10 Years Ago
Week of January 15, 2015
SUGAR GROVE
The word Appalachia is an old Indian word with the definition “endless mountain range.” The Indians thought the Appalachian Mountain went on forever and ever and ever. These Appalachian Mountains have been forgotten and discovered many, many times. They first attracted national attention during the Civil War with President Lincoln promising to bring aid to the poor mountain people whom the nation had bypassed and forgotten. The war ended; President Lincoln was assassinated, and the Appalachian Mountain and its people were again forgotten.
This region is considered to be made up of many unique backgrounds which include the Native Americans, Germans, Polish, English, Irish and Scottish, all blended together. The beautiful mountains kept the Appalachian people isolated from the rest of the nation and from other people’s influences. These people are very independent and very content to live where they do. They are very close to nature and have a deep belief in God. They are kind and helpful to one another, friendly and take care of the needs of others. Appalachians have a strong sense of what is right and what ought to be. They also have a deep mistrust for anyone who is new to their area, anyone who is a stranger. They also resist change.
Exploitation of these people has a long history. The mountaineer’s share of the natural resource wealth has been held to a minimum. Even so, the culture is real and functioning as witnessed to its arts and crafts, traditional music, foods and customs. The culture is preserved mostly by families and churches. The constant attempts by “outsiders” to change the culture are testimony to its determination and strength that persists in this culture.
There are four distinct groups of people living in Appalachia. The first group consists of descendants of the original pioneer settlers.
The second group is comprised of hard-working coal miners, loggers and factory workers. The average worker has little education, few skills, no wealth and large families.
The third group is the professional group who have moved into these mountains due to their profession.
The fourth group is the returning Appalachians. These people grew up in the mountains, moved away for employment and are now returning.
20 Years Ago
Week of January 13, 2005
Former Fire Hall
May Be Home of
Town Government
The complete renovation of the old fire house, which is owned by the Town of Franklin, on North High Street is expected within the next couple of months.
That was reported at last Tuesday evening’s regular meeting of town council, according to Mayor Tim Long.
The roof on that building has been replaced, and it is presently being shingled.
Municipal officials are looking at the building as a possible future location for the offices of town government.
Mayor Long said on Monday that he hopes the building’s architecturally and esthetically distinctive stone exterior and interior can be retained when the old fire house is fully rehabilitated.
30 Years Ago
Week of January 12, 1995
Judy Gap Site
Considered for
North Fork K-6 School
A search for land for a new elementary school in the North Fork area of Pendleton County appears to be gravitating toward a location near the intersection of U. S. Route 33 and State Route 28 at Judy Gap at the foot of North Fork Mountain.
The search for the school site has been underway since December 12 when the West Virginia School Building Authority approved a grant of $8,990,337 to Pendleton County for the construction of a new elementary school to serve K-6 students on the North Fork and a new combined county high school to be located in Franklin to serve all 7-12 students in the county.
After considering several alternative locations, the School Board settled on the present Franklin High School grounds as the site for the new high school. Finding a site for the elementary school on the North Fork was a bit more elusive.
West Virginia
In Program to Cut
Use of Tobacco
By Children
West Virginia is among only nine states in the nation chosen to initiate a comprehensive program that supports statewide efforts to reduce the use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in the state’s children and youth. Funding for the program is made possible through a grant of nearly $1 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s
SmokeLess States Program to the West Virginia Hospital Research and Education Foundation, the educational affiliate of the West Virginia Hospital Association. Program implementation will be coordinated through the West Virginia Tobacco Control Coalition.
Tobacco use is among the top public health issues in West Virginia. State residents die from heart and lung diseases and throat cancers, all of which are related to tobacco use, at levels higher than the nation’s average. Despite state law prohibiting sales of tobacco to those under 18 years of age, 80% of smokers begin before they are 21 years old. Most of the approximately 8,000 people in West Virginia who begin smoking each year are under age 18, with an average age of 13.
DAHMER
Porch Swings
Were a Good Place
To Rest and Court
A look at the more older beautiful homes reveals a large porch or even several porches. These were built before radio, TV, heating and the cooling systems we enjoy today due to the use of electricity. The porch was a place to put wood in the winter and to dry clothes. In the summer, a place where folks visiting would sit and talk, even do work like stringing beans, peeling apples, mending clothes, etc. For it often was the cool spot at the house. Passing through Franklin on a hot summer evening the resident could be seen sitting out on the porch after a hot day at work enjoying the cool air of the evening. The old time porch swing was a treat for the children and enjoyed by adults as well. The writer remembers his first ride on a porch swing on the porch of the Franklin Hotel.
60 Years Ago
Week of January 14, 1965
100 YEARS AGO
By LON K. SAVAGE
Editor’s Note—The following is one of a series of articles on the Civil War. Each weekly installment covers events which occurred exactly 100 years ago.
South’s Last Seaport, Wilmington, Is Closed
The South lost its last seaport 100 years ago this week.
