10 Years Ago
Week of May 12, 2016
FLEISHERS RUN
The month of April provided 18 days of heavy drought for the county and a massive brush fire consuming over 15,000 acres of forest near Grottoes, VA. This fire was considered one of the country’s largest fires in 2016.
The fire in Virginia was definitely hard to contain without rain even though many, many men and women donated hours to help with this endeavor.
The thousands of acres that were destroyed due to this fire will take years to replace. The writer would like to extend a heartfelt recognition to the many hours of hard work of those persons who were in that forest giving their all to maintain this extreme fire and save the forest and wildlife.
May has brought much needed rain to the county and state. The rain has replenished wells, as well as growth to the ground that is needed.
The town of Brandywine is certainly coming alive with new and welcomed businesses. Soon to be opening will be a Family Dollar, which will give people in the Sugar Grove area, Moyers, Dry Run, Brushy Fork and other small communities on this side of Franklin, time and a chance to shop closer to home and not have to go over the mountain to get bread and milk.
SUGAR GROVE
Laundry Day Was a Good Start To Week
Going back to a century or so, laundry day was always on Mondays. It became a weekly chore in the nineteenth century. Prior to that, clothes were often made of rugged material like wool, leather, or felt and were very hard to wash. Dirty shirt? Shake it off!
Detergent was made from lye and animal fat. The wood was chopped for the fires. Sons and husband would collect this, along with the water to be put in tubs or kettles.
A lot of elbow grease was the secret to washing clothes. It took a long time and was very hard work. Beginning very early in the morning, one followed the step-by-step instructions.
The next day would be ironing day. Clothes that needed ironing, once they were starched, were pressed by a hot flat iron to smoothen away any creases. This worked well if the clothes were a little damp. There was always a certain way to press and fold the clothes!
Which family had their wash done early in the day became a topic of conversation amongst the neighborhood women. Even who had the whitest clothes was also a “bone of contention.”
Modern conveniences certainly have made laundry an easier chore. Can’t imagine anyone wishing to return to these “good old days.”
Week of May 19, 2016
Heavener, Scott Receive Golden Horseshoe Pins
Pendleton County Middle School students, Ashley Heavener and Katie Scott, were inducted into the Golden Horseshoe Society in a formal pinning ceremony held on May 6 at Charleston.
Both students are in Zachary Smith’s eighth grade West Virginia history class.
The Golden Horseshoe test has been administered annually since 1931 and recognizes individuals with exceptional knowledge of the state’s history. It is the longest running program of its kind in the U.S.
20 Years Ago
Week of May 18, 2006
The Highlands Swings into Business
Many people could have done what I did. But no one could have done what Bill Ward did…but Bill Ward.”
Rob Locklin uttered those words on Monday afternoon in a casual conversation with a group of four golfers who were enjoying hamburgers—big, juicy ones—at the clubhouse after the four men had played a morning round of 18 holes on the challenging links of West Virginia’s newest championship caliber golf course, the Highlands Golf Club.
Locklin made the statement in response to praise from a golfer from Petersburg, one who is among the first to have birdied number 10, the new course’s signature, island green.
Number 10 is a par four hole. (To those not yet initiated into the sport’s splendor or its intricacies, a birdie means the golfer needed just three shots instead of four to put the ball in the hole.)
The birdie was recorded by Carroll Michael, the older brother of Delegate Harold K. Michael.
Those four men love the game of golf, and their enthusiasm for the course designed by Bill Ward and his son, Chris, was unbridled.
Delegate Harold K. Michael visited the course for the first time not long before its official opening last Friday.
He pronounced the course “beautiful,” the clubhouse “very impressive” and returned for a second, closer look the following day.
That Friday, however, he also confided a concern.
Mountain courses can be difficult and not always entirely fun to play. They risk being the kind of courses that can deal a crushing blow even to a skilled player’s ego.
“Someone who takes a lot of pride and satisfaction in his game,” Michael wondered, “will he get frustrated and mad his first time here and then never come back?”
There’s another Harold Michael—a typical, accessible, next-door-neighbor type of guy who, plain and simple, just loves a good game of golf, an average guy who considers a good day on the links in the company of friends and family to be a good day, indeed.
It was that guy, the one known simply as “Harold” rather than as “Delegate Michael,” who, on Monday, having already played the course a few times, offered the following assessment:
“This course can take its place with the finest golf courses in this part of the country—with Stonewall, Pete Dye, the Raven at Snowshoe, Canaan, the Cascades—with all of those and other major golf courses, too.”
And how does the course play, he was asked; is it too hard or perhaps even too easy?
Beaming like a youth on Christmas morning, he said, “Bill Ward hit the sweet spot.”
Asked to elaborate, Michael continued, “It looks grown-in. Normally it takes a course three or four years to be grown-in like this.”
