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

Vol. 6 No. 6
June 2007

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

If it's going on in the county, you'll find it here
JUNE
AROUND THE COUNTY
Thursdays in June • Wake up and see stars! • National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. Gather at the planetarium balloon every Thursday for a unique look at the sky. There is a $3.00 charge per person and reservations are suggested. Program begins at 2 p.m.
Saturdays in June • Farmers Market, First Avenue, Marlinton, beside the mini-park • 8 a.m. - Noon. Vendors and products vary from week to week and season by season, but look for plants, produce, local crafts and baked goods.
June 2 • Whistles & Wildflowers Train • Cass Scenic Railroad State Park • 1-800-CALL-WVA or 456-4300 • cassrailroad.com. Ride the train up the mountain where naturalist guides will take you on a special wildflower hike. Bring your cameras and your hiking boots and be at the train by 6:30 a.m. Call for reservations.
June 8 - 10 • Fly Fishing Weekend • Elk River Touring Center, Slaty Fork • 866.572.3771 or 572-3771 • ertc.com. ERTC is all about fly fishing! Even the most seasoned and experienced anglers will never unlock all of the secrets of fly fishing. Trying to master the arts of fly selection, presentation, casting, and water-reading, as well as learning fish habits, insect hatches, selection and care of equipment can be very intimidating for novices and veteran anglers alike.
June 13 and 27 • High Tech Wednesday • NRAO, Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. Join us for a guided tour though parts of NRAO normally off limits to visitors, like lab areas where sensitive receivers are designed and built. Space limited to 15 per program; one hour and cost is $3.00
June 14 - 17 • Women's Bike Weekend • Elk River Touring Center, Slaty Fork • 866.572.3771 or 572-3771 • ertc.com. Come enjoy a special mountain biking weekend for women. Trek team rider Sue Haywood and local Elk River guides will lead this clinic where you can get one-on-one consulting and encouragement.
June 16 and 23• Fiddles & Vittles Special Train • Cass Scenic Railroad State Park • 1-800-CALL WVA or 456-4300 • cassrailroad.com. Back for another year---take a train ride to Whittaker Station and enjoy dinner and live bluegrass music along the way.
June 16 • Party Under the Stars • NRAO, Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. NRAO Staff will orient you to the star-filled sky and then view the night sky on the Star Party Patio. Bring optical telescopes and binoculars - you won’t believe the view! Program begins 30 minutes before dark.
June 22 - 24 • Little Levels Heritage Fair & Pearl S. Buck Birthday Party • Hillsboro • 800-336-7009• littlelevelsheritagefair.com. This year's theme is "Building and Preserving Our Heritage Communities." Enjoy a three-day event with old time music, a western rodeo, and a grand parade. Events also include a barbecue pig roast, arts and crafts, a ham and biscuit sale, vintage farming demonstrations, old-fashioned kid carnival, live bluegrass music, log race on the Greenbrier River, a gospel sing and candlelight vespers. For further information, call 800-336-7009.
June 23 • 5K Run/Walk • Hillsboro Elementary School, Hillsboro • 800.336.7009. The fun begins at 7:45 a.m. when the first wave of runners takes off. All proceeds go to the Hillsboro PTO. Race managed by Daniel Jonas of WV Fitness & Adventure Retreat. Hurry back for all the fun in town at the Little Levels Herittage Fair. See ya there!
June 24 •Open Rodeo • 1 P.M. razy Horse Corral, Hillsboro • (304) 645-2618 (304) 799-6717 • wvhsrodeo.org. Presented by, and a fundraiser for, the WV High School Rodeo Association. Open Rodeo entries must call in by June 17 to Mindy McCormick 645-2618. Everyone is welcome to compete or just come and spectate.
June 23 - July 21 • West Virginia Fitness and Adventure Retreat • WV Adventure Retreat, Cranberry Mountain Lodge •near Hillsboro • 410-772-1694 • wvadventureretreat.com. The Lodge is powered using totally renewable energy sources; solar, hydro, and wind. It adjoins a vast trail network in the Monongahela National Forest. Situated at an elevation of 4000 ft., the views of Hillsboro and the Greenbrier River Valley are spectacular. Physically fit and adventure-seeking individuals can enjoy road biking, mountain biking, hikes, trail runs, whitewater rafting, and swimming. A hot tub offers the perfect relaxation after a day spent exploring the area’s scenic wonders.
June 24 - 30 • The Allegheny Echoes Summer Workshops • Marlinton Opera House • Third Avenue, Marlinton • 304-799-7121 • alleghenyechoes.com. Allegheny Echoes is the concept of a group of West Virginia musicians and writers who wish to promote, support, preserve, and teach their own art without distracting influences. Their goal is to provide an accurate representation of West Virginia art that is not packaged and altered to appeal to a specific market. There is a strong emphasis placed on West Virginia tradition with an overall look toward the embracing Appalachian culture. The Summer Workshops offer a chance for students of all ages and abilities to come together to learn, appreciate, and enjoy our West Virginia ways.
June 29 - July 1 • FS Concepts Mountain Bike Clinic and Weekend Getaway • Marlinton • 304.799.4038 • fsconcepts.com. FS Concepts is excited to host a weekend seminar focusing on mountain bike skills and techniques and applying them to guided trail riding on some of the world’s best singletrack! Pre-arranged, one-on-one consultations with an FS Concepts Coach. Set up an appointment and discuss training, event preparation, race tactics, etc. This is a great opportunity to get detailed answers to questions you may have.
June 29 • Murder Mystery Train • Cass Scenic Railroad State Park • 1-800-CALL-WVA or 456-4300 • cassrailroad.com. Come enjoy this who-done-it train ride to Whittaker; includes dinner and entertainment. Train departs at 5 p.m. Make your reservations early; you won’t want to miss this one!

