One was a satellite dish about the size of a swimming pool. The other was a small shed holding the power of the wind.

I met him back in 1983. My editor had sent me out to do a story on Beaver, who claimed to have found a novel answer to the energy crisis of the day.

Beaver, a retired engineer who loved gadgets, had erected a 60-foot windmill at his country home near Stanley in Page County. The three spinning blades caught the breeze rushing off the mountains and generated electricity.

Beaver's windmill was wired into that little shed. Pulling open the door, he showed off a complicated array of batteries, wires and gauges designed to convert the windmill's mechanical power into electricity for his home. He told a convincing story about how it was saving him a bundle on his electric bill.

Then, as now, the American mind was focused on energy. The nation had just suffered through one of the early "oil shocks" and energy costs were rising at an alarming rate. A lot of people were looking for alternatives to fossil fuels.

Beaver thought he was on to something. "Wind farms are coming, there's no question about it," he said.

I remember thinking he stood a good chance of setting his house on fire with the contraption. I wrote up the story, but doubted windmills would ever catch on.

Now it looks like Beaver might have been ahead of his time.

Twenty-five years later, America is going through another oil shock, and wind power again looks like a coming thing.

In fact, it might be coming to Shenandoah County.

A company has applied to the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to build 131 wind turbines along 18 miles of ridge line between Virginia and West Virginia. The 440-foot turbines would tower above national forest land in Shenandoah, Rockingham and Hardy counties.

If approved, work on the project could start as early as 2010.

That, of course, is a pretty big if.

As attractive as the concept is - letting wind generate electricity instead of air-polluting coal or expensive Middle Eastern oil - the wind farm proposal will almost certainly trigger a battle royal between corporate interests and valley residents.

The central battle cry - "NIMBY" (Not In My Back Yard) - will come from residents who want to see whitetail deer and red-tailed hawks, not 40-story turbines, from their decks.

Bringing up the left flank will be environmentalists worried about those giant blades chewing up birds and bats, including some federally protected species. Holding the right flank will be conservationists howling about national forests, an American treasure, being sliced up for commercial profit.

A similar campaign is being waged just to the south of us in Highland County, where 22 wind turbines are proposed by a Harrisonburg developer. More than 1,000 residents and landowners have signed a petition opposing the project.

Anyone who has gassed up a car or paid an oil bill lately knows we need better ways to meet our energy needs. But once those towers go up, they are unlikely to come down in our lifetimes.

Let's make sure we understand just what's blowin' in the wind before the feds sign off on this project.

* Bob Wooten is the managing editor of the Daily. Contact him at (800) 296-5137 or at bwooten@nvdaily.com