Patrick County Historical Society & Museum will host a talk by local author Beverly Belcher Woody at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, at the museum in Stuart. Woody writes a popular weekly column on local history and genealogy in the Enterprise in Stuart, and last summer, she published her first book based on those columns. It was a “best seller” locally, and she continues to write and work on “Part Two,” which will follow “Patrick County Pioneers: Part One.”
Woody was born and raised in the Big A community of Patrick County. She grew up with a passion for history, conducting her first interview with someone when she was only ten years old. Upon graduation from Patrick County High School, Woody spent the next seventeen years working in local textile mills. When the factories closed, she earned an associate’s degree in paralegal studies from Patrick Henry Community College and worked for local district and circuit courts as a deputy clerk for the next fifteen years.
While working full-time for the court system, Woody earned her bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University, took master’s courses from Averett and Liberty University, and completed her master’s in education at Regent University. Thus, at the age of 50, she made a dramatic career change, leaving the court system to become a teacher. Now, Woody teaches United States History to sixth graders at Martinsville Middle School and continues writing her local history column, “Patrick Pioneers,” for Patrick
County’s oldest newspaper, The Enterprise.
In addition to her research and writing, Woody serves as Regent of the Patrick Henry National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and is on the Board of Directors of both the Patrick County Historical Society & Museum and the Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Museum. She was named
“Teacher of the Year” in 2023 by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
Beverly and her husband Mark live in the Snow Creek section of Franklin County, Virginia.
The program featuring Woody is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will follow her talk. Books should also be available for anyone who would like one.
Call the museum at (276) 694-2840 or email pcvahistory@gmail.com for more information.
