Some history of the Town of Buchanan
Editor:
I am not a resident of Buchanan, but I am a resident of Botetourt County and the Buchanan District.
I remember all the things that went on in Buchanan and am very familiar with the town for about 75 years. Buchanan once had seven grocery stores in downtown. It also had five or six more in the corporate town of today. There were three dry good stores and four new car dealerships with at least five other repair and service stations. Most all sold gas as well. The grocery stores sold gas and kerosene as well as work shoes and clothes and hardware items. There were two to three hardware stores at times. None of these businesses now exist. Also in town were five restaurants and lunch counters. A few people are still alive who remember these things.
The four white churches and two black churches are still active, but the attendance has dropped in all of them. When I grew up, all these churches were crowded for Sunday School and preaching services. Now, extra activities are needed to have a small crowd. In the old days, a revival would go on for at least a week and large crowds attended. Now revivals last only one or two nights.
I was told by the old folks that you could only read history and maybe learn by the mistakes made. Now the issue of the canal lock at Buchanan is under discussion by the Town Council of whether to fill it in or restore it to all its glory. When I started to school in 1942, the canal was open. We children played many recesses in it. In my opinion, filling it in would be the sensible ting to do. Rebuilding it at a cost of millions of dollars would not be sensible. What benefit would it be? It couldn’t be used. Put up a plaque to let it be known it was there and move on to more important issues. It was started to be filled in about the early 1950s when the Kenrose dress factory across the street was built. Then the land belonged to the C&O Railroad who purchased it from the canal company, two acres on lower Carnival Grounds was leased for the playground for 99 years from the railroad. Buchanan claims it was purchased from the railroad.
Across the street from Kenrose was a garden and small workshop, which was used by Mr. Masoncup. He worked the garden and built furniture in the workshop. The Scout Hut came later. This was in the 1940s.
Anderson Harris
Buchanan
Wind turbines will have negative effect on watersheds
Editor:
In regard to the construction of 25 wind turbines, 550 feet tall, on top of the southern end of North Mountain in Botetourt County, I feel I must give my vie of the proposed project. I am familiar with this territory, having horse ridden over it for decades.
North Mountain on its southern end rises up from Blue Suck and Sinking Creek watershed on its western side, and with Mill Creek watershed on its eastern side, which flows through a small gap around the mountain’s southern end, continuing toward the James River. The top of North Mountain is narrow. Blasting would have to occur to build solid enough foundations to anchor these massive towers and flatten the top to accommodate 25 towers. This activity would have negative effects on the watersheds described.
The watershed of Mill and Sinking Creeks flows into the Upper James. Blue Suck watershed flows toward the Cowpasture River, which meets the Jackson River, thus forming the James.
I have witnessed for decades multi-million-dollar military fighter jets fly down Sinking Creek watershed at treetop levels. I have watched military C130 cargo planes fly low maneuvers across this watershed.
The reason the military trains down this watershed is because between Rt. 60 at Longdale in Alleghany County, going up Blue Suck watershed, then down Sinking Creek watershed to Gala in Botetourt, military pilots have a stretch of uninhabited territory for up to nine miles to train over. A cluster of giant towers may hinder such training.
Global warming could be fought by governments’ help to defray the cost of roof top solar paneling of towns and communities, thus saving land and the natural benefits and beauty that nature provides. This proposed wind turbine complex is another example of Virginia’s policies of concentrated power and wealth.
Bob Hundley
Eagle Rock
