vehicle that was used for transporting liquor. All cars have to be pre-registered. The show will run from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The show is free and open to the public. Local favorite eatery, Bowling’s Place Hotdogs, will be onsite. A limited number of Moonshine Heritage Car Show shirts will be for sale.

Twin Creeks Distillery of Franklin County will also be onsite offering a moonshine tasting.

For more information, call 540-365-4412 or email bri@ferrum.edu.

A beautifully decorated live Christmas tree is on display during the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum’s December 12 Open House.

This season, Ferrum College invites the community to enjoy a variety of holiday events on campus and in nearby Rocky Mount.

The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum is offering a Homeschoolers’ “Blue Ridge Holiday” Day Camp on Thursday, December 5, from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Children will make decorations and participate in blacksmithing, caroling, card making, and more. Learn more and register here.

Theatre Arts at Ferrum College will present three performances of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: December 5 at 7 p.m., and December 7 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The performance will take place in Sale Theatre on campus, 305 State Route 602, in Ferrum. Admission is $5 for non-Ferrum College students and senior citizens, and $10 for adults. Reserve tickets here.

On Friday, December 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the annual Holiday Bazaar will be held in the Panthers Den in lower Franklin Hall, 215 Ferrum Mountain Road, Ferrum. Local vendors will be on site. This event is free to attend and open to the public.

Also on Friday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m., the Ferrum College Chorale will perform at the Franklin County Library in Rocky Mount during the annual “Come Home to a Franklin County Christmas” event. This event is free and open to the public.

On Sunday, December 8, Ferrum College’s Marching Band will participate in the Franklin County Christmas Parade from 3–6 p.m. in downtown Rocky Mount. The parade is free to attend.

The Neverending Story: A Reflection of Jesus’ Teachings and Birth will be presented on Sunday, December 8 at 7 p.m. in the College’s Vaughn Chapel, 40 Wiley Drive, Ferrum. This performance is free and open to the public, and features music from the Ferrum College Chorale, Concert Choir, and the Fresh Wind Gospel Choir.

On Monday, December 9 at 7 p.m., Ferrum College Mountain Winds will offer a fall concert at Sale Theatre, 305 State Route 602, Ferrum. Admission is free and the concert is open to the public.

The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum’s annual “Christmas in the Blue Ridge Open House” will take place on Thursday, December 12, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Institute and Museum, 20 Museum Drive, Ferrum. Enjoy a beautifully decorated live tree, homemade cookies and cider, caroling, and a variety of vendors selling Christmas gifts. The event is free and open to the public.

The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum announces the 46th annual Blue Ridge Folklife Festival on Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., rain or shine, at the Institute on Ferrum College’s campus, 20 Museum Drive, Ferrum. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children (ages 6 – 14), and $5 for senior citizens (55 and over). Children 5 years old and younger are admitted free.

Always the fourth Saturday in October, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival features authentic regional folk music, craftspeople, draft horse and dog handlers, car builders, tractor restorers, country cooks, moonshine tale tellers and much more! Called “thoroughly authentic” by The New York Times, the festival is coordinated by the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College and is a major venue on the Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.

Order advance tickets by calling (540) 365-4412. Visit here to learn more, view a schedule of events and ticket packages, or register a car for the car show.

Learn more about the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum here.

Members of the Scott family cut the ribbon commemorating the Leo H. Scott Educational Pavilion.

The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College celebrated the completion of the Leo H. Scott Educational Pavilion with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Blue Ridge Farm Museum on Wednesday, October 16, 2019.

Leo Scott was often called the backbone of the Ferrum community.

Named for the late Leo Hamilton Scott, a Ferrum local who was often described as the backbone of the community, the pavilion was made possible by his wife Geraldine Scott and her grandchildren Chase and Kelli. The Scott family is a longtime presence in the town of Ferrum and strong supporters of the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, and Ferrum College.

“The educational pavilion is my special gift to Leo,” said Geraldine. “It means a great deal to me for everyone to be able to use it, from school children, to the Ferrum community for reunions and parties, to college students. I can’t wait to see it in use.”

Scott was a 1951 graduate of Ferrum Junior College. In 1953, he founded Leo Scott Cabinets and employed many local father and son pairs to custom-make cabinets that were shipped throughout southeast Virginia. Scott was active in the Ferrum community; he founded the Ferrum Rescue Squad and Ferrum Volunteer Fire Department. In 2001, Ferrum College awarded Scott the Benjamin M. Beckham Medallion, the most prestigious alumni award named after the College’s first president. He was also named Franklin County’s Farmer of the Year in 2013. Scott passed away in February 2017 at age 84.

