A Bombardier From Oil Creek

Denver Barnett: American Hero

by David Parmer

Thoughts on a Long Flight

It was October 17th, 1944. The Spirit of Plainfield rumbled down the runway of the air strip of the 449th Bomb Group of the 15th USAAF in Grottaglie, Italy. Straining with the weight of the full load of bombs and nearing the end of the runway, the wheels of the B-24 Liberator finally lifted off the ground and the Spirit of Plainfield was airborne. It would be a long flight to Vienna, Austria and the railway targets were waiting. Bombardier 2nd Lt. Denver Barnett suppressed his uneasiness in this replacement plane for his Virginia Rose which was undergoing repairs. Airmen are superstitious. Although all B-24s were virtually identical, the Virginia Rose was “their plane” and a replacement was only second best. Furthermore, this was their second replacement plane since the Virginia Rose. Denver’s crew had been assigned to the B-24 Fascinating Bitch for fourteen previous missions. Denver hoped the new plane would work out, but his mind was mainly on the targets of the day.

As the Spirit of Plainfield carved a northerly course at 20,000 feet above the Adriatic Sea toward the railway targets of Vienna, Denver Barnett had several hours to ponder the past.

Right, above: Air Cadet Denver Barnett

A Look Backward

Denver had enlisted in the Army Air Corps at Charleston, West Virginia in September 1942 and was called to active duty in January 1943. He was subsequently sent for flight training at Shepherd Field in Wichita Falls, Texas, and later to Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Big Springs, Texas. After he had completed Navigator School at Big Springs, his mother, Gay Barnett, made a train trip cross country from Orlando to San Antonio over the 4th of July 1944 to visit him.

In August 1944, Denver received orders to depart for England and the European theater. His crew shuttled a B-24 from Topeka to England by way of Goose Bay, Labrador, Iceland, Belfast and then to London. His stay in England was brief. After a short sight-seeing trip in London during an air raid by German bombers, Denver received orders to depart for Italy by way of North Africa. Denver and his crewmates arrived in Grottaglie, Italy on August 25, 1944.

Denver had been in Italy almost two months as the Spirit of Plainfield made its way north to the railway targets in Vienna. Flak would be heavy over Vienna and maybe there also would be Messerschmidts. But bombardiers had no responsibility to be on the look-out for Messerschmidts or to worry about flak. He had plenty of time to think of his wife of four years, the former Rose Amos of Burnsville who was mothering their first child, Denver Junior, in Fairmont at the home of her parents, Frank and Eula (Bush) Amos. Rose was also spending some time with Denver’s parents, Alva and Gay Barnett who had moved recently from Orlando to Weston. His plane Virginia Rose was named after the girl friend of the pilot, Lt. Nelson, and Denver’s wife Rose, which explains why the plane was so special to him.

As the Liberator formation grew nearer to Vienna, Denver studied the target charts and put memories of home in the background. This was the crew’s nineteenth mission and their first in the Spirit of Plainfield.

The B-24 Liberator

The B-24 Liberator was the most produced of any aircraft designed for heavy bombing during World War II. The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation at plants in San Diego, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Tulsa, and Willow Run, Michigan, built over 18,000 of the planes during the war. The plane usually carried a crew of ten, which included seven machine gunners, two pilots, a navigator and bombardier. Its machine guns were located on the tail, belly, on both sides, top, and nose. Although the B-17 Flying Fortress was better known and better liked by airmen, the B-24 was the true workhorse of the air service during the war. However, to its detriment, it was not as rugged as the B-17 and was prone to catch fire and break apart when hit by flak or machine gun fire. Of course, these faults resulted in the loss of many planes and their crews. Lt. Denver Barnett had much time to ponder the merits and disadvantages of the B-24 on his mission from Grottaglie, Italy to Vienna and hoped that he would make it back.

The Norden Bombsight

In war, the objective of using bombers is to destroy the enemy’s means of continuing the war. The Allied powers, particularly the United States Army Air Force, invested heavily in the manufacture of bombers which utilized the highly secret Norden bombsight. Prior to the invention of the bombsight, airplanes dropped bombs on the enemy by dead reckoning and little guessed where the bombs might land. Needless to say, in the early days of the use of bombers, ground targets generally had little to fear from the bombs which might land hundreds of yards away from the target. Most of this waste of munitions ended with the Norden bombsight.
Upon reaching the target area, the bombardier becomes the most important crew member on the aircraft. Obviously, the bombs must reach the intended target if the mission is to become a success. One peculiar aspect of the Norden bombsight is that it takes over the flying of the aircraft over the target area in order that the bombsight can effectively do its job. Lt. Barnett received highly classified and complex training on the use of the Norden bombsight and he was very good at his job. However, as with any weapon of war, the Norden bombsight was not totally accurate and it had another important drawback—while the bombsight was in operation, the aircraft was highly susceptible to groundfire or flak.

Right: the bombadier's view of Dallas over the Norden bombsight in a B-17, "flying fortress". Click on th image to see more of this flight.

Left: a Messerschmitt

The Spirit of Plainfield Goes Down

Flak was thick over the target area and the sound of “thunk” as the rounds exploded created great anxiety in the thin-hulled Liberators. The German 88’s were accurate and were painting a pattern into which the bombers were forced to fly as the Norden bombsights put the bombers on auto-pilot. Thousands of American airmen had already paid with their lives because of the accuracy of the 88’s. Messerschmidts which usually were darting in and out of the Liberator formations had not been seen on this run but the plane was taking hits from the heavy flak.

