Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 15, 1991 TAG: 9104150054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER/ SOUTHWEST BUREAU
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
She told a Realtor in Virginia she would like to open a small bed-and-breakfast operation if he could find her a little place.
"And three days after we made the settlement on the restaurant in Maryland, I was down here hyperventilating because I couldn't believe I had something that was five times as big as what I just got rid of," she said.
That "something" was Big Walker Lookout, a 35-acre tourist attraction dominated by a 120-foot tower from which people can see parts of five states.
At least it used to be a tourist attraction.
It was the brainchild and dream of the late Stuart Kime, a civil engineer who started building it about 45 years ago off U.S. 52 atop Big Walker Mountain near the Wythe-Bland county line.
It did so well that he and his family were able to add other facilities, such as a ski lift and a "Crazy Cabin" fun house.
But when Interstate 77 routed motorists through the mountain instead of over it, business dwindled. Nature provided the coup de grace a few years ago, when lightning struck the tower and forced it to close for repairs.
Craft, who had been living on property she and her husband bought in Grayson County, purchased the lookout property from the Kime family last year. Now she is living there. Her husband had planned to retire from Chrysler Corp. last year and move to Virginia, but a change in the corporation's buyout plan has forced him to stay in Maryland a little longer.
"We decided to go ahead and give it a try," she said of Big Walker, "and just cross our fingers and pray."
The view from the mountaintop sold Craft on the purchase. "I'm weird. The higher I get, the happier I am," she said.
Of course, she has climbed the tower. "When I watched my two grandchildren go up there, I couldn't be intimidated," she said.
The grandchildren, ages 5 and 7, and her daughter have helped her start putting the place back in shape. But most of the help has come from Robert Nuckolls, a native of the area who sold a tourism business in Florida to be near his family.
Nuckolls, who met Craft through her daughter, classifies himself as a manager, consultant, handyman and troubleshooter. Among many other things, he spent last winter climbing the tower to string thousands of Christmas lights along the rails of its more than 200 steps.
"We're just trying to bring it back to life and save it," he said. "Mainly what we're running into is nobody knows it's here." He is hoping the recent designation of U.S. 52 as a scenic loop will bring more travelers.
The gift-shop building - which also contains living quarters and a workshop - is being stocked. The shop is connected to the tower by a swinging bridge. The facility, surrounded by Jefferson National Forest, also has places for hiking and picnicking.
All that will be available to the public starting this month, but restarting the ski lift or fun house will take longer and will depend on public response to what is being offered now.
Admission to the bridge and tower will be $2.50 for adults and $1.50 for children. There is a $1 cover charge to come to the bluegrass music shindigs hosted every weekend on the mountain since September.
The gift shop already has been serving as a bluegrass music center, with bands such as Big Bend coming up every Friday night for a session of picking and singing.
Craft has been working part time at a Sentry Food Mart in Wytheville to keep busy during winter and make some more money to try to continue Kime's vision.
"The man had a dream, and he just gave his whole life to that dream. It seems a shame just to let it die without some attention to saving it," she said.
"Maybe people will see in it what I see."
information is available by calling 228-4401.
by CNB