Sugar Grove
By Paula Mitchell
Any community is formed by a group of people connected by locations, values, shared interests, or identities. Key elements include a sense of trust, shared stories or experiences, belonging, and mutual support. These groups thrive on supportive interaction, common goals, and sometimes shared language, which creates a cohesive, and supportive environment.
Community life in this area is built on deep-rooted kinship, intense self-reliance, and close-knit neighborly support, traditionally shaped by geographic isolation. Strong elements include a deep, respectful connection to the land and nature with traditional skills like gardening, canning, and hunting. The social life often revolves around church involvement, volunteer fire departments, fundraisers, community festivals and school events which preserves heritage. Strong family bonds have life revolving around extended family networks and deep-rooted family history. Shared local traditions, such as storytelling, mountain music using fiddles and banjos, quilting, and woodworking, are vital ways of sharing the local history. Most often, the isolation called for residents to often rely on neighbors for survival, resulting in a culture of “helping hands.” There is a strong emphasis on being hard-working, proud, and resourceful.
During the pioneer days, the secluded areas had limited access to outside services. Therefore, relationships often became the most valuable resources, frequently tied to mutual support such as trading goods, assisting with property maintenance, and sharing agricultural labor. Neighbors relied on long-term relationships and memory. They often maintained daily interactions such as visiting neighbors in their homes or front porches without an invitation, fostering trust and a high level of intimacy.
In times of crisis, residents often relied on local help. Neighbors helped each other to clear snow, repair damage from storms, raising a barn, quilting bees, being there when disasters occur, or tending to the elderly, often without being asked.
As with any community, time marches on with deaths taking place or persons leaving for other destinations. Farms are either passed on to family members or sold to someone outside of the community. Oftentimes, the morals and values change as newcomers arrive with the result of the strong community life not seeing the close knit neighborly support, or the local history shared with the next generation.
In many ways, those were the good old days.
Life’s instructions include the following:
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Install dead bolt locks.
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Don’t leave a ring around the bathtub.
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Contribute 5 percent of one’s income to charity.
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Plant flowers this spring.
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Never go grocery shopping when hungry. A person will buy too much.
Pollen is in the air. Trees are beginning to bloom despite the frost earlier this week. Lawn mowers are already doing their all time summer work, adding to the lawn scaping. The hills will soon be ablaze with the beautiful red bud displays.
Quotes for the week are as follows:
“The two things you can’t fake are good food and good music.” — Etta James
“When you’re open to receiving them, the possibilities just keep on coming.” — Oprah Winfrey
“All music is folk music. I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song.” — Louis Armstrong
“It’s the rough side of the mountain that’s easiest to climb; the smooth side doesn’t have anything to hang on to.” — Aretha Franklin
“Don’t get so busy making living that you forget to make a life.” — Dolly Parton
The front porch swing is the best place to be to hear the “Talk of the Grove.”
Emma and Ben Puffenbarger have both been busy with track and field.
Saturday, Wesley and Becky Puffenbarger visited a few wineries along Virginia 151 route.
The West Virginia side of Reddish Knob has not escaped the tearing away of black top and the usual potholes. Until recently, the road had stayed in such good condition for quite some time.
Wanda Pitsenbarger and Evelyn Varner motored to Staunton, Virginia, this past Thursday to pay a visit with Cleo Simmons. It turns out that Cleo turned 102 years old on Saturday, and with the open house, many persons arrived to pay their tribute. Phil Downs, Violet Eye, and Joann Moyers were among the hundred or so to wish Cleo well. Happy birthday, Cleo!
Last Tuesday, Eddie Rader visited in the home of Willard and Judy Rader.
Clickety-clacks for the chin waggers are as follows:
• A group of bunnies is called a “fluffle.”
• Humans share 50 percent of their DNA with bananas.
• Australia is wider than the moon.
• The first vegetable ever to be grown in space was the potato.
• The tall, pleated white hat that chefs wear (toque) has 100 folds…signifying a chef’s level of experience.
The remaining April birthdays are Brody Wimer, 16th; Brenda Propst and David Thornberry, 17th; Anna Mauzy, 18th; Paul Cunningham, 19th; Mike Propst, Evelyn Varner, Gary Nesselrodt and Linda Simmons, 20th; Ronald Pitsenbarger, 24th; Scherry Chambers, 26th; Jackie Koontz, 27th; Marcus Smith and Carl Simmons, 29th; and Jim Rexrode and Justin Simmons, 30th.
Concerns are for Mercedes Aumann, Dave Basagic, “Bo” Boggs, Larry Byers, family and friends of Larry Cantu, Stanley Dahmer, Isaac Eye, Carl Gant, family and friends of Marlene Harman, Armanda Heavner, Keith Hoover, Cynthia Hurry, Melissa Lambert, Roger Mallow, Yvonne Marsh, Sheldon Propst, Eldon Rexrode, Bernie and Margaret Sasscer, Robbie Sites, Kitty Waggy, family and friends of Wayne Waggy, family and friends of Rene White and Edwin Wimer.
