By Dick Harris, F272774
February 2012
A mutual love of Virginia Tech football and motorhoming were the reasons behind the creation of the Hokie Travelers chapter, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. During the collegiate football season, most of our activities revolve around attending Virginia Tech football games as a group. We typically meet at Lane Stadium, Virginia Tech’s home field in Blacksburg, but this year the team also played at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, providing us a great opportunity to organize a weeklong rally preceding the game.
Attending the rally were Vance and Patti Wilson; Paul and Joyce Miller; Don and Ellen Jensen; Bob and Bonnie Kreiger; Gordon Hill; and Betty Comer Hill and Dick Harris, who served as wagon masters.
The rally began at Pipestem Resort State Park, on Sunday, September 18, a day after the Hokies won a home game against Arkansas State. Pipestem is located approximately 70 miles from Blacksburg, so it was an easy run to the campground on Sunday morning. Our early arrival at the park left ample time for several members to get in a round of golf before dinner at the park lodge.
On Monday morning attendees took a tour through the “Bunker” at the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The Bunker, officially known as the U.S. Government Relocation Center, was built in the mid-1950s as a retreat for members of Congress in the event of a nuclear attack on Washington, D.C. The facility is located underground below the world-famous Greenbrier Hotel. The Bunker was a secret until it was decommissioned in the early 1990s.
Following the tour, the group visited the shops at the Greenbrier and had lunch at Draper’s. Some of us enjoyed a carriage ride around the formal gardens surrounding the hotel. By the time the group got back to the campground, it was again time for dinner, which we enjoyed at McKeever Lodge.
Tuesday morning it was on the road to Tamarack, an arts and crafts center located in Beckley just off Interstate 77. We parked our motorhomes in the center’s ample parking lot and took towed cars to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine for a ride through an actual retired coal mine within the Beckley city limits. The land overhead has been designated a city park.
The ride underground was a first for all of the Hokie Travelers. The temperature was a comfortable 57 degrees. The “man car” operator stopped several times in the 5-foot-high tunnel to explain how coal was mined at the turn of the century and how the miners were paid. At each stop the guide identified various pieces of equipment and explained how they were used. Side rooms were used as stages for displaying obsolete mining equipment. Some of our taller members had to watch their heads as the cars were moved through the mine tunnels. When the tour was over, we visited the company store to view photographs of the old mining operation and to see some of the tools the miners used.
It was then back to Tamarack to examine the many craft items produced by state artisans. The center is designed in a circular layout so you do not have to backtrack; you just keep walking. Some studios have glass viewing windows where artists can be observed by the public as they work.
From there we crossed the New River Gorge Bridge and visited the New River Gorge National River Canyon Rim Visitor Center. The bridge is 876 feet above the New River and is closed on the third Saturday of October each year for Bridge Day, during which BASE jumping is allowed. People throng to the bridge to see jumpers hurl themselves over the side, get a ride back to the top, pack their chutes, and hopefully make another jump.
Next it was a white-knuckle drive down Gauley Mountain where hairpin turns abound. The group made one stop at Hawk’s Nest Overlook for a view of the New River Gorge some 1,000 feet below. Everyone arrived at the Charleston Elks Lodge just in time to get connected to electric, go inside for dinner, and then call it a night.
The following morning we assembled for a short car ride to the West Virginia State Capitol, where we took guided tours of the governor’s mansion, the capitol building, the senate and house chambers, and the governor’s reception room. The senate was not in session, but attendees were warmly welcomed by senate clerk Darrell Holmes. He explained that the building was designed by Cass Gilbert, the architect for the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., thus the similarity in design.
We also visited the recently renovated West Virginia State Museum, a multimillion-dollar facility. By the time we reached the exit door everyone was bushed and ready to get back to our motorhomes. Dinner that night was at a local barbecue restaurant.
Thursday morning we were treated to a private tour of the Amherst Industries museum, a coal mining and river transportation company that’s headquartered just a mile upstream from the capitol and has been in business for more than 100 years. A very informative talk was given by the company’s safety director, Jim Jarrell, regarding the history of coal mining in the area and river transportation. He took plenty of time to answer the many questions posed by the visitors. The company’s owner, Charlie Jones, is 94 years old, and the day before we visited he had piloted one of his towboats upriver some 15 miles just to keep sharp on river navigation. His fleet of river tows now totals 32 vessels.
After a delicious Italian dinner, wagon masters Betty Comer Hill and Dick Harris invited the worn-out Hokie Travelers to their Charleston apartment overlooking the Kanawha River for a nightcap and to watch the first half of the Thursday night NFL football game on a large-screen TV.
Friday morning our caravan made its way to Heritage Farm Museum and Village, which is located approximately 10 miles outside of Huntington, West Virginia. Mike Perry and Marshall Reynolds, two Huntington businessmen, began collecting Appalachian artifacts more than 30 years ago. They now have 14 reconstructed log buildings they had moved from other locations to a farm outside of Huntington, including an old covered bridge. The buildings are filled with thousands of antique items depicting how settlers’ cabins might have looked in different eras. Mr. Perry spoke with us prior to the tour and waved good-bye as we left.
Our final stop was the student parking lot of Marshall University in Huntington, our “campground” for the weekend. After getting the motorhomes arranged, we walked across the street for a nice, relaxed meal.
On Saturday morning we saw many Virginia Tech fans already arriving for the 3:30 p.m. game under sunny skies. The Hokies won, 30-10, and we celebrated the victory in our Hokie Huddle circle of coaches throughout the night.
Sunday morning, no one was in a hurry to leave. The wagon masters had only a 50-mile trip back to Charleston, while the rest of the group pondered over where to spend the next week before returning to Blacksburg for another home game the following weekend.
In all, we enjoyed our wild and wonderful week in West Virginia. To see more photos of our trip, visit www.hokietravelers.blogspot.com.