If I were to write a book about Blair (and who knows only one more year to retirement), I would have to cast Willard and his wife Becky as central characters. They had a house and a general store smack dab in the middle of Blair.They would always take the time to talk with you even if you were a kid and you only had a nickel for milk duds from the big oak candy case. Willard and his prominent white hair and blue eyes (very Burgess indeed) and Becky w/ her dark hair in it's tightly curled perpetual permanent wave. And yes I remember, Becky was always cooking something back in the little kitchen behind the counter. Something that was mouthwatering to a hungry kid breezing in from three games of marbles, hide-and-go-seek, and racing backside down the slate dump. And I remember how slowly Willard would slice the slab bacon or lunch meat, weigh it precisely on an old scale and finally wrap it carefully in brown paper and tie it with a string. With a pencil, Willard would then carefully record each item on a store order, and file it in the big ledger attached to the wall. Everyone in Blair had bills in that ledger and you didn't have to pay until your check arrived on the first of the month. I have pleasant memories of Becky in her starched flowered housedress with apron and Willard with his white hair and blue eyes and I suspect most folks from Blair do as well. Interestingly, as a kid I didn't even know we were related but I suppose I knew at some level even though it was never mentioned.

My grandmothers strung clothes lines across the kitchen in the winter months to dry. And cooked a large pot of soup beans to help dry the clothes. Mother also did this with a ringer washer until the mid 50's. The dirtiest was washed on a scrub board. Mother knew the name of every leaf, tree, weed, bird and all about them. I cherish her memory and miss my precious West Virginia mother. fondly, Judi BurgessWV@aol.com wrote: > People who lived in town all had rain barrels under their house eves for >laundry purposes. Rain water was "soft", unlike well water which was hard. The >wells went nearly dry in the summer months.The males of the family carried the >water and built the fires on washday. In the winter, the clothes on the line >would turn into ice sheets.What a mess that was thawing out all those icy >clothes ! But people back then didnt have to lock their doors, and ate healthier >food than we moderns do. And your neighbors were always willing to help any way >they could in times of trouble. > >Shelby > > >============================== >Find your ancestors in the Birth, Marriage and Death Records. >New content added every business day. Learn more: >http://www.ancestry.com/s13964/rd.ashx > > > > >

People who lived in town all had rain barrels under their house eves for laundry purposes. Rain water was "soft", unlike well water which was hard. The wells went nearly dry in the summer months.The males of the family carried the water and built the fires on washday. In the winter, the clothes on the line would turn into ice sheets.What a mess that was thawing out all those icy clothes ! But people back then didnt have to lock their doors, and ate healthier food than we moderns do. And your neighbors were always willing to help any way they could in times of trouble. Shelby

This is what we need for our family history books. Tell us about people you remember in Logan. I lived in McConnell West Virginia when I was five years old. The Guyandotte river ran by the very small town. There was an old man whose name was Ed Browning who visited frequently with my father. Ed seemed like a giant to me. I remember that he always wore coveralls. He was a very quiet man. He lived accross the river and had a boat that he pushed with a stick in the water to get accross the river. One day he asked if I would like to ride accross the river and back. My Dad said that I could. I remember being scared to death as I got into that long flat boat, and then we crossed the Guydandotte River. When I came back to McConnell I was thrilled that I made the trip successfully. Ed took me up to a very small wod My Dad called him "Uncle Ed". My Dad did not have an Uncle Ed. I guess everyone was For Christmas Ed brought me a beautiful box of candy with round colorful pieces of candy. I was really excited ---- until I took a bite of the candy. It tasted awful. I did not know what I was eating -- I asked my mom and she said it was coconut. To this day I hate coconut. Sure wish I could meet Uncle Ed Browning again. Would love to talk to him about our family history. Jim Burgess -----Original Message----- From: EKutn@aol.com [mailto:EKutn@aol.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 3:56 PM To: WVLOGAN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [WVLOGAN] Willard Burgess If I were to write a book about Blair (and who knows only one more year to retirement), I would have to cast Willard and his wife Becky as central characters. They had a house and a general store smack dab in the middle of Blair.They would always take the time to talk with you even if you were a kid and you only had a nickel for milk duds from the big oak candy case. Willard and his prominent white hair and blue eyes (very Burgess indeed) and Becky w/ her dark hair in it's tightly curled perpetual permanent wave. And yes I remember, Becky was always cooking something back in the little kitchen behind the counter. Something that was mouthwatering to a hungry kid breezing in from three games of marbles, hide-and-go-seek, and racing backside down the slate dump. And I remember how slowly Willard would slice the slab bacon or lunch meat, weigh it precisely on an old scale and finally wrap it carefully in brown paper and tie it with a string. With a pencil, Willard would then carefully record each item on a store order, and file it in the big ledger attached to the wall. Everyone in Blair had bills in that ledger and you didn't have to pay until your check arrived on the first of the month. I have pleasant memories of Becky in her starched flowered housedress with apron and Willard with his white hair and blue eyes and I suspect most folks from Blair do as well. Interestingly, as a kid I didn't even know we were related but I suppose I knew at some level even though it was never mentioned. ============================== View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find marriage announcements and more. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx

