Bedford Museum Receives $4,200 Grant

The Bedford Museum and Genealogical Library recently received a $4,200 grant from The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation for a security system to include video camera surveillance and recording system. The museum was founded in 1932 and has been collecting, preserving, and protecting artifacts and documents since that time. The museum currently has approximately 6,000 visitors per year who come from all over the world to research their Bedford heritage and enjoy the interesting history of Bedford.

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Jane Barringer Bowen Educational Fund Established

The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of a new educational fund honoring the memory of a former E. C. Glass High School teacher. The Jane Barringer Bowen Educational Fund will provide an annual scholarship for an E. C. Glass High School college-bound senior for study in the Theater Arts or English.

Jane Barringer Bowen, or “Miss Barringer” as she was known by most of her students, taught in the English department at E.C. Glass from 1957 to 1963. According to former students of hers, “She was that special kind of challenging and exciting teacher who inspired excellence and changed lives.” Her students, friends, and family are establishing this fund as a perpetual memorial to her to benefit future E.C Glass students.

Julia Jane Barringer Bowen, 79, of Lynchburg, died on May 20, 2009. The wife of Brian Bowen for nearly 47 years, she is survived by three children and their families. She was born in Norwood, North Carolina and graduated from Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater. She later did graduate studies for her master’s degree at UNC, Chapel Hill.

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William E. Betts, Jr. Family Fund Established At The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation

Family and friends have established a $30,000 endowment fund at The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation to support education in Central Virginia in memory of William E. (Ping) Betts, Jr. who died on December 29, 2009 at age 98. Mr. Betts was a successful businessman and community leader in Lynchburg.

A native of Richmond, Mr. Betts attended Virginia Tech, lettered in varsity football, and graduated first in his Architectural Engineering Class of 1932. After earning his M.S. degree in Structural Engineering at Virginia Tech in 1933, Mr. Betts became a Registered Architect in 1934. In 1938 in Lynchburg, he and his friend, A.P. Montague, Jr., founded Montague-Betts Company, a structural steel fabricator of a number of major construction projects including New York’s World Trade Center. Mr. Betts became Chairman of the company in 1956 following the death of Mr. Montague.

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Community Foundation Holds Statewide Meeting

The Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation hosted a one-day meeting of community foundations from around the state at City View on the 20th floor of the Bank of the James building in Downtown Lynchburg last week. The Community Foundations of Virginia is a statewide association of 37 community foundations located in cities and regions across Virginia. The meeting was attended by 70 staff and board members. This is the first time the association has met in Lynchburg since 1999.

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