Letter to Annie Snyder

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"It was just the sort of thing you'd expect, once you've learned to expect it," Shelby Foote

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LETTER FROM BETTY RANKIN, PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER OF
SAVE THE BATTLEFIELD COALITION (SBC),
TO SBC FOUNDER ANNIE SNYDER

ANNIE,

The Washingtonian article omitted all of our efforts. When the press leak occurred on Tuesday, November 9, 1993 [date of first announcement of new Disney theme park for Washington, D.C. area], many of our Congressional delegation appeared on TV in support of Disney. I called TV stations and voiced opposition on behalf of the SBC [Save the Battlefield Coalition]. On Wednesday, I appeared on the news of Channels 9 and 5. Unfortunately, I could not take time from work to appear on talk shows, business shows, or other interviews. I had to decline CNBC, CONUS, CBS, and FOX. I also talked at length with Jody [Powell] and the Disney crew. We held a meeting at your house because I wanted to protect my child from the ugliness [which] I knew the fight would promote.

I attended as many meetings as I could without short-changing my child. I was unable to attend the meeting described in the article. Hope and Georgia kept me informed. We also discussed at length why I felt the SBC should not be overtly in the forefront. It was the expected. The County [Prince William] needed to see opposition from those it had not encountered before. The phone never stopped ringing. People from all over the country were calling to see what they could to to help.

I made a very difficult decision during the two weeks following the announcement. My child would be first and Disney a distant second. I talked at length with Board members. We decided to support the PEC [Piedmont Environmental Council] in the 2nd look campaign. I took a personal-leave day for the press conference we co-sponsored with PEC on December 1, 1993. Very few were interested in our concerns. After all they reasoned, the battlefields were five miles away.

Covertly, the SBC was involved throughout the fight. Publicly, we supported PEC and PROTECT [Protect Historic America and/or Protect Prince William] after it formed. I worked very diligently to get a opposition group going which was single issue: i.e. NO DISNEY. I pushed to get full-page ads in our local papers when the county announced plans to discount fees for Disney. As you know, I spent countless hours researching the education angle, courting the religious right over it, and promoting the Foote Family ties since Waverley had been built by my ancestors.

Hope this clarifies what SBC did during the early stages.

Betty [Rankin, President]

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Reviewed . Revised . Refreshed 28 June 2009 Our 14th Year