Driving Down Memory Lane

Jim Fulghum’s passion for cars began as a boy and continues during his retirement. This 1924 Sport Phaeton Packard is one of his favorites. PHOTO BY SARAH A. WAINWRIGHT

ROANOKE—“It’s every man’s dream to own as many cars as possible,” says local artist Eric Fitzpatrick, “and this man is living the dream for all of us!”

Jim Fulghum is a retired attorney who has been fascinated with antique automobiles ever since he was a boy. He and his brother built their first vehicle in the ’50s with scraps from an old junkyard. Since then, his love of antique cars has only grown. He has restored cars for several years now and displays them at car shows in Roanoke and around the country. He’s also a member of the National Woody Club and is president of the Old Dominion Packard (ODPC).

Retirement has enabled Fulghum to explore his love even further. He’s discovering new automobiles to restore and concentrating on venues for a car collection.

“Don’t retire to nothing,” he says. “Plan to find a new type of work.”

Born March 4, 1933 in Washington DC, Fulghum grew up in Salem and Roanoke. One of Fulghum’s favorite automobiles is his 1924 Sport Phaeton Packard. He admired this very same vehicle in the ’40s when seeing it parked at the Franklin Apartments, then owned by M. Clay Franklin, who bought the Packard new at Rutrough Motors in downtown Roanoke. When Mr. Franklin passed away in the late ’40s, the car journeyed through many events and owners before ironically making its way back to Fulghum in 2002.

Another prize in Fulghum’s collection is a 1948 Packard Woody Wagon. Like the ’24 Packard, this car brings back nostalgic memories; he had one just like it in the late ’50s, when finishing his last years of college at Mercer University. Fulghum traded it in 1960 for a new car and received, what he calls, “the great sum” of $100 for it. When Packard discontinued in the ’60s, Jim knew his “old friend” would be a classic. He found one 30 years later in Waynesboro through a co-member of the ODPC. It had “sat in a field” for a long time and eroded down to a skeleton of what his old ’48 looked like, but that didn’t stop him from buying it. Fulghum had an image in his mind and spent nine years making it a reality. On June 5, 1999, the Woody won its first prize at Festival in the Park.

Fulghum keeps his latest additions in a separate garage, including a 1923 Reo, the most antique of them all. When he lifts the garage door she appears, covered in dust as though straight from an old barn house. The seats are still the original leather – torn and wrinkled from age and wear. And the ’23 Reo is, in fact, what he calls a real “barn find.” A story circulated about a woman from a Stewartsville area farm who wanted to sell her ’23 Reo for $5,000, not a penny more or less. Fulghum took great effort in finding this Reo, and when he did, in February of 2005, he bought it.

Fulghum has a true passion for cars, but he’s not a “car fanatic.” His antique cars aren’t kept locked in garages.

“I’m more interested in enjoying them,” he says, often taking his wife, Kelly, and his four children and six grandchildren out for spins.

—Sarah A. Wainwright

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Yankees in Lexington

Originally from the north, Leland and Paul Goddard now enjoy the quiet small-town charm of Lexington. COURTESY OF THE KENDAL AT LEXINGTON

LEXINGTON—It all started at a New Years’ Eve party many years ago in their hometown of Hanover, NH when Leland and Paul Goddard met each other for the first time. They may not have realized then they were destined to be together, but after 52 years of marriage it’s quite obvious they were.

After Paul finished college at Dartmouth, the Goddards’ got married and moved to Ervinton, NY where they both worked in and out of New York City for over 30 years. Paul taught school and worked in corporate personnel, while Leland worked as a school psychologist after going back to finish her degree and get her master’s at Marymont College.

They chose not to retire in the Big Apple, so they moved back to an area outside of Hanover. They lived there until 2004 when they began to consider selling their house and moving to an independent retirement community.

They wanted to go somewhere with milder winters, which was why they decided to go with Kendal at Lexington. Lexington appealed to them because of its small college town charm, and how easy it is there to meet new people who truly care.

“People pitch in and help each other around here,” Paul says.