What an article, Evelyn. I believe Gail said it best when she stated we were colonized by the coal barons. As is true with so many, my gg grandmother Almira Jarrell Mullins sold mineral rights to her property in the 1880s for a few hundred dollars. That was a fortune to her. Little did she or any of them know what would happen. Almira was born and raised in the area up Pond Fork where the pictures were taken in Gracie's post. Then she married Andrew Jackson Mullins and came to Blair, a community that has been devastated by MTR in the past decade. The coal companies have no regard for "southern hillbillies". Our lifestyle, culture, family ties, history - all meaningless to them. Rick > > From: "Evelyn Sukey" <elsukey@glwb.net> > Date: 2006/05/16 Tue PM 02:10:15 EDT > To: WVLOGAN-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [WVLOGAN] RE: mountain top removal(OTS) > > Gracie, > > Thanks for sharing the sites. I found this one very interesting: > > http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0105.html > > Brings tears to my eyes when I think of the destruction. > > Evelyn Wilburn Sukey

My apologies to Jim Burgess to whom I told this story before. It is so appropriate to the audience and subject that is being currently addressed that the devil in me would not let the opportunity pass to tell it again. Moreover, it serves to illustrate how our ancestors lived in those simpler by-gone days. Some of you recall from my posting of a few days ago that as a young man I worked for a furniture company located in Pineville, Wyoming County, WV, and that one of my territories was the route encompassing the rural communities between Sun Hill and Coal Mountain. Much of this region was without electricity until about 1950. Many of the farmers in the region also worked in the mines at Coal Mountain and could have afforded a much improved way of life but without electricity they were limited to the more primitive ways. That was before my days as a space scientist, but I was smart enough even then to recognize the golden opportunity that was there when Appalachian Power Company turned the lights on. So, I loaded a two-ton truck with various models of Maytag wringer type washing machines, about eighteen in all, and headed toward the "lower end of the county." I sold washing machines off the back of the truck like pedaling beans until I was down to just two washers; one of the least expensive and the other from the top of the line. I was heading home along the Long Branch road when I spotted what I thought was a sure sale. The road ran along the creek and the space between the hills was such that there was scarcely room for the creek and narrow road, much less for the four-room, unpainted house that was sandwiched between the creek and hills on the opposite side of the creek from the road. The yard was bare earth, which was not at all unusual for the times, and was filled with enough kids to keep a mother busy doing nothing but cooking, washing and ironing. The lady of the house had set up her fire with a tub of boiling water next to the creek and was scrubbing away at her washboard. When she was satisfied that she had accomplished all she could at the board, she dropped the items into the tub of boiling water for further cleansing. Later they would be removed and rinsed in a separate tub using heated clean water from the adjacent stream. Water had to be wrung from each item of clothing between washing, boiling, rinsing and hanging on the cloths line. The nearby clothes lines, which were strung between supports in the front yard and between the posts that supported the roof on the front porch, were already filled to capacity with miner's work clothes. This entire scene was being overseen by the man of the house who was sitting on the front porch, not more than forty feet away, and listening to a battery powered radio. I stopped and talked to him across the creek without even leaving the truck. "Which one of these washers do you want Landon" I asked. His response was classic. "I don't need no washin machine, but you can bring me down one of them new-fangled combination radio and record players the next time you come down." I didn't hang around for the next chapter, but I have often wondered what he said before the madam let him up, because she placed an order for the most expensive washer on my next visit. STAN BROWNING My husband's grandmother told of a sibling of her husband's. About age 5, he was playing with a stick under the wash tub fire. Somehow he unsettled the pot, the water dumped on him and he died less than 24 hrs later. I've read several reports where women were badly burned and even died from their burns, when their skirts caught fire from the laundry fire. > > At least laundry isn't dangerous anymore. Unless you put your hands in > one of my little boys' jeans pockets! I always turned them inside out > first. I encountered some nasty surprises, like a small snake or a > pocket full of bugs. Makes a mess in the washer too. > > Sue > > At 10:18 PM 5/15/06 -0400, you wrote: >> Getting kids clothes clean back in 1930s was some job. There were >> only two >> choices: scrub the clothes on a washboard, or boil them.Boiling them >> got the >> dirt out, but damaged the threads,and they didnt last as long. After >> the clothes >> were laundered, they had to be ironed with a "Sad" iron. The iron was >> heated >> on the cook stove, no electricity in most homes back then.Those were >> the days >> !! >> >> Shelby >> >> >> ============================== >> New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your >> ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. >> Learn more: >> http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/ >> tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 > > > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx >

