Posted 8-10-10

A Fries High School alumni, Joyce Moore Anders, has donated a new Wildcat jacket to the F.H.S. Website Scholarship Fund. This jacket has never been worn and still has the tags on it. We are selling raffle tickets for $1 each and will draw the winner at the Festival By The River on September 18. You DO NOT have to be present to win. The jacket is a size Medium. You may buy your tickets by mail (Temple Davis, 3059 Pipers Gap Rd., Galax, VA 24333) and include your contact information, or in person from Temple, Don (540-342-7020), Linda and David Reeves. Tickets will also be for sale the day of the festival. The Jacket will also be on display at the festival. Support the F.H.S. Website Scholarship and win this beautiful Wildcat jacket. Many thanks to Joyce for donating the jacket to the Scholarship Fund.

Posted 7-28-10

2011 FIREWORKS FUND

A fund has been set up at BB&T in Fries for donations for fireworks next year. Send your donation to Town of Fries, P. O. Box 452, Fries, VA 24330, and be sure to mark your check "Fireworks".

FRIES YOUTH BASH 2010 VIDEO:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhSJZtLHP_w&feature=channel

Posted 5-15-10

Marquita Pickett was the recipient of this year's $1000 F.H.S. Website Scholarship.  Marquita is the daughter of Clark and Tina Pickett of Fries.  She is the granddaughter of Raymond (Roonie) Davis & Joyce Davis, Bonnie Bircham,  Mary Pickett & the late E. C. Pickett.  Marquita plans to attend Emory & Henry College. Congratulations Marquita! We are proud of you and wish you the best.

Posted 3-12-10

The Fries Middle School is still taking orders for full color tapestry throws. The size is 50 in. x 70 in. The cost is $45.00. You may pay in full now or at least $25.00 deposit is required.
Just mail your name, address, phone number, and payment to

Fries Middle School PTO
P.O. Box 446
Fries, VA 24330

If you live near Fries be sure to include your phone number so we may contact you when the throws arrive for pickup.

We can mail the throw to you if you are not able to pick it up. The cost is $8.00. This is priority mail with insurance. You will need to pay in full for the throw including the shipping cost.

For more information you may call Joy Jones 276-233-7588 or email rjjj2bj@hughes.net

Thank you for supporting our school and our kids!!!!

Posted 7/24/09

BEAUTIFUL HOME FOR SALE IN FRIES

This beautiful house has 1449 sq. ft. on the main floor, 1809 sq. ft. finished in the basement. Main floor has living room, den, dining area, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 1½ baths, utility room, garage, back deck. Basement is finished with bathroom, 2 bedrooms, large living area, and 2 walk-in closets. There is also a 16'x32' in-ground pool. There is a storage building and fenced dog lot on the property, and also there are two more buildings (each with garage doors). For more information call Dawn Patton at: 276-744-2192

Posted 5-13-09

The recipient of the 3rd F.H.S. Website Scholarship is Samantha Lewis, daughter of David and Mary Lewis. Samantha will be attending Wytheville Community College. My congratulations to Samantha and I wish her the best in furthering her education. And again I thank all of you who helped make this possible. Samantha is pictured with her mother.

Posted 1-7-09

F.H.S. WEBSITE - EVERYONE PLEASE READ

First of all, I want to thank all of you for visiting the F.H.S. Website and for reading the message board and for participating. We appreciate all of you. The number of visitors this past year has been incredible. Let's make 2009 another record-breaking year for the F.H.S. Website.

We really don't like having rules, but have found that a few are necessary in order to keep the board running smoothly, and to insure that everyone feels comfortable visiting the message board. So here are just a few things that we want to remind everyone.

PICTURES: We are so grateful for all of the pictures you are providing us to share with everyone, and we are always looking for more. As you know, we post several each day, and it doesn't take long to go through a barrel load of pictures. So please look around and see if you have pictures to share. We will appreciate it so much and you will be making a lot of people happy. These pictures are one of the most popular aspects of the website.

