Mountain Times ~ Supplement to the Pocahontas Times ~ SnowShoe, Slatyfork, Green Bank, Cass, WV

Focusing on the resort and tourist
community of Slaty Fork, Snowshoe Mountain, Cass and
Green Bank

Vol. 2 No. 5
June 2003

Serving SnowShoe Mountain, Slaty Fork, Green Bank and Cass
"News you can resort to"

Second Section of
The Pocahontas Times
Post Office No. 436-640
ISSN No. 07388373

Upcoming Events Around the Mountain Resort

JUNE
Around the County: 5/30 to 6/1 - Slaty Fork Singletrack Camp Elk River Touring Center Call 866-572-3771
6/6 to 6/8 - Couples Fly Fishing Weekend Elk River Touring Center. Call 866-572-3771
6/7 - Greenbrier River Trail 10 Mile Trek Cass Access Point Milepost 80.4. Join fellow hikers for a 10-mile hike along the beautiful Greenbrier River Trail in celebration of National Trails Day. Meet at Cass access point at 10 a.m. Bring a flashlight, lunch and plenty of water. Call to register. Contact Kim McHenry at (304) 558-2764.
6/7 - Civilian Conservation Corps Reunion Watoga State Park
6/7 - Trillium Performing Youth in Performance, Opera House, Marlinton This energetic young dance company is an offshoot of a Lewisburg-based performing arts collective. Performance is at 7:30. Tickets are $5 and will be available at the door. For information, call 800-336-7009.
6/8 to 6/11 - Greenbrier Inn to Inn Elk River Touring Center. Call 866-572-3771
6/8 to 6/13 - Dirt Camp Junior Camp Elk River Touring Center. Call 866-572-3771
6/14 - Moonlight Fire on the Greenbrier Rail Excursion, Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad Offered on full moon nights during the season, this late evening excursion aboard the steam-powered Climax train begins with a buffet dinner at the Durbin Depot followed by a trip along the beautiful, moonlit Greenbrier River. See the stars in this remote wilderness, far from ambient light, and follow the reflection of the moon shining on the river. Train departs the depot at 8 p.m. For further information and reservations, call toll-free 877-686-7245, or visit www.mountainrail.com.
6/15 - Appalachian Brass Quintet in Concert, Opera House, Marlinton. West Virginia musicians with a repertoire that spans five centuries. Concert begins at 7:30. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. For more information, call 800-336-7009.
6/15 to 6/18 - Twin Peaks Elk River Touring Center. Call 866-572-3771
6/16 to 6/22 - CBX Rally, Marlinton The annual CBX Motorcycle Rally held at the Marlinton Motor Inn. For details, e-mail Mike Barone, team222@paonline.com
6/20 to 6/22 - Couples Fly Fishing Weekend, Elk River Touring Center, Call 866-572-3771
6/20 to 6/22 - Slatyfork Women's Clinic Elk River Touring Center. Call 866-572-3771
6/21 - Grass Stains in Concert, Opera House Third Ave., Marlinton. Bluegrass so good that once it gets on or in you, it's hard to get out! Concert is at 7:30. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. For more information, call (304) 799-4009.
6/22 to 6/25 - Greenbrier Inn to Inn Elk River Touring Center. Call 866-572-3771
6/27 to 6/29 - Cass Homecoming, Cass Former residents of Cass come "home" for a reunion.
6/27 to 6/29 - Little Levels Heritage Fair, Hillsboro. A three-day celebration with old time music, horse show and a parade. Events also include a barbecue pig roast, arts and crafts, a ham and biscuit sale, vintage farming demonstrations, old-fashioned kid carnival, muzzle loaders shooting match, ceremony honoring veterans, live bluegrass music, log race on the Greenbrier River, a gospel sing and candlelight vespers. For further information, call (304)653-8563. or visit www.littlelevelsheritagefair.com
6/28 - Pearl S. Buck Birthday Celebration/West Virginia Writers Fair, Pearl Buck Birthplace, Hillsboro. 2-5 p.m. Held at the Sydenstricker House (log cabin) adjacent to the birthplace of famed author Pearl S. Buck. For further information, call (304) 653-8563.
6/28 - Cass Dinner Train Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. An exciting train ride to Whittaker Station, an outdoor old-fashioned barbecue, bluegrass entertainment, and lots of fun for the family. Reservations required. Call 1-800-CALLWVA. On The Mountain
For more info about any events at Snowshoe, call 877-441-4FUN, or visit: www.snowshoemtn.com
6/7 - National Trails Day, Snowshoe In conjunction with the US Forest Service, Snowshoe Mountain is hosting National Trails Day. A Fitness Fair, trail running, orienteering competitions, demonstrations, exhibits, nature hikes, trail projects and more highlight this great event. For information call 877-441-4FUN.
6/12 to 6/15 - NORBA National Championship Mountain Biking Series, Snowshoe. This four-day event draws more than 2,000 professional and amateur competitors to the mountain to compete in cross country, dual slalom, mountain cross, short track and downhill events. Live entertainment, a huge vendor expo area and world class mountain bikers! A great spectator event.
6/28 to 6/29 - 24 Hours of Snowshoe.The country's largest 24-hour mountain bike relay race attracts more than 10,000 spectators and racers to witness and compete around the clock in what has been described as one of the world's most grueling, yet fun, 24 hour relay events. For more information or to register for the event, call (304) 259-5533, or visit www.grannygear.com.
6/23 to 6/28 - Allegheny Echoes Appalachian Music Workshop, Snowshoe. Some of the greats of traditional Appalachian storytelling, poetry, crafts and music come to the mountain for this week of instruction. For registration information, call (304)799-7121.

