Plainview Centennial by Forrest S. Hogue cont'd One of the greatest handicaps to the economic and social progress of our community was its almost complete isolation from the rest of the world. The mail, which consisted mainly of the county paper was brought weekley from Antioch and Greenbrier. A journey to Woodsfield and return required an entire day even when the roads were good. Telephone Communication was made possible in the year 1905. Our main highway is in process of being hard-surfaced during this our centennial year. Why could not someone write a story entitled "A Hundred Years of Mud"? Agriculture continues to be the chief industry of our people. In the early days tobacco was the main money crop. Very little is raised at present. Our chief source of income is fromt he sale of dairy and poultry products. Very little virgin timber remains. Some of the good farms of fifty years ago ae now almost worthless. Some oil and gas have been mined but the present productions are very small. Coal is scarce and inferior in quality. We have some high-grade limestone but none so far has been marketed. The most tragic situation which now confronts us is our inability to provide renumerative work sufficient to keep our boys and girls with or near us. Other more fortunate communities are absorbing our best brains and brawn. The talk is now that our school must go. We are told that we must keep abreast of the times. We must loose our individuality and become members of increasingly larger communities. We must become centralized and federalized. My old neighbor, John Kindall calls it "When the big hog eats the little hog." The writer, being only a back woodsman, is not sufficiently wise to combat in words the world wide tendency toward nationalization of indrustry, the home the church and the school, but is left in a maze of impotent wonderings concerning the causes of the French Revolution of 1793, the present Spanish rebellion, the rape of China, Bolshevism and Facism, threatening European war clouds. Where will Plainview be a hundred years hence, and just where do we go from here? Is there no place in the future set up for the fireside chat, the homely virtures, the friendly care of the sick and unfortunate, the neighborhood meeting or will both our work and our business become mechanized and all our activities be by rate or rhythm? Before again returning to the details in the history of our people, Iwish to refer to the charge that our forefathers swore, drank to excess, chewed tobacco and rubbed snuff, by asking if we should tyrow any stones or if the father took the whole family and the dog to the grog-shop with him? Much evidence has been discovered that the Indians occupied our district to some extent. Many arrowheads have been found, especially near the natural cavern of the Dougherty, Pickens and Charles Foraker farms. I have been told that a stone stove and stone hatchet were found in the Foraker Cave about fifty years ago. Ia am told that recently, while road workmen were excavating near this cave they discovered many arrowheads, one almost whole stone hatchet, another half one, and what they believe to be a stone scalping knife. I have not seen these articles as yet. They are in the pssession of Homer Baker and James Ward, two of the workmen. Mrs. Baker told me today that they would display them at our program together with some interesting war relics which he has in his possession. The incident of the Johnson boys killing their two Indian captors with their own rifle and tomahawk as related in Howe's History of Early Ohio is thought by some to have occurred in or near our district. Grandpa West says that his father, Thomas was acquainted with the elder brother and often heard his father say that Mr. Johnson avoided discussing the incident. His remains lie today, it is said, in an unmarked grave in the pioneer section of the Antioch Cemetery. The younger brother was mayor of Woodsfield about 1830. He is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery there. (My note-from Historical Collections of Harrison County, Ohio by Charles A. Hanna it is thought that the incident of the Johnson brothers James and Henry happened in Wells Twp., Jefferson Co., Oh. They both in later years settled in Monroe Co., Oh.)