THE WI NEWSLETTER 12/07

THE WI NEWSLETTER

Editor: Roleta Smith Meredith

Issue 100

December 2007

100!
submitted by: Roleta Smith Meredith (WI '59)
Roleta1@aol.com
With this issue of the WI Newsletter, we are celebrating our birthday. This is the 100th time we have put the newsletter on line. We hope you have enjoyed it over the last 8 years and 4 months.

I started the newsletter to keep my classmates in touch with one another after a reunion. Little did I know that the graphics I placed in my emailed newsletter only showed up on the screens of those who also had AOL. I didn't realize this until Judy told me when we were in a chat room that was available for Hilltoppers to use. However, she volunteered to put the newsletter up on the web site that she and her husband, Larry, had developed…. And it was free for us to use!. By using her web site, people could see the graphics and pictures…she later volunteered to do the graphics for me. And thus we gave birth to the Class of 1959 Newsletter for our classmates. At the same time, in the same chat room was Bob Davis who I hadn't seen since high school graduation (and have only seen a couple times since graduation), he volunteered to keep the email addresses current for me. Little did any of us know that this small adventure on my part would grow to be so big! Soon the newsletter caught on with siblings of some of our classmates and as the readership grew, I decided to change the name to “The WI Newsletter”, thus including all graduates. Soon people from other schools were requesting to be added and they were contributing articles. A few people suggested that I should change the name of the newsletter to “The Clarksburg Newsletter”, but I thought that was more than I could handle even though all people are invited to read our newsletter and participate.

I have nearly quit many times because I couldn't get responses from readers and I thought we weren't going to have much to put in the newsletter. But if I didn't have much, I often wrote certain friends and ask them to please write about a suggested subject, or I wrote some articles myself, some way we did it! Judy is good at giving me electronic pep talks, and my husband, Bill, keeps saying, "When it is no longer enjoyable, quit but you know a lot of people really enjoy the newsletter each month". We are proud of the fact that we have yet to miss a month, even with all my traveling, our illnesses and other daily activities we have met the call and published something.

Now 100 issues later, we have over 1,200 readers. If we were asked to select which issue was our favorite, we couldn't come up with an answer! Judy and I seem to like the ones with lots of color, lots of pictures, lots of different subjects covered and lots of people contributing articles.

So raise a glass of your favorite beverage and toast with us to 100 WI Newsletters….with your help there will be many more! Without Judy and Bob I would have a much harder time....

ABOUT MY FRIEND AND CO PRODUCER OF THE WI NEWSLETTER
JUDY DAUGHERTY KIMLER jkimler@verizon.net
Judy and I were friends in high school. We lived in the same neighborhood and visited each other often. We met at Stealey Playground probably when we were 12. Since graduation, I have only seen Judy 3 or 4 times for very brief visits at a reunion or a summer WI Picnic. She lives in southern WV and I live in southern Florida. Amazing what one can do on a computer isn't it? I do all the written word which takes me more hours than even I believe, (and more hours than Bill can believe). I put it all together in about a month, and send it to Judy, who then works her magic and brings it to life with color, with pictures and with proper graphics. She then puts my first draft plus her pictures, etc on line for my eyes only where I try to catch errors I have made, and tweak it a little here and there. Then when I am finished I tell her I think it is okay for the readers to read. She puts it up on the FREE web site (yes, it is free---free to you and free to us and that means we DO NOT GET any money for doing it as some have suggested). When it is up on line, I then send out my letter of notification to you…this procedure only takes me approximately 3 hours of one day.

Did you ever notice that there is always a teddy bear in each newsletter? He is usually at the end of the newsletter. Wonder why? Well, thank you Judy ---someday I will tell everyone else what those pictures mean to me.

KEEPER OF THE EMAIL ADDRESSES
BOB DAVIS Rad29063@aol.com
As I stated above, Bob volunteered for this job without knowing that there would be more readers than our classmates. Bob keeps a master list that has to be updated each month. (this is a totally different list than my email list of readers, it is confusing but I keep my own email list updated as I have a different system…mine has no names, just email addresses). I receive your letters with the changes of your email address or your request to be added to the newsletter---these appear in the newsletter monthly, I then send a copy of these to Bob….Bob keeps the names by school, by year of graduation or year the person would have graduated and then within this bracket he keeps them alphabetically by last name as used at time of graduation. It is complicated and a lot of work. He sends me an updated list monthly and this is my "working Newsletter Data". This list is about 10 pages long with 2 columns on each page. So if you don't write with a change we have your old address. Sometimes, I delete an address from my mailing list and forget to make a note to tell Bob, then he of course still has the name and the old address. He has done an amazing job through 100 issues….

Recently Bob Davis sent some of you an email. He wrote to me to tell me that he had mistyped his email address in the letter he sent to you. His email is: Rad29063@aol.com instead of the one he wrote, he left out the 2! Please contact him if you have any questions. He really wants to hear from anyone from Broad Oaks. Thanks...

A GREAT CHRISTMAS MEMORY
submitted by: Dahrie Christiansen Hayman (WI '64)
dhayman2@cfl.rr.com
Prior to actually moving to Clarksburg after my freshman year, I spent every summer (and more) in Hartland with my maternal Grandmother, Emma Axton. That's virtually where I grew up. So it was with great anticipation, excitement, and enthusiasm that at Christmas 1960 my parents announced that we'd be moving to Clarksburg the following summer. I'd get to spend even more time with my Grandmother (my idol); I'd graduate from the same High School (WI) as did my mother in 1937; and I'd wind up having some of the greatest times of my life. That present has lasted forever, and one that I can only hold in my heart.

CHRISTMAS MEMORY
submitted by: Janice Hall Sorrells McPherson (WI ’65)
janmcphrs@aol.com
Dearest Roleta,
Thank you for the note and I can't wait to see the Christmas issue. You are truly angels to keep us all connected in this way. Thanks for printing the pictures of Jim and me in the coal mines, he is retired now and away from the danger. We lost some dear neighbors in the Sago mine disaster. I hope my story is to your liking and approval.

My father was in the navy during WWII and there was a write up in the paper about some heroic thing he did so I will definitely be buying him a wreath, especially at that cost and they are so beautiful.

Some of the fondest memories I have as a child at Christmas were the Union Carbide Christmas parties. My father would always buy me a doll from a different country. Oh how I wish I had left them in there original boxes and not played with them. I remember a very special Peter Pan doll that I played with all the time. There was also a matador and just on and on, a doll from every country. Christmas was always so special at our home. Christmas Eve we would all go to Midnight Church and in the morning, Santa had always come by and left our fondest treasures and ate our cookies. We were so lucky to have been born in Clarksburg, WV, in the good ole USA. Even though, as a child, I can remember looking out at night at the one red tower light on the hill opposite our home and wonder why I had been born in such an out of the way place as I watched it blinking on and off. I guess that is when I first got the rambling fever. I met my first husband at Myrtle Beach and he was from Atlanta but somehow I knew it would not last forever. The Lord sometimes has other missions for us.

The greatest Christmas present I ever received was the birth of our son, Solomon Blake Everett Sorrells, who was born on December 24, 1970. I remember dear Dr. Harrison who said it would be two weeks before he was born but the funniest thing was he already had a room ready at UHC for me and sure enough our son was born on December 24, 1970 at 4:00 am. I know we all have memories of our children but to me he was so special. We had tried for a year to get pregnant and finally it happened and we both knew at the exact time it happened which is kind of unusual and special. Danny was in on Christmas leave from the Viet Nam war so all was right with the world.

Soon we were in Atlanta and here is a picture of us in our back yard, down by the creek, with our half terrier and half Labrador retriever named Winston.

