Thursday, May 25, 1899
The log drive got as far as Bird’s mill dam, which is opposite Renick’s Valley on the road. It was a most remarkable drive. The water kept up well and was at no time high enough to throw the logs far out of the channel. A number of woodsmen have been visiting Marlinton since the work ceased.
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Last week the profile and map of the Greenbrier Railway from Marlinton to the forks of the river was filed with the county clerk. About 10 miles above Marlinton, the road crosses the river at the mouth of a tunnel. There is a remarkable bend in the river at this point. A man can stand on top of a ridge and throw a stone into the water of the river on either hand. It is between two and three miles around.
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Died, May 16, near Buckeye, of dropsical affection, Mrs. Susan Kellison, wife of John Kellison, aged about 73 years.
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Married, April 19, on Swago, by Rev. Joshua Buckley, Claiborne Morrison and Miss Bertha, daughter of Tillison Auldridge.
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The recent sensational news in the papers about tornadoes and hailstorms in Ohio and Pennsylvania last week, have prompted some of our older citizens to reminiscences of similar occurrences in this county 70 years ago. One of the most remarkable took place on Black Mountain on the western confines of Pocahontas. Parties on Swago heard the noise resembling a prolonged peal of distant thunder, saw a black funnel shaped cloud whirling on the horizon and finally disappeared in the sky towards the north. The fragments of tree branches and leaves fell like a shower near the Marony place and on the Young place easterly points 12 or 15 miles distant from the track of the storm. Nothing was left standing and had there been dwellings, all would have been wrecked in reach of the cyclone.
The Black Hole and the Devil’s Kitchen
L. Tuke, an English gentleman, has recently completed and now occupies a tastefully arranged residence near Linwood. On his farm is the “Black Hole,” which has been frequently mentioned as one of the famous curiosities of West Virginia. At present, it is a circular depression in the earth about 75 feet in diameter, and is full of water that is so deeply blue as to give it the name it is so widely know by. When dipped up, the water is found to be clear and sparkling as the purest spring water. In very warm weather, it is tepid at the surface, but is found to be cool three or four feet beneath; the depth being about 30 feet. It is regarded as an ideal place for bathing, and is much used for the purpose by the proprietor and visiting friends…
Close at hand is the natural well, known throughout the vicinity as “The Devil’s Kitchen,” In former years, when a rock was thrown in, there would be series of reverberations that sounded like the smashing of dishes and pots, as if someone was in a rage and was trying to break up everything in sight. The place became a favorite resort for boys on Sunday evenings from all directions…
OBITUARY
Mrs. Sarah A. Gregg (nee Hoover) died Tuesday evening, May 9, after a week’ illness at the home of her son, John Gregg, on Back Alleghany, in the 95th years of her age.
“Grandmother” Gregg, as she was known, was born in Pendleton county, November 16, 1804. At the age of 18, she was married to Zebulon Gregg, and was the mother of 14 children, 13 of whom she raised, and nine of them still living. She has 68 grandchildren and 60 great-grandchildren.
She professed religion at an early age and joined the Lutheran church; she was thoughtful and kind to everybody, and lived a consistent Christian life. The end did not come unexpectedly or undesired. She was calmly awaiting the word of release from the multiplying pains and infirmities of age. With the praise of God upon her lips, and a gentle farewell to her children, the present and the absent, she passed into the heavenly rest. – Durbin, W. Va. May 11, 1899
