Thursday,
November 2, 1967
Old Memories
Sixty-nine years ago the writer attended services in the little white church in what is now Bartow. It was at that time known as Travelers Repose. The minister came once a month to conduct services from Green Bank by horseback.
Those living in the community were VanBuren Arbogast, Henry Flenners, Mack Yeager, Peter D. Yeager, who conducted the post office, which was known as Travelers Repose, Charlie Burner, Lee Burner; the Jake Arbogast house, which is in Durbin was occupied by John H. Beverage; N. B. Arbogast, who lived alone in a small building where he conducted a shoe repair shop near the west branch of the Greenbrier River; all of these families were living in the community when our family arrived here in August 1898. All are gone now and one has only the memories of old friends.
October 1967, a friend took the writer to visit the church, the original building is just as it was more than sixty years ago, but many improvements have been made. A beautiful new entrance has been added and four Sunday School rooms; a building in the rear houses a furnace.The auditorium has been sealed with plasterboard and painted, there is also a new pulpit and an altar rail; the altar rail was built by the late Oscar Slaven and shows much care had been taken in its construction; the rail was presented by the Oldakers and Ernie Wiley Goff in memory of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Wiley.
The old handmade seats have been removed and beautifully finished seats have taken their place; many of the seats were given in memory of loved ones who have gone; the names are on plates as you enter the seats.
We also visited the cemetery, which is in the church yard. One could get quite a bit of history by visiting the landmarks around what at one time was known as the Upper Tract. The ladies of Bartow worked in the W. S. C. S. and bought carpeting and did quite a lot in the way of painting and cleaning.
Mrs. P. F. Eades
Durbin
Men in the Service
Marine Lieutenant Colonel Dallas R. Walker was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device October 10 in formal ceremonies at Coronado, California, by Brigadier General George Webster.
Lieutenant Colonel Walker, then a Major, was cited for his outstanding leadership while serving as Executive Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. The citation reads in part: “During the height of a battle with elements of the North Vietnamese Army he exhibited exceptional professional skill and fearless determination when he unhesitatingly proceeded to the Command Post and assisted the Battalion Commander and his exhausted staff in directing the fire fight. His tactical recommendations, including the use of supporting arms, were instrumental in defeating a numerically superior force. Later when the Battalion Commander was wounded during an enemy mortar attack, Lieutenant Colonel Walker rallied the staff, directed countermortar fire and continued to direct activities until the enemy mortar positions were destroyed.”
BIRTH
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Friel, of Woodbridge, Virginia, a daughter named Donna Erna (Er’nay).
DEATHS
Richard Shannon Gum, two-day old son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gum, of Cass. Burial in the Arbovale Cemetery.
James Lee Colaw, 26, of Durbin, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Colaw, of Durbin. Burial in the Bethel Cemetery.
Elmer Lee Sharp, 78, of Ford Leonard Wood, Missouri, formerly of Mill Point. Born at Jacox, a son of the late John W. and Virginia Tharp Sharp. Burial in the Ruckman Cemetery.
Charles R. Bancroft, 58, of Charleston; born at Seebert, a son of the late Brandon and Mary Jane Herron Bancroft. Burial in Charleston.
Robert Hunter McQuain, 47, of Potomac, Maryland, brilliant engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations died at the home of his mother-in-law, Mrs. E. W. Dolly, with whom he was visiting. Born at Dunmore, a son of the late Robert W. and Madge Sheets McQuain. Burial in the Cedar Hill Cemetery.
Vernon Miller, 70, of Millboro Springs, Virginia, died suddenly while fishing near Millboro.
