Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 2, 1993 TAG: 9307020037
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LON WAGNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
It will be 6:30 p.m. today in front of the Franklin County Courthouse. After an hour-long musical tribute, Dr. J.A. Hagy, a family physician at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, will lead a chorus of "God Bless America."
And then: "We're right on Courthouse Square, so they wouldn't let me use fireworks," said Morris Law, coordinator of the kickoff.
"But at the conclusion of `God Bless America,' a cannon will fire, the courthouse bell will ring, and this huge, dust-jacket of the book that will be hanging from the balcony will be unveiled."
The county history will be as weighty as its title: "Franklin County, Virginia, 1786-1986: A Bicentennial History." The book is more than 500 pages, includes 150 photographs and maps and has 25 chapters.
The Franklin County history book was conceived in 1986, when the county celebrated its bicentennial. Dr. Francis Amos, chairman of the Bicentennial Commission, discovered that a lot of people were proud Franklin Countians, but didn't know many specifics about their history.
"Our children, as they came up in the school system, did not have an appreciation of their local heritage," Amos said. "I thought it was important that our children know the impact their ancestors had on American history."
At the bicentennial commission's request, the county supervisors allocated $50,000 to hire someone to write the book. Since then about $20,000 more has been appropriated.
The husband-wife team of John and Emily Salmon were commissioned to do the work. He is a historian with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and she works in the publications division of the Virginia State Library.
Amos said he asked the Salmons to make the book "a readable history, one that a person could sit down and enjoy and be enlightened at the same time."
The Salmons decided to start from the beginning - the very beginning. Included in the book is an explanation of the geological formations in southern Virginia.
The book also includes chapters on women's role in the county's development, societal difficulties and the county's most infamous product - moonshine.
The county authorized an initial printing of 4,000 copies. The book can be purchased after tonight's event, at a Sunday book-signing at Amos' house on South Main Street or from the county treasurer.
by CNB