Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 9, 1994 TAG: 9401070134
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL CSOLLANY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
After working a few hours, the farmer tells the hand to take a break. The farmhand sits down, Myers explains, and at that point the diligent farmer says, "Well, don't just sit there: plant onions."
It was this parable that inspired the name of a film the retired Episcopal priest made about retirement in Blacksburg: "Don't Just Sit There or How to Enjoy Retirement in Blacksburg, Va."
The origin of the film is something of a story within a story.
The Rev. Herbert Myers has been a cheerleader for Blacksburg since he and his wife, Aileen, retired here in 1982.
But unlike many of the other senior citizens who have recently made Blacksburg a "hot" place to settle down, the couple had none of the traditional ties to the region such as local relatives or roots in Virginia.
"A lot of people have been intrigued by how Aileen and I retired to Blacksburg without any initial ties to the area," Myers said.
So Myers was invited to Rotary meetings and other civic groups where he told the tale of how he got here and why he is happy that he did.
About 25 years ago, Myers told them, his wife - then a suburban Detroit school teacher - visited Virginia Tech for a National Junior Classical League meeting for her Latin students.
"She was impressed by the beauty of Blacksburg and came back and told me all about it," he said.
After retiring, Aileen convinced Herb to take a detour through Blacksburg on a trip from Michigan to Florida.
He, too, was impressed.
During one of his "sermons" to a civic group, WTOB-TV - Blacksburg's public access channel - caught the minister on tape. It was quite unfortunate, Myers said, because he was feeling under the weather that day and was not very inspiring.
So when Myers kept seeing himself on WTOB - in one of his weaker performances - he knew that he had to get it retaped, and retaped right.
"We tried to get Robert Redford, but he just wasn't available," he joked.
Myers teamed up with Ed Savage, a producer at WTOB, to make the film.
They abandoned the podium and dressed Myers up in a variety of outfits depending on what he was talking about.
He wore a tuxedo when talking about the Blacksburg Master Chorale, a community group that performs classical choral music; a swimsuit when talking about the Aquatic Center; a Revolutionary War-era outfit when appearing at Smithfield Plantation; his hospital volunteer uniform when talking about health-care options; and his minister's robes while talking about churches in town.
The different garbs also are a reflection of how active both Myers and his wife have been in community projects since their move to the New River Valley.
Myers adapted a script given on tours during the Family Motor Coach Association Convention this summer. Music and moving images were interspersed between his quotables.
"My wife and I like to say: `If you can't buy it in Blacksburg, you probably don't need it,' " Myers said, talking about shopping.
Myers said he was not quite sure who would use the video - he was just happy that the old one was off the air.
The town of Blacksburg has plans to use the film to promote itself both to people inside the town who have already retired and people from outside of town who are considering the move.
"We intend to use it as a promotional piece when we do presentations on Blacksburg as a retirement community . . . I think he did a wonderful job," Town Manager Ron Secrist said. "We may even consider sending the tape to individuals after they've perhaps expressed their second or third inquiry into Blacksburg."
by CNB