The Potomac Highlands region is nestled between scenic mountain overlooks, ski resorts and trout-filled lakes near the Virginia and Maryland border. It is a melting pot of tourists, those traveling for work and residents who call it home.
In Hardy, Grant and Pendleton Counties, residents said they need more public transit options, a stronger and more diverse job market, more activities for younger people and affordable housing.
Mountain State Spotlight visited the three counties as part of an ongoing initiative visiting all 55 counties in the lead-up to the 2024 election. In each county, reporters are asking a simple question: What do you want to hear candidates talking about as they compete for votes?
Pendleton County
As 21-year-old Allie Gregory wiped the satin-finished bar in anticipation of her last customer at the Swilled Dog Distillery in Upper Tract, she reflected on growing up in the county.
Gregory, a native of Sugar Grove, has worked at the distillery for over a year serving whiskey and cider samples to customers. She said she struggled to land a job fresh out of high school as most in the area were taken.
In 2021, the largest employers in the county were in specialized services like health care, education, manufacturing and trucking.
“I kept applying and applying everywhere,” she said. Gregory landed a job after two years of trying at a local gas station. “It’s hard because people have stayed in jobs here for over 20 or 30 years.”
In 2023, Pendleton County had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state at 2.9%, but it had the lowest average weekly wage.
Gregory also said it’s challenging to find fun things to do. She usually meets up with her friends in empty parking lots. She added that they would be more likely to stay in the county if more opportunities were available.
“We need a reason for young people to stay here,” she said. “Kids are drinking and driving around because there are not a lot of things for them to do and that’s becoming a big problem.”
The town of Franklin is just a 15-minute drive south through a scenic river valley. It is home to a population of 485. Residents there expressed similar concerns about people leaving the area.
For business owners, the challenge is attracting qualified workers.
Since moving back from California, Stephen Miller has lived in Franklin for 29 years. He owns several rental properties and small businesses in town, including the Star Hotel and Restaurant.
While visiting the Mountain Springs Motel and Apartments on Main Street, he discussed how the town has changed since the pandemic, hurting small business owners.
“Most of our young people have left,” he said. “I can’t find wait staff. I can’t find dishwashers, and I can’t find chefs.”
He said business has slowed, and it’s difficult to find young staff to help in the restaurant. He’s had to cut his operating hours and now only serves dinner on Friday nights.
Jeannie Graham Sansbury, who works the front desk at the motel, agreed. After moving to the area seven years ago from Florida, she said business has slowed and when they’re short on bookings, she helps by cleaning empty rooms.
She said it’s difficult for people to find a stable job in Franklin and the rest of the county.
“There’s no jobs here,” she said. “There’s definitely no jobs. It’s about who you know.”
Hardy County
North in Hardy County, Moorefield and Baker residents said housing and rent prices have become more expensive as more people have moved in for work, increasing the homeless population and impacting those on fixed incomes the most.
Across the state, shortages have made housing prices and rents unaffordable for residents, especially in the Eastern Panhandle where demand has surged. In 2022, the median rent price was $832 a month in Hardy County.
The Hardy County Family Support Center opened last December as part of the Eastern Regional Family Resource Network which serves four counties in the area.
There, families can get assistance with their utility bills and pick up essential items like shampoo and toilet paper, and baby food for newborns. They can also opt to receive personal resources like financial coaching, job placement and mentoring.
Director Kelia Barr said she’s seen an uptick in the homeless population throughout the county as the center is helping more and more families.
“We are very short on housing here,” she said. “I’ve sat here before and called around for over an hour-and-a-half searching for a home to rent for a single mom.”
She said without a dedicated shelter in the county, homeless residents must travel to other counties or as far as Cumberland, Maryland, for an emergency place to stay.
Last year, over 1,400 people were reported homeless statewide, a figure that has continued to increase. That amount is up 24% from 2021.
“When you drive through the county, you wouldn’t imagine the amount of homelessness that we have because you really don’t see it,” she said. “We have people who live by rivers with their tents.”
Shari Stephens, a peer empowerment professional at the center, added that the homelessness issues had impacted her family personally.
“My own brother,” she said. “I had to take him in.”
On the other side of the county, longtime Baker resident Nancy Smith said the increase in housing costs has hurt senior citizens and families with fixed incomes.
Smith volunteers at the county 4-H camp and community center while helping her family and running a salon business.
“The pricing of housing has really increased in our area,” she said. “It makes it harder for the people that live here to be able to buy things and to live. Older people and those on fixed incomes are having trouble.”
Grant County
In Petersburg, about a 20-minute drive southwest in Grant County, residents say they need more programs for seniors, public transportation options and more small businesses to shop at.
On Virginia Avenue, across the street from a church and small coffee shop, senior citizens laugh, read and socialize over hot meals at a building that is both the senior center and headquarters of the Grant County Commission on Aging.
The center helps seniors with housing and in-home care opportunities, and the staff hosts social events and classes for them to take.
Tamara Alt has lived in the county for over 50 years and is the assistant director of the commission. She said transportation in the area is challenging for her and the senior citizens she helps daily.
The Potomac Valley Transit Authority serves five counties including Grant County. Buses operate daily with trips to places like grocery stores and shopping centers in the region. The lack of transportation can mean some residents have to get services from providers they wouldn’t normally choose.
“They have good services but they can’t provide everything,” she said. “Buses get so full sometimes that we’ve had to change doctors’ offices just to get our seniors transported.”
She added the town only has one grocery store and a few dollar stores but small businesses like clothing stores have vanished, leaving many people, like seniors, with the only option of traveling out of the county for shopping essentials.
“Where can you go and buy a pair of underwear or jeans in Petersburg?” she said.
Up the road and around the corner, business owner Tammy Bland sits with a customer at Your Sister’s Closet, an antique and furniture store.
Featuring a display of pristine older wooden furniture, empty glass milk bottles and small knickknacks, the store has withstood the test of time.
Bland opened the store about eight years ago and said she’s seen the decline of other small businesses in town force customers to travel for things they need.
“I’m not going to drive an hour-and-a-half to get something that costs 10 bucks,” she said. “I have to just order everything online.”
She said the town used to be where families could travel up and down Main Street and get everything they needed without having to travel any farther. But now as businesses have shuttered or relocated, chain restaurants and shops have taken their place.
Her customer and longtime friend, Chester Zuber agreed with her. He said he’s lived in the area since he was a kid.
“It’s sad to think about all the businesses that we’ve had and now they’re gone,” he said. “I mean, you can’t go into any place in town and buy anything here.”