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Giving help through tourism

Have you ever gone for a hike in the Smokies? Visited Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge? What about Dollywood?

If not, you’ve missed out. If you have, the images last week of fire raging through those places more than likely sparked emotions you were not expecting.

I work in a newsroom. We get desensitized to a certain level of disaster and bad news (and that is not necessarily a good thing); but when I saw Great Smoky Mountains National Park ablaze, I teared up. By the time I had read more of the story — about people rushing from their beloved homes, landmarks turned to ashes, animals left behind in a tourist attraction surrounded by flames — I was a mess.

I used to work with a woman from Tennessee. Like me, she was an outsider in a newsroom full of big city folk. And, like me, she never stopped referring to her mountains as “home.” Her heart broke last week. From hundreds of miles away, she could do nothing but pray, and encourage others to join in the effort to help. And because she still works in news, she was bombarded hour after hour with updates most people would never see.

So, of course, my thought is, how can we help?

West Virginians still have plenty of families in need after the summer’s flooding. Those with a mind to donate a little extra during the Christmas season are likely sending it to those counties. And, a spokesman for one Tennessee community took a moment last week to ask those sending donations of supplies to pause — they were so overwhelmed with donations they did not have a good way to store or distribute them.

But what if we try this: Make vacation plans for Tennessee this year. Especially if you answered no to my first questions, it is a wonderful trip. Even if the Smokies are scarred, plan to go camping or hiking. Even if the shopping is on a smaller scale, plan to indulge in a little retail therapy. Even if the tourist attractions are fewer, or rebuilding, plan to toss a few dollars their way.

Don’t assume it will not be worth a visit this year. They will need visitors, and the money they bring, more than ever.

Dolly Parton, whose Dollywood is another fun trip, by the way, asked for help by reminding Tennesseeans and the rest of the country that “charity begins at home.” I think many West Virginians who travel to that part of Tennessee will be surprised how much they are reminded of home.

Dolly has started the “My People Fund,” which she plans to use to help “all families who lost their homes in the fires.”

It certainly sounds, by the details available so far, as though Dolly is going to take care of her people as long as she can. But right now, that estimate is for six months. She may be hoping that when spring and summer come, the tourists will return in high enough numbers to bolster her effort.

Mountain people have to stick together. I know I spend a lot of this space asking you to send help to those in need, if you can. But a trip to Tennessee might do some of us as much good as it will do for them.

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com

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