Lt. Barnett had already loosed the bomb payload on the Vienna rail yards and the B-24 had crossed into Hungarian airspace when the plane shuddered. It had been hit by a German shell and lost part of the left wing, a horizontal stabilizer and the function of the flight controls. The hit to the bomber was fatal. The pilot, Captain Nelson gave the “bail-out” order and the gunners began hitting the silks. Denver helped the injured and semi-conscious Lt. Clark to bail out of the dying plane. As bombardier, he could not do his job wearing his parachute and harness; consequently his life-saving parachute gear was stashed in the bombardier compartment of the plane.

Desperately controlling his balance as he made his way in the stricken plane, Denver found his parachute gear and hurriedly strapped it on. The altitude of the plane was only 1000 feet and he knew he would have to jump right away. There was no time to go forward to jump. His nearest exit was the open bomb bay doors which was not a desirable way to go. With no choice, out he went, head first. Lt. Barnett, in his first parachute jump, met the air of the Hungarian sky which had a peculiar sulphury smell of ordnance.

Missing in Action

Nervously, Rose Amos Barnett opened the telegram left by the Western Union boy. Dread is a word which doesn’t do justice to the feeling a telegram from the War Department brings to a new mother and young wife of an airman serving in the dangerous, flak-riddled skies of Europe. “Missing in action” were the words which told Rose that her husband was unaccounted for. It was not the worst news she could have received from the War Department and gave her hope that her husband was still alive somewhere in Europe.

Captured

As Lt. Barnett was descending in his parachute, the Spirit of Plainfield was crashing a few miles away and bullets were whizzing by him. Fortunately, he was unhit by the marksmen on the ground but he was immediately taken into custody by a crowd of farmers when he landed. The civilians marched him into a small Hungarian village where he was turned over to German soldiers. After a brief interrogation by an officer, he was walked and then transported by train to Budapest where he was lodged in the City Prison and further interrogated by German officers. He was imprisoned there in solitary confinement for nearly two months.

Right: Letter informing Rose that Denver was MIA.

Left: Denver's POW identification card

Stalag Luft 3

Denver’s imprisonment in the Budapest City Prison was cut short because the Russian Army was closing in on Budapest and prisoners were moved to a small prisoner of war camp at Zagan, Poland known as Stalag Luft III. While at Stalag Luft III, a very ill American prisoner, Lt. Wayne Dougherty, was repatriated in late December 1944 to American Forces because of his serious health problems.

A Message to Rose

Once back in American hands, Lt. Dougherty contacted Denver’s wife, Rose, who was in Orlando, and advised her that her husband was a prisoner of war. This message was confirmed a short time later by the War Department and the anxiety of not knowing whether her husband was dead or alive was over.

A Forced March

In late January 1945, the German authorities at Stalag Luft III decided to move all the prisoners of war because the Russian Army was again closing in. The ill-clad American prisoners were marched in sub-zero weather for four days. Denver had only a khaki uniform and a blanket and suffered badly from the effects of the cold and biting wind. At Spremberg, the prisoners were put on small railway cars and two- and–a-half days later, on February 3, 1945, arrived in Nuremberg.

Above right: Stalag Luft 3, Zagan

Left: The forced march

Below right: Stalag 13D, Nuremburg

Farther below, right: Stalag 7A

These sketches were made by Robert Neary and were taken from http://www.b24.net/pow/stalag3.htm

Stalag 13 D
Stalag XIII D was Denver’s next prisoner of war camp. The camp had recently been vacated by Italian prisoners and was in a deplorable state. It was infested with vermin of all kinds. A shortage of fuel and food made life very difficult for the prisoners. In late March 1945, the Allied Forces were closing in on Nuremberg and the prisoners of war again were to be moved. By this stage of the war, even the Germans knew the end was near and vigilance over the prisoners of war had little priority.

Another March

The Germans began evacuating Stalag XIII D on April 4, 1945 and the prisoners were once again forced to march to a new prison. The German guards escorting the prisoners were mostly old men who were tired of the war and had no provisions for the prisoners except for Red Cross parcels. The guards paid little attention to security and many prisoners took the opportunity to escape. Denver and Vernon Ligon, a P-47 pilot from North Carolina were among the prisoners of war who simply walked away from the line of prisoners in hope of freedom.

An Aborted Escape

The lax security by the German guards and friendly German civilians gave great hope to Denver that he would be successful in his escape attempt. This optimism, however, was dashed when Denver and his companion walked headlong into a German SS officer and an enlisted man. The German SS had the reputation of shooting first and asking questions later and Denver and his friend wanted to take no chances of being listed as casualties rather than prisoners of war. The German SS officer also perhaps knew that, with the end of the war in sight, execution of escaped prisoners of war would not be a smart thing to do. The SS officer told Denver if he and Ligon would re-join the march of the prisoners, he would take no further action against them. Denver knew a bargain when he saw one, and he and his fellow escapee rejoined the march of the prisoners.

