A community reflects its people. Many folks in Hanover County may be familiar with public officials and prominent residents. But it's everyday locals who make up this who's-who list.

These vignettes about randomly selected people offer a snapshot of who's happening in Hanover.

Freddie McGhee

Resident of Hanover: 75 years, "All of my life."

Job: Farmer.

Hobby: He collects and repairs antique and classic cars and drives some of them around the county.

Cars in his garage: A 1932 Chevrolet five-window coupe, completely original; a 1965 Ford Galaxy convertible, completely original; a 1950 two-door Fleetline Chevrolet.

"Completely original" means? They have not been altered. There are no new motors or wheels. None have air conditioning. "The only air-condition you get is rolling down the windows."

Favorite car: An original 1940 two-door coach. He owned it once as a young man, then tracked it down again later in life.

How much money are these jewels worth? "I'm not even sure. But quite much."

Finding them: Sometimes McGhee travels out of state. But twice he found cars in Hanover.

Where do you keep them? In an undisclosed garage with fitted covers for each car.

Favorite thing about Hanover: "It's changing drastically but it's still country. I'm a farmer. I like the country."

Caton A. Shermer, aka "Captain Fuzzzo"

Resident of Hanover: Since 1979.

Job: Pilot, but he's supposed to be retired. "I'm a miserable failure at retiring."

Known for: A former popular radio show reporting on traffic from 2,000 feet in the air in his plane, Lucy. Along with Eric Spivey, the two monitored traffic from 7 to 8:30 a.m. for WRNL (910 AM) and WRXL (102.1 FM). They, and the rest of their crew, became known as "The Triple Z Ranch."

Background: Former Air Force fighter-bomber pilot, former flight instructor.

Why he's called "Fuzzzo"? When he was a teenager, a baseball coach couldn't remember all the players' names, so he called the boys by their physical characteristics. Shermer's short haircut earned him "Fuzzy." The nickname went through multiple evolutions (Fuzz-mo) until settling at Fuzzo. He added the third Z, always reminding people "the middle Z is silent."

How long have you been in the air?: 45 years.

What's the most interesting thing you do in the air? Flying the bald-eagle survey each spring with Mitchell Byrd and Bryan Watts from the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary. This survey entails flying over known bald eagle nests in Virginia and counting the chicks.

Favorite thing about Hanover: The people and lifestyle. "It has a good aviation facility, and the future is in the sky."

Jennifer Dockum

Worked in Hanover: Seven years.

Job: Director of missions for Hermon Baptist Association.

Hobby: Growing daylilies.

How did that get started? Her husband's grandfather started a daylily farm in Ohio. She loved the idea, and when her family moved to Virginia, they transplanted more than 400 varieties. Now she grows more than 450 varieties and sells to gardeners. "Daylily fans are their own breed."

What's special about a daylily? "It blooms just for one day. So the flower that you see here today will be gone tomorrow."

Time spent working with flowers? Thirty percent. "It should be 80 percent," but she's a mother of four.

Favorite thing about Hanover: "The tomatoes and the people who grow the tomatoes."

Barbara Jacks

Resident of Hanover: Since 1964.

Job: Front-desk receptionist for Hanover County.

Hobby: Being a "Hug-Around-Clown." Her clown name is "Flapjacks." She goes wherever she feels "led," sometimes to nursing homes and other places she believes there may be lonely people.

Most known for: Her sense of humor. Mark Twain was a cousin of her grandfather, who was a witty person himself, she said. "I think I got my humor from him." She attended clown school classes at night at Hermitage High School for one semester.

Homework for clown school: She created her outfit, designed her makeup (every clown's makeup is unique), picked a name, which is registered in the Patent Office in Washington. No other clown can have her name.

Why do it? "A lot of people aren't smiling anymore, and I love to make them smile."

