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  • Raleigh Boone Community Group member Adam Hall paints a mural in downtown Whitesville depicting an old-fashioned miner and farmer — to honor the community’s mining and agricultural heritage. Submitted photo

    081810Whitesville
August 18, 2010

Boone Raleigh Community Group to open kitchen, crafts store in Whitesville

By Julia Sendor For The Register-Herald

WHITESVILLE — Many residents of Raleigh and Boone counties remember when Whitesville was bursting at the seams with activity. Bustling businesses lined the streets, and on weekends, parking and even driving in town were next to impossible with so many people overflowing from the sidewalks to fill the road.

While the pace has slowed to a trickle these days, the newly formed Boone Raleigh Community Group aims to strengthen the community and celebrate its wealth of talent.

The group is opening a community center and small business incubator in Whitesville for residents in the Coal River Valley and beyond.

“I think it gives the community hope and unity, where people can come together to be part of something positive,” said Nancy Platt, the Boone Raleigh Community Group president and former Whitesville business owner.

The community center will feature a shared-use commercial kitchen for canning and cooking, as well as a crafts store for local artisans. The group also plans to host workshops and events such as bingo, movie nights and live music, with a special emphasis on activities for kids.

“It’ll be a good place for people to come and enjoy themselves,” said Adam Hall, a community group member and 20-year-old native of Glen Daniel. “We live in an area where the closest recreational areas are almost an hour away.”

“To me,” Hall continued, “a community center in Whitesville would be perfect for the residents because it gives them options for various recreational activities without the cost of travel and traffic.”

Everyone is invited to use and enjoy the new community center and participate in the Boone Raleigh Community Group. The group holds open community meetings every third Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the community center at 39037 Coal River Road. The next meeting will be this Saturday.

To kick off the new center, the group also invites the community to a “soft” opening party from 1 to 4 p.m. Aug. 28 and a grand opening from 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 11. The events will include refreshments, a raffle, entertainment and tours of the center.

The community center was inspired by the group’s goals of binding the community together, empowering local residents, and honoring the culture of the Coal River Valley and Appalachia while passing it on to the next generation.

“Through our first projects, we are already turning those goals into reality,” Platt said. “The kitchen and crafts store, along with a greenhouse that the group built in Arnett, provide a space for people to gather and share their skills and talents. The group also welcomes all local residents to step up and take action to create what they want to see in their own community.”

Together, the greenhouse, kitchen and store honor the region’s rich culture of gardening, cooking, crafts, and do-it-yourself entrepreneurship. By engaging young people in all the projects, the group will work to keep these traditions alive and thriving.

Above all, the Boone Raleigh Community Group hopes the center will serve as common ground for all residents to build a stronger community by coming together and learning from each other.

For more information, call 304-854-7913 or e-mail brcommunitygroup@gmail.com.

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