Keeping It Floyd

Build it, and they will come. And the building is underway.

But what will they bring with them, for good or ill? What will they take away? Will they stay? And will Floyd lose even as it wins?

The town of Floyd (a collective for lots of hardworking and persistent folks) has succeeded in funding a face-lift. Local merchants are taking the opportunity to revitalize and build. Changes are coming. You can read about them in this Roanoke Times | New River Valley Current article about the weekend events.

And how to balance preservation and change was a big part of the conversation on Saturday. Finding the point of “dynamic stability” is the work we face. And people are talking. Most are optimistic the balance can be found. No one is certain.

Photo of “downtown” from Saturday.

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fred

Fred First holds masters degrees in Vertebrate Zoology and physical therapy, and has been a biology teacher and physical therapist by profession. He moved to southwest Virginia in 1975 and to Floyd County in 1997. He maintains a daily photo-blog, broadcasts essays on the Roanoke NPR station, and contributes regular columns for the Floyd Press and Roanoke's Star Sentinel. His two non-fiction books, Slow Road Home and his recent What We Hold in Our Hands, celebrate the riches that we possess in our families and communities, our natural bounty, social capital and Appalachian cultures old and new. He has served on the Jacksonville Center Board of Directors and is newly active in the Sustain Floyd organization. He lives in northeastern Floyd County on the headwaters of the Roanoke River.

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  1. It looks like Mayberry, RFD. I doubt that Floyd can keep it’s reputation from spreading far and wide, which will bring rapid growth and change and ultimately will change the nature of the town and its people. It’s really too bad, but you can’t keep a good thing secret!

  2. I love the way your Main Street looks, especially the samll number of cars, and the available parking spaces. Oh, how I hope for you that you can prevent traffic jams, the bane of my Los Angeles County!

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