Author: Legacy Synthesis

Chris is an American film and television writer and producer.

Coached by Scott Burns, Chris ran cross country and track all four years at Handley and earned All State honors in both. He was a member of Handley’s State Championship 4 x 800 relay team. He wrote and directed the Junior Variety Show, but was “fired” from directing the senior play because he missed too many rehearsals for track practice. However, he did write the Senior class poem.

Chris was a history major Mary Washington College. After graduation, he started his professional career working for the Atlantic magazine in Washington DC. He then moved to Los Angeles to work for Conde Nast magazine and took a course in screenwriting.

Along with his writing partner, Christopher Cantwell, Chris created and executive produced the AMC TV series “Halt and Catch Fire.” It aired in the U. S. from June 2014 until October 2017, spanning 4 seasons and 40 episodes. The BBC named the series one of the best shows of the 21st Century in 2021.

Chris most recently served as co-showrunner and executive producer of the Amazon TV series “Paper Girls.” He is currently working on an Apple TV series called “Sugar” starring Colin Farrell. 

Christopher C. Rogers and his writing partner Christopher Cantwell have been named one of Variety magazine’s “10 TV Scribes to Watch”.

Chris returned to Winchester in April 2023 to participate in the Young Screenwriters Conference at Shenandoah University. He met with English and creative writing classes at Handley during the conference.

Chris told the Handley students that writing was his preferred form of expression. His training time as a distance runner gave him time alone to think about his writing. He enjoyed reading works of authors he admired such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac and that “with each thing that resonated with him he developed his own taste.”

Chris encouraged students to immerse themselves in things that interest them and to write regularly without concern about anyone reading it. He said that writing for yourself allows you to move past the fear of writing poorly. “If you don’t show anyone, you’re free to write anything.”

Chris lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two young daughters. He hopes someday to run the Apple Blossom 10k with his family.

“I feel very lucky to have attended Handley and count my years there as some of the happiest of my life.”

David Robinson grew up in Winchester. He played varsity basketball for the Judges and was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by his classmates. After graduating from Handley in 1983, David attended the United States Naval Academy, where he earned a degree in systems engineering and was the outstanding Marine graduate in the class of 1987. Following his commission from Annapolis, David served for 25 years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a fighter pilot supporting global operations aboard aircraft carriers and bases throughout the world, rising to the rank of colonel before transitioning to a second career in the private sector.

During his military career, David flew over 3,500 hours, 200 aircraft carrier landings, and 100 combat missions in the FA-18, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for supervising over 20,000 combat missions and more than 2,000 medical evacuations while serving as the director of air operations in Iraq. David was also a TOPGUN instructor, where he developed the curriculum used to train the top aviators in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. He earned a master’s degree in national security strategy and served in the Pentagon as a strategy director for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In his final assignment, David was the commanding officer of a Marine aircraft group, where he managed operations and logistics for a fleet of 250 jet aircraft, and led over 2,500 personnel supporting combat and contingency operations in the Middle East and West Pacific.

Upon completion of his military service in 2012, David founded Vertical Performance Enterprises, a strategy and leadership consulting company specializing in executive leadership development and organizational performance improvement. He’s been a senior advisor to Fortune 1000 companies across a wide range of industries, and a keynote speaker for numerous Fortune 500 companies and organizations throughout North America. David is the author of The Substance of Leadership: A Practical Framework for Effectively Leading a High-Performing Team, published in 2021, and he’s been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Chief Executive Magazine.

David and his wife, Mary Delle, live in Hilton Head, South Carolina. They have three grown children: Abbey, a pediatric nurse practitioner; Drew, a Naval Academy graduate and Marine officer; and Audrey, a clinical nurse. David is especially grateful for Handley’s teachers, coaches, and staff whose tireless dedication, exemplary leadership, and passion for excellence have provided a strong foundation for so many Handley graduates throughout the years.

Known as the “Gentleman from Virginia” and “The Rock of Gibraltar” by his colleagues in the U. S. House of Representatives, J. Kenneth Robinson represented Virginia’s Seventh District for 14 years. At the time of his retirement in 1984, the Richmond News Leader wrote that he was quiet, solid, dependable, and wise. He distained the hollow theatrics that win headlines. He won the respect of his colleagues and that was far more valuable to him than 15 seconds on the evening news.

