Farmville, USA

"In 1865, as General Robert E. Lee and his troops retreated from advancing Federal forces through Farmville, a skirmish ensued on High Street alongside Longwood University (then Farmville Female College).  One historic account states, "Minié balls fell about the building (Ruffner Hall*) - one crashed through a window where several girls were standing and when they had recovered fromt heir panic, their friends in gray had vanished like the phantom of a dream." - Rosemary Sprague, from Longwood College, A History. 

For some reason my Almost Matters keeps sending me an alumni "magazine," of which most of the pages are triple-spaced "articles" blathering on and on about the "University" president.  Yes, very useful, exciting information, indeed.

Academically, Longwood University, neé College, is known for two things: requiring a swim test to graduate, and that during my first semester I was about to bang a junior, but the fire alarm went off. So I was pleasantly surprised to find out they're commemorating the 150th anniversary of The Civil War with the launch of a weekly podcast series HERE.

This podcast series, sponsored by Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, will focus on events leading up to and during the United States Civil War. After setting the stage through a series of preliminary episodes, we will look back each week to significant events that occurred roughly 150 years ago on those same dates.

Oh yeah, and you Yale nerds? You are hereby warned. Time to step up your game, cause the competition just got for reals.

* Ruffner Hall was the main administration building, and burned down after I graduated, following in the footsteps of the hospital I had been born in a quarter-century before. So for all I know, there is no record out there that I 1) was born 2) graduated college.


DISCLAIMOR: "The episodes will largely be researched, written and produced  by Longwood students."