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Vol. V No. 48
February 20, 1990
From the Greenbrier
Valley of West Virginia
Shoney's Restaurant
Top Award in Division
second year in a row
ler Steve Faber of
Restaurant in Lewisburg
i named Manager of the
corporation's Southern
He is the only one
division to win
two consecutive years.
credits his staff with
in winning the honor. "1
g management
manager, and he'll tell
good management
you virtually have it
have pride.
their job so well, it
to do what I really
who come him
friendly they are and
r store is."
been with the
since June
began work at the
as a manage-
In 1985 he was
of the Month for
the entire Shoney's corporation,
which includes 627 restaurants.
A staff of 50 works at the Lewis-
burg Shoney's. This number in-
creases to near 90 in the summer,
according to Mr Faber. "The opening
of the interstate has helped us tre-
mendously," he said. "We get buses
from South Carolina, Georgia, Ala-
bama, North Carolina, Louisiana--
we've even had groups from North
and South Dakota come here in the
fall on fall foliage tours. In the winter
we get quite a few skiers."
Mr Faber's Manager of the Year
award is based on profit, cost effi-
ciency, cleanliness, and food qual-
ity. The restaurant received awards
in
1
989
for
best
cooking
time,
best
profits, and lowest labor costs. 1988
awards included those for lowest la-
bor costs, least amount of employee
turnover, and best cost efficiency.
A dependable staff is a large part
of the success of the Lewisburg
Shoney's, according to Mr Faber.
Twenty employees have been at the
store for at least four years, he said.
Some have been with the restaurant
even longer, one since the store
opened in February 1982.
Mr Faber is a native of Riverdale,
Maryland, and is married to Virginia
Burns Faber, an employee of
WRON radio station in Fairlea. The
couple has four children.
Mr Faber is a Little League coach
and serves as vice president of the
Eastern Greenbrier Kiwanis Club.
He is the chairman of the club's first
annual Captain's Choice Golf Tour-
nament slated May 9 at the Green-
brier Valley Country Club.
....... .....
Ed Spurlock glances up at theater marquee
The old Lewis Theatre in Lewis-
burg, orginally opened in 1939 by
the Yarid Family, is scheduled to
reopen this spring under new owner-
ship and with a bright new format of
films for the area, according to Ed
Spurlock.
Mr Spurlock and his wife Barbara
recently purchased the 400-seat cin-
ema from the original owners.
"We're going to have films which
provoke thought and provide in-
sight," Mr Spurlock said. "We'll have
some intrigue and suspense movies
too. Everything we do we will try to
do right. We're adding a dining area
in the old balcony and will have a
small restaurant whj/::h will serve
sandwiches, salads, and soups."
Mr Spuriock comes by his culi-
nary skills naturally. He is the son of
Mr and Mrs Edwin C. Spurlock of
Lewisburg. They are the owners of
Spuds Bar-B-Que, Incorporated at
Fairlea -- a well-known savory in
southeastern West Virginia.
A 1963 graduate of Greenbrier
Military School, Mr Spurlock is a
millwright (he plans and sets up
heavy mill machinery) and has been
engaged in the underwater con-
struction business. He and his wife
will move to Lewisburg from
Boynton Beach, Florida, in order to
devote full time to the renovations
now going on at the old movie
house.
"We are planing to have live en-
tertainment too," Mr Spurlock said.
"We'll bring in country and western,
gospel, bluegrass, blues and jazz. If
there are local musicians people
like a lot, we'll have them on our
stage. Admission charges will be
$1.50 regular, $1 for children during
the week; $2 regular and $1.50 for
children on Friday and Saturday
nights."
By Jonathan Wright
A 50.to-60-room Super-8 Motel is
tentatively planned for the south-
west corner of the U. S. 219-Inter-
state 64 intersection in Lewisburg,
according to Jerry Caulfield, vice-
president of development for Super-
8 Motels Developers, Incorporated.
Mr Caulfield estimated up to 14
jobs would be created upon comple-
tion of the motel. "We hope we'll be
able to break ground in 60 to 90
days," he said. "Construction will
probably take four or five months."
