by Vickie Holt

When most people think of Floyd, Virginia, they think of the charming downtown district with its shops, music venues, and art galleries.  But there is so much more to be found in the wider community of the county.  Floyd County contains the towns of Check, Copper Hill, Indian Valley, and Willis.
It’s in the town of Willis, Virginia, that S. Peter Willis and Silas Garrett Conduff got together to open a general store for the community.  This was around 1883, and the wooden-built shop could be found just about eleven miles southwest of downtown Floyd along Floyd Highway South.
Originally, this little community was called Greasy Creek, but in 1880, the name was changed to Hylton.  This was to honor the Helton family who operated a store and post office there.  It was around this time, however, that the Willis family settled in the area and began operating businesses in the community.  Because of their influence, and because the Hylton Post Office was getting confused with the Hilton Post Office in another part of Virginia, the name of the town was changed to Willis in 1894.  S. Peter Willis was a member of that influential family, and his partner, Silas G. Conduff, was the first postmaster under the town’s Willis name.
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From left to right: Daniel Sowers & Derek Wall

Budding interest in hemp and cannabis in Virginia has led to healthy growth for The Buffalo Hemp Company.  Having already established the Floyd location in 2019, TBHC has been so successful that it was not only able to open the second location at 1110 Main Street in Roanoke but has recently opened a third location at 208-A N. Main Street in Blacksburg!  They are also pleased to announce that they have outgrown the original Floyd location at 315 East Main Street and relocated to a more spacious, historic building at 710 East Main Street.  Co-owner Derek Wall attributes the company’s success to local relationships, persistence, and commitment to continuous evolution.
“We were fortunate to begin with our own crop, our products, and our own brand,” says Wall.  But Wall and his business partner, Daniel Sowers, soon found that there were a lot of people growing excess hemp.  This led to TBHC growing less of their own crop every year and opting instead to support local farmers who could grow hemp that met the company’s needs for quality and safety.
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by Vickie Holt

American Pie Restaurant is one of Floyd’s newest eateries, taking up residence in a building recently vacated by one of its oldest.  After thirty years, Ray’s Restaurant had become a legendary fixture in the Floyd community, located at 1041 Floyd Highway, North.
The structure itself was built in 1910.  In the 1940’s, Ray’s father, Donald Hatcher, owned it, running the location as a grocery store and gas station.  Its eventual evolution to becoming a restaurant, however, is thanks in part to Ray’s mother, who started cooking for some of the local workers in the 1940’s.  After some time, Ray took the reigns of the business and it operated as his restaurant from around 1990.  In 2020, however, Ray Hatcher decided to retire.
Even while Ray was thinking about retirement, Bill Taylor was sitting in Palm Beach, Florida, already bored with his retirement from the medical industry.  “I didn’t enjoy it,” says Bill.  “All that sitting around.”  To make matters worse, the hurricane season in Florida was getting more and more serious, year after year.  Bill didn’t want to wait around for a storm to destroy his home.
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by Vickie Holt

