By Matt de Simone
Historic Greenfield Advisory Council (HGAC) held its inaugural Juneteenth Celebration event at the Wilson Warehouse/Community House in Buchanan last Saturday afternoon. Information was made available to attendees that detailed the meaning of Juneteenth and its significance in Botetourt County.
“Having great volunteers made this celebration a success, Cheryl Sullivan-Willis, Roblyn Brand, Wendy Warren and Beth Pappas,” Historic Greenfield Advisory Council member Jim Johnston said about the event. “Curtis Brown spoke during the celebration. There was also community involvement. We will plan on celebrating again next year.”
Photos by Matt de Simone
Council member Cheryl Sullivan-Willis welcomed everyone to the event and gave some background the significance of Juneteenth and its history. She concluded her opening remarks by saying, “Today we need to celebrate the hopes, the dreams, and the life of those that paved the way for us to have a better hope, a better dream, and a better life and honor them with the life that we live every day and never ever take it for granted. Today I ask you: what does freedom mean to you? What does Juneteenth mean to you?”
Sullivan-Willis was followed by members of HGAC and community members who shared history and stories related to the celebration event including a history of the Kanawha Canal by Mike and Jessie Burton; a telling of the history behind “The Clinton” – a canal boat trapped in an 1854 flood of the James River and Frank Padget, the African-American slave who led a rescue party to save trapped passengers only to be tragically swept away while trying to save the last passenger; and Council member Curtis Brown’s reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Johnston read a document that listed “Enslaved People of Greenfield” that he prepared from a copy of the original list dated March 4, 1797. He and Executive Director of the Smithfield-Preston Foundation Michael Hudson interpreted the original copy to come up with the current list. Johnston added that “this tribute to our enslaved individuals of Greenfield has long been overdue and needed.”
The Historic Greenfield Advisory Council consist of 13 members appointed by the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors Chairman Stephen Clinton – the council’s Ex-Officio Officer, who Johnston credited to giving “tremendous support and guidance to our HGAC Council.”
