A Teacher to Remember

Virginia (McCoy) Skinner

by David Parmer

A Rough Start

She was the third of four daughters born to Nola Hugh McCoy and Audra “Maud” (McAvoy) McCoy of Gem. When her father died at Gassaway in a rail yard accident in December 1912, Mary Virginia McCoy, who at all times was known as “Virginia,” was only three years of age. Her two older sisters, Ione and Elizabeth, were eight years old and five years old respectively. Her younger sister, Laura, was only a few months old. In 1916, her widowed mother married Ira O. McCoy, her late husband’s first cousin. In 1917, Virginia’s mother and step-father happily became the parents of a son, Ira O. McCoy, Jr. The fates however were unkind to Virginia and her siblings. Tragedy struck again the following year when their mother died of influenza at the age of thirty seven. Virginia was nine years old. Orphaned at a young age, Virginia, her sisters and half-brother, Ira Junior, were raised by her step-father Ira and her grandparents.

Right: Mary Virginia McCoy in the 1930s

Salt Lick District High School at Burnsville

A brilliant student, Virginia shined in the classroom, was advanced by “double promotion” in grade school, and entered Salt Lick District High School in 1922 at the age of thirteen. In high school, Virginia again proved her mettle in academics and completed four years of high school in only three years and graduated with the Class of 1925 at the age of sixteen. Virginia’s high school activities included membership in the Acme Literary Society and the Glee Club. Virginia’s little-remembered nickname in high school was “Moses.” The high school annual, Onimgohow, proclaimed “That she’s bright, you’ll all agree, She did four years worth in three.”

Burnsville High School, 1924. Virginia is 6th from the left, center row.

Glenville Normal School and State Teachers College

After graduating from high school, Virginia enrolled at Glenville State Teachers College. Her older sister, Ione, who graduated from Salt Lick District High School in 1922, was a senior in the college when Virginia enrolled. Virginia received a Normal Certificate from Glenville in 1927 and began her teaching career. She received her A. B. Degree in Elementary Education from Glenville State College in 1948. Later, Virginia received a Masters Degree from the University of South Florida.

Left: Virginia and Ione from their Normal School days at Glenville.

A First Teaching Assignment

After finishing the requirements for a normal teaching certificate from Glenville State Teachers College, Virginia found a job teaching in Nicholas County at Richwood. Her sister Ione was also teaching in Richwood along with her husband, James McLaughlin. While teaching in Richwood, Virginia boarded with her sister Ione and her husband. Teaching at the end of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad line and in the wilds of Nicholas County would be short-lived however because Virginia had met her future husband Glenn Skinner who had recently finished barber school and matrimony was in the air.

Marriage and Time Off for Children

After Glenn and Virginia married in Garrett County, Maryland in 1929, Glenn continued barbering in Orlando. Virginia’s teaching career however had to be placed on hold because children came in rapid succession. Jean was born in 1930, Marjorie in 1931, Peggy in 1933, Eleanor “Bump” in 1935, Nolan “Dick” in 1936, and Linda “Shine” in 1938. During the early years of their marriage, Glenn and Virginia lived with Glenn’s father and mother, Gid and Sarah Skinner on Clover Fork. Later, they lived in a house just above Locust Grove School which belonged to Glenn’s younger brother Hayward who at the time was living on Knawls Creek. All of the Skinner children were born on Clover Fork, except the youngest, Robert Glenn, who would be born in the Sutton Hospital after the family moved to Grass Lick.

After a more than ten year hiatus from teaching and with the children growing older, Virginia returned to the class room, due in large part to World War II and the drafting of male teachers to fill the ranks of the military services. During the 1941-1942 school year, Delis “Fisher” Blake, son of Lee and Civilla Riffle Blake of Clover Fork, was teaching at the Walnut Grove School on Oil Creek when Uncle Sam sent him an RSVP letter. Delis, not waiting on some Induction Center Private First Class to decide how he would serve his country, instead joined the United States Navy and entered the Officers Training School. As Delis was packing his bags, the Lewis County Superintendent Marion G. Rogers asked Virginia if she would be interested in the Walnut Grove School position. Virginia said “Yes.”

Left: Virginia and Glenn in the 1960s.

Virginia was active in her community. She was a leader at Orlando's Methodist Church (Mt Zion). She also belonged to the church's Ladies Aid Society, although working as a teacher meant she could only hostess or even attend monthly meetings during the summer months. She was active in Burnsville's Order of the Eastern Star and later in the Jacksonville, Florida Eastern Star chapter. (Glenn was also active in Burnsville's Masonic Lodge.) From her mom Virginia's daughter Peggy ". . .thought that you just had to get accepted into the Eastern Star to be anybody, so applied and was accepted when I was old enough. I remember saying to mom that I couldn't see what all the mystery was about and she really didn't like that. . . . I finally demitted after moving to Jacksonville . That did not make Mom happy."

From Clover Fork to Grass Lick

In 1942, Glenn and Virginia Skinner and their growing family of six children were living on Clover Fork. Also adding to the household was a boarder, Blanche Bleigh, who was the teacher at the Locust Grove School. Obviously, Glenn and Virginia needed more living space for their family. The Dolan farm with a large fine farmhouse on Grass Lick of Three Lick owned by the Dolan heirs who also operated the Dolan Hotel, had become available for sale. Since the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad decided to close the Orlando Depot because of declining civilian rail travel, the Dolan Hotel became impossible to remain open. The Dolan sisters and the other heirs decided to close and sell the hotel and their farm. Every good barber knows the business of the town and Glenn Skinner was no exception. Glenn discussed the possibility of the purchase of the Dolan farm with his wife Virginia and together they thought it was an excellent idea to buy the Dolan farm and move to Grass Run. According to their daughter Peggy, there was only one problem---they didn’t have any money to buy the place, and, the Depression-weary banks weren’t lending money. Glenn and Virginia discussed the possibility of purchasing the Dolan place with Glenn’s father Gid. Gid acknowledged that it would be a good buy and agreed to front the purchase price-- Peggy believes it was $1000-- and Glenn and Virginia agreed to re-pay him over time in installments. So the deal was done.

Right, above: Dick and Peggy Skinner in front of the Grass Lick home.

Right: Bobby Glenn with his dog Bill on the platform for mounting carriages, built by original owners, the Dolans.

Left, below: Jean and Margie, with the Catholic School in back to the left.

Virginia and Glenn's move to Grass Lick set off a chain reaction. John Gibson and his family had been renting the Dolan place, so the Gibson family had to move. They moved to the Jeddy Groves farm on Oil Creek above Rag Run. Jeddy’s widow, Esta Groves, moved to Charleston with family. Glenn and Virginia and their family moved onto the Dolan farm. Dwight Skinner moved into the house that Glenn and Virginia had vacated on Clover Fork. The house that Dwight Skinner vacated was moved into by Mrs. Oley McCoy and her sons. Blanche Bleigh, who had been boarding with Glenn and Virginia, began boarding with Pres and Jessie Bragg. Clarence Posey and family who had been living in a home on the Pres and Jessie Bragg farm moved to the Mike Moran farm at the mouth of Three Lick. And finally the Sol Brown family moved into the house vacated by Clarence Posey. It was a busy summer of 1942.

