Jones leaves council fir state office, Spanberger announces run for governor; The Peppas finding early grove
After striking deals with Food Lion, Sam's Club and QVC, Richmond baking company Joyebells has now added Kroger to the list of retailers carrying its signature pies. Food Grinders & Mills
Joyebells pies can be found at 180 Kroger locations across the Mid-Atlantic region. The family-run business is now up to 2,100 stores nationwide where its desserts are being sold.
Joye B. Moore, president and CEO of Joyebells Sweet Potato Pies, said, “it is extremely exciting and a blessing,” to sell her pies at Kroger, along with other grocery chains.
"It is extremely exciting and a blessing to be able to expand the client base," Joyebells founder and CEO Joye B. Moore said. "It's been a challenge scaling as a small, minority business that can't seem to secure funding. But it's what I pray for, what I ask for, so I've been here fighting and swinging until I can't swing anymore."
At Kroger, customers can take home a taste of Joyebells sweet potato and peach pie varieties for the holidays. Earlier this year, the peach pie won the gourmet peach category at the American Pie Council National Pie Championships.
Depending on the retailer, pie costs range from $9.98 to $12.98. Moore said the sweet potato pie has been the most popular seller, but that the peach pie is not far behind.
Joyebells' seasonal pumpkin pie will launch in Kroger stores in December. Next year's flavors will include apple pie, which is planned to hit stores during the third quarter of 2024.
Richmond-based piemaker Joyebells has made it to the big leagues.
According to Moore, Joyebells has accumulated more than $7 million in sales so far this year, up from the $6 million generated around the same time last year.
The company received further recognition recently, with Moore winning Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Moore said her goal is to expand to all of Kroger's divisions in 2024. The company has added a financial consultant and is looking to secure a chief financial officer as business continues to grow.
"I'm just exercising patience and not trying to hurt myself by going faster than we should," Moore said. "We're still learning how to grow: just pivoting when we need to, starting over when we need to, or if something's going well, grinding a little harder."
Joyebells is also looking to expand beyond baked goods, with "country sides" like collard greens, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, cornbread dressing and potato salad tabbed as future additions to the menu.
"We are still working out the quality and staying true to what our mothers before us created," Moore said about the sides. "It's super important, and we won't rush that process. We just have to let it take its course, but they are coming."
In November 1967, Arnold Palmer was in Richmond for a quick visit. He attended a brunch and news conference, conducted a golf clinic and participated in an exhibition foursome at the Country Club of Virginia. Teamed with Hermitage Country Club pro Mac Main, Palmer lost the exhibition to 17-year-old local amateur Lanny Wadkins and his partner, U.S. and British Amateur champion Bob Dickson. Palmer admittedly paid more attention to entertaining the crowd than to his play.
In September 1961, two new students explored Westhampton College, the women’s college associated with the University of Richmond. That month, 207 newcomers arrived on campus, bringing the college’s student population to 595 women. Westhampton officially opened in 1914 and celebrated its centennial last year.
In March 1963, the roiling waters of the James River surrounded a dwelling on Sharp's Island near the 14th Street bridge. While the rain-swollen river didn’t crest as high as originally feared, it did reach more than 4 feet above flood stage at Westham and about 5 feet above flood stage at the City Locks.
In January 1961, Raymond Munsch, vice president of Miller & Rhoads, surveyed the Grace Street retail district. Munsch was head of the Downtown Retail Associates' campaign to promote shopping downtown.
This September 1967 image shows Bob Griggs, a.k.a. Sailor Bob from the popular “Sailor Bob Show.” The children’s show, which featured Griggs’ puppet creations and his drawing board, ran for a decade on WRVA-TV starting in 1959 and inspired thousands of fan letters per month.
In October 1962, Mary Reynolds (left) and Mrs. M.W. Clark prepared medical instruments for processing in the autoclave at Sheltering Arms Hospital. Sheltering Arms, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, now serves as a rehabilitation facility.
In October 1960, Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (center) arrived in Richmond to campaign for the Kennedy-Johnson ticket ahead of the November presidential election. Johnson, who was met by Virginia Gov. Lindsay Almond (left), spoke at Byrd Airport, in Hopewell and at a Young Democrats rally at the Arena in Richmond.
The Jan. 30, 1961, edition of The Richmond News Leader included a photo essay titled “The Changing Skyline – and Landscape – in Richmond’s Bustling Retail Districts.” Among examples was a new pedestrian plaza at the Willow Lawn shopping center.
The June 10, 1961, edition of the Richmond News-Leader included a photo essay titled “Contrasts.” The photos depicted old and new – such as a horse hitching post next to a parking meter and, above, worn-down houses against the Richmond skyline.