On a clear day, you can see forever.
The Raven's vistas are breathtaking.

Two players chat it up on #9.
Photos courtesy of Snowshoe Mountain Resort

The tees at #4.

Beautiful, yet treacherous, are the sand traps on #11.

Raven is superior
whatever the weather
Pamela Pritt
Managing Editor
     Only golfers dedicated to the game could come out on a day like Sunday, May 18, and enjoy themselves at just any golf course.
     But thanks to the Raven's manicured greens, breath-taking terrain and the fireplace in the clubhouse, any golfer could have had fun in the chilly temperatures and nearly steady drizzle.
     It was Media Day and the Raven's tenth birthday to boot. Twenty stalwart golfers braved the elements to take on the course's 18 holes of fun and take part in a scramble tournament that pitted print journalists against television news personalities and magazine editors.
     The winning team: Kenny Bass, Jason Nicholas, Jason Brown and David Romero.
     Longest drive: Jason Nicholas
     Closest to the hole: Peter Welk
     Indeed the weather and the course's soggy conditions made for some interesting developments. As Snowshoe's Director of Communications Joe Stevens teed off at Hole 4, where the tee is several hundred feet in elevation above the hole, the ball sailed into the air and splashed down on the fairway. His search for the ball concluded at the small hole the ball had made on impact.
     All the golfers and members of the media who just came for the pictures were ready for some warm food by the fire at the Raven's lovely clubhouse. The staff there served up plenty of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, pasta and potato salads, baked beans and chili, as a reward for the midday trek around the Raven's front nine. They completed the menu with wonderful birthday cake for the course, cut by Stevens, one of several Snowshoe Mountain long-timers who was there when the course opened as Hawthorne Valley 10 years ago.

     For more information about this awesome golfing opportunity in the highlands of
Pocahontas County, surf to:
www.snowshoemtn.com/summer02/golf.html