The Goddard’s put their house up for sale in Hanover and planned to move to Kendal in November. They sold their house very quickly, however, and the buyer needed to move in during July. Since their unit wasn’t finished yet in Lexington (and wasn’t actually completed until January 2005), the Goddard’s decided to pack up and head to a beach in NC until they could move.

“A few more months there and I wouldn’t be here!” Paul jokes.

The Goddard’s are happy to be away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

“The pace is a little slower, more relaxed and laid back here,” Paul says.

Leland says it was easy for them to feel at home at Kendal.

“When you need help, it’s there,” she says.

A variety of ages are represented in the independent living section of Kendal; in fact, the Goddard’s say there are 17 over the age of 90. Leland and Paul consider themselves the “kids on the block.”

Paul and Leland both stay busy with various activities in the area. Paul not only attends the R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church, but also sings in the choir - despite the fact that he is a “damn Yankee.” He jokingly says the difference between a Yankee and a damn Yankee is that Yankees leave.

Aside from the church choir, Paul sings in a local group called the High Wheelers’ who he says, “could be better, but that wouldn’t be as much fun.” He also is a member of Mrs. C’s Pickers (Maury River Senior Center abbreviated) in which he plays the guitar, bagpipes, and the tin whistle.

Leland likes to write, and used to write for a monthly Eastman magazine in New Hampshire. Although she hasn’t done as much writing recently, she says she still enjoys it. Leland also knits, and has even knitted dresses in the past, but doesn’t do as much needlework now.

“You can’t spend your whole life knitting,” she says.

Leland and Paul also both enjoy traveling, and have taken some trips to Europe in the past. Paul has also been to South Africa and the Philippines for business. Currently they are planning a trip to the Carolinas this September.

When they are just relaxing at home, they love spending time with their poodle, Latte, who will turn five this month. Latte had been used to breed puppies in the past, but once the Goddard’s picked her up from the breeder, she was able to become solely a companion and no longer a mother.

“She’s been taking care of us instead,” Leland said.

—Catherine Estep

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Motoring Around

Edward and Yolanda Adams enjoy traveling in their motor home so much that they take regular trips about once a month. PHOTO BY BRYNN BOYER

BEDFORD—Rudy wags his tail anxiously the same way he does this time every month. It’s travel week and the motor home has a full tank of gas. Although Rudy has no idea where his owners, Edward and Yolanda Adams, will be off to this time, it’s a given that he’ll be coming along.

After retiring in 2000, Edward from his job as a telephone technician and Yolanda from her job as a functional systems analyst, the Northern Virginia natives have been able to pursue their love of traveling full time. Even before they retired, the Adams owned a motor home. In the past 12 years, they have owned six motor homes for their cross country travels.

Many of their travels, including their eventual move to Bedford, have been due to their volunteer work with the National Park Service. The Park Service sends their volunteers to a location where they work unpaid at the site. In the case of the Adams, Edward worked as a camp host and Yolanda worked in the gift shop.

“Volunteering with the park service helps with some of the expenses of camping and we feel like we’re doing something worthwhile,” Edward says.

The travelers ended up in Bedford, they say, because of the beauty of the Peaks of Otter introduced to them by the Park Service.

“Four years ago, we volunteered with the Park Service and they sent us to the Peaks of Otter,” Yolanda says. “My husband fell in love with the mountains.”

“My dad was a coal miner in Virginia,” Edward says, “so I grew up in the mountains. The beauty of the mountains here is what made us want to move.”

In addition, Yolanda cites the cost of living and scenery as additional reasons why their decision to move to Bedford from the previous home at the Outer Banks of North Carolina was an easy one.

The Adams spent time volunteering with the Park Service in the Outer Banks and eventually bought a house there. Since they still own their beach house, they take trips to the beach in their motor home several times a year.

Although Edward and Yolanda have only lived in Bedford for about a year and a half, they are already big fans of the area and frequently visit local attractions.

“Bedford is centrally located, a couple of hours from Charlottesville, an hour from Roanoke, plus it is only 300 miles from the beach,” Yolanda, an avid beachgoer, says. “There is also a lot of Civil War history in this area and it is very accessible.”

Recently, some of their monthly trips have included Charlotte, Texas, Daytona Beach, San Francisco and Hershey, Pennsylvania. Edward says the natural beauty makes Alaska his favorite place to go while Yolanda says the history and quaint small-town life of Charleston, South Carolina is her favorite.