In March 1961, Richmond’s sixth annual Boat and Sports Show was on its way to the Arena. To promote the event, a small tugboat and a sailboat visited Shields Lake at Byrd Park. The sailboat was a new “bantam” model, only 9 feet long by 4 feet wide and just over 100 pounds. The lake demonstration showed how easily children could handle the boat.
In December 1961, Mrs. Derwood Johnson, the only female member of the Tri-City Go-Kart Club based in Hanover County, finished first in a club race – though she gave the trophy to the runner-up because she and her husband had sponsored the race. Still, she had eight trophies, her husband had nine, and their kids added 10 more to the family tally, though they had been racing for only about six months. They were so enthusiastic about the hobby that they built a practice track in their backyard.
In September 1961, about 25 alumni of Richmond’s old John Marshall High School demonstrated against a plan to demolish the building. After protesting there, the group went to City Hall to discuss the matter with City Council. Despite their efforts, the high school was razed that fall.
In June 1960, Willow Lawn shopping center was expanding. Here, concrete beams were in place for the two-story, 30,000-square-foot building that would house a Miller & Rhoads department store and an S&W cafeteria. This building, on the west side of the shopping center, is now home to American Tap Room, Zoë’s Kitchen and VCU Health System offices, with Travinia Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar set to open there in September.
Tenants may move. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway's announced intention to move about a third of its total work force here to Huntington, W. Va., in 1961-62, might result in some vacant space in the First and Merchants National Bank building. C&O occupies all but the basement and first two floors of the downtown skyscraper in addition to the C&O Annex at 11th and Canal sts. C&O is a 49 per cent owner of the First and Merchants building and occupies quarters there on a lease basis. First and Merchants owns 51 per cent.
In May 1959, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway announced plans to move about a third of its workforce from Richmond to Huntington, W.Va., by 1961-62. Many employees worked in the First and Merchants National Bank building at Ninth Street downtown, which was partially owned by C&O. The building has been converted to First National Apartments.
In October 1961, the Benedictine cadet corps stood in formation behind the high school, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary that fall. The school opened with 29 students and a staff of two priests in 1911. After 100 years at its original location in Richmond’s West End, Benedictine College Preparatory moved to Goochland County in 2013.
In November 1961, Gov.-elect Albertis S. Harrison (left) talked outside his law office with William Brooks Price in his hometown of Lawrenceville. Harrison's political career included serving in the state Senate and as attorney general. He also served on the Supreme Court of Virginia.
On the morning of Feb. 20, 1960, about 200 students from Virginia Union University staged sit-in protests around Richmond at a half-dozen lunch counters where black customers were not served. Here, students occupied all 74 stools in the G.C. Murphy department store’s whites-only lunch area for several hours. The store, as several others did, decided to close at about 1 p.m.; it reopened at 4 p.m., with the lunch counter roped off.
In February 1960, inventor and designer R. Buckminster Fuller visited Richmond for a series of lectures. Fuller, known for creating the geodesic dome, questioned the function of the Jefferson Hotel's ornate marble columns.
In October 1968, liquor by the drink arrived in Virginia, and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway had applied for the first license to serve. Here, waiter Wilfred Wilson Sr. poured some of the first legal drinks in the state – in the C&O’s Food-Bar Car No. 1610, parked at the railroad’s Newport News station. With him were Kenneth S. Cox (left), superintendent of the C&O’s passenger food service, and James A. Milburn, district manager in charge of passenger sales in Richmond.
In February 1961, snow covered Monroe Park. While the Richmond area received just shy of 2 inches in that snowfall, other parts of Virginia got nearly 2 feet – with drifts in some areas reaching 5 feet. Temperatures quickly warmed into the 40s and 50s, so the Richmond snow was short-lived. 2-10-1961: Monroe park from top of the Mosque.
On Nov. 11, 1962, Veterans Day was observed at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond. The playing of taps brought ranks of American Legion members to attention during the ceremony. The observance concluded with the laying of a wreath at the Shrine of Memory.
In August 1961, Mrs. S.A. Rhyne and nine of her 11 children lined up at the Pamunkey Regional Library’s bookmobile. The children (from left) are Dorothy Jane, 13; Bill, 12; Sarah, 11; Fishel, 3; Mike, 9; Steve, 8; Rickey, 7; Paul 5, and Selma, 2. The two oldest children – Alex, 16, and Gene, 14 – could not be there because they were working. The group checked out 77 books that day.