The Dolan Farm

The Irish Catholic families of Orlando had large farmhouses. From its mouth to its head, Grass Lick was the home of three Irish Catholic families in the late 1800’s. The John and Margaret (Griffin) Moran family lived at the mouth of the run; the Patrick and Elizabeth Farrell Dolan family lived about halfway up the run and the Patrick and Elizabeth Farrell family lived at the head. Each of the families built similar houses – large two story frame houses with commodious porches and outbuildings. The original houses were ell-shaped, approximately forty feet long and twenty four feet wide. The length of the ell added an additional sixteen feet to the width of half of the house. The houses had porches running the length of the house on the ground floor and on the second floor. Unusual for the day were inside bathrooms, instead of outdoor privies. According to Sonny Wymer, the present owner of the Dolan property, the Dolan house was built around 1895 and the Moran and Farrell houses were built from the same set of architect plans. The Dolan house also included an exceptional concrete platform at the end of the front walkway to the Grass Lick Road from which the ladies of the house could easily mount a horse or step onto a wagon or buggy. The houses had a bedroom, bath, living room, dining room, and kitchen on the first floor, and four bedrooms upstairs. The original houses included a central hallway which ran the width of the houses. The staircase to access the second floor ascended about halfway down the central hallway. The houses were handsomely constructed and were among the finest homes in the Orlando area. It was to the Dolan house that the Glenn and Virginia Skinner family moved in 1942.

Resumption of a Teaching Career

Males in the teaching profession became an endangered species during World War II. The heavy manpower requirements of the military forces resulted in the military draft of most physically fit male teachers. The Lewis County Board of Education suffered from the loss of its male teachers to the draft and brought about a modification of its previous policy of restricting married female teachers from employment. When the Walnut Grove teacher, Delis Blake, received his notice of induction after school started in September 1941, the Lewis County Board of Education offered Virginia a contract of employment to complete the school term at the Peterson Siding Walnut Grove School. Virginia returned to the same school the following year. In 1943 Blanche Bleigh, the long-time teacher at the Clover Fork Locust Grove School decided to marry Earl Burkhammer, a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad conductor, and leave the teaching profession. Virginia applied for and received the appointment as her replacement and thus began over a decade of serving the children of lower Clover Fork as teacher at the Locust Grove School. Virginia continued as teacher at Locust Grove until 1955 when she returned to the Walnut Grove School, where she served to the end of the 1956-1957 school year.

A Glowing Tribute from a Former Student

“She was my very favorite teacher of all time. She was unique, my everything when I was growing up,” effused Rosemary (Riffle) Crutchfield of Burnsville, now 77 years of age, about her former teacher Virginia Skinner. “She stressed the importance of getting our lessons. She had such a wonderful voice which I loved to hear as she read good books to us. She taught the girls how to take care of our hair and our nails, things that otherwise we would not have known to do. She was so good with the girls.” Rosemary remembers another act of kindness of her favorite teacher. “When I was in the lower grades, someone in my family died and I was crying at school. Mrs. Skinner took me aside and explained ‘death’ to me and the importance of crying to show our grief; that it was a natural thing to do and that we shouldn’t be ashamed to cry. She had such a kind way about her that I remember and treasure beyond words to this day.” Rosemary further reminisced that when she joined the church in Burnsville she met Virginia’s brother, Junior McCoy, who “also was a kind, considerate and wonderful man. They were two of the kindest people I ever met.” This writer could feel Rosemary’s genuine spontaneous emotion as she spoke of her “favorite teacher of all time.” No teacher could ask for a greater tribute than to be loved so movingly after more than sixty years.

Other School Memories

Darrell Skinner of Clover Fork recalls that he was a student of Virginia Skinner from the first grade through the fifth grade and that he thoroughly enjoyed the experience of his years as a student of Virginia Skinner. “She was a really good teacher,” he recalled. Carla (Mick) Conley, daughter of Bernice (Skinner) Mick and Charles Mick, remembers that her mother, now in a nursing home, would fondly recall her days as a student of Mrs. Skinner and how much she appreciated the mentorship of her favorite teacher. “She loved Virginia Skinner and would frequently talk of her and how important she was in her life.”
Tessie (Morton) McGinnis was another of Virginia’s Locust Grove School students. Tessie remembers Virginia as one of her best teachers and enjoyed going to school to her. Coincidentally, Tessie’s mother was the second wife of Virginia's father-in-law Gid Skinner. Tessie has happy memories of the Locust Grove School and her teacher Virginia Skinner. She feels she was well-prepared by her teacher for her high school education at Burnsville High School from which she graduated in 1952. Tessie in the past few years re-visited her former home on Clover Fork. During her visit, she was surprised that the Clover Fork was asphalt paved (although still one-lane). Tessie recalled that when she lived on Clover Fork many years ago the road was unpaved and when it rained the road was so muddy that students had to walk the railroad track or get lost in the mud.

Delma (Foster) Skinner of Oil Creek recalls that Virginia Skinner was her 4th and 5th grade teacher at the Walnut Grove School in 1942 and 1943. “She was an excellent teacher, and I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true.” Delma continued that “Lynn Riffle followed Mrs. Skinner as our teacher at Walnut Grove School and he was an excellent teacher also. Mrs. Skinner kept our noses to the grindstone; she kept us busy. She had a unique way of reading to us. She would read a passage from an important book and then wait until we had time to think about what she just read. It helped us analyze the importance of the passage.” Delma was very emphatic about the great foundation she received during her school days at Walnut Grove School and of the importance of Mrs. Skinner and Mr. Riffle in her preparation for high school in Weston. “I remember when I first went to Weston High School and attended the assembly for incoming freshmen. The principal made the point that kids from the country schools may have a hard time catching up academically with the city kids. Although I was apprehensive at first, after graduating from Weston High School in 1951, I am thoroughly convinced that compared to the academic background I received at Walnut Grove, it was the city kids who were at a disadvantage.”

Tom Jeffries transferred from Orlando School to the Walnut Grove School in 1955 and was a student of Virginia Skinner for the next two years. “She was a marvelous teacher. Two things she inspired in me were the love of good books and the importance of travel in order to know the world. She would read from important books in such an expressive way, almost acting the part, and would bring the book alive, and make you think you were there.” Tom continued and recounted the memory of a trip that Mrs. Skinner and her family took to the Western states. “She told us in great detail of the things that she had seen, describing them vividly, so that you could see them in your mind’s eye. That is why I love to travel to this day.”

