THE WI NEWSLETTER 08/07



THE WI NEWSLETTER


Editor: Roleta Smith Meredith Issue 96 August 2007






I THINK THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO START THE NEWSLETTER!

Just click on this hyperlink or copy and paste it into your web browser. Enjoy the wonderful music and pictures!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5n2GhZTewE




COAL MINING



submitted by: Ron Harvey (WI ‘55)
w4rrh@charter.net

My grandparents on my father’s side owned a coal mine in the mountains of Garrett County Maryland. I can not remember my father working in the mine, but I’m nearly sure he drove a coal truck. I very well remember the mine as it was on the same farm as my grandparents and our family lived. As far as I know, the mine only had one opening. It had rails that went back inside for the cars to travel on. Power to move the cars were men and a pony. The mine was not very high, so the pony worked out fine. Being about 5 years old, I got to ride the pony outside the mine. The coal was brought from the mine onto a tipple where it was dumped into trucks for hauling away. Where to? I have no idea! The coal cars were of different sizes so the pay varied depending on which car the miner hand loaded that day.

One Incident I remember very vividly was the day my father took me back into the mine. The miners (which I would guess numbered five or six) had hand drilled a hole back into the coal. They put power in the hole and then we got back a ways and the power was set off. With a loud bang, the coal was broken up and the black dust just rolled out of the area. I do not remember anyone having dust masks. They probably put their handkerchief over their mouth and nose.

In the same area a little later, the same grandparents had another mine. At this one, the slope into the mine was steeper than at the first one. The cars were pulled out of the mine by a truck or car engine and transmission. One day the cars were up on the tipple and there were some men and myself on the tipple. This pre-engineer (me) checked things out and took the transmission out of gear. The cars started down toward the mouth of the mine. My older cousin noticed what had happened and got the cars stopped before they jumped the track or hit the mine opening. That saved me a lickin’. This is the same cousin that used a coal truck for dating.

One last item! My grandfather on my mother’s side was also a miner. I was told that my mother helped him in the mine.

Below are pictures of the carbide type lantern used in the mines and a can for holding the carbide. I have a can of carbide that has not been opened.





submitted by: Bill Sterling (VHS '56)
Bill Sterling@aol.com

Thanks for the news letter.  

I was born in a company house ( HOPE Natural Gas) in Camden , W.Va. My Grandfather (James Butcher) was a 42 year employee of the Gas Company.

At this time my father and his father and all his brothers were Coal miners. They lived in Rosemont and over the years worked in many of the mines in the surrounding area. Some were life long miners and some like my father moved on to other professions. My father survived 3 cave-ins. On one occasion he was saved by crawling under the loading machine he was operating. After this incident my mother said, “The job had to go or she had to go ". My father chose to find another line of work. This didn't save his life, however. Although he lived for another 25 years he died of black lung.

No, I was never a miner. Not that I was too good or too smart to be a miner. I was ( and still am) very claustrophobic. I don't see how anyone can work in such an environment. It is better today than in years past but still a hard way to make a living. I can remember my grandfather wearing the knee high boots and striped pants. I believe the house he lived in is still in the family. I haven't been there in years and am not sure what Rosemont looks like now. I was last in Clarksburg in 1991 and it was very different then. I was married in September of 1958 and 3 days latter we came to California. We are spoiled to the weather now and expect to live out my life in California.



submitted by: Bill Meredith (Monongah '57)
billmere@aol.com

Growing up in Monongah, WV, I was surrounded by the coal industry. In the early 1900’s, there were at least eight major producing coal mines either in or near our town. In 1907, at least 365 men were killed in the worst coal mining disaster in U. S. history. It occurred at Mine No. 6 in Monongah. Many people suspected that the number of dead would have been much higher if the boys, who entered the mine illegally to help their fathers load coal, were counted. (My Great Grandfather actually had his sons lowered down an air shaft on a rope, so they could work with him. Pay was determined by the tons of coal each man loaded in a day). When I was a senior in high school, I was awarded a working scholarship from Mountaineer Coal Co., (a division of Consol Coal), which was headquartered in our town. Thus, the day after my 18th birthday, I entered Williams Mine near Shinnston as a roof bolting machine operator. What an experience. During the next four summers, during my breaks from WVU, I was able to work in every mine in north central WV owned by Consol. In addition to running machinery, for which I was required to join the UMW, I worked on an engineering crew inside the mines, sampled coal from nearly every outcrop in northern WV worked in the laboratory analyzing samples and met more characters than I can remember. Being the “young kid”, I was the target of many practical jokes. I never got upset, but just took them in stride, since I knew I was being tested daily by these hard working men. By the end of my first month, I was fully accepted and became one of the “rascals” helping pull off the jokes. One thing I never perfected or liked was chewing tobacco or rubbing snuff, which were very common “vices” for miners. The work was always dangerous but in the mines there was camaraderie unlike any I have seen since in any other industry. Miners look out for each other. Although coal mining is not what it once was in WV I have been told that it is making a comeback. Advertisements for coal miners in the Fairmont newspaper have reportedly offered a starting salary of over $50,000 per year. That seems a small amount when compared to the wealth accumulated by the coal barons in the early part of the century. Fairmont was called “The town of 100 millionaires”. Unfortunately those days have ended. Most of the mines are closed. My home town looks like a tornado has hit it. Maybe our area is returning to where it was before “King Coal”, a beautiful mountain paradise, with clean streams and few people. However, growing up in coal country was great. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. If you are interested in knowing more about the coal boom in West Virginia, read “A Vein of Riches” by John Knowles. I just read it and really enjoyed it.



SOME FORMER HARRISON COUNTY COAL MINES

NOW CLOSED—(not a complete list)

List provided by: Freddie Layman (VHS '46)
fgl46vhs@aol.com

NAME ADDRESS CLOSED
BARNES-DAWSON COAL CO. DAWMONT 1958
BETHLEHAM COAL CO. EAST OF SHINNSTON NOT SURE
BIG FOUR COAL MINES UPPER ERIE 1952
CAMBRIA COAL MINE 2 MILES S. LUMBERPORT 1953
CHIEFTON COAL CO. CHIEFTON 1983
COOKS MINE SIMPSON CREEK NOT SURE
COLUMBIA MINE DESPARD 1928
CONSOLIDATION COAL CO. OWINGS 1963
CORONA COAL CO. HEPZIBAH 1951
CLINCHFIELD COAL CO. GLORY MINE-SARDIS 1983
COMPASS MINE HAYWOOD SOLD-1953
DESOARD MINE DESPARD 1911
DOLA COAL MINE DOLA SOLD-1955
GILLIN COAL CO. SUMMIT PARK 1920
GLEN FALLS COAL & COKE GLEN FALLS 1945
GRAFTON COAL ROSE BUD-(LUMBERPORT) 1984
HUSKINS COAL MINE LUMBERPORT 1928
KATHERINE COAL LUMBERPORT 1953
MAUREEN COAL SPELTER 1954
OCEAN MINES DESPARD ADDITION 1952
PENN-ALPHA MINE MT. CLARE 1942
PERRY COAL AND COKE PERRY HOLLOW-LIMESTONE 1955
PINNICKINNICK COAL MINE NORTH E. OF CLARKSBURG 1952
PITCAIRN HOLLOW COAL S. OF LOWNDES HILL 1946
POOZ COAL MINE LUMBERPORT 1927
PURSGLOVE COAL SARDIS 1973
ROBEY RUN COAL DOLA 1954
SNAKE HILL COAL TWO LICK NEAR GOOD HOPE 1940
SWANEY COAL CO. ORAL LAKE 1955
WILLIAMS MINE PINE BLUFF 1983
YOUNG COAL CO NUTTER FORT 1964

NOTE: Some closed coal mine tipples were later used by strip mine coal companies.



MINING PICTURES

submitted by: Jim Alvaro (WI ' 56)
JAlvaro@aol.com

The mines were very much in my life growing up. All of my Mother's family worked in the coal mines. Grandpa Conch and my uncles, Johnny, Patsy, and Frankie worked all their lives and lived in the New Quarters, Cooks Mines, and Hepzibah area. We visited my grandparents often and the thing I remember most were the evenings before they went to work. They would sit and listen to the mine report. The mine report would let them know if they were working that evening or not. My uncles would have two sets of clothes sitting beside them. One for working in the mines and the other set for "playing". If the radio announced, "DAWSON MINE CATEYE SHIFT WILL WORK TONIGHT" meant the uncle on that shift would put on his work clothes and head on out to work. Sometimes they would come home from work and they would be covered from head to toe with coal dust with only the white of their eyes showing. They would go out in the shanty and take their clothes off and call for us to pump water from the water pump outside the shanty. We would carry the bucket into the shanty and put it on the little gas stove and heat the water. They would get into a large wash tub and we would pour the water over them while they soaped up and then we would go out and pump another bucket full and pour it over them to rinse off. That was a ritual that we felt honored in doing. They made us do it so we had better felt honored doing it.

My Mother lived in Cooks Mines and her house was directly across from the mines. I believe a part of Pete Dye Golf Course is very near Cooks mines or Meadowbrook. We had to walk about a mile to where my Dad would carry my brother Fred and I across the tressel. He would carry us one at a time to my Mom who was already on the other side. I remember I would not look down because we were pretty high from the ground.

I did go down into the mine one time and I cannot imagine anyone working in a hole like that, bending down the entire time. I admire the coal miners of years gone by and the current ones. You can not appreciate what they have gone through and are going through until you have been in a mine.

I have a lot more I can tell about the mines but I don't want to take up any more space and maybe someone else will share their stories.

I have some old mining pictures which you may be able to use.


Sonja's grandfather, Martin Krosmico, taken 1917 approx. 30 years old


Laura Lee Tipple, showing mine run


    


McCandish Tipple, showing 4" lump and crushed "EGG"




LOVERIDGE MINE

submitted by: Janice E. Hall Sorrells McPherson (WI ’65)
janmcphrs@aol.com









I recently read: It isn’t how much you have that is important but how much you share with others.