In June 1960, the Security Federal Savings and Loan Association building at Sixth and Franklin streets downtown was acquired by the owners of the adjoining Hotel John Marshall. The hotel, which earlier announced a $500,000 renovation, planned to use space on the second and third floors of the acquired building. 6-2-1960: Security Federal Savings and Loan Association building at 6th and Franklin acquired by the Hotel John Marshall. No change in first floor tenants planned.
In July 1952, Lovick Law, sergeant-at-arms for the House of Delegates, had his badges and flowers adjusted by majorettes while attending the Virginia Democratic Convention in Roanoke. Law served the General Assembly from 1944 until he died the night before the opening session in 1960.
This May 1953 image shows the First Market building, which was razed in 1961. This site now houses the 17th Street Farmers Market, but its history as a public gathering place and market dates to the 1700s. Over time, it hosted Confederate soldiers, Union troops, political speeches, a police station and religious revival meetings in addition to farmers’ wares.
In August 1961, farmers and merchants in the market area of 17th and East Franklin streets sold produce and goods curbside, paying a fee of 50 cents a day for a spot to park. At the time, police and fire were stepping up enforcement against double-parking, saying customers’ cars were blocking the streets and fire hydrants. Ultimately, shoppers were allowed to briefly double-park to make and load a purchase.
In February 1968, the National Theater on East Broad Street in Richmond was about to undergo a $150,000 remodeling to make it suitable as a movie theater – the building, which opened in 1923, was designed more for vaudeville and other live performances. In June 1968, the theater reopened as The Towne and operated until 1983. It has since been restored again and now hosts concerts.
In December 1968, the first licenses since 1916 for the legal sale of mixed liquors by the drink in Richmond were issued. Here, Cornelius T. Rogers mixed a drink at the Hotel John Marshall’s Captain’s Grill restaurant while bartender Richard Kelley watched.
This June 1950 image shows the former Westwood Circle in Richmond, a traffic circle at the intersection of North Boulevard, Hermitage Road and Westwood Avenue. In November 1961, a $150,000 project removed the circle, added islands and traffic signals, and diverted some traffic around the busy intersection. City safety official John Hanna called the intersection the “most complicated we have had to redesign and signalize in the past 14 years.”
In October 1961, a crane swung a wrecking ball against the portico of the old John Marshall High School in downtown Richmond as a nostalgic crowd watched. The building was being razed to make way for development of the new Civic Center; the new high school opened in North Side the previous year.
This August 1963 aerial image shows the area between the Hotel Richmond and Interstate 95. In the distance is the Centennial Dome, which was constructed as a visitor center for the 1961 Civil War Centennial. It then served for decades as the Jonah L. Larrick Student Center at the Medical College of Virginia.
In September 1960, new teacher Margaret Liebert surveyed the classroom she had carefully laid out for her first group of students at Tuckahoe Elementary School in Henrico County.
In September 1960, College Presbyterian Church at Hampden-Sydney College was celebrating its centennial. Designed by theologian Robert Lewis Dabney, who was Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s chief of staff and biographer, the church is still used today.
07-31-2015 (cutline): This October 1962 image shows the salesmen for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway posing in front of a train. Wearing derbies, fancy vests while carrying canes, they were responsible for distributing schedules and brochures as well as promoting the comfort and convenience of rail travel to the public.
8/13/2015: In July 1967, Richmond city employees prepared signs that would alert motorists to a new traffic pattern. In August, one-way traffic on First through Fifth streets downtown was to be reversed to accommodate the increased traffic from the nearby Interstate 64/95 interchange. The change also required the rerouting of 11 bus lines.
In August 1962, two boys carried tobacco sticks to a South Richmond barn for the curing process. While many U.S. tobacco farms began to use harvesting machines and curing racks at the time, Virginia still largely used hand labor and mules.
In March 1965, more than 700 people marched in four Virginia cities to promote equality in voter registration and to honor the Rev. James Reeb, a white Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston who was slain in a civil rights demonstration in Alabama the week before. This image shows many of the 175 individuals who gathered in Farmville and prayed on the lawn in front of the Prince Edward County courthouse.
In March 1969, new cadet corps officers at John F. Kennedy High School posed outside their school. In 2004, the Richmond school merged with nearby Armstrong High, keeping the Armstrong name.
In July 1967, a new pool opened in South Richmond. The Blackwell pool, at 15th and Maury streets, received a formal opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony led by Mayor Morrill M. Crowe.
In April 1960, members of the Richmond Virginians lined up ahead of their International League season opener at Parker Field against Toronto. The Vees played in Richmond from 1954 to 1964 and were the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees for much of that span.