“We are so grateful to the Scott family for this generous gift to the 1800s farm museum,” said Bethany Worley, director of the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum. “We’ve needed an educational facility for decades to serve our growing numbers of school tours, homeschooling events, and for the annual Blue Ridge Folklife Festival. The Leo H. Scott Educational Pavilion will also be instrumental in our community fellowship. Everyone can be a part of Ferrum College.”

“The Leo H. Scott Educational Pavilion will be a center for learning, recreation, and reflection for years to come,” said Ferrum College President David Johns. “It will stand as a lasting memorial to a beloved member of this community. We are grateful to Geraldine Scott for her gift to Ferrum College and to the Village of Ferrum.”

Read more about Leo Hamilton Scott in this Franklin News Post article.

Learn more about the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum here.

The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College announces its newest exhibit, Travelers’ Trinkets: Souvenirs of Virginia.

This unique exhibit focuses on the history of souvenir collecting, the various types of souvenirs, and how souvenirs have evolved throughout the years to the most popular form today—the “selfie.” Only focusing on the souvenirs of Virginia, this exhibit is the first of its kind in the Old Dominion and features collectibles ranging from refrigerator magnets, gorgeous ruby stained glass, Dale Earnhardt trading cards, to human hair.  Funded by a generous grant from Virginia Humanities, the exhibit will run until December 2020.

Visit the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum’s website to learn more.

Learn more about Virginia Humanities here.

Franklin County Schools’ administrators and faculty held some of the “Amazing Race” activities at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College in June and July.

Ferrum College’s Blue Ridge Institute and Museum hosted teachers and administrators from Franklin County Public Schools for a team-building exercise: a local version of “The Amazing Race.”

The Blue Ridge Institute Coordinator of Educational Outreach and Interpretation Rebecca Austin, along with several farm museum historical interpreters, spent hours in preparation for the school teams which arrived in groups of three on select days throughout June and July. The BRI&M group’s first step was to determine what 1800-style team building activities were going to be available. They settled on tomahawk throwing, two-person log sawing, and ox driving.

“We did spend some time in preparation,” explained Austin. “We had to make a target stand for the tomahawk throwing and find a log to use as the target.”

On days when “The Amazing Race” activities took place, FCPS teams arrived unannounced at the Farm Museum as there was no specific schedule to follow; activities commenced as teams arrived.

Eighth-grade administrator at Benjamin Franklin Middle School Matt Dunbar said the teachers and administrators “genuinely like working together toward a common goal” and expressed pride in all of the Franklin County Schools.

“Any time we are able to participate in the enrichment of our educators, it is a good thing as ultimately, the children of Franklin County are who benefit,” said Austin.

“It was great to use the BRI as the place to build teamwork,” said non-traditional Ferrum College student and historical interpreter at the Farm Museum Jason Campbell, who helped coordinate the BRI&M’s race activities. “The beginning, middle, and end of education was working together.”

The Farm Museum is open to non-reserved walk-in visitors Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m., mid-May through Labor Day Weekend. The BRI is open all year on Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more about the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum here.

Read more about the Franklin County Public School System’s “The Amazing Race” in this Franklin News-Post article.

Rising junior Christian Haley of Boones Mill, VA, is Ferrum College’s newest McBroom student scholar. Set to graduate in 2021, Haley is a history major with a double minor in criminal justice and religion. He will spend this summer working at the College’s Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, the largest folklife museum in Virginia.

The McBroom Student Assistantship Program was established with a gift from the June M. McBroom Charitable Lead Trust in 2014. The program allows the director of the BRI to select a Ferrum College student in good standing to experience summer operations through the institute and museum, including living history interpretation, management of the museum and archives collection, summer camp programming, and event planning and production. Students who have an interest in history, agriculture, sociology, and recreation are given first preference.

Haley is exposed to a range of experiences through his work at the BRI. “My responsibilities are extremely broad, which is one of the things I love most about the job,” he said. “A typical day could consist of me taking care of our animals at the farm museum in the morning, digitizing and graphically editing artifacts in the middle of the day, leading an interpretive tour of the museum in the afternoon, and finally working to prepare the latest exhibit at the end of the day.”

“He has been absolutely outstanding,” said BRI Director Bethany Worley. “He is passionate about history and feels right at home in the archive, working on our upcoming exhibit, and on the 1800s farm in costume.”

When Haley is away from the museum, he can typically be found hiking, camping, fishing, rock climbing, and kayaking. “It’s where I’m most in my element,” he explained. And once he graduates from Ferrum College in 2021, he hopes to become a police officer and eventually enter federal law enforcement.

But he’s also keeping his options open to the possibility of graduate school and pursuing a career in the museum field. “Christian is getting what so many students need who are entering the job market or looking at graduate school: invaluable hands-on experience at the state’s largest folklife museum,” Worley said.

