Many years ago, when I learned that the Caroline County court records with the Lovings file were coming to the Heritage Center I was excited. I seemed to be the only one who recognized the Loving case, the 1967 landmark Supreme Court case that declared prohibitions on interracial marriage as unconstitutional. Mildred and Richard Loving, an interracial couple from Caroline County had married in Washington, DC in 1958. They returned to Central Point, in Caroline County. In January 1959 they were taken from their bedroom in the middle of the night, arrested and charged with violating Virginia's law banning miscegenation and interracial marriage. Mildred, part Black, part Native American, was held in jail for several nights without bail. Richard was permitted to post bond. They were found guilty. Their one-year jail terms were suspended when they agreed to leave Virginia and not return for 25 years. The Lovings moved to Washington, DC, where their children were born. Mildred missed home, family and friends. When one of the children was injured in a car accident, Mildred decided it was time to return to Central Point. She wrote to the Attorney General of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy. Kennedy referred the letter to the American Civil Liberties Union. Enter Bernard Cohen, 29, a newly minted lawyer seeking pro bono work. Although the appeals time seemed to have passed, Cohen determined that since the sentence of 25 years was still in effect, the Lovings could still appeal. The case wound its way slowly through several layers of courts. Eventually in June 1967, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled for the Lovings, striking down Virginia's law and similar laws in other states. Mildred and Richard returned home with their children. Sadly, Richard was killed by drunken driver in 1975. Mildred died in 2008.

Several years ago, Mr. Cohen learned the records were at the Center and asked if he could come look at them. I had the privilege of not only meeting Mr. Cohen and his wife Rae, but to sit with them as they looked at the file. He would make a comment and Mrs. Cohen would pick up on it and add another piece of information. It was his first big case, they were newly married and Mrs. Cohen was very much involved as her husband prepared the case. Occasionally, Mr. Cohen would see a paper and say he didn't have a copy and ask if he could get a copy. At the end of their visit, they thanked us. I asked him what he did after winning such a case at the beginning of his career. He said a lot of what he did had to do with environmental law. Poor and disenfranchised people are often at the mercy of industrial polluters and he had taken on the role of their defender; he saw it as a form of discrimination. Mr. Cohen mentioned that he did not have a photo of the justices who had rendered the decision. I told him, we'd find one. When I couldn't find one on the Internet, I called the Supreme Court. I got an intern, who though helpful, had never heard of the Lovings. She emailed me the photo, we printed it out and mailed it to him.

I also asked him how in the world he found himself living at Fawn Lake in Spotsylvania. His wife smiled. Rae Cohen is a twin and her sister and brother-in-law had settled in Fawn Lake and she wanted to be near her sister. Over the years, when I attended a Great Lives lecture, I would see the four of them, the sisters in their 70s still wore their hair the same and dressed alike, it was easy to spot them.

Mr. Cohen returned to the Center a few years ago. He had developed some health problems, but he was still gracious and witty. He had a friend with him and he wanted the man to see the Loving file. Bernard Cohen died October 12.

One of the great benefits of being a volunteer at the Center is meeting interesting people. Not everyone can meet a Bernard Cohen, but there are plenty of knowledgeable people who use the Center's resources; it's fun to get to know them.