We’re waiting at an intesection.  There’s a train on the tracks.  So here’s Main Street in Ronceverte, West Virginia.

It looks pretty abandoned.  There’s an old building with “The Shack” scratched into the side of the building, like the Jolly Green Giant took his fingernail and just dug into the soft wood.

"The Shack" on Main Street in Ronceverte, West Virginia.

We see a field and a picnic table next to a building.  We decide it’s time to eat our leftover Thai food and have some lunch.  I have to pee.  I walk down the street along the train tracks to the back side of some business and see a sign for “The Sportsman Taverns.”  I walk in, it’s dark and there are a probably 15 people already at the counter.

“Can I use the bathroom?”

“Sure, it’s in the back to the right past the pool tables.”

I feel uncomfortable.  No one there knows me and it’s obvious.  I’m glad to get in, do my business and get out.

While we’re eating lunch, I notice this run down building across the way on Main Street.  It’s in disarray, halfway between life and death with some incomplete construction going on.  I see a few cats running around.  I’m pretty sure the cats won’t talk to me.

A house on Main Street in Ronceverte, West Virginia.

I want to know what’s inside, but I’m intimidated to go up and talk to the people I assume live there.  I do that a lot on these Main Streets, look at houses and wonder what’s inside, wanting to talk to everyone about everything.  I turn back to lunch and look over the railroad tracks.  This place is run down, but it sure is beautiful.

As soon as you drive onto Main Street in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia all you see is a Welcome sign and a few dilapidated homes. It takes a little while before it starts to look like a town.

We pass by a little store with a hand-written “Everything must go” sign in the windown with a lot of dusty Dale Earnhardt pictures underneath it.  Next door is a pint-sized building that says  “The Diner” out front.

A sign outside The Diner on Main Street in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

We hop out of the car and run inside.  The place is shoebox small with only a counter and about seven stools.

We talk with the owners, Vicky and Whaitman Vaughn.  The Vaughns just bought the place two years ago.  Whaitman grew up in White Sulphur Springs, fourth generation to be exact.   He wears a camouflage hat that reads “West Virginia” on it.  They’re all smiles and filled with stories about the Diner’s history.

Whaitman Vaughn owns the Diner on Main Street in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia with his wife Vicky.

Vicky Vaughn owns the Diner with her husband Whaitman. "People never know what I'm going to say or do. That's why they love to come in here."

Whaitman talks about how they get all kinds of travelers, people from Russia, China, the guy from Gun Smoke.

“People just come on in and say hi.  Not really a lot of locals, mostly people passing through like yourself.  Most of the locals go to Wal-Mart  and the Hardees.”

Too bad, the locals don’t know what they’re missing.   I ask Whaitman  if there are any wild stories from the Diner.  Lucky for me this is West Virginia.

“Well, the previous owner, she was working here.  It was the 70s and she was behind the counter in the kitchen.  Apparently she and her husband had gotten into a fight.  He was walking by that night, drunk, and pulled out his gun and shot at her.  Luckily, there was an industrial toaster on the other side of the wall and it took the bullet.  Here, let me show you the bullet hole.”

A bullet hole at the Diner in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

The bullet hole is pretty big, must have been a big gun.  Vicky tells me that the woman kept the toaster but not her husband.

I want to stay all day and eat $2.50 hamburgers at the counter.  We have to go though.  Vicky and Whaitman give us some Hershey’s kisses and we’re on our way.

As we drive through White Sulphur Springs, we pass by the Greenbrier. This is one of the most palatial resorts I have ever seen, “defining luxury since 1778.”  It’s hard to believe that a place like this is here in White Sulphur Springs.  The town is proud of it.  A hometown hero  is working to bring the Greenbrier back up to its previous five-star status.  I can’t imagine how a place like this could be four stars and not five.  We take a few quick photos and drive on.

The Greenbrier on Main Street in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

A man talks on a cell phone at the Greenbrier on Main Street in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

A Greenbrier employee tends the hotel's grounds.

This is the Virginia Military Institute on Main Street in Lexington, Virginia.

The Virginia Military Institute on Main Street in Lexington, Virginia.

Kara and I jump out of the car and we run up the doors into Kilbourne Hall. This must be a military institute.  Right away there is an oil portrait of an imposing man in a military uniform with a lot of medals in the hallway.  The place is pretty empty and echoes like a high school gym.  We head down a few steps past a replica of a military cannon and into the NAVY ROTC office.    No one seems to be around.

We creep our heads around into a few offices and find a woman working at a desk.

“Hi, we’re here doing a documentary of the 10,000 Main Streets across the country and we’re looking to talk to someone to tell us where we are and what this place is.”  She seems friendly at first, but she turns out to be giving us a fake form of Southern Hospitality.