PRECIOUS CHILD FOR JULY - ROGER DUNCAN




Roger and Mike Shaffer (WI 1958)

Picture taken at The Tower of Hercules (Torre de Hércules). It is an ancient Roman lighthouse located on a peninsula about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) of the center of the city of A Coruña, Galicia, in present-day northwestern Spain. It is the oldest active Roman lighthouse in the world.



Picture taken in San Ciprian Spain It is an industrial and fishing town in Northwestern Spain.




ROGER DUNCAN - BASEBALL

submitted by: Roger Duncan (would have been WI '57)
rog.duncan@embarqmail.com

I play softball 3-4 days a week and Tournaments around the state every fourth weekend. We won the 65 and older state tournament. I sent these pictures of us old men. Since I am 5' 7" I am always up front.


Lady Lake Arena, Lady Lake, FL.




I am kneeling. Bottom right without sunglasses. Softball and Golf is my life now. Tournament in Lakeland Florida this weekend and one here in The Villages next weekend plus play on three teams here in The Villages. Tough life but someone has to do it.



PRECIOUS CHILDREN FOR AUGUST 2007



Do you want to play our game? Just guess the identities of the pictured children and include a memory of them. I will not print an incorrect guess. Write to: Roleta1@aol.com




FRIENDS CELEBRATE TURNING 60

submitted by: Susie Wysong Sutton (WI '65)
susiesutton65@adelphia.net



The names of those pictured above in order from left to right:
1st row: Lana Myers, Judy Martino, Anne Humphries
2nd row: Linda Post, Sandra Harrison, Shari Josephs
3rd row: Layne Preston, Susie Wysong, Ellen Reid

There will be LOTS of people that know many of us.



9 of us from the Class of '65 went to The Greenbrier to celebrate our "60th"--that's hard to say!!! We are from left with maiden names: Anne Humphries, Linda Post, Ellen Reid, Layne Preston, Lana Myers, Sandra Harrison, Susie Wysong, Shari Josephs, and Judy Martino.

We all arrived Friday at various times and Shari and Ellen hosted a take-out dinner in the dining area of ONE of the 2 cottages we had rented.  Ellen had "girl" photo albums and journals for us all to keep track of our 3 days.

Sat. we did various activities in different directions but met up at Draper's Cafe for lunch.  That evening we ate in the Main Dining Room of the Greenbrier and had a cake prepared by them with "60" on it and so on.  It was lovely.

Sunday we all toured the "Bunker" and other activities and went to Sam Snead Cafe for dinner.  We departed Monday.  So the wine flowed, the stories and memories were shared and a great time was had by all.



NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES

Pat Norris Bacchus (would have been VHS '57
but moved out of state in '56)		 sgtqtr@bellsouth.net
Melanie Young Priest (WI '74) melaniepriest@yahoo.com
Deborah Bacchus (WI '83)
daughter of Dan and Pat Norris Bacchus 		fidget160@aol.com
Fred Dunham (WI '57) fredd39@comcast.net
Billie Ann Clevenger (WI '52) IamBlessed3452@aol.com
Ron Gilmore (WI '72) Cactusron@aol.com
Lola Sestrap (VHS '66) peppermin@htcnet.org
Steve Harrison (WI '77) WvSkeeter@netzero.com
Nanci Headley Kotowski
(who graduated '66)		 nl45748@yahoo.com
Walt Cleavenger (RW '52) cleavy1@verison.net
Mary Ellen Seremno Rawlinitis (ND '62) Mra622@aol.com


CHANGE OF EMAIL ADDRESS

Pat Sprout Newbrough (RW '53) pat_richnewbrough@rogers.com
Marlene Parsons Andre (RW '53)
(has moved to Michigan) 		EAndre@twmi.rr.com
Dick Albright (WI '47) jada-50@hotmail.com
June Albright (WI '49) jada-50@hotmail.com
Paula Brassine Palmer (ND '57) bertspals@bellsouth.net
Joanne Westfall Simpson-Tetrick (WI '52) fragilegranny@ma.rr.com




YOU GAVE

This year you gave $5,000.00 to the WIN Scholarship. Can you imagine how many young people we could help if every reader sent at least $10.00? We might even be able to give a 4 year scholarship.

This year we gave a check to WV Wesleyan College for $1,000.00 for Brianna McQuillan to help her pay some of her expenses for her second year of college.

A $2,000.00 scholarship went to Grove City College to help Jacquelyn Manley with her college expenses.

And a check for $2,000.00 went to Fairmont State College for Joel Crano to cover his college costs.

These children are so appreciative of your gifts. I have received several thank you notes from them. Each is hoping to get a job to help them stay in school until graduation.

Write your check or money order to: Roleta Meredith/WIN Scholarship (PLEASE PUT BOTH NAMES ON THE CHECK)

Mail to:
Roleta Meredith
3025 Switzer Ave.
Columbus, Ohio 43219



A FRIEND FROM MORGAN AND CENTRAL

submitted by: Jeannie Peet Schneider Trower
Opal11@aol.com


LOL you are so kind about the picture. It is funny how we wouldn't recognize each other on the street.

I wonder if many old friends will remember me but here goes----Many will remember me as Jeannie Peet. I went by that name as my stepfather's last name was Peet (Bob) and it made it simpler. That was until I went into High school and they insisted I go by my legal name of Schneider. Some of you will know my first cousin Bob Schneider.

I moved to Ft. Lauderdale in 1955 and other than going into nursing at U of Miami Jackson Memorial, I have lived here.  Wil and I have been married for 39 years. (our one and only marriage) My last name is now Trower. We have a daughter and a son. We now have two grandsons (15 and 13) that live with us along with our daughter. Talk about an extended family! My Mom (Tib) also lived with us for years until she passed away in 1997.

I retired years ago from nursing and I don't miss it.

Wil and I take as many cruises as possible. I think we have gone on 14 and plan a river cruise in October from Budapest to Prague. The picture was taken on a cruise to the ancient cities along the eastern European coast to St. Petersburg, Russia.

 In fact we just went on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera with Bob and his wife Diane, my Uncle Don Schneider (another Victory grad) and wife, Karen and last but by no means least my Aunt Eileen Schneider Quilty and a WI grad. I will send a picture of us on that trip so maybe you can include it in the newsletter also.

I think back fondly to the days in Clarksburg and agree that it is a wonderful place to grow up. I still crave those WV hot-dogs!!

I would like for us to get together some time. I bet we would just pick up where we left off. Think? Keep up the good work on the newsletter. It sure is nice to read.



WEBSITE SUGGESTED


Diana Shablack Sandy WI '69 has suggested that you visit this website. http://www.thishardland.net/



CORRECTION

submitted by: Bryan Mcntyre (WI '65)
bmcintyre@ec.rr.com

Not that anyone will notice but in my little piece about my high school radio job at WHAR, I realized that I put 1964 instead of 1965 as the summer when I traveled with the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars.  No need for a retraction!

By the way, we ordered 2 doz Tomaro's pepperoni rolls - did not realize they do not take credit cards and you have to pay in advance by check for your first 2 orders.... I was trying to get them sent here in Florida for my birthday but will have to settle for them arriving in Wilmington NC when we get back July 10.

EDITOR’S NOTE: With the action that Tomaro’s is getting from this newsletter, I should receive a dozen or two from them as my kickback! LOL



1959 WI GRADUATE PASSES AWAY



Tom Marshall graduated from Washington Irving in 1959. We will miss this fine man.

Copied from Robert Morris University website.

Robert Morris University (RMU) this week lost its longest-serving faculty member and head of its department of English studies with the passing of professor of English studies Thomas A. Marshall II. Marshall, who joined the University in 1965 as an instructor in the department of humanities and taught Shakespearean and other literature to generations of RMU students, also played a significant role in the development and implementation of RMU’s Communications Skills program, a nationally-recognized sequence of courses spanning four years of study that provides all RMU students with proficiency in reading and interpreting, writing, speaking, listening, and developing skills in cross-cultural and multicultural group dynamics. Marshall served as head of the University’s Communications Skills program since 2000.

"Tom was first and foremost a brilliant educator, with a strong ability to challenge students and a great track record of helping them to succeed," noted David Jamison, J.D., dean of RMU’s School of Communications and Information Systems. "He was a tremendously capable administrator and used his experience to mentor me as well as his fellow department heads in doing our jobs better. I’ll miss a trusted colleague, a superb academic leader, and a good and loyal friend."

After leaving a position as a graduate assistant in English at West Virginia University in 1965, Marshall began a long and accomplished career at RMU (then Robert Morris College), serving in such capacities as administrator, teacher, consultant, committee chair, union officer, and writer throughout his years. In 1969, Marshall was promoted to assistant professor and appointed chair of his department, a position he held for 12 years. He was named an associate professor in 1974 and achieved full professor status in communications in 1991.

Marshall worked tirelessly in chairing a Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation review that in 2002 resulted in a full, unconditional ten-year reaccreditation for RMU. In 2005, Marshall was appointed head of the University’s newly-created department of English studies, and served as Grand Marshal during RMU’s 2005 and 2006 commencement ceremonies. Marshall received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from West Virginia University, and pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, where he completed all of the requirements for the degree except for a dissertation. He was a member of RMU’s Twenty Year Club, the Association for Business Communication, College Conference on Composition and Communication, The Hemingway Society, International Listening Association, and National Council of Teachers of English, among others.