On The Mountain
For more info about any events at Snowshoe, call 877-441-4FUN or visit online at www.snowshoemtn.com
June 23 -24 • Grand National Cross Country Circuit Race, Round 8 • gnccracing.com. First time in Pocahontas County! Motor bike racing at its best! Whether you are experienced at this sport or a first-timer, you won't want to miss this leg of the 13 round competition. Plan to attend now!
June 30 - July 1 • Snowshoe Mountain Bike Race, Series I. The region's best mountain bikers head to Snowshoe for the 1st race of this three event race series presented by Full Throttle Energy Drink. Over $25,000 in cash along with great prizes will be awarded throughout the series.
Weekends in June • Village Movie Series • 877-441-4FUN • snowshoemtn.com. Join us under the stars in the Village at Snowshoe for our Village Movie Series. Grab a blanket, kick back in one of our Adirondack chairs and enjoy a great night of family fun. All movies start at 9pm in the Village Plaza.. Movies are listed on page 10.

Artisans’ Co-op offers the best of Pocahontas County’s talent

The co-op gallery hosts a diversity of media - basketry, jewelry, stained glass and textiles just to name a few.

Photos by Drew Tanner

Drew Tanner
Staff Writer
      Pocahontas County artisans and crafts people have come together to showcase their talents at a new gallery in Green Bank.
      In a building that was once an automobile garage and later an antiques shop, artists now display original paintings, photographs, handmade baskets and clothing, stained glass, metal work and more.
      About two dozen artists, with support from the Pocahontas County Arts Council, opened the gallery in May. The gallery itself operates as a nonprofit cooperative. The artists receive 100 percent of the sale of their works. In exchange, they pay a modest monthly fee and take turns working the gallery’s counter each day.
      More than just a storefront or gallery, many of the artisans also use the space to actively demonstrate their craft—forging metal, carving wood, painting canvas and creating works before visitors’ eyes.
      “We have a lot of local talent,” said Mike Garrigan, a metalworker and president of the gallery. “I like to see the talents of the folks here on display and available for sale.”
      Several of the artists have sold their works at other galleries in Petersburg, Beckley, Elkins, Davis, Lewisburg, and even Virginia. They have been eager to have a place close to home—and to Pocahontas County’s many attractions—to display and sell their creations.
      “When visitors come to the area, they are always looking for regional art and something with local flavor,” said Kathryn Gillispie, a watercolor artist who lives in Green Bank.
      Gillispie has been involved for 15 years with Artists at Work, a cooperative gallery in Elkins that currently has a waiting list of new artists who want to participate.

