Dear Editor;
I am writing on the behalf of my mother Catherine (Sheets) Arcuri. She was born in 1929 to Arthur B Sheets and Pearl F (McCarty) Sheets on Droop Mountain, in beautiful Pocahontas County.
My mom, who is now 96, suffered a debilitating stroke in December 2023. The stoke, along with what age does to one’s mind, at times, is getting the better of her. One aspect is she feels alone, that most of her friends and family have passed. That sent me on a journey to trace her family, to bring back fond memories, and to maybe find a distant relative.
Her parents sold their land to the state in the late 1920s to help form Droop Mountain State Park. She and her brother, Jack, lived on the mountain with their folks until, I believe, 1938, when they made the first of several moves, before settling in southern Ohio. The mountain to this day contains the McCarty family cemetery. Nothing unusual for Appalachia. She left Droop Mountain, but the mountain has never left her. She is a West Virginian through and through! She loves the state in which she was born.
Her father was an only child, but his mother Francis (Burr) Sheets had, I believe, 8 siblings and his father, John Andrew Sheets, had 3. Her mother, Pearl F (McCarty) Sheets, had a sister, Plummie (McCarty) Hill, but I am unaware if she had children. Either way, both her parents’ sides pre-date 1800, her mom’s side going back to the pre-revolutionary war. So, there may very well be a relative still in the Pocahontas area.
Sincerely,
Thomas Arcuri
Our contact info is: Catherine Arcuri 216-671-1967, and Thomas Arcuri 216-299-2588.
We both live at 12417 Wayland Ave, Cleveland Ohio, 44111.
Editor,
Mr. Kaffl’s letter to the editor in the 11/13 edition of The Pocahontas Times was a little cryptic and somewhat misleading. The reference to Cuba and Venezuela as socialist countries is wrong. Cuba is Communist (a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production) Merriam-Webster. Venezuela is Socialistic.
(Socialism allows for private ownership but production and how are decided by the workers.) Capitalism relies on private ownership and a free market for profit. Of course, none of these definitions apply cleanly.
The United States may never have had a purely free market. One of the most glaring examples is right here in Pocahontas County. The Broadband Council kicked off a $4 million project. Citynet will do the project with Federal funding. A private for profit company using public money to accomplish the job. In a free market Citynet would not be undertaking this project because the cost clearly out weighs to profit. So, a form of socialism is used. Roads, public schools, volunteer fire departments, police and EMS are all examples where public funding has to be used. Because the government is responsible to provide for the common good. No for-profit company will provide these things. Here we are, the lines are blurred, and a form of socialism is here.
The country has serious problems that will require public assistance. Homelessness, housing and, the big one, healthcare. Recent actions such as the Big Beautiful Bill will remove Medicaid from a number of people in WV. Hospitals like Pocahontas Memorial as well as other critical care hospitals will be impacted. Without these facilities there will be healthcare deserts in rural areas of WV. Not continuing the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act will also have lasting impacts for healthcare. Many will lose insurance and generally wait for treatment, going to the emergency room. These costs are usually passed on and those with insurance see their cost go up. Healthcare in the free market is rampant. Profits are enjoyed; however, healthcare is a monopoly. There are only two options, treatment or death.
Whatever you choose to label it, the government will have to be involved.
David Bott
Morgantown