Thank you for the opportunity to tell my story and to remember how special our town was to all of us. Since my great, great uncles built most of the old brick buildings in Clarksburg, I just had to go by and ask for a few old bricks from the old city building that was just torn down and the guy there was nice enough to help me get a few in the truck for memories.

I am home now, even though I live in Philippi, Clarksburg will always be my home. I am lucky enough to be doing what I love most and always wanted to do and that is teaching. I substitute for Harrison County in Clarksburg and would not really want to work anywhere else. The days of unlocked doors and neighbors and family dropping in all the time are fond memories and the special pepperoni rolls baked fresh every Sunday from Tomaro's bakery, I suppose we were always tomorrows' children. But let us not forget the really good Dununzio bread either. Oh, and the Oliverio peppers, my son called me excited last year because he actually had found Oliverio peppers in a store in Loganville, Georgia. WOW, was he excited. The sleigh riding, and, even, once, horse back riding in the snow. I remember the saddle was not fastened right and it slipped and there I was hanging on for dear life riding like an ole westerner sideways until someone stopped the horse and fixed the saddle. The days of ice skating and bon fires on the lake. Such happy memories. I remember telling my mother that I wish my son had experienced even half the fairy life child hood time that I did. We all have those memories and need to share them.

God Bless everyone and to all, a good night. Merry Christmas and let us all remember the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord. And for my friends of different religions we all know there is ONE MAKER. Remember when the Ten Commandments were in the front of the court house? The times they are a changing but change brings newness just as summer to fall and fall to winter and winter to spring blossoms.

MY BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT
submitted by: Jean Colasante Thomas (ND '61)
Thomas4Two@aol.com

I don't have to give this one much thought - the best Christmas gift I ever got was our first grandchild, Grason John Lord. Grason was born on December 14 but was born early and had some lung and jaundice issues. What a joy it was to be in the delivery room for his birth. When our daughter was released, Grason remained in the NICU in a Columbus hospital with us traveling there daily to visit with him. How excited and blessed we all were when we found out he would be coming home for Christmas. No material gift on this earth could ever surpass bringing a child home for Christmas. To all of you I wish a very blessed, safe, and happy holiday season. No matter what your beliefs may be, share them with your loved ones. They, in themselves, are the best gift to all of us.

MY BEST CHRISTMAS GIFT
submitted by: Jeanne Taylor Teter (WI '56)
teterrd@comcast.net

My best Christmas gift arrived on December 23, 1963. Every Christmas since then has been all the better for it. The gift of motherhood came in a beautiful and unique package, daughter Leslie, enlarging our family from two to three. Of course, I had no idea then that mothering would still be my primary focus 44 years later. Wow! Some gifts really do just keep on giving! Pictured from left to right are: son Tim, daughter-in-law Jenny, son-in-law Gil, daughter Leslie, me with Duffy the dog, granddaughter Alexis, grandson Nicholas, and my husband Roger. In front are grandchildren Christopher and Charlynn.

A CHRISTMAS GIFT
submitted by: John Harrison (WI '56)
johnh@teays.net
On a cold winter December day, the third day of the month, 1945, I was living in Princeton, WV with my father, Trooper Burr Harrison, West Virginia State Police, my mother Reva, and my older brother Bob. We had moved from Clarksburg the year before where I had gone to Towers Grade School in the first grade. Miss Hogan was a wonderful teacher but I missed my friends, teacher, and playmates as we moved to Princeton where my dad had been stationed.

On that day at around 5:00 p.m. the phone rang and it was my dad telling us that he would be home in a few minutes to have supper with us. Sadly, that was the last we heard from him. Some time between the time he called home and the time he would have left the office, he received another call. We could never find out exactly who called, but it was enough to have him run out of the office, jump into his cruiser and speed out of town on icy roads. Traveling at a high rate of speed, his car skidded out of control, crashed into several guardrail posts and plunged down a thirty foot embankment. He was thrown out of his car and into a small stream. The car landed on top of him and he drowned there that day.

I was only in the second grade and had never really been involved with the death of anyone, much less a close family member. I was unable to understand fully that my dad would not ever be coming back. Christmas was coming up and I began to understand that this would be the saddest Christmas of my short life. In fact, there would be no Christmas.

The Troopers who worked in the Princeton office knew how devastated I was and they got together, took up a collection and bought me a Christmas gift I will never forget. On Christmas morning they delivered to me a shiny new Flexible Flyer sled that my dad must have mentioned that I wanted. I will never forget that Christmas gift to a little boy who had lost so much and was trying desperately to make sense out of such a senseless event.

We returned to Clarksburg the following year and I came home to Towers Grade School. From there, it was on to Central Jr. High and finally to W.I. My schoolmate’s fathers became my father figures. The Alvaros, the Baileys, the Christies, and Vestpoints. They became my Christmas gift that was given so long ago by a small group of Troopers in Princeton, WV. The smallest gift can sometimes make the most lasting impression.

Have a wonderful Christmas this year from our family to each of yours.

SOME SAY HAPPY HOLIDAYS BUT I REPLY “MERRY CHRISTMAS”

Turn up your sound! Watch this video---
The pictures are about the band but their song is on the button:

“IT’S CALLED CHRISTMAS WITH A CAPITAL C!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAckfn8yiAQ

PRECIOUS CHILD

submitted by: Mere Gurson Schwartz (WI '57)
marmer1@comcast.net
Had to write and identify the mystery picture as Marolyn Tustin Jett. I lived across the street from her until I moved away in 1959. Marolyn and I had many good years living on the corner of Duff and Duncan. I remember when I was unhappy that she and Alice Wood started Morgan and I had to wait one more year.

submitted by: Bucky Tustin (WI '55)
glenwi55@yahoo.com
Looks like the Tustin girl in the 3rd or 4th grade, I did not send it into the news letter and not sure who did. Every brother should have a sister like Marolyn. Kind, generous, sensitive and can out talk me.

Remember when she had scarlet fever and quarantine sign was posted on the house. Dad could only go to work and back home. I was relegated to the house and back yard. It was a long six weeks. Had to wash her room down with Lysol to make sure the germs were under control. It was probably just as hard on her.

In the summers we would spend some time at our grandmother’s farm. Nearest neighbor was 5 miles away. Way out there! Pitching hay, hoeing corn, milking cows, and feeding chickens was an every day event. Farming is 24/7 with no time off. Had a pond to fish in and a grapevine to swing on. One day Carolyn, older sister and Marolyn decided to swing on the grapevine at the same time. Swinging out, while giggling and acting silly they both lost their grip and tumbled into a green briar patch. That wasn't so bad but the yellow jackets nest they landed in became a frenzy of squeals and screams and trying to see which one could run the fastest. I was the fastest because I had a head start. They caught me at the house because I was laughing so hard I couldn't run any more. Yes it is the tears, the laughter, and the memories that you rely on when your childhood is left behind. Possibly the bee stings too!

Have a great Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas and many Happy New Years.

P.S. Marolyn, it's wonderful to be your brother and I would know you anywhere.

MAIN STREET BUSINESS PLACES
submitted by: Roleta
Roleta1@aol.com
EDITOR'S NOTE:In the November newsletter, I ask for the readers to write and try to name the stores on Main Street…..Only one replied. Thanks Freddie, you are amazing and so much help!

submitted by: Fred G. Layman (VHS '46)
FGL46VHS@aol.com
This is a list of some business places that were located from 3rd Street up to 4th Street from 1950 to 1960. Merchants Nat. Bank, Livingston Brothers, Nusbaums, Wells-Haymaker Drug Store, Aarons Shoes, Kyle Photo Shop, Byrd Pharmacy, Sport Shop, Home Industry Bakery, Rex Heck News Stand, Orpheum Theatre, Hagan Ice Cream, Marilyn Shoes, C.C. Keys Music Store, G.C. Murphy Five & Dime, McCrory Five & Dime, W.T. Grant Five & Dime, F.W. Woolworth Five & Dime, Lerner Shop, Smart Shop, Vicki Frocks, Darling Shop, Kiddie Shop, Arlenes Womens Shop, Sidneys Beauty Shop, Kinney Shoe Store, Creighton Music Store, Rands Drug Store, Rogers Jewelry Store, Andersons Restaurant, Western Union and House Hold Finance.