A stained glass iris graces one of the gallery windows.
Photos by Drew Tanner

      Cooperative galleries tend to have more reasonable prices, as they typically don’t charge a commission to the artists, Gillispie said. With the artists taking part in running the gallery, customers also have an opportunity to interact with the people behind the art, she added.
      And membership is not limited to working artists and craftspeople. Art lovers and anyone else interested in the project are welcome to pitch in.
      “The more members we have, the stronger the cooperative becomes,” said Gillispie.
      The Pocahontas County Arts Council voted to support the gallery as it was forming, recognizing the value of a space to show off the talents of area artists.
      “We have some real talent in this county, in both the fine arts and the craft arts,” said Gail Hyer, a board member of the arts council. “A co-op would give them a good opportunity to showcase their items.”
      Hyer, who also works for the county’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, also said the demand for locally made artwork and crafts is strong.
      “We have tourists coming through here who would like to buy locally made items,” said Hyer. “Right now, we do not have many places that offer that choice.”
      Having a place to sell art and crafts can benefit artists on several fronts, added Garrigan.

A whimsical fish sculpture peeks out from a giant clam shell.
Photos by Drew Tanner

      “If you have an opportunity to display work to the public and a chance to sell that work, it motivates you to produce more,” Garrigan said.
      Craftspeople and artists involved with the gallery have also expressed an interest in leading workshops, making the gallery a place not just for selling, but for learning, as well.
      Garrigan said he hopes the cooperative will also help artists develop their business skills.
      “I think it can function as a business incubator, getting artists comfortable with the business side and marketing their work to the public,” he said.
      As a craftsman himself, Garrigan acknowledged that it is difficult for many artists to balance the business end of what they do while still having time for their craft.
      “The whole idea of a cooperative is that you can accomplish things together thatyou can’t do alone,” he said.
      The Pocahontas County Artisan Co-op is located in Green Bank between Henry’s Market and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The gallery is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A section of the Forks trail that passes through the burned-over area on Black Mountain.
Photo by David Holtzman

Trail of the Month:
The Forks of the Cranberry Trail
David Holtzman
Contributing Writer
      The forest deep in the Cranberry Wilderness is lush with red spruce trees, and a lower canopy of rhododendron and moss so thick that it seems to block out the rest of the world. The only sound comes from the steady drip of a creek running just beneath and alongside the trail. It is remarkable that an environment like this can exist just a few miles from towns and farms. More fascinating still is the fact that most of the tall trees on the Cranberry were cut down a century ago. The Forks of the Cranberry trail is an interesting path on which to view some of the changes in the forest that have occurred since logging’s heyday in the mountains. The trail, which connects the Highland Scenic Highway with U.S. Forest Road 102, passes through a variety of landscapes created. in part, as a result of mankind’s incursion.
      The 1937 Black Mountain Fire devastated the area where the trailhead now stands on the scenic highway, charring 1,200 acres of slash left by loggers, as well as the soil itself. Logging had all but ceased by 1932, when the Monongahela National Forest bought the land from the Cherry River Lumber Company. The slash, including limbs and tree-tops the loggers didn’t want, dried out and created ideal conditions for fire.