In April 1965, a huge trash bin was displayed on Fifth Street in downtown Richmond to dramatize an ongoing anti-litter campaign. The effort was organized by several litter-prevention and beautification groups and was supported by Gov. Albertis S. Harrison.
In March 1968, college students relaxed in the sun at Monroe Park in Richmond during a break from classes. This was the year that Richmond Professional Institute merged with the Medical College of Virginia to become Virginia Commonwealth University.
In April 1960, more than 10,000 spectators attended the Richmond Virginians’ exhibition game against the New York Yankees at Parker Field in Richmond. The Vees, part of the International League, played in Richmond from 1954 to 1964 and were the AAA affiliate of the Yankees for much of that span.
In May 1965, Lady Bird Johnson played tourist with a movie camera during a trip to Monticello near Charlottesville. The first lady was on a two-day tour of Virginia attractions, in part to promote the beautification of public places. Her trip began with the dedication of the first highway rest area in Virginia on Interstate 95 at Dumfries. After Monticello, she traveled to Abingdon and attended the Barter Theatre.
In March 1963, four men played a game of pool at the Richmond Community Action Program Senior Center at the corner of Marshall Street and Brook Road. The RCAP center gave seniors access to financial counseling, basic education classes, shopping trips and instructional programs in crafts such as sewing and ceramics.
In July 1961, two men fished for bluegills in Chickahominy Lake, a large water supply reservoir along the New Kent-Charles City county line.
In May 1950, motorcyclists raced in the 10-Mile National Motorcycle Championship at the Atlantic Rural Exposition grounds in Henrico County. The winner was “Little Joe” Weatherly of Norfolk, who later turned to stock car racing and won NASCAR titles in the 1960s before being killed in a race accident in Riverside, Calif., in 1964.
In March 1964, Native American children left the two-room state-funded school on the Mattaponi Reservation in King William County. An accompanying article reviewed population trends among Virginia’s Indian tribes; there were 22 Mattaponi and Pamunkey children attending the school at the time.
In September 1961, the Bellevue Theater marquee on MacArthur Avenue in North Richmond still read “Closed for the Winter.” Neighborhood Theatre Inc. said there were no plans to reopen the theater, which closed in the fall the year before, and the building was for sale. It soon became the home of the New Dominion Barn Dance, a country music radio show.
In November 1965, Richmond Mayor Morrill M. Crowe cut a ceremonial ribbon to mark the inauguration of the Eastern Airlines passenger service from Byrd Field to New York. The pilot for the flight, Capt. R.D. Tyler, and stewardess Margaret McLaughlin held the ribbon.
In November 1961, state Sen. John J. Wicker dressed as a colonist and, having flown to Boston, presented the governor of Massachusetts with documents – and live turkeys – to make the case that Virginia held the first Thanksgiving in 1619, two years before the Pilgrims held a celebration at Plymouth. Wicker led Virginia Thanksgiving Festival Inc., which emphasized Virginia’s historical claim.
In August 1968, trash was strewn along a street in downtown Richmond. In late June and early July, the eight-day “Fight Litter ’68” campaign gathered a cleanup force of 150 city workers and made progress in seven areas. But the Advertising Club of Richmond planned a follow-up appeal to city residents to join the local fight against litter.
In February 1961, Adrienne Price, a senior at Westhampton College in Richmond, got ready for geography class. She recently had been voted best dressed at the school, which is affiliated with the University of Richmond.
In July 1961, a local corporation purchased the northeast corner of Seventh and East Broad streets in downtown Richmond. The purchase included the National Theater and other properties; tenants continuing to occupy their quarters included Stein’s men’s clothier, Pat’s Record Shop and Stonestreet Brothers Jewelers. An idea of putting hotel on the site never materialized.
In May 1968, Richmond Newspapers employees worked in the computer center housing the NCR 315, which eliminated some manual tasks in areas such as billing, payroll, classified advertising and circulation. The system was leased from the National Cash Register Co. and was “likely to meet our needs for at least 10 years – and maybe forever,” the center’s manager said at the time.
This March 1966 image shows the Hotel Richmond, which was acquired by the state in June that year for about $2 million and is now used as its Ninth Street Office Building. The hotel, adjacent to Capitol Square, was established in 1904 by Adeline Atkinson at the location of the former St. Clare Hotel.
In July 1967, members of the Nolde family – Henry (from left), George, Carl and Arthur – watched bread roll off the assembly line at the Nolde Bros. Bakery in Church Hill in Richmond. Their relatives started a small baking operation in the 1890s, and by 1950, three area Nolde plants produced almost a million loaves per week to be sold nationally. Nolde closed in 1977.