It is certain that Virginia Skinner touched the lives of all of the students she taught, giving them a positive example, and preparing them for life. Perhaps the hallmark of the many compliments this writer observed in speaking with her former students was the kindness and caring that she exhibited for each and every one of them. Virginia Skinner gave rural children of West Virginia twenty years of her life in the classroom. It was a true loss to the children of the Oil Creek Valley when in the summer of 1957 Glenn and Virginia Skinner, and their children Marjorie, Jean and Bobby Glenn, climbed in their 1956 blue and white Chevrolet station wagon and headed south for Florida. Virginia would teach many more years in Florida, her adopted home, and assuredly her Florida students felt that West Virginia’s loss was very much, their gain. She died in Jacksonville, Florida in 2001 at the age of 91.

Click on the obituary to the left to enlarge it.

. . . . .

Correction from Virginia's son Bob

I know Mom was teaching at Walnut Grove by the fall of 1950. That is where I started to school in 1950 with her as my teacher. Her story had her moving to teach there in 1955. She became the Principle in 1954. The reason I remember that was that was the only year I had a different teacher (Mrs. Ernestine Tulley). That was 4^th grade in 1954. Mr Reed was the “Big Room” teacher and Principle before that.

Comment on a special student

Rosie Blake and her granddaughter Christine lived in the first hollow on Clover Fork. Clell Smarr recalls that they chewed tobacco, smoked old clay pipes and raised hundreds of turkeys. Rosie and her granddaughter spent the entire day outside with the roaming turkeys so that they would not fall prey to predators, both four-legged and two-legged.

Rosie refused to send Christine to school. Her quote was “I got along without learnin. My daughter got along without learnin. She don’t need no learnin either”. She finally relented when they threatened to take her away from Rosie for not going to school. Dale Barnett recalls that her teacher was Virginia (McCoy) Skinner. Virginia told Dale she was the smartest girl in the school.

Comment on Virginia's heritage
Virginia (McCoy) Skinner’s paternal grandparents were William McCutcheon (“W.M.”) McCoy and Sabina (Cogar) McCoy. W.M. McCoy was a merchant and postmaster in Cogar, was a former deputy sheriff of Braxton County, teacher, and Superintendent of Schools of Braxton County. He died in 1935. His wife, the daughter of John M. Cogar and Mariah (Haymond) Cogar, preceded him in death many years previous.

Comment on the town of Gem
The old town of “Cogar,” sometimes spelled “Coger,” is located two miles east of Burnsville. The town was renamed “Gem” by the United States Post Office in a naming contest in which Virginia (McCoy) Skinner’s grandfather, W. M. McCoy, submitted the winning name. The name “Gem” was derived from the initials of the name of W. M.’s son, Guy Everett McCoy.

Comment
When Virginia McCoy’s father, Nola Hugh McCoy, was killed in the Gassaway rail yard accident in 1912, he was laid to rest in the Town Hill Cemetery in Sutton where his mother, Sabina (Coger) McCoy, had been laid to rest two years earlier. Virginia’s grandfather, William M. McCoy, former superintendent of schools of Braxton County, was also buried there in 1935. Virginia’s older sister, Ione (McCoy) McLaughlin and her husband James Orville McLaughlin, are also buried there.

Comment on Married Female Teachers
Before and particularly during the Depression there was significant discrimination against married female teachers. After her marriage to Glenn Skinner, Virginia McCoy Skinner left the teaching profession for several years. Not only was the rearing of children involved but the Lewis County School Board, as did the Braxton County Board of Education and other counties, had adopted a policy not to hire married female teachers. Some female teachers, to skirt this policy, married in secret and kept their marriages “secret.” Some counties, such as Upshur County, also barred female teachers from the classroom if they were pregnant or had young children. The West Virginia State Board of Education also weighed in on the issue in 1942 by issuing a policy barring female teachers from the classroom if they were past four months of pregnancy or had children younger than seven weeks old. Some, but not all West Virginia counties enforced this policy well into the 1960’s. However, the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended the practice of discriminating against female teachers who married or who became pregnant.

The Shave and a Haircut Man

Glenn Skinner

by David Parmer

Shoes Shined: Fifteen Cents

In 1955, Glenn Skinner of Orlando was busy plying his shave and haircut trade to the many customers in Burnsville. Not only could the customer get a shave, but the haircut included a trim around the ears with a straight razor, something unheard-of today. Since no self-respecting barber shop at the time was without the services of an expert shiner of shoes, Glenn maintained a shoe shine stand with a green vinyl-seated chair perched on the top of a platform in the corner of the barber shop.

Left: Glenn Skinner in his barber shop (Note the gas lights on the "T" as well as an electric bulb handing together froom the ceiling.)

Right: Edmund Glenn Skinner
Left: Two of Glenn's shoeshine boys: Max Hamilton and David Parmer.

Whenever the regular shoeshine boy, Max Hamilton, decided he would take Saturday off and go fishing in Oil Creek, this writer eagerly slapped the black Esquire polish on the shoes of Glenn Skinner's customers, then buff them to a marvelous shine, for which there was often a generous tip. When there were no shoes to shine, this writer was fascinated by the conversations Glenn had with his eager-to-talk customers. There is nothing like warm lather to bring out mirth or a risqué joke from the man in the barber chair and no one better than Glenn to coax an amusing anecdote from him. Some of his customers however spoke not a word in the barber chair while Glenn was clipping away and there was no coaxing a peep from them. Glenn would remark after the “Silent Cal” left, “The cat must have had his tongue,” or “His wife must have told him not to breathe of word of it.”

Family

Edmond Glenn Skinner was the son of Gideon Columbus Skinner and Sarah Esther (Bennett) Skinner of Clover Fork. Born in 1904, he was their fifth child who lived beyond infancy and the first son. His older sisters were Edith, who married Oras Stutler, Annie who married Howard Smarr and died young, Mary Genevieve, who married Bee Heater, and Jeanette, who married Worthington Hurst. His younger siblings were Haydee, who married Claud Mick, and Hayward, who married first Reva Pritt, and second, Lyda Williams. Glenn also had a half-brother, Jackie. Having four older sisters can be an advantage or a disadvantage growing up, but Glenn seemed to thrive from having four older doting sisters.

School

Growing up on lower Clover Fork, Glenn attended the Locust Grove, or Lower Clover Fork School, located near the mouth of Meadow Run, in the community formerly known as Blake. After eight years of school, no further local schooling was available to the children of Clover Fork.

Right: Gideon and Sarah (Bennett) Skinner with Jennette, Genevieve, Edith and Ann, Glenn on his mother's lap.
Left: left to right, Gid Skinner with his children Edith, Genevieve, Jennette "Tom" and Glenn.

Farming and Barbering

Like all farm children, Glenn became well acquainted with farm chores and earned the usual blisters during haying season. And, there was always corn to hoe, cows to bring in, hogs to slop and butcher, and corn to shock. But, farming would not be a full-time occupation for Glenn because he was enamored with the barbering occupation carried on by his Uncle Lloyd “Billy” Skinner in his busy Orlando barber shop. Encouraged by his uncle, Glenn sallied forth to Cincinnati, found a boarding house, and entered barber school which he completed in 1927, a full-fledged barber.