About once a month they visit their hometown of Reston, Virginia to spend time with their son and grandchildren.

Once a year, they try to take a “big trip” of about four to six weeks in their motor home. This year, they went to Dearborn, Michigan and Canton, Ohio where they visited attractions like the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Some might cringe at the thought of spending a month in a motor home, but for the Adams it is as comfortable as staying in their own home.

“It is truly a home,” Yolanda says. “It’s like a Motel 8 where we can sleep in our own bed and we don’t have to unpack! Plus, the campground is like an extended family.”
However, not all trips that they take require the motor home. About one day out of every week, the couple takes a day trip to a local area such as downtown Roanoke, Rocky Mount, Lynchburg, or Smith Mountain Lake.

“There is a lot to do within 100 miles of Bedford,” Edward says. Yolanda agrees, saying, “We like exploring this area.”

They still visit the Peaks of Otter, the place that brought them to the area in the first place, frequently as well as the D-Day Memorial.

When not traveling, Yolanda volunteers at the Bedford Welcome Center and Edward volunteers at the Sedalia Center in Bedford.

Although the long list of places visited from Maine to California might make it seem that the Adams are running out of new destinations, don’t think they’ll stop traveling any time soon.

“We just want to see what’s around the corner,” Edward says.

—Brynn Boyer

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"Hugo We Go"

Lucy and Stan Smith found a quiet haven at Smith Mountain Lake after hurricane Hugo made them decide to leave the coasts of South Carolina. PHOTO BY MARIANNE BRIGOLA

SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE—Stan and Lucy Smith’s journey to Smith Mountain Lake is a long one.

Originally from the mid-west, Stan and Lucy Smith first met at Doane College, a small liberal arts college in their home state of Nebraska. They married right before Stan’s senior year at the University of Nebraska, where he earned a degree in engineering.

After graduating, Stan worked for the NorthWestern Bell Telephone Company, first in engineering and then later in management, after receiving his Master’s degree in management from MIT. Stan went on to work for AT&T in New York City and New Jersey, where he became President of AT&T’s real estate subsidiaries until he retired early after AT&T’s divestiture because he “could see that it was going to be a different company after that.” He was working in commercial real estate for about a year until the United States Postal Service approached him with an offer.

“They found me and asked me to become the Assistant Post Master General for Facilities,” explains Smith, “where I was responsible for building or leasing all the facilities for the Postal Service.”

After five years at the Post Office, the Smiths decided to purchase a retirement home early, originally looking at the barrier islands just off of Charleston, S.C. Unfortunately, “that was where Hurricane Hugo hit, and we decided we didn’t want to go back,” Smith explains.

At the time they were living in northern Virginia, and heard about Smith Mountain Lake from friends. After Hurricane Hugo, the Smiths decided to look at retirement possibilities in the Smith Mountain Lake area.

On their first visit, “We came here and fell in love with it,” Smith says, “we bought a home the same weekend.”

The Smiths still live in the same house today, after moving to the Lake permanently in the early 1990s. Both Lucy and Stan are still in love with the area.

“We’ve made a lot of good friends since moving here.” Smith says, “It’s an easy place to make friends and there are wonderful people here.”

The location also allows the Smiths to remain close to their family, with one of their daughters living in Alta Vista, VA and the other in Charlotte, N.C. Their five grandchildren are often over, “usually with friends,” claims Smith, “and it’s wonderful.”

The lake provides ample opportunities for the family to play with the Smith’s various water toys, which includes a water slide into the lake, jetskis, a kayak, and a fishing boat for their youngest grandson. The Smiths also have a medium-sized power boat cleverly named “Hugo We Go,” in honor of the Hurricane that brought them to the lake.

After living in almost a dozen homes during their 55-year-marriage, the Smiths have settled comfortably into their retirement life at Smith Mountain Lake. Both are active in the local communities; Lucy participates in a local bridge group with friends and Stan still remains as active as when he was working. He joined the Smith Mountain Lake Board of Directors soon after moving to the area, and also serves as Vice-President and Lake Committee Chair for Smith Mountain Lake Association. Additionally, Stan works on lake preservation with eight other organizations, including the Tri-County Lake Administrative Commission and the Moneta Arts, Education and Community Center Foundation; he holds leadership positions in many of these organizations.