When you send us pictures in an email, we ask that you don't compress them after you scan and crop them. We need them in the highest resolution possible so they are large enough to post. When you scan the picture, be sure to crop it from the scanned page rather than sending the entire scan page. Once you have cropped them, save the picture as a .jpg file. If you don't have a scanner, you can mail them to either me or Don and we will return them promptly. If you live in the Fries/Galax area, email me and I will make arrangements to get them.

Some people have asked us why we don't post pictures of certain class years or age groups. The answer is that if they aren't posted it's because no one has shared those pictures with us. So if you have pictures be sure to share them with us. We would love to post your pictures.

We ask that you send all pictures to be posted to us. And, if you have a website link or video link that you want to post, send it to us also. We do this to prevent inappropriate photos and links from being posted on the board. Once in a while the board does get spammed, usually at a time when it's not being monitored. If you see a new thread and it looks like a suspicious name and subject, just don't click on it. As soon as either Don or I see it, it will be removed. Also, we regularly post videos such as the YouTube videos. When you view a video, there will be related videos on the YouTube page that you can watch if you so choose. However, we are not responsible for the content of any video you decide to watch other than the link we have posted. Also if the video is on a web page, and you decide to navigate to another area of the web page, we are not responsible for it's content. We will never post an inappropriate video on the F.H.S. website, so you can be comfortable watching the links we post.

BIRTHDAYS: There will be a Happy Birthday thread posted daily. If I don't have your birthday listed, be sure to send it to me so you can be included. But please don't start a separate thread or post it early. Either post on the day's birthday thread for the day or send it to me and I will add it. The reason for this is that every time a new thread is added to the board, an older thread is bumped, so this way we can keep as many threads as possible on the page for everyone to read. Birthday threads are removed after 5 days. We enjoy being able to post birthday wishes, so be sure to send your birth date to me to be included.

POSTING TO THE BOARD: I continue to ask that you post both your first and last name, and that the ladies please include your maiden name since a lot of people won't know you by your married name. Please remember when you post that 300-400 people are reading what you post, and we have a variety of visitors and do not want any of them offended. Offensive language not caught by our "bad word filter" will be removed. Also, any inappropriate "anonymous" post will be deleted and that person will be warned and possibly banned at our discretion. In case of a death, please be sure all the family has been notified before posting. If posting a prayer request, make sure it is ok with the person to post the nature of their illness. As with a death or illness, be sure the family knows of an accident before posting, and please do not post graphic details.

COMPLAINTS: If you have a complaint about the website, rather than posting it on the message board, please send it to either of us via email. Both of our email addresses are listed at the bottom of the home page. If you started a new thread and see that it has been deleted, please do not post that it has been deleted....look down the board and you will see that it has been added to another thread on the same subject.   We do this to keep as many threads as possible on the board and any new thread bumps an older one off the board. Again, email your complaints to us rather than posting them on the board. You will receive a prompt reply to your email.

Remember, we are all here to have fun, inform, and be informed. Let's work together to make 2009 the best one yet for the FRIES HIGH SCHOOL WEBSITE!
 

Posted 12-17-08

BOOKS BY FRIES AUTHORS STILL AVAILABLE

THE FOLLOWING BOOKS BY FRIES AUTHORS ARE STILL AVAILABLE

FOY'S WORLD by Wade Gilley is available at: http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/BookStoreSearchResults.aspx?SearchType=smpl&SearchTerm=Foy's+World

MEMORIES OF MY UNCLES - FRIES, VIRGINIA  by Joel Vaughan is available at Chapters Bookshop, 103 Grayson Street (corner of Grayson and Main Sts.) in Galax, 276-236-9703.

FRIES A-Z by students of Fries Middle School: Call Kathy Jackson 276-744-7201 or Melinda Vaughan 276-773-3038
 

Posted 11-24-08 

NEW BOOK "FOY'S WORLD" BY WADE GILLEY NOW AVAILABLE AT  http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/BookHome.aspx FOR $8.70.  It will be also be available in local book stores.