Gracie, Thanks for sharing the sites. I found this one very interesting: http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0105.html Brings tears to my eyes when I think of the destruction. Evelyn Wilburn Sukey -----Original Message----- From: gracie [mailto:g.winters@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 7:13 PM To: WVLOGAN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: mountain top removal(OTS) Whew, had to delete the first message and calm down. To answer Rick, YES. The coal companies will take every mountain, ruin every stream and river in WV unless stopped. Also the surrounding states. Enter your zip code and see what has been going on. http://zoomer.sierraclub.org/# http://www.ohvec.org/galleries/mountaintop_removal/index.html http://www.americanrivers.org/site/PageServer http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0105.html http://www.wvdnr.gov/Hunting/BGB2004BoarWildBoar.shtm JOIN the organizations, E-MAIL senators/congress persons. SIGN petitions. Picket, if you feel you must. I found the people with t-shirts from a link in Grist. You may be able to check their archives. The article was about West Virginia and coal companies and mines. It came about the time all those miners were killed early this year from the mine explosion. Sorry, I have to block out some things. Just thought, WVLOGAN archives should have one of the links from Grist. http://www.grist.org/ I have been signing petitions for quite a while. Not sure if they pay much attention to someone from so far away. But I sign them anyway. I had looked at the pictures quite a while ago. It sickened me to see. I can't remember what the coal companies call what they do to strip the tops off of the mountains. Shelby, I think we discussed it a few months ago. Gracie ______________________________