Also the Arcade Building contained 35 business places.

PRAYER REQUEST
We are asking for prayer requests this month for

Bob Secret (WI 1960) rlsecret@aol.com

Bobby's mailing address is: 741 Mulberry Avenue Clarksburg, WV 26301

Also add a prayer for another friend…Jim Pulice (WI 1962) who has been struggling to recover at Johns Hopkins Hospital. I recently heard that he is being moved to a rehabilitation center.

WREATH FOR A LOVED ONE’S GRAVE
submitted by: Roleta Smith Meredith (WI '59)
Roleta1@aol.com
I hope enough people placed Christmas wreaths on the graves in Clarksburg to make a pretty sight and I hope SOMEONE WILL SEND ME a picture of a graveyard in Clarksburg that has several wreaths…..I have heard that a few have appeared. You can buy a wreath with a red bow and place it yourself…or as I mentioned last month, if you want a wreath placed on the grave of a veteran loved one for Christmas, just call Donna and see if you can still have this done.

Donna's Holiday Shop and Florist
(304) 622-6541
8:00 to 5:00 Mon thru Fri and 8:00 to 12:00 noon on Sat

YOU CAN BUY A WREATH WITH A BIG RED BOW AND PLACE IT ON A GRAVE YOURSELF…..
DO IT THIS CHRISTMAS FOR YOUR LOVED ONE!

NEW CALENDAR
submitted by: Roleta Smith Meredith (WI '59)
Roleta1@aol.com
It is time to get out a new calendar and start marking those important dates for 2008. Put a big picnic basket on Saturday, March 1, 2008 to be at the CLARKSBURG PICNIC if you can make it to Sarasota, Florida. Many live within 2 or 3 hour drive to Sarasota… (most people in Florida!) Some people drive from other states and stay a night or two. So come see old classmates, neighbors, relatives, that kid who was a freshman when you were a junior or perhaps the person you delivered papers to, or babysat….even a former co-worker or employer. We have had all of this happen at the Clarksburg Picnic. We have people attend who graduated in the 40’s clear through to the 70’s and maybe into the 80’s. So come and join us. BUT SAVE THAT DATE!

SPORTS
submitted by: Bill Meredith (Monongah HS '57)
billmere@aol.com
Being from North Central W.Va., I still follow high school and college sports, not only in that area, but statewide. I am amazed that no one has written about the great football being played by Harrison County high schools this year. As of this date, R.C. Byrd is undefeated going into the state playoffs and Bridgeport has only lost one game, that being to R.C. Byrd by four points. I'm sure those of you living in the Clarksburg area know this, but we who are not fortunate enough to live there welcome any news from home. PLEASE, keep us informed about how the local teams are doing. Even though we are living far away, our hearts are still in West Virginia.

Write to: Roleta1@aol.com with Sports news, discussions and updates!

SPORTS GUESS WHO
submitted by: Boo Beall (ND '58)
bbeall2@verizon.net

Do you recognize the man pictured above? Write your guess to Roleta1@aol.com. Remember I only print correct guesses which include a memory.

KAREN POE ALVARO AND RAY NITSCHKE
submitted by: Fred Alvaro (WI '59)
FAlvaro33@aol.com

Karen Poe Alvaro with Ray Nitschke, all-pro linebacker of the Green Bay Packers.
Ray Nitschke was in Columbus, Ohio for a "Sports Celebrity Golf Tourrnament" at The Little Turtle Country Club where we were members. We had met him the evening before in the Holiday Inn lounge where he and other sports' guests were staying and sat and talked with him for most of the evening about the Green Bay Packers and our children. The following day during the tournament, he recognized us (Karen) and I took a picture. The boy in the golf cart is our son, Chad who is now practicing law in Orlando, Fl.; so this photo had to be about 1981-1982.

GATOR BOWL

Pictured above is Rex Zickefoose (WI 1959) dressed up as a Mountaineer Fan! I think he wins the prize as the biggest FAN! If you have a picture of some Mountaineer fans, send them to me.. Roleta1@aol.com, I will place them in the newsletter.

MOUNTAINEER FAN
submitted by: Bill Meredith (Monongah HS '57)
billmere@aol.com
I must admit it; I live and die with each WVU game, whether it be football or basketball. I'm even getting interested in the women's basketball team. I watch the games on TV when available or listen to them on Sirius Radio. I've been following WVU sports since the late 1940's. I never missed Jack Fleming broadcasting the games on radio. Seeing Jerry West and Co. playing while attending WVU is still one of my fondest memories. I'm a basket case when the Mountaineers are in a close game. As I wrote in last month's newsletter, the ride home from the WVU-South Florida football game a few weeks ago was the low point of the year. (We gave the game away!) Roleta has to try to calm me down each time Slaton or White fumbles, or the defense doesn't "blitz" when I think they should. I met a young lady a couple of years ago who told me her father was such a big WVU fan that he wouldn't watch the games on TV anymore, since he feared he would have a heart attack due to the stress. He taped each game. If they won the game, he would watch it later. If they lost, he erased the tape. I probably should do the same thing, but as ABC-TV used to say, that would take away “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”. GO MOUNTAINEERS !!!

BOB CLOUSSON STATS AT WVU
Bob Clousson (WI '55) played basketball at WVU. These are his basketball statistics and records from http://www.wvustats.com/. This site has a "Player Lookup" where you can input the name of any sports player and get their stats.

WEB ADDRESS FOR WVU SPORTS
submitted by: Boo Beall (ND '58)
bbeall2@verizon.net
http://msnsportsnet.com/ Roleta,
The web address displayed above is one of the best for getting information about WVU sports. I send this along to you just as a matter of information, you may already be aware of this site. Most of us that live out of West Virginia and don't subscribe to the Morgantown or Fairmont Newspapers (best papers for WVU sports) use MSNSports for our info. Actually some folks in WV use it. Also you might want to pass the following info along.

I just discovered that if you use Verizon as an ISP they have an agreement with ESPN and you can log on to ESPN and go to ESPN360 and watch some WVU sports over the Internet on your computer. I am not sure if other ISPs have this agreement or not. If you are a Verizon user go here...... http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/espn360/index or just type in www.espn360.com and follow the directions. This is very neat, you can watch up to six games at a time, select from a menu of live or recently completed games, it has a DVR feature (pause, rewind, and fast forward), and you can select how you view the event (full screen, compact, or mosaic). AND THE BEST PART (if you are Verizon user)........IT IS ALL FREE!!!

DATELINE—NOON—Dec.1, 2007 SUN CITY/HILTON HEAD, SC
submitted by: Don Sager (WI '56)
dks@davtv.com
“Under the ArmPitt! Hey! Under the ArmPitt! Hey”!
That was pretty rowdy in the stands during the early 60’s when I never, ever missed a football game at Mountaineer Field. Rain or Shine. I don’t remember my 4 yrs. having a nickname although we did beat the Hated Panthers a couple of times. Gene Corum had just taken over as Coach from “Pappy” and he was having a tough time. The fall of ‘64 after I graduated, the Mountaineers did play in the first indoor bowl game at the Liberty Bowl.

I just read an on-line article by Mike Patrick, tonights ESPN game announcer. He was a graduate of WI in 1962. (Perhaps he should be added to the Newsletter distribution). Anyhow, he said that he figured out the “Backyard Brawl” was pretty serious stuff at age 12 when his uncle took him to Mountaineer Field and he saw a Nun carrying a sign that said “Beat the Hell out of Pitt”.

