Lindberg Estep says two-way traffic needed in downtown

Photo by Dave Boyd Lindberg Estep has a good perspective of downtown from the front porch of his business on E. Elk Ave. "We need to make it easier for people to get to town," he said.

By Rozella Hardin
STAR STAFF
rhardin@starhq.com

   Located at the tip of downtown on the west end is a little one-room building with a front porch. A wisp of gray smoke curls upward. Inside, a fire burns slowly in an old pot-bellied stove. The coal pile outback is getting low.
   "That's not all I got," says Lindberg Estep, whose office is located inside the one-room building. "I got 40 more ton back there," he says as he points down the railroad track. Estep Coal Company and Lindberg Estep have been a fixture in downtown for 58 years. "I've been here a long time -- during the good times and the bad times. I've seen a lot of change," he said.
   "I love this little town, but we have to make it more accessible. We've got to make it where people can get into it; that they can get here from any direction. If they come west off the Elk Avenue Bridge, they have to go around a block to get downtown," explained Estep.
   "I'm all for two-way traffic on Elk Avenue. That's the only way to go," he said.
   He also laughed at the mention of a sign at the east end of Elk Avenue which says "Do Not Enter."
   "We need to take that thing down," he chuckled.
   About downtown, Estep exclaimed, "We are all part of a nucleus. Downtown is the nucleus of this community. That's why we have parades downtown. We need to do everything to make something happen here. We need to improve our clout.
   "We need new people to move here. They add to our town. We also need enthused leadership. We need it downtown. We need it at City Hall and over at the Courthouse. Our leaders need to get excited about where they live and work," said Estep.
   Estep is a one-man business. "I do it all. I sell it, load it, and haul it," he explained, noting that coal businesses in small towns are becoming extinct. "Sales have been more consistent this winter," he said. His customers come from Elizabethton, Johnson City, Erwin, Roan Mountain, and even as far away as Elk Park, N.C. "I get my coal from Kentucky. These big coal companies won't hardly sell to small-time dealers like myself any more. If you aren't established, they aren't going to sell to you," he said.
   Parked by the railroad track in front of his office is an old 1979 stationwagon, which sort of describes Estep. "That car? I love it. I knew when I first saw it, it was the car for me. It fits me."
   Though an old-timer on Elk Avenue, Estep like his car, is fine-tuned and runs quite well, even on days when the sun shines and there are no coal sales.
   From his front-porch view of Elk Avenue, he has a good perspective on things. "Yes, if we had two-way traffic on Elk Avenue, the value of these buildings would increase, and people could get into town more easily," he said.
   "When I was growing up, we called our Sunday church clothes 'do-good' clothes. When we put those clothes on, we knew we were going somewhere. I say it is time to put on our 'do good' clothes, and go places with this town. It's time to do something," he said.