Hudson Miller attended Handley during the height of the Great Depression. All he wanted to do when he attended Handley was play football for the school team and graduate.

The Miller family was not affluent. Many young men in that era opted to drop out of school to work if they could find a job but his mother, Margaret Catherine Miller, would not allow him to do so. She was a graduate of the Winchester High School and was a kindergarten teacher at John Kerr School.

The Millers opened their home on South Cameron Street to boarders when Hudson’s father, Ernest, could not find work as a carpenter. Wanting to help the family, Hudson took a job in the morning delivering the Washington Post and a second job delivering the Winchester Evening Star in the afternoon. Hudson gave up his goal of playing football for Handley in order to help his family get by during the depression.

Several of the boarders who lived at the Hudson home worked at the Virginia Woolen Mill on Piccadilly Street. Hudson graduated in 1935 and obtained a job at the mill shortly after graduation.

The Virginia Woolen Mill made blankets for the Army during World War II. Hudson was not drafted as he was involved in the production of essential war supplies. He became a supervisor at the mill and was employed there when the mill closed in 1957.

Hudson moved his family to Maryland for a short time before returning to Winchester to start a driver education school that he ran until he retired. He told his grandchildren that he had started driving when he was 13 years old because his father did not like to drive and had let him become the chauffeur for the family.

Hudson did not get to play football for Handley but he did graduate. His grandson said he was a good person, a great father and a wonderful grandfather. His daughter and 5 grandchildren followed him and became Handley graduates.