Dear Editor; Your readership has a real treasure in the kind women who run The Cackling Hens thrift and consignment store in Marlinton. On the last Saturday of July, my husband, son and I set out riding our bicycles along the Greenbrier River Trail from Seebert to Marlinton. It was a beautiful day, and, since our most recent meals had been prepared over a campfire at Watoga State Park, we looked forward to rewarding ourselves with a delicious lunch on the river in Marlinton. Unfortunately, we failed to consider that our 11-year-old — who had crammed an entire summer’s worth of physical activity into a single camping weekend — would not feel up to the 11-mile bike ride back. So as we enjoyed our meal at the River Place [Greenbrier Grille] Restaurant, we decided to contact a local shuttle service about getting a ride back to Seebert. Unfortunately, the outfitter across the bridge had closed early that Saturday. Another outfitter, back at Seebert, had a broken down shuttle. My phone wasn’t cooperating anymore, either. The battery had died. So I walked into The Cackling Hens and asked to use their phone. I explained our situation, and, without hesitation, one of the ladies began calling shuttle services and contacts of her own. But no shuttle was available, and I prepared to break the news to our son — who had regained just enough energy to cool off in Marlinton’s awesome Discovery Junction splash pad — that he would need to pedal just a little bit more while one of us rode ahead to get our camper. That’s when the Hens began cleaning out one of their own vehicles to make room for us and our bicycles. It wasn’t exactly an emergency, just poor planning on our part. Yet, these Cackling Hens were willing to fly their roost to help us return to our coop. Our ride back to Seebert passed quickly with lively conversation, and I planned to return someday to shop at their unique and classy store — with my car, of course. It’s always an adventure when we visit beautiful Pocahontas County, and wonderful business people like these are certainly worth cackling about. Sincerely, Audrey Stanton-Smith Lester, West Virginia
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