Wytheville, Virginia: A Slice of Small Town Appalachia in Southwest Virginia 

Liz, great to hear from someone in New Zealand. I am told the countryside can be pretty similar to parts of Appalachia

Yes very much the same 😃

thank you so much, Linda

After I left home my mother and dad lived in Wytheville for at least 12 years, if not more. I loved going there to visit, it was such a beautiful little town. My dad, the Rev. Eddie L Blankenship, was the pastor of the Wytheville Pentecostal Holiness Church.

glad you enjoy them, Paula :)

South is gonna rise again...

I'm glad I could bring a little of home to you, Steve

I’m stuck in Philadelphia… I want to end up down there in the mountains soon I hope.

It's a unique state to be sure

Wytheville is in Virginia the original Virginia

Thanks so much!

glad it brought you back some good memories, Mike

it is a great location, centrally located to a lot

now that would be an awesome piece to have

thank you for subscribing. Sad to say my noggin is too big for the hat lol

that will be fantastic, really glad to hear that

i remember the builders supermarket but not sure if it is still open

No, not there anymore - there is a Sheetz gas station and Bojangles where Builders Supermarket was located. It seems like once the old Hamm farm was sold off, which was across the street from Builders, the western end of Wytheville by the I-81 exit finally started to grow with WalMart, Lowes etc. Grew up in Fort Chiswell and spent a lot of time in Wytheville/Wythe County for many years before relocating to NoVA via the NRV. The Bolling-Wilson Hotel was originally built in the1920s, was operated as the George Wythe Hotel until the 1960s (the local high school held its prom dances there), then was converted to a bank (Bank of Speedwell at the time) for almost 40 years, and then sold off and renovated as a hotel, again. The Log House restaurant was almost totally lost to a fire this past fall, but was saved and is being repaired for a reopening this year. CJ's is a great place to eat, love their steak and cheese for sure, but most people get Strombolis to eat from there - very good. Also, the old Milwald Theater, built in the late 1920s, is being renovated for use as a performing arts theatre and live music - really looking forward to seeing that happen.

I used to but I am totally out of banking now and very happy about that lol

thanks for riding along with me, I really want to get back to the Wolfhart Haus again soon, I miss that place

My grandfather built that pencil :)

@@phyllisgarrett1604 it is the first thing I think of when I think of Wytheville

My ex husband’s granddaddy made that pencil!

Stephanie, it is truly a defining landmark in Wytheville. Cool to hear from someone familiar with its backstory

I have no earthly idea why that image is reversed, I am sure it was something dumb that I have done lol. Great place to score yourself a speeding ticket too, as we have discussed before lol. Skeeters has changed hands but is still open. The couple that did the Bolling Wilson Hoter (William Smith, I do believe is his name) owned it til recently but they sold it off about a year or so ago.

Sadly, that's the first thing that comes to mind about the town nowadays for me - all that whacky interstate alignment stuff and the truck stops going through there. Most folks passing through have no idea about Wytheville proper, just what they see along the highway, sadly.

Is that the area off 77 where you can look out over the valley or is that further down towards Fancy Gap?

I love Galax, there's a place called the Galax Smokehouse down there that has some amazing banana pudding. I hope to get there later this year for a video.

Unless that has changed super recently, it was the last time I went through town

You're quickly moving up my list of favorite people named Sam Cook(e) lol

@@realappalachia Well my parents always claimed they named me after the soul singer… But the more important thing is that I tell you comers that wiffleball was invented there

I legitimately had to say it out loud and realized I pronounce it that way.

It's pretty solid for the area

@@realappalachia good to know. Thank you.

That happened to me in NC but not VA… though VA was hounding me for personal property taxes after I left, I wonder if they’ll still get me after all these years;

sounds like you've been watching too many Nick Johnson videos lol

There are drugs in most small towns… at least it isn’t ravaged with crime like big cities.

Is Bluefield College of Evangelism in Wytheville?