by Craig Shelburne  

There is no statue for Patsy Cline in her hometown of Winchester, Va. Although she’s one of the most celebrated country singers in history, you’d be challenged to find much that honors her there. It’s enough to make her fans fall to pieces. The house where she lived with her mother is noted with a historical marker. There’s a memorial highway on the outskirts of town, and a boulevard in town named for her. However, I would have never found her flat gravestone in Shenandoah Memorial Park without a local tourism representative literally leading me to it.

Now, 45 years after her death, a not-for-profit organization called Celebrating Patsy Cline @ http://www.celebratingpatsycline.org/ , is finally striving to remember her. Last year, CPC and Legacy, Inc., bought more than 100 personal effects from the estate of Cline’s brother. Cline’s husband and their two children have endorsed the project too. But first the CBC must purchase the museum site, an old department store where Cline’s mother once shopped. The first floor will house the memorabilia; the second floor is expected to be renovated for entertainment.

In the meantime, Cline’s fans can step back in time at Gaunt’s Drugstore, where she worked at the soda counter before making it in Nashville. Although the city historically has regarded her as a wild child from the wrong side of the tracks, some people who remembered her from the drugstore say she had a heart of gold. And, wow, that voice. To celebrate her outrageous spirit, toss back a Patsy Pilsner at Picadilly Brewpub in downtown Winchester. It’s pretty much the only Patsy souvenir you’ll find in town. Hopefully in the next few years, there will be a big, crazy reason to celebrate.