After completing barber school, Glenn joined his Uncle Billy in the latter’s barber shop in Orlando, in the Morrison Building across Clover Fork from the railroad depot. Many present day residents of Orlando who have been without the services of a home town barber for over sixty years would be surprised to know that Orlando once had a two chair barber shop and two full-time barbers. For the next few years, Glenn and “Uncle Billy” kept the hair of the men of Orlando cut and groomed with Wildroot hair crème or Lucky Tiger hair tonic, gentleman’s choice, and faces shaved and soothed with E. E. Dickinson Company’s Witch Hazel. Glenn’s daughter Peggy Morris, who now lives in Florida, recalls that her dad also gave a great “shingle-cut” to the ladies, which was the fashion of the day.
Around the mid-1930’s Glenn’s Uncle Billy decided to move his barbering trade to Weston where he barbered a few years and then later moved again to Elkins. Glenn remained in Orlando but moved his shop from the Morrison Building to a smaller building located behind the store of J. W. "Bill" Conrad and continued to give his shaves and haircuts at this shop for nearly the next twenty years.

Left above: The barbershop behind Bill Conrad's store

Right: Mugging for the camera are Clora Henline, Nina Matthews (who married Billy) and Lloyd "Billy" Skinner
Left below: Lloyd "Billy" Skinner

There is Nothing like a Barber Shop

There is something mystical about a barber shop to a young boy. It seems every barber shop has large windows and bright lights not only to aid the barber to find every stray hair to banish but also to aid in reading the detective story magazines which only adults were supposed to read. A moist hot towel to soften the hair around the ears to be shaved is also quite a treat to the short legged boys in the magnificent throne of a barber chair. And then there is the ritualistic sharpening of the straight razor on the leather strap to delight a youngster and make him feel like a full-fledged adult. Dale Barnett recalls getting many haircuts at Glenn’s barber shop at both of his locations. According to Dale, there was nothing like the soothing warmth of hot lather applied with a soft hog bristle brush and he found the experience almost as enjoyable as going to see a movie. Today, doting mothers take their sons to women’s beauty shops for “hair styling,” whatever that may be, and those young men never experience the youthful thrill of a real man’s hair cut.

The Days of an Orlando Barber Shop Become Numbered

As long as there were passenger trains stopping in Orlando and passengers with time to spare for a shave or a haircut while waiting to transfer to the other branch of the Baltimore & Ohio, there was enough business to keep Glenn busy. But, with the completion of U. S. Route 19 and the easy availability of automobiles, rail traffic diminished greatly in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. And, by the early 1950’s, rail passenger travel had dwindled to practically nothing. The days of a two chair barber shop became a memory of the distant past and the days of even a one chair barber shop in Orlando were soon coming to an end. The mythical “Floyd the Barber” of Mayberry fame was delighted whenever Sheriff Andy Taylor or Deputy Barney Fife, or any other “warm body,” visited his barber shop for a haircut. Floyd always seemed to have customers enough to stay busy, but not so with Glenn’s Orlando barber shop, as business continued to dwindle. But, a wise businessman from Burnsville, Orlando’s neighbor, four miles distant, knew a good thing when he saw it, and Jim Marple thus came calling.

Glenn Moves His Shop to Burnsville

The W. E. Marple Store in Burnsville was the largest general store in the town and carried a full line of shoes, clothing, groceries, guns and ammunition, and school supplies, as well as hardware supplies. The store also contracted with Letch Wiant to furnish weekly, a fully butchered beef, for sale to the store’s customers. Another major line for the store was cattle and hog feed for the area farmers. To accommodate the many farm customers, in the early 1950’s, Jim Marple built a large two-story stucco building on Main Street with a drive-in basement, to house cattle feed. At the time, Burnsville was down to one barber, Coger Maulsby, who was also a part-time school bus driver, and a relative of Glenn’s wife Virginia. As a service to his customers, Jim Marple dedicated a front corner of Marple’s Feed Store Building for use as a barber shop. Glenn’s son, Bob Skinner, now a resident of Dawsonville, Georgia, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, recalls that Jim Marple came to his dad’s Three Lick farm in the early 1950’s and walked out into the hay field to speak with his father. As a result of the hayfield visit, Jim persuaded Glenn to move his barbering business to Burnsville, and to bring along his Wildroot Original Hair Crème and his Lucky Tiger 3 Purpose Hair Tonic. Orlando’s loss was Burnsville’s gain as Glenn embarked daily on his commute from Three Lick to Burnsville to cut hair, shave faces, tell jokes, provide employment for a shoeshine boy, and delight customers.

Barbering in Burnsville

The barbering business in Burnsville was “good.” Glenn welcomed his old customers from Orlando and his many new customers from Burnsville. His modern shop on Main Street had two large picture windows, was well-lighted, furnished with handsome wood cabinetry, and well-serviced by laundry trucks from Weston and Glenville. Glenn even splurged on a new-fangled lather-making machine which did away with the hog-bristle brush, and produced a steady stream of warm, soothing lather with a touch. Weekdays in the barber shop were busy but on Saturday customers never seemed to stop coming. Men of the day would never dream of letting their hair encroach upon their ears or grow to female “sissy-like” proportions. Tennis shoes were relegated to the high school gymnasium, and real men wore leather boots or shoes which could always stand a good cleaning or polishing, so shoe-shining business was also “good.”

Right: Virgina (McCoy) and Glenn Skinner (Note the nice shine on Glenn's shoes!)

Retirement to Sunny Florida

Glenn barbered in Burnsville until 1957. Suffering from intermittent bouts of stomach trouble, Glenn opined that retirement in Florida may cure his chronic discomfort. Deciding to make their future home in the Atlantic Ocean coast city of Fort Pierce, Glenn, his wife Virginia, his daughters Marjorie and Jean, and his twelve-year-old son Bobbie Glenn left Three Lick for the land of oranges and sunshine. After living many years in Florida, the last barber of Orlando died in the Sunshine State in 1997 at the age of 93.

Postscript

This story did not forget to mention the family of Glenn Skinner, Orlando’s last barber. Glenn was married to Virginia (McCoy) Skinner, a highly respected and beloved teacher of many children of the Oil Creek valley. A story about Virginia and her family will be forthcoming shortly.

. . . . .

Note 1:
Glenn Skinner was an inveterate practical jokester. A frequent target of his jokes was Max Hamilton who shined shoes in Glenn’s Barber Shop in Burnsville during the early 1950’s. On one occasion Glenn told Max that he was going to re-paint his barber pole which was attached to the outside of the barber shop. Glenn told Max to go next door to Marple’s Store and get a bucket of red and white striped paint so he could start painting the barber pole. As a good lad who was used to minding his elders, Max went to Marple’s Store and asked for a can of striped paint. It is unknown whether Max was humoring Glenn, or whether he really did believe there was such a thing as striped paint. On other occasions, Glenn sent Max to Marple’s Store to get a “sky hook” and a “check stretcher.”