Granny Sophie had pulled Foy out of bed early that morning. He hurried to get dressed and ready to go to the courthouse because his granny wanted to see the trial of Rob Goins and was determined to get there first. They ate a breakfast of fatback and gravy and biscuits, and before the sun came up, they were on the front porch waiting for Jitney to come pick them up.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE BOOK, THE AUTHOR, AND A SNEAK PREVIEW OF THE BOOK!
 

Posted 8-19-08

Posted June 26, 2008

An account has now been set up at BB&T Bank in Fries for the Rec Center Swimming Pool Fund. You can make your donation there in person or mail it to them at P. O. Box 441, Fries, VA 24330.  Make your check payable to the Fries Rec Center Swimming Pool Fund.
 

Posted 5-9-08 

On May 8,  we were pleased to present the second F.H.S. Web Site Scholarship in the amount of $1000 to Keri Elizabeth Sawyers, daughter of Darlene and Larry Sawyers of Fries.  Keri will be attending Radford University this fall. She attended Fries Middle School. Thanks to everyone who made a donation and worked to make this scholarship possible. Keri and her parents were most appreciative.

Posted 2-16-08  SATURDAY...MY DAY TO WEAR THE UNDERWEAR BY AL JENNINGS

SATURDAY...MY  DAY TO WEAR THE UNDERWEAR BY AL JENNINGS  is now available at Chapters Bookshop, 103 Grayson Street (corner of Grayson and Main Sts.) in Galax 276-236-9703,  and The Treasury in the old courthouse in Independence 276-773-3711.  Mail orders available.

Posted 2-8-08

COMMUNITY WEB SITE...BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER SINCE 2004 BY BEN BOMBERGER

It’s one of those things everyone says before they leave school — “We’ll stay in touch.”
But as the days, weeks and months turn into years, friends from high school slowly drift away.
Click Here to read the entire article about the Fries High School Website.

Posted 2-5-08
HISTORICAL DVD'S FOR SALE

Bill Davis is selling historical DVD's of mill footage recorded in the 80's before the mill closed. They are available at the Back Porch Gallery and at Fries Town Hall. The DVD's are $50, and all proceeds will be used to refurbish the old tennis courts.

Posted 1-14-08

 THIS BOOK IS A MUST READ!!  SIGNED BOOKS ARE  AVAILABLE AT THE BACK PORCH GALLERY IN FRIES.  FOR MAIL ORDERS CALL 276-744-7642. THEY WILL BE GLAD TO MAIL YOUR ORDER.

** MAILING ADDRESS FOR THE F.H.S. WEBSITE SCHOLARSHIP FUND **

TEMPLE DAVIS, 3059 PIPERS GAP ROAD, GALAX, VA 24333

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: F.H.S. WEBSITE SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Posted 11-7-07  FORMER FRIES TEACHER AVERY BOND A LIVING HISTORY LESSON
 

CBond is seen here showing children what the cotton looked like during the processing of turning it into cloth.

Living history lesson
Students put together Fries history book, with help from former teacher Avery Bond

By BEN BOMBERGER
Staff

FRIES — Sixth grade students at Fries Middle School are putting together a book on the history of the town.
In October, students had the opportunity to interview Avery Bond, who taught at the school for 40 years, between 1947 and 1987.
Questions ranged from previous jobs Bond had to her earliest memories of Fries.
Bond gave the students a history of how Fries came to be.

The story began with J.P. Carico taking some horses down Route 89 to Dobson, N.C., for a horse sale.
While there, Carico was introduced to Col. Francis Henry Fries.
Col. Fries was looking for a place to start a new business turning cotton into cloth.
Carico told the colonel about a place with a waterfall on the New River, and the two rode their horses to what would become the Town of Fries.
At the time, very few families lived in the area.
Fries bought some land and got a charter from the government, giving him permission to build a new settlement.
The first thing he had built was a railroad system into the area. The railroad was imperative to bring in cotton from further south.
Fries then had the mill and dam built.
Bond said the mill was built out of clay dug up along the river and baked in a kiln.
“There were no roads coming into Fries,” Bond said. “So they had to use mules to bring in timber and other materials, and you can imagine how hard of a trip that was.”
Around 1900, crews were brought in from everywhere to help construct the mill and houses.
Once the mill was finished, families began to move into the area to work there. “Some were as young as nine years old,” Bond said of the mill workers.

