10 Years Ago
Week of May 14, 2015
SUGAR GROVE – The Country Apron Proved Useful In Many Ways
Remember the old wood burning cook stove that once dominated the small kitchen? It was a cast iron beauty with a pair of warming ovens above the six-piece cooking surface. The baking oven beside the fire box had a thermostat dial on the door. A reservoir next to the oven provided a ready supply of warm water. Dipped from that reservoir, the water was used to wash dishes and hands before meals.
A box for storing wood was not far from the stove. Keeping a fire going in the fire box was important. New flames were coaxed with matches and kindling wood…sometimes a few corn cobs. The oven would be hot in time to make pancakes or made-from-scratch biscuits which could be enjoyed with creamy gravy and homemade jam.
Oftentimes on cold winter nights, bricks would be heated in the oven, wrapped in cloth and then placed in beds. The comfortable warmth that affected one’s feet was all that was needed to hurry one off to sleep.
Memories of a loving family gathered near the warmth of the old cook stove, still remains with many a soul. With that came the apron that was used in cooking over that old cook stove, amongst its other uses, which are also quite memorable. The apron usually clashed with the dress in competing patterns or colors and sagged around the hips as one was cooking, cleaning, or ironing. These faded aprons smelled of fried chicken or country ham, which was taken off only if a neighbor came by, tossing it on a chair with one hand while smoothing hair with the other.
The ordinary apron had the most versatility. The principal use was to protect the dress underneath and it also served as a pot holder for removing of pans from the stove. It was wonderful for drying a child’s tears, and on occasion for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used to carry eggs and fussy chicks. When company came, the apron was an ideal hiding place for shy kids. When the weather was cold, wrapping the apron around one’s arms felt good. They also wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Kindling wood was brought into the kitchen in that apron. All sorts of vegetables from the garden, hulled peas, and fruit from the trees in the fall were also carried by way of an apron.
When unexpected company came up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds!
Those old-fashioned kitchens were something to remember and to come home to with the tea kettle always singing on the back stove, the inevitable cookie jar standing on that work space and the coffee grinder…and many more memorabilia that has now become museum pieces. One certainly wouldn’t ask the modern woman to go back to that kitchen drudgery, but none the less, one is glad to have grown up where mother would be elbow deep in pies, cookies or cakes, and the oven’s fragrances that stay in one’s mind forever.
20 Years Ago
Week of May 12, 2005
First Local Trout Rodeo Lures 258 Anglers
“The boys just love to fish. Me, I’m just enjoying how much fun they’re having. I think this is the best thing this town has done in…50 years!”
Then, with a hearty laugh, that parent added, “But don’t quote me in the paper.”
Well, with apologies to that (unnamed) individual, that quote was simply too good, too spontaneously heartfelt and to apt as a commentary on the spirit of fun, family togetherness and sportsmanship which prevailed the banks of the South Branch River on Saturday not to be used to lead off this article.
Although the first Spring Fest started slowly on Friday, Saturday’s Trophy Trout Rodeo was an unqualified success.
Altogether, there were 258 registered participants—176 adults and 82 youth.
As a well-known local sportsman said on Tuesday, “If people had any idea of the size of the trout that were going to be stocked, there probably would have been 500 people fishing in town this weekend.”
“Next year,” that person continued, “I hope they consider making the trout rodeo a two-day event. That way, the kids could have a whole day of fishing to themselves.”
The stocking of approximately 500 trout, which were furnished by Greer Lime and had been grown at that company’s Germany Valley plant, began quietly on Friday afternoon.
SUGAR GROVE – ‘Greatest Generation’ Helped Create Positive Change
There seems to be much talk these days about the “Greatest Generation.” What makes them so great? They were ordinary people who did extraordinary things for their country: the black people who changed the South and educated the nation, the women who put sexual equality on the national agenda, the disabled people who insisted that the government recognize the discrimination against them, and the incredibly brave men and women who accomplished much in the name of freedom. Many of these folk grew up with few material things, yet their parents instilled in them a yearning for success. They were good stewards of the land, volunteering for the betterment of their community, with a committed work ethic, and a wonderful sense of pride. This nation is indeed indebted to this particular time period and to these good people. When reading John R. Waggy’s book, “From West Virginia to Alaska via Europe and Asia,” one soon recognizes the greatness, which he captures in the true qualities of this generation.
30 Years Ago
Week of May 18, 1995
Agriculture In Pendleton County
By David A. Seymour, Extension Agent
Pendleton County livestock producers have been placing livestock on pasture in recent weeks. Pasture conditions are less than desirable because of the dry weather in April and the cool temperatures of May. The recent rains will improve pastures when temperatures become warmer this spring. Until conditions improve, farmers need to rotate livestock between pastures. This will allow grasses to rest and regrow before summer arrives.