Elephant Rocks
Photo by David Holtzman

      Logging-related fires affected life in surrounding Pocahontas County, as local writer Louise McNeill wrote, describing a fire that took place in 1930: “All week down at the village, a smoke pall hung over the schoolyard, and our cow spring up the hollow tasted of smoke. In the wind that fed it, the black, charred leaf-scraps sifted down over our fields and pastures.”
      The first section of the Forks trail passes through an area of rocks and stubby trees struggling to grow in the depleted soil left by the 1937 fire. The scene is beautiful, even if it is unnatural for this region. After a mile or so, the trees are taller and the ground more leafy as the trail enters a somewhat more mature forest. The path is level here and easy to negotiate. When the leaves are off the trees, one can glimpse a bit of the Cranberry River valley off to the left. After about three miles, the trail abruptly begins a short climb and narrows as it passes the Elephant Rocks. Just off the trail to the left, this formation of oddly-shaped rocks sandwiched together and exposed to the sun, makes for a fine picnic spot. In springtime, snow in the crevices between the rocks holds out against the change in seasons.

Deep in the fir and rhododendron
Photo by David Holtzman

      Beyond the rocks is where the trail enters the lush forest. Suddenly the sunlight is greatly diminished and the hiker senses he has entered into a cathedral of sorts. Even in early spring, both the ground and the trees are colored a dazzling green. This impression is hardly dispelled as the path weaves between enormous boulders, parts of which are coated with elephant ear lichen. The distant sound of rushing water in the nearby North Fork of the Cranberry River adds another layer of mystery.
      Later the trail emerges from the conifer zone of spruce, fir and hemlock into a more mixed hardwood forest. The last mile or so of the walk includes a fairly steep descent to the Cranberry River.
      Roger Ridgeway, a timber sales administrator for the U.S. Forest Service in its Richwood office and a former wilderness ranger, says the trail was probably built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Many trails on the national forest began as paths trod by wildlife and Native Americans, and logging interests later used them as railroad grades. However, the Forks trail would have been an unlikely candidate for a trail for horses, and certainly for a railroad, at least at its western end. It’s much too steep, although it’s pleasant enough walking for anyone with a decent pair of boots.
      There’s room for one or two cars at the trailhead on the Highland Scenic Highway, but be sure to plan on a round-trip hike if you want to walk the 5.7 mile length of the Forks trail. Forest Road 102 is closed to motorized traffic, so hikers must walk the 4.2 miles between the trailhead and the parking lot near the Cranberry Glades.
      It’s a very nice walk on the gravel road, which hugs the riverside and provides room for all sorts of wildflowers.

Local gardeners offer fresh vegetables every Saturday
Pamela Pritt
Editor
      You won’t have to secretly unload all your extra zucchini on your neighbor’s porch this summer.
      Marlinton’s Farmers’ Market is a way to sell those extra veggies. Open each Saturday, from 8 a.m.-noon, the market is set up on First Avenue near the mini-park and the Greenbrier River.
      Doug Bernier, who came up with the idea, said the market starts small in the spring, with about four vendors, and grows to about a dozen during gardening’s peak season.
      There’s quite a variety available, he said. Bernier was selling tomato plants in May, Junior Wilson, offered flowering plants and trees, as well as vegetable plants at the market, and Steve Saffel had locally produced honey.
      Later on, people like Louise Barnisky show up with a little red wagon full of vegetables or Larry Lucas with bushels of green beans.
      There’s also someone with fresh eggs and even rabbits, he said. Vendors pay no fee and can set up as many weeks—or as few—as time allows.
      Anyone with extra vegetables who doesn’t want them to end up as compost is welcome to spend a Saturday morning with the regulars, Bernier said.
      “It’s the perfect opportunity for that kind of transaction,” he continued.
      The market has become more than a means to sell vegetables, though. Bernier said it’s also a place to meet and greet friends and make new acquaintances.
      Customers are a”pretty good mix” of local residents and visitors to the area, he said.
      Crafters are also welcome to set up shop by the river, again, with no setup fee.
      “If that happens it will fill out the ranks of vendors,” Bernier said.

The Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, near the top of Allegheny Mountain, looking much as it probably did in 1861.
Photos by Drew Tanner.

The Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike was once…
The road well-traveled
Drew Tanner
Staff Writer
      The Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike is a storied road, created when West Virginia was still united with its sister to the east. Little more than a decade after it was completed, it would become the scene of some of the earliest battles of the Civil War. During the 1861 Mountain Campaign, Union forces gained control of the pike and much of the land that would later become West Virginia in 1863.
      But the pike’s origins date well before the War Between the States, or even the states themselves. Gaps in the high ridges of the Allegheny Mountains provided natural passages for travelers.
      Prehistoric Native Americans living here for thousands of years found and used the best pathways, as did the game animals they hunted. Continued use created well-worn footpaths, which were then adopted as horse trails by the European settlers. As early road construction began, civil engineers routed 19th century turnpikes along these same trails.
      In Pocahontas County, the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike traces some of the county’s Civil War history. Following much of present-day U.S. Route 250, the pike stretches from the site of Confederate Camp Allegheny, near the Virginia state line, through the site of the Union’s Camp Bartow and Cheat Summit Fort. It also passes by the historic inn at Travelers’ Repose, the first overnight stage coach stop west of the Alleghenies.

One of the many magnificent mountain views to be enjoyed on 'the old pike' as it crosses northern Pocahontas County. In the distance you can see the Green Bank Telescope at NRAO.
Photos by Drew Tanner.

      The road was initially authorized in 1823 by Virginia legislators in Richmond. Planning and layout of the road was headed by the state engineer of Virginia, Claudius Crozet. Construction did not begin until the 1840s, however, with completion of the main roadway in 1848. Traveling over the high mountains among the birthplace of rivers, the road was considered an engineering marvel and opened up large sections of western Virginia to settlement and commerce.
      Crozet was a Frenchman who served as an engineer under Napoleon until he and his wife emigrated to the United States in 1816. In America, Crozet taught engineering at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, before becoming Virginia’s Principal Engineer and Surveyor. His work included the tunnels of the Blue Ridge Railroad. The main tunnel on that project was 4,273 feet long—the longest such tunnel in the U.S. at the time. Dug a decade before the invention of dynamite, it was considered to be an “engineering wonder of the world” and was less than a half-foot off perfect alignment, and construction had proceeded from either end.
      Thomas Jefferson referred to Crozet as “by far the best mathematician in the United States.”
      With the Virginia legislature’s approval of the road westward, Crozet’s mission was to lay out a route from Staunton to Parkersburg, with a grade of no more than four percent, which translates to a four- foot rise with every 100 feet of road. A drive along the turnpike through the mountains, quickly reveals that Crozet did not succeed in this request, although he tried. The road makes numerous curves and switchbacks, in an attempt to reduce the climb and descent to a gentle four percent. The road was to be 20 feet wide, not including ditches, and 10 inches higher in the middle than at the edges of the roadway.
      In Pocahontas County, Crozet’s survey was made with the assistance of Conrad Kramer, a German from Frankford-on-the-Rhine, and John Yeager, of Allegheny Summit.

Piles of stone that were once the chimneys of Confederate cabins are among the few visible remains of Camp Allegheny. The harsh winter of 1861-1862 caused forces here and Union forces at Cheat Summit Fort to abandon their fortifications the following spring.
Photos by Drew Tanner.

      Crews of local workers were hired to do the actual construction. The pike was divided into 20-mile segments, and each segment was awarded to a local contractor, who then hired local people to work on the road. The contractor was responsible for paying the workers. Overseers typically earned $31 a month, wagoners $15 per month, blasters, blacksmiths and wall builders earned $12-$13 per month.
      Laborers made up the majority of the workforce earning between $7.50 and $10 per month. The lowest paid workers were cart drivers at $8 and cooks at $6 per month.
      Bridges were separate contracts. Lemuel Chenoweth was a bridge builder with a strong reputation in the region, and he was the successful bidder on many of the bridges along the route.
      He built the bridge that was once in Beverly, and his work is still admired in the covered bridge at Philippi.
      People had to pay to use the turnpike. Tollhouses were placed at intervals along the road. Whenever possible, the tollhouses were strategically placed to preventefforts to bypass them and avoid paying the toll. They were at places where the valley narrowed, where there was only one way to cross a stream, or simply at regular intervals where a person was willing to be a toll collector.
      Travelers’ were forced to stop because there was a long pole, or pike across the road. The pike was situated on a post that allowed the toll house keeper to pivot or turn the pike to allow passage after the toll was paid. Hence the name, turnpike.