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Reclaiming a mountain after 1/3 of it (due to MTR practices) is blown into oblivian, is impossible. Throughout history,throughout the world, mountains have been considered spiritual. Consider the Himalayas. The Native Americans in America, the mountains of the biblical desert, etc. Whether you consider them as spiritual or not, it's like Humpty Dumpty, you can't put 1/3 of a mountain back together again. Resulting floods from erosion and displacement of families as their hometowns are demolished are just a few of the obvious problems in MTR practices and the results are far reaching.Re gas prices, I called the state in Ohio and they told me the natural gas companies charge what they do because they can. During the Reagan years ceilings were lifted on gas prices in many states, mine is one of them, and the natural gas (most of it out of Texas, go figure) is outrageously priced and has quadrupled w/ the current administration.My gas bill last month was $400, an outrage. Corpo! rate profits are what I found to be at the bottom of the natural gas prices. Removing coal has little to do w/ it. Per gasoline prices, I can't see a link at all. The only effect may be on electricty prices and electricity although overpriced, is not the primary concern, gas is. The coal can still be removed,and the supply kept at the same level, w/safer( employing available technology) deep mining practices, thereby employing more miners who desparately need jobs.MTR needs to be eliminated, immediately, while we still have some of our mountains intact.Of course it may cut into the profits of mine owners to employ improved deep mining practices, and this is precisely why it hasn't been done. This doesn't mean it isn't the logical, least destructive way to remove the coal. As long as they can get away w/ it,sadly they will continue to destroy West Virginia for profit. Gail wFrom: suebod <suebod@tampabay.rr.com> To: WVLOGAN-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Tue, 16 May 2006 00:40:36 -0400 Subject: [WVLOGAN] mountain top removal(OTS) Thank you for the site(s). Pardon my ignorance, but I don't understand something. In Florida we strip-mine also, for phosphates. But Florida state law requires miners to return the land to "its original state or better," when finished. Most become parks, fishing ponds, jogging/hiking trails, picnic grounds. If the state of WV has no such law, then as I understand it, the money-makers are allowed to take until it's gone and not give anything back? What kind of environment does that produce? My biggest question is: when they finish destroying WV, then what will they do? Try for Ohio or Kentucky? Those states are tough as nails on environmental protection. If this has been going on so long, it can't be just the current governor and government. What? Big money buys WV's government? Sick. Sue >============================== >Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the >last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: >http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx ============================== New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 ________________________________________________________________________ Check out AOL.com today. Breaking news, video search, pictures, email and IM. All on demand. Always Free.

What's the fix? Bring in someone wealthy from Oregon or California, someone who isn't afraid to stand up for what's right? Perhaps Robert Redford could be enticed to come over for a few years and live in some different mountains. Where are the WV voters? Do the barons buy their votes also? It must be sad to be a WV politician. Sue At 01:06 AM 5/16/06 -0400, you wrote: >Hello Sue - I believe MTR is being done in KY, VA, and TN as well. Maybe >I am wrong. The coal barons own WVa's legislature, judiciary, and >governor - always have. Cuz Rick > > > > >============================== >Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the >areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. >Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx

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>>But Florida state law requires miners to return the land to "its original >>state or better," when finished. Most become parks, fishing ponds, >>jogging/hiking trails, picnic grounds.<< Ditto here in Oregon. Huge gravel pits get filled with water and expensive "lake front" houses are built around them. You would never guess what some of them were after they are all landscaped, etc. What are their plans for all of the flat hilltops???

Yeah...those roly-poly bugs can really clog up the filter! ;o) ----- Original Message ----- From: "suebod" <suebod@tampabay.rr.com> To: <WVLOGAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 9:15 PM Subject: [WVLOGAN] Mothers Day Memories-ots > My husband's grandmother told of a sibling of her husband's. About age 5, > he was playing with a stick under the wash tub fire. Somehow he unsettled > the pot, the water dumped on him and he died less than 24 hrs later. I've > read several reports where women were badly burned and even died from > their burns, when their skirts caught fire from the laundry fire. > > At least laundry isn't dangerous anymore. Unless you put your hands in one > of my little boys' jeans pockets! I always turned them inside out first. I > encountered some nasty surprises, like a small snake or a pocket full of > bugs. Makes a mess in the washer too. > > Sue > > At 10:18 PM 5/15/06 -0400, you wrote: >>Getting kids clothes clean back in 1930s was some job. There were only two >>choices: scrub the clothes on a washboard, or boil them.Boiling them got >>the >>dirt out, but damaged the threads,and they didnt last as long. After the >>clothes >>were laundered, they had to be ironed with a "Sad" iron. The iron was >>heated >>on the cook stove, no electricity in most homes back then.Those were the >>days >>!! >> >>Shelby >> >> >>============================== >>New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors >>at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: >>http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 > > > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > >

