This past weekend, on the very day marking their fifth anniversary, One Way Richmond said its farewells to this city.
This past weekend, on the very day marking their fifth anniversary, One Way Richmond said its farewells to this city. This unique, informative, and always opinionated website was mostly the work of one man, John Lewis Morgan, who contributed to many other local publications over the years, including RVA Magazine.
Morgan’s caustic sense of humor sometimes made him enemies, but no one could question his dedication to the city and its artistic scene, so whether you loved or hated him, it’s still sad to see this one-of-a-kind local voice be silenced. As a tribute to Morgan’s hard work over the years, we wanted to repost his farewell here at RVA Magazine. So without further ado, here it is:
One Way Richmond turns five years old today, and as these are the hardest words I’ve ever had to write – the insanity officially comes to an end today. As they say in American football, for the last five years, I left it all out on the field. Well, screen in this case. I am very proud to have done this blog turned website in a way that has never been done before and never will. Sure many folks didn’t get it, but fuck ‘em.
A dear friend of mine sent me some very kind words about OWR out of the blue yesterday, and I could not have said it better myself. If you can, please checkout local writer and one of my heroes, Shannon Cleary’s humbling words about the infamous One Way Richmond – HERE
I will thank everyone that needs to be thanked for their input/help on OWR individually. However, I would like to signal out a true friend and champion of OWR, Phil Foxwell. Without Phil, there’d be no OWR at all. Thank you Phil! Also, don’t forget to support Mike Rutz’s ACTIVATE! show Wednesday nights on WRIR! The best live music calendar in Richmond!
The actual site will be left up for awhile, for I have OWR on my resume. I doubt you will, but check out the archives, there’s some really obtuse shit back there. Remember, the posts from the blog years are a bit discombobulated from the switch over in 2012.
Usually for my anniversary posts, I usually state at the end of the post that “I’m John Lewis Morgan…and I am Richmond motherfucking Virginia.” But, today, I’m not Richmond, Virginia. You are. Don’t ever forget that people. It’s an honor to be a part of the greatest city in the world.
So, what are the last words ever on One Way Richmond going to be? Well here it goes:
I would like to dedicate the past five years of One Way Richmond to every kid in Richmond, Virginia that is currently picking up a musical instrument for the very first time.
