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Local Gardens That Give Back

Growing & Teaching
Located on the campus at HumanKind, the Davis Instruction Garden is a demonstration garden with plots that concentrate on production for those in need.

In July, Hill City Master Gardeners harvested Yukon Gold potatoes for distribution along with other summer vegetables. All were distributed to local community organizations. Last year, more than 1,400 pounds of Irish and sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, melons, squash, and more were provided to local nonprofits.

The Davis Instruction Garden also provides gardening training for the community. Although still restrained by virus precautions, this year’s garden includes 15 leased plots for beginning gardeners.

For information contact Gene Wolanski: genew36456@aol.com or 434-426-2371.

Nurturing a Community
A local group has been getting their hands dirty in the Pierce Street neighborhood to create a raised bed community garden.

When planning their Leadership Lynchburg service project, Team Big Hearts researched food deserts and poverty statistics in the area. They also spoke with local officials to pinpoint areas with the greatest need.

“We met with Dr. Nina Salmon, a board member of the nonprofit Pierce Street Gateway, and our causes intertwined,” said team member Sarah Blankenship. “They desired to build a garden on the lawn of the first black-owned business in Lynchburg in an effort to take the first step to raise awareness of the importance of the historical site; we were hooked.”

The garden is located on the site of the Spencer Calloway General Store. So far, Blankenship says neighborhood turnout and support has been “superb.”

With help from businesses such as Lowe’s in Madison Heights and JMJ Landscape Supply Center, they planted late season crops; once those are ready, neighbors will harvest and distribute the produce to area residents.

If you want to help out, email piercestreetgarden@gmail.com.

Purposeful Jobs
Aside from growing food for the community through its numerous programs, part of the mission of Lynchburg Grows is to provide meaningful work for people with disabilities.

The nonprofit currently employs four individuals with physical and/or mental disabilities who are responsible for all farm chores as well as planting, harvesting and processing produce. They also look for ways to develop their social and communication skills in various leadership roles.

“They all seem to love it here and think of it as their second family and that’s the atmosphere that we cultivate,” said Stuart Overbey, marketing director.

“I think it’s important to all of them that they feel part of something bigger than themselves.”

Lynchburg Grows also oversees regular volunteers with disabilities who come from local organizations such as The Arc.

Learn more about this organization at lynchburggrows.org.

Flip through the pages of this Expanded Bridal Section that includes the Best of Bridal Picks: who brides and their wedding parties recommend!

Four-year-old Bruno Niyonsenga-Sarchet took off running when his mother, Danielle Sarchet, brought him to see the rows and rows of American flags on display off Graves Mill Road last year.

For the fourth year in a row, the Rotary Club of Forest is hosting its Field of Honor project.

From Sept. 4-18, one-thousand U.S. flags will cover the lawn in front of Automated Conveyor Systems as a tribute to past and present American heroes—including healthcare workers, first responders, EMTs, firefighters, police officers, active-duty military and veterans.

The opening ceremony is Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. to recognize the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Visitors can walk through the display daily from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Photo by Mike Lewis

Finishing Touches

Our interview at greenhaus, a new beer garden featured in this issue’s Arts and Culture department, took place in the final week of construction inside the 12th Street building.
Writer Tobi Walsh, owner Sean Bailey and assistant to the regional manager Jordan Miller sat down to chat at the soon-to-be bar as crews installed various lighting, arranged plants and made other improvements to the space. It might be hard to believe, but in less than a week after these photos were taken, greenhaus was photo-ready!

Read more about the unique business that is fully curated by local artists and craftsmen starting on page 44.

Decorative Artist

If you don’t recognize the name Sonny Harlow, you’ll recognize his work, whether it’s murals downtown or in homes across Boonsboro. For nearly four decades, this burly painter has focused on stenciling and hand-painting to create a unique look that not a lot of people can do—or want to do, according to him.

We caught up with Harlow after a recent kidney transplant, and though he’s promised his doctor to rest, he can’t wait to be able to paint once again.

Tobi Walsh: Sonny, how did you get started?
Sonny Harlow: I’ve been painting for 38 years. I was always scribbling on something as a kid. There was just always something in me. [When I moved to Lynchburg] I needed to find a way to earn money and I picked up some projects [in Boonsboro]. Then it was just word of mouth.

TW: How would you describe your artistic style?
SH: I’m self-taught. There was a high school teacher who showed me a lot, but I think I have my own style. I just have a lot of patience.

