POWHATAN, Va. — A bugle echoes inside Powhatan's Memorial and Cultural Arts Center — a building that once hosted prom and basketball games when Ruth Boatwright was in high school. Now, it's a place that honors the legacy of those who sacrificed so much.
Boatwright, 89, has spent decades working to make sure veterans in Powhatan County feel recognized.
Decades ago, she came up with the idea to host shows for veterans in the old high school as a way to reminisce.
"We had these people that came, they had gone to school with these people and they hadn't seen them since, but they came to these shows and it had just got to be the most heartwarming thing you've ever seen," Boatwright said.
Eventually, the building became a meeting place for veterans to hold roundtable discussions and special services and ceremonies — a place they could share their stories.
"Years ago, people were not that close to veterans. I've had veterans come into my office and just break down and cry because they had contained those stories in their lives and in their hearts all those years, and somebody was recognizing them," Boatwright said.
In 2014, she helped start a campaign to renovate the old auditorium into a war memorial. The county now uses the space each year to honor those who have served their country.
Bill Boelt, a county resident and veteran, said Boatwright also publishes pictures in the newspaper of every veteran she can think of who lives in Powhatan.
"She is a good friend of veterans, she really is," Boelt said.
"When she started that collection, I don't know, maybe 50 years, Powhatan's population was a whole lot smaller and lots of the people who've moved in were veterans when they moved in," Boelt said.
Boatwright's niece, Jenny Easter, said her aunt's legacy in the county is just as important as those she honors.
"She has such a heart and such a passion for Powhatan," Easter said.
It's a passion Boatwright hopes to pass on to the next generation. 4th grader Lorelei Elam said the memorial and the stories behind it leave a deep impression on her.
"It makes me grateful, happy and sad," said Lorelei. "The sad part is these people could have lost their lives in wars and in battles and I get very emotional sometimes."
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