Left: Glenn Skinner's barber's license. Click on it to enlarge it.

Right: Lloyd "Billy" Skinner's barber's license. Click on it to enlarge it.

Note 2:
Until 1934, anyone with or without a steady hand could be a barber in West Virginia. Probably with a means of producing revenue (taxes) more so than safety and health considerations, the West Virginia Legislature in 1934 passed a law requiring that all barbers or beauticians be licensed and be required to pay an annual license fee. By 1934, Glenn Skinner had been a barber for seven years and his uncle Lloyd “Billy” Skinner had been barbering much longer. Both Glenn and Billy applied for and were granted their West Virginia barbering license, which was renewed annually thereafter as can be seen from the renewal cards.

Homer Dick

by David Parmer

His real name was William Homer Skinner but he was known throughout the Orlando area simply as “Homer Dick.” There were other Homer Skinners in the history of Orlando, but there was only one “Homer Dick.”

Right William Homer Skinner

Draper Skinner

Homer Dick was born in 1882, the son of Draper John Skinner and Mary (Heater) Skinner. Draper John was the fourth child of Alexander Skinner and Phebe (Conrad) Skinner. Some records reflect that Draper John’s name was at times written as John Draper Skinner. The correct arrangement of his first two names may forever remain a mystery. The 1860 census has “John D. Skinner” and his wife Mary living on Oil Creek. The 1870 census has “Draper Skinner” and his wife Mary living on Oil Creek with their two children, Melinda, aged three, and Marsha, aged eleven months. Melinda was the daughter of Draper’s first wife, Margaret Ocheltree who apparently died in childbirth. The child “Marsha” also was known as “Martha.” She was followed in birth by Samantha, born 1873, Hattie W., born 1876, John C., born 1878, Nancy Idena, born 1880, and William Homer, or “Homer Dick,” the last child, who was born in 1883.

Orphans

Mary (Heater) Skinner, mother of Homer Dick, died in 1885 of heart disease, when Homer Dick, her youngest child, was less than two years old. She was but 41 years of age. Draper also died while his younger children were still yet to come of age. Although the exact date of Draper’s death cannot be determined it is believed to be around 1892. As was custom during the time, family stepped in to provide a roof over the heads of the Skinner orphans. Samantha (Draper’s daughter by his first marriage to Margaret Ocheltree), it is believed, lived with their Uncle Calvin Skinner; Hettie moved to the home of her cousin, Mary Ann (Skinner) Riffle and her husband John Scott Riffle; Nancy Idena and Homer Dick found a home with their cousin, Joseph Skinner and his wife Effie (Riffle) Skinner. It is unknown where Homer Dick’s older brother John C. found home. Martha Adeline, the oldest of Draper’s children by Mary Heater had married W. C. Mick of Gilmer County in 1887, but died of consumption in 1893.

Two Tries at Marriage

Homer Dick twice experimented with marriage. His first marriage came in 1905 when he married Lee, the daughter of John Jeffries and Margaret Jeffries, who lived on Oil Creek in the neighborhood of Kemper. That marriage lasted about the time of the moon’s revolution around the Earth. After this failed attempt at wearing the halter, Homer Dick gave up the married life for bachelorhood.

Those old enough to remember Homer Dick recall that he never seemed to have any fixed home. Working primarily as a farm laborer in his later years, he generally lived with whomever he was working for at the time, room and board, perhaps, being a part of his wages.

In 1930, when Homer was around 47 (although he gave his age as 44 to the County Clerk), he once again stepped into matrimonial waters with Hettie Riffle, daughter of the late Marion J. and Cora (Reynolds) Riffle of Posey Run. Hettie was 24 years of age. Whether it was love which brought about Homer Dick’s new-found affinity to the wedded life after twenty-five years of bachelorhood or the desire to have another place to hang his hat, we’ll never know. Homer was living in the household of his mother-in-law, Cora Riffle when the 1930 census was taken. After a short whirl, Homer Dick’s second attempt at marriage “didn’t take” and he again found himself to be on bachelor’s row.

Life as a Railroad Cook

In his later years, Homer Dick looked forward to going to the post office to pick up his pension check from the B& O Railroad. Socializing while waiting for the mail was a favorite pastime in Orlando. It wasn’t much of a pension but it did reflect Homer Dick’s years as a culinary chef on the railroad work cars. Tom Pumphrey, a friend of Homer Dick’s, said he could make “good beans and potatoes, and, of course, cornbread,” just the meal which would be appreciated by hard-working railroad trackmen.

Homer Dick started working for the B & O in December 1929 as a camp car cook for the railroaders working on Walker Woods’ carpenter and bridge crew. Uncle Zeke reported that Homer Dick gave up the trapping and fur-trading business for life as a railroader. At this time there were two B & O carpenter and bridge crews. One crew, headed by Walker Woods, served the Elkins to Charleston railroad line and the other crew, headed by Ed Nixon, served the Clarksburg to Richwood line. According to June (Nixon) Henry, daughter of Ed Nixon, the carpenter and bridge crews would stay away from homes for days-on-end, especially when there were accidents, wash-outs or floods which destroyed railroad bridges and would have to be re-built. Of course, the culinary skills of Homer Dick were much appreciated by the crews which usually numbered ten to twelve men, and sometimes as many as twenty, and all of whom appreciated a home-cooked meal.

Right, above: Camp Car for Bridge and Carpenter Crew, Ed Nixon under the B&O logo,
Left: Tressle and derailed cars, location unknown.
Right below: drawings of the B&O Railroad camp cars.

Life as a camp car cook suited Homer Dick, not only for the satisfaction he gained from cooking for hungry men, but also because it gave an otherwise homeless man a place to live. Cook’s quarters were furnished in the kitchen car, providing Homer Dick a place to rest his head and a place near to his work.

As with most railroad employment at the time, work was spotty and Homer Dick frequently found that he, like most railroaders, needed another line of work to tide him over the periods of unemployment. He was a hard worker and was a noted “brush clearer.” Many local farmers looked to him to clear a hillside or a plot for a potato patch. He also found work clearing rights of way for the power company, when electricity was extended up “kerosene light only” hollows. Dale Barnett recalls Homer Dick working with the sons of Joe Riffle on a job clearing a right-of-way for a power line in the Orlando area during the early 1940’s.

Your Home is His Home

It is unknown whether Homer Dick ever had a home of his own. Perhaps his youthful experience of being an orphan and living in the homes of one or another relative led him to that manner of living.

Left: Hattie and her husband George Riffle, Center: Homer Dick,

Right: Idenna with her husband Roy Mertie "Boss" Riffle and their son Fred.

Bob Pumphrey recalls that Homer Dick would frequently stay with his family on Three Lick for long periods and his jovial company was always welcomed. At times he would stay with his sister, Idenna Riffle, her husband "Boss" and son Fred, who lived near Posey Run. At other times he would stay with another sister, Hattie Riffle, and her husband George, on Redlick.