Originally from Oregon, David Larsen received a degree in Business and Technology in Electronics from Oregon State University.  After working for a few years in the industry as an engineer, David became a teacher in electronic instrumentation at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia – a position from which he retired after thirty-one years in 1998.  But it wasn’t all academics and electronics.  During his tenure at Virginia Tech, David also assisted the Office of International Development.  For many of those years, he worked with land and farming, starting up a Christmas tree farm and marketing organization.
With his hands in the land as early as the mid-sixties, David was able to establish the Laurel Creek Farms corporation (LCF) in 1968.  Named for the first area of land developed.
David was later joined in the business by his wife, Gaynell.  In February of 2002, they were also joined by Dee Wallace, who completed the three-person group.  Originally from Nebraska, Dee came to Virginia in 1992 for college.  Once working with LCF, she was also creator of Floyd Virginia Magazine!  Wallace tells us the original idea was to have a publication that would help promote LCF.
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In 2015, Pat Sharkey was the first recipient of the Business Leader of the Year award from Floyd Chamber of Commerce. From left to right: John McEnhill, Executive Director of the Floyd Chamber of Commerce; Pat Sharkey, Tourism Director; and Joy Gardner, 2015-17 Chamber President.
Floyd County’s very first Tourism Director, Pat Sharkey, retired from her position at the end of July after serving for eight years.  Jewelry-maker and owner of Earth Dance Jewelry and Gems, Pat was also active and involved in the arts, as well as Floyd community-building efforts.  This included community service with multiple nonprofit organizations such as The Jacksonville Center for the Arts, Sustain Floyd, and the Blue Ridge Center for Chinese Medicine.  She also worked for the state’s Round the Mountain program which resulted in the development of art tourism trails in the organization’s Southwest Virginia coverage area.  And finally, Pat also served as the Program Manager for a federally funded, employability enhancement program in Floyd.
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The Korean War uniform of Floyd County native, Billy Brammer.

By Sheilah Elwardani

The current exhibit at the Floyd Historical Society explores the dynamic world of 1950’s America in Floyd County and honors the men who served in the Korean War.  The end of World War II brought tremendous change to the United States and the world: new global threats, economic growth on an unprecedented scale, and the U.S. emergence as a global peace-keeping force bent on stopping the threat of communism.  Also, domestically dramatic shifts in gender roles and racial desegregation began to offer opportunities previously denied to some groups.  The Floyd County Historical Society brings this dynamic period to life through the experience of Floyd’s citizens in the post-WWII era.
For the American citizen, the 1950’s brought hope and prosperity on a previously unimaginable scale.  Meanwhile, for the American soldier serving on the Korean peninsula, the threat of communist expansion became a cold, hard reality in a brutally hot war.

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On a ride through the Blue Ridge Mountains during November and December, you can discover the rapid transition from late Autumn to early Winter.  Through a carpet of fallen reds, oranges, and golds, evergreen pines master the landscape.  The cool, frost-covered mornings and crisp, clear air give way to ice and blankets of snow.  It’s the kind of scene that beckons the refrains of holiday tunes to the mind and to the lips.  And if your Blue Ridge Mountain adventure brings you close to Route 8 from the Blue Ridge Parkway, you will surely want to take a detour into Floyd, Virginia.
Floyd Virginia is a bastion for many unforgettable holiday traditions: beautiful scenes fit for Christmas cards, sweet memory-making at the local shops, music from all the town’s venues, and of course, the Christmas tree farms.
Folks living in Floyd can see that it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas when Floyd-grown Christmas trees begin their annual journey to retail lots and garden centers throughout the region.
But not all the trees are destined to join their fellows on the trailers.  At Sweet Providence Farm, trees are waiting for you to come and discover them!
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By Vickie Holt

When Teresa Harris was little, she’d gather the artificial flowers from around the family home, take them apart, and rearrange them in her own designs.  It should have been a sign for all around that this little girl was destined to be a florist.  But destiny would have to wait for some time.
Teresa is a true daughter of Floyd, coming from grandparents who were farmers in the area.  The dew on the morning crops, the honey from the hives, and even the nectar from Floyd flowers ran in her veins.  And like the personification of the Floyd County community today, Teresa loved both the land and the spirit of creativity.
There wasn’t much creativity to be found, however, in Teresa’s life after school.  She found employment at the local EZ Stop and worked there for seven years.  At year five, though, she was able to supplement her income and stretch her creative wings with a part time job at a local florist shop.
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From Left: Karen Sewell and Jenny Traynham. Photo credits: Daniel Roberson

The world may seem bleak and full of uncertainty in these troubled times, but there is a real sweet spot where visitors are sure to find a consistent font of artistic creativity and aliveness!  That sweet spot is A New Leaf Gallery in Floyd, Virginia.  This is a gallery where fourteen local artists have come together to express passion and enthusiasm for a shared field of endeavor…art!
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