Heritage emphasized

VERONA--Where was former President Eisenhower’s mother born? Where are the first records for the city of Pittsburgh kept?
   Nancy Sorrells would tell you the answers lie in Augusta County.  Sorrells chairs the county’s Jamestown 2007 steering committee and says the county’s main goal for commemorating the nation’s 400th anniversary is to educate its residents about the county’s rich history.  Augusta County is just one of the dozens of localities participating in the statewide commemoration of Jamestown, America’s first settlement.
   “We’re doing it for the people of Augusta County so they can learn about their own important heritage,” said Sorrells, who is also a member of the county’s board of supervisors. “It’s a pretty rich history, pretty rich heritage, blending of many cultures, many ideas. That sort of makes us strong and special, I think.”
   The county’s steering committee met Tuesday to discuss the main projects slated to kick off next summer. Their plans include conducting tours around some of the area’s working family farms, creating a detailed driving tour map of the county’s landmarks and staging a musical about the county’s history.
   Kenny Lee Robinson, the Verona residency administrator for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said the maps would highlight historical structures such as churches as well as outdoor attractions like hiking trails and parkways.
   “We want to get people off Interstate 81 and on to the more scenic routes,” he said.
   Linda Petzky, president of the Augusta County Historical Society, is developing educational programs for the event.
   Cardboard cutouts of historical figures such as Grandma Moses, John Coalter and William Sheppard would feature historical trivia.  Visitors who correctly answer questions would gain stamps for passports created for the event and might win prizes.
   “Augusta County’s history is just so rich that we wanted to make sure we had diversity there and representation from all the groups,” Petzky said.
   Most of the projects are in their early stages, but Sorrells said the farm tours should be a highlight, citing the county’s rank as second in the state in agricultural production as one of the county’s attractions.
   “Our agricultural heritage is one thing that has always been special from the moment we had the first settlement all the way up to now,” she said.
   Agricultural production in Augusta County is worth about $144 million annually, according to the National Association of Counties.
   The county’s board of supervisors set aside about $30,000 from meals and lodging taxes for the events.  Though she hasn’t run into any kinks in the first year of planning, Sorrells said she would like the project to attract involvment from residents.
   “We just want to get the communities involved in this as much as possible, get them excited about where they live and what’s around them.”
   Interested participants may find applications in the Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County libraries as well as The Bookstack in Staunton.