Alleghany County Gets a Ghost Tour: Haunted Clifton Forge, VA

K grew up doing a little acting in what was then the Stonewall Theatre--and hearing tons of ghost stories from the cast and crew.  Folks talked about entering the theatre for the evening and seemingly interrupting a crowd, hearing the sounds and smelling the perfume of theatre-goers. There were reports of people watching shows in the balcony--people who weren't people.  And one can't forget the reports of a death in the theatre's apartment.  K has told J the stories and has wondered if anyone else remembered them, true or not.  So, when on a recent trip to Clifton Forge, this sign meant we were headed out for a Halterman Evening ghost tour.

Haunted Heritage Tours is a new venture from a new resident of the Alleghany Highlands named Audrey.  She's grown to appreciate the area and has a desire to both tell its history and attract folks to pay attention to the stories and places nestled in the beautiful hills.  Her 90-minute walking tour is well-priced, not gimmicky, and worth your time.  A gracious storyteller, she is receptive to input from locals and incorporates information about her primary-source local history research.  Expect an outdoor tour from Town Hall to C & O/Jack Mason's and back again with outdoor stops for stories and sightseeing.  We were particularly pleased to hear stories of Mary, the former proprietor of what was the Stonewall Theatre and what is now the Historic Masonic Theatre, and of the apartment above what was Zimmerman's menswear store.  This tour is strong on history and safe for kids who enjoy stories of ghosts and odd happenings.

The tour goes on, for now, weekends through October, although you should watch the website for future offerings at other times of the year and for different events.  In our humble opinion, the Highlands have not yet reached peak colors, so this is a great excuse to get Roanokers to drive over this month and take it in, routing through Craig Creek-Richpatch-Roaring Run encouraged to see the great fall colors in Botetourt.  While you are there, visit a great outdoor site like Humpback Bridge, take in a good meal, and, of course, enjoy the ghost tour.  Couples on an adventure, consider Cat and Owl for steak and seafood or Cafe Michel for French food--both can be destination restaurants. Families, try Vic's Family Restaurant.

Welcome Back: Historic Masonic Theatre, Clifton Forge, VA

K remembers fondly high school days of being in plays at the Stonewall Theatre in Clifton Forge, VA.  She was Hallie May Clifton in "The Lost Cause," a Civil War play, and also narrated "A Christmas Carol" as produced by a group of locals.  The expansive theatre building was fun to explore--and she's retold many a ghost story she's heard there.  Go further back, and she can tell you about seeing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as a Benji movie, on the big screen--her first real movie experiences.  For a long time in K's youth, the theatre was a place of mystery, fun, and possibility--but in another way, she stood somewhat forgotten.  No longer.

Thanks to the very recent activity of a well-organized local foundation, as well as to the early work of folks like former Alleghany High School teacher M. Ray Allen in the 1990s, the theatre has been renovated and restored to her original glory as the Historic Masonic Theatre.  Today, K, J, and G took in a showing of The Wizard of Oz on its new big screen.  The mood was celebratory with a Wizard cast in costume present and an audience that clapped at scenes such as Toto's escape from Ms. Gulch's basket.  It was wonderful to see the community gather and appreciate the performance--and even more delightful to hear the names of many from out-of-town (Richmond, Winston-Salem, Roanoke) among the door prize winners.

The atmosphere of the renovated building is elegant but not stuffy--a true tribute to the theatre's 100+ year history.  The box seats, so long covered by drywall and sort-of accessible via makeshift dressing rooms used in community theatre, are gloriously redesigned.  The "basement," previously only with a dirt floor, has been reconstructed as a gorgeous small performance venue and concessions area.  What K knew as the "apartment" is now a conference room, and the beautiful skylight and wood trims are still intact.  The open, expansive studio room on the third floor that K remembers for its dated 1980s Kings Dominion cast audition posters is transformed into a classy ballroom with great views.  Even the bathrooms were decked out in Art Deco glory, and there's a chandelier made from salvaged parts that's obviously one-of-a-kind.  We bought two books to contextualize our experience even more: local photographer Chuck Almarez's month-by-month photo book of the restoration and a book of stories, collected in part by J's former colleague Joan Vannorsdall, that tell the story of the theatre through vignettes from individuals, several of whom K knows.  This book will be the first in a series called What's Your Story that will focus on the region--we can't wait to read more!  If you have stories of the Masonic or are just plain interested, we'd recommend you catch the "Remembering the Masonic" story-sharing event July 16.

If you go, make a day of the Clifton Forge area and/or the greater Alleghany Highlands.  We'd also recommend the C & O Railway Heritage Center, Humpback Bridge (by 2017--it is challenging to reach post the 2016 floods), and Douthat State Park among other attractions.  In town, you can eat at the upscale "destination restaurant" Cafe Michel, casual Vic's Family Restaurant, Cheers-like Jack Mason's Tavern, or welcoming sandwich shop The Club Car, all within walking distance of the theatre.  Our pic is from Jack Mason's, G enjoying lunch with story collection project director Joan and her friends.

