Tony M.
Yelp
As we proudly celebrated the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is with a heart full of dismay that I write about the bigotry and intolerance my family experienced Saturday July 31, 2021 at the General Lewis Inn in Lewisburg, WV. We bought tickets in advance to attend an outdoor concert sponsored by the Inn. We drove two hours to attend the event to support a friend who was playing in the band.
My husband who is handicapped uses a scooter for mobility. He called in advance to see if the location could accommodate him and he was assured by the staff that the venue was accessible. Upon arrival, we entered the Inn through the side door, I assume this is considered the handicapped entrance (it is not labeled), and made our way to the check-in stand to obtain our wristbands. My husband stated to the woman selling tickets and giving out wristbands, that he would not be able to enter the venue through the back door due to many steps and no ramp. The woman said that was fine that we would need to go outside and access the venue from the side yard.
The side yard had a rope gate with a sign attached that said "Do Not Enter. Enter through the lobby door". The side yard is a grassy sloping hill that is in no way accommodating to a mobility scooter. I was very concerned that my husband would not be able to make it up the hill so me and my son followed him as he attempted to make the grade. All of a sudden we hear a woman shout to us "You cannot go that way, turn around and go through the lobby". I noticed it was the same woman who sold us our tickets and gave us our wristbands. I said back to her "We are with him and you told us to go this way". She said "I hear you, do not take another step, now turn around and go through the lobby". I said, "I am his wife and you told us to go this way". She stated again "I hear you, I don't care, do not take another step, now turn around and enter through the lobby".
My husband continued up the hill as me, my son and his friend from Georgia turned around to go back down the hill in complete disbelief at the demand to leave my husband. I told my son to stay outside to make sure my husband made it up the hill.
As we re-entered the building I can hear the woman say to the crowd of attendees, "you can make as many signs as you want, but no one will read them". I then went to the reception desk to ask who was this woman because I wanted to file a complaint with the owner. To my complete disbelief the receptionist said "She IS the owner". I was stunned. Not just me but several of the other people standing in the lobby who witnessed this unbelievable display of ignorance.
The owner's name is Sparrow Huffman. When Mrs. Huffman saw me talking to a couple in the lobby about what just happened, Mrs. Huffman came over to me and said "I don't understand your problem, there is a posted sign that says to enter from the lobby". I said that I was aiding my handicapped husband as he made his way up the hillside. Mrs. Huffman stated that she only gave permission to my husband to go up the hillside and that she allowed him to enter before the other patrons. Then Mrs. Huffman said "why are you antagonizing me." Astonished, I told her that I was the one being antagonized. Mrs. Huffman then stated "You know you don't have to be here". I took this comment as a veiled way of her asking us to leave. I asked her if she had any family members who were handicapped or in a situation where they had to use a wheelchair. Seething, Mrs. Huffman looked me squarely in the eyes and loudly said "You will enter through the lobby with everyone else" and walked away.
As someone with a husband who is disabled and a mother who was a quadriplegic due to Multiple Sclerosis and confined to a wheelchair for 27yrs, I have NEVER experienced a level of ignorant behavior like this. I have NEVER had such an intolerant, bigoted, uncompromising, my way or the highway attitude in the thirty-five years I have been aiding a handicapped person.
Yes, Mrs. Huffman, as you said "you don't need to be here", I urge all who read this to avoid the General Lewis Inn and the sister establishment, Stardust Cafe, also located in Lewisburg WV.
