10 Years Ago
Week of May 5, 2016
West Hired as New Principal at North Fork Elementary
Randolph West, a Grant County resident, has been hired as the new, full-time principal at North Fork Elementary School.
West is currently serving as the assistant principal of Hampshire High School located at Romney.
20 Years Ago
Week of May 4, 2006
Auville, Evans Crowned Prom King and Queen
Selected as the 2006 Pendleton County High School “Romance by the Shore” Prom King and Queen Saturday night were Joshua Auville and Kaci Evans.
Queen Evans is the daughter of Paul Evans and the late Sherry Evans of Circleville.
King Auville is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roland Auville of Onego.
Skiles Wins SUV At Prom Lock-In
Misty Skiles of Deer Run won the 2000 Ford Eddie Bauer SUV at the Prom Lock-In which held at the Potomac Highlands Rec Center in Franklin. The vehicle was donated by the Ted Davis auto dealership in Riverton.
Pumpkin Contest Scheduled
Spring has sprung and growing time has begun! It’s time to pull out the plow and dig out the hoe because planting season is upon us. Planting time for those giant pumpkin seeds that is! The Treasure Mountain Festival Association is once again offering giant pumpkin seeds for those who wish to participate in their pumpkin growing contest in September. Just to refresh one’s memory, last year’s winning entry weighed 342 pounds.
Last year was a trial run for the pumpkin contest and was hailed a “huge” success. Even so TMFA hopes to make it bigger and better this year so a few changes have been made. This year there will be three winning giants—first, second and third places that will receive prize money and ribbons.
30 Years Ago
Week of May 2, 1996
DAHMER
Nursing Home Box Supper Averages $57.72
The old time box supper held at the Pendleton Nursing Home Saturday turned out to be a version of a modern day box supper. Some boxes and baskets were large with elaborate decorations and contained as abundance of food for a number of people. Garry Propst was the auctioneer, and he did a splendid job. Prices varied from $25.00 to $120.00 per box. Eleven boxes and baskets were sold with the average price being $57.72. Those attending the event enjoyed music and entertainment furnished by Rev. Ed Null, Garry Propst, Estyl Shreve, Joe Kline and Edith Stone.
Circleville English Students Enjoy England Tour
By Rachael Skavenski
After touching down at Gatwick Airport outside London at 7:20 a.m., the English Club travelled to their hotel, the Blandford, which was located on Baker Street. Baker Street was the traditional home of Sherlock Holmes. We unpacked our belongings, shook off the jet lag, and took off for our first day in London.
We walked a couple of blocks from the hotel to Madame Toussaud’s Wax Museum where we joined the line for admission. Highlights of the three hours we spent there included the Chamber of Horrors, a ride through British history, models of movie stars and royalty.
Tuesday morning we started with a guided sightseeing tour of London. We enjoyed photostops at Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the House of Parliament. During the drive we passed St. Paul’s Cathedral (where Princess Di and Princess Charles were married), Piccadilly Circus, the Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, #10 Downing Street, and Hyde Park. Then we visited Westminster Abbey, the site of royal coronations for the past 900 years. Of special interest to the group was the Poet’s Corner where famous writers are remembered.
We spent the afternoon at Windsor Castle, which is still home to the English monarchy.
That evening after dinner we enjoyed our first performance in a West End theatre. It was a production of Fame which is about a high school for the performing arts in New York City.
The next morning we rushed to two of London’s most famous landmarks on our free time—the Tower of London and the Hard Rock Cafe. At the tower we saw the crown jewels, the place where Anne Bolyn was beheaded, the torture chamber, and the tower where the little princes were killed. The Hard Rock Cafe in London was the first one ever established. This is its 25th anniversary year.
Back at the hotel, we met up with the other groups travelling with us—from Indianapolis and Denver, and we went to the British museum.
Usually we travelled on the subway system which is called the Tube and after the first day, we became very good at getting where we wanted to go without getting lost.
While we were in the museum we saw a Guttenburg Bible, the Rosetta Stone, three of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta, and most importantly, the only existing copy of Beowulf! The museum had hand-written compositions by Mozart, Bach, and the Beatles; sketches by da Vinci; and works of art from ancient Rome, Egypt, and Greece.
That evening we attended a second performance — “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare” by the Reduced Shakespeare Company. This three man acting troupe performed all of Shakespeare’s plays — histories, comedies, and tragedies, in 97 hilarious minutes. This was a treat for everyone — even the guys who knew they would hate it — and was something that we will not forget.
On day five we went to Bath, Salisbury, and Stonehenge. Bath is famous for its Georgian architecture and for the Roman baths which still exist from the time when Rome ruled England. It was in Bath that we noticed a sign on the window of a meat market that read “Go Mad — Eat Beef.”
At Salisbury we visited their famous Gothic cathedral before we rode on to Stonehenge, the most mysterious landmark in all of England. Although it was really cold, we took our time here because this was one of the places that we all wanted to see.
