Dear editor,
The historic, civil war era pavilion at Blue Sulphur, will be dedicated on July 1st as a part of Alderson, West Virginia July 4th weekend events. The pavilion was a mineral water site back around 1830, when people ventured to Greenbrier County to soak in the healing Springs. These sites included Sweet Springs, White-Green-Red- Salt and Blue Sulphur Sulphur Springs. The Greenbrier Valley was the theater for many civil war battles , especially near Blue Sulphur where hundreds of men died in battle, froze to death, had limbs sawed off, and Robert E Lee himself found his famous horse Traveller just a mile or two from the pavilion. Please note, I am very happy the pavilion has been saved. However, there is a difference between a restoration and a renovation. The design of the original structure was changed therefore it was renovated. Here’s my observation about the pavilion: Why isn’t ADA accessible for everyone? It would have been very thoughtful to install a simple ramp that would allow a wheelchair or any mobility device to go inside the pavilion. 600,000 people died in the civil war. 60 thousand had field amputations and about 43 thousand actually survived the ordeal. The pavilion is not only the “surviving relic of the grand hotel that stood there,” it’s a war memorial.
I was told that the committee and the architect didn’t think it was necessary to make it accessible. I was told that I would be able to see everything from the outside. Well isn’t that special. I am sure that nobody on the committee is handicapped. I would love to go there, sit inside the pavilion, possibly read a good history book and meditate on what it was like to experience Blue Sulphur in those days. The dedication is in 2 short weeks. Just go fix it. Make it accessible for anyone.
Respectfully,
George McIntire
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