Fall brings new students to UMW – THANKFULLY, some of them never leave!
Recently I remembered the story of Fredericksburg in the early 1980’s. The Spotsylvania Mall had just opened and downtown was so empty that the Mary Wash students called it “Dead Fred.”
There were tough economic times with double-digit unemployment. Several Mary Wash students – and a compassionate professor and his wife significantly changed that. Dr. Sam Emory, a Professor of Geography – referred to by students as “Sammy T” – was approached by several of his senior students with a business proposal. Could Dr. Emory and his wife, Sibby, allow several students to open a restaurant in a building they owned in downtown Fredericksburg?
Thus, Sammy T’s was born. There was great food, actual vegetarian choices (progressive for that time), and many varieties of beer. It did not hurt that at age 18 students could consume wine and beer in Virginia.
Sammy T’s became a great place for the students to take a break from campus. I think a case can be made – this was a foundational restaurant carved a path to the thriving downtown we all love so much today.
Hang in with me a little longer…this story made me think of THE MANY Mary Wash Alumni that continue to make a major impact on the business landscape in Fredericksburg. Below is the list a few folks helped make.
CAN you help name other business owners who stayed and run businesses in their college town? Their own, by staying here, and putting down roots? These students love this town so much as to make a major investment in its future.
Jabberwocky Children’s Books and Toys
Betsy Sale Garden Works & Design
I know there are more out there. Help build this list. Email [email protected].
At the UMW “Welcome Back” party at Riverfront Park on Saturday, Councilor Jannan Holmes explained the City and UMW are inextricably linked. Three members of the current City Council are graduates Mayor Devine, Councilors Holmes and Duffy – and Councilor Will McIntosh is a Professor of History.
“They are both special places in large party because of the other,” Jannan Holmes, Class of 1989.