Thursday, May 10, 1917
Arm and farm – Roosevelt
lough deep while slugards
sleep – Franklin
He who by the plough would thrive must either hold the plough or drive others to hold the plough – City Editor
Most men have been raised on the theory that when a war is over men beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. But the war is on us and the first thought of the warring nations is to raise enough food from the ground to keep the people from starving.
The country is responding nobly to the demand, and if the good Lord sends us a good season there will be a great crop raised and Thanksgiving Day will be no perfunctory holiday. They stirred the people and the people stirred the ground and all pray for a rich harvest…
CLEANUP DAYS
The Town Council has set May 21 and 22 as Cleanup Days in the town of Marlinton. Every man, woman and child is urgently requested to see that all trash and rubbish on and about their premises is collected and put in places convenient to be hauled away. The town will furnish wagons to haul away all trash and rubbish so collected. If every person will see to his own premises our town will be clean.
Your cooperation is requested.
F. M. Sydnor, Mayor
LOBELIA
Our community has again been reminded of the shortness of our stay in this world by the summons from on high which came recently to two in our community.
Joseph I. Barker, formerly of North Carolina, but who has for some time been living at Lobelia was killed by a motor while at his work in Wyoming county, this state, on April 2. Mr. Barker was a blacksmith by trade and was at the time of his death working in a shop in the coal fields… He was 57 years old and leaves here a faithful companion, Mary E. Barker, and four children, Virgie, Clod, Avery and Beulah. N. S. Morrison conducted the funeral service at Emmanuel church, after which the body was laid to rest to await the resurrection of the just.
On the 18th of April, the angels came and carried away from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Sparks near Lobelia, the soul of Mirian Edith Sparks, their little granddaughter, aged nine months. The child’s mother, Mrs. Roy Sparks, having been called to her reward last July, the grandparents gladly took care of the little babe. For a time they thought they would not be able to raise the child, but for some time it seemed to be doing very well and was the pride of the home. But almost suddenly, its sickness being only of two days… We know the father, Roy Sparks, cannot help but feel a sense of loneliness, his companion and only child having been taken from him in the last year, but we are sure the attractions on the other shore will be helpful to lead to that blissful place where partings come no more… Funeral service was conducted at Emmanuel church by N. S. Morrison and J. B. Grimes after which the body was laid to rest in the cemetery nearby to await the coming of him who said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me.”
DUNMORE
The county court and road monkey ought to go over the road from Slaty Fork to the top of Valley Mt., and from Stony Bottom to the McLaughlin Church. That would do.
Geo. Shrader brought to the Dunmore mill Monday, 100 bushels of fine corn.
People ought to prepare lots of ground and plant plenty of buckwheat this summer.
The town hall at Raywood is about ready for the roof.
DURBIN
Durbin people have been looking for a submarine to come up the Greenbrier river, or the sheriff to draft men to go to war.
J. M. Colaw was around delivering trees last week.
Joe Ward and Bro. are building fine vats for the Pocahontas Tanning Company.
T. M. Ward has 40 head of fine cattle on E. D. Moore’s grass farm.
George Duncan of Marlinton was here looking after a piece of macadamize on the street.
THE REEK OF THE LEEK
We have been given themes that did not inspire us such as a prose poem on blooded bull calves, but the Charleston Gazette, searching after knowledge gives us one that appeals to us strongly. It is that lily of the valleys of West Virginia, growing in rich damp woods that we call the ramp, but which is known elsewhere as the wild leek. As an antiscorbutic it has few equals, the only drawback being that the user is an offense to the nose polite and it is therefore discouraged in society…
The Charleston Gazette gives us the tune and tells us to go to it. It has been so long since we had an invitation, we swallow the bait, hook, line and sinker.
The ramp, the ramp, the beautiful ramp,
Growing around our annual camp;
How well I remember former years,
Higher up in the vale of tears;
The waxing sun made the sarvice white;
Drove the men to camp and the trout to bite;
Man, and fish, and the sarvice tree,
Affected by spring to the same degree;
A gorge of trout and hot corn pone;
Mountain Dew that would float a stone,
All topped off by a mess of ramps.
In a day when there were no pains or cramps;
Sitting around and smoking plug,
A hot campfire in a shelter snug,
And a dreamless sleep on a pile of hay,
Till the birds tuned up at peep of day!
Ah, me! I peer through the gathering haze,
And groan when I say: Them were the days…
SHOOTING AT CASS
Thaddeus Hall, a brakeman on the Greenbrier division and well known all up and down the valley came to his death by shooting at Cass last Monday night, about 9:20 o’clock.
Hall has been on this run for the past thirteen years and lives at Ronceverte where he has a wife and three children. The run for his train is between Ronceverte and Cass, staying alternate nights at each place. On Monday night he had completed his run to Cass.
At the time above mentioned Bill and Charley Jackson, living near the Y, heard shots and went to investigate and found Hall lying dead. He had been killed by four shots from a thirty-two automatic pistol…
Hall was thirty-three years old.
An inquest was held over the body on Tuesday by Justice Smith and Prosecuting Attorney W. A. Bratton. After the inquest, George Williams, of Cass, was arrested and charged with the shooting and brought to jail Tuesday afternoon. Williams had no statement to make. The name of Mrs. Williams has been coupled with the tragedy.
George Williams is one of the oldest and most valued of the employees of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper company. He is forty-five years old and has been with the company for sixteen years…