30 Years Ago
Week of May 16, 1996
DAHMER
Writer Recalls Days When Gypsies Roamed the County
The gypsies were a wandering tribe of people coming to Pendleton County in the warmer weather, camping out along the rivers and gathering around campfires singing gay songs. The younger women would dance to the tune of the fiddle. Their skin was deeply tanned, and they had long shiny black hair. Most gypsy women wore long brightly colored dresses, along with much jewelry. Early gypsies were carefree people and often full of pranks and horse trading. The women like to tell people’s fortunes for money.
The first gypsies the writer remembers seeing was in 1928 when some of the John Dahmer family was returning home from Franklin in a Model T Ford when some gypsies were met on the narrow Dry Run Road seeking information. A woman came to the car and took hold of John Dahmer’s hand to tell his fortune. Everything told was very pleasing, until she asked him to put some money in his hand which he did not do. In a surprise move, she stated, “I see another woman in your life.” He replied, “Your wrong.” She then said, “Wait until I come to the other side to see your hand better.” She started around back of the car and the writer’s daddy motioned to the driver, Russell Blizzard, to move on. Russell soon left her standing there with her long dress caught on a bush. After arriving home, the writer’s daddy asked his wife for a wash pan to wash his hands. Looking surprised and at his hands, she said, “They don’t look dirty to me.” He retorted, “An old hussy had a hold of my hand.”
40 Years Ago
Week of May 15, 1986
Pendleton Nursing Home Observes 10th Anniversary
Approximately 250 people were on hand Sunday afternoon for the dedication of a new personal care wing at Pendleton Nursing Home and the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Franklin facility.
Actually, the nursing home now has been in operation 11 years, but the 10th anniversary celebration originally planned for last November was postponed because of the disruption caused by the November flood.
60 Years Ago
Week of May 19, 1966
116 to Graduate From Pendleton County High Schools Next Week
Pendleton County’s two high schools will graduate a total of 116 seniors at commencement exercises next week. Thirty-seven students will formally complete their high school careers when they receive their diplomas at Circleville High School Wednesday night, and 79 seniors will be graduated from Franklin High School Friday night. Both programs will begin at 8 p.m.
Ancient Indian Tribe Lends Name To New 4-H Club
Harlan Mullenax has been elected president of a new 4-H club which has been organized at Cherry Grove. The name of the new club is “Monon Raiders,” and according to Alice White, club reporter, the name comes from an ancient Indian tribe who were the first inhabitants of West Virginia.
Other officers elected were Lucille Mullenax, vice president; Ellen Vandevander, secretary treasurer; Alice White, reporter; Cindy Vandevander, refreshment committee; Harold Mullenax, project leader; James Vandevander, sergeant-at-arms; Karen Bennett and Bonnie Vandevander, entertainment committee; Margaret White and Myrtle Vandevander, game leaders; and Beverly Colaw, devotions leader.
Additional members include Christopher Arbaugh, Larry Arbaugh, Steve Arbaugh, Janice Mullenax, Darlene White, Tommy White, Wilma Hinkle, Bobby Lee Hinkle, Peggy Bennett, Nancy Bennett, Joey Arbaugh, Peggy Hinkle, Sandra Bennett and Pauline J. Bennett.
Mrs. Clara White was chosen as 4-H leader, and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Leach are serving as advisors.
70 Years Ago
Week of May 17, 1956
Franklin Enters Baseball Team in Mountain State League
League baseball has returned to Pendleton County with Franklin’s entry into the newly formed Mountain State League, and hopes are high that another trophy might be added to those won in past seasons by local clubs.
The team makeup is a little undecided at present but the presence of tried and true veterans, plus several impressive newcomers gives the picture a rosy hue.
No doubt it will take several games before the team starts to gel and play its best brand of baseball but we feel sure a representative club will take the field and not disappoint the many local fans who are overjoyed to hear about the return of the national game to DePoy Stadium this summer.
The opening home game will be played this Sunday with Marlinton, once Franklin’s bitterest foe in the baseball wars. It is hoped that a large crowd will be in attendance.
Three Brushy Run Soldiers Together At Fort Lewis
FORT LEWIS, Wash.—Three Brushy Run soldiers recently were assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington.
Pvt. Walter G. Alt, son of Mr. and Mrs. Andy C. Alt, Pvt. Raymond B. Alt, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Alt, and Pvt. Harlan E. Judy, son of Jesse L. Judy, are members of Heavy Motor Company of the division’s 23rd Regiment. Pvts. Walter and Raymond Alt entered the Army last December and Judy entered last January. They completed basic training at Fort Jackson.
The “Indianhead” division is scheduled to move to Alaska in July and August as part of Operation Gyroscope, the Army’s unit rotation plan.
5 Pendleton Girls Receive Nursing Degrees
Five Pendleton County girls were among 31 members of the graduating class of the Rockingham Memorial Hospital School of Nursing who received their diplomas at commencement exercises held May 5 in the Harrisonburg High School.
Receiving diplomas were Mary Shaver Detra, Ft. Seybert; Norma Elizabeth Hamilton, Deer Run; Betty Jane Hoover, Brandywine; Betty Louise Nelson, Franklin; and Betty Lea Ruddle, Franklin. Also receiving her diploma was Billie Louise Judy of Buckhannon and formerly of Franklin.
