20 Years Ago
Week of November 3, 2005
SUGAR GROVE
Class Reunions Are A Ritual of Reflection
Class reunions — they are a ritual, unlike any other, a special time calling ordinary time to a halt, demanding reflection on and a celebration of where one has been, who one is and where one is headed. And for that moment, its demands and expectations fall away.
When one walks into a reunion and sees traces of familiarity, the sound of laughter, the hand gestures, smiles and rhythms of speech…it’s that recognition, that unexpected sense of belonging that is so moving, as though one is a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that slips into place without being forced.
Reunions set aside a time to celebrate what is special about the particular class.
Thanks to photography, that’s how a class reunion will always be, a frozen shadow of a richer time. Photos allow a sense of continuity that flows into the future despite the enormous changes wrought by time. The photos become pieces of
American folklore.
30 Years Ago
Week of November 2, 1995
Franklin Man Makes Significant Archaeological Find In Peru
A Franklin, West Virginia, archaeologist affiliated with The Mountain Institute whose headquarters are in Franklin has made a significant archaeological find high in the Andes in South America.
An American team led by Dr. Johan Reinhard of Franklin discovered three mummies on two expeditions 20,700 feet up Mount Ampato.
Two of the three bodies found were partially frozen but not dried and could still contain 500-year-old living organisms. A scientific analysis of the mummies, to take place in Peru, will be partly funded by the National Geographic Society.
Tips for Safe Fall Cleanup
REDUCE AND RECYCLE DEBRIS
Day after day of scorching summer sun can leave trees, shrubs and foliage dry and dying. When this debris is removed, try to reduce and recycle the waste pile into usable mulch. Place the mulch around trees and shrubs, and cultivate it into flower beds for the best green comeback next spring. Home-produced mulch provides rich nutrients, free from insecticides and other irritants that can harm plants and the environment.
MULCH WHEN MOWING
Mulching your lawn, especially the last two or three mows of the season, is important for restoring essential nutrients to the soil and grass root system. The clippings also provide the lawn with a slight protective covering against winter’s harsh elements. Use a convertible mulcher to cut and recut clippings into fine particles that enrich the lawn and make it healthier.
40 Years Ago
Week of October 31, 1985
South Fork Fire Department Buys Jaws of Life Tool
The South Fork Fire Department in months has purchased a Holmatro Jaws of Life rescue tool.
The Holmatro rescue equipment, which is made in Holland, was purchased from Ashby Fire Equipment Company of Oakland, Md., at a price of $9,558.
Pieces of equipment purchased were Prestige spreader (jaws), hydraulic cutter, gasoline powered hydraulic pump, hydraulic foot pump, hoses and chains.
This equipment has been purchased to better serve the community.
Commission Seeks Funds for New County Library
The West Virginia Library Commission has sent a recommendation to the West Virginia Governor’s Office of Finance and Administration that an item of $406,000 be included in next year’s budget for a new Pendleton County Library to be located in Franklin.
A proposal to build a new library facility at a cost of $375,000 was submitted by the Pendleton County Commission last July 30. The Library Commission increased the figure to $406,000 before approving the proposal and submitting it to the Office of Finance and Administration.
Of the $406,000 requested of the state, $80,000 would have to be raised locally. To date over $21,000 has been raised in small and large contributions.
50 Years Ago
Week of October 30, 1975
Organization Needed To Provide Emergency Ambulance Service
Pendleton County is in need of new organizations to provide emergency ambulance service, members of the Franklin Lion’s Club were told Monday night.
Morris Homan, president of the Pendleton County Commission, said Brown Funeral Service is going to stop providing emergency ambulance service on December 30 and that it will be necessary to make other arrangements to provide the service to area residents.
Pendleton County was given an ambulance last summer by the Governor’s highway committee administration. The ambulance is fully equipped to provide emergency service and was purchased by state surplus funds at a cost of $11,825.
60 Years Ago
Week of October 28, 1965
HEALTH TIPS FOR TODAY
Old King Cold is a tough character.
So far, medical science has not been able to break through his guard. Gradually, however, more and more is being learned about colds and their causes even though up to now, colds can’t be prevented or cured. All that can be hoped for is to treat the symptoms of the cold to make one feel better until it goes away, and to be as careful as possible not to spread your infection to others.
70 Years Ago
Week of October 27, 1955
H-P Stores Have 24th Anniversary
With Friday, October 28, as the opening date, the H-P Stores will continue the observance of their 24th anniversary through the month of November.
Beginning in November 1931, with one store in Oakland, Md., the organization this year brought their total number of stores to 19 when the Buckhannon H-P Store was opened in May.