Confederate forces established Camp Allegheny in an attempt to gain control of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike during the 1861 Mountain Campaign
Photos by Drew Tanner.

      Different tolls were charged for people, wagons, and animals, and as with today’s turnpikes, the costs varied through the years. Along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, a wagon, team, and driver were charged 25 to 55 cents; four-wheeled riding carriages, 20 to 45 cents; carts, or two-wheeled riding carriages, 12 1?2 to 20 cents; men and horses 6 1?4 cents; cattle per head 1?4 cent; sheep or hogs, 3 to 5 cents per score.
      The purpose of collecting tolls was to pay for maintaining the road. As it turned out, the money collected did not necessarily cover this cost, especially when storms washed out parts of the road or bridges needed to be replaced.
      In the November 6, 1848, issue of the Parkersburg Gazette, Heiskell & Co. advertised a new line of coaches to take passengers over the pike. The fare for transportation “over the finest graded road in Virginia” was $13 with “no charge made for any reasonable amount of Extra Baggage.” The ad continued:
“This Line leaves Staunton every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 o’clock, P.M. Leaves Parkersburg same days at 4 o’clock, A.M., and runs through in 3 1/2 days, passing through the counties of Highland, Pocahontas, Randolph, Barbour, Lewis, Gilmer, Ritchie, and Wood, without any night travel, connecting with the different stage lines leaving Staunton, and the regular Mail Boats from Wheeling to Cincinnati at Parkersburg.”

      Despite the heralded new road, travel across the Allegheny Highlands was not necessarily easy. During the winter of 1855, the Trotter brothers had a federal contract to carry the mail between Huttonsville and Staunton. While the brothers had made the trip from Huttonsville to Staunton, a severe snowstorm blocked their return trip across Cheat Mountain. As a result of the delay, residents on the other side of Cheat, in the Tygart Valley, complained to postal authorities about the resulting delay in the delivery of their mail.
      The postal authorities wrote the brothers for an explanation. In reply, the brothers wrote the following:
Mr. Postmaster General,
Washington, D.C.
Sir:
      If you knock the gable end out of Hell and back it up against Cheat Mountain and rain fire and brimstone on it for forty days and forty nights, it won’t melt the snow enough to get your d——- mail through on time.
Yours Truly
Trotter Brothers
By: (s) James Trotter.

      The harsh winters of the highlands would play a role in later, more significant, historical events, as well.
      As previously mentioned, one of the earliest campaigns of the Civil War was fought for control of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike and the access it provided to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The Battle Of Rich Mountain subsequently gave Union forces control of the turnpike, of the Tygart Valley, and of all of the territory of western Virginia to the north and west, including the railroad.
      U.S. General George McClellan’s victory brought him a promotion to command the Army of the Potomac. Union forces then fortified at Cheat Summit, while the Confederates established fortifications at present- day Bartow and Top of Allegheny. They faced each other over Pocahontas County’s stretch of the turnpike in the fall of 1861 and through the winter. General Robert E. Lee’s attempt to attack Cheat Summit Fort and Union assaults on Camp Barteau and Camp Allegheny all failed to dislodge the enemy.

Travelers’ Repose was the first stage coach stop west of the Allegheny front along the turnpike. The sign on the front of the house says it was also the site of the first post office in the county, which ran from 1814 until 1906.
Photos by Drew Tanner.

