By Stephen Smoot
“I don’t believe one issue of the Pendleton Times has enough space to adequately cover Brenna’s contributions to the Pendleton County Historical Society and to the community of Sugar Grove,” shared Jack Bowers from the Pendleton County Historical Society.
The retired Navy captain’s praise was for Brenna Mitchell. In recent years, she has produced landmark works documenting the lives and military service of Pendleton County World War I veterans, as well as that of the Franklin Fire of 1924.
Mitchell also explored and explained in different venues the lives of “Our Five Boys,” forever memorialized in the name of VFW Post 9666 serving Sugar Grove.
Bowers has a very personal connection to the five men Sugar Grove lost, being “a cousin to each and every one.” He shared that he gave a talk each Memorial Day for many years about the five heroes.
Last year, Mitchell gave the presentation. Bowers explained how she used his notes as a foundation, then built a Power Point presentation packed with facts and stories from historical research.
She said at the time that “as time passes, the names become a name on a wall,” and that the stories needed retelling so that the sacrifice remains “fresh” in everyone’s thoughts.
“I was amazed at the depth of her research,” shared Bowers, who then added that she was “interviewing family members, delving through the archives in the West Virginia University Library, contacting each of the military services of the five local Sugar Grove boys lost in World War II.”
“She brought these young men to life for the audiences at the memorial park,” he stated.
Mitchell shared that her love of history, especially military history, dates back to her early childhood. She related that one day at the age of seven, she had set her mind to staying up until 11 p.m. to watch a rerun of Star Trek. To fend off sleep, Mitchell endeavored to find some reason to talk throughout the evening until her program came on the air.
In the room with her sat her grandfather. She said of him “I knew he was in World War I and he was proud of that.”
“If I talked to him, I wouldn’t fall asleep,” Mitchell had reasoned.
She spent hours interviewing him about his service and his war experience. Along the way, Mitchell discovered one of the passions that would inspire her efforts over the years. “That night he did tell me things,” Mitchell remembered, admitting that she may not have always grasped all that he related to her.
In one of the stories, her grandfather laughingly told of building false horses called “horse trainers” for “city boys” composed of sawhorses and boards. Curiosity over that detail stuck with her for years until she looked at the 1917 field training manual for the United States Army.
And right there was the “horse” her grandfather had told her about.
The combination of getting a great story, then fleshing out its bones with research, would remain Mitchell’s modus operandi through her historical work.
As Mitchell’s love of history germinated and blossomed over time, she found mentors that helped to shape her approach. One of the historians she admired growing up was the venerable Judge Harlan M. Calhoun, respecting his thoroughness in research, his ability to tell a great story, his eloquence in writing, and the fact that “he was so darned funny.”
History draws those who love it also to admirable characters. Mitchell expressed her respect for General Robert E. Lee, saying of him “such a man of integrity. He cared about all of his people,” and then she added, “Stonewall Jackson was the same way.”
She learned of Lee, Jackson, and other American heroes from knowledgeable and skilled schoolteachers, such as Paul Clayton and Paula Mitchell, two long time hands with the Pendleton County Historical Society.
As much as history called out to Mitchell, she had an even greater dream. Like so many in her generation, she wanted to follow in the path of another set of heroes – John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and the other swashbuckling Americans who served as early pioneers of space.
Mitchell studied engineering and worked as a civilian engineer supporting the United States Navy. Regulations limiting what aircraft women could fly in those years steered her toward civilian work, but her heart never forgot the stories of military men and women who served and sacrificed.
She recalled that time that “when I was an engineer, all my mentors from the Navy were Vietnam veterans.” She learned both what she needed for the job and also stories of their service, which were far different than those from most earlier conflicts.
Interestingly, Mitchell’s work as a civilian engineer with the United States Navy paralleled that of Rick Shockey, a Hardy County historian. He undertook a very similar project for that area’s fallen in World War II and also worked as a military engineer.
Mitchell’s work for the historical society goes beyond historical research and presentations. Rosemary Thompson, Treasurer of the Pendleton County Historical Society, praised her support. She described the “thorough research” conducted when putting together articles as the publisher of the society’s newsletter and praised her presentations.
“Initially she served as just another society board member” shared Bowers, who went on to say that her contributions over time included “serving on committees and voting on resolutions to support this Society and its membership.” He also praised her “endless energy” and that “she doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.”
“She is a great asset to the Pendleton County Historical Society and Pendleton County history,” Thompson noted.
