This week’s appointment of Lucy Marston as the county’s tourism director leaves some people wondering why.

Marston, who has handled special events at the Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce for more than three years, previously wrote press releases for the Community Council of the Arts. A vivaciously attractive and intelligent woman, Marston has much to offer in many jobs.

Unfortunately, the tourism director job might not be one of them.

Historic tourism is one of the quickly growing “industries” in the country and Lenoir County has more than its share of attractions to interest any history buff. Battlefields, Harmony Hall, Richard Caswell State Park, remnants of a Confederate gunboat and a replica of the original Ram Neuse top the list.

While almost anyone can learn the facts behind these sites, tourists who come to see historic sites want more than they can read in a book or brochure. They’re already knowledgeable and they’re looking for more. They want to ask questions of someone who is well versed in events and people who lived in Civil War and Revolutionary War times. They want minutia. They want the story behind the story.

Was John Cobb Washington really related to George Washington? Prove it. Were the men Gen. George Pickett hanged behind the courthouse patriots or deserters? Make your case. What is the story behind the story of Federal ammunition buried near Harmony Hall? What happened to Richard Caswell’s body on its way back home from Fayetteville?

Facts and legends are numerous and not learned in a month or six months or a couple of years. Marston admits to being a neophyte in local history and doesn’t have a strong background in the attributes she will need to accomplish the county’s goals.

The other argument against Marston’s appointment – or the appointment of anyone – is whether taxpayers are ready to shell out the money to support the job.

Someone needs to be at the welcome center to greet visitors and direct them to sites. But this area has hundreds of highly knowledgeable history lovers steeped in the lore of Kinston and Lenoir County. Harmony Hall docents are volunteers who tour visitors through the old house, and have a working knowledge of its history. How much of an effort did the county make to find similar volunteers who would be willing to staff the welcome center?

As far as seeking out and bringing tourists and events here, which is supposed to be part of the tourism director’s job, the Kinston Convention and Visitors Bureau and the chamber of commerce should already be doing that. If they aren’t, what do they do? And why is a tourism director under the guidance of the parks and recreation department and not the visitors bureau? What will the visitors bureau do now besides collect motel room taxes?

Two county commissioners – Chris Humphrey and Jackie Brown – voted against establishing the job. Their reasons were sound.

We wish Marston good luck in her new job. At the same time, selecting her for the job may turn out not to be the lucky break she now thinks it is. It’s possible that she’ll need more than just luck to pull this off, especially since she's expert in neither of the two most important facets of her job.

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