We're proud of your renaissance, Clifton Forge.  Keep going.

Simplicity for a Change

Much of our time this weekend was devoted to good times with friends: TexMex burgers on Friday night prepared by a better cook than me, Elijah's first swimming lesson, a wedding shower for folks from church. We took in a relaxing, nostalgic adventure to match to complete the "good times with good people" vibe, heading to Central United Methodist's Anniversary celebration.

The historic church in Clifton Forge, VA, marked 100 years with a nice event, complete with souvenir tack pins and a mini church history book David Baber wrote for the occasion. Video footage from the church's 1949 fire--shot by the operator of the nearby Masonic Theater--was shown, and many artifacts had been hung on the walls, including a listing of the chruch's active duty military from a previous war, giant Sunday School class pictures with a flood of faces, and the like. The most interesting were photos of the ironic church sign from the day of the fire: The sermon was to be titled "It is Finished," and there was an upcoming lesson on the "importance of prophecy."

If you go to Clifton Forge, you may miss the celebration--but we recommend this church for a visit. It's folksy yet relatively liturgical, often has puppet performances, and features announcements that evoke jolly laughs every Sunday. At Christmas, there is a very impressive nativity on the lawn, too.

Renaissance Clifton Forge

After I received word about a train layout that would be visiting the Clifton Forge Armory this weekend, we decided to head over to Alleghany County on Saturday. For those who don't know, Granny Helen was a C and O employee in Clifton Forge during the rail system's heyday, and her father worked at the Depot that has been redeveloped in to the C and O Railway Heritage Center. There is something about the train events that connects us to our past. So, we picked up Granny Helen and headed off to the train show.

The train show was good fun with a very local feel--saw lots of familiar faces, including some family that had yet to meet Elijah. There was an interactive S gauge display, manned by enthusiastic members of a regional club, that featured about 10 running trains and many features powered by natural gas, including a watchtower you could set "on fire" and then "put out." The club members were proud of their handiwork and took delight in watching adults morph into kids, pushing display buttons to see what they controlled. There were also vendors: vendors who sold Justin a book about the Powhatan Arrow, sold me 4 new postcards, and taught Granny Helen that she has a relic--a C and O plate valued at $300+. And for those who had gender-segregated 8th grade PE in the CF Armory, please know it still smells like a gym class happened there yesterday.

While Elijah played with the Grannies, Justin and I snuck into Clifton Forge proper on a mini surprise date Justin planned, seeing a town that seems to be (finally) experiencing a legitimate rebirth. We spent some time at the Allegheny Highlands Arts and Crafts Center--a mainstay that's still a unique place to shop--and window-shopped Fire and Light, a gallery run by a blacksmith and a photographer.

We also shopped the big antique store, having fun listening to the proprietor tell a ghost story. The store, once Rooklin's Department Store (the one that closed in the 1960s), was run by a gentleman who wished to be buried in Alleghany but wound up buried in Pennsylvania. He reportedly haunts the place, walking around at night and engaging in minor mischief. We bought an old Rooklin's shirt box (it will make a good paper memories box) for just $2. It had been found in the basement of the store. It turns out my great grandmother won a big prize one Christmas--a $25 gift certificate to the store--which bought a lot of people presents.

We'd heard a lot of good about Jack Mason's Tavern (JMT's) from Facebook friends in the area and decided to have lunch there. It's a beautiful place--a Clifton Forge take on a pub with a train mural, a stained glass griffon, and a relic or two of the hardware store it used to be. The decor is classy but casual/cozy. It was not hurting for business, as Justin and I got the only remaining table in the place. And the food was good--Justin had sweet potato fries with a raspberry dip that was quite yummy, and our turkey sandwiches had real, non-processed, tender turkey on them. But the service was bad. Not rude bad, but uncoordinated bad. We waited 20 minutes to be acknowledged, and then, we had to make specific, separate requests to have our table cleaned, receive menus, and get silverware. I got jealous of the table next door, as they heard about the special of the day that I would have ordered had I known it existed. My salad wasn't served, and when this was discovered, the waitress kindly pointed out it was sitting in the back. Wow. They lost a T-shirt and dessert sale in the melee, especially since they didn't offer us an apology of any detail or discounted anything. But, we will try it again sometime, as a bunch of our friends can't be wrong. And the staff was genuinely sweet, if a bit timid about admitting their errors. We wish the business luck, but in the evening, we were off to a known oldie but goodie, the original Cucci's in Covington. Elijah enjoyed some Cucci's sauce, clearly proving that he is his mother's child.