Month: June 2026

Big Walker Lookout launches 80th season

June 9, 2026 Zach Cooley No Comments

When I came to know Ron Kime, I had just begun my career with this column in its infancy. Now, here I am more than two decades later, interviewing the man who, at one point, had a Wythe County amusement park that was the third-largest attraction in the state of Virginia with Dry Gulch Junction in the 1970s. Along with Ron himself, I interviewed Becky Helton, who performed as a singing showgirl in the Western attraction along with her sister, Caroline. It wasn’t until recent years that I found out Becky and I were actually cousins. She orchestrates the annual Cooley Reunion for my descendants every August at our family’s resting place in Galax, the Coal Creek Community Cemetery. Dave Vaught became a nationally touring magician after his work at Dry Gulch Junction and became a professional mentor to Eddie Armbrister, a Wytheville native who became a nationally touring magician himself. David Monaghan was the original marshal of Dry Gulch Junction and remains a friend of mine to this day. These four interviews were some of the first major columns I ever completed. Since then, I have completed the first draft of a Western novel based on Dry Gulch Junction. Other than my wife, Ron is the only person to have read the novel from cover to cover as it exists today. Although it needs a great deal of work before it can be released, my friend couldn’t have been kinder about the story that is dedicated to him. “It is awesome,” he stated. “You’ve put quite a twist on it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.” Of course, Dry Gulch Junction would never have happened without the genius and forethought of his father, Stuart Kime, who built the original Big Walker Lookout Tower and Big Walker Country Store eight decades ago. At 85, Ron still admired his father like no one else. “He left us early,” he lamented. “But he did more in his lifetime than most people who live a lot longer than he did.” Through a love of trains, Stuart Kime found a Shay locomotive that would be equipped to travel through the mountains. He purchased the legendary train and intended to build a theme park around it. Unfortunately, just as construction was nearing completion, Stuart Kime passed away at the age of 64 in 1972. Dry Gulch Junction would open the following fall. Ron met a man in Pocahontas who was tearing down genuine old storefronts. He convinced him to dismantle the buildings in a nonconventional way that left the fronts intact. “We were both too poor to do the job right,” Ron recalled. “I loaned him my truck to haul the lumber off and leave me with the storefronts here in Wytheville, and then I would buy the lumber from him.” That exchange was how Dry Gulch Junction was built. “It worked really well,” he remembered. “We had a good partnership going for a long time.” Though the monumental success of Dry Gulch Junction was eventually overpowered by tragedy, Ron says the attraction’s success was more the realization of a long-term goal than a surprise. “We put all our hopes and dreams into that place, and we were very happy that it turned out well,” he stated. “Today, however, we would never be able to afford country and western entertainers of the caliber that we had at Dry Gulch Junction in the 1970s.” Jim “Ed” Brown, Helen Cornelius and Dottie West drew as many as 3,500 people every weekend to the Wytheville tourist attraction until 1981, when every weekend was met with torrential downpours. It was a financial blow from which the park could never recover. Dry Gulch Junction closed permanently in 1982. It was reopened as Virginia City in 1999 when Jeanne Davis and Michael Hill, a couple from Greensboro, North Carolina, invested millions of dollars into renovating the vandalized buildings and saving the park. After 10 years and millions of dollars spent, Michael died following an ATV accident, forcing the property to be sold and the buildings to be permanently demolished. Despite that tragedy, along with many others throughout the course of Dry Gulch Junction’s history, Big Walker Lookout has remained the oldest scenic attraction in the state of Virginia and one of its most successful, operating continuously for 80 years as a family-owned business. Ron Kime happily operated the business himself until he officially retired at age 75 a decade ago. His daughter, Heather, oversees the current operations of the business, while his son, Michael, manages the construction and maintenance of the Big Walker properties. The first week of May kicked off the current season at Big Walker Lookout, which hosts artisans of all types and a series of old-time musicians every weekend through October. Big Walker Lookout has achieved notable status as a Crooked Road music venue and is recognized by the Virginia Is for Lovers state tourism program. “I have lived and worked in the greatest place and with the greatest people that I could have ever encountered in my life,” he stated. “I could not feel more blessed or be prouder of the work that has been done over the decades here.” Despite being born in Dallas, Texas, while his father was in the military, Stuart and Abigail Kime moved their family to the Wythe-Bland county line when Ron was just 5 years old. After eight decades, he has never looked back. “I am a Virginian,” he stated proudly. “I am a native of both Wythe and Bland County.” Looking back, Ron sums up his life with his most famous catchphrase: “Wonderful and marvelous.”