Fill your home and heart in Hillsboro

Visits are fun at MorningStar FolkArts any time of day

MorningStar FolkArts, along U. S. 219 in Hillsboro offers a wide variety of heritage music, arts and crafts, as well as candles and incense.
Stop by for a cup of coffee or chai tea.
Photos by Heidi Zemach

by Heidi Zemach
Contributing Writer
      A rooster atop the painted sign crows skyward, beckoning customers to the unique and colorful gift shop. But most drivers along US Rt. 219 in Hillsboro, barely catch a glimpse of the outdoor flags, overflowing flower boxes and unusual wooden furniture as they speed past, hurrying on their way to bigger cities beyond.
      They don't know what they're missing.
      This interesting store is perhaps one of the best-kept secrets of Pocahontas County.
      But those who do enter are hit by the aroma of burning incense candles, gourmet coffee or Chai Tea and strains of some of the most authentic traditional mountain music in the country. They soon become aware that they have arrived somewhere special.
      The down-home hospitality of storeowners Elaine and Dwight Diller only confirms that impression.
      Elaine, a retired early childhood education teacher and self-taught painter, usually welcomes MorningStar FolkArts customers, offering them something warm to drink as they wander. Or some customers might run into Dwight, an ordained Mennonite Minister and also a renowned traditional mountain music performer and instructor, with 35 years of experience teaching and preserving his music.

Elaine and Dwight Diller are your hosts at the quaint and fabulous MorningStar.

     Diller's music, the music of Bill Hefner of Mill Point, and especially the music of his brother Richard Hefner, who plays with the Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys, are popular selling items, Elaine Diller said.
      This afternoon, customer Tim Thomas, from Rainelle, knows just what he wants. He makes a beeline for the shelves of Bluegrass, Gospel and traditional music CDs, grabs one, and brings it to the counter.
      "This is the place to find things like the Bing Brothers, like Dwight (Diller) and the Hammons Family. The kind of thing you can't find anywhere else," Thomas said.
      The Dillers began MorningStar Folk Arts 10 years ago, primarily as a local venue to sell Dwight's growing collection of music, Elaine said. It was also a place to sell wooden crafted furniture, made by Diller and some of his friends.
      Elaine's West Virginia Heritage Dolls, whose clothes and accessories she designed and sewed, also were sold in the store in the early days. But now her hands are cut all over, and have "given out" from making "literally hundreds" of the dolls, she said, so only a few dolls remain. They include a precious Pearl Buck doll, dressed all in white, designed to look like the Nobel and Pulitzer prize-winning author, born in Hillsboro.
      The store features a wide variety of other local and West Virginia goods and talent. Outside are displayed two long wooden benches, each with picket-fence style backs, and flanked on either end by small, decorative bird houses. They were made at a woodcrafting class by prisoners at Denmar Correctional Center. The store also sells some wooden owls, carved by one particularly talented Denmar inmate.
      Simple old-style wooden folk toys are another specialty, Diller said. Pull his string and a small brown monkey will climb his rope to reach his banana. Twirl a weight, and three wooden chickens peck their feed with a satisfying clacking sound.
      The simple, old-fashioned marble shoots and the musical marble tree also keeps many visiting children engrossed, Diller said.
      "I'm always amazed when kids from the city, raised with plastic stuff and video games, are taken with the very simple wooden toys that I carry here." Diller said. "One of the things these toys do is slow the world down just a little bit. You're looking at something simply made, but yet very complex."
      That's the true meaning of "Folk Art," she said. It's an art form that people teach themselves to express their heart's feelings and ideas. The store is an outcropping of her own particular tastes and values, balanced with the need to satisfy tourists' desires, and earn a living. Candles of all colors, and candle accessories also are popular selling items.
      Susan Holland, a Hillsboro mother, started her own candle-making business Daisy Lane Candles, a few months ago, Diller said. Selling the candles enables Holland to contribute to the family income, while allowing her to spend time at home with her young children.
      Quilted and stenciled lampshades that will fit on your homemade Mason jar, jug or kerosene lamp bases also are sold here. And so are the many paintings and books on West Virginia themes. They include books on West Virginia history, cooking, music and a number of interesting children's books too!
      Bird lovers may enjoy the handy plastic West Virginia bird identification charts. Their children may become hooked, too, with the new, soft birds, by the Audubon Society that emit real, recorded birdcalls. The stores' collection of reasonably priced jellies and jams also are a draw for many customers. Diller sells jars of maple syrup, made locally in Huntersville by Mary and Steve Saffel. The Yoder Jams are made in Monroe County by a group of Mennonite families. And honey products from the western part of the state�especially the flavored honey-sticks�- also are quite a popular item, Diller said.

