Whether from his classroom, his many books, his radio broadcasts, public lectures or riverboat study tours, many people in the New River Valley recognize Robertson as a nationally acclaimed expert on the Civil War and, until May of 2011, a popular Virginia Tech history professor.

Robertson, a widower, took a new wife 14 months ago.  In May he delivered his last lecture before retiring from a teaching career that lasted over four decades.  Now he has one more major change ahead, as he leaves Blacksburg to take up residence in a new home in Westmoreland County.

Photo courtesy of James Robertson James I. "Bud" Robertson, Civil War expert and Virginia Tech Alumni Distinquished Professor Emeritus in History, is, as always, surrounded by books. He leaves later this month to begin a new life, after living in Blacksburg for the past 45 years. This formal picture appears on the back flyleaf of the book jacket of his latest publication, "The Untold Civil War."

Last week he listed the things that were taken care of:  His house on the New River is sold.  His Blacksburg house at 405 Stonegate Drive is under contract, the movers are scheduled, and he and his wife have purchased a new home.  They take ownership at the end of the month.

“It overlooks the Potomac River,” said Robertson last week, of his new home.  “I wanted to live on the water, and the Potomac is so expansive there, I can just barely see the Maryland shore.”

His new home, called Eagle Nest, is in the quiet community of Oak Grove.  “It’s just a crossroads with a Shell Station,” he said of his new hometown.  He also joked about the fact that the nest atop the nearest river buoy is the handiwork of an osprey, not an eagle.

He and his wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Lee, opted for a larger home than the one he occupies on Stonegate.  Redecorating a spacious home has been a dream of his wife’s, he explained.

Robertson admitted the move is not without emotion.  “I’ve been in Blacksburg for 45 years, over half my life,” he said.

Civil War legacy

Robertson grew up in Danville, and it was in that former capitol of the Confederacy that his passion for Civil War stories was born.

“I inherited my interest in the Civil War,” he said.  “My grandmother Robertson lived to her 90s, and I can remember sitting on her lap listening to stories.  My father was a Civil War buff.”

The City of Danville was the terminus for the railroad upon which the Confederacy relied for supplies, Robertson said.  Supply trains returned with a cargo of prisoners.

Six Danville tobacco barns were converted into prisons for Union soldiers.  Four of the six were still standing when he was a youngster.  He recalls a boyhood adventure during which he explored a tunnel under one of the buildings that Union soldiers dug, probably by hand, so they could escape to a nearby river.

It has been the human stories of the Civil War that illuminated Robertson’s lectures, inspired his radio broadcasts, enlivened the writing in his two dozen books and provided him with text for his most recent publication, National Geographic’s “The Untold Civil War:  Exploring the Human Side of the War.”

“You can’t teach history without understanding the emotions of people,” Robertson said.  “And God knows the Civil War brought American emotions to the breaking point.  “I’ve had the good fortune to bring stories about human beings to students.”

Robertson’s classes at Virginia Tech were held in the university’s large Colonial Hall in Squires Student Center.  As his reputation and popularity grew at Tech, students scrambled to take his course and sometimes decided to sit on the floor rather than miss the opportunity to experience his lectures.

“I have lectured all over the country,” he said, “but I will miss the students at Tech the most.  There is just something special about them.  Of course I realize I may have a little bias there.”

He said he sometimes succeeded at getting 350 students to laugh at a humorous story he told them, but a better day was when he could get half that many to cry over “the human factor” in one of his illustrative tales.

Most memorable classes

Robertson wiped away a tear of his own when he recalled two days that will stand out among his memories of his teaching career.

“One was the Monday after the (April 16) massacre,” he said. “There were 350 students in Colonial Hall and it was deadly silent.  I told them, ‘You will never again in your life have as many people wanting to share your grief.’”  Then he got them to talk about their feelings for the entire class period.

Another day he will long recall is his final lecture.  He said over 500 people crowded into the same lecture hall.  “There were two generations,” he said, of people he had taught who had come to say goodbye.

He said he has been so busy lately he hasn’t had time to dwell on missing his life as a professor.  “But sitting on the banks of the Potomac, I am sure I will become nostalgic and even teary-eyed when I think of the students,” he predicted.

Robertson said the success of his latest book, “The Untold Civil War,” caught everyone involved by surprise.

“It’s exciting,” he said of the fact that the book, which came out in October, has already been through multiple printings.  The first printing sold out in four days.