We have written many times about our touch football games over the years in front of Joe’s Dairy Bar in Broad Oaks while the radio was blasting the Saturday games with Jack Fleming announcing. My first time to actually get to go to a game was in the early 1950s. Pat Elder’s father drove us to Pittsburgh for the WVU game. Pat has written a great deal about his father in the Newsletter and everything is true—he was a quiet gentleman who I always respected. There was a stream of cars carrying fans from Uniontown on in. We were brave enough to yell for WVU out of the cracked car windows in the Tunnels. And then us two little kids from Broad Oaks were in awe of the Pitt Stadium and the crowd. A little bigger than Hite Field. I cannot describe in words the excitement when we beat PITT. We ran down onto the field. The WVU fans were ripping down the wooden goal posts and I still have a piece of the goal post. (see below). We rolled the windows all the way down on the way back home cheering for the Mountaineers.

(Break time while I see if I can get the BB game on the Computer.) Got it. I usually run up www.WVAQ.com and they carry the MSN Network. WVU Wins over Wintrop 70-53. Now next stop, on to church to sing at the Saturday service. Probably will offer up some prayers for the Gold & Blue! Surely, West “By Gawd” Virginia will give us a leg up on Pitt. Stopping for pizza on the way home to go with the brews.

I am really hyped………Last time we had a game this important was when the Domers piled on Major Harris………boy, I really can’t stand Holtz and he hates to admit that he was born in WV. And I don’t claim him either. Well, got the pizza and beer. Planting my wide body in front of the 55” Sony in HD. End of first quarter---worried. Halftime—a little more panic with Patrick hurt. The boys are playing uptight. Thanks to the refs we are at least up 4. End of 3rd quarter----having trouble breathing !!!!

End of game----###%%&&@@*** IF WE COULDN’T WIN IT, WE DON’T DESERVE IT. Guess I will hit “send”…………….

Just like the Brooklyn Dodgers---Wait till next year !!!

"SUNDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK"
submitted by: Pat Elder (ND '57)
st1pat@aol.com
I had a bad feeling before we started the game--there was absolutely no chatter on the internet from this Clarksburg group. I thought the fear had left us after that terrible Sugar Bowl experience w/ Wyant & the boys when we won against Georgia 2 yrs. ago. Apparently not. However, I remained highly optimistic even into the late 4th qtr. Dave Wannsteat willed that game to Pitt. I just had knee surgery & to watch him on that sidelines swinging those crutches, jumping on his bad leg w/o them, taking off his coat when it was really cold, yelling at the refs, shouting instant orders, the fake fg, running up & down the sidelines--sorry RR, he really, really wanted that he simply "willed" it to Pitt.

In my last yr. at NDHS, we opened with Grafton H S in '56/'57. We ran a single wing to confuse our competition & it resulted in an offense similar to WVU in the sense that we gained all our yards right up the middle. Grafton had a little linebacker very similar to #40 LB from Pitt that leads the NCAA in tackles. The Grafton LB was not big,maybe 5-10 & 165 lbs at most but just lightning fast with a terrific nose for the ball. Sam Fernandez was our blocker assigned to him. Sam went on to all-amer. linebacker for the Miami Hurricanes & played 14 yrs. for the Hamilton Tigercats in the Canadian League & was MVP LB several times, maybe,5. But, Sam could not catch their linebacker & put a block on him one simple time. I think that is how Grafton became Div 1 state champs that year. I didn't think the rest of them stood out at all, except their all-state Tackle, Tom Cuplet, who was a handful, & a running back named Garrett. He was about 6-1 & a loaded 215 lbs. Some of you reading this probably remember these guys.

Well, last night I saw the the same thing with that # 40 from Pitt, K_______?. He was unstoppable & plugged the middle totally. As Sun am qb, I kept yelling "fake the middle & dump a pass over him & what about left end & what about right end & oh by the way, does anyone remember how to throw long?" That would have opened up the middle some.The way it was Pitt just laid back off the line a little bit & said "come to momma". I fully expected RR to read that---he never did. Do you remember the 2 holding calls on the tight end,#88 ?? I thought Wannsteadt was going to wrap a crutch or 2 around the official's head & I would have been sympathetic to him if he did.

You all know & remember Sheriff Tiano, who refereed around W.Va. for years. Sheriff was refereeing the WVU--Pitt basketball game in Morgantown. It was a close game coming down to the wire, when a WVU & a Pitt player were fighting over a ball that went out of bounds. The Pitt player picked it up & positioned himself to make an in-bounds pass as if it were Pitt's out. Sherrif came running to the sideline & yelled to the Pitt player,"no, no; it's our ball" & handed it over to the WVU player to in-bound. Sheriff still laughs to this day telling that story when he made the big slip. When Wannsteadt went crazy on both holding calls--I just thought of Sheriff Tiano, a Clarksburg legend!

I don't have a clue what happened to the kicking game or why we were fumbling. It just seems that the story of this bunch of players will be that they couldn't stand prosperity. They have the talent to win the nat.championship, but they need the Bill Belichek focus. I was so sick after the game that I went to bed & darned if I didn't end up dreaming about the Sugar Bowl "again" & I woke up in a sweat thinking of Marconi, Wyant,Gene Lamont?? (lineman) & all of that gang. But you know for a little state like W. Va. to have such a great program & gain national prominence--it is terrific!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I applaud Coach Rodriquez & the whole program. Weren't too many other people in the country that were that close. Go Eers in the Fiesta !!!!!!

"BACKYARD WOOPIN"
submitted by: Jim Alvaro (WI '56)
jalvaro@aol.com
Made me sick as hell. Pitt's defensive coach should earn a medal for that one. He had Slaton, White, and Devine figured out so that they could not even get a start and if they did they were stopped by the line. Our defense should not be chastised due to the time they spent on the field and they still did not give up many points. There were a lot of if 's in that game but it boiled down to they were prepared and we weren't. Pitt came to play and they gave us a "BACKYARD WOOPIN."

With the play of Slaton, it looks like he will be with the Mountaineers next year.

We will probably play OK in the Fiesta Bowl. We can't give up on them.

MENTAL COLLAPSE
submitted by: Fred Alvaro (WI '59)
falvaro33@aol.com
The disappointing loss to Pitt is a prime example of 'mental collapse' following the overwhelming victory over the talented University of Connecticut team. We would have been better off by beating them by one or two touchdowns. The injury to quarterback White should not have affected our great team that much; the entire team was flat. Why not run the freshman, Devine, more often in the second half? He seems to gain 10-20 yards every time he touches the ball. Oh well....our Mountaineers still had a fantastic season. Also very disappointing to me, Bill, Roleta, and Bud (Collins) were our hopes for a WVU vs OSU title game .

BOWL GAME
submitted by: Rex Zickefoose (WI '59)
rexzickefoose@hrea.coop
Have a nice time at the Bowl Game that WVU plays in this year but I think I won't make this one. When it was possible I really liked the thought of WV facing Ohio State. The truth is I would rather they play OSU than VT.

I guess it was just never supposed to be.

VETERANS HISTORY PAGE
submitted by: Boo Beall (ND '58)
Bbeall2@verizon.net
About six or eight months ago I was reading my Wonderful West Virginia Magazine and saw a note on the Veterans History Project. I went to the web page and a link sent me to the Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/vets/

My father and my uncle served in the U. S. Army during World War II and after reading what all was written in the November WI Newsletter about memories of WWII, decided to share some of this information with you. You might want to take a look at the link and decide if you want to write something in a future Newsletter.

