Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 18, 1993 TAG: 9304160015
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
IN THE THICK OF IT ALL
A little more than a decade has passed since Arthur J. "Torchy" Walrath ended his term as Blacksburg's mayor in 1982.But a lot happened to Blacksburg during his four years in office.
The town got its bus system.
It was named an All-American City.
It found itself involved in a zoning controversy over whether to allow the German Club to build a clubhouse complex on Southgate Drive.
More than the usual squabbles erupted between the town and Montgomery County - especially when Town Council candidates were invited to meet with county officials.
And there was disagreement over how well the town was being represented in the General Assembly.
Walrath found himself in the middle of all those things - and more.
"Torchy was a very conscientious person, but he would sometimes rub people the wrong way because he was so direct," said Councilwoman Frances Parsons, who was first elected in 1972, the same year as Walrath. Parsons said Walrath was a good mayor whose strongest quality was his dedication to the town.
So it should come as no surprise that the former mayor - who celebrated his 80th birthday last month - is still serving the community.
Many people, in fact, know him more for his work as a Boy Scout leader - and his best-selling camp cookbook - than for his title as ex-mayor.
He has been active in the Boy Scouts for more than 45 years and is assistant scoutmaster of Troop 44 in Blacksburg.
"He's a fantastic person. When he's dealing with scouts, he's always on a positive note," said Greg Polan, Troop 44's scoutmaster and an Eagle Scout in the troop in 1979.
"We're always learning aspects of scouting he can teach," Polan said. "It's an asset for me to have him around. Not just for the cooking demonstrations. But if we're out doing a project, he'll come out and meet the work detail and cook us a meal. That's something we don't have to worry about."
Already, Walrath has plans to do those weekly cooking demonstrations at summer camp. And his 1967 classic cookbook, "Camp Cookery for Small Groups," continues to sell well - 9,000 copies last year.
Walrath also represents the town on two committees. One is the Transit Advisory Committee, which oversees the bus system Walrath helped initiate.
"That was the highlight of my term as mayor," he said. "We got the bus system going after long, hard struggle. And once we got it going, the two persons who were most strongly opposed to it became some of its biggest supporters."
Walrath also is on the Blacksburg-VPI Sanitary Authority board, which deals with waste-water matters, one of the concerns Walrath had when he returned to Virginia Tech to stay in 1957.
It had been more than 10 years since his job with the U.S. Agriculture Department took Walrath from Blacksburg to Texas, New Mexico, Oregon and Wisconsin. During that time, he earned a doctorate in economics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The traveling gave him a chance to see how Blacksburg compared to other places.
"When I was coming back, I had a couple of questions," Walrath said. "The two questions I raised were: `What was the water situation?' and `What was the school situation?' In 1946-47, both were terrible. But when I got back, there was a new water system and the schools had greatly improved."
Walrath often is the voice of experience on those commissions, because he has been in Blacksburg and involved in community activities for more than 35 years.
"We lean on him; he's sort of our resident parliamentarian," said Michael Connelly, the town's transit manager. "If we ever have a question of voting or procedure, with him we're able to get it all together. He's been here and been involved. He knows what's been done in the past. He's a big help to us; he's a wealth of knowledge."
Walrath has earned the title of senior statesman. In 1972, he won election to Town Council as a write-in candidate endorsed by the Progressive Government League, a group of business people, professionals, Tech officials and community leaders. In 1976, he won a second term.
In 1977, he retired from the Department of Agriculture and Virginia Tech's agricultural economics department. That left him the free time to pursue higher office.
So the following year, he tried for the mayor's job. He defeated, 1,089 to 660, a write-in campaign to retain Barringer, who did not seek re-election, with three votes going to other write-in candidates.
His four years as mayor - 1978 to 1982 - serve as a bridge between the longer terms of John Barringer (1942-1978) and the current mayor, Roger Hedgepeth (1982-present).
After his stint as mayor, Walrath briefly worked with a group that sought city status for Blacksburg.
He said he wasn't nicknamed "Torchy" because of his directness or the situations he found himself in as mayor. An uncle gave him the name many years ago because of his red hair and its resemblance to a popular fiction character of Walrath's youth - a red-headed boy named Torchy.
Walrath got involved with Boy Scouts in Las Cruses, N.M., in 1947. He has earned some of scouting's highest honors, such as the Wood Badge, a training award, and the Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor a local council can give a leader.
He also has attended many scout jamborees, including the 1971 World Jamboree in Toyko as a unit leader. But the trip to Japan almost didn't happen.
"There was a conflict between the scouting executives and the regional office" on going to the jamboree, Walrath recalled. "The executives wanted to send two adults; the regional office wanted to send another person.
"When we got to Philadelphia, there were three planes [headed to the jamboree]. Two of them had doctors on it. So they put a doctor on the third plane - Dr. Walrath. The regional director just didn't tell anyone that the doctor was a Ph.D."
Walrath is still an active gardener. He has two greenhouses, one at the side of the house and one out back. And he has lectured garden clubs on subjects such as plant propagation.
Walrath also has some things he'd still like to do - travel, mainly. A motor home sits in the driveway of his house on South Main Street. But except for a trip back to the Southwest three years ago, Walrath and his wife, Margaret, have used it only to visit family.
With daughter Nancy Runyans - the illustrator of Walrath's cookbook - in New York, and sons Arthur Jr. in Ohio and Richard in Maryland, seeing family entails some travel.
Walrath hints that a trip to the Pacific Northwest may be in the offing soon.
But for now, he can tell you how much Blacksburg has progressed by how many traffic lights there are on Main Street - 10 compared to two in 1957.
More importantly, he can tell you how town officials react when one of those traffic signals goes awry.
"One day, I was coming home and there was something [wrong] with the light at Airport and Main," Walrath said. "I called the town and nothing happened. Then they found out I was on council. And when I went back to work, they were working on the light. It seemed the main function of the town officials then was to serve the members of council.
"I don't think it's that way today. They [town officials] serve the people. One telephone call can do an awful lot in this town."
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