All Life Must End

You never noticed the battered hat he wore because his elfish grin was the dominating feature of his wizened face. Until his death, Homer Dick always had a school-boyish look. Never one to wear out his welcome at any one place for very long, Homer Dick died on December 7 in 1964. As with life, he is not buried near anyone in particular, but was laid to rest between strangers in the Orlando Cemetery.

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Comment by Marcia (Heater) Conrad of Keyser, West Virginia.

"I grew up on Indian Fork, right across the hill from Orlando. For us, that was going to town, and the big town of Burnsville was a day in the city!
"Today I read with interest your article on Homer Dick Skinner. My dad always claimed Homer Dick as a cousin, and they were, although I doubt either of them knew that. I do not remember Homer Dick, but he lived with us when I was a little girl. For many years I had a teddy bear that he bought me when he lived with us. I kept it for years and my son slept and played with it until it became a shredded piece of fuzz with no eyes, a torn nose, and a missing ear.
"My dad told us stories about Homer. He (Homer) liked to listen to the Lone Ranger radio program. He once asked Daddy if the Lone Ranger was real, to which my father, ever the jokester, replied "Why, sure, Dick. I used to ride with him." At this Homer Dick was suitable impressed.
"While he lived with us, Homer Dick did the cooking, as Daddy worked and my mother was quite ill. One morning, he made biscuits and some very brown (well, burned) gravy. When Daddy didn't say anything, Homer asked if breakfast was allright. Since Daddy couldn't hurt anyone's feelings, he said, "brown's just the way I like it, Dick." Daddy ate the breakfast and all were happy."

Frank Sprouse, Woodsman

Lumbering was a major occupation in central West Virginia, also a hard and dangerous one. Frank Sprouse was an experienced and capable woodsman, but on a day in May, 1951, husband, father, friend and neighbor Frank Sprouse became another work-related casualty.

by David Parmer

The Free State

It was spring, early May 1951. The leaves were new to the trees on the Free State, and the air was fresh. The day looked promising to Frank Sprouse, an experienced woodsman, and to his son, Eugene. They hoped the sky would remain blue, as they left their house early on the morning of May 1st to cut timber on the 1300 acre Free State tract. Most woodsmen would rather cut timber when leaves are gone because it is easier to see both the shape and location of the trees to be cut, as well as the adjoining trees, which allows them to plan how the tree will fall. But the trees this day had already leafed out and Frank’s vision of the woodland was somewhat obscured. Although the conditions were not ideal, Frank was not worried because he had cut trees at all times of the year without difficulty.

Upper right: Verna and Frank Sprouse

Left: We have only the northwest third of the Free State mapped. The area in red is approximate, determined from the information we have at hand. The "Free State" was actually property left unimproved by the absentee owner Robert Water.

Frank’s Lineage - from Albemarle to Gilmer

Tipton "Tippy" Sprouse, father of Frank Sprouse, was living in Gilmer County before 1860. The Albemarle County, Virginia native migrated to the Indian Fork area with his wife Eliza Ann and their four children. According to the 1860 census, their family consisted of Rachel, aged eleven and Nicholas, aged nine, both of whom had been born in Albemarle County, and the two youngest children, Sarah, aged four and Henry, aged two, both of whom had been born in Bath County. Since Henry was two years of age at the time of the 1860 census, the family’s move to Gilmer County must have been made sometime between 1858 and 1860.
By the time of the 1870 census, twenty-one-old Rachel and nineteen-year-old Nicholas had left home. However, the family at home still consisted of four children because James and Martha had been born to Tippy and Eliza since the 1860 census.
Sometime between 1870 and 1876, Eliza died because in the latter year the forty-two-year-old Tippy married twenty-one-year-old Sarah E. Ratliff, daughter of the widow Rebecca Ratliff.

Right: Tipton and Sarah (Ratliff/Radcliff) Sprouse.
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Children of the Second Marriage

Tippie wasted no time producing a second set of children by his young wife Sarah. By 1900, the sixty-seven-year-old Tippie was the father of nine additional children by his then forty-five-year-old second wife Sarah, their ages ranging from twenty-two years to one year: Lewis, aged 22; Mary C., aged 13; Homer, aged 18; Hiram, aged 16; Thomas J., aged 11; George Frank, aged 9; Effie V., aged 8; Edward, aged 2 and Angie L., aged 1. The sixth child of Tippie and Sarah, George Franklin Sprouse, or Frank, as he would be called, is the woodsman of this story.

Frank Sprouse

Born on Indian Fork, Frank Sprouse grew up in the midst of the feverish oil and gas drilling which took place in the early 1900’s around Orlando. Being well-acquainted with horses on his father’s farm, Frank obtained a job as a teamster hauling drilling equipment from the Orlando and Burnsville rail depots and the Burnsville oil field supply houses. Managing teams of horses who were straining to pull heavy loads was a difficult job, but the pay was good, and the work was outside which Frank enjoyed.

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When Frank was twenty-two, he took a wife and start a family. He looked no further than the adjoining Indian Fork farm of Cain and Mary "Polly" Wimer who had a nice looking daughter named Mary Verna who was about his age. On February 14th, 1913 Frank and his sweetheart Verna went to Orlando and caught the train to Weston to pay a visit to the County Clerk’s office. Returning to Orlando with a license to marry in hand, the United Brethren minister, V. F. Williams, married them three days hence. After the deed was done, Frank and Verna settled into home-making and began raising a family. Four girls, Icie, Bridget, Frena, and Thelma, and two boys, Denzil and Eugene, soon graced the hearth of the Sprouse home.
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Right above: Frank and Verna (Wimer) Sprouse's wedding picture.

Right below: Frank and Verna (Wimer) Sprouse's children Icey, Denzil "Dick". Bridget, Frena, Eugene and Thelma

Frank the Teamster

When Frank gave the County Clerk information for his marriage license, he gave his occupation as "Teamster." His earliest teamstering was done for the many oil and gas drillers in the Orlando area in the early 1900’s. Eighty-seven-year-old Tom Pumphrey recalls that he was employed as a truck driver for Leach and Wallace Tie and Lumber Company during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s while Frank worked as a teamster for the same employer on various timbering jobs in the Three Lick and Goosepen areas. "Frank had a way with horses. He talked to them like they were humans and the horses seemed to understand what he was saying to them. He was a master with horses." Tom also recalls that "Leach used a steam boiler to power the saw mill, and it was my dad’s (William Jackson Pumphrey) job to keep the boiler running. Fred Gibson and Frank Sprouse, both worked the teams, Audrie Burkhammer and Jiggs Riffle were sawyers, and Denzil Sprouse, Frank’s son, Martin Posey, Eddie Donaldson, Charlie Posey, and World War I veteran Harry Keats, also cut trees and worked around the mill." Tom further recalled that Harry Keats was from the Buckhannon area and his sister Pauline worked as a housekeeper for Shelton Wallace who had a farm on Pine Run. Tom continued, "I drove truck, delivering the pulpwood or sawn lumber to Orlando where it was loaded onto boxcars. Later, we trucked the wood to Homewood, outside Weston." Tom also recalled that there was a lot of pulpwood to be cut on the Free State property.

