My Forever Valentine

Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love and affection, and for me, that means celebrating my wife, Blair. I first met Blair at a party back in the fall of 2006. I was living the full life of a 19-year-old: taking classes at DCC, working at Davis Storage downtown in warehouses that are now... Read More

Confessions of a 30 Something

February 10, 2023

City Notes: In the Beginning…

I may know what you’re thinking. At least I think I do. As a couple just visiting Danville, VA, what does this title mean, and what does it have to do with you? Am I assuming you are Civil War buffs? Absolutely not. Do I think you’re looking for a place that has a lot... Read More

City Notes, Local

February 8, 2023

Effort, Discipline, Faith, and Positive Choices

Most people know him as “Peanut.” “I had the nickname before a real name,” George Perdue said. After being born in Germany, he has lived in Danville for the last fifty years. Perdue retired from Lowes after thirty years of service. Recently, he married his best friend, Jessi, on Bridge Street in Danville. “We love... Read More

Entrepreneurship, Local

February 3, 2023

Never a Dull Moment

Jessica South Perdue was born in New York and lived in Pennsylvania and West Virginia before settling in Danville after he mother took a job with Corning Glass. You’ve probably seen her artwork around Danville without even knowing it. She has been a tattoo artist for 25 years. Along with her husband, “Peanut,” a fellow... Read More

Arts + Music, Entrepreneurship, Local

January 19, 2023

Is It Real?

Of course, if you were visiting Scotland, your list of places to see would resemble mine if it included visiting Loch Ness. If so, you might hope to see one of the Loch’s monsters for yourself. Also, you might think that just visiting the mysterious Loch would be a treat. At least it was for... Read More

Essays, Uncategorized

January 6, 2023

City Notes: A Reunion?

City Notes is a multi-issue series about revitalization in the area told through the words of Barry Koplen. Would history repeat itself? That thought hadn’t occurred to me until David, a construction supervisor friend of mine, told me to look at the gray building across Craghead Street and down the street from the one his... Read More

City Notes

January 4, 2023

A Healthy and Happy New Year

As a new year begins, I thought it would be a good time to do a status check on where I am health-wise and where I’d like to go in the year ahead. Those who’ve read this column over the last several years know that from time to time I have mentioned wanting to eat... Read More

Confessions of a 30 Something

January 4, 2023

Storytelling Keeps Life History Alive

The Danville Storytelling Festival (DSF) is celebrating 21 years of spreading the words from local and regional storytellers. The festival grew from a vision of Dr. Fred Motley. Originally, it started as a one-day event to celebrate Black History Month. “I wanted to preserve and incorporate the city’s African American presence and contributions into the... Read More

Arts + Music, Local, Uncategorized

December 15, 2022

The History of the Harry Johnson Holiday Classic

For 33 consecutive seasons, George Washington High School hosted a boys’ basketball tournament over the Christmas holidays. The Danville Register and Bee Holiday Shootout began in 1983 in the George Washington gymnasium and continued uninterrupted through 2015. Because of its popularity and continual sellouts, the tournament was moved to the Grant Center at Averett... Read More

Local, Sports

December 13, 2022

Harry Johnson (1938-2020)

Coach Harry Johnson is a native of Danville, Virginia, where he has spent most of his life. He is a product of the Danville Public School system and received a B.S. degree from Virginia State University and a Masters Degree from the University of Virginia. Before beginning his career in education, Harry played professional... Read More

Local