In September 1961, students entered Westhampton School in Richmond. That fall, Daisy Jane Cooper became the first African-American student to integrate the junior high school; the following year, she made similar history at Thomas Jefferson High School.
In August 1965, the All American Touring Band and Chorus performed the finale at the Festival of Arts in Richmond’s Dogwood Dell. The ninth annual festival, sponsored by Federated Arts of Richmond Inc. and coordinated by the city parks department, lured about 52,000 people to 13 concerts and eight stage productions during the summer.
In May 1964, Mrs. C.L. Pugh, a nurse at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, cared for a burn victim. Large plastic coverings with built-in gloves isolated patients’ beds in the burn ward to prevent infection.
In June 1962, members of the Dixie Girls Softball League prepared to kick off its 25th season at Byrd Park in Richmond. From left are Lucy Clark, Eleanor Clark, Jane Rapp and Joyce Waddell.
In December 1968, passengers waited in the lobby at Byrd Field for outgoing flights. The airport in eastern Henrico County was nearing the end of an extensive expansion to the main terminal.
In September 1962, Frederic S. Bocock of the Historic Richmond Foundation and Mrs. Cornelius F. Florman stood in front of one of four new plaques honoring patrons of Church Hill renovations in Richmond. Florman was the granddaughter of Mrs. Richard S. Reynolds; the plaque pictured cited Reynolds’ role in restoring Hardgrove Cottage on North 24th Street.
In July 1965, employees of M&B Headwear Co. Inc. picketed outside the Richmond factory, one of the country’s largest suppliers of military caps. The strike involved about 300 members of the United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers International Union, which was seeking a roughly 15-cent per hour raise over two years for some workers. The union said the average hourly wage for the employees, most of whom were women, was $1.35.
In August 1966, Boy Scouts from Troop 644, sponsored by the Henry Fire Department in Mechanicsville, began a 58-mile James River voyage from Richmond to Jamestown aboard homemade rafts. Eleven boys and four adult supervisors participated in the five-day journey, with only paddles and tide to propel them. The 50-mile trip badge the boys would earn would move them one step closer to becoming first-class Scouts.
In June 1960, Harry L. Donovan (dark suit), his handcuffs covered by a jacket, was escorted from the U.S. Marshal’s Office in downtown Richmond, en route to a four-year term in federal prison in Atlanta. For decades, Richmond was the center of Donovan’s numbers operation; he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of failing to pay wagering taxes.
In November 1961, Gov.-elect Albertis S. Harrison Jr. sat with wife Lacey (right) and daughter Toni. In a profile about the rising first family of Virginia, the three shared that they enjoyed playing bridge together, and Toni said she liked playing golf with her father while quizzing him about political affairs.
In October 1969, cadets at John Marshall High School in Richmond posed with their ribbon-bedecked sponsors after an awards ceremony. The school’s Corps of Cadets was established in 1915 – it was the first military training program in a public school in Virginia – and disbanded in 1971.
In June 1968, workers welded boilers at Old Dominion Iron and Steel Corp., located on Belle Isle under the Lee Bridge in Richmond. At the time, Old Dominion’s owner was interested in expanding operations, and the city was interested in using the island as part of a James River park. The company’s history on Belle Isle spanned from before the Civil War to the 1970s.
This 1957 photo shows Collegiate School in the 1600 block of Monument Avenue in Richmond. The Town School elementary building was on the left and the high school on the right. In 1960, the Town School and the Country Day School merged, operating on the campus off River and Mooreland roads in Henrico County. It remains the location today.
In July 1960, the Schellenberg family of Highland Springs prepared to have a bomb shelter installed in their yard, one of Virginia’s first privately owned radiation fallout shelters. The enclosure, which required a large excavation, was designed to accommodate up to six people during a nuclear attack. The horizontal steel tank was 7 feet in diameter and 16 feet long. Once installed, the only elements about ground would be a domed entrance and air filter and exhaust pipes.
In December 1962, a new sign designated the Thalhimers department store in downtown Richmond as a fallout shelter. Sections of the store had been approved to house up to 8,700 people in case of a disaster, and the store was stocked with a two-week supply of food and water, plus medical and radiation measuring equipment. From left are naval engineer D.R. Dorsey, store President William B. Thalhimer Jr. and city safety director William L. Groth.
In June 1961, cartons of homogenized milk were stored in a cooling room at Richmond Dairy Co. before being delivered to homes and stores. The company was located in Jackson Ward; the plant, with its unique milk bottle façade, is now an apartment building.
Electric Noodle Manual In July 1962, workers at a Lancaster County plant inspected crab meat during a demonstration of a new picking machine, which promised to triple production. The machine was developed by a crab meat packer in Oriental N.C.