Stalag 7 A

On April 13th, 1945, Denver arrived at his final prisoner of war camp at Moosburg, Germany. A camp of Russian and American prisoners, the Moosburg facility was a tent camp. Here, Denver learned from a Russian prisoner of war that Lt. Clark, a friend and fellow crewman on the Spirit of Plainfield, had died. The Russian prisoner of war was an orthopedic doctor who had treated Lt. Clark for his injuries. Clark had asked the Russian doctor to try to locate Lt. Barnett and ask him to deliver his personal belongings to his family. The Russian doctor gave Denver a few meager personal belongings of Lt. Clark. Upon his return to the States, Denver complied with his friend’s final request.

The War is Over

After much evidence that the end of the war was coming to an end, units of the American 14th Armored Division liberated the Moosburg prison camp on April 29th. General George Patton gave a celebratory speech to the prisoners from atop a tank and told them they were free and that organized assistance for them was right behind him. Food and freedom was a healing balm to the war-weary prisoners.

Left: Denver Barnett home with Rose and son Denver.

Lt. Denver Barnett returned to the United States aboard the SS Marine Angel. Docking in Boston on May 31, Denver telephoned his wife Rose and told her he was boarding a train for Fort Meade, Maryland and then on to Clarksburg. On June 2nd, Denver arrived to a jubilant welcome at the Clarksburg train station from his wife, son Denver Jr., and his parents, Alva and Gay Barnett. He spent many days thereafter with friends in Orlando, Burnsville, Weston and Fairmont.

Peacetime

Denver remained in the Army Reserves until 1984, reaching the rank of Lt. Colonel. He returned to the classroom and taught at Jane Lew High School and at Weston Junior High until his retirement in 1968. In that year, he transferred as an Army Reserve officer to the 475th Quartermaster Group in Sharon, Pennsylvania. He lived in West Middlesex, Pennsylvania until his death on March 24, 2008.

Left: Memorabilia

Right: Rose and Denver

The Greatest Generation

Tom Brokaw referred to World War II veterans as the “greatest generation.” The War Department acknowledges that 88,000 airmen gave their lives for their country during World War II. Denver was one of the lucky airmen who came home to his family, which was to increase by two more children over the next few years. He was forever humble about his contribution, and like his brother Herald who served in the infantry during the European campaign, wanted no roll of drums or sounding of trumpets for his sacrifices. However, the Army Air Force gratefully acknowledged his heroism and service by awarding him an Air Medal with oak leaf cluster and the Purple Heart.

Denver died on March 24, 2008 and was laid to rest in the Knights of Pythias Cemetery in Burnsville.

comment:

Mabel (Henline) Eagle recalls that in the 1930s her stepson Jimmy Henline and his buddy Denver Barnett rigged up a telegraph system between their respective homes in Burnsville and “dotted and dashed” each other to stay in touch.

From Knawl to Orlando

The Barnetts

by David Parmer
　
The brothers Alva and Bill Barnett were prominent members of Orlando’s community in the first half of the 20th century. Both marketed livestock and both delivered mail. Both were also active in Orlando’s United Brethren Church. They grew up in Knawl, a community just outside the Oil Creek watershed, to the south.　

Right: Alva & Bill carried mail on horseback
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First, Some History of
Knawl and the Southern Ridge

The ridge between the Oil Creek/Clover Fork valley on the north and the Little Kanawha valley on the south is typical of the hills in central West Virginia: it is quite flat and relatively easy to travel. In the 1800s, communities developed along this ridge where some of the creeks draining south into the Little Kanawha began. Heaters, Riffle Run and Dutch are the names of some of the communities which formed on the Little Kanawha River side of the flat-topped divide. 　

Further east along this ridge the town of Knawl formed on Knawl’s Creek. This community at one time boasted three stores, one hotel, a post office, blacksmith shop and gristmill. The original　poplar log St Michael’s Roman Catholic Church was located in this area also: just over the hill from Clover Fork. There was, of course, a Methodist Church, too. 　

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Left: map shows Knawl, southeast of Orlando, and four or five miles from Orlando, Burnsville and Bulltown. There were many small communities that are not noted on this map including Heaters, Riffle to the west, also high up on the south side of the ridge separating the Oil Creek/Cover Fork watershed from the watershed of the headwaters of the Little Kanawha River.

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Right: Thaddeus Pritt of the left and James Alexander Barnett on the right, both of Knawl

In the area where the little town of Knawl developed, on both slopes of the ridge families settled who would become part of the fabric of people of the Oil Creek watershed and Orlando. The first known settlers in on the south slope in the Knawls Creek area were Benjamin, Daniel and John Conrad, sons of the immigrant son Jacob Conrad, Jr. and his Dutch-heritage wife Hannah (Bogard). The Conrad brothers came with their wives from Pendleton County in the early 1800s. Their children married Skinners, Blakes and Riffles, among others, and so became part of the fabric of the Oil Creek pioneer community. Other settlers who would become part of Orlando’s community were the Irish immigrants Michael and Margaret Griffin and Patrick and Ellen Carney who settled on the north slope of the ridge just before the Civil War. Another family that would be part of Orlando came after the Civil War: Thaddeus and Laura (Bennett) Pritt came from the Walkersville area in Lewis County. James Barnett would also come from the Walkerville.

