Christopher Harris: Wolfe was a gracious guest in Somerset -- and a good reminder of what we have

Apr. 5—There is a lot of stress that goes with being a reporter. There are also perks. And one of my favorite perks has been getting to meet famous people.

In this job, I've met "All in the Family" star Sally Struthers, David Prowse (a.k.a. the man in the Darth Vader costume), "Hercules" actor Kevin Sorbo, football legend Terry Bradshaw, notable pageant winners like Tara Conner and Allie Leggett, "America's Next Top Model" star Laura Kirkpatrick, several of the cast of "American Graffiti," and iconic musicians to appear at Master Musicians Festival like Adam Duritz of Counting Crows and Richie Havens, among others.

But few of them were as hard to track down as Mike Wolfe.

On Wednesday afternoon, I saw a post on Facebook showing Wolfe — star of the History Channel hit "American Pickers," in which Wolfe and others visit small towns across America in search of items people have stored away that might have high collectible value — with Somerset Mayor Alan Keck at downtown business The Mole Hole.

Naturally, I thought that would make a cool story — especially since I've seen a bunch of "Pickers" episodes myself — so I call Keck to ask where I might find Wolfe. He isn't sure but thinks he might be downtown. So I go out to look on foot.

I'm about to give up when CJ Editor Steve Cornelius calls to let me know he's spotted Wolfe in front of the county courthouse. I'm able to walk there in about a minute's time, but when I get there, Wolfe has already disappeared. But someone said they saw him walking down Main Street toward Dairy Queen.

Wouldn't you know, I find Wolfe standing right almost in front of the building where my family has an office, Taxmasters, talking to First Baptist Church's David Pendley.

There is a price to be paid for fame. It may seem fun on the surface, but imagine that everywhere you go, people know who you are. And they all want to talk to you, or want a picture with you, or want to interview you (cough cough). It may feel to those on the outside like they're showing you "the love," but in reality, it's all people wanting something from you.

Personally, I'd hate it. It would be exhausting. It takes a special kind of person to deal with that graciously, and I will say this — Mike Wolfe is that kind of person.

Mike and his girlfriend Leticia Cline — more on her in a moment — displayed absolutely nothing but patience and grace in dealing with all of us who wanted something from them — to touch the hem of the garment of celebrity. And yes, I am included in that. So I am very thankful that they took the time to do that — even when they were holding a lunch bag in hand and drinks (one of which was unfortunately spilled in the process of doing photo-ops).

Again, these are in reality just normal people, just trying to enjoy their day and get a bite to eat — and instead, they're having people like me come up to them and want to talk to them. And not once did they ever make any of us seem like we were being an inconvenience, not from what I saw.

After I did my interview, since we were right there by my folks' place of business, I went in and got my mom so she could get in the photo, as she's a big "American Pickers" fan herself. Mike didn't just let her in a photo, he talked to her about the building and its architecture and history. He wanted to know how old it was, what all it had been used for, etc. He talked to my uncle when he showed up, even though he'd already been stuck in that place for several minutes with us.

Mike even showed interest in my family's 1985 Toyota van, which has attracted a lot of attention from car enthusiasts over the years for its unique appearance (one person described it as looking like the shuttle from "Lost in Space"). Steve later observed with a laugh that he thought Mike was about to make an offer on it.

That was classy. Mike talks about how he enjoys hearing the stories from people in small communities, but those could easily have been just words playing to his TV persona. However, he showed it to be true, live and up close, in practice. I found that very impressive.

The only unfortunate part was that I didn't know that I was actually talking to two celebrities. Leticia told me that she was a city councilor in the Kentucky community of Cave City, and while that's admirable, it's not quite the same as "TV star." Except I get back to the office and google her name to make sure my spelling is right ... and I learn she actually IS a TV star. And a model. And an entrepreneur. And all kinds of amazing things.

Heck, I should have recognized her because she was on the reality program "Beauty and the Geek" and I actually watched that show. I found myself like, "Geez, I should have gotten my photo taken with her too!"

But while Leticia could easily have attracted attention on her own merits, she allowed Mike to have his day in the sun over Somerset. They were here because Leticia is friends with Somerset Mayor Alan Keck and was impressed with what's been done in Somerset — and wanted to show it off to Mike. (I also learned that Leticia helped renovate an old theater called the ACE in Cave City and bring it back to life — sound familiar, Virginia Theater fans?)

It was a "big day" for Somerset, Keck noted. It started with the dedication of the new Veterans Memorial Park on North Main Street, with the likes of U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers and Horse Soldier Bourbon President Scott Neil in attendance, and continued with two celebrities exploring the streets of town, all under the most picture perfect sky and weather conditions anyone could ask for.

We got to show off our community today, and it's never looked better. Keck noted that not only was he proud, but he liked that those Wolfe spoke to about Somerset were also proud of their community.

Sometimes it takes an outside voice to help us from taking things for granted. We can get a little too used to what we have sometimes and see only the warts and the flaws. I think every kid in town has said at some point during their youth, "There's nothing to do here." And in the modern world, the joys of small town living can seem quite quaint.

But Horse Soldier Bourbon saw something special here, enough that not only are they building a distillery but helping create parks to beautify the community. And a TV personality who has been in towns all over the country came here and was impressed, calling Somerset an example of "the American Dream," and finding fascination in the stucco on the wall of my family's building that I walk by every day without thinking anything about it.

We need those voices outside ourselves, not just for validation but for a kick in the pants, to remind us how lucky we are to live here, in Somerset, in America, in God's country. We have something special here, a town where I can go to that park dedication and I know about half the people there, catching people's eyes and smiling and waving. It's not perfect, certainly, but our community has a lot going for it — and we ought to recognize and celebrate that truth.

I greatly appreciate Mike and Leticia for putting off eating their lunch to talk to me and my family. I appreciate them even more for seeing Somerset for what it really is — a truly special place to live.