By Stephen Smoot
Elected officials and those aspiring to fill those roles gathered at the community building last week, invited by the Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce to share their ideas with voters.
Yet the most important figure at the event was someone who could not have come, but filled the room with his memories.
The event took place on the exact date of the Franklin fire that consumed the town’s business center a century ago. As attendees filed in, they saw the face of Woodrow Hartman, who lived to 107 before passing recently. His voice, urged on by his interviewer, Bob Horan, mayor of Franklin, filled the room with memories of life a hundred years ago.
Hartman lived far from town as a child, recalling that the family normally came to the county seat about twice a year. He remembered “very few cars on the road,” and that “a lot of people would ride to town on horseback.”
Some of those trips helped to put food on their table. Hartman said that “my dad split wood, put it in the wagon, and we would take it to town. The family charged customers $4.00 for a load of wood.” His father also worked at a sawmill, earning a dollar a day working from six to six.
For Horan, this represented his first experience giving an interview. “I had no idea if I had done anything right or anything wrong,” he said, adding that “I think he really enjoyed it.”
The conversation covered a much wider scope than just the time of the fire. Hartman stated that although he lived far from town, the family home perched high on a hillside. “I was eight years old,” he shared, also stating that “I remember hearing it on the telephone.” The smoke from the fire rose high above the ridgetops, giving an idea of the destruction in Franklin.
He also explained that the family did not make it into town until six months later, but “they were already building back.”
Frank Wehrle served as cameraman for the occasion and shared that “Bob came up with the idea. Woodrow was an obvious choice.” Horan added, “I’m always impressed with Woodrow. He knows so much.”
Horan noted that the interview started with Hartman asking, “What do you want to know?” Horan answered that he was asking, “What do you know? What do you remember?” He added that Hartman’s memory remained precise and that all it took was a simple question to unlock a treasure of memories from older times.
The interview, as the good ones do, came out as a conversation between friends more than a series of questions and answers. Horan simply asked questions out of curiosity and Hartman’s words painted a picture of times past.
Hartman remembered the late 30s as “some of the best times of my life.” He came into adulthood as military production for the nations fighting in the opening of World War II started to pull the nation out of the Great Depression. He remembered “a dollar would buy something. I’d buy a gallon of gas for 75 cents.”
After a long, entertaining, and informative conversation, the talk ended. Horan closed with “we certainly appreciate you letting us do this.”
After the playing of the video, the candidates had their say. Elizabeth Scott, executive director of the chamber of commerce, praised her team, saying, “It was very well-organized. I really appreciate Mr. Loving (Bill Loving, president of Pendleton Community Bank) for being the moderator. He did a really good job.”
The forum lasted approximately two hours, with candidates running for offices from magistrate to state senate each getting their say in front of more than 100 attendees.