How Trees Fall

Frena (Sprouse) McCauley

, daughter of Frank Sprouse and Vernie Sprouse, remembers the morning of May 1st, 1951 as clear and a little chilly during the early morning as she began doing the family laundry at her Goosepen home just over Ryan’s Hill from her parents’ home on Three Lick. On the Three Lick Free State tract, Frena’s dad had selected the first tree to be cut that crisp morning and laid his sharp axe blade into the trunk. Tree-cutting was hard work in 1951. Although chain saws had already been invented, they were still a few years away from common use, so Frank labored with his axe. Unfortunately, when the tree fell, it lodged into another tree and the only way to get the first tree down to the ground was to cut the tree it was lodged in. Frank set to work on the second tree and soon it was ready to fall. The physics of how trees fall when cut are subject to lots of variables. Having the weight of two entangled trees in the balance causes great consternation even among experienced woodsmen such as Frank Sprouse. Apparently concentrating on the direction of fall of the larger of the two trees, Frank did not anticipate the smaller tree falling in an unexpected direction. It all happened so fast that Frank could not escape the falling tree. The entire weight of the errant tree fell squarely on Frank’s head, breaking his neck and killing him instantly. Frank’s daughter, Thelma Prince, now living in Delaware, recalls that her father often said that no self-respecting woodsman should be injured by a falling tree. However, as Thelma remembers the day of her father’s unfortunate death, the story as she knew it was that the entangled trees began to fall in the direction of her brother Eugene, who was lethargic and inattentive on this morning as the result of too much alcohol the night before. Her father recognized the danger and ran to push Eugene out of danger but instead he himself fell the victim.

Bad News Brought to School

Mrs. Ernestine Tulley’s Three Lick School was business as usual and lessons had to be taught on this early day in May of 1951. The weather was warm and shoes had been left at home as the bare-footed students thought of recess and the end of the school year, which was nearing. Ten-year-old Patty Ann Riffle, daughter of Bridget and [Junie] Jiggs Riffle, and granddaughter of Frank Sprouse, enjoyed school and was not anxious to see it end. It was late morning when Patty’s father appeared at the door of the Three Lick School. After a whispered conversation between Jiggs and Mrs. Tulley, Patty Ann was called to the rear of the room and left with her father. Bob Pumphrey recalls that after their classmate had left, Mrs. Tulley gave the class the bad news that Patty’s grandfather had been struck by a falling tree and the woodsman had not been spared. Frank was laid to rest in the Finster Cemetery.

Left above: The Three Lick 4H club photo shows Patty Ann Riffle with school friends. Patty is in black and white near the middle of this photo.

Right above: Patty Ann the same year her grandfather was killed by a falling tree.

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Frank Sprouse's Death Certificate. Click on it to enlarge it

Note 1
When Frank Sprouse was killed by the falling tree on May 1, 1951, two daughters, Thelma (Sprouse) Prince and Frena (Sprouse) McCauley, had already married and had left home. Frena now lives in Weston and Thelma resides in Delaware. Both daughters recall vividly the day they received word of their father’s death. Frena was living at Goosepen and was doing the family laundry when word arrived of her father’s death. Thelma was living in Weston and was expecting birth at any time. Thelma, because of her condition, was unable to return home until the day of the funeral at the Finster U. B. Church.
Frank’s other two daughters, Icie and Bridget, now deceased, were also married but were living on Three Lick at the time of the accident.

Note 2
Tipton Sprouse, an early Indian Fork settler, was the father of Frank Sprouse, as well as his brother Homer. The current member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from Lewis County, Margaret “Peggy” Donaldson, is the g-g-granddaughter of Tipton Sprouse and the g-granddaughter of Homer Sprouse.

Note 3

Dale Barnett recalls that the Free State tract consisted of about 1300 acres. “The Waters heirs from Baltimore owned the property at one time,” recalled Dale, and “then they sold it to the Koppers Company, and later it passed on to Charlie Moran.” Tom Pumphrey recalls that Charlie Moran began selling parcels off the original Free State tract and that “[Junie]Jiggs Riffle, Frank Sprouse’s son-in-law, bought a parcel, as did [Arthur A.] Os Davis, and Clarence Riffle, another Frank Sprouse son-in-law. Frank Sprouse also bought a Free State parcel.”

Note 4 by Sonny Wymer
When Frank Sprouse was killed by the falling tree, he and his son Eugene were cutting trees for “Old Man Leach” in what we call the “Dark Hole” on the Free State property. The location was near the home of Edward Scott “Bud” Blake and was at the head of a hollow. This hollow is on the right side of the road going up Three Lick on the Lewis County side of the Free State.

What remains of the Free State property after all the outsales have been made is now owned by the Rosewood Lumber Company out of Buckhannon. The timber has been cut so many times over the past few years that there isn’t enough timber left for a “good toothpick.”

Note 5 by Bob Pumphrey

I was still attending school at Three Lick when Frank Sprouse was killed by the falling tree. I recall that there was a two day wake at the Sprouse home and many people attended. The funeral services were held at the Finster Church, again with many family and friends in attendance. The day of the funeral was rainy and with heavy thunder. To get the casket to the top of the hill required a team and sled which was furnished by Cecil Pumphrey who lived nearby

Right: Bob Pumphrey the year Frank Sprouse died.

Note 6
Sarah Ratliff Sprouse, widow of Tipton Sprouse, died at age 72 on June 29, 1926 at Bower in Braxton County. She was buried in the Boilon Cemetery in Gilmer County.

The Horse Trading Center of the Universe

The Awakening

Early on Friday mornings, Orlando area farmers with strings of three or four horses descended on downtown Orlando. Large trucks, rare in that day, full of horses, pulled into Orlando and discharged their four footed cargo into the street in front of Mike Moran’s Warehouse Building. There was excitement in the air. Young boys had eagerly awaited the event which had become a ritual for Orlando during the 1920’s and early 1930’s. News of the event had been spread by hand bills and by announcements in the Market Bulletin put out by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

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Left above and right: detail from the photo of teamsters at the bottom

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The Trading Begins

By noon, the streets of Orlando were full of horses, horse traders, watch and knife traders, and moonshiners. The elderly or out-of-work loafers occupied the benches on the porches of the stores owned by Charley Knight and Bill Conrad, and at the B & O Restaurant located in Moran’s Wholesale Building. These loafers had another subject of conversation to mull over as the horses snorted and pranced up and down the streets of Orlando. Indeed, it seemed that every horse in Braxton and Lewis County was present and horse manure was piling up as high as the lies that were being told by the traders of horse flesh.