Strictly Observing

Wife memorializes father, grandfather with historic heirloom

June 9, 2026 Zach Cooley No Comments

On February 11, my wife lost her father. Within four months, my daughter lost both of her grandfathers. Both were servants of their country. My father-in-law served in the Navy, just as his father had done. As a World War II veteran, my wife’s grandfather left behind a rare piece of history. The one item my wife wanted from her father’s belongings was a copy of the diary her grandfather left behind. Thanks to the generosity of John Long of the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, we have it. Bear in mind that keeping a diary was prohibited during wartime, making this artifact a true historical gem. Paul William Krug’s World War II diary offers a deeply personal look at the daily life of an American serviceman during wartime. Written in brief but vivid entries, the diary follows Krug as he leaves home, travels by train to military staging areas, and eventually boards a convoy bound for the Atlantic Theater in 1944. Rather than focusing on grand military events, the diary captures the uncertainty, routine, and quiet determination that defined life for so many young soldiers. As the journey unfolds, Krug records the long days aboard ship, rough seas, changing weather, and the constant movement from one assignment to another. He writes about crowded conditions, meals, conversations with fellow servicemen, and the endless waiting that often accompanied military operations. At times, the entries reflect fatigue and homesickness, but they also reveal humor and resilience as the men adjusted to life far from home. The diary also documents his arrival overseas, where unfamiliar landscapes and historic surroundings contrasted sharply with the realities of war. Krug notes seeing castles, coastal towns, and military camps while continuing through training and preparation. Though many entries are simple observations about weather, work details, and daily routines, together they create a powerful portrait of a young American experiencing extraordinary events in real time. In the days leading up to D-Day, Paul W. Krug and his crew prepared relentlessly for the invasion of Normandy. They loaded rockets, ammunition, ambulances, jeeps, and other supplies aboard their ship while learning they would land on the northern coast of France near Colleville. Rough seas and stormy weather added to the tension as Allied forces assembled for the assault. Early on June 6, 1944, Krug and his crew approached Omaha Beach under heavy bombardment from Allied warships and aircraft. Their mission was to support amphibious tanks by firing rockets at German positions near the shore. Enemy fire was intense, and rough water caused several tanks to sink before reaching land. Krug helped rescue survivors from the water while German 88s shelled their position. In the days that followed, Krug witnessed the enormous difficulties of securing the beachhead, including mines, damaged vessels, and constant shelling inland. Despite the danger and exhaustion, he and his crew continued their duties before finally returning to Portland on June 10 to clean equipment and rest. Like his father, David Paul Krug served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1974. My father-in-law was a corpsman. When he passed away, my wife was not afforded an opportunity to eulogize her dad. So, I wanted to give her that opportunity in this column. Of the few happy memories Emily could extract from her childhood, most involve her father. She recalled him setting up her Little People Town buildings, ready for her to play with after church. He played Santa Claus at Rose’s Department Store in Pulaski, where Emily proudly served as his elf. “I felt so special,” she said. “He loved Christmas.” Another time Emily felt special was when he sat her on a table, carefully combed her long blonde hair, and took her picture. It was one of the few times in her life that she felt truly beautiful. She recalls playing school in church classrooms while her dad prepared his sermons and going to McDonald’s for Happy Meals. By the time Emily became a teenager, he introduced her to the music of the ’60s, including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Johnny Cash, all of whom became lifelong favorites. In particular, they shared a lifelong love of The Beatles. “Their music served as a tonic for my frequent depressive episodes,” Emily reflected. “We would take rides and jam out to these incredible artists while talking about whatever popped into our heads.” Their bond continued into Emily’s adulthood, when she would visit him frequently to discuss movies and music over coffee and dessert. “I still haven’t accepted his death,” she admits. “I still want to call and check on him and discuss the latest Beatle solo efforts.” In summary, Emily wants her father to be remembered as a loving, kind, smart, and funny man. “He was and will remain my first love,” she says. “I know he is with me in ways he couldn’t be on this Earth.” Just after his passing, Emily came across Firefall’s “Just Remember I Love You” and believes her dad sent the song to her from beyond. She says the sentiments expressed in its lyrics are the same ones she returns to him with undying devotion. “Just remember I love you and it’ll be alright,” they state. “Just remember I love you more than words can say.”

Strictly Observing