Arthurdale Heritage earns national recognition

ARTHURDALE - As far as Elmer Rich was concerned, he had himself a pretty good deal that sunny July afternoon back in 2013.

Rich, who was then 94 and a star on the old-time fiddle circuit, had people up on their feet as he sawed out timeless tunes - "Arkansas Traveler," "Dill Pickle Rag" and the like - in a timeless locale.

The musician was a headliner at town's New Deal Festival that summer.

"This place is something else," said Rich, who first performed there with his family band as a 16-year-old for Arthurdale High School's senior prom.

Eleanor Roosevelt was in attendance that evening, also.

The First Lady journeyed from Washington, D.C. to the Preston County mountains, so she could square-dance with everyone else.

Nearly eighty years past prom, Rich was having a grand time.

"I'm still here and Arthurdale's still here, so we must be doing something right," he said.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation thinks so too.

Which is why on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., it recognized Arthurdale Heritage Inc. with its Trustees' Emeritus Award for Historic Site Stewardship.

Arthurdale was born of the New Deal and the first 100 days of the administration of Eleanor's husband, President Franklin Roosevelt.

It was the nation's first Homestead community, designed to get miners and their families in Scotts Run out from under the crushing poverty of the Great Depression.

Eleanor Roosevelt was Arthurdale's cheerleader-in-chief, who championed its founding and made plenty of visits there through the 1940s.

Arthurdale's version of the American dream came with a wood or stone house, outfitted with heat, electricity, a refrigerator, a bathroom and up to four acres, so families could grow their own vegetables or raise livestock.

In 1985, current residents got together and formed the above-mentioned overseeing corporation to help bring back the town, which had generally fallen into disrepair during the ensuing decades.

A number of them were children when their families moved in as the original Homesteaders - but just as many other families had moved on or died out by then.

Individuals and other organizations doing similar work in San Diego, Oregon, Texas, Massachusetts and New York City are also being recognized by the trust this year.

All the recipients are "trailblazing and exemplary," said Brent Leggs, the president and CEO of the National Trust.

"They show us how historic preservation can revitalize communities, enhance economic opportunities and protect our nation's cultural vitality," he continued.

Arthurdale Heritage Inc. does that through its ongoing cultural programs and workshops, including the New Deal Festival, said Elizabeth Satterfield, its curator and director of education.

Visit https://arthurdaleheritage.org/ for a full overview of the town and its life and times. Tuesday's award ceremony was also livestreamed on social media through the National Preservation.

Meanwhile, Arthurdale Heritage is still working on plans to refurbish the former Arthurdale High into the home of the the future West Virginia Historic State School - where people can go to learn filigreed wrought-iron work, blacksmithing and other lost-art skills harkening back to the New Deal and before that.

That's why the national award is so gratifying, said Elizabeth Satterfield, who is the curator and director of education for Arthurdale Heritage.

Such recognition, she said, will keep the spirit of the tiny town nestled in the bend of W.Va. 92 aglow, in the way of 1930s neon, on an Art Deco night.

"We're proud that the National Trust still sees us as relevant," she said. "We're happy to bring this honor home. I'm a little speechless here."