Thursday, May 16, 1946
Our Army and Navy Boys
Staff Sergeant Joseph H. Sharp, who has been with the 5th Air Force, stationed in the Philippines and Japan, is home with an honorable discharge. He has been in the Army 24 months, with 16 months’ overseas service.
Sergeant Harper H. Galford who served ten months in the Pacific theatre, has received an honorable discharge. He received the meritorious unit award twice and received the following ribbons: Occupation Ribbon Japan, Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, American Theatre Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal and Victory Medal World War II.
Private First Class Oliver H. Tacy, of Back Alleghany, is home from the Army with an honorable discharge. He had 29 months’ service with five months overseas with the engineers in the third Army.
Eldon Galford, of Cass, after 32 months in the Navy, is home with an honorable discharge. The most of his service was in the South Pacific on the U.S.S. Argus, PY, and the U. S. S. Boxer.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Calvin;
I just wanted to say a few words in praise of the self-sacrificing mothers who helped so much in this war.
The mothers of this country always have been largely responsible for its progress from Plymouth Rock to this last war. There are few men who have reached a place of prominence in the life and progress of this nation who have not left a glowing testimony to the self-sacrificing mother that was responsible for whatever success he had attained.
James A. Garfield, when taking the oath of office as President of the United States, standing on the platform in front of the Capitol building with a sea of faces in front of him, turned, with tears in his eyes and kissed the aged mother by his side and said, “What I have achieved today, I owe to my mother.”
She would rather have the honor to be the mother of that man than have the place as president…
O.D. McKeever
Columbus, Ohio
LOCAL MENTION
Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Viers, Bobby Viers and Mrs. Kyle Curtis were in Elkins Saturday to attend the May Day Festival held by Davis and Elkins College on the college campus. Miss June Viers was on the program and served as a Princess at the crowning of the Queen. Hubert Galford acted as her escort. They were also guests at the Queen’s Ball in Halliehurst Hall on Saturday night.
FIELD NOTES
Leonard Wenger, of Arbovale, of the white pine life guard (the gooseberry digging outfit), reported a couple rattlers, one copperhead and more blacksnakes than he could recall off hand, killed so far this season. Last year the record for his crew was seven rattlers, one copperhead and ninety-eight blacksnakes.
While he and his crew always take time out to kill poisonous snakes, for several seasons they went easy on the big blacksnakes they were always coming up on. One day they found a grouse nest with ten eggs in it. A few days later they happened to pass that way, and a friendly interest prompted them to check up on the nest. They found the nest robbed of its eggs and a couple of big blacksnakes stretched out by it. Very promptly the big snakes were put on the predator list, to be killed whenever and wherever.
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Talking about snakes, Will Crigger of the Beaver Lick fire tower makes report that the rattlers came out of the White Rocks this year as of Tuesday, May 7. The one he got was four feet long with a string of ten rattles; dingy and dirty after being holed up for almost eight months. In the twenty or so years Mr. Crigger has kept the tower on White Rocks, he has paid attention when the rattlers first appear in the spring. He has observed them never earlier than May 4 nor later than May 10. The days on which he has first seen them most often have been May 6 and 7.
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Some of the neighbors from off Stamping Creek were in town last Wednesday looking for bear dogs. A big old bear has broken loose down there, eating little lambs. This is the worst kind of a bear; a half dozen or so seven dollar lambs a night is more than enough to satisfy his hunger. I take it this is the same old lamb eating bear which Elmer Sharp ran off his farm on the Jerico Road a couple of weeks since. Anyway, that bear was a confirmed lamb eater, and he was run off into the Black Forest, behind the Stamping Creek area.
A LITTLE HUMOR
Stranger – “Little boy, you’re too short to reach that bell. Let me ring it for you. There. And what do we do now?”
Little boy – “Run for all you’re worth!”
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Two soldiers home on leave were having a chat.
“But weren’t you engaged the last time we met?” asked one. “What happened? Did you break it off?”
“No, not exactly.”
“Then, she did?
“No.”
Well, then…”
“You see, she told me what her clothes cost, and I told her what my pay was. Then our engagement sagged in the middle and gently dissolved.”
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Speech-Maker – “We need reform in everything – government reform, police reform, social reform…”
Voice in the back – “Chloroform!”
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Teacher – “What is the forest primeval?”
Boy Scout – “A match.”