The Shadow
The George Washington Train Show, sponsored by the C&O Historical Society, was held Saturday at the Clifton Forge Armory and was well attended by the public and vendors, according to Rick Tabb, executive director of the C&OHS. He reported that at least 450 attended the Train Show and 120 were local people and at least 230 from out of town. The out of town vendors and visitors came from as far a way as New York, Richmond, Huntington, Charleston, Staunton, Hampton, Beckley. Many of the volunteers that give of their time to the working of the C&OHS in Clifton Forge were also on hand to assist the public at the show.
We talk about working on the area to bring in more tourism, and the show Saturday proved it can be done, if you have a worthwhile program and advertise it to the out of towner’s. I will admit that of the 230 that were from out of town, many have come back as railroad buffs each year to attend the show. Tabb reports that the train show may be two days next year, Saturday and Sunday. This year was the first train show that I have attended and I was amazed at the turnout of railroad buffs that to me was like a huge room of children in a candy store not knowing what article to look at next.
I believe that Clifton Forge is on the right track in trying to attract visitors to Clifton Forge and the Highlands with two main attractions now being formed in the small town of 4,000 people. The activities of the C&O Historical Society and the Heritage Center. When the Heritage Center adds the train station near the center, and Amtrak begins to stop there three days a week going both east and west, the two projects will bring in the tourism and the economy will pick up to show the area is growing again.
Clifton Forge has one more ace in the hole if you are a poker player you know what I am talking about. I have played a little poker in my time and let’s say I never got rich off of poker. Maybe if I had taken Kenny Rogers advice in his popular gambler’s song and it goes something like this: “Know when to play, know when to raise, know when to fold and know when to run.” I have played in Reno, Las Vegas, Biloxi, and through the south Pacific during WWII, plus all the camps I was stationed at in the United States and on the tourist ships I have taken trips on, and I never learned to fold, (always waiting on that next card that I just knew it was the winning card, well it never did come).
In my opinion, we have one other winner in the Clifton Forge area and that is the Masonic Theatre and it is John Hillert’s dream to make the Masonic Theatre renovation a success and restore the theatre to its grand old beauty it once was and to add a variety of features and shows that will draw visitors to the Highlands and of course let them spend their tourism money with the local businesses. One other person that is making an impact on the area is Mrs. Louise Belmont, a newcomer to the area that is working hard to bring an art school to the old Clifton Forge High School. If she is successful, it will mean a big boost to the area with students and traffic at the new school of art.
I have told you about the large winners in the area of Clifton Forge, and now let’s mention the smaller winners that are becoming popular with the local trade. These are the new businesses that are showing up on Main and Ridgeway Street in Clifton, plus the Alleghany Highlands Arts and Craft Center in downtown Clifton Forge that really brings in the tourism trade, and if you don’t believe me, go down to the Art Center on Ridgeway Street and look at the guest book. There are names in it from all over the world.
Have you noticed that when things get bogged down on the local front, it is most of the time a stranger that comes to town and tries to jump start the community again?
The two men I mentioned above that have a dream for the area and Clifton Forge, are not natives of the area but Rick Tabb, and John Hillert, have come and purchased a home and they honestly want the area to grow. I hope that the local folks don’t throw a roadblock in their way to discourage them and they walk away. I have heard so many people say in the past, it will not work, that is not the way we have been doing it, where will the money come from, and on and on until finally a project is dead on arrival. One project in point, the golf course at the Douthat State Park.
If we had had more people come forward and helped with that idea, we would be bringing in men and women from all over to play golf and stay on at the Douthat in one of their lovely cabins and see nature first hand in the mountains.
I have some other items that I will bring up next week and if I make some people a little upset, so be it, and you all know that I am good at making people upset, One thing I will mention before I leave you, I think that the governor is cutting too much out of the budget and will leave so many people without work in the schools, local government, state workers, welfare, mental health. He said no tax increase, but how many people will go under because mostly the Republicans have said that there will be no tax increase. Sure no one likes to see taxes increased, but I believe that most of us would pay a little more in taxes to keep from our friends and neighbors losing their jobs and education hurting because of lack of funds for schools and the poor and ones on mental health be turned out in the streets.
While I am on the soap box, let me say that congress must sit down with the president and come up with a medical bill that will come to the rescue of every man and woman in this country. I think I speak for most of you when I say my medicine bill is killing me, not my health.
For the ones of us that have a little age on, our medicine bill is going through the roof and more and more of us will reach the donut stage of buying medicine and then will have to pay 100 percent for all our medicine until we hit the next tier. Some of us won’t be around or can’t afford the 100 percent for medicine and I just know that many will do without food just to buy medicine and I bet you know some too.
I hate to say this but if we don’t soon turn this country around, we all will end up eating our onion and mustard sandwiches that we became use to during the depression of the 30’s.
If we tell our congressional members this, they will say I know you are right and then turn around and give themselves a raise and probably more benefits. The politicians seem to forget the voters until it comes election year and then they promise us the world and then forget what world they are in.
I am out of space, time and coffee, see you next week and I probably will upset some, but I can’t help it if some just don’t want to hear the truth. All is never lost, we always have a friend in Jesus to call on for help and if you are sincere in what you ask for, He will hear your prayer….