My father served in the Pacific Theatre and my uncle served in the European theatre during the war. I have compiled about 20 pages of information on my uncle so far, collecting it from his children, my grandmother's scrap book, and my own memories. I have not submitted it to the Library yet, but will do so soon. My father's information was a little easier to come by, and I have about 90% of his info complete. I have more on my uncle because he was career military. My father was thirty years old when he left for the service. Like most American men of the time, he felt it was his responsibility to server his country in time of war.

Anyway, my note to you is not about my father and uncle but the project that the Library of Congress is working on to get as much info on those who fought in WWII as possible. After reading the November Newsletter I know there are a lot of memories that should be recorded in the Library about the servicemen from Clarksburg and throughout West Virginia.

PS: This link will take you to info posted to the Famous West Virginians page. http://members.aol.com/jeff560/famousb.html Go to the B's and scroll down to Philip D. Beall. Philip is my uncle.

EDITOR’S NOTE: You can check out many Famous West Virginians by visiting the site http://members.aol.com/jeff560/famousb.html suggested above by Boo (as the place to check out his uncle). All you need to do to check out a different last name…..is copy the address and paste it in your web browser….Go to the suggested web page then scan to the bottom of that page and click on a different letter to research any you wish. I wanted to look to see if there was a Smith I might know so I clicked on the S…nobody I knew, so I went to the bottom of the S page and clicked on the M to see if there was a Meredith…No one I knew listed there either. I think you will enjoy this site.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Louis J. “Zeke” Trupo
Louis J. Trupo was born in Clarksburg, WV in 1919. “Zeke” as he is known to his many friends, was born the second son of Italian immigrants, Leonard J and Domenica (Minnie) Michele Trupo, who came to America and landed on Ellis Island from Noepoli, Italy (Provence of Potenza). Louis is one of six children, 2 brothers and 3 sisters: Russell (deceased), Marie (deceased), Theresa (deceased), Francis and Joseph. Louis was raised in the Adamston section of Clarksburg. He graduated from Victory High School in 1937. He was active in many sports including basketball, wrestling, and baseball. In 1933 he won the Clarksburg Marble Tournament and tied for second in the Southeastern U.S. Marble Championship in New Jersey. “Zeke” also played on the 1939 State Champion Fast Pitch Softball Team. While attending Salem College he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942. An avid outdoorsman, he loved to fish, hunt and play golf.

A veteran of World War II, Louis was a radio telephone communications specialist in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was wounded on the Island of Tinian by a sniper’s bullet with wounds over his heart and right leg. A prayer missal and spoon he carried in his pocket and his dog tags that hung around his neck deflected the bullet, that otherwise would have struck his heart. Louis was recognized in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” for this. He received a Purple Heart for bravery and wounds received in this battle. He returned to battle on Iwo Jima and was wounded with mortar shell during the battle. He received a second Purple Heart for this battle. God answered his prayers and returned him home to his family. Louis was discharged in November of 1945.

Louis worked for Fourco Glass Company for 31 years as a maintenance foreman. He was a founding member and President of the Harrison County Emergency Squad for two terms and a volunteer member for more than 12 years. Louis was a first aid instructor and an emergency medical technician. He was also a member of the Central WV Management Club and Past President of the Clarksburg Deanery N.N.C. Men. Zeke was first elected as Justice of the Peace and then continued as a Harrison County Magistrate for 14 ½ years before retiring. He has been an active member of his community; Louis was a member of the Bridgeport City Council and past President of the Bridgeport Kiwanis Club. He is also a life member of the Military Order of Purple Heart, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans.

In 1946, Louis married Ada Pinion. They are the parents of three children: Dr. and Mrs. Joseph (Debbie) Trupo of Elkins, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas (Jona) Michel of Bridgeport, and Mr. Louis Trupo Jr. of Columbus, OH. Louis and Ada have six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Louis is a member of All Saints Church in Bridgeport, where he has been an usher for over 50 years. Louis, Ada and family often travel to their hometown in Italy to visit their relatives. Louis is proud of his heritage, his strong belief in faith and family values are cornerstones in what his hard working Italian parents have passed on and he hopes to carry on their Italian heritage and traditions for generations to come.

INSPIRATIONAL STORY
submitted by: Roleta
Roleta1@aol.com
I know this has absolutely nothing to do with Clarksburg but it is such an inspirational story that I think you will enjoy taking a minute to watch this video, just copy this address into your web browser. Count your blessings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTiYA1WiY8

NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES

Tara Secret (WI '91)	Seeks73@aol.com
Ashlee Secret (RCByrd '98)	asecretmedico@gmail.com
Gwen Clifton Clark (VHS '56)	bsktgwen@charter.net
Marty Elliott (WI '57)	rustyelliott1@bellsouth.net
Joy A.Scott Striplin (ND '60)	jstriplin@shc.edu
Robert T. Combs (WI '63)	robert.t.combs@irs.gov
Michael (Mike) Elyard (WI '76)	michael.elyard@charter.net
Brad Andrews (WI '74)	BACHSE@aol.com
Eleanor Queen Heflin (WI '51)	cqh223@aol.com

“THINK SPRING”

This beautiful quilt is almost ready to be given away to the lucky winner. That could be you! All profit from the sale of tickets for the quilt drawing goes to the WIN (WI Newsletter) Scholarship. Thus more than one will WIN because of the sale of tickets for the quilt. So you say quilts aren’t your thing? Well, buy some tickets to help the scholarship and if you win, donate the quilt back to me and we will sell tickets again for it! Sounds like a real money maker to me. The sale of tickets last year put over $900.00 into the WIN Scholarship bank account. Please try to top that this year. That enabled us to give $5,000.00 in scholarships to graduates from R.C. Byrd High School---(that is where you would be graduating from if you lived in the WI, RW or Kelly Miller area today).

Contact Sue Selby Moats who is putting the quilt together….and it is Sue who came up with this idea and does all the organizing. Email her right now…just click on her email address and write to her about how you get your tickets. When finished just send your mail and you will return right here to the newsletter…it’s so easy. Moatsue@aol.com. Tickets are 6 for $5.00 Thank you for supporting this project and thus you are supporting the WIN Scholarship!

TICKETS WERE BOUGHT THIS MONTH BY:: Gladys Williams, Patty Stealey and Gene Davis…Thanks to each of you for supporting the WIN Scholarship.

BARBARA BOREMAN’S COOKIES
submitted by: Steve Limbers (WI '57)
Slimberses@aol.com
I just had a homemade cookie, warm from the oven. First time since I started my low fat, low cholesterol diet in 1997! I had copied Barbara Boreman's recipe from the newsletter and showed Sandy, who said it wouldn't make a cookie and that there must have been some sort of error in transmission of the recipe. But she tried it. She used an egg substitute and natural peanut butter. Excellent! This is just another reason to love the newsletter!

If you know Barbara's address, please pass on my thanks. Sandy's sister Judy (Lough) was in Barbara's class so she might remember Sandy.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This recipe was printed in the November issue of the WI Newsletter. If you wish a copy – just go to the bottom of this newsletter, click on archives and then click on NOV. (under past issues) then scan down to the recipe section. Copy and paste into a new document and then print it out. Or do it the regular way, copy it with a pencil onto a 3x5 card!

WIN SCHOLARSHIP
Gifts to the WIN Scholarship were sent to me this month by:

Don Sager

Nancy Starett

Dave McMunn and wife Sandy Conwell McMunn

If you wish to give a gift to help a student with their first year college expenses, you can send your gift to me:

Write check to: Roleta Meredith/WIN Scholarship

Mail to:
Roleta Meredith
c/o Meredith Brothers, Inc.
3025 Switzer Ave.
Columbus, Ohio 34240

Thanks

MY APOLOGIES
submitted by: Roleta Smith Meredith (WI '59)
Roleta1@aol.com
I must apologize. I put an article in the newsletter last month about sending a Christmas card to an injured soldier in the hospital…Well, it was sent to me by so many people that I never questioned its authenticity. I did not take the time to Google the subject. I very seldom Google---I should but I don’t…shame on me. The point is, DON’T SEND A CHRISTMAS CARD TO THAT ADDRESS. The cards will not be given to anyone without a name on it! So if you want to do something here is a place to do it!