Super-8 Motels Developers is
based in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
The company signed a contract with
Greenbrier Valley National Bank,
which owns the land, giving it a six-
month option to purchase 2 1/2
acres of the commercially zoned
frontage, according to Brad Tuck-
wilier, a vice-president at the bank.
The formal purchase of the land has
not yet taken place, he stated. "The
developers signed the contract
about 40 days ago," he said.
Representatives of the company
have been interested about four
years in constructing the motel, Mr
Caulfield said. "Due to the opening
of 1-64, traffic has increased consid-
erably on the highway. We feel the
growth of business and tourist traffic
makes this the right time to build in
Lewisburg."
Super-8 Motels was established
in 1974 in Aberdeen, constructing its
first facility there. It now has 675
motels throughout North America,
according to Mr Caulfield, including
nearby ones in Lexington, Virginia;
Beckley, Summersville, and Elkins.
MOUNTAIN MESSENGER IS JUST A COUNTRY NEWSPAPER STRIVING TO SERVE YOU BETTER EVERY DAY IN EVERY WAY
I
n
Lawson and Jeanne Hamilton
A. Goddard
e Hamilton of
four college 'stu-
Lre PUtting through
none of the four are
built a Chapel in
--- and yet they
Lewisburg. When
Methodist at Quarrier
in Charleston suf-
and needed a
n gave them
new instrument which
to hear.
Hall in Lewisburg
eeded working capital,
Wrote an unsolicited
and turned it over to
and cultural in-
Gaston Capter-
Force on Chit-
Io study
children
Lawson Hamilton to
When the City of Charleston
needed an economic boost they
turned to Lawson Hamilton's plan of
having a Sternwheel Regatta. Mr
Hamilton's dieam has become an
annual festival which draws hun-
dreds of thousands of people to
Charleston every year. The Hamil-
tons own two riverboats --- both star
performers in the Regatta.
For all of the visible philanthro-
pies which the Hamiltons are en-
gaged in, there are hundreds more
that only the recipients and the Ha-
miltons know anything about.
In December of last year, Mr
Hamilton was named the West Vir-
ginia Hillbilly's "Person of the Year".
'Tin the third West Virginian to be
selected. I joined Charleston Ga-
zette publisher Ned Chilton and Ga-
zette writer Fanny Seller. They must
have been scraping the bottom of
the barrel when they chose me," Mr
Hamilton jokes.
State-wide honors are nothing
commission, new for the Hamiltons --- in 1987
knew Mr Hamilton Mrs Hamilton was chosen "Mother
SUpporter and nt- of the Year". "1 think they picked me
is rival, former Gov- because I'm on my second time
Jr. 'around," Mrs Hamilton laughed. She
Merry Hill
and her husband are raising their
two granddaughters, Meredith and
Courtney, after the tragic early
death of their daughter Beverly.
They also are the parents of a son,
Lawson III ("Trip"), an actor in New
York, and a daughter, Barbara, who
is the mother of three young sons
and lives in Lewisburg with her hus-
band Gary Ford.
The Place They Call Home
Merry Hill is a 50-acre estate lo-
cated on Route 219 near downtown
Lewisburg. As you drive by, you'll
notice the white rail fence, stone pil-
lars, and impeccably manicured
lawns.
Magnificent specimen trees
grace the grounds and a winding
drive leads up the hill to the 16-room
Federal-style mansion Lawson and
Jeanne Hamilton call home.
Merry Hill is situated majestica.tly
on a knoll, far enough away from the
busy highway below so that no traf-
fic noise reaches you -- it is in a
world apart.
See "Marry Hill", pg. 2-A
If you are 60 years of age or
older and have dreamed of becom-
ing a college student again, it can
happen through the Elderhostel pro-
gram.