Kenneth Robinson was Valedictorian and President of the Class of 1933. He earned his BA in Horticulture at VPI in 1937. He served as Commander of B Company in the Corps of Cadets and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation. Although a Quaker, he rose to the rank of Major in the Infantry during World War II and was a life member of the American Legion.

Following the war, Kenneth Robinson returned to Winchester to manage the family orchards and farms. He became an instructor for an on-the-farm training program for veterans under the G. I. Bill of Rights.

He served as the President of the Agricultural Conference Board of Virginia, of the Frederick County Fruit Growers Association, and of the Rotary Club of Winchester. Prior to serving as President of the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, Kenneth served as a Page in the Court of Queen Shenandoah I along with Harry F. Byrd, Jr.

Kenneth Robinson joined the Senate of Virginia in 1965 when Harry F. Byrd, Jr was elected to the U. S. Senate. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1970. He served on the Defense and Agriculture Subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee and on the Select Committee on Intelligence. 

He had an understanding that not all issues are partisan politics and that you need flexibility in public affairs. He worked well with both sides of the aisle to find real, workable solutions to the varied and complex issues facing America’s defense and intelligence communities. He went to the Congress to serve and served his constituents well.

In addition to his Congressional duties, he was a member of the Dulles International Airport Development Commission in the 1960s and early 1970s and served as the Chair of the Board of Visitors for the US Air Force Academy 1975-76.

The main post office in Winchester and the Virginia Route 37 Parkway in Frederick County were named in his honor.

Freda Roberson joined the staff of the Fremont Street Nursery in 1997 working in the kitchen. She worked every position at the school before becoming the Director in 2004.

Freda grew up in the neighborhood near the nursery. Their mother, Maria Bates, raised her and her brother after their father died in a traffic accident while working in Fairfax when she was 10 years old.

Teresa Dunham of the Winchester Star wrote on February 7, 2007 that parents can be superheroes but even superheroes have day jobs. That is when daycare enters the equation.

One of the oldest daycare centers in Winchester, Fremont Street Nursery started as the Negro Daycare Center on Pall Mall Street in 1943. The school moved to Fremont Street in 1955 and was renamed in 1962.

Freda believes that children need love, attention and education. When the same people provide it on a daily basis, it provides stability for the children. Children know when they walk through the door of Fremont Street Nursery they are safe. She knows the nursery is a positive force in the neighborhood and has referred to it as an “Oasis of Hope”.

Freda is very active in the community. A member of the Winchester Kiwanis Board of Directors, she has also served with the boards of the Top of Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Healthy Families of the Northern Shenandoah Valley, the Bank of Clarke County Foundation, the American Fundraising Professionals, the St. Stephens C.M.E Trustee Board, the Winchester Renovation Committee, the VPI Steering Committee, and the Opportunity Scholars Advisory committee.

“I am blessed to have the opportunity to do something that I’m passionate about. Trying to brighten the future of children one at a time is simply priceless!”

While at Handley, Henrietta Cornwell was a member of the Holmes Conrad Literary Society, the news editor of the school newspaper “The Trail Blazer”, and involved with girls volleyball and basketball for three years. She earned her BA at Longwood College in 1932.

Her first teaching position was in Frederick County where she taught first through seventh grades at the one room Woodbine School in the community of Grimes. She later moved to the county’s Redbud School.

Henrietta married her Handley classmate Frederick M. Ritter in 1934. She stopped teaching after their son, Frederick Jr., was born in 1938.

Mrs. Ritter was involved in the community. She served as President of the Winchester Memorial Hospital’s Ladies Auxiliary where she helped organize the annual “Hospital Follies”. She was a member of the American Association of University Women and a leader in the Girl Scouts.

The Ritter family was active at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. Frederick Ritter, Jr, Class of 1956, became a Lutheran minister. He participated in the Vietnam moratorium and the civil rights movement before becoming an instructor in Behavioral Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He ministered to the emotional and spiritual needs of people in the Hampton Roads area for almost 40 years.