Comparing two of his works, Robertson said he had always considered his magnum opus to be the 957-page “Stonewall Jackson:  The Man, the Soldier, the Legend,” but his “The Untold Civil War” appears likely to sell more copies.

“They found pictures I didn’t know existed,” he said, complimenting the National Geographic staff.  He was fascinated by their ability to digitally restore damaged photographs.  The 350-page book contains 132 of Robertson’s stories and a collection of 475 illustrations.

Illustrious career

Robertson’s reputation as a Civil War expert dates back at least as far as 1961, when President John Kennedy appointed him Executive Director of the National Civil War Centennial Commission.

He arrived at Tech in 1967 after undergraduate work at Randolph-Macon and after earning his master’s and doctoral degrees from Emory University in Atlanta.

At Tech, in addition to teaching, he served since 1999 as Executive Director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies.  On behalf of Tech, he helped amass the second largest collection of Civil War resources, exceeded only by the collection at the Library of Congress.

He calls completion of his documentary “Virginia in the Civil War:  A Sesquicentennial Remembrance” his greatest achievement. The film, which was his idea, is part of the library in every public school and every community in the state.

“It’s accurate,” he said of the documentary.  “It’s not politically correct.  We told the story with all its warts and birthmarks.”

It was during a visit to Randolph-Macon to present their commencement address that Robertson met Josh Billings, the man who donated 7,000 Civil War books to Virginia Tech.

“Would Virginia Tech like to have my Civil War collection?” Billings asked Robertson.

“Better than the Pope would like to have Catholics,” Robertson said he replied.  He sent a van on four different trips to pick up Billings’ collection of books, diaries and letters.

Now it is Robertson’s turn to donate.  He is taking his personal library with him to Westmoreland County, and is packing the boxes himself.  Another 200 boxes—titles Virginia Tech already owns—will go to Randolph-Macon.

What would he advise a young history professor to emphasize in his career?

“Keep the human element,” said Robertson, reaffirming his belief in his hallmark style.

Then he suggested another history lesson for which he sees a need.

“There is only one thing that holds any democracy together, and that is compromise,” he said.  “We lost that in the 1850s and we are currently losing that ability again.  That’s why we see a nine percent approval rating for our Congress.”

His future

Idle time during retirement is not a concern for Robertson.

He already has a lecture series scheduled for February in Phoenix.  He plans to fulfill his Virginia State Senate appointment as a member of the executive committee of the Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.

He is interested is seeing the adoption of a new state song for Virginia and has sought support from Virginia Speaker of the House William J. Howell in the project.

The American Queen, a 400-passenger Mississippi Riverboat on which he lectured in the past has been resurrected, and he has two lecture tours scheduled in August.

He wants to see the 1860 census made accessible so that Virginia citizens have the opportunity to seek connections to ancestors whose lives were touched by the Civil War.

And he wants to encourage people like April Danner, his former student, who is working to preserve Montgomery County’s cemeteries.  “Did you know we have over 400?” he asked.

When Robertson talks about his future, the eyes that were teary earlier are sparkling again.

He said people in Westmoreland County’s historical society “have already contacted me indirectly.”  A businessman there told him, “A lot of people are waiting for you.”

He won’t say whether he will accept or not, but one of his publishers is making overtures about another book project.

“I may have to commute to Randolph-Macon to use my books,” Robertson joked.

By Pat Brown

Correspondent

Blue Ridge Newspapers Inc. and Montgomery County Newspapers Inc. filed Chapter 11 reorganization Dec. 3, 2010.

More recently, the sale was ordered by the end of August, along with publications in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Blue Ridge Newspapers Inc. publishes the Salem Times Register, The Fincastle Herald, The New Castle Record, Cave Spring Connection, and The Vinton Messenger.

Montgomery Newspapers Inc. publishes The News Messenger, and the News Journal, which serve Christiansburg, Radford, Blacksburg and the New River Valley.

E. Wilson Koeppel, who co-owns the companies with Jeffrey T. Stumb, said, “This is not the direction we planned when entering Chapter 11 reorganization, but it is the outcome that Wells Fargo along with the court felt compelled to pursue.”

“The future is bright for these quality and profitable publications, and will continue to serve each community with the best local news of any news media in the Roanoke and New River Valley areas. The only thing that will change is ownership,” Koeppel said.

Koeppel praised all the newspapers’ employees who live and work in those communities.

Financial qualified and interested parties should contact Sam B. Mitchell, who is in charge of the sale, at sbm@sbmnetwork.com or 702-430-6484, and Heard Law, Angela Ary, aary@heardlaw.com. or 256-535-0817.

