Published: October 31, 2008 11:29 pm      

Granddaughters on target as Beckley park dedicated

Sisters Sarah and Abbey Thornhill stepped to the foul line on a frosty Halloween morning and calmly sank two free throws.

Each time the ball banked off the board and through the net, onlookers thrust celebratory thumbs skyward and cut loose with a chorus of lusty cheers in a symbolic end to a dedication of a new green space in Beckley.

The new park, Thornhill Courts, bears the name of their grandfather, longtime Beckley attorney Warren Thornhill III.

Before their perfect shots, the girls harbored some misgivings about performing in front of a crowd.

“What if we miss?” the two middle school students from Richmond, Va., asked.

A loving grandfather had the perfect comeback.

“With a grandfather, you always get a second chance,” he returned.

Three years of intense planning and work were plowed into the new recreation outlet on Second Street, occupying the spot where a decaying old vocational-technical center once stood. Over the years, the school had fallen into advanced disrepair.

“This had to be one of the ugliest spots we ever had,” Thornhill mused in remarks at the dedication.

“I don’t know if the creation of this thing was intended to please me or not, but I’m certainly pleased with the people that worked with me on it. You’ve hit a three-point goal, the equivalent of a home run, in what you have accomplished here.”

The park is the culmination of a project that embraced the city, Beckley Area Foundation, Beaver Coal Co., Raleigh County Board of Education and Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce.

Besides the attorney, the new facility honors the entire Thornhill family, well represented at the ceremony, including the girls’ father, Jim Thornhill, also a practicing attorney.

The senior Thornhill reminisced at length about his days growing up in the shadow of World War II and occasionally, as a youngster, sneaking into an old armory with boyhood pals to use the hoops for workouts.

“From that practice, we went on to win our first state championship for coach (Jerome) Van Meter in 1946,” he recalled.

At the old Woodrow Wilson High School, one street above, his mother taught English many years.

Thornhill lauded the individuals and organizations that worked to see the new park come to fruition.

“There has been a tremendous effort by people to accomplish what has been accomplished here,” he said.

Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., once a next-door neighbor of the Thornhill family on Woodlawn Avenue, said the park is “a fitting tribute” to the entire family.

“It also shows what all of us in this area can do when working together,” he said.

Mayor Emmett Pugh said the project comes on the heels of last September’s opening of Jim Word Memorial Park on Neville Street.

“Working together and having a collaborative effort, we’ve been able to make this project happen,” he said.

Finishing touches yet needed are some benches and landscaping at a facility that already has used more than 300 tandem loads of dirt.

“But for the most part, you can see what it’s going to be,” Pugh said. “Another nice, urban green space for the city.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com