Pasture rotation has several advantages during normal conditions; it allows improved forage growth and utilization over the season. Adequate plant growth maintains a healthy plant root system that grows deeper in the soil and is more tolerant of summer drought. The increased sod vigor can reduce weed problems by providing competition for weed seedings. Well-managed rotational stocking often doubles animal production per acre compared to continuous fixed stocking. This advantage is due to increased forage production and utilization.
Tall fescue pastures should be intensively grazed by livestock during spring. Animals will readily graze tall fescue during April, May and June, and again in the fall, but are reluctant to graze it during the summer months of July and August. The reduced summer palatability is associated with the presence of a fungus called endophyte. This fungus grows between the plant cells and winters in the base of the plants. The fungus produces toxins that are thought to cause poor conception rates, low birth rates, and low daily gain of animals. In mares consuming infected tall fescue during pregnancy, the toxins can cause abortions and reduced milk production. It is estimated that 80% of the tall fescue grass in Pendleton County is infected with the endophyte fungus.
Because 50% of the perennial cool-season forage growth occurs during August to June, it is important that the livestock producer properly manage his pasture during the spring. Pastures in Pendleton County provide the majority of the forage for livestock during the year with the least cost to the farmer.
For more information, contact the WVU Extension Office at 358-2286.
60 Years Ago
Week of May 13, 1965
Mail Boxes
Pendleton County postmaster and Star Route carriers issued a reminder this week that May is the month for the annual inspection of routes and boxes.
Postal officials said that clearly printed names on each box is a requirement and is important to both the patron and the carrier. Postmasters making the inspection look first for the patron’s name.
“Does your box do justice to your home and surroundings?” the postmasters ask in a statement for inspection week.
They note that the mail box is used 305 days of the year and should be kept in first class condition with legible letters one inch high, securely fastened on a firm support, and the flag and door in good working condition.
The postmasters suggest that filling ruts and spreading a little gravel around the boxes’ approaches will help the carriers in delivering the mail.
70 Years Ago
Week of May 12, 1955
108-Years-Old Pendleton Native Dies In Cumberland
Mrs. Susan R. May, 108-years-old, of Cumberland, and one of the oldest citizens in the United States, died Saturday night, May 7th in Memorial Hospital.
Mrs. May was the wife of William S. May, and was born in Pendleton County March 11, 1847, the daughter of the late Henry and Elizabeth (Derm) Howdershell.
Mrs. May moved to Moorefield when a young girl and spent most of her life there. Her memories carried her back to Civil War days when her father and brothers fought in the battles—one brother belonging to the Union Army.
When she observed her 108th birthday two months ago, Mrs. May received personal greetings for the second consecutive time from both U. Senator J. Glenn Beall and President Eisenhower.
80 Years Ago
Week of May 11, 1945
ARMY DISCHARGES: Limited Releases
Even should German resistance continue through the summer, army plans call for the release of some vets with five years of service regardless of age, military officials disclosed.
At the same time, congress removed to preclude the use of 18-year-olds in combat without six months of training.
Under the army’s plans, some men who volunteered as the military expansion program got underway in 1940 or were among the first inducted would be discharged, with releases dependent upon the availability of the individual from his unit.
POW LABOR
Prisoners of war held in the continental United States did more than $44,000,000 worth of work during the first three months of 1945, the war department announced.
Helping relieve a serious manpower shortage in the United States, the prisoners performed 8,880,108 man days of work on army posts and 3,230,465 man days of work for private contractors during the three-month period, the Provost Marshal General’s office reported.
MOUTH OF SENECA
Walter Simpson of Brandywine was visiting friends here Sunday and on his way over and while driving north on U. S. 33, down North Fork, a wheel of his auto flew off and threw him into the bank and came near wrecking him, but no serious damage was done.
Ken Thompson and son of Circleville were here last week with a view to purchase a saddle horse.
Carl Smith has been driving the lime truck for the “North Fork Lime Company” delivering lime to the farmers. The Company, under the management of Roy Bowers, and Tison and Wilbur Mallow, is producing a fine grade of lime. More lime is being used on the farms this year than we have ever known. This is progress on the march.
More lime, more clover and alfalfa and more fertile farms.
Walter Dolly recently sold a nice grazing farm to Grant Harper and Burl Bennett. Consideration $6,000.
A message was received here stating that Pfc. Bert Vance, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hoy Vance of Seneca Rocks was recently married to a charming lady of La-Cross, Ga. We hear she is as pretty as the sunny side of a Georgia peach. Congratulations Bert.
We are all very happy to know that the war in Europe is rapidly drawing to a close—Oh!, yes I won all my bets but I am not done collecting on them, ha!
We can’t see how little “old Japan” can hang on long with all the big nations of the world against her. They will blow her to atoms and destroy her population. She thought we were all “Sissies” and wouldn’t fight but when those hard hitting and fast moving American boys hit her, she quickly changed her mind.
