Clark Hotel Sold
The Clark Home Hotel property in Marlinton was sold at auction on Saturday for $18,700 to  Dr. Robert R. Pittman and Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Anderson. Sale included furniture and fixtures.

The property is a three-story brick building with 16 bedrooms; kitchen, dining room parlor, etc. It was owned and operated as a hotel by Mrs. Lucy Clark for many years. She died recently, and the sale was made in settling the estate. D. R. Hannah is the executor.

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From the desk of Calvin W. Price, Editor
FIELD NOTES
W.O. Ruckman, of Mill Point, brought in a good apple of the crop of 1955—picked thirteen months ago. It was from a grafted tree; variety unknown.

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Albert Kesler, who drives the route to Richwood for Pocahontas Dairy, counted a flight of no less than 97 wild geese the other day. He was crossing Sewell Mountain, and the geese were flying south.

More wild geese have been seen in this Greenbrier Valley so far this fall than usual. There may be more of them; they may have travelled through in day light instead of night.

One foggy October night, a large number of wild geese failed to “hang”—or honk—high enough to clear the Back Alleghanies with elevations of 4500 feet and higher. The next morning, wild geese were seen and heard flying around in widely separated parts. They apparently were trying to reorganize for their  southern flight. Some of the geese had evidently gotten over the barrier for they were flying over Marlinton heading north again.

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Neighbor Cleve Withrow, of Upper Camden, reports a bird building her nest in a birdhouse. This is November and no fitting time of year for a spring time job like bird nesting. Of course I checked on such out of season happening. Mr. Withrow said, sparrow. So I said, English Sparrow. I did know enough to write that this strange upstart of a bird, with its loose housekeeping endeavors, might have as many as two families a year, and maybe three. However I was a  bit surprised to read in the reference book that the English Sparrow always raises two broods, but the usual number is three. And, further, that trustworthy observers have recorded four and five.

The book further says other names for the English Sparrow are Gamen, Tramp and Hoodlum.

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A lady called in to know if I was familiar with the technical term, “barking a squirrel.” I replied that anyone familiar with the late General Andrew Jackson and his times sure knew about “barking a squirrel.”

In the day of the mountain rifle marksmen of western Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky, it was not cricket to mess up the meat of squirrel to be killed for the pot. As the  animal lay stretched out on  a limb, the idea was to put the bullet into the bark of the tree just under the heart of the squirrel, so as to let the resulting concussion do its deadly work. Sure, I have barked a squirrel in my time, but I usually hold a little too high to blood up the meat. A bit too low bounces the squirrel off the limb, for a good scare. It is a hair splitting sporting proposition.

I checked up on the transitive verb bark. The book of wisdom says: “To kill (as squirrels) by the concussion of a bullet shot into the bark of a tree just under the animal.”

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An Old Timer
In a law suit at the October term of the Circuit Court reference was made to the Massenbird land lines. So, the question, what about such land lines on Droop Mountain, anyway?

Well, around the year 1839, a man named George Massenbird died at his home on Droop Mountain. He was a native of England, and had lived here for a good many years. He owned Caesar Mountain and Vina Mountain, and other land. The tradition is that these mountains were given to and named for two Massenbirds slaves—Caesar and Vina Freeman.

However a casual search of the records shows only one transaction. This is a deed from John and Jane Blair to George Massenbird for 250 acres. The date is August 29, 1829, and the consideration is $120.

In the year 1842, there is a Court record of the appraisement of property left by the late George Massenbird. No mention is made of real estate. The appraisement of personal items amounts to $19.62. 1/2. However, bonds payable in dollars were appraised at about $2600. There was in addition a bond appraised at 500 English pounds sterling. This was due from the estate of one of George Breckenburg, of Skendleby, England.

The personal items, appraised at $19.62 1/2 brought $12.71 1/4 at the sale. Here are the purchasers and items:

Nancy Ware bought two bunches of newspapers at 3 1/2 cents and 2 1/2 cents; wearing apparel at $1.34.

Sarah Freeman two lots of newspapers at 7 1/4 cents.

John Hill, 6 numbers of Methodist magazines, 16 cents; Watson’s Wesley 34 cents.

Walton McClung, 7 numbers of Methodist magazines, 20 cents.

Thomas Casebolt, 8 numbers of Methodist magazines; 21 cents; one slate, 26 cents.

James Keener, Doctor Clark’s sermons, $1.75.

Thomas Hill, Doctor Clark’s Life, 38 cents; Doctor Clark’s Commentary, $8.

George Massenbird was a native of England. Further than that, there is meager tradition of him, other than he lived the life of a country gentleman and at the end he gave freedom and land to his servants.

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DEATHS
Sarah Kittermen Pennington, age 91, of Green Bank.
Asil Lee Simmons, age 52, of Slaty Fork.
William Boggs, age 78, of Hillsboro.
Kemp Andrew Meeks, age 70, of Stony Bottom.
Julia M. Kidd, age 89, of Lewisburg.
Genevieve Yeager Thompson, age 54, of Athens, Mercer County.
ALPINE THEATRE
“Hell And High Water”
Richard Widmark
“The World In My Corner”
Audie Murphy
“Heart Of The Golden West”
Roy Rogers
“Walk The Proud Land”
Audie Murphy