Words and Photography by Sheila K Miller
Nestled between Berryville, Virginia, and Charles Town, West Virginia, Rainbow Road sets off the busy US Route 340 two-lane byway in Rippon, West Virginia. There is nothing much around but farmland. Even within Rippon's unincorporated village, you will only find a small post office, a couple of small churches, with a few small businesses, including two quaint restaurants.
Whether you are southbound toward Virginia or northbound heading to West Virginia, you may miss this iconic establishment if you blink. With a speed limit of 55 mph, you are rounding a blind curve driving northbound. While southbound US 340 is a bit straighter, you can easily drive right past it with rolling hills and a billboard obstructing your views.
The building is home to two business entities, Rainbow Road Diner and the Rainbow Road Club. There appears to be nothing extraordinary about the facade. With the lottery, gaming, and beer advertisements on the front, the club, one might think this is just your average dive bar in the middle of nowhere. The club entrance is on the right or the north end of the building. (Hint: Follow the rainbow to reach the pot of gold.) The iconic rainbow sign, used in Sweet Dreams, a bio-pic of Patsy Cline, directs you to the club entrance.
The Tour
Inside the club is a different story. With no windows, Rainbow encapsulated from the outside world. Upon entering, you walk into a wood-paneled room filled with two pool tables and memories from the Rainbow Road family of the past. Louis and Ellen Mae Ruffner have owned the club since 1982.
After leaving the pool area, you enter the into Rainbow's colossal dance area. With the seating area to the left and a long L-shaped bar to the right, Rainbow is one of the largest live music venue in Jefferson County. The club's capacity is 300 people. However, during the pandemic, the Rainbow can only accommodate 150 people.
With rows of tables and chairs, the seating area allows plenty of room for the dancers and customers to rest while they eat and drink. For the busier nights, you can go to the back bar. Straight ahead, there is also a small room with gaming machines to play.
Over the last 38 years, the Ruffner and the Rainbow family have collected many memories, including memorabilia. There is probably nothing that you will not find on the walls, even on the ceiling, for that matter. The Rainbow family's memorabilia and relics include guns, farming and carpentry tools, instruments, beer signage, stuffed animal heads, and music memorabilia. There is even a tailgate of an old Ford truck with a painted picture of Louis Ruffner with his favorite country music artist, George Jones. But do not forget to look up or you will miss something.
The Past
The building is rich in history. If only the walls could talk. Larry Ruffner, Louis's son, said, "At one time, I ran the history back 190 years." During that time, the building had some name changes. Orchard Inn and Country Palace were two of the former names before becoming Rainbow Road Club. While the Ruffners added onto the Rainbow, they maintained the guts of the original building. If you know what to look for, you can catch glimpses of the past in the dance hall.
Within the walls of Rainbow, there are three original fireplaces. You will find one of the chimneys in the back of the dance hall. However, you might not see it at first. A dozen or so handkerchiefs hanging in front of it hide the stone fireplace. The chimney was used for heat at late as the 1980s. The kitchen and dirt floor basement holds the other two chimneys.
The Ruffners have tried to maintain the original features while updating the club over time. If you look up into the rafters at the back of the dance hall, the original log cabin wall comes into sight. Throughout the dance hall, you can see the original wood used in the rafters. There are jacks throughout the dance floor to support the original wood beams.
The Rainbow Road's most notable connection to music history is Patsy Cline. Patsy Cline, who lived only 17 miles away in Winchester, Virginia, would play here in the 50s. Some other country music artists who played at Rainbow include Roy Clark, Hank William III, and Michael Gilley (son of Mickey Gilley). In 1984, about two years after Louis and Ellen Mae Ruffner bought the establishment, the filming of Sweet Dreams began at Rainbow.
The Present
Today, the patrons are a mix of young and old. Some have been coming for over 20 years. Due to the pandemic, Rainbow is only allowed to have a DJ. West Virginia is still not allowing bands to perform inside venues.
Tanya Myers, affectionately known as Tanny to her Rainbow family, is a regular. A part of the Rainbow family, Tanny started coming to Rainbow at 23 years old, over 30 years ago. Her most memorable event at the club was an Elvis Presley impersonator.
Tanny says, when you come to Rainbow, "you feel like family, and they treat you like family." Rainbow allowed her to hold a fundraiser for her friend, who had stage four breast cancer at no charge. They raised $9,000 for the cause.
Bev and Frank Cameron have also been coming to Rainbow since they were young. They met here and are happily married. Bev would like to see a blog to collect stories about those couples who met Rainbow through the years.
Bev is not the only one in her family to meet their other half at Rainbow. One of her brothers met his wife of three years at Rainbow. Also, her parents, Ruby and Raymond Staubs, met for the first time there. They met when Patsy Cline was still singing in the club.
Sharon Kidd has been a bartender at Rainbow for the last 16 years. It was at Rainbow she had her first and second first date with her husband. Louis Ruffner became an ordained minister and married her at Rainbow on a weekend night.
The Future
There are so many more stories like Sharon's, Bev and Cameron's, and Tanny's, but the future is unsure for Rainbow Road. For over 30 years, West Virginia spoke of widening Route 340. According to a 2016 Department of Transportation study, Rainbow Road and a few other businesses are in the way of progress. These businesses may close their doors forever within the next few years. Larry Ruffner says, "A lot of people don't like it, but it's called progress. I guess."
With Virginia not willing to budge their roadway in one direction or another, the options are limited. Liz Ruffner, Rainbow's manager, says, "From what I understand, he [the farmer across the street] offered some of his land." At a Q&A session, she was informed by a state official that the farmland is considered historical. She told the official Rainbow Road was historical too. The official laughed at her. She has also written the governor's office about Rainbow's demise. She has yet to get a response.
There is no doubt that many people have celebrated milestones within the walls of Rainbow Road. There have been 21st birthdays, weddings, wakes, bridal showers, baby showers, and everything in between. It is a shame the local community and music history will lose in the name of progress. One thing for sure, the Ruffner family plans to keep Rainbow open until the very end. Larry Ruffner says, "Until you see a bulldozer out front, we're still open. And maybe even after that too."
Photos of the past courtesy of Rainbow Road Club