Marshall leaves a wife, Kim, and son Trey. A Fall 2007 campus memorial service is planned, and the family requests that contributions be directed to the Robert Morris University Thomas A. Marshall Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o the Office of Institutional Advancement, 6001 University Boulevard, Moon Township, Pa. 15108.



submitted by: Sherry Hutchinson Keith (WI '64)
SKeith1514@aol.com

I moved with my family from Charleston to Clarksburg, and the Hazel Atlas Glass Plant was a droning giant that lay just below our apartment on Locust Court.  All day and night it hummed and released steam and smoke.  The loud horn to note shift changes was at first startling but finally would go off virtually unnoticed by the kids and adults in our neighborhood.

Lots of friends of mine had fathers and fewer, mothers, who worked there.   It represented jobs and stability for our area.

Many folks had a large chunk of green glass on their front porches.  A huge mountain of green glass rejects could be seen near the plant.

Nevertheless, hearing this constant hum was my introduction to Clarksburg and I remember it fondly.

Thanks as usual for the wonderful memories!



submitted by: George I Mcquain, Jr.
mcquainj@aol.com

The third annual Broad Oaks Reunion will be held at the VA Park on September 8, 2007. from 12:00 to when ever at the Osbourn Shelter on top of the park across from the play ground. We are hoping to have a good turn out this year. We have had a good turn out the last two years. People from many states attended last year and some local folks too. We are inviting all who lived in Broad Oaks or this was there second home. If interested please call George l Mcquain Jr better known as June Bug or as the older bunch know me as Little Feeney. You can call 304-745-4277. It will be a covered dish. Come and enjoy the fun seeing and talking to some of your old friends. Old pictures of Broad Oaks will be welcome to bring and display. Again call for more information thank you.



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

I would like everyone to know that my brother, Dr. Frank Lopez, is home safely from Iraq.  He was part of the military medical team that set up our new army hospital in Anbar Province to take care of the seriously injured before sending them back to the states.  A big thanks to all the men and women who are doing such a great job for the soldiers fighting in Iraq.



SUMMER

submitted by: Barbara Paugh Patton (WI '61)
BAP5555@aol.com

Back in the day of the late 1950's there was always something to do. We would go swimming and my favorite was going to Norwood Park (now known as Nutterfort) there was always a ball game going on, we went to the car races there, and going to the skating rink Friday and Saturday night.



submitted by: Roleta Smith Meredith (WI '59)
Roleta1@aol.com

I remember going to Lake Floyd in the summer almost every afternoon when I was young and I practically lived on roller skates or my bicycle when I was around home. After we moved to Clarksburg when I was 9, I went to Stealey playground nearly every afternoon until I was about 15. I had chores to do in the mornings but looked forward to the softball team, volleyball team and ring toss team at the playground. (Kids today have never even heard of ring toss, do you remember it?). My parents were teachers, one or both of them worked all summer at some job or the other to put food on the table in the summer since teachers were only paid for 9 months. Often one worked while the other went to college in the summer to further their education, renew a teaching ment or finish a degree. We didn’t have a lot of extra money. (Who did?) I don’t remember the year that Stealey built their pool up on the hill but I went there a few times in the summer. However, I think that by the time it was built, I was probably 16 and working in town most of the time in the summer.

When I was very young and lived in Wolf Summit I remember going on a lot of picnics-----with a very large group of people. I don’t remember where we went but I do remember the Rowe family, Bee family, Davis family and Frenner family plus many more all going places for picnics together. We girls played together at the picnic and I think the women must have been the best cooks on earth. I remember wonderful cakes and delicious home made potato salad. Another summer special treat that the family enjoyed was when my mother would make a big brown paper bag full of pop corn and a huge Thermos of Kool-Aid and off we would all go to the drive-in. When you stop and think about it, times were simple then. Today kids sit in front of some sort of electronic instrument which entertains them…..what memories will they have compared to what we have?

EDITOR WANTS HELP!!!!! As you can see from my letter above, I have fond memories of great events all centering around FOOD…LOL. I love to cook now. Here are a few things I would like to have from you— Not something you copy out of a cookbook…I can do that. But I want recipes you have tried or your mother used: I will print these in the newsletter.

Recipes for:
Tomato Soup Cake…..
Home made recipe for home made potato salad dressing and what you put in your potato salad….My mother made the best home made potato salad but she never wrote down how she did it….it is now a lost art in our family!
Carolina pulled pork
Seven minute icing
Meatball recipe

Do you have a recipe to share? Make sure you sign your name, school and year of graduation…..don’t take it for granted that I remember these facts.



GIFTS WERE RECEIVED IN JULY

Herb Cashdollar (RW 1957) sent a gift to the WIN scholarship.

Mary Clark Spahr (WI 1956) sent another gift to the WIN Scholarship.

This is not the first time either one have given to the WIN Scholarship.

You can feel good about helping others and giving too. Just write a check or send a money order to:

Roleta Meredith/WIN Scholarship (Both names must appear)

Mail to:
Roleta Meredith
3025 Switzer Ave
Columbus, Ohio 43219

I hope you never get too big to stoop to help a child!



IS THERE EVER? A time of life when one can stop worrying about weight and enjoy a meal without feeling guilty afterwards?


LETTERS OF THANKS

submitted by: Mary Beth Riddle Sterling (VHS '58)
marybwv@ma.rr.com

I just wanted to let you know that I found an "old" friend via your newsletter.  Diane Gaston had written you and you published it in the newsletter and we were reunited via cyberspace.  How great to find friends you thought were lost in time, or just didn't know where they were.  She and I "worked together" at different places back in the 90's.  She now lives in Baltimore and I live in Fairmont.  What a small world.  Thanks for making it possible to reunite with my friend.



submitted by: Charles M. Ferrell (WI '46)
eagle1928@starpower.net

Thanks for publishing Rusty Sloan's e-mail address. He lived across the street from my home on Hartland Ave over sixty years ago. We have since corresponded several times. If you would like to see my volunteer activities for the past forty years go to GOOGLE, Type in Gaithersburg, MD click on CITY NEWS, Click on Archived News, go to the year 9/20/2004. This has been a busy summer. In the spring Donnie Sue and I went to the NARFE (National Active and Retired Federal Employees) Maryland Convention in Ocean City for a week. Last week we took my daughter's adopted four year old to visit the Atlantic Ocean at Rehoboth Beach, DL for the first time. She had a wonderful time!



submitted by: Billie Ann Clevenger (WI '52)
IamBlessed3452@aol.com

How I love your WI newsletter!  The July newsletter was superb - thank you so very much for all that you do to make it so great!  

Would you please add my E-mail address to your list to receive the newsletter?  My husband still receives it but I would like to have my own.  

Thank you so much!



A PICNIC IN THE HILLS AND YOU ARE INVITED

Rex Zickefoose is having a picnic August 11, 2007 in his backyard. But his backyard is 105 acres in those West Virginia Hills so he can handle a lot of people! He throws the picnic annually to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries or any other reason you want to celebrate. Actually, the reason he throws it seems simple to me, he wants to get together with his friends. Everyone is invited but he particularly wants the people from HARTLAND to come together this year at his picnic.

Rex will roast 2 pigs and have other meat for you to eat. He will provide the plates, silverware for your eating and the glasses for your drinking. All you need to bring is a lawn chair, your own drink, a dish to share and a smile for all.

You can sit back and enjoy yourself, dance a little or even sing along as Rex will have a “Blue Grass Band” and a DJ there to entertain you.

It would be nice if you would email him and tell him if you are coming and how many will be in your group. His email is rexzickefoose@hrea.coop

If more information is needed call 304 873 2251.

Directions to the picnic location:  US 50 to Tarkiln Rd - after exiting make an immediate left - turn right on Big Flint Rd. - turn right on Narrow Run Rd -  The picnic location (and Rex's house) is 8/10 of a mile up Narrow Run Rd. on left. You can't miss the place



STORES GALORE! BUT IT WAS ONLY A DREAM!

submitted by: Bob Stealey (WI '64)
editor: Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram
Monday, April 16, 2007 7:54 AM CDT

In a dream just the other night, I was heading for the 3rd Street doors at Parsons-Souders (later Stone & Thomas) after buying a pair of shoes in the Men’s Department.

Even though it has probably been close to 20 years since I could do that, it seemed so natural, as if the store still stood there. Today, however, City Hall is located on that land.

For some reason, I woke up at that point. But oh, how I wish I’d kept on slumbering. Couldn’t I have gone on and on!

Not much for shopping am I, but after all, we’re talkin’ about dreams here, right?

Why, had I kept dreaming, I could have walked along, then crossed, 3rd Street and walked into Melet’s or Maunz men’s stores, or stayed on the same side of the street and walked into Loar & White, also a men’s store.

Pettrey’s Shoes and, in the mid-’60s, Kaites, Ltd., were also on 3rd Street.

But hold it a minute! What if I’d walked out the front door of Parsons-Souders? Talk about the different stores! Next door was Watts-Sartor-Lear, and across the street, near James & Law Co., were the Montgomery Ward and O.J. Morrison stores.

Down West Main Street and across 2nd Street was the Sears-Roebuck store. Among the several stores on 2nd Street were National Auto and Western Auto. Yes, there was also the West Virginia Restaurant, and some other businesses, I’m sure.

Up around the corner on West Pike, besides the Gore Hotel, I might’ve stopped at Roberts Hardware. Beside it, for ladies and younger girls, it seems there was a clothing place called Vicki Frocks. And, of course, there was — and remains today — Bland’s Drug Store.

Wow, I’ve practically gone around the block and I’m only halfway through today’s rendering.

Instead of backtracking on 3rd Street in my dream, maybe I’d have stayed on West Pike and found Snider’s Hobby Shop. That was a cool place to go! Then maybe I’d have crossed West Pike and gone into the Workingman’s Store, which stood there for many years. There was also a Thom McAn shoe store beside it at one time. Then, up just a little was Jerry’s Auto Supply, but you could buy other things there, too.

