Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 1, 1993 TAG: 9305010066
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Jeffries, who's chairman of the Chamber of Commerce's tourism committee, shared the committee's views on how to preserve the city's "long and colorful history" and develop a mechanism to put it on display for visitors.
What he and his committee have in mind will be called the Radford Heritage Foundation, which would pick up where the city's Centennial Committee left off last year.
At a meeting Thursday, Jeffries said the new entity would "identify, document, preserve, and promote Radford's heritage, past, present and future."
The foundation's organizational meeting is set for May 13. The "vision meeting" was intended, in part, to seek volunteers and potential board members.
Among ideas Jeffries floated at the session was the possibility of a city museum that "documents our heritage from the Native American period to the present."
He also suggested establishing a railroad museum, a program to record oral histories from the city's older residents, and restoration of existing buildings with historical significance.
There also would be historical markers "so when you walk down the street you can see history and participate in it."
Also in the works are plans to upgrade the long-running outdoor historical drama, "The Long Way Home." Changes on the drawing board now include hiring a general manager, rewriting the production and redesigning the amphitheater to permit performances during bad weather.
Jeffries told the gathering, which included representatives of city government and the chamber, that the foundation would attempt to "create an identity for Radford," which they agreed the city does not now have.
"It's only the imaginations of the members of the committee and of the citizens of Radford that will be the limiting factor," Jeffries said.
by CNB