A sampling of some of the wonderful wares you'll find at MorningStar.

      While most customers are new visitors, passing through, or return customers staying at their retreat cabins or second homes, locals also have begun to come into the store more often, according to the Dillers. Once they do, they realize that it's not just a store for tourists, but that plenty of more affordable items also are available, Diller said.
      The colorful (Hershey-like) glass kisses, manufactured by one of the better known West Virginia companies, "sell like crazy, " Diller said. Sent to a friend or relative who has moved away, a kiss from West Virginia makes a meaningful gift, her customers say.
      Diller said she tries not to push customers to buy things, but mostly hopes they will come in and spend some quality time.
      "The feel of the store is to promote peace and a feeling of tranquility," Diller said. "The world gets pretty hectic, and we all get caught up in it, including myself. But I like to think of this as a little oasis for people to come to. Even if they don't buy anything, if they can come in and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, and listen to the music and see some pretty things, and if it gives them a sense of peace, then I've accomplished what I wanted."
      Morning Star Folk Arts is located on US 219 north of Hillsboro. Open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. from Memorial Day until the leaves are gone (other times call ahead) 304 653-4397.

The lovely VanReenan House on Second Avenue offers comfortable accommodations and quiet settings near Marlinton's busy Main Street, where shopping, restaurants and activities are readily available.
Photos by Pamela Pritt

VanReenan House enjoys 'new' life as bed and breakfast
by Pamela Pritt
Managing Editor
     The VanReenan House sits in Marlinton, a charming bed and breakfast waiting for visitors looking for a quiet getaway with the convenience of small-town surroundings.
     The house was built by the S. J. Rexrode family between 1908-1910 and opened, naturally, as a boarding house.
     Current owner Robin Mutscheller's grandparents bought the house from the Rexrodes and sometimes took in roomers.
     Now the Mutschellers have restored the house and refurbished the lovely rooms with antiques�inviting high-rise hand-carved bedsteads, dressers with drawers huge enough to accommodate a week's worth of vacation clothing and old-fashioned claw foot bathtubs if you need a good soaking after a day on the Greenbrier River Trail.
     Robin's husband, John, took the washstand idea literally and installed bowl sinks into the oak tops, making two drawers out of one to accommodate the plumbing and creating a unique centerpiece in the bathrooms.
     The "Crow's Nest" tops it all off. An attic turned spacious suite offers the width of the house atop a private staircase. The view from the back windows in the Crow's Nest encompasses the Greenbrier River.
     Tourists come in every season to the little house with large rooms.

Just one of the bedrooms at the
VanReenan House featuring antique beds and furniture. This room even features a fireplace for cooler evenings by the fire.

     "We're getting a lot of return visitors already," Mutscheller said. "I think that's a good sign. We must be doing something right."
     The Mutschellers could hardly go wrong with the inviting large living area, filled with antique furniture and reading material and the dining room with its big old homestyle table and chairs and the china cabinet full of old dishes and a genuine coffee mill from Robin's family antique collection.
     And if location matters, the Second Avenue B&B is just blocks from the Greenbrier River Trail, seconds from the river itself and in walking distance of Marlinton's fine restaurants and downtown shopping area. The VanReenan House is one of the county's newer B&B's, but it has all the charm of days gone by. Stop by for a visit. You'll be glad you did.
The VanReenan House
708 Second Avenue
Marlinton, West Virginia 24954
304-799-6677
The VanReenan House
mail@vanreenanhouse.com

Great Subs, sandwiches, salads and desserts including Homemade Fudge
photo by Mike Condon

Adventures in Good Eating

Good food fast for folks on the fly
Sunny Given
Staff Writer
      You want to make the most of your time, especially vacation time. While it's nice to set down in any of the county's fine dining establishments, take your time and enjoy a fine meal, sometimes you want to get something on the fly and keep on going.
Here are two suggestions:
Rt. 66 Sub Shop

