Big Tanks and Small Battlefields

Although I’ve reported news in Virginia since 1984, and have literally been to every corner of the Commonwealth, I had to do a double take when a friend told me there was a Tank Museum in Danville. Not just a tank museum, but the “largest privately owned artillery and tank museum in the world,” according to the owner, William Gasser. Somehow I had missed this one.

So imagine my amazement when we pulled up to do a story on a small section of the museum, which according to Gasser, and I have no reason to doubt him on this – is “the largest indoor radio controlled tank battlefield in the world.”

Not only is there a miniature European village in which toy tanks battle, but it takes several minutes to walk there from the entrance of this massive museum (330,000 Square feet or 3 times as big as the average Sam's Club). As you walk by, you pass an amazing array of actual battle tanks, uniforms of every kind, and items of artillery I don’t dare name, because I would almost certainly over-generalize and call a Gatling gun a machine gun or vice versa. And besides, I was there to do a story on the radio controlled battlefield, which has it’s own detailed peculiarities.

The mini-tank battles, which take place on said battlefield, pull players in from all over the country. Owners start out with kits, but by the time they are firing infrared bullets at one another in what amounts to a very large and sophisticated sand box filled with clay, a flowing river and model houses, they’ve dumped about $1,000 into each vehicle.

The model tanks take a bit of practice to drive. Learning to turn, raise and lower the turret is another skill and then there are all the military tactics. "Flanking is a big one,” William’s son, Daniel and museum employee told me. He also pointed out that breakdowns happen in RC battles just as they did in Europe in 1944. “These are tanks that are just like a real bulldozer. They destroy themselves while running. They throw tracks, wheels fall off, and transmissions go out. It’s pretty cool when it happens cause you can still battle, but you’re a pillbox,” he told me during our interview.

Bottom line is that the entire facility is an accomplishment in itself. William, and his wife and two sons run the place, having moved here from Long Island to take advantage of the available space. Now, they’ve amassed an arsenal’s worth of militaria, and they need visitors to survive. Not exactly easy in a struggling Southside economy, and a place that isn’t on the way to anywhere most tourists are headed. (Tour buses won't come because there's not second attraction," William told me.)

I wish them all the luck in the world. If you have any interest in things military, they expect thousands of visitors for their Extravaganza on April 30 and May 1. More information is on their website.

Chainsaw Artist

I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I stopped along route 220 in Boones Mill to see if the guy who makes the wooden statues I’ve been driving by for years, would be willing to allow me to tell his story.

Dwayne Hodges said he'd be more than happy to show us how he makes woodland creatures and hillbilly figures using a chainsaw. That's akin to cooking a gourmet dinner on a bunch of hot rocks. Yet Dwayne does this day after day for tourists and gift buyers who are lovers of wooden bears, amazed at the chainsaw craftsmanship or both.

What’s amazing is that ANYONE can do this. Start with a log and end up with a bear.


Clearly there is a system in play here. Cut here, then there, then this way. Notch here, notch there, and pretty soon you’ve roughed out a critter.

I asked Dwayne if he saw himself as an artist. He gave me a qualified, “maybe,” admitting that he’s done so many bears that he doesn’t even think about it anymore.

But then he talks about custom work people ask him to do at their homes. They’ll ask him to turn a stump into something or other. Then there’s the log in front of his shop that will become a totem pole for the Boy Scouts. The Scouts will choose the critters.

Think you could do that with a chainsaw?

Me neither.

Sustainable Furniture

You don't often feel your breath taken away by a piece of furniture. But when you catch a glance of the unique pieces at Swede McBroom's shop, The Natural Woodworking Company, in the town of Floyd, you begin to wonder why. What is it about that piece of wood, or the way it's put together than elicits that response.

The answer is both complicated and simple. Complicated because people go to great lengths to choose and harvest the trees that wind up in Swede's wood shop. Simple, because the methods used to bring the trees out of the woods are about as old school as you can get. The trees are pulled out by horses.

As I explained in an earlier story from last summer, the horses are a means to an end. They provide a low impact way to get trees out of the woods without clear cutting, and they leave almost no trace after they've completed their task. Add to that their "worst first" theory about which trees to take, and you begin to understand the character that makes its way into Swede's work.

Those "worst" trees are not the perfect ones that grow straight up. They are a little more scarred. Some woodworkers would shun those so-called imperfections. McBroom and his craftsmen make them the focal points of their custom designs.

The result is that each piece is not only unique -- but produced with sustainability in mind.

If you're into green living, it's the furniture version of a Prius -- only better looking.

Grant Akers: Junior ATV Racer

This wasn't a story I was looking for. It found me in a big, loud way I couldn't ignore.

Earlier this year I jumped at the chance to be a judge for the freestyle portion of the Monster Truck show at the Roanoke Civic Center. As I sat down I met my co-judges, one of whom was Tequita Akers. Tequita knew more about the goings-on behind the scenes than anyone I had ever met, and I asked her why she was so in-the-know.

Turns out her husband Larry was doing some of the heavy equipment work in the arena that night, and her son, Grant was a junior ATV racer -- who would be racing between the truck events that very night.

As the night wore on, she started filling me on on Grant's success.

Undefeated. Sponsored. Has his own track in the Glenvar area of Roanoke County.

Obviously I was intrigued, and we made an appointment to visit and shoot a story for the Fox 10 O'clock news.

I was amazed at the amount of stuff the family has dedicated to Grant's pursuit of ATV excellence.

In addition to his custom, $18,000 "bike," there is a custom enclosed trailer with his name, and number on the side. There are more trophies and outgrown helmets than some people might possess through an entire career. Yet he is only 13.

