Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 13, 1995 TAG: 9507130054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SHANNON D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Andrews is the former chairman of the Mill Mountain Development Committee, appointed by City Council in 1969 to further the development of Mill Mountain.
Carl Kopitzke, successor to Andrews as chairman of the committee, credited Andrews with carrying out the wishes of J.B. Fishburn, who donated the land to the city in 1941 and wanted the mountaintop to provide recreation for residents of the Roanoke Valley.
Andrews served for nearly 25 years as editorial page editor of The World-News. The newspaper company donated the overlook in 1986.
While Andrews headed Mill Mountain Development Committee, the Mill Mountain Zoo and parking facilities were expanded, restrooms were built and a monument to Fishburn was constructed.
Andrews, who retired from the committee in 1993, died last month at age 89.
"We should be pleased to know that his spirit is with each of us today to continue the legacy he has established for us," Kopitzke said.
Andrews' widow, Mary Spotswood Eggleston Andrews, participated in the ceremony Wednesday as she and Mayor David Bowers unveiled a plaque in Carl Andrews' memory.
The plaque reads:
"Through his leadership and guidance, many improvements were made in the park. His goal was always to protect and preserve Mill Mountain as a valuable resource for all Roanoke citizens and visitors to enjoy."
"He would have loved it," his widow said, ending her sentence with a tearful smile.
Andrews' nephew, W.L. Cowlbeck, said he remembers as a child riding up the mountain with his uncle on the day construction began on the star.
"It was a very special surprise for me," he said. "I miss him a lot."
Memo: ***CORRECTION***