Good crowd for the reception at the Virginia Room, showcasing some of the most interesting stuff you haven't seen before.
Like the massive compendium of the Roanoke Times, each page - each edition, pre-1900's.
The Roanoke Beacon, the journal of Roanoke during the early to mid-1800's. The one on display was from 1854. Only 15 originals are still in existence. If I recall - the Beacon published for 15 years or so. Works out to 1 copy per year, if that.
The work the staff of the Virginia room does to preserve and protect, yet keep available all the historic documents it possibly can is beyond admirable. It's heroic. And seeing just a sliver of what they are facing - I'd go so far as to say Herculean.
X-Mayor Smith was there, as was Current-Mayor Harris. The Missus had a nice chat with the mayor regarding the website, of which he knew something about. Nice to know the site is being noticed by those in control of the city.
There were many other nametags on the desk of city council members, the Vice-Mayor, City Manager, and those who sit on the board of the Library and and other such folk.
And myself - your humble webmaster. Not as humble as Mr. RoanokeFirefighters who used the whole shindig as an excuse to do more research, but humble enough as to be more interested in the micro-typed advertisements from the August ??, 1898 edition of the Roanoke Times than being the self-promoting media whore that you expect me to be.
The questions that run through my head when doing the research for the site are as follows: Who? When? What? Then What?
Example: The Ponce De Leon.
Who? Some guy named Trout
When? 1890 or so
What? A hotel, previously a small inn (burned), which burned, was
rebuilt, burned again, rebuilt again, closed, opened as Crystal
Tower (1932).
Then What? Crystal Tower office building, now home to TAP Roanoke. Basement still has spring and stream running under it.
No sign of Roanoke Times editor who fell in, trolls carried him off I
presume.
Of course, this is the condensed version. The real version is very much still an ongoing project - as we begin to delve deeper into the history and mystery of the Ponce, and it's sister Hotels - The Patrick Henry, Hotel Earle, and the numerous other hotels which led lives here in Roanoke. Even the mysterious and impossible to locate Powhatan Hotel (look around, you won't be seeing its advertisement for long).
The etherial time that each place holds, the sense of everything each place has seen. Those are all available for you to explore in the Virginia room at the Main Library downtown.
By the by, I am very dissappointed to say I was neither mugged, harassed, nor did I find a single puppy to kick while walking the streets of downtown Roanoke after dark. Shame on you, Roanoke. You have an image to uphold.
But still, it was a wonderful evening at the library - refreshments were provided (although I did abstain from eating, as I had a pot of chili working at home), along with enough staff to answer any questions and fulfill any need. Even if it is just turning a page in history.
Like the massive compendium of the Roanoke Times, each page - each edition, pre-1900's.
The Roanoke Beacon, the journal of Roanoke during the early to mid-1800's. The one on display was from 1854. Only 15 originals are still in existence. If I recall - the Beacon published for 15 years or so. Works out to 1 copy per year, if that.
The work the staff of the Virginia room does to preserve and protect, yet keep available all the historic documents it possibly can is beyond admirable. It's heroic. And seeing just a sliver of what they are facing - I'd go so far as to say Herculean.
X-Mayor Smith was there, as was Current-Mayor Harris. The Missus had a nice chat with the mayor regarding the website, of which he knew something about. Nice to know the site is being noticed by those in control of the city.
There were many other nametags on the desk of city council members, the Vice-Mayor, City Manager, and those who sit on the board of the Library and and other such folk.
And myself - your humble webmaster. Not as humble as Mr. RoanokeFirefighters who used the whole shindig as an excuse to do more research, but humble enough as to be more interested in the micro-typed advertisements from the August ??, 1898 edition of the Roanoke Times than being the self-promoting media whore that you expect me to be.
The questions that run through my head when doing the research for the site are as follows: Who? When? What? Then What?
Example: The Ponce De Leon.
Who? Some guy named Trout
When? 1890 or so
What? A hotel, previously a small inn (burned), which burned, was
rebuilt, burned again, rebuilt again, closed, opened as Crystal
Tower (1932).
Then What? Crystal Tower office building, now home to TAP Roanoke. Basement still has spring and stream running under it.
No sign of Roanoke Times editor who fell in, trolls carried him off I
presume.
Of course, this is the condensed version. The real version is very much still an ongoing project - as we begin to delve deeper into the history and mystery of the Ponce, and it's sister Hotels - The Patrick Henry, Hotel Earle, and the numerous other hotels which led lives here in Roanoke. Even the mysterious and impossible to locate Powhatan Hotel (look around, you won't be seeing its advertisement for long).
The etherial time that each place holds, the sense of everything each place has seen. Those are all available for you to explore in the Virginia room at the Main Library downtown.
By the by, I am very dissappointed to say I was neither mugged, harassed, nor did I find a single puppy to kick while walking the streets of downtown Roanoke after dark. Shame on you, Roanoke. You have an image to uphold.
But still, it was a wonderful evening at the library - refreshments were provided (although I did abstain from eating, as I had a pot of chili working at home), along with enough staff to answer any questions and fulfill any need. Even if it is just turning a page in history.
7 comments:
I was there (not for long) and the event was very well-done. The Virginia Room is a great resource and I have gone there many times during my 12 years in Roanoke.
My last research trip there, a couple of weeks ago, was checking out an Extra-Forgotten piece of Roanoke History; Virginia College, aka the Virginia College for Women, which stood at about 29th Street and Rosalind Avenue from about 1890 until the it burned about 1934 (or at least Raymond Barned says it did). According to land records, the college owned land bordered by Carolina Ave, Crystal Spring Ave, 29th St and "the Serpentine." There are a number of pictures of the college, which was an impressive and beautiful building; check out the May pictures in this year's Salem Museum Calendar for a good one.
Anyway, the Virginia Room has three or four picture pamphlets-- the place looked really idyllic-- and a catalog from about 1918 with the classes and faculty.
Naturally, there is almost nothing about the College on the web-- let me know if you want any help developing a Forgotten Roanoke entry.
Sorry meant Raymond Barnes above
Actually I have found some information on the Virginia College for Women online. Not much, but some. My wife works on McClannahannahananaan, giving me a nice opportunity to get down on the streets over in that area - and boy can you still tell what was where.
That area still holds a good deal of mystery. I'm hoping to reach it as we near the summer, as I believe I have uncovered some "groundbreaking" news about the very foundation of Roanoke.
e-mail me direct at forgotten.roanoke@gmail.com when you have time, and we shall see what can be seen.
Danka
BURNED, I am on it. I do believe that I have heard of this college and the fact that it indeed burned. To the microfilm I will go. If you have any other leading information, i.e. dates, feel free to give me a heads up. FireFleitz@adelphia.net.
Fire - Out
My g/f volunteers in the Virginia Room, having done professional conservation work in Greensboro before.
She said there were about 100 people there last night and that folks were very curious and appreciative of the work being done.
Most definitely mason. Those librarians, your g/f included, do an amazing job. I have never had a problem they could not fix or question they could not answer. Another one of those thankless jobs. You tell her that us researchers appreciate it.
The Virginia Room is quite nice. However, the libraries in the City of Roanoke are an embarassment. I have lived many places and I am very disappointed in the lack of services, programs, quality and quanitity of library materials. I do not have confidence the new library director will be able to turn things around. It's a real shame.
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