This woman is not convinced that we’re on a Main Street,  “I don’t think we’re on a Main Street here.” We said we noticed a Main Street sign but we could be wrong.  “Well I’m pretty sure it’s not Main Street, but what would I know, I’ve only lived here my entire life.”

The Virginia Military Institute, on the corner of Main and Diamond streets.

Eventually CDR Mark Martin, a USN Executive Officer with the Naval ROTC Unit,
is brought over and tells us where we are.  He’s incredibly nice, shy, even.  Turns out his wife works on Main Street at a fancy linen store.  They’re not going to be living in Lexington much longer.  He’s being transferred to Washington D.C. in a few months.  We find out a little about the Virginia Military Institute, head out of Kilbourne Hall and walk along Main Street and take pictures.

Cadets at the Virginia Military Institute on Main Street in Lexington, Virginia.

Cutting the grass at the Virginia Military Institute on Main Street in Lexington, Virginia.

A truck on Main Street at the Virginia Military Institute on Main Street in Lexington, Virginia.

We’re up in the cute renovated part of downtown now. We spot an older woman ducking out of a bakery with a large bag.  She’s scurrying up the street in a hurry because it’s just starting to rain.

“Hello! What are you doing on this Main Street?”

Her name is Judy Deadrick.  She bought four lemon pies for her retirement home’s book club.

“There’s no particular book everyone has to read, just read a book and talk about it, we’re not really like a normal book club.”

“What did you read?”

“I read a biography of Sandra Day O’Connor.”

Judy lives in the retirement home close by.  She used to live in New York City in the East Village.  Around Bowery and 10th street.  “A lot of bums used to live around there.  It’s very different now.”  She likes Lexington.  “It’s quiet.”

I wish we could join her for the book club meeting.  I feel bad too because it’s starting to really rain now.  Kara busts out the umbrella and holds it over her head.  We escort Judy to her car so she doesn’t get wet and then leave.

I left my purse in Wardensville, West Virginia so we drive back.  Mother Nature has her own little commentary on my mishap.  The rain comes down in sheets, testing the patience of driver and passengers.  Luckily, no one decides to leave me at the side of the road to fend for myself.

After we pick up my purse, we need to stop and eat again. We could have dinner in Wardensville, but now we have too many negative associations with the town.

A woman in the parking lot of the Kac Ka Pon Restaurant on Main Street in Wardensville, West Virginia. Unlike me, she remembers to bring her purse when she leaves.

Memorial Day isn’t the easiest day to find something to eat.  We bust out four iphones and start looking on Yelp and Chow Hound.  Should we go to Fort Royal? Should we go to Roanoke?  Should we go to Charlottesville?   Where, oh where should we eat?

Harrisonburg, Virginia has a Main Street.  Let’s head there.    We drive along I-81 south.  It’s getting dark when we pull into town.  There are two universities there, James Madison University and Eastern Mennonite University.  It’s the first time that I’ve seen a row of frat houses on Main Street.  No parties though, school’s out for summer.  We drive through the downtown and take a few pictures. This place feels urban after West Virginia’s verdant valleys.

Main Street in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

We stop in for dinner and eat too much Thai food.

Main Street—Franklin, WV

Franklin United Methodist Church
Star Hotel and Restaurant
The Korner Shop Café
Bowman’s Hardware
Pendleton County Court House
Kimble Funeral Home

We see  an old couple hanging out on their porch.  We wave rather than head over and talk to them.    Time for gas.  Wait.  Where’s my purse?  Shit.  Looks like somebody forgot her purse at the Kac Ka Pon in Wardensville, WV.

The Main Street where I, Ann Heppermann, left my purse in Wardensville, West Virginia.

After Moorefield, we keep heading down 200 South.  Wait wait wait, stop the car stop the car.  Why? Hang’em High Taxidermy Studio.

Kara jumps out of the car and takes a picture.

The window of the Hang'em High Taxidermy Studio on Main Street in Petersburg, West Virginia.

South Main Street in Petersburg, West Virginia turns back into 220 South and we’re winding around again next to the Monongahela National Forest.

Huh, turns out we’re still on Main Street, not quite sure where though.  A thunderstorm bursts onto the scene.  The cows are getting wet.  Time to slow down.

Our plan is to go to Hinton, West Virginia and stay in a hotel on Main Street.  We keep winding and driving, looks like we’re following the Potomac River.

Potomac River Road and Main Street in West Virginia.

Main Street in Moorfield, West Virginia.