His parents are both proud, as you'd expect. His mother supports the effort 100-percent "Though I get nervous at every race," she said.

We watched Grant go through the paces on that custom track that Dad built for him, using his own tractor, and top soil that was trucked in. His grandparents came to watch with us.

Safety was evident everywhere. Lots of instruction from Dad. the track had been groomed for our arrival, but Grant was careful not to go "too fast" till he had made several laps to "groove it in."

All in all, it was an interesting and enlightening day.

If Grant want's to go pro, and race as an adult -- I guess this is where and how you start. I haven't had much time to research what pro ATV racers do, where they do it or how -- but I've been assured it's a lucrative career, if you can make the grade.

Let's wish Grant a happy and safe pursuit of success at the next level.

His dad has uploaded videos to You Tube of Grant racing. Click away to watch more.


John Carlin's Virginia Airs on the Fox 21/27 10 O'clock news on the first and third Tuesdays of every month. Please subscribe to this blog to stay up to date on the interesting people places and events he visits here in the beautiful State of Virginia.

Fly Tying with Dover England

I’ve resisted the temptation to do many reports on fishing. It’s such a compulsion, that if I didn’t rein it in, the segment would be called John Carlin Goes Fishing, instead of John Carlin’s Virginia.

That said, today was the perfect day to shoot a story on tying flies. (If you’re not familiar with the process, you need to know that tying flies is the same as making lures. Only you make “lures” or artificial baits out of animal hair, feathers and plastic and then present them to the fish with a fly rod.)

Dover England is well known to local fly fishers. A member and former president of Trout Unlimited, he is a master fly tyer and fisherman as well. He is one of those people who just think like a fish. He knows how the weather, water temperature, time of year and sunspots affect the fish’s behavior. (Ok – I made up the part about the sunspots.) He has taught a course on fly fishing at Hollins University, and countless others how to fool a trout.

The plan was to do an indoor story on an outdoor pursuit. And we did. We watched in awe as Dover sat in a room at his South Roanoke home and crafted several flies, which were more like works of art. He even made several of his own, Dover’s Peach flies, which are now sold around the world by major retailers.

The story could have ended there, but Dover said he knew where there were some trout within walking distance, and nothing would do but what we try those very flies in the Roanoke River.

So off we went. Our waders were little match for the cold, but Dover’s creations were more than a match for the trout. We hooked several and landed (and released) two in less than 45 minutes.

Thanks to TU President Bill Bainter for helping me locate Dover, and for coming along to watch the shoot and lend his support. He told me about several other TU projects that may well wind up as topics for this segment in months to come. Trout in the Classroom is a program in which local school kids raise trout and release them into local streams. Another program called Project Healing Waters, is designed to help our veterans by getting them out on the stream.

After all it’s hard to pass up a good fishing story.

Dover is a "retired" fishing guide. But he still takes the occasional client fishing.
to contact him, e-mail doverengland@gmail.com. You can call him at 540.525.1991.

Blue Ridge Marathon -- Peakwood

The Blue Ridge Marathon is coming up on April 16. Last year’s event was billed as one of the toughest in the country, what with climbs up Mill Mountain and Roanoke Mountain.

Then, we on the organizing committee realized that it might just be THE toughest on-road marathon in the nation. (There are many trail marathons which are tougher) So the committee decided to go for it – to solidify the position as the toughest in the USA – by adding another major climb.

That climb is Peakwood, in South Roanoke. It winds uphill for about 1.6 miles at an average steepness of 10-percent. Runners in the marathon will hit it at 17 miles. After climbing Mill Mountain and Roanoke Mountain.

Our story on this day focused on the climb itself. Thanks to local marathoners Troy Lenderking and Matt Bullington for tackling the run and giving us their appraisal. Both are excellent runners (Matt finished 6th in last year’s National College Blue Ridge Marathon.) To be fair, like me, they are members of the committee. But they had not run the route before this day, and their assessment was honest – it’s going to be hard.

For more information on the marathon click here.

Don’t forget there is also a half marathon option, and this year there is a category for walkers. It is not nearly as rigorous as the marathon – but still a great goal to get you healthy and in shape for summer.

Unsung Hero: From Rice Paddies to Suit Coats

To view the story, click here.



Heroes are easy to spot. They score the winning touchdown, hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth, save the baby from the burning building. We all love heroes.

At first glance, the topic of my most recent report may not fit the typical "hero" image. And yet it's what makes Linthong Thammavong's story even more remarkable.

If you watched the report, you know that "Lin" is now the head tailor or shop foreman at Davidson's Clothing for Men. Davidson's is the oldest retail operation in Roanoke. They have a proud tradition of selling suits to Roanoke's business elite.

I found it remarkable, when I learned of Lin's history. He was raised working the rice paddies in Laos. The army drafted him to fight communists when he was 13. He has scars from bullet wounds in his arms from firefights in the jungle. He escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand with his family, and lived there for two years.

Immigration services helped him find a place in the United States. He and his wife landed at Davidsons, mostly because of her skills. Yet through the years -- and even his wife's untimely passing 10 years ago, Linthong persevered.

Every time there was a chance to learn something, he learned it. He worked hard day by day and stitch by stitch, until he is where he is now.

I didn't ask, but I doubt he's getting rich hemming trousers, or shortening sleeves on men's suits. To be fair, both Larry and Sig Davidson credit him with the ability to do some extremely complicated work as well -- but that's not the point.

The point is that here is a man, who survived all that, raised his family and his own standard of living in America. In Roanoke. He's a hero because he a survivor who has found a way to thrive.

Today, some of the best dressed men in Roanoke look that way, because of Linthong's determination and ability.

I think that's interesting.