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The grandchildren of Clover Fork pioneers Andrew and Margaret (Williams) Blake spread into this area from their original settlement closer to the confluence of Oil Creek and Clover Fork.

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James Alexander Barnett
& Mary Jane Townsend

of Knawl

The Blakes, pioneers Andrew and Margaret (Williams) Blake, settled on Clover Fork, on the north side of the ridge. Their great-granddaughter Mary Jane Townsend was born and raised in this area. In 1889 she married James Barnett from Walkerville. They settled near Knawl and had six children, including Willie "Bill" and Alva, the brothers who would move to Orlando. Their other children were Ella, Charles, Allie Belle and Lura Gay.

Upper Right: James and Mary Jane (Townsend) Barnett on their 50th wedding anniversary

Left: James with Allie and Lura

Right: Bill, Charles, Alva, Lura and Belle with their parents Mary Jane and James

The oldest child, Ellie, married Tony Mick. She died young as the result of standing too close to a fire which set her clothing afire and caused her a painful and early death.

Charles, the oldest son, served in the First World War. He married Gae Myers of the Knawl area. Charles operated a grocery store in Weston and later was a mail carrier.

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Belle, the second daughter of James and Mary Jane Barnett, never married and lived her entire life at Knawl.

The youngest Barnett child, Lura, married Arthur Williams, a railroader. Lura and Arthur lived in the Weston area. Arthur loved to fish and was mentioned as an Oil Creek fisherman.

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Left: Lura (Barnett) and Arthur Williams

The Barnetts

of Orlando

Alva Barnett, the second son, born 1896, married Gay Marple. Gay Marple’s family were merchants throughout the upper Little Kanawha River valley.

Alva and Gay were the parents of Herald Barnett and Denver Barnett. Alva was an early rural mail carrier out of Orlando on Route 1. At the time Alva carried the mail, the roads could only be navigated by horse. After many years riding horseback on his mail route, Alva developed a terrible case of hemorrhoids which prompted his retirement from carrying the mail. Alva and Gay moved to Weston where Alva was a cattle marketer, a salesman, and later a night dispatcher for the Weston City Police Department.

Left: Alva and Gay (Marple) Barnett

Right: Bill and Marie (Parmer) Barnett

Willie Lee "Bill" Barnett was a farmer, stockman, and shipper of agricultural and poultry products. He also helped with the mail on Orlando Route 1. Bill’s contributions to Orlando were great. He helped the economy of the community by facilitating the processing and selling of farmers’ cash crops such as ducks and turkeys and skins. He also gave to the community in his exceptional leadership and guidance with the youth at the United Brethren Church. Bill married an Orlando girl, Marie Parmer, whose roots go back to Orlando pioneers. Bill and Marie were the parents of Dale Barnett and Betty (Barnett) Mick.

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Left: Betty and Dale Barnett

Herald Barnett

by David Parmer

Herald Alva Barnett was the youngest son of Alva and Gay (Marple) Barnett. Born in 1923, he was the younger brother of Denver Barnett.

Herald was a quiet boy, always respectful of his teachers, other adults, and the other students, even though some of his classmates were not so respectful of him. It sometimes is difficult and problematic to be the most intelligent student in class. Teachers are thrilled to have such a student, a bright star, who is eager to learn and ready with the answer to questions posed to the class. But on the playground, he was sometimes derisively greeted by a dullard with the chant "Har, Har, the little bright star." There are always some who resent the student with his hand up with the answer. But mediocrity is the way of the world, and always will be.

Right above: a school picture of Herald Barnett
Left: Herald and Denver's parents Gay (Marple) and Alva Barnett

The Student

Herald was graduating as valedictorian from Burnsville High School in May 1940 as German JU-88 bombers were covering English airfields with five hundred pound bombs and the German High Command was planning its blitz of London. America’s entrance into the war was a year and a half away but as each graduate received his or her handshake and diploma they knew the future held great changes in their lives. The parents seated in the high school auditorium watching their sons and daughters graduate remembered the war of the previous generation and the boys who never came home and hoped for something different for their sons.

With the "Pomp and Circumstance" processional still a familiar tune in his mind, Herald enrolled at Salem College in 1940 to major in Chemistry. Embarking in a field of study deemed "critical" to the war effort, Herald was deferred from the war-time draft until he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1944. After his return from military service during World War II, Harold graduated from West Virginia University in 1950 with a Master of Science degree in Chemistry. His Master’s thesis was titled "The Solubility of Orthochlorobenzoic Acid."

Right: a diagram of a molecule of C7H5CIO2: ortho chloro benzoic acid. It is a white powder.

The Soldier

Waiting for Herald at the end of the Salem College diploma line was Uncle Sam with his congratulations and a draft notice. At this stage of World War II, the critical operations of the Army required expedited training of new inductees and their quick shipment to the European front. The North African and Italian campaigns involving American foot soldiers were underway, and the crucial Normandy landing was yet to come.

Right: Herald Barnett in Lausane, Switerland
Left: Herald Barnett and Bob Giese in Marburg, Germany

Rank came quickly for Herald. When the Panzers led the German advances in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, scattering American front-line troops, Herald was an infantry sergeant. Within four months of the desperate German offensive in the Ardennes, a German surrender brought an end to the hostilities in Europe. As Herald’s infantry unit was being prepared for transfer to participate in the invasion of Japan at the 3rd Replacement Depot in Marburg, Germany, the nuclear bombs "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" brought an atomic end to the war in the Pacific. In a short time thereafter, Herald joined the ranks of demobilized soldiers and returned to the classrooms of beakers and Bunsen burners and a civilian career as a chemist.

