Native returns to a town that’s changed

Coming home after 25 years, sometimes I feel more akin to the newcomer than the native. A drive to downtown Richmond reveals a city much changed.

My family is spread all over the region. I was born in a Richmond hospital and grew up in Goochland County. I followed newspaper jobs to Kentucky, Delaware and New York, most recently working as managing editor of Newsday on Long Island.

It is good to come home.

As a kid "going to town" with my family, we quickly would pass Short Pump -- then a general store with a couple of gasoline pumps and pastureland as far as I could see.

On our way east along Broad Street, the action started at the green metal cactus heralding Westland Shopping Center. Here stood the High's Ice Cream shop and the music store where I bought my first 45 record.

Farther along were Bill's Barbecue and Krispy Kreme. Nearby were Best Products, S&K and Circuit City.

I also remember Shakespeare at Dogwood Dell and lunging for foul balls at Richmond Braves games. Bright lights from all the new car lots lit up the streets. Downtown meant monuments, landmarks and tall buildings and, on special occasions, shopping at Thalhimers and Miller & Rhoads.

At the end of my trip down memory lane, the Capitol still rises and the James River falls. But traveling from Goochland to downtown today, I'm reminded that the Richmond region has faced challenges not unlike the cities and suburbs big and small across the country that I've helped cover as a journalist.

The past two decades have encompassed several economic cycles, swings in growth and development, shifting demographics, and technological advances that likely have changed lifestyles, commerce and communications forever.

Some names I remember from childhood are gone, leaving at different times and for different reasons. New names have moved in over the years, and the local economy today is more diverse.

Lots of places still are the hometown "institutions" I remember. Others reinvented themselves and found opportunities to follow growing neighborhoods or expand their businesses.

There are changes that have enriched the city and region. The Arthur Ashe Jr. monument was added to Monument Avenue in 1996 and, in the decade since, a recent arrival sees a number of efforts under way to continue to preserve all our history.

There are more cultural and entertainment venues than before. The broad draw of nationally known speakers and entertainers, diversity of restaurants and support of the arts all help define Richmond.

More change is certain. How will the region emerge from this economic downturn, and what will the future look like?

Local experts suggest that economic recovery could come from renewed entrepreneurship and growth in fields such as health, technology and alternative energy, according to reporting from the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Henrico and Chesterfield counties are drafting comprehensive land-use plans -- with Chesterfield for the first time drawing up a countywide plan for growth.

At the same time, a new Census of Agriculture finds farmland lost in the state from 2002 to 2007 represents the largest decline in 20 years, the newspaper reports. Richmond-to-Washington high-speed rail is on deck. But now baseball is off the rails.

One thing doesn't seem to change: There's still no shortage of interest, opinions and debate here. Check the newspaper, online commentary and conversation at the grocery store. That's how this newcomer is learning about her hometown all over again.

Debbie Henley can be reached at .

Today marks the debut of our weekly Guest Columnist. Look each Monday in this space for new faces and new voices from central Virginia.