20 Years Ago
Week of July 27, 2006
SUGAR GROVE
The Country Is a Different Place One Century Later
A hundred years ago was the year 1906. Here are some statistics of the United States that might boggle one’s mind.
- The average life expectancy was 47 years.
- Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
- Only eight percent of the homes had a telephone.
- There were 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
- A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11.
- The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
- The average wage was 22 cents per hour.
- A competent accountant could expect to earn $2,000 per year, a dentist, $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
- More than 96 percent of all births took place at home.
- Sugar cost four cents a pound.
- Eggs were 14 cents a dozen.
- Coffee was 15 cents a dozen.
- Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
- The American flag had 45 stars.
- The leading causes of death were 1. pneumonia and influenza; 2. tuberculosis; 3. diarrhea; 4. heart disease and 5. stroke.
- Two out of every 10 adults couldn’t read or write.
- There was no Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
- Crossword puzzles, canned beer and iced tea hadn’t been invented.
- The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30.
- Eighteen percent of all households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
- There were about 230 reported murders in the entire USA.
- Only six percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
- California with a mere 1.4 million people, was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
30 Years Ago
Week of July 18, 1996
40 Get Physical Checks At Pendleton Health Fair
Approximately 40 Pendleton County residents took advantage of the free health tests and information offered at Pendleton Nursing Home during the 1996 Pendleton County Health Fair July 11.
“Everyone who came today seemed to enjoy the opportunity to participate in health screenings and to receive information, including me. I enjoyed working here,” said Debbie Simmons, billing clerk at Pendleton Community Care.
Franklin Child Care Center to Hold Open House
The Franklin Child Care Center will hold open house Saturday, July 27, from 9 a.m to 12 p.m. to give parents and all other interested persons an opportunity to view the premises and get a better understanding of the important services provided by this facility. It is located in the Lovegrove building on Pine Street across the street from the post office where it has been located for the past nine years.
The center first opened in 1987 under the direction of Mrs. Cindy Mullenax. First called United Child Care Center, the name was changed in January, 1995, to Franklin Child Care Center when Mrs. Julie Eye became the new director.
The goal of the center is to provide quality child care that meets the needs of parents and children in this area. “We have a well-rounded activity schedule designed to teach children while they are having fun learning,” Mrs. Eye said. “We have designed a program which allows us to listen, watch and respond to the children’s needs.”
Ruth Dice Is Shepherd College’s Oldest Graduate
Mrs. Ruth Harman Dice completed all requirements for her Regents Bachelor’s Degree in the fall of 1995 and was scheduled to march in the spring 1996 graduation ceremony. Mrs. Dice who turned 86 on March 19, 1996, died unexpectedly from a tragic fall on May 2, just one week before graduation. Although she did not get the opportunity to march in the ceremony, she had completed all course work and was Shepherd College’s oldest student to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Mrs. Dice began her teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse where she taught grades one through eight. “I was fortunate that I had a janitor to light the fire in the wood stove each morning and carry the water from the nearby well. Not all teachers at that time had that luxury,” Mrs. Dice once recounted. She went on to teach in Grant County for six years and in Pendleton County for eight years.
40 Years Ago
Week of July 24, 1986
Real Estate Taxes To Go Up 15 Percent Next Year
Cost of government triples in 10 years
Pendleton County property owners can expect a 15 percent increase in their real estate property taxes next year, even though the recently conducted statewide property reappraisal program is not yet in effect.
Responsible for the increase is an order of the Pendleton County Commission directing the county assessor to increase real estate valuations for next year’s taxes by 15 percent. This is the first time any such directive has been made to the assessor.
In an austere move, the County Commission reduced the current year’s budget effective July 1 by $50,884 to $438,342.
John Ed Jenkins Was Popular, Winning Coach
Editor’s Note — John Ed Jenkins, formerly of Franklin, and his wife, Mary Catherine, retired in June as school teachers in Laurel, Maryland, and returned to Franklin to live. John Ed lived in Franklin from 1924 to 1939 with his parents, the late Willis Jenkins and Mrs. Edna Jenkins, a resident of Pendleton Nursing Home, and his sister, the late Guelda Bowers. He attended elementary school and high school here. Mary Catherine is a native of Frank. They both are graduates of D&E College.
In 1973, Jenkins became the first — and until this year, the only — Spartan baseball coach to take a team into the playoffs.
Now, 12 years later, Jenkins had made another decision, one not so perplexing. After 37 years as a physical education instructor, Jenkins is retiring.
“I have a farm in West Virginia,” he said. “I’d like to go back there, kick around in the evenings and just enjoy the peace and quiet. I’ll have a chance to hunt, fish and play golf.”