Favorite memory: She was at a children's activity at Chippenham Hospital. As she was preparing to leave, a nurse asked her to go to the intensive-care unit to visit a sick woman. Jacks was hesitant because she didn't feel that she knew how to work with people in that unit. As she entered, the woman's son-in-law was leaving. He asked whether she was coming to see his mother-in-law. Jacks said "yes" and introduced herself as "Flapjack." He laughed and jokingly replied, "I'm syrup."

Favorite thing about Hanover: "The people," she said. "They are so friendly and caring."

Aubrey Hopson

Resident of Hanover: 60 years

Job title: Major in Hanover Sheriff's Office, the first African-American to hold the position in the county.

Hobby: Horseback riding. He always liked riding horses as a child, but his parents couldn't afford to buy a horse. Later in life, he purchased Dancin' Girl, a Tennessee walker.

Favorite thing about horseback riding: "I ride for the freedom of breathing the fresh air."

Advice to young people wanting a job like yours: "You have to care about people. You have to want to help people. Our job is to protect and serve this county."

Changes you've seen in Hanover over 60 years: The population, he said. "Now we have so many businesses."

Favorite thing about Hanover: "The versatility. Some areas are heavily populated and some areas have the old country roads where you don't see a car for 5 or 6 miles."

B.J. Ostergren

Resident of Hanover: Almost 30 years.

Job: "Watchdog [pit bull ] for the county." She unofficially monitors the Board of Supervisors. "I've attended more board meetings than some board members."

Known for: The Virginia Watchdog, an online newspaper tracking Virginia government and governments around the U.S. She makes no income from her Web site.

Interesting fact: She has a pilot's license.

The beginning of being a gadfly: In the 1980s, she attended supervisors' meetings with her husband. One night they attended a board meeting and she heard the members discuss land development to the detriment of the landowner. The landowner was not present. The next day, she told him what had occurred. That's when she started taping the meetings.

How she researches: She uses public records, attends meetings, uses Google, downloads files and talks to people.

Cost for projects: Sometimes more than $10,000 for stamps, envelopes, paper and traveling.

Rosanne Groat Shalf

Resident of Hanover: Since 1975.

Job: Self-employed title examiner (checks at courthouse to make sure titles are good).

Random facts: She is a trained archaeologist and has served on Ashland Town Council.

School: Randolph-Macon College, where she studied history.

Book: She wrote "Ashland, Ashland: The Story of a Turn-Of-The-CenturyRailroad Town,"published in 1994. She named the book after a song by Marion Herget and Dougee Zeno, who used to be on Broadway. They wrote the song specifically for Ashland.

Why a book about Ashland? She is a member of a literary club, the Woman's Club of Ashland, in existence since 1899. Each woman brings a paper for the others to read. "For my paper, I always used to do a study on one of the older houses in Ashland. After 10 years, I had a stack of papers."

Favorite thing about Hanover: "The neighborhoods are very small and you interact with everyone."

Charles Robinson

Resident of Hanover: Three years.

Job: He works as an apprentice for Northrop Grumman in Newport News, a shipyard that builds aircraft carriers.

Hobby: Wrestling.

How he got started: In third grade, his dad introduced him to wrestling. He wrestled as a young boy, then for Hanover High School, where he began winning awards. Hetrains three hours a day to keep up his wrestling techniques.

Awards: Won all-state three years in a row, and he won district and regional awards during high school.

Favorite thing about wrestling: It takes focus and determination, and it's a physical sport.

Best memory in Hanover: "Wrestling. When I was small, we would wrestle and as time went by we got bigger and better. Now I see little kids wrestle and come off crying and I think, 'That used to me.'"

Advice to young wrestlers: "It's a tough sport, so if you really want to do it work hard, give 100 percent, go out there and get it done."

Your motivation? "To go out there and get my hand raised [in wrestling]," he said. "If I got my hand raised, then I beat all obstacles that were in my way."

Favorite thing about Hanover: "It's a nice county. It has the best school system out there."