      An early, brutal winter in the mountains achieved what both armies had failed, and in the spring of 1862 both Union and Confederate forces abandoned their fortifications, moving down the pike to the battle of McDowell, and on to fight what would be Stonewall Jackson’s Shenandoah Mountain campaign.
      The early fortifications at Camp Allegheny and Cheat Summit sat at the highest altitudes of any encampments during the Civil War. Following the war, control and maintenance of the turnpike was delegated to the counties, and the damaged road and bridges were slowly mended. Tolls continued to be collected, at least in some areas, until the 1890s. Travel, mail and stage routes resumed, bringing business to inns such as Traveller’s Repose and the hotels in Beverly.
      The arrival of the railroads to the Allegheny Highlands and beyond in the 1890s and early 1900s ushered in the decline of the turnpike’s importance. As lumbering and coal industries brought prosperity to the region, the important role of transportation into the mountains remained paramount.
      In the 1920s and 1930s, highways began to be paved to provide for automobiles. Many sections of the original turnpike remained the best available route, and the turnpike itself was paved as the highway. In Pocahontas and Randolph counties, it mostly follows US Route 250 as far as Beverly. In some cases, newer construction techniques permitted shorter, alternative routes, and sections of the turnpike were bypassed.
      In recent years, the turnpike has been recognized as a National Scenic Byway by the Federal Highway Administration, and the Staunton- Parkersburg Turnpike Alliance has made its home in the historic McClellan Headquarters in Beverly. The organization promotes the history of turnpike tourism along the historic road.
      The old pike might not be the expressway it was in the 19th century, but with its historic sites and beautiful scenery, it’s certainly a road worth traveling. ?

The Alpine Hotel
Photos courtesy Pocahontas Histroical Society.

Pocahontas County remembers...
The grand old days of the Alpine Hotel
Jaynell Graham-Awad
Staff Writer
      Those were the days…
      On the present sight of the First Citizen’s Bank once stood the hub of activity for the town of Marlinton.
      The Alpine Hotel was owned by Charlie and Gertrude Anderson when Edna May Webb was hired to run the restaurant and she ran it well. One of her first suggestions was to quit buying meat at the store.
      Edna asked for a saw and began ordering beef in quarters and loins of pork, providing hand cut steaks, chops and fresh ground beef.
      When an order came in, out came the saw and the customer’s choice was freshly cut and freshly prepared. This was a fine idea from an economic standpoint, as well as a way to provide the very best quality of meat to the patrons. “Meat cutter” was only one of the many titles that Edna acquired. After renting the business for a time, she decided to buy the entire operation…restaurant, hotel, telegraph office, bus station, dress shop, men’s shop, loan office and theatre.
      As if that weren’t enough, she put in a barber shop with new chairs, new pole and back fountains. This shop was operated early on by Elmer Palmer and then by the father-son duo of Clarence and Chuck Davis.

The Alpine Hotel aburnin
Photos courtesy Pocahontas Histroical Society.

      Of great interest and benefit to the community was the Alpine Theatre, showing movies Thursday through Monday nights with matinees on Saturday and Sunday.
      Joe Smith, present Town Council Member, began working for Edna when he was in the seventh grade, washing windows and doing odd jobs. He eventually worked his way up to “catching tickets,” to selling tickets at 25 and 50 cents, to being the man behind the counter at the concession stand, where cokes and popcorn were 10 cents and candy was a nickel.
      In the spring, Edna would order a “special children’s movie” and the students from Marlinton Graded School were brought to the Alpine Theatre for a free treat.
      Out of curiosity, Joe would venture upstairs to watch the projectionist. Careful observation paid off for all when, one night in the middle of the movie, the projectionist walked off the job, and Joe was able to step into that position.
      Of all the movies shown at the Alpine, Joe remembers two that packed the house, night after night. “The Ten Commandments,” a four-plus hour movie, with an intermission. Joe said, “It seemed like we ran it forever.” “Thunder Road,” with Robert Mitchum, “really brought out the young people,” he said.