“We had just really outgrown Cave Spring,” Jessie Rusinko, publicity director for the show, said.

Potters from Roanoke, Botetourt County, and the New River Valley will converge on Roanoke this weekend for the annual Blue Ridge Potters Guild Show and Sale at Patrick Henry High School.

It’s fortunate that the Guild chose this year to move, as the show is featuring an impressive number of potters. They total 62, from all over the Roanoke and New River valleys.

“Which is the biggest number we’ve ever had,” Barbara Wise, the show’s co-chair with Becky Carr, said.

The potters in the show account for more than half of all of the members in the Blue Ridge Potters Guild. The local non-profit was founded in 1996, and is dedicated to artistic education and outreach for its members and the community. All year long, the potters labor over their clay and glaze; for just one weekend every October, they have the chance to show off their hard work to the community, and hopefully sell some pottery in the process.

This year’s show and sale on October 8-10 is the 11th annual, having begun at Virginia Western Community College before outgrowing that location and moving to Cave Spring at least seven years ago. This year, the potters felt the need to move to an even larger space.

“We also want a place that we can stay year after year after year,” Rusinko said.

Indeed, space is important, because along with allowing 62 potters to set up booths to sell their work, the Guild also holds demonstrations and needs room for a special gallery for award winners. Awards are given out at each show based on a theme, this year’s being “A little bit out of round.” Potters were asked to interpret the theme, and judges from outside the Guild will give awards for categories such as most unique and most amusing.

Still, the main purpose for the show is to get the potters’ names out there, and to give them a venue to sell their work. This year, potters from Roanoke include Cave Spring residents Linda Bryant, Bonnie Burt, Yolanda Eaddy, Kathy Edwards, Suzanne Fluty, Betty Jo Hayes, Leonardo Kopellof, Pat Lindsay, Pat Marlowe, Stephen Mitchell, Sherry O’Brien, Doris Patton, Meredith Poole, Roxanne Purcell, Carol Rosenberg, Susanne Sellars, and Mary Tousman.

Vinton potters include Judy Baker, Gwynne Myers, and Jim Privitera, who owns Vinton’s Earthworks Pottery studio. Also, potters from Salem include Jessie Rusinko and Beth Stec, and Jennifer Mulligan and Cole Semones of New Castle will have their work for sale.

Potters from the New River Valley include Ann Fournier Anderson of Radford, Ann Hess of Christiansburg, McCabe Coolidge and Ron Sutterer of Floyd, and Christine Kosiba and Peg Sorrentino of Blacksburg.

Potters from Botetourt County include Rita Firestone of Fincastle and Paul Jamison of Daleville.

The potters will receive a percentage of their total sales, and the remainder goes to the Guild to help with the show’s costs, and to fund education and outreach programs. The Guild brings in internationally-known potters to teach workshops, and without money from the show, the costs for their instruction would be unaffordable. The Guild also teaches pottery at the Arnold R. Burton Technology Center and the Rescue Mission.

With all the good the Guild does for the community, including donating bowls for the Souper Bowl fundraiser in February, the members hope that the community will come to support them. Only pottery is sold at the show, and with each passing year, the artwork is more and more superb, as new members join and old members improve.

“People who come to the show, if they’ve never been, will be amazed,” Rusinko said.

The show at Patrick Henry High School opens with a reception on Friday October 8 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.  On Saturday, hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Community members show their support for the soon-to-be deployed Army National Guard Charlie Company 1-116th Thursday. The Company left Friday for pre-deployment training in Camp Shelby, Miss., after which they will spend a year in Iraq.

The Army National Guard Charlie Company 1-116th, based out the Armory, comprises 60 soldiers and is headed by Capt. Brandon Lindsey. Its soldiers are mainly from the New River Valley, Lindsey said. Thursday was the last day the soldiers spent in the NRV and the last time they would see their families until 2011, Lindsey said.

From there, the Company headed to Liberty University in Lynchburg, where units from around the state (including units in Lexington, Pulaski and Bedford), will participate in a farewell ceremony. Then the Company departed for Camp Shelby, Miss. for pre-deployment training and on to Southern Iraq, Lindsey said.

The toughest part of deployment is leaving your friends and family behind, said Lindsey, who spent 2005 in Iraq. However, there are many opportunities to communicate with the people you leave behind through the Internet, phone, letters, and video messaging, he said.

“The separation from your family is the hard part,” Lindsey said. “What’s good though is there’s a lot of communication.”