Across the United States, more
than 200,000 older learners will en-
roll in Elderhostel programs this year
hosted by more than 1,500 colleges,
one of which is West Virginia
Wesleyan College in Buckhannon.
"Our elder learners are some of
the best students on campus," says
Dr Bobby Loftis, a coSrdinator of the
Elderhostel program at Wesleyan.
"They are adventuresome, intellec-
tually curious adults who challenge
both themselves and the professors.
The faculty who teach during the
Elderhostal Program often wish that
all our classes were as stimulating."
Programs offered by the non-
profit Elderhostel organization are
tow-cost, non-credit residential aca-
demic "adventures" in which partici-
pants live on campus for a week.
They stay in dormitories, eat in stu-
dent cafeterias and enjoy the use of
campus facilities such as the library,
pool, and exercise room. There also
are field trips and social activities.
"Elderhostelers take daily classes
on a variety of liberal arts subjects
taught by Wesleyan's faculty," Dr
Loftis said "and which are specially
designed for their small group.
There are no exams, no homework
assignments and no grades --- just
the excitement and pleasure of
learning new things and sharing the
experience with new friends."
"Most Improved Students" at Greenbrier West. Row One: Tara Och-
eltree (left), Valerle Hanson, Monica Holliday, Klmberly Brown,
Tammy Minear, Susan Bryant, and Christy Smith. Row Two: Mar(ell
Sims (left), Randy Sims, Usa Dodd, Shelly Lunsford, and Shawnda
Osborne. Row Three: Steve Kelley (left), Mike Ellison, Sue Ann Van
Meter, and Greg Rudd. Row Four: Ryan Carroll (left), Klodes Rook-
stool, Klmberly Burns, and Mark Reed.
West
Students from grades ten
through twelve received recognition
February 12 at the bi-annual awards
assembly at Gre nbrier West High
School in Charmco. Awards were
given for first-semester performance
and achievements.
Fifty students received certifi-
cates for perfect attendance during
the period, including 15 sopho-
mores, 20 juniors, and 15 seniors.
On the Honor Roll both nine-week
grading periods were 30 sopho-
mores, 37 juniors, and 61 seniors.
Six sophomores, 14 juniors, and
nine seniors earned the title of "Most
Improved Student." Attitude, effort,
and grade-point average were used
to select finalists from each class,
including sophomore Laurie Kincaid,
juniors Tara Ockletree and Michael
Ellis (tied), and senior Shawnda
Osborne. These students will be
honored with a day of "job shadow-
ing" at Westvaco, involving stayin!
with an employee an entire day
learn about his or her work there.
Westvaco professional surveyor
Matt Hall and timber inventory tech-
nician Shirley Gaber presented
awards to the most-improved stu-
dents and those with perfect atten-
dance. The Rupert firm is a Partner
in Education with Greenbrier West.
The school's National Honor Society
president Jo Lynn Osborne was in
charge of the morning program. The
Greenbrier West Jazz Band pro-
vided music for the awards program.
Students with perfect attendance at Greenbrler West. Row One: Jo
Lynn Osborne (left), Terassa Cochrum, Nora Cade, Bridgett Witt,
Windy AIIport, Kelly Lewis, Samara Woolrldge, and Charlle Lester.
Row Two: Mike Farren (left), Stephanle Callls, Charity Trout, Wendy
Bowles, Jonle Bennett, Paul Blankenship, Tammy Minear, Susan
Bryant, and Bonita Patterson. Row Three: Randy Sims (left), Mike
Fox, Shelly Mabe, Klmberly Brown, Krlsten Scofteld, Christina
Tharp, KIm McClung, and Christine McClung. Row Four: Mtchelle
Fields (left), Brian Osborne, Eric Boggs, Shawnda Osborne, and
Travis Miller. Row Five: Steven Tincher (left), Mike McQuaid, Greg
Nickell, Stephanle Smith, Lisa Snead, April Wlndon, Jason Smith,
and William Bradford.
