Thursday, March 16, 1950
FIELD NOTES
W. J. Buzzard, of Cummings Creek, reports observing at close range a white fox. There is no accounting for color range in red foxes. The book gives four color varieties – silver, black, cross and red. However, all are known to occur in the same litter. Then, there is the albino affliction which may occur in any animal family – a lack of coloring matter. About as good a guess as any, is that a fox recovering from a severe attack of mange may have his hair and fur come back white. Some years ago, such a fur skin was sent in from Back Alleghany Mountain. It was light gray in color.
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Here is a new one on me. I have heard all my hunting life about the bay lynx calling up wild turkeys by imitating their get together calls. This time a good reliable man tells me that last hunting season he was in the woods hunting and heard a turkey calling. He answered the call and soon had his game heading his way, answering the call now and then as he came. Just as he expected a wild turkey to appear, the hunter saw a fox creeping up on him. I always knew a red fox could read, write and cipher, but I never had proof they could and would imitate the voice of a turkey in their hunting. However, the wild cat is dumber than a fox and they do it.
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Fred Galford was in from Williams River the other day, and I inquired how he had put in the winter since the bears holed up Christmas week. Making axe handles, sir, making axe handles. I asked about the output, demand and the price. Mr. Galford can average eight a day, the demand exceeds supply, and the popular price is one dollar each.
The ideal raw material is a green hickory stick which will split out four handles of all white wood – no red heart wood wanted. The splits are then shaped out with an axe, given a treatment of lubricating oil, and hung up to cure for a week. Then the shapes are worked down with a draw knife and scraped and sandpapered smooth…
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Taking about foxes, friend Talbert Carpenter, of Seneca State Forest, was in the office and made report that the last check up by the Browns Mountain fox hunters showed this season’s catch of foxes to be 35 head. There appears to be just as many foxes on the range hunted as there ever were in spite of this heavy toll.
Wedding
Dr. and Mrs. Charles S. Kramer, of Marlinton, announce the marriage of their daughter, Betty Jo, to Carl C. Dunham, Jr., of Beckley. The double ring ceremony took place in the Methodist Memorial Church in Huntington.
BIRTHS
Born to Mr. and Mrs. George S. Sharp, a daughter, Lindsey Ann.
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Ford Henry Bash, of Dunmore, a son, Eric Stephen.
DEATH
Norval W. Clark, aged 78 years, of Hillsboro, a son of the late Preston and Josephine Levisay Clark. Funeral held from Oak Grove church with burial in the Oak Grove Cemetery. Mr. Clark never married. He spent his entire life at the homestead in which he was born. From early life he had been a member of the Presbyterian Church.
