News

Walk of Fame Committee announces 12 inductees

By Lightning Reports, Published: March 5, 2020

The Henderson County Walk of Fame Committee announced the induction of 12 new members of the Walk of Fame, including educators, business leaders, builders, a dance instructor and others.

The honorees are:

• R.G. Anders. Affectionally known as the superintendent on horseback, Anders was a long-serving county schools leader who helped modernize schools.
• Art Cooley. The owner of WHKP radio, Cooley also launched the first cable television system in the county.
• William Franklin Edwards. A business leader and builder at the turn of the last century, Edwards was responsible for the building of the Historic Courthouse, the Edward Memminger home in Flat Rock, known as Tranquility, the first Hendersonville city hall and opera hall, the Wheeler Hotel and People’s National Bank.
• Frank FitzSimons. A school teacher, banker, football coach, register of deeds and storyteller, FitzSimons made a lasting contribution to the county with the publication of his three-volume history series, “From the Banks of the Oklawaha.”
• George Alexander Jones. A Baptist minister, Republican Party leader, historian and preservationist, Jones helped form the Henderson County Genealogical and Historical Society, published a two-volume history of Henderson County families and led the fight to save and renovate the Historic Courthouse.
• Sam Mills. A member of the Hendersonville City Council, Mills was a leader in the civil rights movement, served on Redevelopment Commission and was active in urban renewal.
• Rodger Popkin. Along with his father, Popkin established Camp Blue Star, a summer camp in the Crab Creek community for Jewish children in the South who at the time were barred from attending other summer camps. For 50 years he worked on issues of inclusion and was a leader nationally in the campaign against bullying.
• Russell Sacco. A physician, Sacco was the first medical adviser for Pardee Hospital’s geriatric evaluation team, the first medical director for the Henderson County Health Agency and one of the founders of the Free Clinics.
• Carl and Lillian Sandburg. The poet, biographer and musician and his wife brought national attention to Hendersonville and Flat Rock through his literature and her goat raising. Today, their Flat Rock home, a National Historic Site, continues to draw visitors from around the world.
• Pat Shepherd. The dance studio owner has brought national attention to the city by showcasing young dancers in performances that have included the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Walt Disney World, the Orange Bowl and other events that draw a national audience.
• Kathleen Featherstone Williams. A pioneer of civil rights in the county, Williams led the charge for social change in the 1960s, including integration of public schools. In her later years, she led efforts to preserve the history of black people in the county.