Along with the mill, people brought businesses, such as the Mick Or Mack Store.
Bond said the store sold a little bit of everything, including food, breads, cake, meat, furniture and even the newly invented cosmetics.
“I modeled cosmetics,” Bond told the students. “I was offered free products to model.”
When asked how Fries was when she was a child, Bond said the town “was a good place for children to grow up. Main Street was nothing but a dirt road then.”
She remembers when workers dug out the road to pour cement for the first hardtop surface.

“We swung on grapevines, played ball, went to movies. That’s when it was a nickel to buy a bag of popcorn or soda,” she laughed. “We just played like children do today.”
She noted that while they didn’t have bicycles like children today, kids went skating at the rink in the recreation center, and then later on down by the river on a cement rink.

Bond also remembered the boarding houses of Fries. She said the Smith family owned the one on the left and the one on the right was owned by many different people.
“They were built to start with for people coming in on trains,” she said.
Speaking of the trains, Bond told the students of her first experience riding the rails.
“I was with my grandpa and we were going to Allisonia to visit my cousin,” she said. “There was a tunnel coming up on the track and I had never seen a tunnel.”
Her grandfather told her not to be afraid.
The trip from Fries to Allisonia took six to eight hours back then.
Bond said her best memory was going to the Fourth of July celebration at the ball park and attending the carnival. “It was the first time I had ever seen an elephant.”

While the school has changed tremendously since Bond last taught there 20 years ago, she said it still felt like home.
“The methods of teaching and learning are different, but it all boils down to the same thing. Learning is learning regardless,” Bond said.
She remembered several of the students’ grandparents and had many of them in her classroom.
One student did not even get her grandfather’s full name out before Bond finished her statement for her and recalled the man.

Bond said she could remember walking down Main Street to go to work everyday, because most people did not have cars back then. Even as a child, she remembered her grandfather having to carry her to school one winter day because the snow was deeper than her legs.
“They didn’t cancel school back then, because there were no buses to run,” Bond told the shocked students.
As for the worst storm Bond remembers, “it would have to be the flood of 1941.”
She said it rained almost everyday during the month of August and water in the river flooded and came over the dam. She remembers seeing chicken pens coming over the dam and water filling up the basements of the stores.

Bond provided a wonderful history to the children of Fries, but more information is still needed to put together a book.
The hope is for the book to get published, so teachers can use it in the classroom.

• Anyone who wants to provide information or pictures regarding the history of Fries can contact the school at (276) 744-0479.

Posted 9-16-07

Gail Frazier Anders was the lucky winner of the three DVD set of 1988 Fries High School Football games.  Congratulations Gail.  I'm sure you and Terry will enjoy these games.  Thanks to all who bought raffle tickets, made donations, or helped in any way to make this F.H.S. Website Scholarship fundraising project a huge success.

Posted 8-20-07

Posted 5-19-07  F.H.S. WEB SITE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED:

On May 16 we were pleased to present the first F.H.S. Web Site Scholarship in the amount of $1000 to Margo Williams, daughter of Anita and Larry Williams of Fries. Margo plans to attend Wytheville Community College this fall. She completed the 8th grade at Fries Middle School. Thanks to everyone who made a donation to the scholarship fund. Margo and her parents were most appreciative.

"NOW AVAILABLE" ....NEW BOOK BY JOEL VAUGHAN

CLICK HERE TO READ SAMPLE PAGES OF JOEL VAUGHAN'S NEW BOOK "MEMORIES OF MY UNCLES - IN FRIES, VIRGINIA".  THE BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE AT  CHAPTER'S BOOK SHOP IN GALAX, VA.   A PORTION OF THE AUTHOR'S PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO THE FRIES HIGH SCHOOL WEB SITE SCHOLARSHIP FUND.   I HAVE READ THE BOOK AND CAN ASSURE YOU IT IS VERY INTERESTING.   WHEN I STARTED READING IT, I PLANNED TO ONLY READ A FEW PAGES THAT NIGHT, BUT ENDED UP READING THE ENTIRE BOOK BEFORE I PUT IT DOWN!  IT IS NON-FICTION AND IS VERY WELL WRITTEN.  I CONGRATULATE JOEL ON A GREAT BOOK.
 