On down West Pike Street was Candyland, the corner store at South 4th Street. If I’d cross that street, there was the Monongahela Power Co. store. Beyond that on West Pike, there weren’t any stores that I can recall on that side of West Pike. But if I’d crossed over from the Mon Power store, I could have gone into the Ritz Theater to see a good movie. There was also the Ritz Newsstand. Had I needed a haircut, I could have stopped in at Trader’s Barber Shop, which later moved to 3rd Street, near Loar & White.

Further down Pike, past the American Legion and the VFW, was Paul Myers Hardware. Also, there was Weber’s Florist and the Robinson Grand Theater.

There were a couple more businesses down toward North 6th Street, but hey, I’ve run out of room! Sorry!

EDITOR’S NOTE: What walk would you take if you could walk anyplace in time or in the world? Write and tell us what street! What street? When? Share with us what you would see.



DO THOSE people we see out and about who are dressed so crazy or look so sloppy really stop and look in the mirror before leaving the house and say, “Yep, I look really nice, I will now go out with my best foot forward”?




You are invited to the Seventh Annual WI Reunion Picnic in Clarksburg, West Virginia, on Saturday, August 25, 2007, at Veterans (River Bend) Park Osborne Shelter, off Milford St. You can also get to it via the Nutter Fort area by going over Rt 98. The time is 11AM until the last one goes home...whenever that is. The picnic is for anyone who ever attended WI (YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A GRADUATE).

LET'S MAKE THIS A BIG WI REUNION DAY!
Sharyn Cottrill McGahan (WI 1959) is in charge of this picnic. She provides the table settings for you. You will need to bring a covered dish, your own drink, and money to put in the pot to help her cover her expenses. Some people bring a folding lawn chair. Don't forget your cameras!!!

You do not have to make a reservation but she will need to know about how many to expect. It is nice to be surprised but it isn’t nice to be overcome with a large group of people and not have enough supplies. If you are going to attend please write Sharyn and tell her - mtmama41@msn.com. Also, let her know if you are willing to come early and help with the picnic --- cover tables, registration, tell people where to put their food, or stay and help clean up, etc.

If anyone needs directions to Veterans Park they can e-mail Sharyn or Judy Daugherty Kimler at jkimler@verizon.net.

If you live out of the area, you might want to make this picnic part of a week long vacation that would include the Italian Heritage Festival in Clarksburg on Labor Day weekend. If you don't have family in the area with which you can stay, you should make motel reservations now. There was a list of motels in June's newsletter.




TRIVIA PICTURE FOR JULY 2007

MAPLE LAKE

submitted by: Beth Twigg Devericks (WI '59)
bedevericks@hotmail.com

I believe this is a picture of Maple Lake swimming area where I spent a lot of my summers with my family and friend's. We did some fishing and swimming. We had a small boat. I remember there was a long sliding board into the water. I don't think that I ever went down it very fast if at all. I remember they had dances at the club house on Saturday nights and on special holidays. I also remember going ice skating in the winter on the lake a few times which was great. That was a long time ago but great memories. Thanks



submitted by: Connie Coffindaffer Ferrell  (WI '58)
Ferrellcc@aol.com

Maple Lake is still great - after all these years.

As teenagers, we had so many good times there.  Penny Fish, Linda Moore and Peg (Mary) Murphy were  kind enough to include us in the activities at the Lake.  Swimming, sunbathing, playing cards and square dancing in the Club House in the evenings. It was always safe, good, clean fun!!  What a blessing! (One of many we enjoyed growing up in this area.)

In the late 60's, Bud and I had a little house there. We enjoyed our years there when our children were very young.  We would still be living there if we could have found a house (at that time) to fit our family-which just kept growing. I would move back anytime and stay forever!

Our children always try to schedule the Maple Lake Club House first for any family activity they hold away from the Farm.  They held our surprise 35th Wedding Anniversary there several years ago.  We also had a shower to celebrate our newest Grandson's birth two years ago. Anytime there is an activity to which we are invited we just about knock each other over to get there!

Our grandsons love it, too!!

Our thanks for all the hard work you put into producing the WI Newsletter.  It is greatly appreciated!!



submitted by: Phyllis Alton Nichols (WI '57)
Nmimiphyllis@aol.com

Back in high school my family did not belong to Maple Lake or Lake Floyd, but I had friends who would take me to both.  My most vivid memory of Maple Lake was  trying to learn to play tennis.  My friend Nancy Schlicker would take me to the tennis courts, determined that I would learn to play, but I was more interested in the boys who came to watch.  I didn't concentrate much on the game.  Nancy was good at it.  I wasn't, but I did have fun trying to learn.



submitted by: Bob Dennison (WI '57)
cdennison46@yahoo.com

Could be wrong but it looks like standing to the left of Maple Lake Club House - looking  at the float  in the swimming area.  I was Life Guard there in the late '50's.  The big slide was further out to the left headed toward the Double Decker which was my worst "nightmare".  Have a great summer.



submitted by: Billie Anne Cork Clevenger (WI '52)
IamBlessed3452@aol.com

The trivia picture is a view of Maple Lake, outside of Bridgeport.  My children and I moved to Maple Lake to live at my cousin's home during the winter of 1976 and remained there the following spring and summer.   I was a single mother of three and it was a constant struggle to make ends meet.  My bookkeeping job and our meager child support payments were barely enough to keep us going, yet we were happy and able to be joyous in what some might consider very difficult circumstances.  Laughter is indeed the best medicine!   On moving day, we entered the Maple Lake community in our battered station wagon stuffed to capacity with three children, two cats and assorted household goods.  Amid the piles of blankets and pillows, with mops and brooms sticking out the car windows, the voice of my fifteen year old daughter rang out, "Oh Mom, I can just hear the neighbors, "There goes the neighborhood!"     

That summer was an exciting time for my offspring, ages 11, 12 and 16, with daily access to swimming in the lake and opportunities to meet new friends.  Their pleasure in this was forever dimmed during the late summer of 1977, when a 16 year old boy, my daughter Leslie's friend,  drowned while night swimming in Maple Lake.  The night of the tragedy, Leslie, her sister Lori and stepsister Kimberly were frolicking in the "Bull Pen", a shallow fenced in area, which was the only portion that I allowed them to use after dark when there was no lifeguard in duty.   Some boys were swimming in the deeper portion of the lake, near the "float" seen in the picture, when Leslie's friend went under and did not re-surface.  As his friends frantically searched for him, my three girls came screaming into the house and I quickly called for help and the Bridgeport Fire Department's rescue team arrived miraculously in just a few minutes.  Despite their heroic efforts, that sweet, bright boy that we had known and loved had passed away.  Somehow we could never feel the same joy in living at the lake and my three children no longer wanted to swim there.  We moved from there in September.  We had many good memories of our summer at the lake but this tragedy stood out and usually overshadowed what would otherwise have been a perfect summer.  I hesitated in sharing this tragic memory, but our recollections of that summer at Maple Lake are not complete without it.  Regrettably, tragedies are a part of life but  Maple Lake has always been a place of beauty and a wonderful place for families to live and have all their recreational activities so close at hand.



submitted by: Roger Duncan (WI '57—moved and graduated in Akron)
rog.duncan@embarqmail.com

 This appears to be Maple Lake diving board. There was a great sliding board that had the same view. It was terrific thrill we could ever have flying across the water. Only problem was standing on ladder waiting your turn.



submitted by: Wayne White (WI '60)
waynepawco@verizon.net

This would be Maple Lake---Located off Rt50 just a few miles out of Bridgeport. It has since build up with nice homes around the lake. I was a very nice place to swim and have outings. It still is a very nice area to live in Harrison county. This is a nice size lake and great place to spend some time with friends who live there.



submitted by: Sharon Melvin Kinney (WI '64)
sharonymc@citynet.net

I'm pretty sure this is a picture of Maple Lake, taken from the clubhouse side.  I spent some wonderful summer days at Maple Lake.  Had a neighbor who took me there on several occasions, as we didn't have car.



submitted by: Fred G. Layman (VHS '46)
FGL46VHS@AOL.COM

The trivia photo featured in the latest WI News Letter is of Maple Lake. This lake was built by the Duffy Floyd Development Company in 1929. It is located East of Bridgeport on Rt. 50. The distance is approx. 3 miles. The land at the lake was divided into lots and sold to citizens who at first built rustic cabins with wood stoves. In the forties Maple Lake became an area of permanent residences for 125 families. The club house was built in 1938 at a cost of $10,000.00. Around 1957 a sewage disposal system was built and is located at the South end of the lake. An up to date maintenance shop is located a short distance left of the club house with a year round care taker. The Duffy Floyd Development Company also built Lake floyd in 1922. Some other artificial lakes with in Harrison County are Buffalo, Deegan, Hinkle, Oral and Stoney Harbert.



submitted by: Judy Holden Cork (WI '62)
jhcork@bellsouth.net

The trivia picture for July looks like Maple Lake. I have a lot of fond memories of the lake. I spent many summers swimming in the lake and ice skating on it in the winters. It had, and I suppose it still does, a very large slide that I had to get up a lot of nerve to go down.



TRIVIA PICTURE FOR AUGUST 2007



Recognize the picture above? Please include a memory with your guess. I will not print incorrect guesses. Write Roleta1@aol.com.



THANKS TO CLARKSBURG

submitted by: Patrick Elder (ND '57)
st1pat@aol.com

Great July Newsletter! As I get ready this week to travel to Clarksburg  to attend our 50th NDHS Reunion on July 21 at Stonewall Resort I am really, really excited. Back in the 50's I was always excited to get back to Clarksburg at the end of the summer because football was starting a couple weeks ahead and I got to see all those guys again, but the first day of school was  just as good because then I got to see all of the rest of my schoolmates again.

I worked some of my summers in New Jersey and New York so I was away. It is a lot like that again. I have been away in Dayton for almost 50 years now, and it is once again time to go back and see everyone again. You know, my head is spinning with all of my Clarksburg memories from WWII to present. I wouldn't change a minute of it...even the mistakes.

