Elk Park Town Hall holds Open House
Jamie Shell / (jamie.shell@averyjournal.com)
Elk Park Town Hall held an Open House for its newly completed facility on Tuesday, Jan. 15. A number of representatives and dignitaries were on hand for the event, including the town’s mayor and aldermen, county commissioners and the various groups responsible for helping to make the new town hall building a reality.
During an afternoon ceremony, Avery County Commissioner Martha Hicks presented Elk Park Mayor John Boone with a framed copy of a final ballot count dated Nov. 7, 1944, when Carl Buchanan and Paul Cook ran for Elk Park constable, with Cook gaining election to the position.
“There was cleaning being done at the Clerk of Court’s office, and there were some ballots which had fell behind some filing cabinets. This was one of the ballots found,” Hicks explained.
Boone expressed great appreciation on behalf of the town to have a piece of history to add to the new town hall.
“This means a lot. This is history of what has happened in our town, and the history is very important to us,” Boone said. “A ballot like this is great for us to be able to display so people who visit can look at it.”
The Open House caps a period of multiple years, as the town hall has gone from discussed topic to conceptual idea to building project to completed facility. According to Boone, the town hall is a place where townspeople can experience a blend of past and present.
“This has been a great turnout for the Open House, and we appreciate all the people who came by to see the building or just drop in to say ‘hello,’” Boone added. “We’ve done a lot of work to get the building ready for today. The start of this project seemed like forever ago, but now it seems like it was just yesterday. It’s been a long journey, but we finally got it done, and it’s tickled me to death.”
During an afternoon ceremony, Avery County Commissioner Martha Hicks presented Elk Park Mayor John Boone with a framed copy of a final ballot count dated Nov. 7, 1944, when Carl Buchanan and Paul Cook ran for Elk Park constable, with Cook gaining election to the position.
“There was cleaning being done at the Clerk of Court’s office, and there were some ballots which had fell behind some filing cabinets. This was one of the ballots found,” Hicks explained.
Boone expressed great appreciation on behalf of the town to have a piece of history to add to the new town hall.
“This means a lot. This is history of what has happened in our town, and the history is very important to us,” Boone said. “A ballot like this is great for us to be able to display so people who visit can look at it.”
The Open House caps a period of multiple years, as the town hall has gone from discussed topic to conceptual idea to building project to completed facility. According to Boone, the town hall is a place where townspeople can experience a blend of past and present.
“This has been a great turnout for the Open House, and we appreciate all the people who came by to see the building or just drop in to say ‘hello,’” Boone added. “We’ve done a lot of work to get the building ready for today. The start of this project seemed like forever ago, but now it seems like it was just yesterday. It’s been a long journey, but we finally got it done, and it’s tickled me to death.”
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