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

DATE: MONDAY, February 13, 1995                   TAG: 9502140028
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

VISIT THE VALLEY; WHAT'LL YOU SEE?

But let's not ignore the recreational forest for the trees. Notwithstanding the occasional variations, Roanokers of all descriptions tend to show visitors the same things.

On the list of Roanoke Valley sights that we take visitors to see, the biggies are the biggies regardless of age, education, income or race. By the same tourism token, the lesser attractions are lesser among all groups identified in the latest annual Roanoke Valley Poll.

The poll, conducted by The Center for Community Research at Roanoke College in co-sponsorship with the Roanoke Times & World-News, asked 400 randomly selected Roanoke Valley residents whether they had ever taken out-of-town visitors to any of 12 places.

The top three overall were the Blue Ridge Parkway (73 percent had taken a visitor to it), the Mill Mountain Star (69 percent) and the Roanoke City Market (60 percent). They were also the top three, usually in the same order, for all income levels, both races, all age groups except one and all educational levels except one.

Eighteen-to-29-year-olds were slightly more likely to have taken a visitor to Center in the Square - No. 4 in the overall tabulation - than to the nearby City Market. Respondents with schooling beyond a college degree were slightly more likely to have taken a visitor to Center in the Square than to the Mill Mountain Star.

As a place to show a visitor, the poll found, miniature Graceland appeals in roughly equal measure to people of all income and educational levels. We'd recommend a drive-by to anyone who hasn't seen it. But the alleged egalitarianism of its appeal is less than impressive when you consider that only 14 percent of poll respondents overall say they've taken an out-of-towner for a look at it.

Places like the parkway, the star, the City Market and Center in the Square exhibit a more significant egalitarianism, because the numbers are so much bigger.

People with household incomes of less than $10,000, for example, were four times likelier than people with incomes of more than $40,000 to have taken a visitor to the Franklin County Speedway. Nevertheless, those with low incomes were more than twice as likely to have taken a visitor to Center in the Square than to the speedway.

Similarly, college graduates were 65 percent more likely than high-school dropouts to have taken someone to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Even so, more than half the dropouts had taken a visitor to the parkway and was that group's - like most other groups' - most popular spot.

In what we want to show off about the valley, the poll suggests, Roanokers differ somewhat according to income, education, age and race. But, the poll also shows, the differences are smaller than the likenesses.