The Roanoker Sept/October 2023 - 12
Strange Days of Roanoke
'Thy Kingdom Come'
written by Nelson Harris
For three summers in the 1950s, the Roanoke Valley was home to the nation's only outdoor religious drama.
The cast for " Thy Kingdom Come " å
portrays a scene in the summer of 1958.
J
12
im Goodwin was a man of
vision. In 1928, he and a friend
purchased a tract of land between
Roanoke and Salem to create an
upscale resort. With a view of the
Alleghany Mountains to the west and the Blue
Ridge to the east, the men believed they could
fashion a retreat that would become a tourist
mecca. But there was one problem. The
tract did not have an adequate water supply.
Undeterred, Goodwin then decided to turn
the land into a cemetery, and Sherwood Burial
Park came into being.
As Goodwin's cemetery developed, he still
maintained a passion for creating something
that would be a commercial and cultural benefit
to the Roanoke Valley. So in the early
1940s, Goodwin conceived the building of an
amphitheatre within Sherwood. The venue, created
to mimic Roman architecture, contained
an expansive stage with a multi-column and
stone concaved backdrop made of limestone
and granite. The terraced seating accommodated
2,000 patrons. Goodwin's desire was that
his amphitheatre would host religious dramas,
Easter sunrise services and sacred concerts.
In a 1958 interview, Goodwin said, " Because
this is a sacred place to so many persons, they
would have to be plays or dramas of a religious
nature. "
The 1950s was a decade when outdoor
dramas were at their zenith. Almost all had
themes dealing with American history. Set
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023
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The Roanoker Sept/October 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker Sept/October 2023
The Roanoker Sept/October 2023 - Cover1
The Roanoker Sept/October 2023 - Cover2
The Roanoker Sept/October 2023 - 3
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The Roanoker Sept/October 2023 - Cover3
The Roanoker Sept/October 2023 - Cover4
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