Dress Shop
Photos courtesy Pocahontas Histroical Society.

      Joe added that it is no coincidence that the lamp posts seen in the old photos of the hotel strongly resemble those of Marlinton’s streets today. When the downtown renovation was planned, the committee searched for replicas of those lamps of years past.
      To further meet the needs of the residents of the area, three stores in the Alpine were rented to other businesses.
      Merrill and Mary Peacock owned the Quality Discount Dress Shop, located to the left of the theatre entrance. This store was most capably managed from 1962-1968 by Anna Ware.
      Anna fondly remembers her days at the shop and the buying trips to Virginia and North Carolina. The windows boasted life-like mannequins and she learned a very important lesson during her tenure as window dresser. When working on the window displays and wearing high heels with metal taps – don’t jump down onto the cement floor.
      It’s not good for your back.

The Alpine Hotel
Photos courtesy Pocahontas Histroical Society.

      To the right of the theatre entrance was a loan office, overseen by Mary Goddin, and The Men’s Shop, operated by Joe Ralston.
      But the activity, second to none, took place in the main area of the hotel building. With regular bus service –the Reynolds’ Line – there were passengers and freight arriving and departing twice a day. The shipments included everything from parts for Burns Motor Freight to flowers for Edna Bear’s shop.
      Sandra Cromer Friel, County Clerk of Pocahontas County, began her career at the Alpine as a telegraph operator, working after school from three to 11 p.m. Most telegraphs pertained to the routine of business in the area, highway permits and the like. But of all the telegraphs received, one stands out in her mind, word received of the death of one of the county’s soldiers in Viet Nam.

The Alpine Hotel
Photos courtesy Pocahontas Histroical Society.

      As a result of another telegraph with news from that far land, Edna Webb became a client of her own business, when a message was received notifying Edna’s mother that her son and Edna’s brother, Ray Sharp, had been wounded. Unsure of the severity of the wounds at that time, Edna carried the news to their mother.
      Margaret “Pete” McComb Underwood worked in many capacities at the hotel and was the day-time telegraph operator. She has two most pleasant memories of her time there. The first was that she met and married Kenny Underwood, who worked at Curry’s Meat Market. The second was of the newly elected Senator Robert C. Byrd who was in town for a meeting concerning plans for the Cranberry Glades. “Pete” spent four hours typing Senator Byrd’s report to Washington and in return received a personal letter from him thanking her for her efforts. Meanwhile, in the 43-bed hotel, guests were warmly welcomed and graciously tended to by Edna and her staff. Many returned year after year. Edna said, “We had the best time sitting around in the lobby in the evenings, visiting and watching T.V.” Edna lived in an apartment on the second floor of the hotel. That, combined with her spirit of hospitality, made guests of the Alpine feel like guests in a private home.
      In Kelly’s Restaurant space was limited, so Edna set about remodeling to provide a place for private parties and a meeting and eating place for Rotary, Lions and other organizations. It was paneled with knotty pine and thus was called “The Pine Room.”
      Never still for a minute, Edna had 21 employees and kept books for her five different businesses and was constantly updating, such as a new screen and ceiling in the theatre and remodeling the hotel rooms with ceramic tile and new carpet.
      Plans for new seats in the theatre remained just that, when sadly on December 31, 1967, a fire brought an end to an era. At 2:30 a.m. on a most frigid night, the fire, believed to have started between the wall of the theatre and the kitchen of the restaurant, completely destroyed the Alpine building, burning from the old year of 1967 into the new year of 1968, taking with it all of Edna Webb’s plans, hard work and belongings and the livelihood of many business owners and employees.
      On the morning of January 1, 1968, while doing his farm chores, Max White, of Minnehaha Springs, saw the White Sulphur Springs fire trucks headed toward Marlinton. He reported, “I don’t know what’s on fire, but it’s a big one.”
      And indeed it was, but of greater consequence was the loss to the town. ?

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