Editor, The Smithfield Times:

It is beyond belief that anyone familiar with our town would label the many contributions of the Luter family to Smithfield as “ordinary” (Letter to the editor, “Good developers are easy to find,” June 7).  

Have you walked the awesome trails at Windsor Castle Park or attended a function at the spectacular Manor House? Do your kids or grandkids play ball at the first-class ball fields in town, also made possible because of the Luter family? Maybe you’ve had your picture taken with the Valentine Couple or Ben Franklin or any of the many Lundeen statues donated by the Luters. Have you attended a play or concert at the Smithfield Little Theatre, one of the nicest theater venues in Hampton Roads?  

The list goes on and it goes back decades. The Luter Family YMCA, converted from the old Smithfield High School, has served thousands of families in our county. And last but certainly not least, the Luters were instrumental in helping plan and organize Smithfield’s impressive downtown revitalization, a project that transformed the historic area into the charming village it is today.  

I’m not saying the Grange project doesn’t need to be studied and modified until it’s a perfect fit with our town’s vision for the future. With a little patience and flexibility on both sides, I believe it can be done. But please, don’t publicly belittle a philanthropic family that has played a huge role in making Smithfield what it is today: quaint, charming, artsy, full of character. Anything but ordinary.

 

JoAnn Hall

Smithfield