The second store was opened in Petersburg in 1934, and the following year, two more were added, in Parsons and Moorefield. During the remaining years of the 1930s two stores made their appearance in the chain. In 1937, one was opened in Kingwood and in 1938, one in Franklin.
From 1940 to 1949, a total of 5 stores were added to the six already in business. In 1940, Meyersdale, Pa., and Keyser, became the sites for H-P Stores, and in July 1945, Westernport was added to the list. During the post-war period following, two more West Virginia towns saw the opening of H-P Stores, Richwood in 1947, and Marlinton in 1949.
Just half over, the present decade has been then one of swiftest expansion for the organization, with eight stores opening their doors to the public since 1950. In that year, Hancock, Md., and McConnellsburg, Pa., were called to the growing chain.
Since those additions, the following towns have seen the doors of the H-P Stores open along their business streets: Philippi, and Romney in 1951; Harrisville, and St. Marys, 1953; Spencer, 1954; and the 1955 addition, Buckhannon.
Of the grand total of 19 stores, West Virginia claims 14, Maryland 3, and Pennsylvania, 2.
80 Years Ago
Week of October 26, 1945
ARMY PROMISES BRITISH BRIDES TRANSPORTATION
LONDON — The United States Army told British brides, clamoring for passage to the United States that they would be permitted to sail the Atlantic to join their soldier husbands when transportation becomes available.
The brides recently marched on the United States Embassy and patrolled the streets nearby. The army told them that wives who have obtained final visas from the embassy and whose applications for transportation have been completed “need have no concern about the validity of these papers.”
LOCAL NEWS
The town of Franklin is proud to receive three more returning soldiers, Harold Dahmer, after 42 months of service, Douglas Brown, after 36 months, and Riley Thompson, after 40 months. All three saw overseas duty and now have honorable discharges. Both Harold and Douglas received the Purple Heart, and Douglas, who was a member of the 1st Division, received the French Citation.
NOTICE
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L. T. Stickley, who has been in the Service for the past 3-1/2 years, has been discharged and has re-opened his barber shop at his previous location. He invites his old friends and customers and the general public to visit him.
Stickley’s Barber Shop
STATE HAS BAMBOO GROWING FOOT A DAY
CHARLESTON—Oriental bamboos that grow more than a foot a day until they reach a height of 25 feet are being grown in West Virginia.
H. B. Graybill of Lewisburg, who introduced the plants here, describes them and tells some of their uses. They make excellent bean poles, garden stakes and fishing poles, he says, and their tender shoots “made a delicious dish cooked much like asparagus.”
Ten rootstock cuttings were sent the author in 1927 by Roland McKee of the plant introduction section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for experimental planting. The species is the stake or forage bamboo. It is an evergreen and spreads rapidly unless curbed. “If planted where there is no convenient way of keeping it down, you will have in time a wilderness,” says the author. He uses his lawnmower to keep his contained, but cattle are fond of it and will keep it down. He is experimenting with the plant for hedges. “The plumes are very graceful,” he explains, “as they sway in the wind. A clump in a lawn is like great ferns or feathers.”
He has given plants to several persons who are said to be growing them successfully. The mature plants are from an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. Shoots come out of the ground full size about the first of May “and make their 25 feet by the end of the month, growing over a foot a day part of the time.”
JAP DIAMONDS ARE FOUND STORED IN BOTTLES
TOKOYO — American authorities have seized more than $30,000,000 worth of glittering diamonds belonging to the official Japanese government control agency and stored in thermos bottles within a trust company safety deposit box.
A total of 131,000 karats of diamonds was found in a Mitsui Trust Company vault in a box belonging to Koeki Eeiden, a government import export control agency.
The company had listed precious stones worth over 131,000,000 yen among its “sundry goods” in assets.
105 Years Ago
Week of October 29, 1920
COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
Many new teachers are at the beginning of the school year asking for information concerning the compulsory school attendance law.
All children between seven and sixteen are required to attend school for the entire term except the children who have completed the sixth grade and may be exempted if they obtain a written permission from the city, district or county superintendent to engage in regular employment which must be for at least six hours each day.
In many districts of the state, there seems to be no attendance officers but this should be no excuse for not complying with the law. Violations may be ascertained and prosecution and conviction may result.
An appeal is made to everyone having a child or children of school age in legal charge to see that such child or children attend school according to law.
The same appeal is made all persons and officers of the law to see that the law is carried into effect.
“No country’s civilization can raise above its school system.” (Copy is part of a letter from the Department of Schools.)
(The School Journal and Educator.)
Very truly yours,
John A. Fultz
