Thursday, November 9, 1972
Children are at play in the small park by the bridge, close to the hospital in Marlinton. Play equipment and picnic tables are in place. This park project was sponsored by the Marlinton Jaycees.
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Dilley and children, Douglas and Anne, of Hinton, spent the weekend here with homefolks and attended the PCHS and Hinton football game.
Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Withers, Matthew, Brett and Michelle, were weekend guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Withers, Jr., and new daughter, Rachel Jane, at Shepherdstown. On Saturday, they attended the Shepherd-Salem Football Game.
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hall and children, Chris, Ann and Sarah, of Columbus, Ohio, will spend the weekend here with her mother, Mrs. Kerth Nottingham.
It’s a Pie Full of Memories.
The Charleston Gazette
By Jo Cameron Dilley
Memories came pell-mell when I read “Aunt Evelyn’s” column on September 23, asking for a butterscotch pie recipe. I’m sending her one – a recipe of my grandmother’s, Mrs. Ellsworth Thomas, who once lived a full, rewarding life at Hot Springs, Virginia. The pie was my favorite, and it brings back lovely memories of summers spent and enjoyed in that resort area. Memories away from the sometimes quite serious and pressing matters of our age – a small touch of frivolity.
• Swimming meets, young and old classes, the fresh smell of the very cold mineral spring water which still is used to fill the Homestead indoor pool. Fluffy clean white towels prepared by the maids for our drying out between dips.
• Playing on the lawn when little older than a toddler and finger-chasing the minnows in the icy brook that ran by the lawn benches where our sitter kept cool and comfortable under the trees.
• Going to church school in the very old and simply built Presbyterian church with the beautiful windows, the sun making gold and purple shafts of light on my young cousin’s shoulders.
• Childhood birthday parties on lawns of the homes, with colorful balloons and table decorations, where one boy named Leslie, a child prodigy, went from one end of the piano bench to the other, not being able to contain his love for the rhythm of his music, performing as a pro. (Then eating his piece of birthday cake, still so lively his shirt was smashed with icing and crumbs – just a picture of the child he really was.)
• Visiting friends honored with lawn parties, and musicians that came north for the summer season, playing soft background music.
Visiting grandmother meant attending the horse shows and the enjoyment of taking the cool pathways there. We excitedly met friends along the way, everyone caught up in the pageantry-like event, enjoying the magnificent animals and lovely families. Some participated and others were spectators…
Folks, whether neighbors or guests from some other state or a distant county, loved to come to my grandmother’s table and enjoy her food. I remember ham and biscuits for breakfast, deliciously prepared smothered steak dinners with desserts of pie – smooth egg custards with whipped cream and five-layer caramel cakes.
HOW I LOVED to go and peep as a child (and adult) under the white linen cloth on the side table-board in the company dining room. When I was coming to visit she knew that I loved melons and there was always a watermelon cooling in the summer kitchen along with some cantaloupes. My cousins and I have shared many pleasant evenings of fun with her loving care and southern hospitality.
She is remembered fondly by those still living in Bath County, and I’m sure they still enjoy the countryside scenery. Such as the one to “cool by” at the Cascades waterfalls and the rustic catwalks that climb back and forth over the tumbling mountain streams. I remember wiener roasts at the foot of the falls with the teenage crowd.
But best of all, I remember Grandmother Thomas.
Mrs. Dilley is the former Jo Cameron Callison, of Marlinton, daughter of Mrs. Emerson Sharp.
BIRTHS
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Withers, Jr., of Shepherdstown, a daughter, named Rachel Jane.
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Allen Vandevender, of Frank, a daughter. The mother is the former Ida Varner.
DEATHS
Denver Roberts, 38, of Holyoke, Massachusetts; born at Mill Point, a son of Mrs. Euva Roberts and the late Roy Roberts. Burial in the Stamping Creek Cemetery.
Clifford I. Sharp, 80, of Marlinton, a son of the late David and Amanda Beverage Sharp. Burial in the Sharp Cemetery.
Kenton T. Chesnut, Sr., formerly of Frost. Burial in Mountain View Cemetery.
Earl Ammond Landis, Sr., 68, of Covington, Virginia; born in Pocahontas County, a son of the late Samuel P. and Stella Weiford Landis. Interment in Alleghany Memorial Park.
Mrs. Melvina Sampson Gum, 83, of Mountain Grove, Virginia; born at Huntersville, a daughter of the late Henry and Elizabeth Ryder Sampson. Graveside service was held in the Wesley Chapel Cemetery at Green Bank, and she was laid to rest beside her beloved husband.