The seaport was Wilmington, N. C., the only place on the Confederacy’s long coastline where blockade runners could dash from the open sea into the Confederacy bearing the arms, clothing and meat on which the south depended. With it closed, the South was cut off from the community of nations.
The key to Wilmington’s success as a port lay in Fort Fisher, a gigantic earthwork fortress built on the sand dunes at the mouth of the Cape Fear River below Wilmington, its guns booming out death warrants to Federal ships on the Atlantic that tried to interfere with the blockade runners. General Ulysses S. Grant had long had his eyes on Fort Fisher and in December had sent Gen. Ben Butler on an abortive attempt to capture it—an attempt that failed when Butler decided he couldn’t succeed and left without completing the assault.
So Grant picked a new general, tough Maj. Gen. Alfred H. Terry, to try again.
Terry arrived January 8 at the Cape Fear River with a fleet of about 50 ships and an army of about 8,000 troops. The task: to drive out about 2,000 Confederates in the fort, commanded by Confederate Col. William Lamb.
On January 13, Terry’s troops landed on Confederate soil just below the fort. At 3:30 p.m. that day, the fleet, commanded by Adm. David Porter, opened fire. The fight was on.
All that afternoon and all the next day, the Federal ships lobbed shells into the fort, sending up a spectacular display of fireworks, smoke and noise. The Confederates in the fort responded, but they were outgunned. By January 15, many of the fort’s guns had been disabled, and about 200 of the 2,000 soldiers had been wounded or killed.
At 3 p.m., January 15, the steam whistles of the 50 ships suddenly shrilled out in unison, and as they did, the Federals on land charged the fort. The soldiers came at the fort from the land side while 2,000 Federal sailors and marines, armed only with cutlasses and pistols, charged along the beach.
The Confederates met the charges with stiff resistance. Firing down from the fort’s sea face, they shot scores of marines and sailors and finally turned them back in panic.
But on the other side, the Federal soldiers were having better luck. They reached the embrasures, mounted them, and then fought, foot by foot, across the fortress, driving the Confederates back. Darkness came, but the fighting went on. Lamb, the Confederate commander, was carried out, with a hip wound.
The South had lost contact with the rest of the world.
Next week: The South’s spirit sags.
80 Years Ago
Week of January 12, 1945
24-POINT BUCK KILLED
CHARLESTON, W. Va.—The killing of a 24-point buck during the recent deer season was reported to the Conservation Commission by Game Protector T. K. Whitacre.
The buck was killed in Morgan County by Harry Sevager of Shinnston. Clyde Robinson of Paw Paw, a member of the same hunting group killed a 10-pointer, and Charles Willard of Great Cacapon, another member, bagged a buck with four points.
WALKIE TALKIE WILL HAVE PLACE IN PEACE
The walkie-talkie radio, which has won an important place in the war may be developed to the point where it will be used to advantage when peace comes. Read about this great development in the January 14th issue of the AMERICAN WEEKLY, Favorite Magazine with the BALTIMORE SUNDAY AMERICAN. Order from your news dealer.
1,400,000 BABIES IN UNITED STATES IN 1944
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1—Metropolitan Life Insurance Company statisticians estimated that the United States’ population increased by 1,400,000 during 1944.
Nearly 3,000,000 babies were born, the company reported, and the general death rate was approximately 10.7 per 1,000 about two per cent lower than in 1943.
The death rate figure took into account “all deaths among the men overseas, whether or not suffered in combat,” the report added.
105 Years Ago
Week of January 16, 1920
BOX.
The stork flew over the home of Sam Warner and left a 12 lb. baby.
The health of the community is good with the exception of Seymour Bland’s little Golden who has been sick.
SHORT NOTES
Dick M. Byrd has just received a car load of Weber wagons and Corn King Manure spreaders.
We have just received several of the Peninsula Range Stoves. Call in and see them before buying.—E. Bowman & Bro.
Pendleton County
Directory
Judge Circuit Court
- W. Dailey, Romney.
Clerk Circuit
and County Court
Gordon Boggs, Franklin.
Sheriff
- P. Kiser, Sugar Grove.
Deputy Sheriffs
Odys Shaw, Franklin.
Allen H. Nelson, Circleville.
Prosecuting Attorney
William McCoy, Franklin
Assessor
- L. Vandevander, Circleville.
Assistant Assessors
For Franklin and Mill Run Districts.
- J. Moomau, Franklin.
For Sugar Grove and Bethel Districts.
- H. Harrison, Sugar Grove.
County Supt. of Schools
John A. Fultz, Franklin
Surveyor of Lands
- M. Nelson, Circleville.
Commissioner of
School Lands
- C. Kiser, Franklin.
COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY COURT
Franklin District.
- P. Simmons, Franklin.
Sugar Grove District.
David Eye, Mitchell.
Bethel District.
- D. Hoover, Brandywine.
Mill Run District.
- A. Kimble, Upper Tract.
Union District.
- V. Harman, Onego.
Circleville District.
Tiberius Wimer, Circleville.
- A. Kimble, President.