Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 15, 1990 TAG: 9007130326
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Barbara Holcomb
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Summer in perpetually crowded Blacksburg brings an empty seat at Carol Lee's Donut Shop, or a downtown parking space where Donald Trump normally couldn't buy a parking space, or a short supermarket line with people over age 20.
Even the students who reside here in the summer enjoy the absence of their peers.
Laus Hofmann, a graduate student in engineering mechanics and science, said "It's wonderful when the students are gone. When I first came here, it was in the summer. I saw wide, open spaces without many people. It was beautiful. Then, when everyone returned in the fall, it was like a lot of ants running around."
He added that there are not any problems getting to use a Virginia Tech computer during the summer, since the campus is more vacant. "One big benefit is that Gillie's isn't full," Hofmann said.
There is this feeling of freedom - freedom from traffic, long lines, and the hectic pace of the rest of the year. The town opens up and and few come in to fill the spaces left from annual student evacuation, except the overabundance of earwigs. Perhaps this feeling of freedom is tied to childhood memories of long fun-filled summer evenings spent with friends in your neighborhood, when you knew everyone and life seemed easy.
Niranjan Patel, another engineering mechanics graduate student, said "The percentage of people you know in town is much higher. You see more of the people you know, more often. I'd call it `summer bonding.'"
Mimi Buchanan, a Tech graduate student who wishes to stay in the area after she graduates, mentioned the "Blacksburg bond" phenomenon, as well.
"The Blacksburg residents all come out of the woodwork. We can be ourselves and bond together again," Buchanan said.
We have all heard of the importance of familial bonding, but "Blacksburg bonding?" For a small community, it is amazingly simple to be monastic throughout the year, and then, to emerge in the summer with hopes of rediscovering old friendships. At least, this is the attitude of many who live here all year.
The director of the YMCA, Barbara Michelsen, said, "I love Blacksburg in the summer. There's so much to do - Summer Fest, which the Theater Arts Department does, for example. Now, there's this new series - the American Chamber-Audubon Seminar - going on. It's beautiful here in the summer. There's little traffic and fewer lines at Gillie's. The pace slows down and we have a chance to regroup."
YMCA staff, other organizations, and businesses are not the only ones to regroup in the summer. Folks use the summer hours to look ahead, set new goals and begin pursuing tthem.
Zondra Layman of Physicians Weight Loss Center said their business is steady and still good in the summer. She is anticipating an excellent late July and early August as people wish to lose weight before September.
RAFT, a crisis-intervention center that serves the New River Valley, experiences a moderate decrease in its case load, but according to Sue Bentley, an emergency-service clinician, "Even though we see fewer who are in bad shape psychiatrically speaking, we have a huge decrease in volunteer participation. We'll have one person instead of two on a shift and that can be difficult at times. Just recently, we have seen a lot of adolescents due to the end-of-the-year pressures, but basically, our work does slow up some.
"People have more chances to be out, instead of being cooped up in a house on a cold, bleak day feeling depressed. More people get out and see families and friends, too, which helps."
"There are two sides to every issue," said Bobbi Lopez, manager of Partyrama. "It gives a chance to regroup and make changes, but yet, it's slow. We miss the students. The town is not lively," he said.
Those who own shops often need to tighten their belts financially. The students have the hands that feed them.
Ray Chisholm, owner of Softcovers Book Store, said that, "from a business perspective, it's dead in the summer. There seems to be fewer students here since we changed to the semester system. The change means that people, such as public school teachers who operate on a different schedule, are unable to attend the first summer session. It makes for a longer, slower summer."
The manager of Mish-Mish, Dave Ward, loves the contrast.
"But by the time school starts," Ward added, "it's nice to see more folks in town. It's hard on the businesses in town, but you try to plan for it and do the best you can."
Memo: correction