Gene Dalton | The Roanoke Times

Roger Hedgepeth (left) and Harold Linkous.

Mayoral musings

Strange things are bound to happen at town hall when you’re there as long as mayors Roger Hedgepeth and Harold Linkous. Animal issues, it seems, are particularly touchy. Both men have a memorable story:

“A lady came to council one night,” Linkous recalled. “Her cat had been hit by a car. She was upset that the town put it in a trash can. She thought they ought to make an effort to give it a decent burial.”

Hedgepeth, too, remembers a perturbed woman who addressed council with concerns about a report she had heard that inhumane thieves were stealing dogs and selling them to research facilities.

Hedgepeth, normally known for his decorum, couldn’t resist saying the first thing that popped into his mind:

“Well, sounds like we’ve got a case of hot dogs here.”

Decades of growth

Blacksburg is the largest town in Virginia with 39,130 residents. Christiansburg, with 17,926 residents, ranks fourth in the state behind the towns of Leesburg (pop. 36,269) and Herndon (pop. 21,965).

During their years as mayors, Roger Hedgepeth and Harold Linkous both cite growth as the most significant change affecting their towns.

“In spite of what citizens think, it has not been runaway growth,” Hedgepeth said. “There are 229 towns and cities in the state. Blacksburg is larger than 93.4 percent of those. The government and the citizens need to behave accordingly. We’re all guilty of saying Blacksburg is a quaint little college town. It’s not that any more.”

“I think the growth has been well-planned,” Linkous said. “I wanted to make Christiansburg a better place to live, work and play. I’m very proud to be a part of the accomplishments.”

SOURCE: Population estimates as of July 1, 2005, from the Weldon Cooper Center, University of Virginia.

Sausage biscuits.

That was the pretext that brought Tom Starnes, Roger Hedgepeth and Harold Linkous together at a Christiansburg restaurant last winter. And consume biscuits they did.

But topmost on the agenda at this informal gathering of the triumvirs was a discussion of the upcoming mayoral election.

To run or not to run? That was the question.

Starnes -- who has served the city of Radford as mayor since 1980 -- decided to make another run for the office, despite the strong allure of retirement.

"I gave it some serious consideration," he admitted, noting that the current city council's inexperience convinced him that his longevity still counts.

"I thought I still had some projects I wanted to see to fruition before I hang it up."

But Starnes' gut told him that his two political peers were no longer in the boat.

"It was pretty obvious to me that Mayor Linkous and Mayor Hedgepeth weren't going to run again."

He was right.

"We decided we had probably been here long enough," said Linkous, Christiansburg's mayor since 1986.

"Harold and I decided that was it," concurred Hedgepeth, at the helm of Blacksburg's town council since 1982.

June 30 marked Hedgepeth's last day as mayor.

Linkous has 53 days to go, because Christiansburg's charter stipulates that the term expires Aug. 31.

Newly elected mayor Richard "Dick" Ballengee will take over Linkous' duties then.

Ron Rordam, a Blacksburg town councilman since 1996, has already replaced Hedgepeth.

"Replaced," however, is not a word that rolls easily off the tongues of Blacksburg residents. Even Rordam admits it won't be easy to match Hedgepeth's tenure.

"I think the idea of being an elected official for 26 years is remarkable in itself," he said at the last council meeting over which Hedgepeth presided, "but to have that energy and vision for that long is truly remarkable. I don't think anyone could match that feat."

It was Rordam who read council's final words to Hedgepeth in a formal presentation at the meeting.

"Roger Hedgepeth is and always will be the mayor," he began.

In Christiansburg, sentiments for Linkous are much the same.

Not only did Linkous serve as mayor for 20 years, he was also a town councilman for 16 years prior to that.

"We certainly will miss him," said Ann Carter, the senior member of council with 17 years. "Harold was born and raised here. He has kept his pulse on what's going on in our town."

Carter said Linkous' relationship with Hedgepeth has helped bring the 'burgs closer.

"The two towns and the county have certainly grown together and are much more cooperative than they used to be," she noted.

Early in the mayoral reign of Hedgepeth and Linkous, Blacksburg and Christiansburg weren't always the best of friends. Envy, arrogance, apathy and avarice were sins that separated the neighboring towns.

"Both towns are stubborn," observed Al Leighton, with 32 years on Blacksburg Town Council. "There were times when we just didn't want to talk with each other."

But the mayors did talk to each other. They forged a friendship based on common bonds.

They both like biscuits, for instance.

And they both love their respective towns.

Growing places

Hedgepeth turned 76 on Jan. 17.

"It's Ben Franklin's birthday," he noted. "I tell people Ben Franklin was born on my birthday. It also means I'm a Capricorn, which helps quite a bit in political circles."

But it's not astrology that guides Hedgepeth's way.

The retired Virginia Tech engineering professor has an analytical mind -- and, according to his wife, a heart "as big as the outdoors."

"Everybody knows him. Everybody. He knows no stranger," Jenny Hedgepeth said, noting that her husband has worked hard to earn the affection of his community. She has never forgotten a comment he made to her many years ago.

"He said to me one time, 'You know what? I've never really done anything in my life ... I've never made a mark.' ''

Recently, Jenny Hedgepeth made it a point to look her husband in the eye and declare, "You can't say that anymore, can you?"

Hedgepeth became mayor at the height of the town's population growth following the annexation of Virginia Tech and other land into the town.

Blacksburg had jumped from 9,000 people in 1970 to 30,000 in 1980, his first year as a councilman. In 1982, when he became mayor, the need to meet that growth loomed large.

