ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608130041
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Betty Strother
SOURCE: BETTY STROTHER
FINCASTLE, born on the "edge of wilderness, may end up being on the cutting edge of the future. It's coming back around."
Bo Trumbo was getting downright poetic about his town between bites of a steak sandwich, which he seemed to be enjoying greatly at one of the front tables at Dee's, the now-late, greatly lamented deli.
He had joined us unexpectedly, asking if we'd mind if he took the last seat at our four-person table (``Not at all!"), realizing only as he was sinking into his chair that this wasn't an altogether routine lunch. Too late.
"You taking notes?" he asked, dismayed, when he spotted the yellow legal pad next to my plate and the mayo-slickened pen I was gamely trying to scribble with between bites of a dripping chicken salad sandwich. I laughed. There is no peace unto the wicked, and politicians just never know when they're going to find their fannies in the frying pan.
Trumbo is state senator for the far-flung 22nd District in Western Virginia, in town that day, he said, "trying to make a living." I was there - with Anne Morse and former mayor Harold Eads, both active with Historic Fincastle Inc. - gathering information for editorials on preserving the region's historic and scenic high points, with Fincastle the focal point. It is historic. It sits like a jewel in a setting of lush green hills. And it must be preserved.
Small-town America, old-fashioned community values, a proud history: There was plenty here for a good politician to extemporize about, and Trumbo didn't take long to warm to the topic.
"We have a unique situation here, well worth preserving." But, he said, Fincastle is more than just its historic buildings. It's the people who live there.
This is where he brought up the future, and the use of computers - Fincastle is wired with fiber optics - to sustain small-town life. City and suburban people in high-paying jobs, yearning for a place where the whole village is watching out for their kids, are keeping the jobs, but not the big city. They're moving back to a collective past.
At least some are. How big a trend this will be is anyone's guess, but it's a plausible and appealing scenario.
And it's rooted not just in nostalgia, but in reality. Trumbo recalled the Fincastle woman who saw his kid ride his bike through an intersection without watching for traffic. First she called the boy down, then she called Dad.
"Everybody knows the children," Eads agreed. "Everybody looks out after the children. And everybody looks after the adults, too. That's an important thing. ... If you're looking for a quiet, private life, this is not the place to live."
Fincastle is small even among small towns. With a population of 239, it has fewer people than many churches do. And, like a church, when a need arises, the community usually just gets together and handles it.
"A couple of years ago, we started the Society to Keep Fincastle Lit," Trumbo mentioned by way of illustration. I thought about the old folks talking about someone being pretty well lit, and was conjuring up a curious but entertaining image of this group's activities when he added, "to keep the Christmas lights lit."
Ah.
"We had doctors, lawyers, carpenters - everybody and their kids out putting Christmas lights up."
"A good part of what's done here is done on a volunteer basis," Eads said. "A good part of the government operations of Fincastle, such as they are, are volunteer."
And disputes are settled informally. "When I was mayor," Eads recalled, "people would complain [about someone] and I'd call 'em up and say, 'This is how you're supposed to be doing it,' and they'd say, 'Oh. OK.'''
"We're not litigious," Trumbo explained.
Two lawyers noting this not just with equanimity but with pride is - well, it's part of the character of Fincastle.
All of which helps explain why townspeople shy away from talk about formal protections to keep Fincastle historic. They're a conciliatory lot with common values. Not everyone shares an enthusiasm for restoring the town's old buildings, but enough do to maintain Fincastle's distinctive flavor. And there's little taste for forcing anyone to comply.
Besides, Trumbo said, "It's not just the preservation of the brick, it's the preservation of the lifestyle that's carried on."
But one has everything to do with the other.
Dee's deli closed a few weeks after our lunch; it's been gone about a month now. A new restaurant is opening across the street - was supposed to open, actually, by the time the deli closed - and it can't be soon enough for some of Dee's old regulars. I called Harold Eads the other day to check on the progress: Work is still under way. They're hoping September, now.
Where are folks going for lunch? I asked. "Just - here and there ... '' No place special.
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