Thursday,
February 4, 1915
High water in the Greenbrier River and Knapps Creek Tuesday caused by a heavy rain on the big snow of Sunday. The flood got to the top of the banks but did no damage.
The little child of C. J. Richardson has been very sick.
Editor Times:
In reference to a piece in your paper of January 28, stating I was married and had two children. Will say I haven’t any children and when married to Miss Maude Jackson was under impression that my former wife was divorced, as divorce proceedings was started in Carter county court at Grayson, Ky., about 18 months ago, and beg to state I didn’t find out I wasn’t divorced until after I was married the second time. And I certainly haven’t any children by my former marriage. Thanking you in advance. Please publish this as it is a statement from me.
William Kitchen
Editor Times:
In last week’s issue of The Independent there appeared an article very much of which was incorrect and as it refers to me I will endeavor to give the readers of this article the full truth in the case.
We had not started on a bridal tour, as presumed, when I returned from Ronceverte alone. Neither was I deserted there as I left Ronceverte on Wednesday afternoon, January13, for Cass, and Mr. Kitchen left Ronceverte the following night for Portsmouth, Ohio. Instead of Kitchen appearing in Cass on Friday, as reported, he returned on Wednesday night, January 20, remaining until Saturday. It was through the work of my two brothers-in-law, and our chief of police, J. W. Hall, that Kitchen was arrested in Charleston. The message causing the arrest came from the chief of police of Grayson, Ky., and not from his wife as stated, for had his first wife’s people been inclined to give the correct information about him I would have had warning in time to prevent the mistake I made, for his first wife was an adopted sister of Mrs. Max L. Curry, of this town.
The statement that the reason Kitchen took the long chance of coming back here after me was because he had gotten me in trouble and wanted to get me to his home where I would be taken care of in my trouble, has no truth in it. For the greatest trouble he has gotten me into is the trouble of getting rid of his name.
Maude E. Kitchen
Cass, W.Va.
February 3, 1915
POCAHONTAS
SHEEP IN DEMAND
A. M. McLaughlin’s Sons are in receipt of a letter from Mr. J. L. Gray, of Idaho, wanting to buy three car loads of rams to use on the Merino flocks of the West. Mr. Gray wants rams sired by registered Hampshire rams and from high grade black faced ewes. Pocahontas county each year raises many such sheep. Mr. Gray says in his letter that if he can find what he wants that he will be a regular yearly customer at good prices.
EDRAY
We are still having plenty of snow, rain and sleet.
Feed is getting scarcer every day and no prospect of winter breaking.
Andy Hefner, of Buckeye, was here last week looking after the horse breaking business.
E. F. McLaughlin and son, Gray, passed through town Saturday with some fine calves.
Frank Baxter is at home from Cass, laid up with grippe and cold.
Dick Smith, the great hunter and fisherman and barber is still making his rounds with the foxes.
Last Saturday morning while bringing in some sheep, off the mountains above the Sulphur Spring, for Ellis Sharp, Frank Young came very near losing his life by falling down on the ice and crust and sliding down the mountain over some cliffs of rocks. He was very badly bruised.
One of the biggest excitements here recently was last Saturday morning when it was found that John E. Barlow’s store house was on fire. It caught from the flue about the roof and was under such headway that it could not be stopped and burned down in a little while. This was one of the best store houses in the county, having only been built a little more than four years. Mr. Barlow has the sympathy of the entire neighborhood.
DURBIN
Whooping cough and colds keep up from one family to another, including the tannery district.
The Wilson Cash Store is furnishing coal and makes quick delivery with his horse and sleigh.
The community is talking of ground hog day and woman’s suffrage. No one can tell whether or not the legislators have taken the socialist or the progressive view, they they have twenty months yet in which to study about it before voting.
The Durbin Mercantile Co. has been headquarters for the Majestic range stoves and has a high class demonstrator on hand to show that the Majestic is far better than any other stove.
TOP ALLEGHANY
It has been very icy in this section for some time, but the snow covered it nicely Saturday and Sunday.
The measles have died out in this section and our school lis progressing nicely again.
Lee Wilmoth had the misfortune to hurt himself very badly while pushing a tree sometime ago; he is improving slowly.
Dorsey Freeman and Robert Kramer caught a gray fox and a white skunk, Friday.
Mrs. John A. Beverage has been suffering considerably with her throat for some time.
KNAPPS CREEK
The heavy rain Monday caused many of the streams to be past fording. We need a few more bridges.
The dogs played the d——l with Wise Herold’s sheep Saturday.
Stock is looking fairly well, but feed is scarce.
The protracted meeting at Frost closed last week with about thirty conversions.
MOTHER AND CHILDREN BURNED
One of the saddest occurrences in the whole history of the Greenbrier Valley was the burning to death of Mrs. George Doyle, her little daughter, aged nine, and her son, aged four, when their home at Cass was burned early Wednesday morning. She and her husband and their four children were asleep when Mr. Doyle was aroused by smoke in his room and found the whole house to be on fire. He roused his wife and told her to hand the children to him out of a window which was some distance from the ground, the way through the door being cut off by fire. He let two of the children out of the window and then he jumped out, but his wife was overcome by the heat and could not hand out the other children nor come out herself. Before being overcome she had gotten the children to the window. By the time Mr. Doyle had gotten a ladder to the window the building was entirely on fire and he was severely burned trying to get his wife and children. When the fire hose had come, little could be done other than save the adjoining buildings.
Mrs. Doyle was about thirty years of age. She was a daughter of P. S. Cutlip, of Riverside, and had
been married to Mr. Doyle about ten years. She was a good, kind, christian woman. The burial will be at the Cochran graveyard today.
Mr. Doyle was brought to the Marlinton Hospital this morning.
