* * Research trips to Glade Springs, VA and Monroe Co., WV
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 09:44AM Last week I took two interesting trips. On Monday, I traveled down Interstate 81 to a town called Glade Spring, about 90 miles away, to meet Frank Kilgore, who I profiled in The Spine of the Virginias. Frank is a lawyer from far Southwest Virginia who has been active in promoting the health, welfare, and economic development of that region. Frank is one of the founders of the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy which has been tremendously successful in bringing new life to that community. He is also a founder of the Appalachian College of Pharmacy in Oakwood, which is near Grundy. Frank is launching a new magazine called Mountain Peeks. He and I have been discussing potential ways that I can assist with that magazine.
In Glade Spring, Frank and I had lunch with Lee Coburn. Lee is a young man who ran a successful advertising agency in Atlanta. Lee has relocated his agency to the tiny community of Glade Spring, hoping to get out of the traffic and rat race of Atlanta. He has purchased and refurbished many downtown buildings in Glade Spring. Like many small Appalachian towns, Glade Spring had seen its downtown fall into disrepair in recent decades. I am planning to return this week to take some pictures and interview him and others to learn more about their efforts to rejuvenate that community.
On Wednesday of last week, I rode my motorcycle to Monroe County, West Virginia. I met with several old friends including Pete Ballard in Peterstown, Fred and Barbara Ziegler in Greenville, and Craig Moehler, Jay Banks and Rod Graves in Union. I was able to learn many new things about that community in preparation for my second book, my novel called Union WV. Rod and I toured the historic Rehoboth Church which is one of Union’s most visited landmarks as it is the oldest church west of the Allegheny Mountains, built in 1786.
I am still awaiting word from a potential publisher for The Spine of the Virginias. Meanwhile, I am exploring self-publishing options and working on the novel, Union, WV.
Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees throughout the area, but with several bright sunny days, it is still a beautiful time of year.
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