Marriage to "Barney"

While attending Salem College, Herald had met Eleanor Louise Whiteman of Clarksburg who was also a student there. After the end of World War II and his return from Europe, Herald entered the graduate school at West Virginia University and renewed his friendship with Eleanor who was also attending graduate school at the state university and working on a Master’s Degree in Romance Languages (French and Spanish.) On June 1, 1947 in Clarksburg, Herald and Eleanor were married by Reverend Albert E. Johnson. Eleanor never became accustomed to her husband’s given name of "Herald;" instead "Barney" became the name of her husband for all of their married life. Eleanor and Barney became the parents of two children, Brenda and Bruce.

Left: Salem College in Harrison County, WV

Right: Eleanor and Herald "Barney" Barnett

U. S. Steel Corporation

During his graduate years at West Virginia University, Herald interned during the summer months at the Research Lab of United States Steel Corporation in Pittsburgh. U. S. Steel, the world’s largest steel manufacturer at the time, was so impressed with his work that he was offered full-time employment, which he accepted. While working full-time at U. S. Steel doing chemical research, Herald attended Carnegie Tech and the University of Pittsburgh and worked on a doctorate in Chemistry. However, the theft of his dissertation research papers from his automobile, the loss of his advisor who left Carnegie Tech for Europe, and the demands of his employment derailed Herald’s plans for completion of his doctorate.

Pittsburgh Conference
on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy

The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy is a leader in marketing the use of science in the steel industry. This scientific organization is recognized world-wide as the founder of the premier exposition of the use of applied science in the steel industry. Scientists from the entire world visit the annual exposition to learn of the latest scientific discoveries and uses of chemistry and applied spectroscopy in the steel industry.
Herald Barnett was elected as vice president and later as president of this organization by its member chemists from all over the world, indeed a great honor and recognition of his role in the advancement of science in the steel industry.

Occupational Risks

Herald enjoyed his career with United States Steel. However, years of working in confined spaces with chemicals which were later determined to be carcinogenic, exacted a toll on Herald’s health. First it was throat cancer, from which he recovered. However, a later fast-spreading lung cancer proved fatal to Herald and death came in 1999.

Right: the warning label from a bottle of othochlorobenzoic acid

The U. B. Youth Program

I went outside and whistled up my dog,
I’m goin’ on the hill and kill an old groundhog.

Bill Barnett had cleared his throat twice before beginning his famous groundhog song which he was singing in the musical part of the United Brethren Youth Sunday School class program. Everybody, especially the members of his Youth Sunday School class, got a kick of the lyrics and Bill’s comedic delivery of the catchy song.

The church was full. Young people with bright eyes and eager faces were scattered throughout the church pews. Their proud parents beamed with pride as the youth group took their places for one of their parts in the program.



Left, above: Some of the young people at the Orlando E. U. B. Church in the 1950s.
Front Row: Betty Riffle, Jake Riffle, Louie Mae Beckner
Second Row: Eugene Parrish, Mary Ann Wiant, Doris Riffle
Third Row: Patsy Morrison, Max Hamilton, Jimmy Morrison
Back Row: Roy Stout, possibily Bill Barnett, Berton “Bud” Conrad
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Preacher Charles Parrish and Naomi Parrish

In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the United Brethren Church in Orlando was humming with activity. Preacher Parrish and his wife Naomi actively and creatively involved the young people of the church in church-related activities. The Parrish family had arrived in Orlando in September 1947 from Belington. Their son Eugene who was very musically inclined and talented became immediately popular with all the young people in Orlando and later at Burnsville where he served as the charismatic drum major of the excellent Burnsville High School band. Reverend Parrish was fortunate to find excellent youth leadership in the church upon his arrival in Orlando.


Left: Some of the congregation in front of the church.
Right: Preacher & Mrs. Parrish
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Bill Barnett

A church couldn’t ask for a better youth Sunday School teacher than Bill Barnett, who always had time, both in word and deed, for the activities of his Sunday School class. “Betty (Riffle) Stout said, “He was a natural teacher for teenagers.” Everybody loved Billy Barnett,” effused Millie McNemar in recalling all of the activities of her Sunday school class. “He just didn’t tell us what to do, he jumped right in and participated himself.” Perhaps from concern for Bill’s senior citizen status, Mildred noted that “He even climbed all the way up the steep hill behind Brown’s Store for the class picnic.”


Right: Bill Barnett
Left: Maggie Hamilton
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Maggie Hamilton

The youngest daughter of Bud and Georgia Hamilton, Maggie Hamilton, a 1952 graduate Burnsville High School, was also very talented and involved in youth activities at the Orlando United Brethren Church. A take-charge girl, Maggie directed many of the Christmas and Easter pageants which were presented by the youth Sunday school class of the United Brethren Church.
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Christmas Pageants

Berton “Bud” Conrad recalls the fun times of being a teenager in Orlando, especially around the Christmas holidays when the Orlando Mt. Zion Methodist Church and the Orlando United Brethren Church would join forces for the annual Christmas pageant. Bud remembers that the Christmas play always took place at the Methodist church because it was easier to get to in the winter and there was adequate parking. Bud believes that Ford and Bea (Bosely) Brown also had a hand in the direction of the Christmas play. In the portrayal of the three wise men, the program director would call upon the taller men in the community, such as Bill Barnett, Bill Beckner, and Claud Mick, to don the colorful robes and present the gold, frankincense and myrrh. Bud remembers his youth church group as “not very large, but very active.”