Henrietta returned to Handley in 1964 and taught senior high English along side her sister Edith Cornwell Garrabrandt, Winchester High School Class of 1923. She was a class sponsor and the faculty advisor for the Handlian .

She remained involved in the community after her retirement in 1974.  She was a member of the Winchester Star Leadership Award committee, worked with “Meals on Wheels” and continued to support American Association of University Women projects.

Wilbur “Web” Riley was the first class president at John Handley High School. He was a member of the Cadet Battalion, played both football and basketball, and was the Editor-in–Chief of the school’s newspaper “The Trail Blazer”.

He continued his education at Lynchburg College where he had a Hall of Fame career as the captain of the basketball team. He worked on the college’s newspaper and later married the daughter of the college president.

Following graduation in 1928, he was appointed assistant editor of the Woodstock Times, a semi-weekly newspaper in Woodstock, Virginia. He worked with the newspaper for three years before joining the US Army Air Corps where he was trained to fly multi-engine aircraft. He served with the Bomber Command at Langley Field until 1933.

Web returned to Woodstock and became a car dealer. He was active in the community becoming President of the Woodstock Rotary Club and a trustee for the Shenandoah Volunteer Fire Company.

In February 1938, Lt. Riley of the Army Air Corps Reserve was called to active duty to serve as the military commander of the Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Elkton, Virginia. In May, he was ordered to CCC Camp NP6 at Fort Hunt, Virginia.

Web was called to active military duty at the start of World War II. He was promoted to major in 1942 and became the Commanding Officer of the 559th Twin Engine Flying Training Squadron where he trained bomber pilots. He retired as a Lt. Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve after over 20 years of service.

Web had a Chevrolet dealership in Woodstock after the war. He became the President of Chamber of Commerce. He helped establish the Shenandoah County Memorial Hospital and served on the board of directors. He was a board member of the Shenandoah Telephone Company (Shentel) and the Farmers Bank of Edinburg.

He was elected mayor of Woodstock in 1951 and served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1958 until 1959.

Among his lasting accomplishments in the Woodstock community was the establishment of a public park with a swimming pool, playing fields, tennis courts and picnic areas. The W. O. Riley Park is one of the nicest parks to visit in the Shenandoah Valley.

The year 1966 was a significant one in the history of Winchester Public Schools. Douglas High School graduated its last class in June and after that Winchester Public Schools had only one high school. Ron Rice joined the Handley math department two months later and was named head coach of the football team.

A West Virginia native, Mr. Rice played football and graduated from West Virginia Tech in 1959. He earned his Masters of Education in mathematics at the University of Virginia.

Handley’s football team finished the 1965 season 2-7-1. The 1966 Handley football team was Winchester’s first high school team in the fully racially integrated school system.

The Judges’ first victory under Coach Rice was a hard fought 14-7 win over Martinsburg in the Handley Bowl. A few weeks later, the powerful Clarke County football team came to Handley as 20 point favorites and was defeated 13-12. Handley won 7 games that season.

Handley’s 1967 football team was the first of 2 undefeated Handley teams coached by Ron Rice. Coach Rice used all 53 players on his roster to outscore their opponents 390-49 during the 10 game season.

Handley football under Coach Rice had a record of 43-5-2. His teams won 86% of the games played. Russ Potts credited him with the highest winning percentage of any coach in Handley football history. He won the Winchester Evening Star “Coach of the Year” award twice in 5 years.

At least 30 of Coach Rice’s players went on to play football in college. Don Ratliff went on to play with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL.

Ron Rice was described as a man who took young people and made them want to be something and do something with their lives.

It has been said that Ron Rice built a great team spirit among the players and that the unifying spirit spread to the entire student body, to their families and to many people in the community. That spirit laid the groundwork for the force that would later be called “Handley Pride”.

The students who were at Handley with him remember the man and the teacher. Named “Outstanding Young Educator” by the Jaycees, he was always a teacher and a friend before a coach. David Rice, Class of 1979, recently said that he is astounded to still hear stories about his father’s impact on his students over 50 years after he left Handley.

Coach Rice accepted a position as Assistant Coach at the University of Maryland after the 1970 football season. While on a recruiting trip in West Virginia during his second year with Maryland, Coach Rice suffered a fatal heart attack. He was 35 years old.