While it can be hard to leave loved ones behind, the soldiers will stay focused on their duties once they leave for training, said Michael Rindorf, Iraq veteran and Western Virginia regional director for the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program.

“As you look out, you can see little children running around playing and they’re happy, but in the back of your mind, you feel time is running out, and you try to do so many things in the last 24 hours before you leave,” Rindorf said. “It’s like you’ve got a checklist that’s so long that you can’t get everything done. And that weighs on you, but once they get down to Camp Shelby, their focus will quickly change towards their mission and their train-up and everything and they’ll be extremely focused on the mission at hand.”

Rindorf spent 2004 in Iraq and spent a total of 16 years in the Army before being honorably discharged and accepting the job with VWWP. Like the soldiers in Charlie Company 1-116th, Rindorf went as an infantryman, whose duties range from foot patrols to working with Iraqi police, he said.

“They’re always out in the presence to kind of deter any hostile acts,” Rindorf said.

Because of normal Army deployment rotations and President Obama’s recent surge to Afghanistan, about 30 percent of those deployed to Iraq are in the National or Army Reserves, Rindorf said.

Rindorf said his time in Baghdad was tough. His unit lost three men. However, he and Lindsey said they think conditions are improving.

“In ‘05, it was definitely a little more dangerous,” Lindsey said. “But now, from what I gather from the news, it looks like the violence is down a lot. You still have instances where things happen, but even though it’s still dangerous, I think we can expect less danger than it was.”

Another benefit is that this will be the second or third tour in Iraq for most of the soldiers in his company, Lindsey said.

“Experience-wise, it’s great for the unit, because a lot of guys been there, done that,” Lindsey said.

Although their time in Iraq will not be easy, the soldiers could face other challenges when they come home, Rindorf said. The most common problems soldiers could face when they come home are Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injuries, Rindorf said. His organization, VWWP, was established in 2008 to support veterans with these and other conditions that result from their deployments. It is important for returning soldiers to get treatment for these conditions as soon as possible, and VWWP can help, Rindorf said.

“It’s a long hard road that many people have gone through, and the best thing we can do is try to encourage them to seek help if they need help,” Rindorf said. “If they wait, it compounds on them.”

While the journey will be long and rough, Lindsey said he and his Company are grateful to have so much support from the community. “There are some parts of the United States where it’s tougher to be a soldier than others,” Lindsey said. “I think the New River Valley is one of the best places to be a soldier. If you go out, if you’re in uniform, somebody’s thanking you, somebody’s shaking your hand.”

That means that almost 1,000 people are carpooling to work every day in the New River Valley and Roanoke areas. On top of that, Ride Solutions is serving approximately 40,000 people indirectly by providing information to them and their employers.

Public transportation is an important part of Ride Solutions, as is car-pooling. Photo by Lauren Page

Holmes says he believes he and the others at Ride Solutions are helping to save the world by finding carpool matches for residents of the Roanoke and New River valleys. That is what Ride Solutions is all about.

“At its core, we’re really a commuter assistance program,” Holmes said. “We try to get people out of their cars.”

Holmes and the others at Ride Solutions are doing this by offering free carpool matching to and from work. The program, which is part of the Roanoke Valley-Allegheny Regional Commission and the New River District Planning Commission, uses computer mapping software to match commuters based on where they live and where they work.

The advantages of carpool matching are four-fold. First, and most important, commuters can save at least $1,000 per year by carpooling with just one other person.

“In 2008, the most important thing we did was give people a solution to $4 gas prices,” Holmes said.

Carpooling also reduces congestion. Third, it reduces unnecessary energy consumption. Finally, carpooling improves air quality in the region.

Air quality is the reason that Ride Solutions was started in the first place. In 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warned Roanoke that it was over the safe ozone level. Roanoke was asked to create an Early Action Plan, meaning that if they did not fix the ozone problems themselves, they would get into trouble.

Roanoke has since reached a safe ozone level, but it has continued with Ride Solutions to maintain a safe level.

Along with the carpool matching, Ride Solutions also partners with businesses to create a free customized program to help them reduce their carbon footprint. Ride Solutions can provide brochures, hold information sessions, or even help install bike racks. Ride Solutions assisted in helping Carilion install 25 bike racks on their property, encouraging employees to bike to work.  There are several employer partners in the New River Valley, including Cox Communications, Draper Aden, Town of Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Montgomery County Schools, Virginia Tech, Kollmorgen, Echostar, New River Community College and others.

More information about Ride Solutions, including a calculator to estimate commuting costs, is available on their website, ridesolutions.org.