JBissett@DominionPost.com
FAIRMONT – From classic T-Birds to vine-ripened tomatoes, Main Street Fairmont’s Hometown Market series this summer has been “one for the books,” Alex Petry said.
“Can’t wait to see you next summer,” posted Petry, the executive director of all things bullish on The Friendly City.
Before that, though, he said, there’s one more bash on Saturday, to close out the series until next year.
Sponsored by Manchin Injury Law, the “End of Summer Bash” runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day, and will bring more than 45 vendors to Monroe Street, the director said.
That includes the “Mr. Taco” food truck and “Sundae Driver” ice cream, he said.
Live music from “The System Buckers” and kids’ craft fair, too.
Petry said he likes working in a system that helps promote a unique spot on the Mountain State map.
The place looms large in the pantheon of popular music, as the hometown of Johnnie Johnson, the boogie-woogie piano player and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member who gave Chuck Berry his first gig.
Francis Pierpont, an Abraham Lincoln confidante who served as governor of the Restored Virginia after the Civil War also hails from here. Pierpont even penned secret dispatches recounting Union fortunes to the president in the White House – from his house on Quincy Street.
The city bisected by the Monongahela River is also recognized as the birthplace of the pepperoni roll, West Virginia’s iconic snack.
And for some other history of the retro-retail kind, Fairmont was home to the state’s first shopping mall, when the former Middletown Mall opened in 1969.
Petry, 31, grew up right down the road in Barrackville and first made his name as a star varsity swimmer at Fairmont Senior High.
He continued making a splash in that sport at Fairmont State University, where he earned an MBA.
Petry was also an assistant coach at the school while working in administration for the city.
These days, the Main Street director enjoys wading around in familiar waters.
“There’s a lot of history here that people don’t always realize,” he said. “We have all that character and all this great architecture and vibrant businesses downtown. All you need to do is pay us a visit.”
