Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 8, 1994 TAG: 9405090104
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BECKY HEPLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Long
It all started a long time ago, in 1810, when Pearisburg founder George Pearis died. He had reserved a particularly scenic parcel of land on his farm as a graveyard, high atop a knoll overlooking a bend in the New River. That's where he was laid to rest, and, eventually, so were many of his relatives and other folks from Bluff City until the 1930s, when the property was sold and the graveyard closed. Bereft of any long-term maintenance funds, it was virtually abandoned.
As with any abandoned place, nature recaptured its own, sending in trees, grapevines and a regiment of weeds until it was hard to detect the mortuary purpose. Perhaps it was just as well, the view having become more industrial than scenic. But for all practical purposes, it looked as if the founder of Pearisburg had been forgotten.
Of course, that was not the case. Both the Giles Historical Society and the DAR were concerned about their star attraction. George, after all, had commanded the horsemen in 1780, under Maj. Joseph Cloyd, and eventually reached the rank of captain of the militia during his service in the Revolutionary War. Moreover, it was his donation of land that started the town that bears his name.
The clubs wanted to do right by him and ended up opening a museum that detailed his life and contributions to the county. Even though they were interested in doing something with the graveyard, especially in 1976 during the Bicentennial, the property owners were reluctant, for insurance reasons, to open the area to the public. The graveyard did not have a perpetual care fund and the women were no match for Mother Nature.
Even the town was interested in the situation. Whispering "Tourism," the mantra of economic development, town officials discussed how the town might capitalize on this resource. They even sought some kind of joint approach with the county Board of Supervisors. However, when dealing with landfills and taxes and schools and all the other issues distracting local government, it's hard to get excited about a graveyard.
In the early 1980s, the Park Service bought the land around the graveyard in preparation for relocating the Appalachian Trail to that area. Charles Parry, active volunteer in the AT Club that serves this portion of the trail, had it in the back of his mind that the graveyard site would be a point of interest for trail hikers, especially since the path was very close to it. Of course, a trail connecting the two would need to be cut, plus you could hardly find the gravestones for all the weeds and trees. So, given the higher priority of rerouting the trail and maintaining the rest, that project fell pretty low on his "To Do" list.
Parry, however, knows an opportunity when he sees it. He has worked extensively with Scout troops and regularly presses them into service for the Appalachian Trail, especially those boys seeking Eagle projects. They bring lots of bodies and enthusiasm to jobs that might otherwise be ignored.
For the uninitiated, attaining Eagle rank in the Boy Scouts is a high honor. To achieve it, a Scout must plan and execute a major project. It is an opportunity to demonstrate leadership, because the Scout must direct the group of Scouts and adults who have agreed to help him. The project must benefit the community or region and not just the Scouts.
So, when Boy Scout Paul Brown, now a senior at Blacksburg High School, came to Parry (who also had helped his older brother when he did his Eagle project) a year ago and asked if he had any ideas, Parry included the Pearis grave site in the list of suggestions. Brown got into scouting because he loves camping, hiking and being outdoors, so he was gratified to have a project that addressed that.
He also was intrigued by its history. "I never even knew it existed, but the project got me interested and who knows what interest this might stir in other people to do research," he said.
Brown organized his volunteers and, over the course of two weekends last summer, they cut a path from the graveyard to the Appalachian Trail and built and erected a sign marking it. They also cleaned the graveyard, cutting back overgrown brush, picking up litter and righting overturned gravestones. Brown even recruited a mason to repair the wall surrounding the graveyard.
Brown's work was enough to reinvigorate those forces who had wanted to do something about the graveyard earlier. The Historical Society and the DAR were still interested in doing more to promote the site. The Garden Club had some grant money it was willing to donate to the cause. The Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, Junior Women's Club and Kiwanis Club were all eager to help.
The widespread nature of the support for the project can be traced to the overlapping memberships. Ruth Blevins is a good example of this. She is a member of the DAR, the Garden Club and the Historical Society. "All of us are in all of the clubs, so it's no wonder we were able to get so many organizations involved."
The effort had just about reached critical mass, though the hardest part was trying to find a time when all could meet. Summer stretched into autumn and then into winter.
Of course, there is always adversity. The icy weather not only caused meetings to be canceled and postponed, but created other work to occupy the volunteers. Finally, the interested parties were able to get together March 28 to tour the site and make plans about what should be done. All that pent-up energy could be expended on the site.
Blevins said the first project will be a parking lot, large enough to accommodate school buses that will be touring the site. "We hope to have it ready by fall," she said, pending approval from the Forest Service for its landscaping.
There was also talk about establishing a perpetual care fund. "We got the names of people buried there and it includes many of the families still living in Giles County," Blevins said. "I hope we can get their help in this."
There's no stopping them now. Another meeting is scheduled to assess the progress of the volunteers and to make additional plans. There's even talk of building a shelter and moving the hiker's hostel from the Catholic church to near the graveyard site.
No doubt, Pearis would enjoy the company. He also would be very proud of the community spirit that has wrought all of this, the community he helped to build.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***