Clarksburg gave me about everything I have. The people that were my mentors (and it did take a village to train my thick head) taught me how to work! My single best gift ever! They also taught me how to think and to love, to forgive and how to help others. They instilled such faith in me that I was ready to go out into the world and be sure of myself. All of them gave of themselves and never asked for anything back. For all of them I really give thanks. Like Jim Alvaro, Dr. James Brennan worked a miracle on me too.

I started to grow up during the blackouts of WWII in Charleston. We moved back to Clarksburg when my dad went into the Army. We lived in a log cabin out in the country along the West Fork River. It was pretty dark out there and very lonely. I remember riding the streetcar to town to school. In 1946 we went to the streetcar station (where the busses came in) and welcomed my dad home from the war. I still tear-up remembering that.

Then we moved to North View. I spent a lot of time at the N.V.playground playing ball and getting into all kinds of fights. I had a paper route with 150 customers with a whole lot of backtracking. I got into at least three fights a night on my route.

Then we used to go way back up on the hill toward Arlington Addn. to the mines. There were strip mines and mine tunnels both. At the strip mine there was a sheer cliff about a hundred feet down and the KKK used to meet at the bottom. We would throw coal down at them. They would come after us on horseback with their sheets flyin'. We would go hide in the tunnels until they were gone. Some of the NV names I remember are Tuffy, Dale & Turtle Knight, "A" & "B" Williams, Punky Garrett, Gerry Criner, Joe Deluca, Kenny Insani, John Paletta, Pete Perry, Buzz Floyd, Bobby Barnes, Cliff Jones and Randy & Donnie Heffner. There were many more than I can name.

In 1951 we moved to Broad Oaks, right between Nickie Alvaro and Don Sager. Most of the Broad Oaks gang shows up in the newsletter frequently. It was a great place to live. We didn't have a playground like the rest but we used all of Broad Oaks as our playground. I used to go over to Jackson Park to play ball some.

One summer when I was working out near the CCC, I would thumb a ride into Stealey Playground to play under the lights. In high school I loved football and basketball. ND didn't play WI or Victory on our schedule but we had Fairmont West, Grafton, Dodridge, Phillppi, Bridgeport & RW etc. We scrimmaged Victory in my soph. year and that was the best game I ever played. I knew most of them, I was supercharged for that one.

In my senior year my classmates elected me class president. That was the biggest shock of my life up to then!!! They will never know how much that meant to me and how much it helped me. I was a little shy up to then and outside of sports, probably didn't have the greatest self-image. It was probably the one single event to help me most for the rest of my life. I've never said it before, but I hope I can find a way to tell them at the reunion and thank all of them.

I left Clarksburg to go to college and I found the opportunity elsewhere to go into the construction field, work hard (learned that in Clarksburg) and with a lot of luck was able to start our own construction company. I am still working and my son is now the President. Joan and I will celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary in Nov. this year.

Yes, Clarksburg was a village of dedicated mentors that taught me well. I will never forget them. I am really eager to see my old classmates. I will never forget them ever, either. It has been a great life. Thanks Ya'll.



WHEN YOU do something, do it to the best of your ability. Do a job well enough that you would be proud to have anyone see that you signed your name to the completed job.



GOOD HOUSKEEPING ARTICLE FROM 1955

COMMENTS

submitted by: John Teter (WI '61)
jteter@balmar.com

I went thru this list and THEN asked my wife to do the same, to see what her REACTION is to the Good Housekeeping article.  I “may” share her reactions with you, but that will be determined once I get her response to the article.  It will be just as interesting to see if my brother (Bob, 60) and/or my sister (Lib, 56) respond to the article.

My FIRST RESPONSE is:  WHERE IS THE LADY WHO WROTE THIS ARTICLE?  She must have been the “one that got away”.  I think that my wife is very good to me, but one thing has changed since 1955:  MOST WIVES WORK AS WELL AS DO THE HUSBANDS!

I tried comparing my memories of my mother and father in these environments, and I cannot honestly say that I can remember anything more than (1) dinner was planned around my father’s “time to eat”; not that dinner was ready when he walked in the house from work.

I cannot remember a lot of clutter in our house, either from schoolbooks, toys, papers and I have always thought that my mother was a “happy housewife”, so she did not have to PUT ON a front.  I think that being a housewife just came naturally to her, and I think that my dad had his “thing” to do and he involved the other members of the family when he felt that that was what he wanted to do.  We always had wonderful times together, going to Audra State Park or over into Ohio to see family and/or friends and/or going to sporting events, whether I was playing or watching.

The only time that I can remember having to KEEP QUIET, was AFTER my dad had decided to “rest his eyes” on the sofa in the dining room and/or on the couch in the living room.

I do not think that I can remember any “forced issues” of my mother forcing herself to do any of the Good Housekeeping GOODIE list of items; I just think that she was good at being a total mother and wife.  AND, she is still a GOOD MOTHER, as she is now 91 years YOUNG!



UPTOWNER INN

submitted by: Sherry Hutchison Keith (WI '64)
SKeith1514@aol.com

I have been working too much lately. I let the trivia photo go by without a comment. The Uptowner Inn was a very modern motel right down town. The dinning room served great food, and the accommodations were tops. My mother Peggy Hutchison worked there in the mid 60's , scheduling and planning conventions there. Her office was a small desk in the lobby. She enjoyed working there. 

The upstairs coffee shop always held a friend or two after hours. You never knew who you would run into in there. But always it would be someone you knew. After  my parents died and I moved away, I returned and stayed there a time of two. Finally after some years had passed I drove into town very late and I was tired. I quickly pulled into the entranceway and started to go in to register when I realized it was abandoned. I was heart sick. It was dark and empty, very sad. Also it left nowhere in town to stay! I couldn't imagine that!

I guess we all miss our old town.



LITTLE LEAGUE PICTURES

submitted by: Nancy Rice DeLaney (WI '62)
NLDelaney@aol.com

In the PPG Babe Ruth picture, the boy beside of Sarge on top row is Gene Weekley.  Seems if I remember correctly, he was from West Milford as he was a good friend of "Automatic" Campbell.  My sister Judy would know more about where they are from as she was the scorekeeper.



submitted by: Tom Kearns (WI '61)
ftkearns@iolinc.net

Roleta.........In the June issue there's a photo of the City Service little league baseball team........Second row kneeling, kid in the middle with shadow over him was identified as Mickey McGowan........I believe that's wrong and I think if Barry Mazza will check he'll find out that's in fact  Mike King (WI, 61).........

Just wanted to set the record straight...........



SPORTS

EDITOR’S NOTE: I have started this section to get some chat going about sports in the newsletter. I hope that you will write to the newsletter in response to some of the following letters. Perhaps one of the letters will inspire you to write about sports when you were young or even now. If you played a sport or are a sports fan, share it with us. Several people answered my plea to start this section. I hope that you will respond so that this section may become a permanent section. Write to: Roleta1@aol.com

submitted by: Bill Meredith (Monongah '57)
billmere@aol.com

BASEBALL WHEN I WAS YOUNG: My earliest recollection of baseball was in the fall of 1946. I was at the local movie theatre watching the Movietone News, which always preceded the featured film. Part of the news was the recent World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox. Enos Slaughter had scored the winning run for the Cardinals in the deciding game, going from first base to home on a hit by a teammate. As young people often do, I went with the winner. From that day until the present, St. Louis has been the major league team I have always followed. Stan Musial became my hero. I would sit for hours outside the local pool hall, watching the men post the results of all the games, inning by inning, on the big blackboard. They received their information from a Western Union ticker-tape machine. I was never allowed inside the pool hall, but still kept close tabs on my beloved Cardinals from the sidewalk outside, from where I could see the entire board. I even occasionally could listen to the games on radio station KMOX, St. Louis, the 50,000 watt flagship station of the Cardinal network. I loved the game and played as often as I could on the local sandlots (more like cinder lots) and in the local Little League. When I visited my sister in Hammond, Ind. one summer, I joined the Turner Yanks, a team of 13 year olds. It topped off a wonderful experience for a young boy from WV who had never been out of the state. I also got to see all of the Chicago Cubs and White Sox home games on WGN-TV. I was in heaven. At home, there were always the Pittsburgh Pirate games on radio with Rosey Rosewell and Bob Prince, who incidentally, almost never traveled with the team, but did the play-by-play using the Western Union ticker-tape. I still follow the game, but have been disillusioned by the huge salaries, ticket prices, steroids and other things which have happened to take the game away from the common fans. Unfortunately, baseball is no longer “America’s Pastime”. However, they can’t take away the memories of that young boy in the hills, who lived and died with every pitch back in the 50’s.



submitted by: Augie Malfregot (WI '56)
admasa@onearrow.net

BOB MCCARTY (WI 1952) : He was captain of U Va basketball and was a prolific scorer. He had a couple games where he scored over 40 points. One of his teammates BUZZY Wilkerson was the national NCAA leader with an average in the middle 30's. Bob played at the playground quite a lot his late high school years and early college years. I was in junior high at the time.



submitted by: Randy Martin (WI '74)
rlmartin@aep.com

KEN ASH
Written by Bill Akin (published with permission from Bill Akin)

Kenneth Lowther Ash pitched in the minor leagues from 1924 to 1940 with trips to the majors for 49 games over four seasons. He compiled a none-too-impressive major league record of six wins against eight losses with a 4.96 ERA, mostly with Cincinnati between 1928 and 1930. As a minor league pitcher he notched over 150 victories.