Leighton credits Hedgepeth with helping bring about orderly growth, with emphasis on orderly.

"He looks at the big picture very well. He's been on the cutting edge of all these developments," he said, pointing to the Blacksburg Transit bus system, the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and other enterprises that have successfully merged the university and business community.

Likewise, Linkous is lauded in Christiansburg for his part in the town's phenomenal retail growth.

He even received statewide recognition in the Virginia General Assembly's resolution No. 389 passed earlier this year:

"WHEREAS, during his tenure, Christiansburg experienced rapid growth and increased prosperity, and due to Harold Linkous' vision and excellent leadership, the town evolved into a dynamic retail hub for the region; and WHEREAS, in 1988, Harold Linkous helped orchestrate the annexation process that added approximately 2,727 residents and approximately 5.45 square miles of land to the Town of Christiansburg. ..."

Linkous, now 79, can't help but laugh as he remembers Blacksburg's reaction when Christiansburg annexed the land on U.S. 460 where New River Valley Mall was built and the commercial flood followed.

"There has always been a little competition -- maybe a little more than competition -- between the towns," he said.

Linkous and Hedgepeth tell the same story about the day Blacksburg officials learned of the planned annexation.

It happened at a joint meeting of representatives from the two towns and Montgomery County.

At the end of the meeting, as everyone began pushing chairs against the table, Christiansburg Town Manager John Lemley made a comment that sounded almost like an afterthought.

"We had finished all the business," Linkous recalled, "when Lemley said, 'By the way, we just filed a petition for annexation.' "

Jaws dropped.

"Ever since then," Linkous added, "Roger never leaves a meeting without saying 'I hope there are no by-the-ways here today.' "

The 'burgs' first ladies

Jenny and Roger Hedgepeth first married in 1957.

The couple divorced in 1984 and re-married in 1991.

The surprising thing was that they re-married each other.

"We still loved each other," Jenny Hedgepeth explained. "Most people didn't even know we had split. It was just one of those fluky things."

Jenny Hedgepeth said her husband's job as mayor had nothing to do with the divorce, but she does admit that his position has made it impossible for them to share a peaceful meal together.

At home, the phone rings. At restaurants, citizens come to the table to chat.

The mayor's work, she added, doesn't always stay at the mayor's office.

"He brings it home to a point," she said. "I'll only allow so much. I'm constantly saying, 'Let it go.' "

Jenny Hedgepeth is her even-tempered husband's alter-ego.

"We're like salt and pepper," she said. "People remark about his demeanor, his coolness. But I know when he's upset. He was married to that job. He created a monster and it's his own fault. Other mayors would show up at 9, sign a few letters and be out by noon. He was down there all day."

"It's time for him," Jenny Hedgepeth said of her husband's retirement, adding that she has laid down the law at home.

"I told him, 'You better find something to do because you're not going to stay around here and drive me nuts. If you don't, I will find you something to do and it might be McDonald's.' "

Hedgepeth, however, has plans.

A lifelong record collector, he wants to hawk some of his vintage LPs on eBay. He also has an unquenchable thirst for reading and looks forward to spending time with his four grandchildren.

Undoubtedly, he'll spend some time on the floor of town hall, too.

"I may go to the meeting in July," he mused last month, "and stand on the other side of the podium. I really want the council to approve that special use permit for the stadium."

Although Linkous still has a few meetings to lead, he won't step foot in town hall after he steps down.

"No," he said emphatically. "They don't need me. It's a new ball game."

"We'll find other things to do, won't we?" chimed Betty Linkous.

A petite woman with a gentle demeanor, Betty Linkous has been married to the mayor for 56 years.

"Always, he has been civic-minded," she said. "When he decided to run for mayor, I helped with campaigning. I've always been supportive."

Linkous' duties as mayor have mostly involved running with scissors.

As the town's chief ambassador, he has welcomed hundreds of businesses at ribbon-cutting ceremonies. He posed for photos at dedications of the new town hall, the new fire department, the new rescue squad building and the new recreation center. He presented Miss Universe with a key to the city at the opening of New River Valley Mall.

While Hedgepeth was a voting member of town council, Linkous is not. Christiansburg's charter calls upon the mayor to vote only in the case of a tie.

That has happened only three times in Linkous' 20-year career.

Two-town transformers

Most everyone agrees that Blacksburg and Christiansburg are on better terms now than ever before.

And most everyone gives credit to Hedgepeth and Linkous.

As Blacksburg's new mayor, Rordam said he hopes he can expand the relationship. But he does not foresee a time when Blacksburg and Christiansburg becomes one big happy city.

"Our constituencies are different and that gives us a different view of how we develop," he said.

Linkous and Hedgepeth don't smell a wedding, either.

"Consolidation? It's mentioned occasionally. I don't foresee it in the near future," said Linkous.

As he cleaned out his office last month, Hedgepeth reflected on his fondness for his neighboring town and its mayor.

"That gavel right behind me Harold Linkous gave me," he said. "One time, we had a testy meeting coming up and Linkous said, 'Well, you'll have to bang your gavel.' I said, 'I don't have a gavel.' Three months later, Harold brought me one."

Looking back at their long careers as mayors, both men said they believe they served the right town at the right time.

But what if the mayoral roles had been switched?

Would Hedgepeth have enjoyed the burgomaster title in Christiansburg?

"Only if I could do it for a couple of months," he said.

And what about Linkous? In his wildest dreams, could he have represented Blacksburg?

Two words, he said.

"No comment."