Here's something nice to do for our SOLDIERS, I just did it a couple of times— please read and follow your heart.

Something cool that Xerox is doing ---you can do this and when finished, you will return right here to the newsletter!

If you go to this web site, http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! This is a great site. Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them...

BOYS CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS

In the picture on the left is Bill Wilfong (WI '58), on Santa's lap is Dick Fitch (WI '56) and standing behind Santa is Mike Shaffer (WI '58). This picture was taken at O J Morrison store one cold wintry night when we three had nothing to do. Santa was not busy and welcomed our company. He even asked us what we wanted Santa to bring us that year.

MEATBALL RECIPE
I think I have requested meatball recipes many times in the past . Well, this time three ladies responded. Now none of you have an excuse for not cooking a big pot of meatballs and spaghetti for dinner tonight. It won’t take long according to the recipes below. Thanks ladies, it is good to know you read the newsletter! Ciao! Roleta1@aol.com

submitted by: Margaret Maiocco (WI '65)
mlmaiocco@cox.net
Attached please find my meatball recipe. Over the years I have tried to perfect it and finally wrote it down. It is a combination of many recipes of people from Clarksburg. I hope you enjoy. I was lucky enough to grow up in Italian neighborhood and have enjoyed and cooked Italian foods as long as I can remember.

MEATBALLS
2 # Lean Ground Beef or 1# Beef and 1# Italian Sausage (remove from casings)
2 C. Italian bread crumbs/Progresso
4 large eggs
½ C. grated Parmesan Cheese
1 TBSP Parsley
1 Clove Garlic, minced (or 1 Tsp. garlic powder)
1 tsp. salt (too much) no salt necessary
Dash pepper 1 small onion, minced

Combine all ingredients and mix well with hands. Form into balls of desired size. Brown meatballs in skillet in olive oil or skillet sprayed with Pam. Makes appx. 25 meatballs depending on size.

Start Sauce before making meatballs

SAUCE
2-3 Large cans of Tomato Puree (I prefer Progresso)
2-3 16 oz cans of Tomato Sauce (Hunts)
Basil (fresh or dried)
Garlic/minced / amount to taste
Chopped onion - small

Lightly sauté fresh, minced Garlic, chopped onion (if desire) in a large saucepan in olive oil ‘til translucent. Add Basil (dried or fresh), pepper. One can not add too much garlic (my opinion) Other seasonings may be added; i.e., Italian seasoning, oregano, Bay Leaves

Add meatballs to sauce and cook 2-4 hours.
May add additional Italian sausage links, beef cubes or chicken to sauce.

submitted by: Betty Miller (WI '48)
betts08@verizon.net
Hi Roleta, you don't hear from me often, but I couldn't resist the request for a good, make that fabulous meatball recipe. In 1954 my husband Marvin and I lived on Point Street, in Broad Oaks, We had two children, a daughter Stephanie who was barely 16 months old and a new baby, our son David. Next door lived a couple by the name of Majesky. They had no children and quickly adopted ours giving them much love and attention. Toots, as she was called, shared a recipe with me for Spaghetti and meatballs which quickly became a family favorite. I have been making it ever since and have served it to and shared it with more people than I can name. Everyone loves it and my family thinks there are no better meatballs anywhere on earth so, here goes and I hope everyone likes it as much as we do. I usually double the recipe and of course freeze the meatballs in the sauce.

BETTY'S MEATBALLS.....

1 lb. regular ground beef
5 slices of stale bread
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tb dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Soak bread in hot water, squeeze out water and place in bowl
Add all other ingredients to bowl

Break up beef and mix well, but gently, with your hands until all ingredients are incorporated (Your meatballs will be tender and never tough if you mix gently)

Form into balls, (whatever size you like), and gently drop into spaghetti sauce that is simmering on the stove.

Cook for 30 to 40 minutes depending on size.

I do not fry or precook the meatballs, and I think that is the secret to a tender delicious meatball.

If you want the spaghetti sauce recipe, I will gladly send it. It is sooooo delicious too and cooks in only 1 1/2 hours including the meatballs.

submitted by: Melissa Phillips (WI '71)
mountaineermaven@verizon.net
This recipe for meatballs and sauce was given to me by Alex Cava's former wife. Alex Cava was one of the most renowned athletes to have graduated from WI. It was his mother's recipe.

MEATBALLS

1 loaf of Italian bread
3 lb. ground beef
6 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2C parsley flakes
1C Parmesan cheese
Garlic Salt
Salt
Pepper

Cut loaf of Italian bread in half width-wise. Soak in water for a minute. Squeeze excess water out. Pull into little pieces. Mix well with the other ingredients. Season to taste. (I have found that it takes lots of garlic salt, salt and pepper.) Mixture will be sticky to handle. Roll into balls. Cook in sauce for 1 hour over a low flame.

SAUCE

1 onion chopped
Olive Oil
1 small pork chop
1 small can of tomato paste
1 large can of tomatoes and 3 cans of water
Parsley
Parmesan Cheese
Garlic Salt
Salt & Pepper

Brown onions in a kettle. Add other ingredients. Simmer 2 hours. Add meatballs. Cook 1 more hour.

MEMORIES
submitted by: Ron Watkins (VHS '54)
ronw@tx.rr.com
I just finished the November Newsletter, and as far as I'm concerned you can keep on saying it's the best one yet. You gals outdo yourselves every month. I was thinking it would be nice to just reflect on some of the items in the newsletter that brought back memories of our days in Clarksburg some good----some bad. Example someone mentioned breaking the orange packet for the margarine to turn it yellow, remember it well just hadn't thought of if of 50 years. (What the young kids are missing).

I think a niece mentioned Ulysses Buffington, and his photography studio, remember him well as he was the driving force of the Barbershop Chorus, which I sang in. Used to do shows all over town. Also the building he was in on Pike Street had a nice health club, and a swimming pool.

Many have mentioned The Exponent Telegram, my grand dad, Walter "Baldy" Watkins worked there for over 50 years as type setter.

And who could forget Veteran's Day, Victory- WI. It didn't matter what our records were it was the game of the season.

See just a few minutes of reading and all of these great memories, plus I have been in touch via e-mail and phone with people I haven't heard from in 50 years. You may think of it as a monthly newsletter but I, and I am sure others, think of it as a reminder of the great years we had in Clarksburg. Keep it coming and I wish you and your family, along with all of your readers, a very MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.

TRIVIA PICTURE IN THE NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

NOTE FROM JUDY: The November Trivia Picture stumped everyone but Fred Layman. He is our historian and as always finds the correct information for us. The picture was sent in by Wilford Johnson WI 1942. It included the information shown above. If you notice the rates and the phone #, it was a really long time ago. Sam Wiland and Tim Mcconnell, the new owners also

submitted by: Fred G. Layman (VHS '46)
FGL46VHS@AOL.COM
The latest trivia photo is of the residence located at the corner of Coleman Ave. and 960 West Pike Street. It was one of several beautiful homes built in Clarksburg in the earlier days. In 1929 Real Estate Agent Joseph Thorne lived there. Other families living there later were Homer Holt and Eugene L. Means. It was also the location of two tourist homes, Suncrest and McCoy. In 1952 Harold Stevens purchased the property and opened up Lida Clark Nursing Home. In the early seventies Mary R. Folio purchased the property from Mr. Stevens and still called it Lida Clark Nursing Home. The nursing home changed hands again in 1992 and was purchased by Opal Cottrill. She closed the nursing home in 2003. The house was then put up for sale and sold a couple years later.