“I’m very concerned about the health of the lake, and I work with organizations that are concerned with the health of the lake in one way or another.”

Since retiring, Smith claims that his proudest accomplishment is developing a proposal with Tom Smith to create a Smith Mountain Lake Service District that would assume responsibilities and oversee the lake. Although the proposal fell through because of American Electric Power’s impending relicensing of lake operations, he feels that “it laid the groundwork for concerns about Smith Mountain Lake.”

“It’s beautiful and healthy, but it doesn’t take much to develop problems, “ Smith explains, “we need to be proactive in preventing these problems.”

He is currently working with AEP to identify and address lake and water quality concerns.

“It just seems so obvious to me that unless we can keep the lake pure and beautiful and free from problems, then we all lose.”For more information about lake preservation see smlassociation.org.

—Marianne Brigola

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Through the Viewfinder

Bruce Barfield now sells many of the scenes he has captured through the lens of his camera, such as the one above of a mime on a smoke break in Paris. PHOTO BY SARAH A. WAINWRIGHT

ROANOKE—“Over time you can see a picture,” explains Roanoke retiree Bruce Barfield. “When you look through the viewfinder, you know what you’re going to get.”

Barfield has captured images from around the world for several decades now. But after a lifetime of shooting, it was only eight years ago that he decided to try to sell his photographs, motivated by a suggestion from someone at the Mill Mountain Coffee shop in Daleville.

After taking a deep breath, he took the chance, and today he’s not only making a post-retirement career selling his photographs three days a week, he’s also adding to his collection. This September he plans to travel throughout Italy, and then to China next year.

“I’ve always wanted to see and photograph the Great Wall,” he says.

Barfield started taking photographs in high school, chasing ambulances down the streets of Dallas with a friend who was interning for UPI.

As a junior, he realized that he wanted to join the Navy and be a photographer.

“In the Navy, you photograph any event – any time someone re-enlists, a car crash, anything that happens,” Barfield says.

And he did just that – with a few “off-the-job” exceptions, such as taking pictures of Billy Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald at the Newport Jazz Festivals, during his training days. He also shot close-ups of penguins in 1957 with the Antarctic scientific effort, one of which he displays on the market in downtown Roanoke.

All of the photographs he displays on the market come with a story – whether taken during his 22-year service in the navy, his years as an archeologist, or as a traveling photographer – and he’s more than happy to share them.

For instance, when Barfield was surveying for ancient pottery in Africa, he took a photograph of a boy carrying a bundle of cloth to a market.

“It was early morning,” he says, “and the sun was hitting him just right so that the cloth blended into the background.”

Another photograph that he displays on the market was taken on a trip to Italy.

Barfield was sitting at a little cafe in the city of Udine and was captivated by the buildings in front of him. He looked through the viewfinder of his camera and thought how perfect the picture would be if a couple walked past. Four cappucinoes later, he got his wish.

“To be a photographer, you have to have patience,” he says. Fortunately for Barfield, his patience paid off – the photograph is breathtaking.

Barfield has also spent some time in Paris. His favorite area to take photographs is on the south side of Notre Dame, facing west. He carries a 10-pound tripod so that he can take pictures through the cyclone fence to capture the beautiful exit and entrance. He also has a picture of a mime right behind the cathedral, where the bridge comes together. The cameo moment caught the mime as he was reading a book while taking a smoke break.

His most famous photograph of all, however, is one he took of the Berlin wall in 1989, a few days before it was torn down. He was in Dublin when he heard about the wall coming down and bought a round-trip ticket to Berlin. Famous Russian cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich, who died in April, was playing Bach in front of it – colorful graffiti spirals behind him in the photograph.

It is in special images like these that Barfield places a heartfelt wish for all who will look upon them in the years ahead.

“May the thrill enjoyed by me, each time I snapped the shutter, be passed on to the possessors of these images – for decades, decades, and decades,” he says.

—Sarah A. Wainwright

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