Laura Dean
Contributing Writer
Pocahontas County Humane Society president Chip Adkins gratefully accepted a $2,000 donation last week from John Glaab, who made the gift in honor of his late wife, Christine.
Although Silver Spring, Maryland, was their official residence, Glaab and his wife, both railroad buffs, fell in love with Cass and bought a vacation home there.
They lovingly restored the 12 room house on “Big Bug Hill” to its original 1905 glory. Glabb, a retired NASA space flight manager told members of the Humane Society how much he and his wife, who had been a librarian, enjoyed spending their summers and their vacations in Cass.
Both of their homes were filled with vast collections of books.
“Christine was a renowned bibliophile from birth,” Glabb said, chuckling softly.
Now Glabb says he is giving back to the mountain community where he and Christine were so happy.
He has also established a $20,000 scholarship designated for a West Virginia student in the master’s library science program at the University of Maryland, made donations to Pocahontas County’s local libraries – “that’s what Christine would have wanted” – and is also giving three laptops to Pocahontas County High School graduates who are headed to college.
Glaab said the donation to the Humane Society was another gift of which his late wife would have heartily approved.
“She loved animals, and we did adopt quite a few stray cats in Cass over the years,” he said.