      Rt. 66 Sub Shop, located in Spruce Village at the base of Snowshoe Mountain has a great assortment of quick breakfasts, subs, sandwiches, salads and desserts. They're made while you wait and wrapped to go. Get your morning going with biscuits with your choice of meats and cheese, or bagels and toast. Lunch choices include the Swiss, a quarter-pound of honey-smoked turkey, cheese and all the trimmings; the Mikey, smoked pork BBQ stacked high, with cole slaw - in two sizes; Boarder Bob, a meatball sandwich topped with two cheeses and marinara sauce; the Mafia, an Italian sub piled high with ham, pepperoni, salami and mozzarella and topped with their spicy oil and vinegar dressing. And that's only about half of the menu items!
      Want chicken? Try the Rooster - made fresh chicken salad on a sesame seed roll and trimmed with your favorite vegetables; or a Chicken Little, grilled chicken on a sub bun. There's also a grilled chicken salad - a sliced chicken patty sliced on top of a bed of salad greens and egg. If your tastes are a little more vegetarian, go for the Farmer, full of your favorite veggies and loaded with five cheeses. A simple tossed salad is also available
      Besides all the subs and salads, you can surely satisfy your sweet tooth with an abundant selection of gourmet chocolates, homemade fudge, ice cream and waffle cones. Fudge comes at least eight flavors, including the standards and Amaretto Chocolate Swirl and Chocolate Pecan.
      Chocolate and vanilla covered pretzels or a Grand Marnier Truffle may also be just what you need to top a great lunch, or to take with you for later on.
      The day I visited the sub shop, I dragged Julie Gibson along for company and a second opinion. We arrived around 1:30, hoping to miss the lunch crowd. The shop was still hopping with several lunches in the making and more orders being taken. I picked the J. Rod Pro Model - grilled honey smoked turkey, bacon and Swiss on grilled sourdough bread for $5.25. Julie had the Brown Cow - roast beef piled high, with cheese and vegetables for $4.99. Neither of us had to wait long.
      Seating is almost non-existent, something Rt 66 hopes to amend in the near future. There are several benches outside the shop, and that's where we parked ourselves. My J. Rod was a huge sandwich, sliced (thankfully), grilled to perfection and delicious. Julie loved her roast beef as well, which she described as juicy, tender and flavorful, and her bun was fresh. Snowshoe employees often take advantage of Rt. 66, which offers a 20% discount for mountain workers. Several were coming and going while our lunch was prepared. During "mud months," when most of the facilities at Snowshoe take a breather, Rt. 66 fills the void admirably. Locals get a 10% break on prices and visitors can sometimes find a discount coupon in Mountain Times.
CC's Cafe
      CC's cafe is located just across the bridge from Cass Scenic Railroad, offering tourists and locals breakfast, lunch and caffeine in a variety of styles and flavors. It's a small operation, with seating for about a dozen, and all meals are packaged to go. If your plan is to grab a bite to take or a train ride or other excursion, you've come to the right place. The mouthwatering aromas of breakfast waft across the Greenbrier River to tempt visitors arriving at the Cass depot. Get your fill of sausage and gravy biscuits, or a biscuit with country ham or sausage. Cinnamon buns, bagels and a variety of muffins await you.

Offering tourists and locals breakfast, lunch and caffeine in a variety of styles and flavors.