Now is the Time For Cutting Wood Needed for Winter
Remember these firewood tips:
- Green wood can season in as little as three months during a hot, dry summer, but it will take more than six months in the winter.
- Green wood produces far less heat and causes a more rapid creosote buildup inside chimneys.
- Buy unseasoned wood by the cord. About half the weight of green wood is water.
- All wood has the same heating capacity per pound—if it is dry—but hard woods generally produce more heat per cord because they are denser.
- Burning wood in a fireplace wastes more energy than it creates, unless you have closable glass doors to prevented household heat from escaping up the chimney when the fire is dying down or out.
50 Years Ago
Week of July 22, 1976
Mother of the Year Prize
A beautiful silver bowl appropriately engraved will be awarded to the 1976 Pendleton County Mother of the Year at the Pendleton County Fair September 10. The contest, sponsored by the Franklin Ruritan Club, will close September 3. Application blanks may be obtained from the Rev. Joseph Bartczak or Andrew Walker in Franklin. Contestants must be 55 years of age or older, a mother and a resident of the county for the past year.
Berrocal Swims In Olympics
Carlos Berrocal, son of Virginia Lee Hayzlett Berrocal and Dr. C. S. Berrocal of Mayarenez, Puerto Rico, won third place in backstroke swimming Olympc semi-finals Sunday night at Montreal, Canada. He competed in the finals Monday night and placed fourth.
Carlos, 19, who attended the University of Alabama on an athletic scholarship, placed third in the Pan-American games this spring and has won many medals in various swimming contests in Europe, the United States, South and Central American countries.
Carlos is a grand-nephew of Mrs. Virginia Thacker Rexrode of Franklin.
60 Years Ago
Week of July 21, 1966
Firemen’s Horse Show Here Draws Large Attendance
The first horse show to be presented in Franklin drew a large crowd Friday evening, July 8, at the Firemen’s celebration.
Officials for the show were Paul Wampler, Mt. Solon, Va., judge; Forest Shifflet, Churchville, Va., ring master; Jane Ann Boggs, Franklin, master of ceremonies; Jo Ann Hartman, Franklin, ribbon girl.
Former Rural ‘Minister of Year’ At Brandywine
The Rev. Willliam E. Richards, who was named the 1959 town and country minister of the year by the West Virginia Methodist Conference, is the new pastor of South Fork Methodist Charge at Brandywine.
Mr. Richards won the minister of the year award for his work in establishing the Grantsville Group Ministry in Calhoun County.
Mr. Richards is a native of Gassaway, and is married to the former JoAnn McNemar of Weston. They have four daughters and will be living in the South Fork parsonage on US 33.
70 Years Ago
Week of July 26, 1956
WVA
ASTRONOMY SITE
NOW DEFINITE
West Virginia is a step nearer becoming the world center of research in radio-astronomy as a result of decisions made Monday morning by the advisory panel of the National Science Foundation in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Pendleton Times was informed Tuesday by telegram from Congressman Harley O. Staggers that a 6000-acre tract in the mountainous Green Bank-Arbovale region of Pocahontas County was definitely chosen by the scientists Monday morning as the site for the construction of the multi-million dollar radio-astronomy center.
The astronomy center, which will be the largest in the world, will cost between $25,000,000 and $30,000,000 to build.
EDITORIALS
Enjoy Your Vacation – – –
This is the time of year in which you should start wrapping up your vacation plans. You, your wife and your children must decide if you are going to Old Holocaust Mountain or to Abysmal Beach.
Decision is necessary. It’s futile—and expensive—for each member of the family to ride off in all directions. So let us hope there is unanimity in the family group and you decide to go to Holocaust Mountain.
“Don’t drive five thousand unnecessary miles to find a lake where the fishing is always ‘good.’” You can fail to catch as many fish 50 miles from home as you can 2,500 miles away. And it isn’t as expensive and nerve racking.
Drive safely and cautiously wherever you go. If it’s to your destination, you will be glad to get there. If you get home without mishap, you will be pleased, rested, happy and comfortable. Always remember that it takes as long to get home as it did to get there!
In short, you’re an automobile operator. So take as good care of yourself as you do of your automobile.
Pfc. Earl Judy, Jr.
Helping Train
West Point Cadets
WEST POINT, N. Y. — Pfc. Earl Judy, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Judy, Sr., of Smith Creek, is helping train candidates at the U. S. Military Academy, West Point, N. Y., this summer.
Judy’s unit, the 100th Transportation Company, is instructing the cadets in highway transport operations, vehicle utilization and motor pool administration. The unit is regularly stationed at Fort Eustis, Va.
A 1953 graduate of Franklin High School, Judy was employed by the Pendleton Motor Sales before entering the Army in August 1954.
