Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 5, 1994 TAG: 9409210023
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TAZEWELL - Legends that grew up around the origin of the Dr Pepper soft drink in Virginia will be among the stories told at the third annual Southwestern Virginia Blue Ridge Highland Story-telling Festival on Sept. 10 at Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park.
The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and be followed by a workshop on combining music with stories.
The soft drink was named for Dr. Charles Pepper, a Bristol druggist and physician in Bristol who later opened a store in Rural Retreat. His daughter, Ruth, married Barnes Gillespie of Tazewell in 1901 and moved to Tazewell County.
The various legends involving Dr Pepper have been collected by Jim Lloyd of Rural Retreat, a fifth-generation storyteller and musician who now has a barber shop in the former Dr Pepper drug store in Rural Retreat.
Lloyd, who has told Appalachian stories at the two earlier festivals, will talk about Dr Pepper at 11 a.m. and entertain with traditional stories and music at 1:30 p.m.
Last year's attendance of about 300 doubled that of the year before. This year, a makeshift amphitheater in the shade will allow visitors to use benches or bring lawn chairs.
Admission is $4, with reduced prices for museum members. The price includes admission to the museum's main galleries, which will feature an exhibit of historic wedding attire, and historic buildings. Food and refreshments will be sold.
The museum is on U.S. 19/460 immediately west of Tazewell. It is a member-owned nonprofit institution devoted to the history and cultural heritage of Southwest Virginia.
Jobs workshop
Help in honing job-search skills will be offered to people age 55 or older in free three-day workshops sponsored by the LOA Area Agency on Aging's Employment and Training Department.
Topics will include identifying, prioritizing and expanding personal skills; overcoming potential barriers to re-entering the work force; and developing communication skills and strategies for the resume and interview.
Sessions, from 9 a.m.-noon, will be Sept. 13, 15 and 20 at AARP-RPS Teleservice Center and Oct. 4, 6 and 11at LOA's central office. Participants may attend individual workshops or the series. Attendance is limited to 25 registrants. Call 345-0451.
Elder-law workshop
Who will carry out your wishes if you're incapacitated? Elder-law specialist Harriette Shivers will on Sept. 13 present a workshop on choosing a substitute decision maker. Shivers' topics will include giving durable powers of attorney and making advanced medical directives affecting wishes about receiving life-sustaining treatment.
A notary public will be available and a power of attorney may be drawn up at the workshop. The sponsor, the LOA Area Agency on Aging's Legal Assistance Program, is encouraging a $5 donation to help defray the session's costs.
The workshop will be from 10 a.m. to noon at Second Presbyterian Church, 214 Mountain Ave. S.W., Roanoke. First-come, first-served spaces are limited to 25 participants. Call Laura Turner at the LOA, 345-0451.
Holbrook coming
Hal Holbrook will star in his one-man show, ``Mark Twain Tonight!'' on Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. at the Roanoke Civic Center.
The award-winning presentation features Holbrook as the man who made America laugh and think about the foibles of life in the United States during the late 1800s. Proceeds will grant the wishes of terminally ill children through the Make-A-Wish Foundation Chapter of Western Virginia.
Tickets are $22 and $28 and go on sale Oct. 3. Call 981-1201.
by CNB