This past week has been quite busy in terms of events. I’ve attended two events already and will be doing another one on Sunday. It can be safely said that participation in various events is a major part of working for the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation.
The first event was on Thursday and dealt with a sign unveiling. It was at the Crystal Spring Pump Station where the site was getting its own “interpretative historical marker.” I watched the sign get unveiled, listened to the history of the site, and saw the old pump run for a little bit. It was quite an impressive piece of machinery and I found hard to believe people used to build stuff like that without aid from modern design software. This event was actually two parts with the second part being a meeting at the Fork in the Alley restaurant for a “Pub Talk” on local history. Not much can be said about that event besides it involved a lot of drinking and a map of the local area.
The other event I attended was more hands on than the other ones I’ve been to. I went to Villa Heights Park on Saturday for a “Community Work Day” where we worked with a group called Restoration Housing to beautify the park’s main building. I spent my time that day cutting roots and vines with a hatchet, digging holes to plant bushes, and cleaning up garbage. We also had someone from a TV station come by and get footage of us and interview the person in charge. A bike group on a historical tour showed up late to park where the lady in charge talked to them about the park’s history to them. The event ended with a presentation created by the RVPF on endangered historical sites in the Roanoke Valley.
The final event I will be attending is another sign unveiling in Botetourt County. This one is for the Lewis and Clark Trail and will be done in Fincastle. Not much else will happen beyond the sign unveiling and I’m glad that will be the case. These events have been exhausting and May Term has not been helping.