By Ray Cox
Special to The Roanoke Times
Not to boast too openly about the high quality of the constituency for this column, the wit and insight of the many identify them as instinctive journalists with a follow-up question at the ready.
A recent meandering tour of the regionâs mineral springs led to the Catawba Valley and the site of the Catawba Hospital, a state behavioral health complex. In a bygone day, it was a resort known as Roanoke Red Sulphur Springs. Later it was a state-run hospital dedicated to the treatment of tuberculosis, which prompted the examination to come.
By Ray Cox
Special to The Roanoke Times
Incoming correspondence from our many contributors has been awash in additions to an ongoing discussion of the history of the regionâs many mineral springs.
As is sometimes the case with such listings, reader reaction may come in the form of gentle reminders (or scolding tut-tuts) that one or another potential member of the list went unmentioned.
The plea here to incomplete list-making is guilty. The only defense for such omissions is that comprehensive listing of 200-plus such healing gushers in Virginia and West Virginia alone is awkward in small space.
Anyway, it is always a pleasure to welcome pertinent additions to any conversation.