Writing about Gerry Ragland will be a pleasure for me, for I have known Gerry since 1996 when I competed against him in the inaugural Old Town Crier Cup sailboat race…and it is the only time I ever beat him. I will address the race a little later. The 73-year-old Ragland has strong ties to his native Alexandria. He was born at Duke and Washington Streets. His dad ran a garage on Route 1 and Old Mt. Vernon Highway, not far from Alexandria. When America entered World War II, Mr. Ragland senior moved to Baltimore to work at the shipyards. A little later Mr. Ragland, Sr. enlisted in the Marine Corp and saw action at Iwo Jima. While his dad was overseas, Gerry and his mom, Edith Drumheller, moved back to her native Rockfish, Virginia in Nelson County. There is a little bit a history here, as Edith had attended Schuyler High School and graduated Salutatorian while Earl Hamner Jr. graduated Valedictorian. Hamner wrote several semi-autobiographical stories about his experiences there while growing up during the Great Depression, including Spencer’s Mountain which was made into a movie in 1963. Hamner also wrote the Homecoming, which was the catalyst for the CBS television series, The Waltons. Edith’s dedication to school had a profound effect on Gerry and he became the first in his family to go to college. After the war, the family moved to the town of Crewe in Nottoway County, Virginia, where Gerry put himself through college working as a brakeman in the local train yard. His education was interrupted for a year when he dropped out of Lynchburg College, but later began attending Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia, which today is Longwood University. During this time period, Gerry also taught drama at Falls Church high school and later…