TW: You’ve worked on so many projects around Lynchburg. Which one has been your favorite?
SH: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. They were renovating the church and there were no pews—nothing inside. They were trying to restore it to what it looked like back then. They had photos of the original stenciling on the ceiling and I had to recreate it.

TW: Whoa. That had to be time consuming.
SH: Yeah, it was one of my favorites. While we were in there painting, an organist would come in and practice. It sounded awesome. I still have goosebumps thinking about it. A church out in Lexington approached me about working on a similar project for them, but I had just started dialysis and wasn’t able to make the drive.

TW: Yes! You recently received a new kidney via transplant. That’s incredible.
SH: My doctor told me it would probably take a long time to find a donor so I had buckled down, but it took a lot quicker than I thought. I couldn’t do the Lexington job, but I did hand-cut the stencils for them. I was so humbled that they trusted me to do that.

TW: It seems like you have a thing for churches.
SH: (chuckles) I also worked on a mural for Tree of Life Church in their sanctuary.

TW: Any other projects that come to mind?
SH: When Amazement Square first opened, they asked me to come in and do a lot of hand-painting for some of the exhibits. I remember climbing into this tiny tunnel and doing some painting and drawing worms and bugs. I could barely fit. I worked on a few of the traveling exhibits they had at one point. There was one about ancient Egypt. They also wanted to start showing movies in the park [by Amazement Square] so I did a mural for that as well. I also helped out on a project at Point of Honor.

They were trying to recreate a specific wallpaper. So I did it by hand so part of the wall is wallpaper, the other is just a painting.

TW: Do you think hand-stenciling is a lost art form?
SH: I mean, a lot of my stencils I cut by hand. It’s not something you can go and pick out at Michaels. You need a lot of patience.

I remember a mechanic worked on my truck and said, “I couldn’t imagine painting all day.” And I said, “I can’t imagine fiddling with a wrench all day.” Not everyone wants to do it. But I like it. I like being able to take my time.

TW: And it allows you to create some really cool effects, too.
SH: I worked on a house where they wanted a certain area to look a certain way. So I took a sponge and a rag, let it dry, and then wrinkled it out to make the wall look almost like marble. I guess they sold the house, and the new owners mistook the painting for wallpaper. They tried to take it down and realized it was paint!

Photos by Ashlee Glen

GET IN TOUCH
Email Sonny at sonnyharlow6073@gmail.com

Readers Taking Action
We are always thrilled to hear how our magazine is improving the community. Thank you to reader June Najjum for sending us this note about our March/April issue: “I wanted to thank Kaye Moomaw for writing the article about ‘Planting for Birds and Bees’ in the March issue. I turned my garden into a certified pollinator habitat. I don’t live in Lynchburg but I live in nearby Bedford County. I’m proud of my sign in the front yard. I happened to pick up your magazine at an antique shop in Lynchburg while I was shopping with a friend.

You never know what kind of positive impact your magazine makes out there!”

Slight Change
Perceptive readers may notice a small difference in our Art department, which is now called Arts and Culture. We wanted to open up this section of the magazine to include not only local art forms—visual art, theater, dance etc.—but also in-depth articles about the ways of life and customs of different groups of people in our region.

Have an Arts and Culture story idea? Contact information for the editor is below.

LRW Recap
A huge thanks to everyone who came out to support our 10th annual Lynchburg Restaurant Week June 12-19. We had 13 restaurants participate this year, with many owners telling us they were impressed with the crowds.

On Facebook, Burt Taylor, owner of Stoney Badger, said: “We were slammed tonight because of it.” Also on Facebook, Tim Overstreet told us he had lunch at Trio during Lynchburg Restaurant Week: “First time there, very pleased. Will go back!”

A portion of our sponsorship proceeds was donated to Meals on Wheels of Greater Lynchburg. They tell us they have seen a surge in demand since the pandemic began. If you want to help out, visit their website to learn more about donating or volunteering: mealsonwheelslynchburg.org.

We Want To hear From You!
Send us an e-mail to shelley@lynchburgmag.com. Correspondents must identify themselves; names may be withheld on request. Lynchburg Living may edit or condense.

Earning a Best Of Lynchburg award should be celebrated. Earning this recognition year after year should be too!

To place in our Best Of Lynchburg Hall of Fame, a business, person or place needs to have won a gold level in a category the majority of years since VistaGraphics started conducting the contest in 2014.

Flip through to see who is the best of the best in the region!

Nominations/Voting for the 2022 Best Of Lynchburg Awards begins July 27, 2021.
Look for those winners in the January/February 2022 issue of Lynchburg Living!