Right: 3 Wise Men: Bill Barnett, Bill Beckner, and Claud Mick.

Easter

“I played Barabbas,” said Bud Conrad in recalling the Easter play which the youth group produced during one Easter season. Bill Barnett’s youth Sunday school class enjoyed the Easter season also for the opportunity to portray the significant Biblical event and the array of the cast of characters involved in the crucifixion and resurrection. Doris (Riffle) Snyder recalls that frequently both the Methodist and United Brethren churches would combine for the Easter program as well and perform first in one church and then the other. There was never any “interdenominational squabbling,” Doris remarked, “we all got along well.”


Right: Orlando's young Barabbas: Bud Conrad

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Other Programs, Activities and Reminisces

“Oh, we would finish one program and start to work on another,” said Doris (Riffle) Snyder. “We had programs for father’s day, mother’s day, Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas.” The Orlando United Brethren Church seemed to have the right formula for creating interest in the church for the young people of the community. The many programs created by the youth Sunday school class not only brought the young people to church but also adults from other denominations. Homer Wilfong also recalled the days of the United Brethren Sunday school class. “We had lots of enjoyable experiences. They were fun times.”


Right: Homer Wilfong
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Camp Evan Breth

Camp Evan Breath in Upshur County was another summer activity for the youth of Bill Barnett’s Sunday school class. Located near Buckhannon, this church camp sponsored by the United Brethren Church was looked forward to by the youth of the Orlando church. Doris Riffle recalled that the church was a great opportunity for Orlando youth to meet kids from other places and to just be away from home for a week. The camp was sold by the United Methodist Church after the merger of the Methodist and United Brethren denominations as superfluous and is now a golf course.
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Hikes and Picnics

Bill Barnett's Sunday school class enjoyed hikes and picnics every summer. Doris (Riffle) Snyder recalls the long climb up the hill behind Brown’s Store and the enjoyment of a picnic on the large rock which is located on the top of the hill. “Martha and Homer Wilfong would bring hot roasting ears in a metal bucket,” Doris said about the picnic food. “Everything was delicious.”


Right: The hill behind Brown's store is in the upper right corner. The 3 story building in the center is the (now 2 story) warehouse. This photo was taked 20 or 30 years before the youth hiked the hill for their picnic.


Bud Conrad recalls one hike the group took on the hill behind the United Brethren Church. Bud remembers a large apple orchard through which the group passed on the way. He was also impressed with the cave-like features of the rocks at the very top of the hill.
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A Scary Weiner Roast

Doris (Riffle) Snyder also recall that someone built a barbeque pit near the church and that the youth Sunday school group would have weiner roasts at night. Doris also recalls a happening one dark, moonless night, after a weiner roast when the kids were returning home and going off the hill. The way home passed by Mike Moran’s old horse drawn hearse which he kept in his yard. As the homeward-bound kids drew near the hearse, frightful moaning sounds came from out of the hearse, causing panic among the timid. “They were terrible sounds,” Doris said. “We were really frightened.” The next day, Doris felt somewhat sure that the ogres of the night were Lee Paul and Joe Eddie Moran.

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Women Don’t Know How to Sweep a Floor

Betty Riffle also recalls that the youth group decided as a project to scrub and re-oil the floor of the church. Betty recalls that Jake Riffle and Eugene Parrish were the only boys involved in the project and all the rest were girls who were well-versed in the art of housekeeping. As she was sweeping the floor, she recalls that Jake Riffle took her broom and told her that she “didn’t know how to wield a broom and that he would show her how.” Needless to say, Jake was out of his league.

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“Our House was His House”

“We were really a very close knit group,” recalled Eugene Parrish. “Roy Lee Stout was dating Betty Riffle and he would come over to the parsonage after a date with Betty or after a program and spend the night. He spent many a night in the parsonage,” said Eugene, “and the same can be said with Jake Riffle who was a frequent guest in the parsonage. Jake had lost both his parents early, and “our house was his house,” said Eugene.
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Hill Climbs, Song Services and Egg Hunts

Every Sunday, Eugene recalls, Bill Barnett would lead his Sunday school class up the hill above the church and have testimony and song service. “They could hear us all over town,” Eugene remembered. “Bill, on every Easter, would hide Easter eggs at his house and the Sunday school class would go over and search for the eggs.” “Those were very good years. Bill was really a nice person.”