The guides erroneously list his birthplace as Anmore, West Virginia, even though that town did not exist at the time of his birth. In fact, he was born on a farm in Harrison County, West Virginia, five miles outside the county seat of Clarksburg. His grandfather, Silas Ash-a farmer, carpenter, and land developer-had purchased several hundred acres there in 1894. Ken was born on the farm September 16, 1901, the son of William W. Ash and Alice Lowther Ash. In addition to Ken, the family consisted of an older brother and three younger sisters. Shortly after Ken's birth, the Ashes began selling their land holdings. The Grasselli Chemical Company established a plant on one of these holdings in 1903 and an unincorporated industrial village known first as Grasselli sprung up on the former Ash property. After the Union Carbide Corporation purchased the plant a few years later, residents began calling the place Anmore, a variation on Ann Moore's Run, the stream that runs through the town. In 1950 the village officially became incorporated as Anmore. (Davis, 341-342)

Ken Ash grew up in the village and lived there all his life. He took a trolley into Clarksburg to attend Washington Irving High School. There he played basketball well enough to lead the high school team in scoring in 1918-19 as well as pitching for the baseball team. After high school he enrolled at West Virginia Wesleyan College but dropped out after one year. He then worked with his father to learn carpentering as a trade. In summers he pitched for local amateur teams for two years and then spent two summers, 1922 and 1923, pitching in Luray and New Market, Virginia, in the semi-professional Shenandoah Valley League.

Ash began his professional career in 1924 with Rocky Mount, North Carolina, in the Virginia League. The 5' 11", 165-pound right-hander became the workhorse of the pitching staff, logging 281 innings and compiling a 17-14 record, while also pitching a no-hitter against Norfolk. After his first year as a pro, the Chicago White Sox drafted Ash off of the Rocky Mount roster.

Ash's introduction to the major leagues was inauspicious. He pitched only four innings in two White Sox games in 1925 without gaining a decision. Ash experienced control problems and Chicago quickly decided he needed more seasoning. The ChiSox sent him down to Little Rock in the Southern Association. Before the season ended, he found himself back with Rocky Mount in the Virginia League.

For the next two seasons, he toiled for the Petersburg (Virginia) Broncos, also of the Virginia League. In 1926 he won 12 games but lost 19 in 274 innings with a 3.88 ERA. The following year he became the dominant pitcher in the league when he posted 18 wins against 10 losses. More importantly, he led the Virginia League in strikeouts and earned run average with a 2.23 mark. Never again did he post significant strikeout numbers. Not a power pitcher, he relied on a nasty curve and groundball outs.

On the basis of his 1927 record, the Columbus Senators of the American Association purchased Ash for 1928. He pitched there for portions of the next seven years, splitting time with Cincinnati in three of those years.

He shuttled between Columbus and Cincinnati in 1928, 1929 and 1930. For the Reds he started 13 games and relieved in 37, winning six and losing eight. In 1929 he spent most of the season in Cincinnati, appearing in 23 games but managing only one win against five losses.

His 1930 statistics were a very respectable 2-0 with a 3.43 ERA. Despite the promise he showed that year, he never again had a shot at the majors.

His best game in the majors came on July 4, 1929. Pitching for the Reds against the pennant winning Chicago Cubs, he struck out Kiki Cuyler, Rogers Hornsby, Riggs Stephenson, and Hack Wilson in order. There were not many such occasions in Ash's career. During his time on major league rosters, he walked more than he struck out.

Ash's final major league win brought him more recognition than any of his other performances. On July 27, 1930, with the Reds down by one run in the fifth inning against the Cubs, Ash entered the game with the bases loaded and none out. He delivered only one pitch to Charley Grimm, who hit into a triple play. In the bottom of the inning, Ash was removed for a pinch hitter as the Reds scored three runs and coasted to victory. Ash was credited with the win. Three outs and a victory on one pitch! A Ripley's "Believe It or Not" feature depicted the event in newspapers across the country the following year. Despite his one-pitch glory, the Reds sold Ash back to Columbus where he pitched in 1931, 1932, and portions of 1933 and 1934. He went 16-10 in 1931 when he again worked over 200 innings, but dropped to 10-9 the following summer.

In 1931 Columbus became a St. Louis Cardinals' farm club known as the Red Birds. The Cardinals immediately upgraded the facilities in Columbus, constructing a new state-of-the-art stadium. Red Wing Stadium (now Franklin County Stadium) opened on June 3, 1932, with Ash on the mound. Pitching before a crowd of 15,000, which included baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and St. Louis general manager Branch Rickey, Ash pitched the Red Birds to an 11-2 victory over Louisville. Later in the same month, on June 17, the club played the first night game at the new stadium before a record crowd of 21,000. Ash again was the winning pitcher and drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the home team a 5-4 win over St. Paul.

Ash retired from baseball briefly after four games in 1933. The depression years, however, were hard on carpenters, so he returned to the game in 1934. After a 0-2 start at Columbus, the Red Wings sold him to Buffalo of the International League. He continued to be a durable Triple A pitcher for six seasons. During that time he won 78 games for the Bisons against 66 losses. His best season was 1935 when he went 18-11 with a 3.80 ERA, working 249 innings. In 1936 Buffalo won the International League title with Ash contributing a 13-9 mark. After a down year in 1937 (11-16), he bounced back with a 15-8, 3.90 record in 1938. Opposing batters managed to hit only .233 against him. After the 1939 season, when he slipped to 10-9, Buffalo released him.

He finished up his professional baseball career at Chattanooga in the Southern Association in 1940. He went 12-12 and finished second in the league with a 3.06 earned run average. It was clear, however, that after ten years away from the majors he would not get another chance.

Ash had married Mary Ann Barron on November 16, 1935. They built a house on his fathers' property on Ash Lane in the village overlooking the carbon electrode plant. The Ashes had two children, Kenneth Edward Ash and Beverly Ash Hathaway. In March 1941, he notified Chattanooga that he was retiring to take a job at the Union Carbide plant, where he would work for the next twenty-five years.

Ash found time for baseball after his pro career ended. He played, coached and supervised baseball in the Clarksburg area for the remainder of his life. He played mostly first base for a succession of local semi-pro teams--the Clarksburg Generals, Muntzing Jeeps, Moorehouse Kelvinators, and Swaney Coal. The Swaney team, which won four Central West Virginia championships, 1952-56, featured future pro football Hall of Famer Sam Huff and major leaguers Paul Popovich and Jim Fridley. After he ceased playing, Ash managed the Clarksburg American Legion team and headed the Anmore Little League and Babe Ruth League. He also scouted for the Cleveland Indians. Ken Ash died in a Clarksburg hospital November 15, 1979, and is buried there in Elk View Cemetery.

Sources

Chrissman, David F. The History of the Virginia League. Bend, Oregon: Maverick Publication, 1988.

Clarksburg (WV) Telegram, November 17, 1979.

Davis, Dorothy. History of Harrison County West Virginia. Clarksburg, West Virginia: American Association of University Women, 1970.

Lieb, Fred. The Cincinnati Reds. New York: G.P. Putnam, 1948.

Overfield, Joseph M. The 100 Seasons of Buffalo Baseball. Kenmore, New York: Partners' Press, 1985.

Westlake, Charles. Columbus Baseball History, 1876-1981. Columbus, Ohio: Pfeifer Printing Co., 1981.



submitted by: John Teter (WI '60)
jteter@balmar.com

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BASEBALL TEAMS: Sometime in the past, I have sent you (or Judy) a picture of a Knights of Columbus baseball team that I played on, prior to my stint at WI, but with a lot of Hilltopper guys from the classes of 59-62.  I had written a list of the players that were in the picture, but I could not put names to each player.

Most of our games were played at Norwood/Stonewood/Nutterfort, Veterans Park, and various away games – some of which seemed to be played in COW PASTURES!

I can remember going to watch my brother play baseball, along with Fred and Jim Alvaro, Paul Popovich, Anthony Julian, and too many others to mention.

When I outgrew baseball with the Knights of Columbus, I went to Jackson Park and/or the Stealey playground and played basketball and/or just hung around with the other people at the park.  I remember a lot of basketball playing at Stealey and even remember my best friend in high school getting in a fight during one of our basketball games.  It was on a Saturday afternoon, and the same evening we went to the Bridgeport Civic Center with him sporting a “shiner”.

My family used to go out to watch the ballgames being played at Willow Beach.  I think that I spent a lot of time down by the creek that ran behind the ballpark more than watched I watched the games.



submitted by: Lance (Lanny) Miller (WI '61)
Lancemillerjd@aol.com

BASEBALL FAN: As a young kid I was (and still am) a sports nut - stemming from my Dad who took me to WI basketball and football games, professional wrestling and semi-pro basketball games starting in the first grade. As a fan, I closely followed the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Indians, as they were the only big league teams whose games were regularly televised on the local/regional TV stations.  When I say "sports nut", I mean I not only listened to Pirates games on the radio, I kept statistics, collected trading cards and often went to both Cincinnati Reds games (my relatives lived in Ohio) and Pirates games.   I attended my first major league game at the old Crosley Field in Cincinnati when I was five years old and remember being mesmerized by the steam of the dry ice.  

One summer, a local radio station (I think WBOY) conducted a weekly sports trivia contest.  The weekly winner received two tickets to a Pittsburgh Pirates game.  After I won three weeks in a row, the station prohibited me from entering anymore.   



submitted by: Mike Snyder (WI '57)
mefastwater@yahoo.com

BLUE AND GOLD: The latest issue of the Blue & Gold News, a WVU sports periodical, had a long feature about the best WVU teams from the 1940’s into the 60’s. Naturally, Hot Rod Hundley and Jerry West were featured prominently. Two of WI’s most outstanding basket players were also noted as being key players during the University’s reign as the top dogs in college basketball.

The Mountaineers spent eight weeks at No. 1 during the 1957-58 season. WVU averaged 87 points that season, a mark the Mountaineers have not beaten since Jerry West graduated. WVU bowed out in the first round of the NCAA tournament that season largely because senior guard Don Vincent of Shinnston was gone due to a broken leg in the Southern Conference tournament.