40 Years Ago
Week of May 1, 1986
Roscoe Bergdoll Returns Cherished Item, Carried Away By the Flood
The record flood of November 4-5 created many strange and unusual events, many of which are still being discovered. Small things sometimes became very important in their absence, as the uncaring water carried treasured possessions miles downstream, lost forever to those who had cared for them.
Some items came home again — thanks to others who found them and recognized the value they held to their rightful owners. One such Good Samaritan was Roscoe Bergdoll of Petersburg.
A wooden wall plaque in the shape of the state of West Virginia was discovered in a Central Tie and Lumber Company warehouse in Petersburg by employees while removing flood debris from the only company building left standing after the flood.
The mud-covered plaque had “Bob and Debra Bush, Clarksburg, W. Va.” written on one side “Merry Christmas from Kandy and John, 1978” inscribed on the back. Initially tossed aside, one employee, Roscoe Bergdoll, decided to try to locate the owners and see if they wanted it back.
After writing a letter which was returned for “insufficient address,” he was finally able to contact the Robert Bush residence in Clarksburg after a series of long-distance telephone calls.
“I told them what we’d found and where,” Bergdoll said. “There was a long silence, then Debra Bush said, “You’ve got to be kidding.” They couldn’t believe it.
The Bushes told Bergdoll that the plaque had washed away with their vacation home near Franklin, over 20 miles upriver, during the flood. It had been inside a cabinet in their trailer. They hung it out when they were there.
“The funny thing was, I’d made the statement that I wished we could find that plaque, as we were looking through the wreckage for any of our belongings,” Mrs. Bush said.
Bergdoll mailed the cherished plaque back to the Bushes, who sent him a letter expressing their heartfelt thanks for his efforts. The plaque had been a handmade gift from Ms. Bush’s sister and brother-in-law.
50 Years Ago
Week of May 6, 1976
4,418 Are Eligible To Vote in Pendleton
A total of 4,418 persons are eligible to vote in Pendleton County in next Tuesday’s election, and judging from the interest which has developed in recent weeks, a larger than usual percent of eligible voters will go to the polls and register their choices for public officials.
There are a total of 143 candidates on the Democratic ballot, 98 candidates on the Republican ballot and seven candidates on the non partisan board of education ballot.
Democrats continue to have a substantially larger number of registered voters in the county than does the Republican party. Of the 4,418 eligible voters in the county, 2,762 are Democrats, 1,558 are Republicans.
60 Years Ago
Week of May 5, 1966
4,199 Persons Eligible To Vote in Primary Election Here Next Week
A total of 4,199 persons are eligible to vote in the primary election in Pendleton County next Tuesday, but judging from the lack of interest being displayed, only a small portion of that number will actually go to the polls and vote.
The 4,199 persons who are eligible to vote next Tuesday are 344 fewer than were eligible to vote in the last election held in Pendleton County which was the general election held in November, 1964. At that time there were 4,543 qualified voters.
Franklin High School Girl Receives State FHA Degree
The highest degree of achievement recognized by the Future Homemakers of America has been conferred upon a Franklin High School student.
Sue Ellen Sponaugle, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Earl L. Sponaugle of Franklin received the State Homemaker Degree April 23.
State to Have First Spring Turkey Shoot
West Virginia’s first spring turkey season will open Monday and remain open for one week to May 14.
If a hunter is successful in killing a gobbler this spring, he will also be eligible to kill a turkey this fall.
70 Years Ago
Week of May 3, 1956
Number of Persons Registered to Vote In Pendleton County Down 626 Since ‘54
An official tabulation of persons registered to vote in the May 8 primary election in Pendleton County reveals a drop of registered voters in the county of 626 since the 1954 election.
In 1954 there were 5486 registered voters in the county compared to 4860 at this time. The Democratic registration has dropped from 3369 in 1954 to 2990 this year, a loss of 379. The Republican loss in registration has been slightly less. It has fallen from 2082 in 1954 to 1838 at this time, a decrease of 244.
DAHMER
A query—Mrs. Estella Dahmer found an unusually large egg among her collection, and when the shell was broken, another fully developed egg was found within the large one. She has the large egg shell still in her possession.
The parsonage garden fence near St. John’s Church is being replaced by a new one which adds beauty and comfort to the residence.
Wilson Warner Wins Golden Horseshoe Contest; To be Knighted At Capitol May 11
Arlie R. Blizzard assistant superintendent of schools, has announced that Wilson J. Warner who attends Franklin Grade School, won first place in the “Golden Horseshoe Test” conducted in the county on April 20. He scored 143 points out of a possible 156 points.
Other winners were Inga Dahmer, Franklin Grade School, 141 points; James Elza, Circleville Elementary School, 139 points; Robert O. Adamson, Brandywine Elementary School, 137 points.
Of the twenty-nine other pupils who participated in the contest, most of them made commendable scores and they will receive certificates for their efforts.
