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History Keeper

When Dr. Charles F. Bryan , Jr. announced his plans to step down after leading the Virginia Historical Society (VHS) for two decades, the VHS Board of Trustees launched an exhaustive nationwide search for his successor.



After nine months, the Board reached into its own staff and its own backyard and plucked its new chief from Henrico County -- a county that is also the home of Bryan.



The new CEO, Dr. Paul A. Levengood , joined VHS in 2000 and served as managing editor of the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography and program coordinator of the Reynolds Business History Center. 



"We are blessed with an exceptional staff," Bryan said, "and from the day he joined us eight years ago, Paul stood out as someone who had great leadership potential."



While it might appear that Henrico County is a breeding ground for leading historians, Levengood is actually a native of the Philadelphia area. He attributes his interest in history to a youth lived in a colonial-era house near the historic city, and extensive childhood travels with his international banker father.



The oldest section of his family's home in Philadelphia dated to the 1750s, said Levengood, and the previous owners gave the family a history of the building when they moved in. In the yard were two massive copper beech trees, which the Levengoods were told may have been growing when William Penn founded the colony. Then about six years old, Levengood can still recall marveling at the carved initials encircling the trunk, some with dates a century and a half old.



By the time he got to high school, Levengood was well on his way to pursuing a career in his chosen field; encountering an outstanding history teacher only cemented his plans.



"He delighted in shattering your preconceptions," said Levengood of his teacher, "and in baiting you intellectually. He would assign a reading just so he could tear it apart."



The Record of Our Lives

After obtaining an undergraduate degree from Davidson College and graduate degrees from Rice University, Levengood now finds himself in the position of educating others about history. A tireless promoter of the maxim that Virginia history is more than just "dead presidents and Civil War generals," he claims that the VHS is valuable not simply for examining the past from all perspectives, but for providing perspective on how the past can be used.



The VHS staff has gone to great lengths, in galleries and on the web, to develop exhibits that highlight recent history in addition to earlier eras. Levengood said that many grandparents and parents visit 20th-century exhibits at the museum as part of compiling a family history, or to give their offspring a taste of "what it was like." The VHS documentary "Witness to a Century" (soon to be broadcast on WCVE) portrays centenarians discussing such concepts as "wash day" in eye-opening detail.



By using personal stories to connect museum-goers to the major events of the last century -- from the world wars and civil rights movement to dramatic transformations in communication -- VHS illustrates the societal change that paralleled political and technological change.



Contrast the grandfather born on a farm, for instance, with the grandson who moves around and lives far from his family of origin. And at the beginning of the 20th century, added Levengood, most people worked for themselves, while today almost everyone has experience working for large corporations.



In fact, he said, the business world has been the driver of much 20th-century change --which is one reason that the VHS collects business records. Payroll records may seem dry and dull, he said, but they can tell us much if examined creatively.



"Today we don't write letters, and most people don't keep diaries and journals. Government and businesses have the record of our lives," said Levengood.



"History is so rich. You're really doing a disservice if all you give [VHS visitors] is battles and generals and presidents and governors."



He also emphasized that VHS is not just for Richmonders, or even Virginians. "Whether your family is generations deep or you're a relative newcomer," said Levengood, "the story of Virginia that we present has meaning. It's the story of the United States -- of everybody."



History in the Making

Levengood and his wife, Kristin, have three children (Isabel, 10; Alexander, 7; and Sophie, 4) and live in Short Pump. Moving here from Chapel Hill, N.C. in 2000, they settled in Henrico based on the reputation of its schools.



While development in western Henrico is viewed critically by many residents, Levengood sees the growth as a bonus. His family can remember when commercial development stopped at Innsbrook, and the site of Short Pump Town Center was all woods. Yes, watching small-town Short Pump disappear was sad, he said, but it's also history -- and he and his family got to witness it first-hand.



"It's important to remember that history is always unfolding before our eyes," Levengood said. "It's not just something that happens to previous generations. We never know what's next to unfold -- the new ways people are going to do things."



If Levengood could change one thing about living in Henrico, however, it would be his commute.



"I miss public transportation. I would like to be able to take a train to work; in Philly I could walk to the train. That's something that really frustrates me."



Without more cooperation between localities, however, he doubts he will see mass transit soon. And he believes strongly that a regional identity is needed in order to achieve better regional cooperation. Too many Richmonders identify with their neighborhoods or counties rather than investing in the area as a whole.



"You're not just living in Chesterfield or Henrico; you're part of a region," he said. For that reason, Levengood was opposed to the recent change from Richmond to Henrico mailing addresses. "It's a psychological thing."



Cultural institutions such as the VHS, he maintains, can and should take the lead in building connections that help to foster regional identity. "We can do what governments can't," he said. "It's a role we can do better, and we need to be more visible."



Such passion and vision are among the characteristics that have helped Levengood stand out from the start, said Bryan.



"More than one [of my colleagues]," wrote Bryan in a recent letter to the VHS membership, "has told me that we would have trouble holding on to him and that some fortunate organization would snatch him away as its chief executive officer.

"I am pleased to say,"exulted Bryan, "that we were the ones to snatch him up."

For in-depth coverage of Henrico County, pick up a copy of Henrico's hometown newspaper -- the Henrico Citizen - at Ukrop's, Kroger, Wawa or any Henrico public library, or call (804) 262-1700 to subscribe.