Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 23, 1994                   TAG: 9410240065
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CATAWBA                                  LENGTH: Medium

HIKING'S JUST THEIR FAMILY WAY

A family that hikes together stays together. And has lots of fun.

Just ask the Wohlfords - all three dozen of them - from Roanoke and across the state.

Or ask anybody else who was up on McAfee Knob on Saturday. The Wohlfords' smiles were as bright and colorful as the autumn leaves. Their laughter, carried by the wind, couldn't be missed.

This extended family - brothers, sisters, parents, kids, in-laws, kin of every kind - got together for what has become a yearly tradition for them, an exuberant hike to McAfee Knob. This year's family hike was their eighth.

The Wohlfords may be notable, in this age of families whose paths may cross only at funeral homes, as a family that has traditions that bind. Getting together and seeing each other regularly is important, they say.

"You just don't see families of this size doing things together," said Jeanne Wohlford, who has been daughter-in-law to Charles and Betty Wohlford for 13 years.

It was Charles Wohlford, 64, owner of a home improvement business in Roanoke for 35 years, who organized Saturday's outing, inviting people from Wytheville, Richmond and Harrisonburg. He contacted everybody, drew maps, and, with a smile, offered words of wisdom as the group set off: "If you kids see any bears, the first thing you do is give them your lunch."

"He comes from a strong family tradition, and he tries to instill that," said Jeanne Wohlford.

"When they get together, they don't turn the TV on. As far as sitting down and spending time together, that's what they do," said her husband, Steve.

It sounds great to Mike Biliunas, 26, a printing company supervisor in Richmond. He is scheduled to marry into the family in June, to Lainee Zell, 23, of Richmond.

"They're a neat family" that extends a lot of Southern hospitality, he said, something he didn't see much of when he was a kid up north.

Brad Moore of Wytheville, an in-law who comes from a small family, said get-togethers such as this can be an antidote for a troubled world. Nowadays, he said, "Roots are important."

And even though Charles and Betty Wohlford have been able to provide a lot for their children, things that are beyond the scope of money remain important, they say.

"We really want to focus on the other things, not just material things," said Roanoke's Vicky Kincanon, a daughter.

Charles Wohlford's relatives say he has a rare love of life. He underwent triple bypass surgery in February and rode a bike with his brother, Douglas, 29 miles from Christiansburg to Catawba six months later.

The surgery may have been eye-opening for Charles Wohlford, said Jeanne Wohlford, who works in the cardiology unit of Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

"When you see patients faced with stuff like that, they look at the values they have."