It was the following year that West led the Mountaineers to the national championship game where they lost by one-point, 71-70, to California. West was the greatest college player of his era, but he was not a one-man show. Two ex-WI Hilltoppers played their roles in guiding the Mountaineers to the top in this period. They were Bob Clousson, WI 1955, who lived up on the Hill, I believe, and Jim Warren, WI 1956, who was from Stealey. They are given full credit in the Blue & Gold News in what was described as “possibly WVU’s finest collection of talent ever.” In addition to Clousson and Warren from WI, others mentioned on those teams included: Willie Akers, Jim Ritchie, Bucky Bolyard, Bobby Joe Smith, Butch Good, Jody Gardner, and Ronnie Retton.

I watched Mountaineer basketball history unfold each week in the Old Field House. First the long blue and gold carpet was rolled out, then the Mountaineers, one of the few teams sporting knee socks would hit the court dribbling those blue and gold basketballs. The other teams would stare in open-mouthed awe of the Mountaineers. We knew they were unstoppable and listened breathlessly to our radios that fateful night when WVU played down to the wire to determine the National Championship. Somehow, someway, the wrong team won, or rather, the best team lost, (by one point). We refused to believe and could not accept it—still can’t after all these years.

West went on to be an All-American and NBA star, plus a gold medal winner in the Olympics, along with the second-best college player in America, Oscar Robertson. Jerry West was not a legend then; he was real flesh and blood—one of us. There were only 7,000 students at WVU then and many of the students had nodding acquaintances or at least recognition with these great players. My acquaintance with Jerry West was a little more than that. Jerry was a year ahead of me. I was on the WVU swim team at that time, also. He and I dated sorority sisters and I would see Jerry and his gal Janey at the Chi Omega house a lot. That summer found some of these sorority girls in Weston organizing a party. The party was to be all the way down in southern Upshur County on the Little Kanawha River. My girl friend and I ended up on this W.Va. road trip being chauffeured to and from the party by the “immortal” Jerry West and his girlfriend. What did we talk about during that trip? I can’t remember one single thing because Jerry West was not much of a talker. In fact, he and Janey disappeared for the course of the party, only to reappear when it was time for the long drive back to Weston…And Jerry, if for some reason, you should happen to read this brief tale, thanks again for such a memorable ride that summer in your green Pontiac.

To Bob Clousson and Jim Warren, thanks for helping put WVU and that guy from Cabin Creek named West into “Sports History”!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you have any comments about the above articles? Write to me at Roleta1@aol.com. We appreciate hearing from you. Your comments and memories are what keep this newsletter alive.



NEWSPAPER CARRIERS

submitted by: Lance (Lanny) Miller (WI '61)
Lancemillerjd@aol.com

You can count me as one of those whose earliest jobs was delivering newspapers.  I had both Clarksburg Exponent (morning and of Democratic persuasion) and Clarksburg Telegram (evening and Republican persuasion) routes, the former I understood to be the largest at the time.



NEXT MONTH

submitted by: Roleta
Roleta1@aol.com

Write to me next month about the following subjects: Write one email about any one subject. If you wish to write about more than one subject, please put each subject in a different email to me….Write in sentence form…That means capital letters at the beginning of a each sentence and a period at the end. I will edit and help you. Sign your name, school and year you graduated….might even be nice if you also sign your email address at the end too….

Write about:
1. Sports---either as a participant or a fan. Write to: Roleta1@aol.com

2. Newspaper Carriers: Lance Miller, Bill Meredith, Pat Elder, and Bob Davis have written previously that they were newspaper carriers when they were boys. Any others? Write to us about your experiences—give us a story if you can or just send me your name and tell me what years you carried the newspaper. I know there have been others in the past 8 years who have told me about their experiences but I didn’t keep a list. Now I will keep a list if you will write and tell me---lets see how many of you (guys or gals) were newspaper carriers when young. You have 2 months to send in your name or miss the list. Even if you told me before that you were a paper carrier, please write and make sure you are on the list. I will publish the list and the stories in October. ONLY IN OCTOBER SO IF YOU WRITE LATER ABOUT IT, YOU WILL MISS THE CUT OFF…SEPTEMBER 24TH IS THE CUT OFF DATE FOR YOU! Thanks for helping us honor the NEWSPAPER CARRIERS! Write to me at Roleta1@aol.com

3. My requested recipes. We all love good food! Write to Roleta1@aol.com

4. How much you enjoyed your class reunion and why, who did you see that you hadn’t seen in years? What funny thing happened there? What memories were shared? What was the best thing about your reunion this summer?

5. Tell us about a picnic you enjoyed this summer—was it a family picnic, a company picnic, one put on by an organization, the WI picnic, the picnic put on by Rex at his home for the people of Hartland or the Broad Oaks picnic?

6. What you enjoyed most about the WI Picnic you attended on August 25, 2007 at the VA park?

7. Stores in downtown Clarksburg or the surrounding area.

8. Anything in the newsletter this month that jogged a memory.

9. Any subject you wish to write about to me.



TO STAY HAPPY AND HEALTHY: Laugh often, laugh loud, laugh until you cry or until it hurts. Make others laugh too.


PLAYGROUNDS

submitted by: Jim Alvaro (WI '56)
Jalvaro@aol.com

I remember the playgrounds well.  The kids on "Lower Broad Oaks", including Clay Street and all streets between Monticello Ave and Clay Street, went to Elm Street Playground.  I remember in the evenings we roasted potatoes over an open fire.  I also remember making a million potholders by weaving colored yarn in and out, over and under a small square piece of metal frame.  My mother still had a couple of them in her kitchen cabinet drawer when she passed away.  I think that is why I don't crochet now because I got burned out making them.  Maybe I will start taking classes.  Remember swinging on those heavy chain swings to see who could swing above the bar?  I did not compete in that because I was too heavy and the others kids were to small to push me to get me started.  We played softball and baseball and the field was so small that the left fielder had to stand half way up a steep hill leading to Clay St..  If the ball was hit up on the hill and was not caught by the left fielder, the grass was so high that it took both teams to walk up the hill and look for the ball. We played other playground teams such as Jackson Park, Stealey Playground, Chestnut Hills, and I can't think of the others.  Some playgrounds we played basketball as they had no softball fields and some we played both.  I remember a team, The Dixie Diner,  were the team to beat. They were located across the tracks from Kelly Hill called PK Addition. I don't know if there is any town in the country that has as many additions as Clarksburg but that will probably be another topic for future newsletters. Elm St. Playground was located right along side of the Elk "Crick". Speaking of the Elk Creek, a good trivia question is guess how many times the streets of Clarksburg cross over the creek.  We had no water at our playground and if we wanted water someone would have to have a mason jar and we would sneak to some nearby house and use their outside faucet for the water. Once in a while, a good neighbor would give us some ice cubes to put in our jar and let us use the faucet.  Now, going to Stealey and Jackson Park, if I remember well they had water fountains.  What a luxury item.

I don't know how many playgrounds are in Clarksburg today but I do know that Elm Street Playground is no longer there.  If there are still playgrounds in and around Clarksburg, I hope they enjoy them as much as I did growing up in BROAD OAKS.



submitted by: Steve Harrison (WI '77)
WvSkeeter@netzero.com

You should not forget about the swim teams that each of the local pools had. A lot of us that went to WI participated on these teams. Stealey, and the Chestnut Hills / Country Club teams had many future WI grads on them. We swam against other teams from Nutter Fort, Quite Dell, Buchannon, Fairmont, and Shinnston. We would practice every morning before the pool would open getting up at 7am and being at the pool by 8am in the summer was tough for some but I loved it! These practices and meets were a great way to stay in touch during the summer.



MONTPELIER PLAYGROUND

submitted by: Betty Latstetter Burke (WI '58)
ejaneburke2000@yahoo.com

It was the summer of ‘59, the break after my first year in Morgantown. I got a job working for the city playgrounds. Louis Bauld, R-W principal, was in charge of the program, and other names I recall as being part of the staff include John Terango, Louis Leroy, and Angeline Cann. Mr. Bauld assigned me to Montpelier. I guess he figured I could handle the small fry, and they were that--from toddlers to grade schoolers, many showing up every day. It turned out to be a wonderful summer for me.

These kids would have graduated from high school in the late sixties and early seventies--from Notre Dame and WI.

This was Frankie. (Forgive me, Frankie. I don't remember your last name, although there are many names once so familiar to me that I have now forgotten.) He had a pugnacious little face and I often expected him to haul off and hit me. Instead, he met me at the bus stop every morning and held my hand all the way to the playground.


We get by with a little help from our friends.



This was Tony Marchio. (Later principal of WI) His nickname was June Bug.



Note the old fashioned playground equipment--just the basics for us.



This was Frankie Sipko. He was the pitcher for their little league team, and the little girls thought he was really cute.


Good summer for hula hoops



Some of the mothers organized a farewell picnic for me at the end of summer.



Mrs. Fragmin, mother of Donna, and Mrs Cherubino, mother of Mickey and Nancy. They both lived across the street from the playground and we became good friends over the summer. Mrs Fragmin once made me a hot pepper sandwich and stood there while I ate it.


Donna Fragmin is holding the stick with the wiener on it. The second girl on the left was named Linda and on my last day she cried. The next summer I saw her with her mother in town. After her mother and I both said hello, I heard Linda ask her, "Who was that?"


Here's to you Theresa and Joey



More of our gang. The little girl in the front row on the left was named Francie. She once asked me, "Do you gotta boy friend? You're big enough to have one." I didn't have one at the time.


Mike and Mickey Cherubino--cousins. Mike's favorite baseball player was Rocco Colavito. He talked about him all the time. Mickey and his sister Nancy lived across the street from the playground.


