ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010020
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS
The historic Salem Camp Meeting building at Third and Colorado streets has taken on new life after its renovation over the past two years by Dr. Richard Fisher, a Salem physician and church leader.
It is being used each Saturday night for gospel music concerts, according to Dorothy Durrett, a staff member of radio station WKBA and promoter of Christian country music. Durrett and her husband, Richard "Bud" Durrett, have followed gospel music for many years.
When the building was opened in mid-May, nearly 100 people showed up for the music, Durrett said. Since then, attendance appears to justify scheduling a weekly program.
Programs are 7-9 p.m. and are intended not only for family entertainment, but also to give little-known church music groups an opportunity to perform for an offering.
Durrett said most Saturday nights are filled through the summer, and plans are to continue the series after Labor Day.
The camp meeting building, which is about 75 years old, housed an evangelical Christian series of summer services and missionary programs until several summers ago, when it closed because its supporters had aged. The services had been held on the site in Salem for nearly 100 years.
LENGTH: Short : 32 linesby CNB