Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 8, 1994 TAG: 9402080248
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
It turned out that a Public Broadcasting System television special featuring The Oaks bed-and-breakfast in Christiansburg had aired over a station in that state.
Margaret Ray, who owns the B&B with her husband, prepared muffins for the show, but she also made a point to mention other attractions in the New River Valley.
A PBS crew spent three days in the region last summer shooting at The Oaks, the Chateau Morrisette winery and the Pioneer Maid cruise boat on Claytor Lake.
Ray has not seen the show, but she knows it is to be broadcast over 120 PBS TV stations at various times. It is part of a PBS series called ``In Country, USA.''
``The phone's ringing off the hook,'' Ray said, since the North Carolina debut of the segment. Some of the callers mentioned her muffins, which apparently are featured prominently .
``I cooked for five hours before the cameras, and it was 95 [degrees] that day,'' she said. ``I started out really perky and, after five hours before all those lights, I just felt like I'd been pulled through a knothole!''
Ray said the other calls to the chamber demonstrate the benefits of tourism businesses plugging each other. The chamber has responded by providing information not only on the Pulaski area attractions but others throughout the New River Valley.
``We're getting some results, and it's sort of fun to work together. I just hope it gets bigger and bigger,'' Ray said. ``The fact that it's airing on all the stations at a different time is just a miracle because the effect will keep going but that's the way regional promotion has got to work.''
Ray is looking forward to seeing how she comes across on the screen, based on what callers have said about her appearance.
``I haven't seen it yet, but I understand I'm the oldest living new TV star!'' she joked.
by CNB