OBITUARIES

THOMAS A. MARSHALL II
Driving force at Robert Morris University
Feb. 5, 1941 - June 25, 2007

Friday, June 29, 2007
By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For 42 years -- from its days as a junior college to its accreditation as a university in 2002 and beyond -- Robert Morris University has had one constant presence: Thomas A. Marshall II. Hired to teach in 1965, he was most recently the head of the English studies department, the longest-serving faculty member at the school and a respected figure on campus and beyond. Mr. Marshall died Monday of complications following a hernia operation in April. He was 66 and had lived in Stanton Heights.

"I would call him a vital character and a very vital person in all areas," said his friend and colleague, Jay Carson, an RMU English professor hired by Mr. Marshall in 1969. "He knew so much and he was so willing to share it with everyone."

Mr. Marshall, who was instrumental in getting the former Robert Morris College accredited as a university in 2002, was a mentor, teacher and administrator who saw his beloved school expand greatly from its original narrow business focus. The university now offers 30 undergraduate degrees and 19 master's and doctoral programs.

A full professor since the early 1990s, Mr. Marshall was appointed head of the university's newly created department of English studies in 2005 and served as the grand marshal during the school's 2005 and 2006 commencement ceremonies.

Off campus, he was devoted to his wife, Kim, 65, and his son, Trey, 39, of Boulder, Colo., and enjoyed acting in local community theater.

"He was the life of any room that he was in," said Ralph Smith of Rockville, Md., his brother-in-law. "He was, in a lot of respects, larger than life."

Born in Cincinnati, Mr. Marshall grew up in Clarksburg, W.Va., and considered himself a native of the Mountain State. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at West Virginia University, where he and Mr. Carson met.

Mr. Carson, who is originally from Pittsburgh, remembers Mr. Marshall driving him around West Virginia and showing him the countryside.

"He was very proud of his home state," he said.

The two became lifelong friends at WVU, where Mr. Marshall also met his future wife, a native of Fairmont, W.Va., who was studying English literature. The two were married for 41 years. After leaving a position as a graduate assistant at WVU, Mr. Marshall began his career at Robert Morris. He also pursued his doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh but never completed his dissertation.

"He was always very upfront about that," said Mr. Smith.

Through the years at Robert Morris, he served as teacher, consultant, committee chairman, union officer and writer.

In 1969, he was promoted to assistant professor and appointed chairman of his department, a post he held for 12 years. He was named an associate professor in 1974 and became a full professor in 1991.

In addition to his duties at the school, Mr. Marshall was a member of various professional organizations, including the Association for Business Communication, the Hemingway Society and the National Council of Teachers of English.

Funeral services are private.

The university, however, plans to hold a memorial service in the fall. The date and time have not been set.

Contributions may be made to the Robert Morris University Thomas A. Marshall Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o the Office of Institutional Advancement, 6001 University Blvd., Moon, PA 15108.



DELPHINE "DEE" FRYE MOYER

Of Mt. Lebanon Pennslyvania, on Monday, April 16, 2007; beloved wife of the late Howard S. Moyer. Loving mother of Judy (Art) Digiacomo, Jill (Gary) Sunday and the late Jay Moyer. Grandmother of Jay (Kelly), Jeffrey (Heather), Matthew, Andrew, Laura & Rachel. Greatgrandmother of Victoria, Zachary, Gabriella, Dominic, Gianna & Teresina.



WILLIAM W. SIMPSON



William Wilson Simpson, of Charlottesville, Virginia, left his family and friends on Wednesday, July 4, 2007, to join his heavenly father. Mr. Simpson was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Jacqueline Williams Simpson. Mr. Simpson was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia, on July 14, 1922. Prior to his retirement, he was the President and General Manager, and with his wife the co-owner, of Simpson Truck Sales Inc. of Clarksburg, one of the largest GMC-International Harvester Truck dealerships in the country. In 1980, General Motors named him its Truck Dealer of the Year. In 1964 he was elected President of the West Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. Mr. Simpson was an Army veteran and served in Europe during World War II. He attended West Virginia Wesleyan College and graduated from West Virginia University in 1946. Mr. Simpson was an avid golfer and in 1979 won the Seniors Memorial Championship at Farmington Country Club, where he was a long-time member. Although a graduate of West Virginia University, he quickly became a University of Virginia fan after moving to Charlottesville in 1977, and became a member of the Virginia Athletics Foundation. He was also a member of the Boars Head Sports Club. Mr. Simpson is survived by his daughter, Stephanie Simpson Dumville, her husband, Miles, and their son, Miles Ashton Simpson Dumville, of Richmond; his daughter, Jessica Simpson Harrell, her husband, Russell, and their children, Emma Grace Harrell and William Wilson Simpson Harrell, of Atlanta, Georgia; and his sister, Mrs. Norma Jean Fortney and her husband, Brady, of Louisville, Kentucky. Excerpts from Charlottesville, VA progress



MARK MILLS

CLARKSBURG - Mark Mills, age 64, of Nutter Fort, departed this life Saturday, June 30, 2007 at his residence following an extended illness. He was born December 9, 1942 in Clarksburg, a son of the late Dr. Lawrence H. Mills, and Mildred Young Mills, who resides in Clarksburg. His wife, Tracy L. Rundle Mills, whom he married September 26, 1997, survives.

In addition to his mother, and his wife, he is survived by his son, Andrew Mark Mills.

Mr. Mills was a graduate of Washington Irving High School and Salem College. He received his Master’s Degree from Memphis State University in Broadcasting and Television. Mark taught broadcasting for several years prior to owning local radio stations, WVHF and WHAR. He was a member and president of the Central West Virginia Corvette Club, and was very active in various organizations, including the West Virginia Blackberry Festival where he served as the “Expeditor.” He loved being among friends, Corvettes, professional wrestling, and most of all, his beloved son, Andrew.



DR. ALFRED A. BOLTON

DANVILLE, VA - Dr. Alfred A. Bolton, 80, of 217 Brandon Court died Thursday, July 5, 2007 at Danville Regional Medical Center. He had been in declining health since November. Born on Nov. 12, 1926, at Windle Village, near Thorold, Ontario, Canada, he was the son of the late Alfred Bolton and the late Mary Susanah Carpenter Bolton. His family moved to Clarksburg, W.Va. in the early 1930s. He attended schools in Harrison County and graduated from Washington & Irving High School in 1945. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in August 1938. He was in the Army Signal Corps during the closing months of World War II and was a sergeant in the Army of Occupation, Japan. He served as a 1st Lt. during the Korean War. He earned his undergraduate degree from West Virginia University in 1951, his masters at Goddard University in 1980 and his doctorate from Nova Southeastern University in 1985. He was a member of the Davis Masonic Lodge 51 A.F. and A.M. in Keyser, W.Va. Dr. Bolton worked in the window glass factories in Clarksburg as a journeyman window glass cutter and he retired from the Bell Telephone Company after 35 years as a director. He taught at Trinity College and the American University in Washington D.C., George Mason University in Fairfax and was a tenured professor at Averett University and chair of the Business Administration until his retirement. In 1998 he received the John F. Mee Award for outstanding contributions to the field of business management history and in 1999 was profiled in the Journal of Management History as one of five business professors highlighted in "Management History Gurus of the 1990s, their lives and contributions." He is survived by his wife, Juanita Kemp Bolton of the home; a stepson, Craig Brookley of Frostburg, MD; and two sisters, Mary Sue Haussner of Chicago and Myrtle Smith of Woodbridge. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a brother, Frederick C. Bolton; and a sister, JoAnn Margaret Bolton.



REV. DR. RAYMOND M. ROWE

Rev. Dr. Raymond M. Rowe died May 29, 2007 at Duke University Hospital.  Dr. Rowe graduated from Washington Irving High School in 1952, attended WVU 1952-54, served in the U.S.Army 1954-56, received his B.A. from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1960, Master of Divinity from Duke University in 1963 and Doctor of Divinity from Drew University in 1980.  He served several United Methodist Churches among which were Fairmont, Beckley and Bluefield as well as administrative posts.



SARAH BITONTI COLASANTE LOPEZ

Sarah Bitonti Colasante Lopez died of natural causes in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania on July 21, 2007. She was 94 years old.  Mrs. Lopez was born on December 12, 1912 (12/12/12) in Clarksburg, West Virginia.  She was a 1930 graduate of Washington Irving High School, where she lettered in basketball.   

In 1941 she married Goffredo  (Freddy) Colasante an immigrant from Scanno, Italy.  In 1945, S2c Colasante was killed in action on the island of Saipan in the South Pacific and Mrs. Colasante returned to Clarksburg.  She worked in Clarksburg at Peggy Shop and Friedlanders for many years before retiring.

Mrs. Lopez later married Frank S. (Loppy) Lopez and remained in Clarksburg until after his death.  At that time she moved to Morgantown and later to Hanover, Pennsylvania to live with her son and then later to Glen Burnie, Maryland to live with a daughter. 

Mrs. Lopez is survived by her children Laura Colasante Buchanan of Glen Burnie, MD, Jeanne Colasante Thomas of Bow, NH, and Dr. Frank J. Lopez of Ellwood City, Pa.  She is also survived by her sons-in-law, Don Buchanan and John (Cotton) Thomas and her daughter-in-law, Barbara Lopez.  Mrs. Lopez had 5 grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren who survive her.   She also has one brother and three sisters who are living. 

Mrs. Lopez was preceded in death by her two husbands, her parents, one brother and three sisters, and a great-grandson.

While residing in Clarksburg, Mrs. Lopez was active as a Notre Dame High School parent, she was a member of William Marconi Lodge of Sons of Italy, Catholic Daughters of America and the Ladies Auxillary of the American Legion.  She was a parishioner of St. John’s Catholic Church and later of Immaculate Conception Parish. 

Mrs. Lopez will be returned to Clarksburg for private burial.  For those who wish to remember her, a donation in her name can be made to Notre Dame High School - In Memory of Sarah Colasante Lopez, 127 W. Pike Street, Clarksburg, WV. 26301 or to the WI "Win" Scholarship.

Excerpts from the Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Danville, Va newspaper.





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