Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 20, 1995 TAG: 9505220083
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEVIN KITTREDGE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
A judge's ruling on contested portions of the late matriarch's handwritten will has greatly enhanced the chances that the 19th-century resort she loved will be around awhile, say those close to Yellow Sulphur Springs.
Grandma - also known as Charlsie Lester - died a year ago at 94. For half a century, she had owned, and treasured, the aged mineral spring resort outside Blacksburg known as Yellow Sulphur Springs.
As a rare remnant of the resort culture that flourished throughout the Virginia and West Virginia mountains a century ago, its historical importance in some minds is immense.
Others argue, off the record, that the ramshackle wood buildings have deteriorated beyond repair, and the property would be better put to other use.
The wooded, 58-acre site is amid scattered development and farmland outside the town. There is a limestone quarry across the street.
The resort, which has not operated as a hotel since the 1920s, is home to architect Gibson Worsham and his family, and several other tenants, most of them students.
Other people still come to visit on pretty days - strolling across the grounds or sipping the mineral spring water from a ladle.
In her will, Grandma wrote that she wanted the resort to remain "an oasis of Montgomery County" after her death.
Perhaps more to the point, she provided that one-fourth of the "cash" she left behind be used to make it happen.
Just what Grandma meant by "cash," however was one of the contested points in her will.
Late last week, Circuit Judge Ray Grubbs ruled that she meant not just the green stuff - of which Grandma left little - but stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, and checking and savings accounts - of which Grandma left some $400,000 worth.
Three-quarters of that money is earmarked for the Salvation Army, an orphanage and a Florida ministry.
But the portion remaining for the resort itself is enough to make supporters of its preservation swoon.
All of the Yellow Sulphur Springs property is badly in need of repair. A $19,000 state grant several years ago was used to shore up the old hotel, but its interior was left untouched.
Though the $100,000 or so that should become available through Grandma's will is hardly enough to return the old hotel and three rows of cabins to pristine condition, it still is more than Yellow Sulphur backers have had to work with in many years.
"You could do some big projects that would make a lot of difference," said Worsham, a history buff who has lived at the old resort for years with his wife, Charlotte.
In his ruling, Grubbs wrote:
"The issue arises as to how the funds [for upkeep] are to be utilized. First and foremost, all of the structures on the property need immediate maintenance to prevent any further deterioration. Second, the funds should be expended in such a manner as to enhance the harmonious appearance of all the structures to maintain their artistic integrity."
Down at Yellow Sulphur Springs, no one is about to object.
"We were very pleased with the ruling," said Worsham. Grandma's will gave the Worshams permanent possession of their cottage and 2 acres near the middle of the resort - and it's to remain theirs whatever happens to the rest of the estate.
"It seems to answer the needs of the place," Worsham said of the ruling.
"I think Judge Grubbs did an excellent job of getting right to the heart of Mrs. Lester's wishes," said Gregory Campbell, a lawyer representing the son of Grandma's longtime companion, Robert Smith Sr.
The elder Smith, one of the executors of Grandma's will, died last week. He also had been given a cabin and 2 acres in Grandma's will. Smith did not leave a will of his own, and his property will pass to his three children, Campbell said.
Meanwhile, Smith's son, Ohio businessman Robert Smith Jr., still has a critical role to play in the resort's future.
In Grandma's will, she asks that the younger Smith purchase the resort upon her death for half of its assessed value, and care for it afterward. "This has always been his home, and he [Smith] loves it like I do," Grandma wrote. Half of the assessed value of the property would be about $50,000.
Efforts to contact Smith were not successful. Campbell, his lawyer, said Smith is "leaning toward purchasing it [the resort]. Bob knew Mrs. Lester well. I think he's going to do his best to honor her wishes."
Campbell also said the ruling goes far toward settling Grandma's estate - in limbo since her death in 1994 - once and for all. Just how far depends on whether Grandma's heirs decide to appeal the judge's ruling, he said.
Joseph Samuels, one of Grandma's nephews, said he did not think the will would be contested further.
"I don't think we're going to appeal it. It would be an uphill battle," said Samuels, of Orange. "There were a lot of unknowns. What did 'etc.' mean, and what did 'cash' mean? We only entered into it with the hope that it may be decided in our favor. ... We have no choice but to agree."
Grubbs' ruling provides that the money now earmarked for the resort be paid to the Worshams and both Robert Smiths, for them to apply to maintenance and preservation of the buildings.
Robert Smith Sr., 80, died May 11 while mowing the grass at Yellow Sulphur Springs, said other tenants. His death, from natural causes, is not expected to slow settlement of the estate.
Should the younger Smith elect not to purchase the resort, however, the resort's future could be cloudy despite the money now available for its upkeep.
In that case, Judge Grubbs "felt like the language of [Grandma's] will indicated liquidation," said Berrell Shrader, the lawyer representing the estate. "We'd have to go through the court with judicial sale" of the resort.
Should the resort go on the market, Shrader said, its buyer would not be legally bound to preserve the buildings or otherwise follow Grandma's wishes.
State historic preservation officials, meanwhile, are keenly interested in what happens to the old resort. Leslie Giles, an architectural historian with the Roanoke Regional Preservation Office, called Yellow Sulphur "one of the most complete collections of antebellum resort architecture in the state."
"The whole resort is extremely significant," Giles said. "It is on both the Virginia Landmarks Registry and the National Register of Historic Places."
Despite those designations, the state has no power to protect the site, preservation officials said.
Giles said the state has no money available to help restore the site - "but we do have lots of technical assistance to provide, free of charge."
by CNB