We decide it’s already time for pie and head into O’Neills Casual Dining and Gourmet Coffees.  James and Kara have iced coffee and a piece of peanut butter pie.  Jesse runs up and down Main Street in Moorefield taking pictures. There’s a VFW Hall with only one truck out front.  Moorefield’s Main Street also has a lot of houses.  People aren’t really out today.  Looks like it is going to rain.

A VFW Hall in Moorefield, West Virginia.

A school building on Main Street in Moorefield, West Virginia.

A man walks down Main Street in Moorefield, West Virginia.

A tree on Main Street in Moorefield, West Virginia.

So far it’s been pretty slow going today.  It’s a nice way to travel but not incredibly efficient. We’ve gone about 60 miles in five hours.  I wonder how long it would take us if we actually devoted our lives to visiting every single Main Street in the United States.  Probably a decade or more.  We need to drive a little faster at some point.

West Virginia

We’re on our way to West Virginia.  There is no cell phone service.  Our biggest fear right now are coal trucks barreling down the road, ready to take out our little overstuffed Subaru.  We’re really climbing now.  Apparently Virginia is the top of the roller coaster and West Virginia is the descent.

We pull onto Main Street in Wardensville, WV.

We decide to have lunch at the Kac Ka Pon restaurant.  First time for sweet tea, pulled pork and pickled beets.

The Kac Ka Pon restaurant on Main Street in Wardensville, WV.

After lunch, I head over to the Wardensville Cemetery.  There are confederate flags everywhere to commemorate fallen Confederate soldiers.

Noah Funkhouser CO1 18 VA CAV CSA
John J. Keller b. 1817 d.1887
JM Lockart b.1827 d. 1920

The cemetery on Main Street in Wardensville, West Virginia.

Kara’s parked the car at the Barr’s Market on Main Street and is inside talking with the cashier.  Outside it’s the Pepsi Soda Machine Challenge.  Both are broken.  Both lose.

The young woman’s family bought the place two months ago.  “Things are good here.  We’re doing well.”  The produce tells a different story.  Garlic, with green shoots, mold on the peaches.

A woman walks in and can’t afford the ice cream.  “Oh, don’t worry.  You can pay for it later.” The woman puts it back anyways.

A house on Main Street in Middletown, Virginia.

We were on a Main Street and didn’t even realize it.   All of the flags are out for Memorial Day and line the street.  We pull over to the side of the road at the Quick Pick gas station.

Unleaded gas $2.31

“Espresso, coffee, chicken, curry rice, Indian Grocery.”

Jesse gets out of the car and takes a few pictures.

An abandoned structure on Main Street in Middletown, Virginia.

A storefront on Main Street in Middletown, Virginia

We’re off!  The first Main Street for the day is in the city where we stayed the night, Winchester Virginia.  The town’s Main Street is situated in a mobile home park that looks like it is only a few blocks long.

We turn into the Shenandoah Mobile Court off of Highway 522.   We park the car and get out.  Main Street is a dusty dirt road with about 10 mobile homes on it.

The mail center at the Shenandoah Mobile Home Court on Main Street in Winchester, VA.

They’re big and look new.  We see a woman talking animatedly on the phone and walk over.  It’s morning on Memorial Day so it looks like a family is out lounging on they’re porch.

We meet Christy Rasmussen and talk with her.  Turns out that this is Patsy Cline country.

“She’s buried down in the cemetery down the road.”

Christy is there with Jake Sanfino and Jake’s mom, Cindy Reedy.  Jake is probably the most articulate thirteen-year-old I have met.  Jake’s a big booster for Winchester.  He should run for city council some time.  There’s a lot that goes on in Winchester according to Jake:  the Apple Blossom Festival, for one.  Christy talks about how celebrities come to Winchester, too.

Christy Rasmussen sips coffee on Main Street in Winchester, VA.

“We won’t name any names put we had a party with some of the Washington Redskins who came through town one night.”

Christy and Cindy tell us that times are a little tough right now.  A lot of places in Winchester are closing down.  Circuit City, Linens and Things,

“One place closed and they didn’t even tell anybody.  Just locked their doors. “

Christy lost her job too as a dispatcher recently.

We ask them to describe the Main Street they live on.

“This is Winchester’s Main Street?  This isn’t a Main Street. This is just a mobile home park. Not a lot going on here.   Kids play here, up and down the street.  A lot of times people just pull in and turn around.  Or they park their car.  You see that black truck over by the mailboxes? A group of teenagers on Friday rolled up, jumped out, ran over to another truck and just drove off.  That trucks been there since Friday.  They’re out partying somewhere for Memorial Day.”

A look down Main Street in Winchester, Virginia.

Christy thinks it’s funny that we’re documenting this Main Street and talking to them.  “This is just trailer park.  There’s nothing here.  This isn’t interesting.  This isn’t Main Street.”