Individual Details

Furr Works Behind the Scenes to Help
VMI "Keep up Appearances"

At an institution where uniformity is a key component, the
appearance of the uniforms worn is a matter to which strict
attention is paid.

This is particularly true at a military school like the Institute. It's
easy to overlook just how much time and energy - expended by a
loyal crew of behind-the-scenes employees ­ goes into creating a
uniform appearance.

Those who man the military store, from which cadets and faculty
are issued the required uniforms, must keep careful tabs on
inventory and availability. Of course, it is impossible to keep any
uniform item stored in the many tiny increments of sizing required
by both male and female cadets.

High on the 400 level of the Infill Building sits the Institute's Tailor
Shop. It is an innocuous room filled with sewing tables, visibly old
sewing machines, and a pleasant cadre of women altering various
VMI faculty and cadet uniform items. A wall is festooned with the
various chevrons applied to cadet uniforms.

It's the kind of place most have no idea exists, but VMI could not
exist without it. To the outside observer, much of the work
contains sameness. In fact, almost every job is a custom alteration.
There is irony in knowing that in order for uniforms to be uniform,
subtle changes and hidden alterations must be made.

No one is more aware of this irony than Leona Furr, who began
working in the Tailor Shop in 1977 after a nine-month stint in the
laundry. She succeeded Edna Manley as Tailor Shop Supervisor in
1983. She has seen many changes, ranging from the relocation of
the shop from the old concourse to its present location to the
growing number of skirts she and her team members have altered.

A eastern West Virginia native, she and her husband, Bennie,
moved to their Rockbridge Baths home in 1962 shortly after their
marriage. She baby-sat in her home, did some restaurant work and
spent time at home with their son, Tim, who is now 35 and lives in
Norfolk.

"I'd been sewing all my life,'' recalled the enthusiastic Furr. "I had
made my own clothes and had knowledge of sewing machines. A
local plant needed my skill, so I worked at a couple of local
clothing manufacturers before coming to VMI.''

She became bored with the factory work of "doing the exact same
chore day after day'' and took the VMI laundry job. After nine
months there, she joined the Tailor Shop. "Edna Manley was the
supervisor when I arrived. She taught me exactly what I needed to
know,'' said Furr. "She was very organized and good at explaining
things. I hope I do it as well as she did.''

Cindy Dudley, who has been under Furr's supervision for eight
years, sounds like Furr speaking of Manley as she speaks of Furr.
"Leona's a very good boss. She's fair, and that's wonderful. When
she's teaching you something, she's very patient. And she organizes
things so well.

"She's also saved VMI a small fortune with the way she has been
able to teach us to recycle everything that can possibly be used
again. Very few people know anything about that,'' Dudley
continued.

Furr chuckles at Dudley's observation. "I don't know if we've
saved a small fortune, but I am very reluctant to waste anything that
can be put to use. We'll take apart collars, save hooks and eyes
from the blouses and examine chevrons and class patches to see if
they can be recycled.''

She is asked to discuss the advances in tailoring equipment. Are
there new high-tech machines located in another room? Chuckling,
she responded "People don't believe this, but those machines you
saw are the exact same six sewing machines and the blind stitch
machine that were there the first day I arrived 23 years ago. When
those machines were made, they were made to last. There are no
plastic parts; they're all metal. We must not be the only folks still
using them because it's still easy to get parts for them.''

What's the most unusual job she ever undertook? She ponders and
laughs out loud, "I had to repair the kangaroo suit once because a
zipper had broken. That was definitely different.''

On the front of Furr's desk, which sits in the front of the Tailor
Shop, a revised version of "The Serenity Prayer" is taped. It reads:
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to hide the
bodies of those people I had to kill because they pushed me too
far.

"Sure, it gets hectic at certain times of the year, but that keeps life
interesting. Most people know we're doing the best we can as
quickly as we can,'' Furr added. "You have to enjoy sewing to
enjoy this work, and we do.''

Lt. Col. Mike Friski, quartermaster of VMI's military store,
reflected on Furr's contributions to the Institute, "Hers is a very
demanding job, being responsible for 1335 cadets. She does a
superior job of balancing the requirements of the incoming Rat
class and returning upper classmen. At the same time, she and her
team also deal with 130 faculty and staff members with various
uniform needs. Since the tailor shop has moved, it may not be as
apparent to members of the VMI community. That diminishes in no
way the work the Mrs. Furr and her team do."

Spending the hours she does sitting and doing close work, it is not
surprising to learn that her leisure loves range far afield from the
Tailor Shop. Bennie and Leona are avid cloggers and are active
members of the Tri-County Cloggers.

She laughs impishly. "There's something else I really like to do.
Bennie and I love to ride our Harley-Davidson.'' They are
members of the Covington-based Travelling Retreads, a group
devoted to social events organized around riding motorcycles.

"For the longest time I wouldn't get on it,'' Furr recalled. "Then one
day I just thought 'what the heck,' and I got Bennie to let me ride
with him around the yard. Then a little longer and longer . I was
hooked.'' The couple has taken extensive motorcycle excursions
through several parts of the country.

Furr admits that she has had thoughts of retirement but does not
seem to be in any hurry. "I enjoy my work. I really do. I work with
wonderful people. I see no reason to stop quite yet.''

Birth	November 14, 1940	Buckeye, Pocahontas County, WV
Death	August 10, 2013	Weston, Lewis County, WV
Marriage		Living
Burial		Ebenezer United Methodist Church Cemetery, Rockbridge Baths, Rockbridge County, VA

Spouse	Living
Child	Living

Father	Luther Cole DULANEY (1905 - 1972)
Mother	Luceille HANNAH (1917 - 2001)

Notes