Truckin' on the Western Branch

The Churchland/West Norfolk/Western Branch/Bowers Hill area has a connection to notables in the arts, sports and education?

Jimmy Anderson —Western Branch High graduate and retired MLB pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Florida Marlins).

V. C. Andrews —novelist, perhaps best known for Flowers in the Attic .

Josh Baker —Western Branch High graduate and NFL player (New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers).

Dick Balderson —retired Atlanta Braves scout and special assistant to the manager. He was a standout pitcher at Churchland High and the University of Richmond and Double-A pitcher in the Kansas City organization.

Fred W. Beazley —Portsmouth entrepreneur and philanthropist. The Beazley Foundation, Inc., established in 1948, was funded by Fred and Marie Beazley and their son, Fred W. Beazley, Jr. Beazley Sr. was also responsible for the establishment of Frederick Military Academy as well as Frederick College that was, in 1968, given to the Commonwealth of Virginia to become Tidewater Community College.

Dre Bly —Western Branch High graduate, All-American and retired NFL player (St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers).

Jamin Elliot —Churchland High 1997 graduate and wide receiver in NFL Europe as well as with the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, and Atlanta Falcons.

Missy Elliott— singer, attended Churchland Middle School in the ’80s and spent time with family members in Twin Pines as a child.

Perry Ellis —fashion designer, lived on Dogwood Trail in the Pinecroft section of Portsmouth when he was growing up.

David Carr Glover —composer and developer of the David Carr Glover method of piano instruction. He owned the Glover School of Music in Portsmouth and lived in Churchland.

Ryan Glynn —Churchland High 1992 graduate and retired MLB pitcher (Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics).

Wendy C. Haley —romance/suspense writer who set several books in local venues. Her third book,

Dead Heat, is a suspense story of arson and murder set in Western Branch and Churchland.

Porter Hardy Jr .—U.S. Congressman from Virginia.

The Rev. V. Carney Hargroves— president of the Baptist World Alliance and the American Baptist Convention.

Nathaniel Howell —1957 Churchland High graduate, University of Virginia professor and U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait in 1990 when Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait and held the embassy in siege for more than three months.

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