      Are you a slow riser? Find it hard to get that motor running in the morning, or just need a jolt of energy in the afternoon? CC's serves up hot coffee, cappuccino, latte and espresso all day long, It's the real thing - made before your eyes and to order. I've found, after several trips and experimenting, that I like both cappuccinos and lattes. I haven't had the nerve to sip the caffeine equivalent of hooking myself to a battery charger yet! For those non-coffee hounds, herbal teas, hot chocolate, frappes and smoothies, as well as your standard choices in water and soft drinks are available.
      The lunch menu is simple at CC's, but made fresh and fast while you serve yourself a soda or lemonade from the cooler. They're flexible - choose from ham or turkey - or both, or strictly vegetables on fresh bread, a croissant or a wrap. They also offer homemade chicken salad on a croissant. The croissants are baked at the cafe, by the way. All sandwiches are served with chips or pretzels.
      My latest visit to CC's was a solo trip. I like dropping by in the middle of the afternoon, because it's usually not busy and Cindy McLaughlin or Cheryl Beverage will indulge my myriad coffee questions and experiments in good humor. I chose a ham-turkey combo on a croissant with lettuce, tomato and mayo.
      The sandwich was great and the croissant so fresh, I could hardly keep it together as I ate. Normally, I drink my coffee black and first thing in the mornings, but I decided to go with a vanilla latte, having experimented a little with the cappuccinos on other visits. Smooth and hot, the delicate flavor teased my tongue with a hint of sweetness.
      In the middle of my meal, we were joined by two couples, who as it turned out, had sneaked away from a Judicial Services Conference at Snowshoe! I grabbed a cream cheese bagel for my co-worker Julie and was on my way.
(return to top)

Building Supplies
Gas 'n Groceries
Gifts is sponsored by the advertisers
you see on our pages. Please take time
to patronize their businesses!

Outfitters
Restaurants
Realestate

Burton ~ Salomon ~ Nitro ~ New and Used Demos Come talk to the resort's most
experienced snowboard outfitters.
Store Sale 20 - 50% OFF
Ski and Snowboard Rentals and Sales
1 mike south of WV 66 ~ 304 572-4173

Open Daily 7:30 am - 11 pm, Later on Friday

Largest Ski and Snowboard Rental Co. in the Southeast 304 572-1234
Located at the corner of Rt. 219 and Rt. 66
LOWER RATES ~ FRIENDLY SERVICE
All Ski & Snowboard Clothing and Equipment
ON SALE!!!
Entire 2nd Floor DISCOUNTED

SNOWBOARD & SKI RENTALS
Great Quality, Great Prices
Daily 7:30 am - 11 pm
Friday 7:30 am - 2 am    304 572-1200
route66@neumedia.net

Restaurant
at the Inn at SnowShoe ~ EVERY WEEKEND ~
SHOW COOKERY & BUFFET STATION
Room service available 6:30 am- 1 am
Lounge hours
Mon. - Fri. 4:30 pm - 1 am
Sat. amd Sun. 1 pm to 1 am
Menu Items available daily 'til 1 am
~ 304 572-1000 ~

Open 7 AM until 9 PM
Home of the $4 breakfast!
Located on the corner of
Rt. 219 and Rt. 66

An intimate off-mountain dining experience
Featuring an International Buffet with
live local music each Thursday nite.
5 miles south of WV 66 on US 219
Open Thursday thru Monday evenings
For reservations call:     304 572-3771
Privately owned and operated Since 1982

Douglass S. Keith, Broker
Beverly Figg, GRI ~ Matt Matthews
Raymond Godwin     304 572-5687
P.O. Box 364 Snowshoe, WV 26209
Visit our Office in Shaver's Centre, Snowshoe Mountain

Presenting the Height of Luxury
Allegheny Springs at Snowshoe Mountain
Yours to own 1-800-489-1943

Mountain Country Properties
304 572-4663      mcpinfo@neumedia.net
David Curtis, Broker ~ Christine Butler, Associate Broker
Sales Associates: Debbie Goodwin, Cathy McGee, Bet Curtis P.O. Box 7
Slaty Fork, WV 26291
Rt. 66, � mile from
Snowshoe Entrance

Glades Hardware

Marlinton WV
304 799-4912

Calhoun & Kipp
Unique Items from around the world.
Mon. thru Sat. 10 am 'til 9 pm
Sunday 9 am 'til 8 pm
304 572-5250

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Eight Rivers Web Designs             Last update June 13, 2003
by     Michael Condon           omb00875@mail.wvnet.edu

	Douglass S. Keith, Broker Beverly Figg, GRI ~ Matt Matthews Raymond Godwin 304 572-5687 P.O. Box 364 Snowshoe, WV 26209
Visit our Office in Shaver's Centre, Snowshoe Mountain