Hello Sue - I believe MTR is being done in KY, VA, and TN as well. Maybe I am wrong. The coal barons own WVa's legislature, judiciary, and governor - always have. Cuz Rick > > From: suebod <suebod@tampabay.rr.com> > Date: 2006/05/16 Tue AM 12:40:36 EDT > To: WVLOGAN-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: [WVLOGAN] mountain top removal(OTS) > > Thank you for the site(s). > > Pardon my ignorance, but I don't understand something. In Florida we > strip-mine also, for phosphates. But Florida state law requires miners to > return the land to "its original state or better," when finished. Most > become parks, fishing ponds, jogging/hiking trails, picnic grounds. > > If the state of WV has no such law, then as I understand it, the > money-makers are allowed to take until it's gone and not give anything > back? What kind of environment does that produce? > > My biggest question is: when they finish destroying WV, then what will they > do? Try for Ohio or Kentucky? Those states are tough as nails on > environmental protection. > > If this has been going on so long, it can't be just the current governor > and government. What? Big money buys WV's government? Sick. > > Sue > > > > > >============================== > >Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > >last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > >http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > > > > ============================== > New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 > >

Thank you for the site(s). Pardon my ignorance, but I don't understand something. In Florida we strip-mine also, for phosphates. But Florida state law requires miners to return the land to "its original state or better," when finished. Most become parks, fishing ponds, jogging/hiking trails, picnic grounds. If the state of WV has no such law, then as I understand it, the money-makers are allowed to take until it's gone and not give anything back? What kind of environment does that produce? My biggest question is: when they finish destroying WV, then what will they do? Try for Ohio or Kentucky? Those states are tough as nails on environmental protection. If this has been going on so long, it can't be just the current governor and government. What? Big money buys WV's government? Sick. Sue >============================== >Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the >last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: >http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx

My husband's grandmother told of a sibling of her husband's. About age 5, he was playing with a stick under the wash tub fire. Somehow he unsettled the pot, the water dumped on him and he died less than 24 hrs later. I've read several reports where women were badly burned and even died from their burns, when their skirts caught fire from the laundry fire. At least laundry isn't dangerous anymore. Unless you put your hands in one of my little boys' jeans pockets! I always turned them inside out first. I encountered some nasty surprises, like a small snake or a pocket full of bugs. Makes a mess in the washer too. Sue At 10:18 PM 5/15/06 -0400, you wrote: >Getting kids clothes clean back in 1930s was some job. There were only two >choices: scrub the clothes on a washboard, or boil them.Boiling them got the >dirt out, but damaged the threads,and they didnt last as long. After the >clothes >were laundered, they had to be ironed with a "Sad" iron. The iron was heated >on the cook stove, no electricity in most homes back then.Those were the days >!! > >Shelby > > >============================== >New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors >at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: >http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 >

This from my cousin. Sue You should drive across Williams Mountain and see what they are doing there, same thing except you can see it from the highway (road) up Prenter hollow, up Jew holler, up Sand Lick, all over up Robinson hollow. Makes me mad, but so does $2.86 per gallon. >============================== >Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the >areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. >Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx

I remember even back in the 60's my grandmother had a washer she had to get the water from the well, wash them, ring them through the ringer.. Then fill the washer up again from the well to rinse the clothes, then run through the ringer again. I'll take my nice Kenmore washer... Thank you very much! Laura -----Original Message----- From: BurgessWV@aol.com [mailto:BurgessWV@aol.com] Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 10:18 PM To: WVLOGAN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [WVLOGAN] Mothers Day Memories-ots Getting kids clothes clean back in 1930s was some job. There were only two choices: scrub the clothes on a washboard, or boil them.Boiling them got the dirt out, but damaged the threads,and they didnt last as long. After the clothes were laundered, they had to be ironed with a "Sad" iron. The iron was heated on the cook stove, no electricity in most homes back then.Those were the days !! Shelby ============================== New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&ta rgetid=5429