Left: Plowing a hillside
Right: "Pid" Heline and horse

Left below: Veterinarian Ord Conrad

Dale Barnett, now aged 85, vividly remembers these horse trader reunions which occurred in Orlando during his youth. Dale’s father, Bill Barnett, always had three or four horses he was willing to trade “for a little boot,” and Dale was wide-eyed and all ears as the bargaining and boasting was taking place. Clate Wiant, a noted trader of horses was always present, dressed in white shirt and tie, with a clutch of horses that he would be “willing to sacrifice” for the benefit of any person he was trading with. Farmers from Rocky Fork, Sand Fork, Indian Fork and Clover Fork tried their best to convince the farmers from Flesher’s Run, Knawl’s Creek and Riffle’s Run that their horses would do well on the latter’s feed. Tom Zinn who operated the large livery stable in Burnsville was always on the look-out for good team or riding horses and was usually present at the Orlando horse-traders reunion. Mr. Turner of the Bendale section of Weston, a horse trader of note, also made his appearance with a load of horses which he would usually sell, and would return to Bendale with another load which he bought.

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Knife and Watch Traders

In addition to the ceaseless horse trading which occurred during the horse traders’ reunions, the watch and knife traders were also out in force. Lloyd “Tint” Henline was perhaps the supreme trader of knives in Orlando and always had a Boker Tree Brand knife, Case XX Stag Daddy Barlow, or a Holley pen knife for sale. Uncle Zeke reported that “Tint” made 26 trades on January 15th, 1925 and was fretting because he didn’t do better. According to Dale Barnett, watch traders could be spotted because they would conspicuously pull out their pocket watches to check the time every fifteen minutes in the hope someone was looking. Railroaders were notorious about their time pieces and were always striving to find the special watch that kept time to the second.

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Left: Lloyd "Tint" Henline

Right: a pocket watch, likely a railroader's pocket watch.

Below: Examples of kinds of pocket knives that were traded.pocket knives

Moonshiners and Disrepute

Not only were the streets full of farmers, horse traders, knife and watch traders, but the ubiquitous bootleggers were also fixtures at the horse traders reunions. Although Orlando was a lawless town and the nearest lawman of any jurisdiction was in Weston or Sutton, the bootleggers made their sales covertly under the Moran Wholesale Building or Lee Morrison’s poolroom. Uncle Zeke often railed about the illicit trade in John Barleycorn which took place during the horse traders reunions and about the rowdiness of the events in general. As to the quality of the horse flesh which was offered for sale, Uncle Zeke mused in his August 18, 1932 column that he was “glad that he was not as old as some of the horses that were present.” Uncle Zeke was 65 at the time. In his August 31, 1921 column Uncle Zeke showed his disdain for the horse traders reunion when he mentioned that “a peculiar looking person passed this way a few days ago. He was almost barefooted and naked. He had long hair and mis-shaven beard. I think he was president of the horse-traders reunion.” Remarking on one of his neighbors who became plastered in a moonshine bath at one of the reunions, Uncle Zeke reported that “we have become informed that a certain person known as Dan imbibed a little too freely in “happy juice” and caused no little excitement in his demonstration of manhood. We have also been informed that on his way to his place of abode, he somehow accidentally lost his pants, and that arriving at a late hour of the night, in order that he might not be discovered, he crawled into the henhouse and took up lodging in the rear of that structure. An investigation made by his brother –in-law found Dan disputing with the rooster as to who should become master of the coop, or the real cock of the walk. At this time it is claimed that he was able to cackle a little, but unable to crow.”

The Demand and the End

There was a big demand for horse flesh during the 1920’s and early 1930’s. The deplorable condition of the roads handicapped the horseless carriages which often were stuck in the mud on the roads to Burnsville or to Weston. Gas companies locating wells on the hills in the surrounding area were always in need of good teams of horses and teamsters made their way to Orlando to seek out the best matched teams. How the horse traders reunions adopted Orlando as the convention site is a mystery to present day citizens who are old enough to remember the events. However, the conventions lasted for many years before the automobile and paved roads gradually overtook the high stepping horse. While they lasted, the two-day horse traders reunions were a boon to the merchants and hotel keepers of Orlando, a time of trepidation for the wives of men who “went downtown to see horseflesh” and memorable events for all of the youngsters of Orlando.

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Teamsters near Orlando

Note from David Parmer
Two significant players in the Orlando Horse Traders Reunion during the 1920’s and 1930’s were George Turner of Weston and Clayton Wiant of “above” Burnsville. Dale Barnett remembers George Turner as a large man, on the portly side, who was as good a trader as there was. A resident of Bendale, George was the son of Newton and Clarissa (Montgomery) Turner and the husband of Myrtle Turner. The only work George ever did during his lifetime was centered around farm stock. He died in 1944 at age 66 and was survived by his wife Myrtle and his daughter Clara Means.

Clate Wiant lived on the Little Kanawha River above Burnsville. He also was a stockman and farmer his entire life although he did serve as deputy assessor in Braxton County in 1949 and 1950. Clate was first married to Etta Singleton and secondly to Rosa Langford. Clate is also remembered for the white shirt and tie that he hardly ever was seen without. Clate died in 1974 at age 93. He was survived by his wife Rosa, his son Letch, also a noted stockman of “above” Burnsville, a son Vaughn of Walkersville, and a daughter Iva Lou Robinson of Pittsburgh. Clate was the son of Frank and Vesta (McHenry) Wiant.

A note of geography is in order when referring to a person living “above” Burnsville. The Little Kanawha flows basically from the east to the west through Burnsville. Rich farmland, now covered by the Burnsville Lake, flanked the river east of Burnsville. The farm families who lived in this area were known as living “above Burnsville,” or “up the river.”

Comment by Tom Jeffries
My father, Coleman Jeffries, who was born in Orlando in 1905 and lived in Orlando all of his life, was a lover of horses and always had a horse or two until his final years. He of course would have been familiar with the horse traders reunions which took place in Orlando for many years. He felt that some unscrupulous horse traders foisted broken down horses on unsuspecting buyers and that after horses became obsolete these same traders went into used car dealing.

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Also, when referring to people who lived “above Burnsville,” folks around Orlando referred to them as living “over on the river.” One of the horse traders who my father Coleman Jeffries frequently mentioned who would come to the horse traders reunions in Orlando was Buck Bacorn who lived over around Knawl.

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Right: Coleman Jeffries with his young cousins June and Billy Nixon.

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Comment by David Parmer
“Would he lie?” Uncle Zeke reported in his June17, 1926 column on the activities which took place during the recent horse traders reunion in Orlando. “Red” McCormick of Weston took the prize in the fox chasers’ lying contest, with Bud Hamilton a close second. Lon Riffle of Burnsville won the honors in the horse traders’ reunion and “Tint” Henline presided with great ability and skill at the knife traders’ convention. The next excitement will be a prize fight between George Riffle and Uncle Zeke’s scarecrow.”