Posted 3-19-07  FRIES NATIVE IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Randy Johnson is a F.H.S. graduate. He lives in Danville with his wife and children. A few years ago he started an organization called "God's Pit Crew". He and his crew go where there have been disasters and take supplies and help rebuild. You can see pictures and find out more about his work at this link:  http://www.godspitcrew.com.

Posted 11-8-06
F. H. S. WEB SITE SCHOLARSHIP:

We have set up a F.H.S. Web Site Scholarship. Since the people on the F.H.S. web site message board were so instrumental last year in generating funds for the sports convention scholarship fund, we have decided to create and award our own scholarship from the F.H.S. web site. The F.H.S. Web Site Scholarship will be awarded to a Grayson County High School graduate who came from Fries Middle School. The recipient will be selected by Grayson County High School. It will be an academic scholarship so no one will have to play sports to be eligible.  If you contribute and want to remain anonymous to others, that will be fine.  Last year the board raised either $1700 or $1800 that was donated to the Wildcats Sports Convention Scholarship Fund. This F.H.S. web site scholarship is entirely separate from the Sport Convention's scholarship. Roger Bond has started some fun trivia games, challenges, etc. on the message board to start the ball rolling toward this scholarship fund. We can have a lot of fun on the board while helping to make it possible for some kid from Fries to continue his or her education.  100% of all money donated will go into the scholarship fund.  If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for raising money for this worthwhile project, please let me know.  Donations can be sent to: Temple Davis, 3059 Pipers Gap Rd., Galax, VA 24333.  Make your check payable to: F. H. S. Web Site Scholarship.  Thanks.

Temple

FRIES TOWN MARKET  (posted 10-25-06)

THIS IS A NEW FEATURE OF THE WEB SITE. THIS LINK IS ALSO ON THE LINKS PAGE AND WILL REMAIN THERE

http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s255/DWBond/FRIESTOWNMARKET/

We now have a place on the web site where alumni can submit things for sale, such as real estate, automobiles, etc.  Rules for submitting an item for sale are as follows:

 1. All information must be sent to either Temple (temple1943@comcast.net) or Don  (beckett43@hotmail.com) for posting.
 2. A full description of the property/item.
 3. All information is subject to editing.
 4. Price.
 5. A contact name, address, (or email address) and telephone number.
 6. The information will be kept on the web site for a reasonable time or until you notify us that the property/item has been sold.
 7. We ask that you let us know promptly when your item or property is sold so that we can delete it.
 8. We reserve the right to deny posting of anything we do not feel appropriate for sale on the web site.
 9. This service is provided by the F.H.S. web site as a courtesy to all alumni.  All dealings concerning money will be between the potential buyer and the seller.  Do not ask us to be involved with handling of money in any way. 

Also, as an added feature, if you are looking for an item or for property in Fries, you can send us a description of what you are interested in, and we will post it, and hopefully someone might have what you are looking for or can put you in touch with someone.

Posted 10-24-06

POSTED MAY 28, 2006

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON WADE GILLEY'S NEW BOOK "BLACKIE'S ADVENTURES". 

posted 9-14-05

Wade Gilley is planning a book of Blue Ridge Mountain/Fries stories....any kind of story. Happy stories, sad stories, bad stories, good stories.....anything. If folks could email him the jest of a story he will get more details from you as he develops the book. He would like to see what the FHS crowd might think of or know about. Send your stories to: jwgilley@yahoo.com I'm sure a lot of you have very interesting stories about  Fries and the surrounding area that others would love to hear about. Thanks.

Fries High School Graduate Writes Two Books:
Posted: 8/14/04

Title: Before Sister….in Hilltown
Author: Wade Gilley
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Web Page: http://www.Trafford.com

Know of more Fries High School news that is not listed on this page?  Then let the webmaster know!