Discussion at the class of 1950's 52nd anniversary dinner in August, 2002 indicated that we have all watched our beloved little home town in the West Virginia hills economically nearly die over the past fifty some years. From two drug stores, several grocery stores, several drinking establishments, several restaurants, several garage/gas stations, three or more hardware stores, two barber shops, a theater, our own grade school and high school and so on, we have seen it decline into its present state.

There is no drug store, one grocery store, no drinking establishments, no restaurants, one gas station, no hardware, no barbershop, no theater, one grade school (in Manheim, across the river), and no high school (consolidation, you know).

We all know the cause of this has been the decreased railroad operation, the loss of the cement plant, the decline of coal mining, the slow down of timber harvesting and so on. In other words, no jobs, no payrolls and, soon, no population.

It occurred to us that there is a lot of power in the combined thinking, job and life experiences, leadership training, and financial resources of all of the alumni of Rowlesburg High School.

So, the first effort to tap into that power was to spread the word among other visiting alumni from other classes and to attempt to organize a group that could begin restoring the town to a vitality we had once known.

Fifteen alumni representing the classes of '47, '48, '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '58 and '60 took the challenge and The Rowlesburg Revitalization Committee was born. During that first year, ideas were exchanged, investigations undertaken, letters and flyers sent to former residents and to economic development officials.

 

Courage, fortitude and determination were instilled in each and every member of the committee through stories and retelling in myriad forms of how we all were nurtured by the entire community, including family, school, church, and youth development organizations such as Little League, Boy Scouts, 4-H and common participatory activities such as the Rowlesburg High School Band, RHS sports and warm summer days at the wonderful community swimming hole under the railroad bridge in our own magnificent Cheat River.

Our first meeting was an informal get-together over the Memorial Day/2003 weekend when the work ahead became a very serious endeavor. A formal meeting was called for the 4th of July/2003 weekend where the various do-able projects were assigned to task forces and members volunteered to serve. So, we were off and running!

We met again on August 28, 2003; task force reports were presented and a commitment was made to incorporate as a non- profit organization with the view to seek non-profit 501(c)(3) status enabling us to seek public and private grant funds to finance the various projects and to accept tax deductible donations.

RRC has developed an ongoing process of identifying specific projects that will preserve properties of historic and community value, acquire land and build houses to attract new residents, create revenue, enhance business development and promote job opportunities.

The ultimate goal of every project is to build on the traditional communal, friendly spirit of our town by enhancing the central business district and other areas with additional places for the residents to gather in common purpose.

written by katie and george

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