Festival celebrates Valley's past

Amy Lotven /Herald Staff Writer

ROANOKE RAPIDS - After a cloudy and damp week, Saturday proved to be a glorious day for the first Canal Festival at the Roanoke Canal Museum and Trail.

Visitors began trickling in around 10 a.m., and by lunchtime, the Jackson Street festival was in full swing as youngsters mobbed the face-painting tables and attempted to conquer the rock wall brought in by Partytown USA owners Gavin and Kathey Guttersen.

Attendees could also witness a log-cutting demonstration, play with colonial children's toys brought by the Halifax Historical Society or discuss the area's revolutionary history with local historian and author Max Williams.

In the front of the museum, Steve Ciccarello demonstrated the unique method of stone cutting that he actually learned in the gold mines of California. Since the stones that make up the lock were all placed years before the invention of steam power, all of the stone cutting - and lifting - was done by hand. It was clearly an arduous process; around 11:30 a.m., Ciccarello said he'd been working for an hour and a half and had only bored an inch and a half into the stone.

One of the day's most popular - and creepy-crawly - exhibits had been set up near the picnic area by Philip King, a park ranger from Medoc Mountain State Park. King brought a live eastern hognose snake that fascinated the children even as it worried a few of the adults standing nearby. The exhibit also featured real pelts from indigenous animals such as striped skunks, gray fox, muskrat, river otters and black bear.

Inside the newly dedicated Charles N. ”Poochie“ Fitts building, which houses the museum, adults perused the large posters featuring the history of the town while children focused on the more interactive exhibits.

One pair of siblings, Tammy and Seth Roberts of Roanoke Rapids, bickered playfully in front a hands-on computer demonstration of a bateaux moving through a lock.

”I can't get the water to go down,“ Seth complained, as Tammy informed the Daily Herald she thought the museum was ”pretty cool.“

Their sister, Kaylea Wilson, sat nearby listening to the oral history of the canal recalled by local characters. Joining her was Jim Jones of the Halifax County Volunteer Fire Department, who felt that the museum helped him to get a better idea of his ancestral roots.

Debbie Archer, who was visiting the museum for the second time, said it was very nice to have a building like this for the community to visit. Archer had a unique connection to the site; her son, Timothy, had actually painted the turkey on the colorful wildlife mural located in the kid's area. The mural was designed and executed by local high school students.

Senior Logan Whitfield, who also contributed to the work, explained that his class spent an hour a day on the mural. ”It went through a lot of stages,“ he said.

In the basement, Chris Wilkins and Kuyzendra Cobb from the human resources department of the International Paper Company were happily showing off their paper-making skills. Wilkins explained the process of transforming trees into the fibrous papers used for lining and paper bags throughout the world.

He also noted the byproducts of the paper-making process could be used as the basis for things like lipstick and other forms of makeup. In fact, at one point the by-products earned the company more money than the actual paper products, he said.

Ryleigh Wood found the paper demonstration very interesting. The 13-year-old, who attends Chaloner Middle School, said she is quite the museum aficionado and found her local one ”pretty good, so far.“

Museum Manager Christina Gordon said she was ecstatic by the turnout and the weather. That didn't mean she was ready to rest; instead, she was already planning for next year's festival.

”We want (the festival) to grow from here,“ she said, adding she envisioned exhibits spread out along the entire canal trail. Gordon also hoped that the community would continue to visit and support the museum. ”We want the local residents to take ownership,“ she said.

Like Gordon, Lori Medlin, executive director of the Halifax County Tourism Authority, also couldn't help but look toward the future. She said that next year, plans include a bateaux - or canal boat - demonstration and more exhibits on life on the river.

There will also be more information on when the building was turned into a power generator after the canal was no longer used.

The generator made the city one of the first powered up areas in the region and led to its rise as a mill town, she said, adding that the entire museum building really relates to how water was used as an economic force in the region.

Medlin noted that the Chamber has already placed ads for the museum on billboards along Interstate 95 and in various magazines in order to lure travelers as well as civic and school groups to the site.

The Roanoke Canal Museum and Trail is free to the public and will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.