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 5-7-08  FBI NEEDS YOUR HELP CATCHING THIS BANK ROBBER....

Yesterday, May 6, a white male subject pictured below entered the Whitetop Branch of Grayson National Bank in Grayson County, Virginia armed with a handgun and held the tellers in the rear of the bank and left with an undisclosed amount of money.

Description: White male, approx. 60 years of age, 6'0, 180lbs, wrinkled face, gray mustache and beard, wearing brown jacket with plaid blue shirt under and blue jeans, sunglasses and baseball cap with gold emblem.

Anyone with any information should contact Grayson County Sheriff's Department at 276-773-3241

Also pictured below is the Toyota 4 Runner used in the robbery.

POSTED 4-6-08  1988 CLASS REUNION

Posted 4-6-08

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, The Treasury in the old courthouse in Independence 276-773-3711,  and at the Back Porch Gallery in Fries 276-744-7642.  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 THE BACK PORCH GALLERY IN FRIES,  AT  CHAPTER'S BOOK SHOP IN GALAX,   AND ALSO BY MAIL ORDER FROM THE BACK PORCH GALLERY.  CALL THE BACK PORCH GALLERY AT 276-744-7642 OR EMAIL MARIE AT  willowhaus@yahoo.com  THE MAIL ORDER PRICE IS $17.70  WHICH INCLUDES TAX AND SHIPPING.  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://groups.msn.com/FRIESTOWNMARKET/shoebox.msnw?Page=1  

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!