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Making Music

Betty (Riffle) Stout recalls that sometimes the youth group would just meet and pop popcorn and sit on the porch of the parsonage and sing. “Eugene was so musically talented. He had a great voice and could play any instrument.” Betty recalls that Eugene would sometimes get into trouble with his mother because he would add a little boogie to a gospel tune. Betty recalls that Eugene ’s mother Naomi caught him doing his variations on a gospel tune and chastised Eugene, saying “If the music had been meant to be played that way, it would have been written that way.”
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The Bells

Betty (Riffle) Stout, Millie (Morrison) McNemar and Eugene Parrish particularly enjoyed being members of the church quartet along with Roy Stout. Louie Mae Beckner. joined the quartet when Millie left to get married. Eugene's mother Naomi Parrish organized and coached the quartet which often was called upon during the Christmas season to sing during the holiday festivities. Millie recalls that the foursome, being young, could reach the high notes that the elderly ladies and men of the choir would miscarry. Millie also recalls that the quartet sang in other churches in the area and as far away as Copen. Eugene remembers, “The Bells was our name, which was composed of the first letter of the names of the members except for Roy Lee and we used his middle name. The “B” was for Betty Riffle who sang soprano, the “e” for Eugene Parrish who sang bass, the “l” for Louie Mae Beckner who sang alto, the other “l” for Roy Lee Stout who sang tenor. The “s” was for my mother Naomi, whose nickname was “Snook.” Eugene couldn’t remember all of the churches the group sang for but “there were several.” “We also sang for funerals,” Eugene noted. Millie Morrison recalls that one sad experience of the group was singing at the funeral of Donnie Goodwin who died at the age of eight from polio. Donnie was the son of Wilbert and Lucille Goodwin and grandson of Dave and Maysell (Parmer)Bennett.
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A State-Wide Band Contest

Commenting on his participation in the Burnsville High School band, Eugene recalls that in the West Virginia High School State Contest for drum majors he placed fourth state-wide which was quite an accomplishment, given the number of high schools in the state at that time in all classes. Eugene also noted that Orlando’s other Betty Riffle who lived on the hill behind the Methodist Church also was a participant in the state contest as a twirler and did well.
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Happy Times

Nearly sixty years have passed since the group of young teenagers featured in this story was a part of the Orlando United Brethren youth Sunday school class. To a person, the memories which flowed back to them were positive and uplifting. All had fond memories of their friends, many of whom are now deceased. Perhaps the description given by Eugene Parrish of the group as being “close knit” is apropos of the opinion of them all. The Orlando United Brethren Church taught them well and they all are the better for it.

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Comment by Millie (Morrison) McNemar
Bill Barnett, our Sunday School teacher, couldn’t understand why the girls in our Sunday school class snickered and whispered during the Sunday school lesson. He probably thought that “girls will be girls,” and mild-mannered that he was, did not reprimand us for our seemingly impertinent conduct. I’m sure that he went home puzzled by our “out of ordinary” behavior.

Now it can be told. Prior to the Sunday school class beginning, Bill had bent over to pick up something and his shirt raised above his belt level, exposing the top of his red polka dot boxer shorts !!!!!

Bill Barnett: A Proud Papa

A valuable source for the older history of Orlando is Dale Barnett of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Dale grew up in Orlando during the late 1920s, 1930s, and the early part of the 1940s until he, while still in high school, joined the military during World War II.

Dale is the son of Bill Barnett, the subject of several biographical sketches on this website, and his wife, Marie (Parmer) Barnett. After being discharged from the military when World War II was over, Dale went back to high school at Burnsville and finished his high school education. After finishing high school, Dale went on to Salem College and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree. Dale made teaching his career and taught until his retirement in the Parkersburg schools.

To the left, Bill and Marie (Parmer) Barnett.

To the right, with the aid of his dog, Jack, young Dale takes responsibility as older brother to his infant sister Betty.
To the left, below, is Dale in his college years.

Uncle Zeke had his eyes on Dale from the time he was born, and noted in his September 11, 1924 Buzzardtown News column, the happy event of his birth:

“On Saturday night of last week, a baby was born to Billy Barnett and wife of Orlando. It being their first born they feel very proud. Billy says he feels bigger than Billy Sunday, Billy Bryan, Billy Goat or any other Billy. Billy feels so big he can’t get clothes big enough to wear. It took seven coffee sacks to make him a pair of socks. Billy, who has a voice as melodious as a shite poke, now sits and sings, ‘By O Baby,’ all day long.”

Uncle Zeke also noted about a month after the birth of Bill and Marie Barnett’s son, that Bill says he “thinks his son is a contortionist because he can now fall out of bed without being killed.”

Thanks to Uncle Zeke for reporting on the proud papa and his son.



Many entries in this 'blog have been enriched with Dale Barnett's offerings. for one, see the Mar '07 entry, Orlando Characters
Also, Numerous entries include comments by the ever-observant "Uncle Zeke." Read about the newspaper columnist and B & O Trackman P.N. Blake of Posey Run in the Oct '06 entry Uncle Zeke From Buzzard Town and the Dec '06 entry Trouble At Uncle Zeek's House.

A History of Orlando

by Dale Barnett, as told to his son, Steve Barnett

To the right, Dale Barnett, about the time he graduated from Salem College Dale is the son of Bill and Marie (Parmer) Barnett. He grew up in Orlando.

Orlando was originally was a shipping point for the local oil industry. Men and supplies would arrive in the Orlando area on the B&O Railroad. They would them move to the oil fields via local transportation, probably horse and wagon, and would return to town to resupply. I assume Oil Creek got its name from the oil fields in the area. Dad said that freight was also delivered for many of the small stores in the surrounding area.

