DISCLAIMER: The stories in Echoes of the Past are printed in their original form, typos and all.
1923 – 100 Years Ago
A Woman’s Prison
Congressman T. J. Lilly of Hinton announces that he is endeavoring to have located near Hinton or along the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad somewhere, a Federal woman’s prison, which is to cost about three and half million dollars. Mr. Lilly says there are about three thousand women under sentence to Federal prisons, and more than half of them are out on parole because of lack of prison facilities. He is taking the matter up with Senator Elkins.
Martial Law In Oklahoma
Martial law for the entire state of Oklahoma was proclaimed by Governor J. C. Walton. Calling the full force of the approximately 6,000 troops in the Oklahoma National Guard to his command, the Governor climaxed his spectacular fight against the Ku Klux Klan be declaring that any persons who aid the organization in carrying out its “purposes” the enemies of the sovereign state of Oklahoma and shall be dealt with by the military forces.
Leslie News
The well-equipped store building is being well-stocked. Mrs. Coberly, who recently moved here from Rainelle, will have charge of the ladies’ department. The new club house containing thirty or more rooms will soon be opened. Work at the mines is plentiful. Revs. Trout and Stanley have been conducting a tent meeting. Much good has been done and several souls saved. “Smiling Dick” Hayes will have a jolly bunch of boys and girls on the motor this year, going to and from Rainelle High School.
1948 – 75 Years Ago
Chamber And National Guard Working For Lights
The Ronceverte Chamber of Commerce and Company “H,” local National Guard unit, have worked out a plan for putting football and baseball lights on the Island Park field in time for the two big home games left with Lewisburg and White Sulphur Springs the latter part of October.
107 Polio Cases Reported
The number of polio cases in West Virginia rose to 107 last week with the reporting of 28 new instances of the disease. The report showed seven from Greenbrier County.
Recital By Virtuoso
Albert Brusilov, native born violin virtuoso, will be the featured soloist in the second of the Greenbrier’s series of fall recitals at White Sulphur Springs September 26. Mr. Brusilov made his formal solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 1947 and won immediate acclaim from music critics. The recital is open to guests of the resort as well as to readers of this newspaper.
Steel Arrives
A carload of steel for Liggett’s Department Store on Main Street in Lewisburg arrived on the site this week.
1973 – 50 Years Ago
Billie Jean King Stops Bobby Riggs
Billie Jean King chopped Bobby Riggs into little pieces and added the crusher. Maybe the effort wasn’t ladylike but it was workmanlike and Billie Jean’s straight set 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory proved conclusively that a 29-year-old woman should never have been rated a 5-2 underdog to a 55-year-old man.
Real-Life Drama Unfolds At Airport
A plane contacted the Greenbrier Valley Airport to report that it was lost and almost out of fuel. Fog covered most of the airport, but the pilot of the lost plane reported that he could see something that looked like a race track below. Further description of the area indicated the plane was not over the State Fair Grounds, but over Kathy’s Farm about five miles north of the airport. Two pilots from Greenbrier Valley Aviation, Inc., Don Hill and Parris Franz, took off from the airport and went up to find the lost plane. They spotted it at 9,500 feet, establishing radio and visual contact. The distressed planed was guided safely to the airport. It has less than one-half gallon of gas left when it landed.
Willie Mays Retires
Sing no sad songs for Willie Mays. He won’t be back next year but he has left so many lovely memories behind him. “The hardest part will be coming to spring training next year, knowing I’m not going to play,” Mays said. He left behind a record that few men in the history of the game have touched – 660 homers, 3,283 hits and a lifetime average of .302. Mere statistics, of course, can never reflect what Willie Mays meant to baseball. It was his flair in the field and on the bases that made him a legend in his own time.
1998 – 25 Years Ago
Jack Tuckwiller Receives Sam Walton Business Leader Award
Greater Greenbrier Chamber of Commerce President Marlene Pierson announced that Jack Tuckwiller, manager of Martin and Jones, has been awarded the 1998 Sam Walton Business Leader Award. The award is sponsored by Wal-Mart and recognizes a community business leader who exemplifies Walton’s three main principles: service to the community, respect for employees and dedication to customer service.
Watercolor Paintings On Exhibit At Cooper Gallery
Lewisburg native Edith (Twinkle) Montgomery Arbaugh will be exhibiting at Cooper Gallery a series of watercolor paintings which were composed by setting small silver vessels known as Jefferson cups upon pages of art history books. Intrigued by the layers of representation in the paintings, her daughter wrote poems for each of the paintings. Arbaugh lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, and maintains a studio in the McGuffey Art Center. She taught in Virginia public schools for 34 years. She is a graduate of Greenbrier College and the University of Virginia.
Hospital Acquisition Plan Clears Regulatory Hurdle
The West Virginia Health Care Authority has issued a certificate of need to CN Holding Company, Inc. of Ronceverte for the acquisition of Greenbrier Valley Medical Facility. The capital expenditure associated with the project is $14,675,000.
