Earl C. Hargrove, Jr. recalls when the opportunity to buy a cave in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley had presented itself, it took him all of about five seconds to go for it, even though he had not a clue about what it actually took to operate the spectacular caverns attraction that had first opened to the public in 1922.
He first saw Shenandoah Caverns in the 1950s, after some friends, whom at that time had purchased the cave property, asked him to come up and give them advice about how to make the caverns more attractive to the public.
Hargrove had been working with his father, whose decorating company built parade floats in the Washington D.C. area since 1946. In 1949, Mr. Hargrove earned a nickname of “the President’s prop man,” when he set the stage for President Truman’s Inaugural in 1949. The company has been involved in every U.S presidential inaugural celebration since then.
In the early 50s a Hargrove-designed parade float promoting Front Royal's Skyline Caverns won first prize in a Winchester, Va. Apple Blossom parade. It also caught the attention of his Shenandoah Valley friends, H.B. Long and wife, Sissy. After the Longs saw the creativity that Hargrove had put into the Skyline Caverns float, they invited him to meet and brainstorm about improving the look of their cave.
Hargrove says that when Sissy Long revealed her plans to decorate the caverns with works of art and chandeliers, he told her that she could not improve on what God had already done in the cave chambers, and that they should put their money into promoting the caverns out on the new Interstate 81 Highway that was being built through the Valley. It would pass close to the caverns location. On the way out of the meeting, he says he jokingly mentioned that if the cave was ever for sale, he was interested.
Two weeks later, he got a call from Mr. Long, who had fallen upon sudden bad fortunes as a poultry farmer, and now was forced to sell the cave. He recalls that his father had wondered if the younger Hargrove had lost his mind by deciding to buy the cave.
There was not much to offer at Shenandoah Caverns when the new owner first re-opened the cave on May 1, 1966. An elevator used to transport visitors below ground kept breaking down. The cave often flooded. There had been a hotel located over the entrance of Shenandoah Caverns, although by now a fire had burned the roof and second floor.
However, along with the caverns came the local Proctor family, who helped Hargrove get the place into shape. Dan Proctor, along with his son Joe, began to collect animated displays that were popular in large department store show windows before the days of television. They soon had enough of them to create a "Main Street" exhibit on the rebuilt second floor of the Caverns Lodge. The Hargroves and Proctors eventually developed a deep and life-long friendship. Although Dan Proctor passed away recently, Joe now carries on as the General Manager.
In the meantime, more Hargrove parade floats were beginning to accumulate each year, and they needed a storage location. Hargrove and the Proctors came up with an idea to store them in a 40,000 square-foot building on the caverns property and open it up to the public. They called the new attraction "American Celebration on Parade." They were sure that the public would flock to the new exhibit, but it soon became clear that something more was needed.
"Because, by this time, we were big into the exhibit building and special events business. And so then it became a fact of not just a building with parade floats in it, but a lot of history, and a lot of storytelling and a lot of animation that we thought was all going to be very helpful," Hargrove says. "Well, it was successful."
A third component of what is now called a "Family of Attractions" at Shenandoah Caverns was added just a few years ago. The Yellow Barn began as a nod toward agri-tourism where people could come and learn about farming and see old farm implements. Again, the initial idea need some development. The Yellow Barn is now a gift shop with an entertainment area and is often the venue for wine festivals and tastings.
Hargrove says he had always thought of American Celebration on Parade as a visitor attraction even though it would always be referred to as a museum by the media and by visitors. The word "museum" had a way of bothering him. But as time went on, he says that it finally occurred to him that the idea of a museum actually had stronger appeal among the public.
He also admits that his decision to buy Shenandoah Caverns had initially been an egotistical one. But he says he soon realized he had to give something real back to the visitors if they were going to want to return again and again.
He now says that whenever he appears at Shenandoah Caverns, people make him feel like a celebrity. "They want to have a picture taken with me. Or they want their kids to say hello to Earl Hargrove. And I look around this and I see all these thousands of people that come here. Ninety-nine point nine percent of them seem to be extremely happy. And, that they've spent their time coming here and it's been well worth it."
The Shenandoah Caverns Family of Attractions is online at www.ShenandoahCaverns.com. More about Earl Hargrove and Hargrove, Inc. at www.HargroveInc.com. Earl Hargrove is an interview guest on the Feb. 5, 2010 edition of The Shenandoah Valley Radio Program.
Hargrove says that when Sissy Long revealed her plans to decorate the caverns with works of art and chandeliers, he told her that she could not improve on what God had already done in the cave chambers, and that they should put their money into promoting the caverns out on the new Interstate 81 Highway that was being built through the Valley. It would pass close to the caverns location. On the way out of the meeting, he says he jokingly mentioned that if the cave was ever for sale, he was interested.