This rail line ran from Weston to Richwood passing through Orlando and Burnsville. Travelers could go from Weston to Clarksburg, where they could connect with the main B&O line running from Baltimore to St. Louis. This allowed travel by rail to almost any area of the United States.

The fuzzy photo on the left, above, shows some of Orlando's horse teams going out in the morning. Below right is Orlando about 1905, taken from Morrison's hill.

There were numerous trestles between Orlando and Burnsville, which limited the weight that could travel this line. This prevented coal from being hauled in any large quantity by this route. Probably the heaviest loads were lumber from the Richwood area. This weight limit would have an effect on the town’s future.

In 1905, the Coal & Coke railroad was completed from Elkins to Charleston. This line was built to haul coal out of the southern coal fields. The Coal & Coke came down Clover Fork and crossed the B&O tracks at Orlando, and continued down Oil Creek to Burnsville on its way to Charleston. The builders did not install any connecting tracks between the new railroad and the old, which would allow the movement of railcars from line to the other. This would also have great significance for the future of Orlando. Eventually the oil fields played out, but the junction of the two railroads caused an economic boom in the town.

During this era, roads were extremely poor. They were often unimproved dirt roads, especially in the country. Rain and snow could turn them into an impassable muddy quagmire. This made travel over a great distance impractical. Only local people used them, and people did not venture far from home. The building of the railroads in the United States changed everything. Passengers could now travel anywhere in the country in relative comfort. New markets for farmers products opened up and people could order anything and have it shipped by rail in few days. Orlando was in the perfect location to benefit from the railroads.


The unpassable road to the left is from the photo essay Walter Donaldson Orlando WV prepared by the WPA in the 1930s.

Orlando boomed as a rail center due to the large numbers of passengers who traveled by train between 1905 and the early 1940’s. Passenger trains would run between Richwood and Weston, leaving in the morning and arriving in Orlando around noon time. Passenger trains also running between Elkins and Charleston would arrive in Orlando at the same time. Since there were no connecting tracks the trains would stop for an hour or longer to allow passengers to switch trains, along with there luggage. Freight and mail would also be switched from one train to the other. Other freight would be dropped off for local businesses and local goods would be picked up to ship to other parts of the country. All this had to be done by hand, providing jobs for local people. The passengers might stop in local restaurants to eat while waiting, or maybe shop in a local store and make a purchase. Some passengers would possibly spend the night at a local hotel. There was also a Midnight Flyer, which ran between Charleston and Elkins. The train would leave either Charleston or Elkins around five PM and arrive in the other town in the morning. The train would usually arrive in Orlando around midnight.

To the right is Irma Haymond with her daughter and a friend visiting Orlando from Burnsville.

Mail delivery was also an interesting affair by train. In towns where trains stopped, such as Orlando, mail would be picked and delivered from the mail car and the post office. In small whistle stops, the train normally would not stop. Mail to be delivered would be tossed out the door as the train passed by, and mail to be picked up would be snagged of off a pole by an arm cranked out of the mail car window. Depending on the rail line, they might also leave mail by having it snagged off of the side of the mail car. The mail that was picked up would be sorted on the train for delivery. For more see entry Feb '07 Orlando Mail Delivery In The Early 1900s

Dad said coal trains going up Clover Fork would slow to a crawl with steam engines pulling from the front and pushing from behind. At certain spots along the tracks the tops of the cars would be level with the bank where the tracks passed. People in need of fuel for heat would hop on the full cars and toss off the larger lumps of coal. They would then hop off the car before the train reached the tunnel. After the train passed the coal would be picked up and taken home.


Above, left, a heavily loaded coal train using mutiple engines to make the grade along Oil Creek & Clover Fork

At one time, this traffic allowed Orlando to support four hotels, four restaurants, a picture gallery, two pool halls, a barber shop, two doctors, a post office, plus several stores and warehouses. There was also an Odd Fellows lodge in town. Numerous houses were built on the hills overlooking town, where the local businessmen lived, and others lived on the top floors of the store buildings.

After WWII, roads had been improved and many of them were paved. People purchased their own cars and traveled in them at their convenience. The age of the automobile had arrived and train travel decreased to the point it was not profitable. Passenger trains were discontinued and the B&O purchased the Coal & Coke railroad. Then the B&O tore up the tracks from Weston to Burnsville to eliminate the trestles and hauled freight and coal up the Clover Fork line to Grafton. With trains no longer stopping in Orlando, most of the businesses closed. The buildings were abandoned. Some burned and others were torn down for their lumber. The railroads had been the only industry and the town slowly died as people moved away.

For more on Orlando horse teams see an entry from Mar '06 A Town With Broad Shoulders

Comments
Comment 1 Donna Gloff
Here is an explanation of how Oil Creek got its name. Edward Smith* wrote in 1920 that Oil Creek had gotten its name from the oil that floated on its surface.

Smith went on to tell a tale he doubted was true. He'd heard that when oil began to be valuable a land purchasers came to check out Oil Creek. When they were there, a couple of our citizens went upstream with a barrel of oil to dump into the creek to be sure these prospectors got the right idea. If Smith really doubted the tale, I think he had a thing or two to learn about small towns in general and Orlando in particular.

*Smith, Edward Conrad. 1920. A History of Lewis County, West Virginia. Weston, WV: Edward Conrad Smith.