Saying goodbye: Margaret O’Bryant on 30 years at the historical society

For most of her life, Margaret O’Bryant has called the library home. After receiving a master’s degree in library science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she worked in libraries at Ferrum College, Lenoir-Rhyne College, and UVA, later moving to the reference department at the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library. While at the public […]

Grappling with the past: Historical society struggles to find its way

By Ben Hitchcock “I feel like I’ve been training for this one job for 30 years,” said Coy Barefoot when he took over as executive director of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society in April of 2018. In an interview with ilovecville.com, the local author and media personality expressed his desire to rebrand the organization and […]

In brief: Barefoot is history, first-gen funds, Daily Progress staff unionizes, and more

Barefoot is history The executive director of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society has resigned less than two years into his tenure. Coy Barefoot, a well-known local author and media personality, was hired in March 2018 after his predecessor Steven Meeks resigned amid questions of mismanagement. Barefoot told at least one person, who later described the […]

In brief: School walkouts, vegan dating, butt whupping and more

Walking the walk Exactly one month from the day that a gunman shot 17 people to death at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, local students and their peers across the nation said they wouldn’t stand for that—so they walked. March 14 marked the first National School Walkout, where thousands of students left […]

Steven Meeks has left the building

The controversial president of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society abruptly resigned February 11 after cleaning out his office in the city-owned McIntire Building. In a “hastily written note,” says Will Lyster, a historical society director, Steven G. Meeks resigned from the organization he’s headed for about a decade. The board asked Lyster to step in […]

Secret history: Is the Charlottesville historical society a thing of the past?

By John Last There’s an open secret among Charlottesville’s historians: Something is very wrong at the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society. Under the near-singular control of an amateur historian, plagued by infighting and, now, facing eviction by the city, even some lifetime members are saying the 77-year-old society should meet its demise. Conversations with more than […]

In brief: Monolithic tendencies, hysterical society and more

Monolith on West Main What wasn’t quite clear from renderings of The Standard, the deluxe student apartments now under construction across from The Flats on West Main Street, was just how massive and Soviet Bloc-looking the 499-space parking garage is. Good news: It’s going to be covered by the building and won’t be a stand-alone […]

LIVING Picks: Week of October 26-November 1

Family Animal Connection Anniversary Party Saturday, October 29 Get Fido and Fifi ready to party in celebration of Animal Connection’s 15th anniversary. There will be free treats and goody bags, plus opportunities to sit for sessions with a pet portrait artist, a pet photographer and an animal communicator. Free, 9am-4pm. 1701-E Allied St. 296-7048. Nonprofit […]

Early male impersonator Kathleen Clifford had Charlottesville origins

One of the earliest ordinances against cross-dressing was passed in Columbus, Ohio, in 1848, making it illegal for someone to appear in public “in a dress not belonging to his or her sex.” While police enforced such laws on public streets and jailed offenders, the impersonation of women by men, and men by women, became […]