Aug 25 and Aug 27, 2021
photo by RD
There was a a time
when the West Virginia State Road Commission set up and
maintained costly roadside parks for motorists across the
state. Each park had restrooms, picnic tables, shelters,
fireplaces, and a hand pump for water delivery. For this
county there were two such parks. One near the top of Dawes
Creek Mountain on Rt 4 and Spread Park just North of the Town
of Clay.
The State Road got out of that portion of their responsibilities way back in the 80's. The Mary Chilton Roadside Park (we call it Spread Park) was one of the last of the facilities in the state. When State Road crews stopped maintaining the popular spot, the place went to H in short order.
Finally the river side spot was leased to the BDA where new restroom facilities were built (Norman Wilson was in charge back then), then to the CCC, then back to the BDA who never really signed the lease, and last Summer, finally, taken over by the CCC, County Commission.
Since put in local hands, maintenance and upgrades have been spotty at best. The 2016 Great Wash Out destroyed the place. At one point last year, it looked more like a hay field than anything else. With the ERTS Park system coming and with locals yelling, if you can't maintain a small picnic area, how on Earth can we compete for the tourism dollars.
Enter Commissioner Fran King earlier this year who applied for a $25K grant from Case Equipment Co up in Wisconsin. King explained, she would like Spread Park cleaned up, a new road down to the river cut, a wheelchair accessible pathway to the restrooms, the mud cleaned out of Spread Holler which feeds the Elk, and improvements made to the hiking trail at Clay County Park in Maysel.
With only one grant awarded each year, it was a long shot for Clayberry.
Boom! We got it. The grant could be used for $25K in equipment hours.
On Monday August 23rd, shiny new equipment arrived at Spread Park. Wed morning the CASE film crew showed up to video for the first three days of work. Fran organized to have some workers on hand to man the equipment, shovels and more. Fran was the only Commissioner on hand for the event. We understand that Commissioner Dave Schoolcraft is down with the Corony bug but Connie Kinder was noticeably missing from action.
But wait there's more!
According to the Franster, CASE agreed to do more. During their stay, the existing shelters were painted, new gravel was added to the playground area, new signs will be coming, and loads of gravel will be added to walkways to keep toes from getting muddy at Spread Park.
And, and, and, there's a chance at even more $$$ down the road.
The following images were captured during the first and third day of the improvement project.
The State Road got out of that portion of their responsibilities way back in the 80's. The Mary Chilton Roadside Park (we call it Spread Park) was one of the last of the facilities in the state. When State Road crews stopped maintaining the popular spot, the place went to H in short order.
Finally the river side spot was leased to the BDA where new restroom facilities were built (Norman Wilson was in charge back then), then to the CCC, then back to the BDA who never really signed the lease, and last Summer, finally, taken over by the CCC, County Commission.
Since put in local hands, maintenance and upgrades have been spotty at best. The 2016 Great Wash Out destroyed the place. At one point last year, it looked more like a hay field than anything else. With the ERTS Park system coming and with locals yelling, if you can't maintain a small picnic area, how on Earth can we compete for the tourism dollars.
Enter Commissioner Fran King earlier this year who applied for a $25K grant from Case Equipment Co up in Wisconsin. King explained, she would like Spread Park cleaned up, a new road down to the river cut, a wheelchair accessible pathway to the restrooms, the mud cleaned out of Spread Holler which feeds the Elk, and improvements made to the hiking trail at Clay County Park in Maysel.
With only one grant awarded each year, it was a long shot for Clayberry.
Boom! We got it. The grant could be used for $25K in equipment hours.
On Monday August 23rd, shiny new equipment arrived at Spread Park. Wed morning the CASE film crew showed up to video for the first three days of work. Fran organized to have some workers on hand to man the equipment, shovels and more. Fran was the only Commissioner on hand for the event. We understand that Commissioner Dave Schoolcraft is down with the Corony bug but Connie Kinder was noticeably missing from action.
But wait there's more!
According to the Franster, CASE agreed to do more. During their stay, the existing shelters were painted, new gravel was added to the playground area, new signs will be coming, and loads of gravel will be added to walkways to keep toes from getting muddy at Spread Park.
And, and, and, there's a chance at even more $$$ down the road.
The following images were captured during the first and third day of the improvement project.
Providing
some great Appalachian sounds to the Friday picnic finale, our
own John Morris was on hand with fiddle and banjo sounds.
aw