Weston Manor/Historic Hopewell Foundation

08/24/2026

This Wednesday, August 26th, is our FINAL Lunch & Learn Lecture for the 2026 series. Jeanie Langford will be closing this season with "The Phoenix: Hopewell, Virginia, the City that Refuses to Quit." Come to the American Legion Post 146 from 12-1 PM to listen to her FREE lecture. Enjoy a lunch from the American Legion or pack your own. Drinks and desserts are provided!

Overview: The history of Hopewell, Virginia, is rich and robust. This presentation will trace the history of the City that has reinvented itself time after time.

Images: business district in Hopewell, Virginia (ca. 1950; Library of Congress); aerial view of Hopewell City (Hopewell Downtown Partnership, 2025).

Thank you for joining us for our 2026 Lunch & Learn Lecture series! We are already working hard on putting together the 2027 lineup, which will be announced in April 2027.

08/21/2026

The All Manor of Things Boutique will be closed next week, August 24th to the 28th. We are going through all the incoming fall merchandise and giving the shop a refresh.

Thank you for being patient with us! We can't wait to show you everything that we are working on, plus all the new fall merchandise!

08/18/2026

Francis Gary Powers, Jr. will be giving this week's Lunch & Learn Lecture tomorrow, August 19th! Come to the American Legion Post 146 from 12-1 PM to listen to his FREE lecture: "Spy Pilot: Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and the Controversial Cold War Legacy." Enjoy a lunch from the American Legion or pack your own. Drinks and desserts are provided!

Overview: Francis Gary Powers, Jr.'s program helps to set the record straight in regards to the fake news that surrounds the U-2 incident and tarnished his father's reputation. It gives an overview of what it was like to grow up in the shadow of a famous Cold War figure, his search for the truth after his father's 1977 death in a helicopter when he was 12 years old, and how his research led to the USAF and CIA posthumously awarding his father the POW Medal/Director's Medal and Silver Star in 2000 and 2012 respectively. During the talk, Powers discusses the Cold War, U-2 Incident and what it was like to be a consultant on Spielberg's 2015 Cold War thriller, "Bridge of Spies", that depicts his father's shootdown and eventual exchange for Soviet spy Rudolph Able in 1962 at the Glienicker Bridge in Potsdam, Germany.

Images: Francis Gary Powers (right) with U-2 designer Kelly Johnson, 1966 (Lockheed Company photo); Wreckage of Lockheed U-2 (Armed Forces Museum, Moscow, Russia).

Our last lecture for the 2026 season is next week on 8/26: Jeanie Langford will give a lecture titled "The Phoenix: Hopewell Virginia, the City that Refuses to Quit."

08/11/2026

Jerry Netherland and Bruce Alford will be giving this week's Lunch & Learn Lecture tomorrow, August 12th! Come to the American Legion Post 146 from 12-1 PM to listen to their FREE lecture: "The M1 Garand Rifle: The Story of the Rifle that Won WWII and Those Who Produced It." Enjoy a lunch from the American Legion or pack your own. Drinks and desserts are provided!

Overview: Jerry Netherland, president of the Chesterfield Historical Society, and Bruce Alford, will present an interesting program on the history and origins of the M1 Garand rifle, the rifle that won World War II. The semi-automatic M1 30 cal. rifle was formally adopted by the U.S. Army on January 9, 1936, after years spent in development. We'll learn about the inventor, John C. Garand, and the team that produced it, including the WOWs, Women Ordnance Workers, that made up 43% of the workforce at Springfield Armory at the height of production. The M1 Garand was robust enough to take the rigors of War, serving our military for over three decades. The presentation will feature the rifles along with captivating photos of the Springfield Armory and the Wi******er Repeating Arms factory as they produced over 4 million of them during World War II.

Images: John Garand (left) points out features of the M1 Garand rifle to senior Army officials: Major General Charles M. Wesson (center), Brigadier General Gilbert H. Stewart (right) (Library of Congres, 1944).

Next week on 8/19: Francis Gary Powers, Jr. will give a lecture titled "Spy Pilot: Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and the Controversial Cold War Legacy."

08/10/2026

Our Summer Sale continues!! Stop by the All Manor Of Things Boutique this week, August 10th through the 15th, for special deals and help us create room for our new fall merchandise!

08/10/2026

08/06/2026

There are still 3 days left of the All Manor Of Things Boutique's Summer Sale! Select items at 50% off with some items up to 70% off! Sale ends on Saturday, August 8th.

08/05/2026

Sandi Rhoten, Joan Larsen, and Mary Allen Clark will be giving this week's Lunch & Learn Lecture on TODAY, August 5th! Come to the American Legion Post 146 from 12-1 PM to listen to their FREE lecture: "Red Cross SRAO (Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas), "Donut Dollies" 1969-1970 VN." Enjoy a lunch from the American Legion or pack your own. Drinks and desserts are provided!

Overview: Brief history of SRAO. A perspective from Center daily operations Tuy Hoa (AF), Cam Ranh (Army + AF), Qui Nhon (Army), and Clubmobile Chu Lai and Pleiku, Vietnam.

Images: Da Nang, Vietnam (1970), Donut Dollies; 1971, Camp Eagle, South Vietnam, visiting 101st Airborne (photo by John Hendrickson, American Red Cross); Tuy Hoa, Vietnam (1969).

Next week on 8/12: Jerry Netherland and Bruce Alford will give a lecture titled "The M1 Garand Rifle: The Story of the Rifle that Won WWII and Those Who Produced It."

08/02/2026

We have lots of exciting things going on! We hope to see you this week! ☀️