Sam Wiland and Tim Mcconnell are the new owners and sent Wilford the following letter.

I was excited to see the picture you submitted for the WI newsletter, It happens to be the home that my friend and I are restoring back to its period year of 1911. Any pictures of The magnificent Thorne home, Thorne tourist home, Suncrest tourist home or Lida Clark nursing home, would surely be appreciated since that one showed a us a great deal of detail to the front porch area of the home that was removed sometime before we purchased it. Our goal is to bring this back to its original state.

TRIVIA PICTURE

Do you recognize the place pictured above? There are 2 different views of the same building. Write your guess to Roleta1@aol.com. Remember I only print correct guesses which include a memory.

TROPHY ROOMS AT R.C. Byrd
submitted by: Arreta Radcliffe Jaranko (WI '40)
dradclif@ma.rr.com
Last newsletter I was interested in the pictures from the Trophy Room at RCB and was surprised that there were no WI letters for girls. I earned my letter when I was in high school and it is shaped differently from the letters that the boys earned. I still have it and am sorry that I do not have a scanner so that I can send a picture of it. The "W" is shaped differently and it is smaller. My gym teacher was Virginia Heckert. I think that is how she spelled her name.She had group goals and individual goals for the girls and I remember how tough it was to earn a letter. I took all four years of gym as I did not want to take Home Ec. Sorry now that I didn't as I would love to know how to sew.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you remember girls receiving letters when you were in school? Write to me about it at Roleta1@aol.com.

BEST HARRISON COUNTY BLOG
Check out this blog—save it in your Favorites file…

http://harrisoncounty.wordpress.com

submitted by: Jeanne Colasante Thomas (ND '61)
Thomas4two@aol.com

Was up at 3:30 am (thank you time change) reading the WI Newsletter - it was well worth the wait. I agree, it was one of the best. Thanks for doing such a wonderful job under difficult circumstances.

submitted by: Arreta Radcliffe Jaranko (WI '40)
dradclif@ma.rr.com

Yes, Roleta, my brother died. His name is Darrell Marvin Radcliffe, WI Class of 1946. He is the one that was in 82nd Airborne and who was sent to West Point. He was there for 2 years but came home to take care of our parents. He was the only one unmarried at the time and the youngest, and he felt it was his duty. Colonel Johnson, who was head of West Point at the time, told him if he left he would be making the worst mistake of his life and told my brother to go home for a week, then he would call him that next Friday to see if his decision was still to stay home. And it was. I don't think my brother regretted that decision although he loved West Point and was proud of his time there. He was a Civil Engineer and licensed professional surveyor who worked at Consolidated Gas for 40 years. Many men and women came to me at his funeral to tell me how much they owed "Jug" (His nickname) , their jobs, their training or just being pointed in the right direction. So many things he didn't tell me. He was a wonderful person. I sure do miss him. Thanks for asking.

submitted by: Diane Cork Sullivan (WI '52)
n1tdf@hotmail.com

I forgot I signed on to receive your letter. I fell the end of Sept. and cracked my pelvis, have not been to my computer since, because it is in the basement till this evening-- imagine my surprise, to see something I had written enclosed in your newsletter. I really enjoyed hearing from some I knew and others I didn’t know before.

submitted by: Sue Robinson Pierson (WI '65)
NJSUSIEQ@aol.com

I just have to let you know what a terrific issue you published this month. Thanks to all of those who wrote what their lives were like during WWll. My dad passed away and never would talk about the War. He served in the Philippines and I especially enjoyed hearing those stories. It was fascinating. For the many of us who no longer live in WV - your newsletter is a real link to our roots and brings back all of those memories of neighborhoods, friends, and family.

OBITUARIES
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an unusual way to do an obituary for someone, but Yup Yup must have been a most unusual man. I am sure many people will remember him and I wanted to include all the letters sent to me about his death…

submitted by: Fred G. Layman (VHS'46)
FGL46VHS@AOL.COM
Do you remember when attending ball games at Hite Field that there was always a man standing on the little hill side with a transistor radio held to his ear while also watching the ball game and kinda jerky??? I'm sure you remember the name "HENRY". He was always known as "YUP, YUP HENRY". He died last Friday in Sundale Nursing Home in Morgantown. His given name was Henry Drosky. He could never write and was a poor reader. Had a defect since birth. He was real sports fan - also attended WVU football and basket ball games. They never charged him at any game as was the case locally. In fact Coach Don Nehlan and some of his football players visited him in the nursing home and gave him an autographed ball. He was 85 years young. He was the last member of his immediate family. Thought you would like to know in case you remembered him.

RIP YUP-YUP
Posted By John Antonik: November 13, 2007 (9:41 am)

PAUL WISE SENT THIS TO ME. I DIDN'T KNOW HENRY WENT TO MORGANTOWN. I GUESS HE WAS REALLY A TRUE SPORTS FAN.

West Virginia home games with his trademark cheer “Ding it out!” Whenever Tommy used to wander around the Coliseum concourse former basketball coach John Beilein would stop practice and wouldn’t let the team continue until Tommy yelled “Ding it!”

Yesterday, Morgantown said good-bye to Henry Drosky, another fixture at WVU athletic events for many years. Henry, 85, was better known as “Yup-Yup” because he often muttered that phrase watching West Virginia games or while walking around town.

Those of us living in Morgantown consider Yup-Yup just as much a part of West Virginia University athletics as Major Harris or Kevin Pittsnogle. Usually armed with a cup of coffee and his transistor radio, Yup-Yup never missed a game or a score.

Gale Catlett used to put money in his pocket and give him rides downtown. Other WVU coaches did likewise.

Guys like Yup-Yup, Chop ‘Em Down and Tommy have always made the games a little more interesting and enjoyable to watch. Their ranks may be thinning, but the bond remains strong.

Rest in Peace Yup-Yup.

MORGANTOWN SAYS FAREWELL TO ‘YUP YUP' MAN
by Evelyn Ryan
The Dominion Post

MORGANTOWN -- Morgantown has lost one of its noted personalities.

Henry Drosky, 85, known as "Yup Yup" for his habit of muttering that phrase as he walked the streets of Morgantown, was laid to rest at East Oak Grove Cemetery on Monday. Mark Staud, a friend who went to his funeral, said more people who knew Henry would have been there if his well-known nickname had been in the paid obituary supplied to media.

"Nobody knew him as Henry Drosky," Staud explained. "Everybody knew him as ‘Yup Yup.' " Drosky had been living at Sundale Nursing Home here for the past seven years. But before that, he was a fixture downtown, in Clarksburg and in Ripley, where he would regularly visit the family of former Ripley High School football coach Frank Marino. Staud met Drosky through Frank Marino's son, the late Mickey Marino, when they were roommates back in 1987, he said. "Mickey was taking care of Henry. Henry was part of our extended family. He lived with us," Staud said.

With mental disabilities from birth, Drosky couldn't read, but he was very knowledgeable about current events, especially in the world of sports, Staud said. He would carry a transistor radio and could be seen on the street holding the radio to his ear, listening as he walked. Marca Paparozzi, who ran Weiss Jewelers downtown until it closed in 1996, remembered him as one of the neighborly folks "who hung out downtown”. "At that time, a lot of people who were downtown were friendly, we were there and they were there. They really weren't homeless, they just came downtown every morning and spent the day." Staud never knew where Drosky spent his time. "He was up at the crack of dawn and out," Staud recalled. "He liked anything and everything athletically related."

A faithful Mountaineer fan, he would attend WVU practices and games, from football to ice hockey, as well as high school events. He was well known to those in charge at the gates, and would be admitted free.

