Sugar Grove
By Paula Mitchell
Excitement is reigning in the hollows, valleys and mountaintops of the county. School’s out for the summer! There have been high school graduations, sixth-grade graduations and kindergarten graduations. Perhaps the Brandywine Elementary School kindergarten graduation was one to remember as it was very entertaining with the “Tooty-da” song done by the class. Physical, as well as intellectual growth, has taken place throughout the year for the school children. They have been guided along and safely kept by school teachers and personnel who too, are looking forward to a much-deserved summer rest.
When looking back at the 1913 – 1914 directory of the Pendleton County Schools, one will note that there was a substantial number of schools in every district, namely:
Bethel District: Propst Church, Cedar Grove, Broad Run, Brandywine, Oak Flat, New Erection, Locust Grove, Rough Run, Enterprise, Dale Hill, Sweedlin Valley, Mitchell Mountain, Henkle and Mt. Hope;
Circleville District: Hopewell, Circleville, Teter Gap, Hawbrush, Dry Run, Hammer, Hunting Ground, Cherry Grove, Mt. Joel, Hinkle, Fairview, Pine Grove, Elk Mountain, Briery Branch and Back Ridge;
Franklin District: Franklin High School, Franklin Upper, Franklin Intermediary, Franklin Primary, Franklin Col., Hammer, Buffalo Hills, Friend’s Run, Smith Creek, Mt. Olive, Harper, East Dry Run, Propst, Dickenson, Cedar Knob, Oak Grove, Upper Reeds Creek, Cave, Fleisher, Sandy Ridge and Goshen;
Mill Run District: Palestine, Creek, Conrad, Upper Tract Upper, Upper Tract Primary, Kile, Alt, High Rock, Schmucker Upper, Schmucker Primary, Mt. Zion, Mt. Clifton, Dunkle, Borror, Maple Dale, Lough, Pretty Ridge, Greenawalt Gap, Mowery, Tract Mountain and Brushy Run;
Sugar Grove District: Lone Poplar, Sugar Grove, Stony Run, Brushy Fork, Gamble, Pitsenbarger, Lone Oak, Laurel Hill, sinnett Lane, Mitchell, Hoover, Mt. Hall, Wilfong, Westburn and Moatstown Col.; and
Union District: Carr, Seneca, Harper Gap, Cave, Germany, Dixie Primary, Dixie Upper, Dolly, Mallow, Tanyard Gap, Brushy Run, Kisamore, Roaring Upper, Roaring Primary, Boggs, Spruce Knob, Miller, Smith Mountain, Keyl Spring and Harper.
In a little over 100 years, the number of schools have been condensed to three grade schools, one middle/ high school to educate the county’s school aged population.
The following instructions for life allows for civility:
- Be humble.
- Be kind.
- Say “please” a lot.
- Say “thank you” a lot.
- Stretch out a helping hand.
Rain has been falling with pastures and hillsides taking on various shades of green. The up-coming week appears to be sunny, and the farmers are happy about that. It’s hay making time! Many homeowners are taking on gardening to help with their food intake.
Quotes for the week are as follows:
“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” — Coretta Scott King
“Before you speak, ask yourself: is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence?” — Sai Baba
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” — Leo Tolstoy
“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” — Andy Rooney
“We find comfort among those who agree with us — growth among those who don’t.” — Frank A. Clark
Sitting on the porch swing is the place to hear the “Talk of the Grove.”
Those beautiful wild phlox have been displaying their gorgeous colors on nature’s “runway.” All along the South Fork, one can enjoy their beauty.
Benny and Linda Custer were visitors Friday in the home of Willard and Judy Rader. Ed and Barbara Parker and Willard and Judy Rader enjoyed a delicious Memorial Day dinner Sunday in the home of Benny and Linda Custer.
Helen and Rhonda Nash spent a long Memorial Day weekend in Fredericksburg, Virginia. They enjoyed visiting with lots of family and eating out at various restaurants. The highlight of the weekend for Rhonda was a trip with her niece, Myah Hidalgo of Richmond, Virginia, to the Van Gogh Immersive Experience in Washington, DC. They both found the exhibit to be a stunning, breathtaking and indescribable adventure.
Joe’s Greenhouse has been supplying many folks in the community with plants. They have a wide variety of plants.
Thursday found Evelyn Varner, Judy Costello, Janet Judy and Terry Harper enjoying the music of the Promise Land Quartet and the Hoppers at the First Assembly of God Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Evelyn then went on to spend the night at Judy’s home before returning home. Judy spent the weekend at her mother’s home. Randy and Lorella Whetzel of Mt. Jackson, Virginia, enjoyed a delicious dinner Saturday evening with Evelyn.
Steven Grogg, Terri Grogg, Claude Castleberry, Marleta and Junior Wimer, Kim Evick and Hendrix Bogan enjoyed visiting with Rosalee Grogg. While there, they did chores to assist Rosalee.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9666 “Our Five Boys” had a lasting memorial at the pavilion on Monday in recognition of Memorial Day. The principal speaker, Brenna Mitchell, shared an outstanding historical memorial for each of the five boys – Roscoe Hunter Eckard, Albert “Leo” Mitchell, Frank Anderson Pitsenbarger, Oather Paul Simmons and C. Paul Smith. Following the ceremony, those in attendance remained for a long while, chatting with their friends, which is customary to this community.
This week’s clickety-clacks for the chin waggers are as follows:
- The Basenji, a small dog from Africa, has no bark.
- Swordfish can swim over a mile a minute
- Butterflies taste with their feet.
- It takes about 2 minutes for light from the sun to travel the 92 million miles to the earth.
- The highest named number is the centillion, which is one followed by 600 zeros.
Concerns for this week are many. They are as follows: Charles Anderson, Bill Brackman, Scherry Chambers, Charlotte Copley, Jeff Craig, Jeff Evick, Lee Roy and Ina Evick, Mary Eye, Ron Gilkeson, Lola Graham, Marlene Harman, Ramona Harman, the Effie Harr family, Steve and Armanda Heavner, Starr Hedrick, Rose Hinkle, Virgil Homan, Jr., Charlie Marie Hoover, Lorena Hoover, Myrtle Hoover, Debbie Horst, Alice Johnson, Richard Judy, Margaret Kiser, Rex Landis, Angela Lung, Linda Malcolm, Roger and Skip Mallow, Yvonne Marsh, Neil McLaughlin, Naomi Michael, the Joe Moats family, Lincoln Moore, Ernie Morgan, Kathy Nelson, Ken and Ruth Nelson, Bennie Nesselrodt, the Betty Hoover O’Donnell family, Cheryl Paine, Sutton Parrack, Betty Lou Propst, Kara Propst, Linda Propst, Nathan Propst, Sheldon Propst, Pam Rexrode, Donna Ruddle, Barbara Simmons, Erin Simmons, Eva Simmons, Charlie Sites, Ona Smith, Stanna Smith, Steve Smith, Berlie Sponaugle, Patricia Swecker, the Harry Lee Temple family, Rosa Tichenor, Sandra Vandevander, Jack Vogel, Amby Waybright, Jr., Ron White, Judy Williams, Junior Wimer, Larry Wimer, Carol Windett, the people of Ukraine, and the victims of the Uvelda, Texas, massacre.
