Thursday, March 31, 1921
Very heavy freeze on Monday and Tuesday nights, which has put a check on vegetation. It is probable that peaches and other early fruits are badly injured over the entire country. The thermometer registered sixteen above at Marlinton Tuesday night. Ice froze on the streams.
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The Browns Creek road from Huntersville to the Greenbank district line has been put in fine shape by Cam McLaughlin and Everett Dilley, and in a very short time. Early work is what counts in getting our earth roads in proper shape.
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Born to Mr. and Mrs. Loyd VanReenan, at Woodrow, a son.
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Too small to fight, describes the war between Panama and Costa Rica. They started a war and the United States told them to quit and that was about all there was to it…
The fuss was over the line. It used to be crooked, and the arbitrator straightened it and ran it from ocean to ocean. Beginning at a stake at lower water mark on the Atlantic Ocean, then south to a stake at low water mark on the Pacific Ocean, so to speak. While it was going on, there was a similar war between Nicholas county and Greenbrier county over Cold Knob, which seems to have been settled in favor of Greenbrier County by the legislature…
MURDER AND ROBBERY
Last Friday night, a woods camp containing about thirty Slav laborers was sound asleep. The camp is located on the North Fork of Cranberry River within the county of Pocahontas. It is a part of the woods work of the Cherry River Boom and Lumber Company, with headquarters at Richwood. The camp was a long building with all the men sleeping in bunks in one room. For the purpose of a hold up, it might be termed to be well adapted to that kind of an attack, even as a Pullman car.
Out of the night, three men came upon that camp and entered. The sleeping men were aroused to find a man with a pistol at each end of the camp, with an extra man to relieve them of their savings. The program moved along without a hitch until the robber reached the bunk of a Russian who had something over two thousand dollars on him, and he revolted.
Then one of the guards came forward swiftly and shot six holes into the protester, and after that no further resistance was made. The Russian died instantly.
The men gathered up about ten thousand dollars in currency, six thousand dollars in checks, and some watches and jewelry. They went together a short distance until they reached the waters of Williams River and there they seem to have separated.
A telegram was received at this place Saturday giving word of the occurrence. On Sunday, a young man of Austrian nationality came out of the woods from the general direction of the scene of the robbery and attracted a good deal of attention under the circumstances from the fact that he was bare headed, his shoes badly worn, his face and hands badly scratched, and having a general appearance of having fled through the woods. He was not arrested at the time, but the word was sent to Marlinton, and Policeman R. K. Burns went after him.
The stranger struck the railroad near Seebert and hit the ties for the outside world.
He walked eighteen miles. In the meantime, Mr. Burns had taken a ride on a railroad motorcycle and had run to Renick and got off there and sent the car back, and started to walk back toward Pocahontas County, thoroughly convinced that he would meet the man.
Near Renick, he met him and took him by holding a revolver on him.
When he was searched, the sum of $2,280.00 in currency was found on him in a loose roll. He was brought to Marlinton Monday, and has been held for the Cranberry affair. He claims to have won the money playing poker at Elkins the night of the robbery.
He gave his name as James Antphor and claims that he registered as an alien in the draft from Durbin in 1917.
HILLSBORO
Fine weather, peach and plum trees in full bloom; grass is making a fine start. We are about a month in advance of former seasons.
W.C. Householder and W.A. Browning motored through town Sunday.
H. Kelmenson and family and Miss Bright, of Marlinton, and Tom Sawyer, a merchant tailor of Baltimore, were visitors at I.B. Shrader’s at Fair View Farm, Sunday.
Tom Burgess has recently sold his property to Lee Beard. Mr. Burgess and A. C. Bransford have purchased property in the city of Charleston. We regret to see these good people leave our neighborhood.
Miss Eula Hill closed her school at Locust Creek last Friday.
Sterl and Raymond Shrader of the Hill country, spent Saturday night with their uncle, I. B. Shrader.
We would like to see some work done on the pike leading to Droop Mountain. The mud holes should be filled up so the traveling public could go over them in safety and motorists would not have to be pulled out of the mud holes by farmers’ teams along the road.
LINWOOD
With the thermometer registering 81 in the shade on the 20th and the birds singing, makes one feel as though spring had come.
Mr. Stokoe, County Agricultural Agent, held a fine meeting here last week with a group of interested farmers. Such questions as lime, fertilize and better sires were discussed.
E.H. Williams and Frank Baxter, of Marlinton, passed through our section last week looking over the roads. We hope we will get some work done which is badly needed.
BEAVER CREEK
We are having nice weather to farm. Everyone is about done plowing.
WC. Stokoe, County Agent, gave us a talk last Thursday night. He got the people in the notion of improving their cattle by buying purebred sires. Four or five registered bulls can be disposed of in this community. The people are almost unanimous in their desire to retire the scrub and raise better cattle.
We do not allow whiskey to be made in this section, and scrub stock must go, too.