Read more about the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum here: https://dev.ferrum.edu/blueridgeinstitute/.

The fourth annual Moonshine Heritage Car Show will take place at Ferrum College on Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.  This unique car show will showcase vehicles that were actual transporters of moonshine or the type of vehicle that was used for the hauling of illegal spirits. Admission is free so bring the family for a day of fun!

There will be plenty of storytelling and bragging about the exploits and history of these special cars and trucks from the actual drivers.  After the show, participants will cruise down to Twin Creeks Distillery in Rocky Mount for a moonshine tasting. Also visit the special moonshine souvenir tent with models of stills, mash sticks, and Virginia is for Moonshine Lovers hats, t-shirts, and bumper stickers.

Food will be available onsite from the legendary Bowling’s Hotdogs of Waidsboro.

This event is sponsored by the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum of Ferrum College with the assistance of the Outlaw Cruisers Car Club of Franklin County, VA.

For more information, call the Blue Ridge Institute at 540-365-4416 or email bri@ferrum.edu. To register a car for the car show, please complete a registration form here: https://ferrumcollege.wufoo.com/forms/m17zr5tu1d37fh6/.

To learn more about the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum, visit: https://dev.ferrum.edu/blueridgeinstitute/.

The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum of Ferrum College is hosting “Christmas in the Blue Ridge: Open House” on Thursday, December 13, from 4 to 6 p.m. The open house will be held at the Institute on Ferrum College’s campus at 20 Museum Drive, Ferrum, and will include refreshments, vendors selling Christmas gifts, caroling, plus a huge live tree decorated with traditional ornaments. This holiday event is free and open to the community, so please bring the family!

The Blue Ridge Institute & Museum of Ferrum College, along with the Outlaw Cruisers Car Club of Rocky Mount, will sponsor the third annual Moonshine Heritage Car Show, which will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Sat., June 9, 2018, at the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum on the campus of Ferrum College.

The show will feature more than 60 cars that either have a moonshine hauling history or were the type of vehicle that was used for transporting liquor. Admission is free and open to the public. Local favorite eateries Bowling’s Place Hotdogs and Daylight Donuts will be onsite.

Following the car show, a “run” will made from Ferrum to Twin Creeks Distillery in Henry where, from 2 – 4 p.m., participants will have the opportunity to see both an old time still and a modern still, and hear about the “makin’ of liquor” in the region. Finally, the Outlaw Cruisers Car Club will sponsor the Midpoint Cruise-in from 4 – 8 p.m. at Midpoint Chevrolet in Rocky Mount, which will feature music and food.

All cars have to be pre-registered for the car show. For more information or to register a vehicle, call (540) 365-4412.

Photo credit: Terry Hall Collection

President David Johns, BRI Co-director Roddy Moore, Provost Aimé Sposato, and BRI Co-director Vaughan Webb attended the VCA event at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.

The Ferrum College Blue Ridge Institute & Museum (BRI) was recently named a Bedrock Institution by the Virginia Commission for the Arts (VCA), which celebrated its 50th Anniversary by honoring people and organizations who have inspired and championed Virginia cultural heritage for over 50 years. One of the 50 for 50 Arts Inspiration Awards, the Bedrock Institution category recognized institutions that have been in existence more than ten years, have demonstrated artistic excellence, and are a significant benefit to their community. BRI Co-directors Roddy Moore and Vaughan Webb accepted the award on Wed., Jan. 31, 2018, during an event recognizing award recipients that was held at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond.

“It was exciting to be present to see our BRI receive the much-deserved Bedrock Institutions Award,” said Ferrum College President David Johns, who also attended the event. “Although I am new to the area, I have already heard many across the Commonwealth speak about the BRI’s impact on this region. Its historical focus adds a distinctive element to Ferrum College academic programs. Our museum exhibits, festivals, and outreach programs celebrate the culture and peoples of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I’m proud of our staff and their accomplishments.”

Since 1973, the BRI has documented, interpreted, and presented the folkways of Virginia, especially those of the Piedmont and western parts of the state. The Institute’s focus on the people whose artistry reflects longstanding family and community customs is respected nationwide. The Commonwealth of Virginia designated the BRI the official “State Center for Blue Ridge Folklore” in 1984. Together Moore and Webb have over 80 years experience as folklorists in the region and have long worked to bring audiences face-to-face with authentic regional folk arts and the people who carry on those traditions.

“Folk culture is always changing. It is important to continue to offer fresh outlooks on the traditional arts, as they reveal all of us to be tradition-bearers in an ever-evolving society,” said Moore.

The BRI was chosen as one of the 50 for 50 Arts Inspiration Award winners from an original pool of over 350 nominees by a panel of former Commissioners and arts leaders and confirmed by the full VCA Board.