Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor;

I was so happy to see the picture of Ruth Blackhurst in your September 10th edition of The Pocahontas Times.

I am the daughter of Dorie and Dovie Powers, and we lived in the last house shown in the picture.

Ruth boarded with our family and was also my second grade school teacher. We loved her. She was just like one of the family.

Her father would come up from Cass on Friday afternoon with a motor car to take her home for the weekend, then bring her back up on Sunday evening.

My mother always made homemade bread and always had a loaf ready for Ruth to give to her dad. He loved it.

Sometimes, Ruth would take me and my sister, Wanda, home with her for the weekend.

We thought we were in a big city – cars, stores and everything, since we didn’t have any of that in Spruce.

I was five years old when we moved to Spruce and 12 years old when we moved out to Slaty Fork.

My dad was a trackman and worked for the Western Maryland Railroad.

The last contact we had with Ruth was in 2000 when my mother passed away. She wrote a letter to my sister to find out where everyone was.

That picture brought back so many good memories.

Thank you so much for printing it.

I love The Pocahontas Times.

Okareta Powers Blake
Linden, VA