DISCLAIMER: The stories in Echoes of the Past are printed in their original form, typos and all.
1923 – 100 Years Ago
Record For Attendance Broken
Wednesday’s Greatest Crowd
The Greatest of all West Virginia Fairs – the third annual Greenbrier Valley Fair – opened Monday night, presenting a gorgeous pyrotechnic display of mid-air bursts, rockets and ground arrangements, closing with the beautiful reproduction of Lewisburg Seminary, one of the most unique and spectacular sights ever witnessed here. The record for crowds was attained at noon Wednesday, and before the races started, more than sixteen thousand people had been admitted.
Magnus Johnson Sees “A Danger”
Senator-elect Magnus Johnson of Minnesota told newspaper reporters that “we are in danger of a revolution in this country’” but when asked what specific remedy he had to suggest he replied that right now he has nothing worked out. “It will have to be worked out by Congress.”
And there you have it.
Ku Klux Klan
Public addresses will be made by noted speakers at Hinton on August 31. All neighboring Klansmen are cordially invited to attend and take part. Bring your regalia. All candidates for initiation be at the Opera House not later than 6 p.m.
1948 – 75 Years Ago
Runaway Truck Spills Coal
Austin Stewart of Covington, VA, lost several tons of coal when his truck went out of control on Caldwell Hill, Route 60, sped along on two wheels for 92 measured feet, overturned and skidded on its side for another 194 feet. State Police Sgt. S. C. Ballard said neither the driver nor the soldier hitchhiker riding in the cab was injured but the coal was strewn along the highway though spread by a road maintenance crew.
White Sulphur Springs
This resort, in its 170th summer, has reverted easily and naturally to its pre-war popularity as a summer playground for Southern families. In spite of having been in wartime service for six years, the affection in which it has been held these many years throughout the south was quickly revived when the Greenbrier reopened this year. Today, families from Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas, Missouri and many other states south of the Mason and Dixon line have come “home.”
Married Men Are Exempted From Draft
Setting the peacetime draft in motion, President Truman announced a set of regulations, listing exemptions and ordering that induction machinery be speeded up. Married men, farmers and all with dependents are deferred from the draft, along with many other of certain classifications. There will be no lottery as in the last war.
1973 – 50 Years Ago
Nixon Won’t Obey Ruling
The White House has raised the possibility that President Nixon might ignore, rather than appeal, a federal court order to make the Watergate tapes available to the court. Presidential aides said Nixon “will not comply with the order” by U.S. Judge John J. Sirica to make the tape recordings available to him for a decision on their use by a grand jury.
Benedict Honored As “Top” Farmer
The Greenbrier Valley Soil Conservation District announced that Cleveland (Cleve) K. Benedict, owner and operator of the “Ben Buck” Farm, has been named District Conservation Farmer for 1973. The farm is made up of 77 acres of cropland, 38 acres of hay land, 310 acres of pasture, 243 acres of woodland and 24 acres of other.
Test Tube Conception
Doctors at Queen Victoria Hospital successfully achieved human conception in a test tube. A spokesman said the fertilized egg, which was later implanted in a woman’s womb, survived for nine days before it aborted.
1998 – 25 Years Ago
Basket Making Demonstrated For Blue Sulphur EHC
The Blue Sulphur Extension Homemakers held their July picnic/tour at the home of Mrs. Litz Jarvis (left) in Williamsburg. Marguerite St. Clair (right) was the coordinator and co-hostess. Following the delicious lunch, Mrs. Jarvis, an elementary teacher and basket maker, displayed her baskets and told about their construction. (See attached photo)
Former Clinic Administrator Sentenced For Grand Larceny
A former employee of The Greenbrier Clinic was sentenced to serve four months in the Southern Regional Jail near Beckley after Judge James J. Rowe suspended a one-to-ten year sentence in the state penitentiary. James G. Ward, former administrator of the clinic, had previously been charged with embezzlement, but under an agreement with the state, he pled guilty to grand larceny, and the original charge filed against him was dismissed. According to the felony information contained in Ward’s court file, he took “at least $175,000 from the clinic between May 1991 and September 1996.
GEHS Grads On College Soccer Squad
Two Greenbrier East High School graduates will compete on the Marietta College soccer team this fall, according to Coach Patrick Holguin. Thomas Bohrnstedt of Lewisburg, a 5’11” forward/midfielder, is a junior this year. Walker Taylor, a 6’ midfielder, has just joined the team as a freshman. Taylor is also from Lewisburg.
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