Mickey Marino told The Dominion Post in 1985 that Drosky would have to miss his first WVU game in 40 years because of cancer surgery. "He loved all things sports-related. We would take him to Pirates' games in Pittsburgh. I took him to the Fiesta Bowl when WVU played Notre Dame," Marino said. He knew all the players and coaches, especially football coach Don Nehlen and basketball coach Gale Catlett. Staud said if you took the time to get to know him, and sat down in a quiet setting, Drosky "would carry on an intelligent conversation about sports, world events. I can remember him talking about his feelings and thoughts on politics, local government." Drosky would go to bars to watch sporting events but wouldn't drink alcohol. "Henry never drank a drop," Staud said. "As long as I've known him, he never drank. I can say that unequivocally."

More than 50 people responded to an online message board announcement of Drosky's death at Bluegoldnews.com. The tributes came from those who saw him around town and at sports events.

One person noted he had a film clip of Drosky standing on High Street in a crowd, and posted it in the You Tube sports area as a memorial to a legendary Mountaineer fan.

Word hit the message boards at 9:31 a.m. Saturday, after The Dominion Post appeared, carrying his obituary. Some simply said, "Goodbye, Yup Yup."

Here are others:
"God bless and goodbye to a colorful and legendary character."

"RIP Henry, you will be sadly missed, but never forgotten."

"I remember Yup Yup from the 80s Sunnyside scene. Yup Yup never booed at a Mountaineer game no matter how bad we were losing. We can all learn a lesson from him."

"RIP Yup Yup! I hope God lets you bring your radio with you."

"Good bye, Yup Yup. Now you can enjoy the Mountaineers from heaven."

"Darn. The world just got a little colder. RIP Yup Yup."

"I wish we could have made him an honorary captain at one of the games or something. The world just lost someone special. Good bye, Yup."

"I will toast this man of men tonight. Let's all raise a fishbowl to Yup Yup."

"He used to hang out in a bar in Clarksburg I frequented. No matter what game was on the TV, he'd work himself into a full-blown frenzy over it. They should put his picture on the screen at the next home game."

"A simple man who touched a nation of Mountaineer fans by just being himself."

"Guys like this is what American History and Legends are all about. Rest in Peace My Friend Rest in Peace."

MARJORIE ANN HALL PRICE
PHILIPPI - Marjorie Ann Hall Price, age 78, a resident of Philippi, passed away Tuesday, November 6, 2007, in Mansfield Place. She was born January 14, 1929, in Greensburg, PA, a daughter of the late Morris P. and Gwendolyn (Richter) Hall. She twice married, first to John H. Ash, who survives at Bridgeport, and James H. Price, who preceded her in death June 26, 1994.

Surviving are three sons, John H. Ash Jr., Douglas A. and wife Sherry Ash, both of Bridgeport, and James M. Ash of Jackson, OH; three stepsons, Gary and wife Brenda Price, Joe and wife Belinda Price, both of Philippi, and Rick and wife Cara Price of Rock Cave; one stepdaughter, Kim and husband Tommy Marsh of Philippi; two brothers, James and wife Jane Haines of PA and Richard Haines of FL; two grandchildren, David Ash and Amanda Ash of Bridgeport.

Ms. Price was a homemaker and graduated from Washington Irving High School in 1947, and attended West Virginia University where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority.

Wright Funeral Home services

JONE ADAMS BARNES
Jone Adams Barnes of Hanover, Va., and St. Albans, W.Va., passed away Sept. 8, 2007, after a courageous battle with lymphoma. She was born Aug. 24, 1939, in Kincheloe, W.Va. She graduated in 1957 from Victory High School in Clarksburg, W.Va. She married Robert M. Barnes Jr. in Clarksburg, W.Va., in 1959.

Jone was preceded in death by her mother, Wilma Nicholson Adams; father, Paul F. Adams; brothers, Kenneth Paul Adams and William R. Adams.

She is survived by her husband, Robert M. Barnes Jr.; daughter, Suzanna and husband Rob Johnson of Hanover, Va.; son, Robert M. Barnes III and wife Robin of St. Albans; brother, Jack D. Adams and wife Florence of New Milton; grandsons, Jeremy Barnes, Sam Johnson, Zachary, Nathaniel and Jacob Barnes, all of St. Albans; mother-in-law, Josephine Barnes of Clarksburg; and several nieces and nephews in Virginia, Massachusetts and Clarksburg, W.Va.

Jone was a member of Highlawn Baptist Church of St. Albans and attended Hillcrest Baptist Church in Mechanicsville, Va. She loved gospel music and was involved in the choirs at both churches.

She was a volunteer in the Alban Elementary School library for five years.

She was employed in the 1950s at New England Bell Telephone and in the early '60s by Michigan Bell Telephone. For the majority of her married life, she was a homemaker, wife, mother and doting grandmother known as "Granny."

The world is a sadder place today for her passing, but a much better place for the way she touched so many of our lives.

MARY ELIZABETH MAROZZI
CLARKSBURG - Mary Elizabeth Marozzi departed this life on November 6, 2007, at Heartland of Clarksburg following a brief illness. She was born in Clarksburg February 2, 1925, to the late Victor and Aurelia Guiterrez Leon. Ms. Marozzi was a former employee of Maidenform Co. After 30 years of service she retired from the Harrison County Board of Education as a School Teacher’s Aide. She worked a lot with special education. Ms. Marozzi is survived by her son Mark and his wife Robin of Nutter Fort; her daughter Deborah and husband Curtis of Anmoore; five grandsons, Chad Palmer, Patrick and Jarrod Marozzi, Michael and Todd Stonestreet. The last surviving member of her immediate family, she was also preceded in death by three brothers, Victor, Albert and Joseph Leon; three sisters, Mollie Leon, Margaret Gonzalez, and Josephine Leon. Ms. Marozzi was a member of All Saints Catholic Church, Bridgeport, WV.

EMOLINE BONNETT POST
CLARKSBURG - Emoline Bonnett Post went to be with the Lord on Saturday, November 3, 2007, at United Hospital Center following an extended illness. Mrs. Post was a legal secretary who began working at the Harrison County Courthouse as a teenager under Judge Ziegler. She then joined the law firm of Maxwell, Young, and Morgan. Upon retirement she worked for Steptoe and Johnson. Following a second retirement she worked for Scot Dieringer. She was born January 4, 1934, in Clarksburg, a daughter of the late Roscoe “Buck” and Martha “BomBom” Mick. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harry Post in 1967. She was also preceded in death by two sisters, Sarah A Miller “Aunt Bady” and Pauline Lamm; and a brother, Ernest Paul Bonnett. She is survived by her son, Richard and his wife Donna K of Parrish, FL; sisters Kelsie Pierson, Frametown, Annabelle Whitaker, Warren, MI; several nieces and nephews and several great-nephews and nieces.

ANNA MARIE DAVISSON FORINASH
CLARKSBURG - Anna Marie Forinash, 80, of Route 1, Clarksburg, went to be with the Lord Wednesday, November 21, 2007, following a brief illness. She was born August 28, 1927, in Glen Falls, the daughter of the late Charles H. Davisson and Grace V. Griffith Davisson. Mrs. Forinash is survived by her husband of 51 years, Edward J. Forinash of Clarksburg. She graduated from Washington Irving High, Class of 1945, and Salem College. Anna was formerly employed by Highland-Knowles and Morgan Law Firm and WV Fire and Casualty Insurance Company. Mrs. Forinash was a former member of the Stealey Terrace Garden Club and Bridge Club and Sunny Croft Country Club. She and her husband traveled extensively during the time her husband was mayor of Clarksburg from 1961-1965. She loved WVU games and, after retirement, she and her husband, along with their friends, attended every game possible, including the Bowl games. She enjoyed golfing with her many friends and was a member of the Elks Club and AARP. She was also a direct relative of the Daniel Davisson family who founded Clarksburg.

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