BY JULIE IRWIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Sitting in a wingback chair in the lobby of the Boone Tavern Hotel, under a whirring fan and in front of a game of Chinese checkers, it is easy to forget that Burger King and Super Wal-Mart are just down the road.

J O U R N E Y

Berea is about 115 miles south of Cincinnati and 40 miles south of Lexington, just off Interstate 75. Take exit 76 or 77 from the interstate and head east. Signs will direct you to Berea College and Old Town Berea. Lodging: There are four bed-and-breakfasts, camping and several motels in Berea, but the Boone Tavern Hotel is reason alone to visit the town. The hotel's 58 rooms run from $55 to $90 a night; all have cable television, air conditioning and private baths. The hotel's dining room requires reservations and has a dress code. Its entrees for dinner run from $16 to $20; breakfast, lunch and a Sunday brunch are also served. For hotel or dining reservations, call (800) 366-9358. Activities: Berea is at its best on special occasions and festivals. The 1998 calendar includes: • March 19-21: Spring Mountain Folk Youth Dance. • May 15-17: Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen Spring Fair. July 10-12: Berea Craft Festival. • Aug. 6-8: Big Hill Bluegrass Festival. • Aug. 22: Music in the Air Festival. • Oct. 9-11: Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen Fall Fair. Oct. 23-25: Celebration of Traditional Music. • Nov. 7-8: Antique Show & Sale. • Nov. 20-22: Berea College Homecoming. • Nov. 28 to Dec. 31: Christmas in Berea. • Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, 1999: Berea College Country Dance School. More information Call the Berea Tourist and Convention Commission, (800) 598-5263.

The white-columned hotel recalls the pre-World War I era, when Berea College officials opened the hotel to serve its visitors. Students from the nearby college staff the hotel, as they have for decades. The rooms, recently and lovingly redecorated and filled with handmade furniture, have a timeless elegance. And guests dress for meals in the dining room, which forgoes exotic cuisine in favor of spoon bread, Grilled Kentucky Bourbon Flank Steak and other traditional Southern regional dishes.

''We call it a delightful Southern inn where the bluegrass meets the mountains,'' said Mark Williams, chef and kitchen manager at the hotel, where many popular dishes from the past have been restored to the menu. ''You're staying at an inn and not just a hotel, where you can relax and slow down a bit and sample the food.''

It's unusual to find such preserved charm just a few miles from Interstate 75, but then Berea has always been something of an anomaly.

Early roots

Founded just before the Civil War, Berea - both the town and the college - was a haven for abolitionists in the midst of a slavocracy. Although slave owners drove community founder, the Rev. John G. Fee, and supporters from Madison County in late 1859 and early 1860, the latter returned after the war and continued to build the integrated school and community. Former slaves moved to Berea to take advantage of the opportunities there, and a three-dimensional map in the Appalachian Museum at Berea College shows black and white property owners side by side on the surrounding land.

That social vision was abruptly halted in 1904, when the Kentucky State Legislature passed the Day Act, forbidding interracial education. Many blacks moved away, and the college switched its focus to Appalachian students.

Today, the college is re-integrated, but it still aims to help low-income students from across Appalachia. The school charges no tuition and requires its 1,500 students to work 10 to 15 hours a week in a campus job, in addition to their academic load.

Galleries and studios

The town's renown as a crafts capital also has its roots in the college. In the 1890s, the institution's president, William Frost, took traditional Appalachian crafts north on fund-raising trips, to illustrate the culture of the people the college was educating. The enthusiasm he found led organizations to create and sell goods, and some craftspeople moved to Berea to better market their wares. Now, galleries and studios line the streets of two areas in the town, College Square and Old Town, and others are a short drive away. Shoppers can find handmade furniture, pottery, wrought iron, jewelry, paintings, brooms, quilts and antiques in more than 40 stores. Churchill Weavers, one of the oldest loomhouses in the country, offers tours of its facility, and the Log House Craft Gallery offers mostly student-made articles. Old Town also has a handful of antique stores.

The quality of the arts and crafts is varied. Some of it is excellent, and a few galleries feature the work of visiting artists as well as locals. Other merchandise borders on kitsch, and after a few hours, much of it starts to look alike. An afternoon of shopping (best squeezed in between a meal and a nap) is probably enough.

The town continues to add to its roster of celebrations. In 1997, it added a Spoon Bread Festival to honor one of the best-known local foods. The rest of the schedule is dominated by arts and antique fairs, and by music festivals stressing the traditional, such as gospel and bluegrass.

The hotel, too, is marketing itself for special occasions and holidays: the staff offered a Valentine's Day package this year, and Christmas and Easter remain popular times for visits.

Nearby attractions

Beyond festivals and shopping, visitors to Berea can tour the college's campus and planetarium. The school sponsors a concert series with acts as varied as the Waverly Consort (March 19) and the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band (May 7).

The Appalachian Museum is a bit outdated (the slide show makes reference to ''today's energy crisis and inflation'') but has plenty of early Appalachian artifacts and an excellent history of the college. Nearby Berea College Forest has about 40 miles of walking trails amid native trees and wildflowers.

Tristate residents can easily combine a trip to Berea with another nearby attraction. Historic Danville and Harrodsburg, Fort Boonesborough State Park, and country music center Renfro Valley are all a short drive away, and Lexington is on the way as well.

Whatever your itinerary, make sure it includes a meal and a stay at Boone Tavern. Try the Chicken Flakes in a Bird's Nest or Roast Loin of Pork and Fried Apples. Sip a lemonade or an iced tea (Berea and surrounding Madison County are dry).

Imagine, for a moment, that it's a Studebaker you left parked outside and not a sports-utility vehicle.

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