Here’s a roundup of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside. Send yours for possible inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org.
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Harvester adds two shows
The Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount has added two shows to its 2024 schedule.
Western swing ensemble Asleep at the Wheel will take stage at 8 p.m. Feb 29 as part of its Happy Trails Tour.
Tickets start at $37 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood, the comedy duo from TV’s “Whose Line is it Anyway?,” will perform at 8 p.m. March 30.
Tickets start at $67 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
Tickets and more information are available at harvester-music.com.
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Virginia adds 11 sites to landmarks register
The Board of Historic Resources has added 11 sites to the Virginia Landmarks Register, including the 611 steam engine in Roanoke, Hart Motor Co. in Salem, the Pennington Gap Commercial Historic District and the Pilot School in Montgomery County.
Here’s the full list of sites, with descriptions provided by the board:
In the state’s Eastern Region:
- The William R. McKenney Memorial Building in the city of Petersburg is a prominent two-story Italianate house constructed in 1859 as a family residence for the city’s first mayor, John Dodson. Converted to a public library in 1924, the building became the site of an important sit-in led by the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker in 1960, which ultimately led to the library’s integration and helped spur full integration throughout the city.
- The Scottsville Tire Cord Plant Historic District in Albemarle County features as its raison d’être the Scottsville Tire Cord Plant, which was built by the United States Defense Plant Corporation in 1944 to increase the production of rubber to meet wartime needs during World War II. Once one of the largest employers in Scottsville, Albemarle County, and in surrounding counties, the plant remained in use throughout the 20th century as the increasing reliance on automobiles strengthened the need for rubber tires and the tire cord.
- The Seatack Historic District is a historic African American neighborhood in the city of Virginia Beach that originated before the Civil War from a community of free and enslaved people.
In Virginia’s Northern Region:
- The Bank of Potomac/Executive Office and Governor’s Residence of the Restored Government in the city of Alexandria was first completed circa 1807 as the Bank of Potomac, one of the earliest banks established in the United States. In 1863, the property became the office and personal home of the governor of the Restored Government of Virginia, Francis H. Pierpont, who worked with President Abraham Lincoln’s administration to carry out a strategy that would restore to the nation areas of the country that had attempted to secede before the start of the Civil War.
- Dutch Hollow Hanger Cemetery in Augusta County contains the graves of some of the first German immigrant settlers to inhabit the community known as Dutch Hollow and the surrounding area in the early to mid-1700s.
In the state’s Western Region:
- Built circa 1930 using contributions from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, the Carver-Price School in the town of Appomattox provided free education for local African American students throughout the segregation era and the civil rights movement in Virginia.
- The Hart Motor Co. in the city of Salem reflects the 20th-century trend of automobiles becoming the main mode of transportation for the public. Comprising a showroom and a service department station, it exemplifies the type of roadside architecture built to cater to drivers as opposed to pedestrians in a traditional centralized business district.
- The Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 Locomotive in the city of Roanoke was completed in May 1950 to transport passengers traveling from Virginia to Ohio, and from the western parts of the commonwealth to West Virginia. In 1952, it was one of the locomotives that pulled Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidential campaign train from Columbus, Ohio, to Kenova, West Virginia.
- The Pennington Gap Commercial Historic District embodies the socio-economic character of a small working-class town in rural Appalachia. Encompassing the commercial core of the town of Pennington Gap in Lee County, the district provided the local population as well as residents in surrounding rural areas access to rich natural resources in the region, particularly coal and timber in the northern section of the county.
- The only surviving public school from the early 20th century in Montgomery County, the Pilot School provided free education to local white students starting in 1921 as part of Virginia’s public education system. In the years following the last class in 1962, the unincorporated community of Pilot acquired the building for use as a gathering place for family activities and social functions.
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Mabry Mill Restaurant and Gift Shop will have new operator for 2024
National Park Service officials have announced that longtime park store partner, America’s National Parks, a part of Eastern National, will manage retail operations during the 2024 visitor season at Mabry Mill, located at milepost 176.2 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Mabry Mill Restaurant and Gift Shop has historically been operated as a park concession, whereby a private business provides park visitors a service that parks do not provide directly, according to a news release from the park service. The contract with the current concessioner at Mabry Mill expires Dec. 31, and that operator has informed the National Park Service that it doesn’t plan to accept an extension or seek renewal of that contract.
“To that end, visitors can expect much of the traditional visitor experience at Mabry Mill in 2024 to continue including historic exhibits, cultural demonstrations, and live music events; however, seated dining will not be offered,” the park service said in a statement.
Eastern National has helped manage park visitor centers and stores on the Blue Ridge Parkway since 1955, the park service said. Today it supports operations at more than 240 park stores at NPS sites across the country.
NPS officials have initiated the process to attract a new concessioner and potentially a new operating model for Mabry Mill. The park will issue a request for proposals for prospective operators in mid-2024, with the intent to have a new operator on site for the 2025 season.
“Concession operations in the National Park Service, and specifically the Blue Ridge Parkway, are evolving,” the park service said in a statement. “The interests and activities of the 21st century park visitor may mean that historic uses of park concession facilities may no longer be viable business opportunities and must be re-evaluated to meet the needs of a new generation of park stewards and visitors.”
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Griffith announces winners of Congressional App Competition
Jack Lingle of Blacksburg High School has won the Congressional App Competition in Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District, according to a release from Rep. Morgran Griffith, R-Salem.
Mattox Jalbert of Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Franklin County earned second place and Milo Tao-Lin of Blacksburg High School earned third place.
Here are demonstrations of each app:
Heart Help by Jack Lingle:
Hall Buddy by Mattox Jalbert:
Matharena by Milo Tao-Lin:
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Saltville health agency receives $1.8 million federal grant
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $1,808,913 to Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems Inc., headquartered in Saltville, according to a release from Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem.