Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 27, 1990 TAG: 9004260276
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Bosses here showed their appreciation to their secretaries this week with a luncheon on the lawn of the old courthouse. They snacked on barbecue and listened to the guitar pickin' of local musician Chuck Shomo.
And they laughed, mostly, as the county staff served up the vittles. But the charred skeleton of the courthouse, which was gutted by fire last December, loomed behind tables and chairs and churned up more than a few sad memories.
"It's a little like visiting a cemetary," said Pulaski Mayor Gary Hancock as he walked through the remains of the building. The gates that have surrounded the courthouse since the fire were thrown open Tuesday so people could walk through.
"It's something we thought would never happen," Norma Trail, a secretary with the law firm of Crowell, Nucklols, Layman and Aust, said of the fire that gutted the century-old building. Rod Layman, her boss, stood behind her, studying the rooms where he had once argued cases.
"It's so sad to walk through here now," said Joyce Hurst, another secretary with the law firm.
"When we say to people, `What business or location or place always means downtown Pulaski?' they always say its the courthouse," said Doug Phelps, director of Pulaski Main Street Inc., which sponsored the event. The fire hasn't changed things.
"Things like this keep the public interest up," Phelps said. "Everyone's interested in what happens to it [the courthouse]."
Jean Comer, who works for the commissioner of revenue, took pictures of the remains of her old office.
Maynard Sayers, commissioner of revenue for the county, also took a tour, along with the offices' five secretaries.
Other secretaries walked in and out of the rooms, clutching their skirts to keep them away from the dirt and ashes that still coat a few of the walls, as they remembered when the courthouse clock toppled in the flames.
Meantime, more than 200 bosses and secretaries - many of whom already had toured the old building - were gathered on the lawn, listening to the likes of "Puff the Magic Dragon" and eating their fill.
"We started cooking at 7 this morning," said County Administrator Joe Morgan, who was decked out in an apron and engineer's hat during his turn at the grill.
Lee LaFleur, owner of Drapers Mercantile, explained the ins and outs of barbecuing pound upon pound of pork shoulder.
"Whatever you use, you gotta soak the meat all night before cooking," he said. LaFleur, who is from Louisiana, provided the cajun spices, the pit, and a lot of the cooking know-how.
Assistant County Administrator Peter Huber and County Engineer Ronnie Coake assisted Nancy Burchett, director of management services, in carving the meat.
by CNB