"Once I found out what to expect, I expected what I found,"
Avon Edward Foote in 2004, paraphrasing a famous quote by kinsman Shelby Foote
Betty Rankin's Statement, Meeting of
PROTECT PRINCE WILLIAM,
Manassas, Virginia, February 13, 1994
[The founding of Protect Prince William came before the founding of Protect Historic America under Rudy Abramson]
As president of the Save the Battlefield Coalition, I am here
to support the efforts of PROTECT to stop the Disney threat.
As Disney markets the fun of virtual reality, Manassas
National Battlefield Park will endure the actual reality of
boundaries unprotected by either historical overlays or
viewsheds. The inevitable congestion and sprawl a Disney
theme park would create could destroy the integrity and
sanctity of Manassas. What Disney's America will forever
diminish in our America is irreplaceable.
Five years ago thousands of Americans across the nation
rallied together in the third Battle of Manassas saving the
battlefields from a mega mall. Then as now, there is a
strong will to preserve our heritage. The National Trust for
Historic Preservation has included Disney's America as a
threat to Manassas and other historic areas in Virginia.
In 1988 one of our staunch supporters, Jody Powell, spoke and
wrote eloquently on behalf of our national heritage and to
warn of the desecration of Manassas. His words from an
article titled " Battling over Manassas" (published
in National Parks, July/August, 1988) now seem very
appropriate for describing the impact of Disney. I want to
share them with you.
And I quote . . .
Thousands of tourists pour into roads already inadequate for
our growing population. The two-lane pike where a great union
brigade wheeled to repulse Jackson's surprise assault will
become a four-lane thoroughfare packed with the cars of
shoppers and commuters. Traffic jams will stretch for miles
through the battlefields of both First and Second
Manassas.
Today you can still see it, feel it: That bload-soaked,
valor-hallowed piece of Virginia country side where the
entire Union tottered on the brink of destruction.
The landscape has not changed. In rare and mystical moments
you can relive the battle scene. But not for long.
Throughout the land, Civil War and Revolutionary War
battlefields - as well as many other units of the National
Park system - are threatened.
The attitude that open space is just land waiting to be
developed has prevailed in this country. Highrise
condominiums, television and radio towers, housing
subdivisions - and shopping malls are springing up in every
available square mile. What is the purpose of preserving a
historical scene if the area is then intruded upon by
adjacent development?
As a country, we simply have not yet been willing to make an
investment in our national heritage that is sufficient to
guarantee its preservation. And, many of those who speak
frequently and fervently of our nation's past glories seem
largely uninterested in lifting a finger to protect any of
them.
We all must realize that the impact of Disney's proximity to
the battle fields is a threat. It will not go
unchallenged.
Letter Writer's Achievements in 1995: According to Save the Battlefield
Coalition, Betty Rankin was president and co-founder of the organization with
Annie Snyder; an educator of students
with mental retardation; and recipient of several
awards including -- International Exchange of Experts and
Information in Rehab Fellowship;
Peace/International Relations Award, Virginia Education
Association; IBM Teacher of the Year; and Planning
Commission Civic Commendation for Exemplary Contribution to
Land Use Planning in Prince William County, Virginia.
She was listed in Who's Who in American Education. Rankin Acknowledged her Shelby Foote kinship in a letter to Annie Snyder.
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