As Promised – Good News from WVa
ByRoad Trip with MiMaw
At the wheel for a 300 mile trip!
There was no room at the lodge in North Bend, so we found a rustic old mansion in Harrisville, turned into an magical, ornate inn. We were very comfortable in these spacious rooms (apartments, really).
This was the trailer my Dad put on the Bell Holler. My parents vacationed here a lot of summers whenever they got tired of the city.
The Bell House, similar to the leaning tower at Pisa has a slight tilt to it.
Otterslide, birthplace of my dad. We found this sign posted at the mouth of the Garey Holler. (my great-grandparents lived here for 50 plus years.)
Collision of childhood memories and today’s reality. Things just did not seem the same.
This was my great grandfather’s house. John Garey, born in 1880, never saw a TV until he was in his 80′s. Dancing girls on the Ed Sullivan show in one piece bathing suits was a little too edgy for him. I spent a lot of childhood summers up this holler away from the city and TV.
The old outhouse still stands. No longer in use.
Tin roof, piped in natural gas from the property, well on the side of the house. No running water. My great grand parents grew their own food here for over 50 years and enjoyed quiet living. Both of them lived well into their 90′s.
Mom enjoys a conversation with a long time family friend. This is high atop the Job’s spread. (it’s a high mountain pasture.) It takes a 4 wheel drive to reach this place.
Getting the bird eye view of the Job’s.
When you spend time in nature, it’s only natural to “lift up your hands unto the hills”
Having fun striking a yoga pose for a eager photographer with a new camera!
Bird Watcher – Oh I think I see something!
A beautiful specimen!
We visited our departed and paid our respects.
West Virginia has an abundance of natural beauty, scenic vistas, and holds loads of memories for our family.
Sometimes it’s good to get away from everything and visit with the past. We are who we are because of those who went before us and we stand of the shoulders of our ancestors.
We felt like we visited another era. Mom was happy and we accomplished several purposes.
Thanks for taking the time to visit with me and my family and friends.
Garey
20 Comments
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:10 pm
This was such a treat to see these places you visited with your Mom. It reminded all the camping and mountain hiking I did in Al, TN, MS and the Carolinas.
Thanks for sharing,
Beth
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Garey, thanks for sharing!Great pictures.
We forget that places like this still exist – thank God!
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Very nice to see the old values cherished, and remember …..
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Gary, we absolutely loved your pictures of your visit home. We spend a lot of time in VA but only once meandered down the WVA mountains to the New River Gorge. It was fabulous. Thanks for sharing. We are now full timing in a 38 foot motorhome. I included our trip journal. Feel free to bookmark us and follow along.
Thanks again for sharing your photos.
Barry & Mary
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:28 pm
God’s blessings are often taken for granted. I’m glad you got to go back and enjoy his peace and the beauty of his handiwork. Thank you for sharing.
Regards,
C.D.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Hi Garey,
What great photos and memories. I’m going to Chicago this weekend for my mom’s 85th. Grew their own food? I doubt that we could do as well. Looks like a great trip. Your mom looks like she is doing well. I hope I still as good at that age! Take care.
Marc
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Garey, Thanks for the visit. My husband spent his summers in W.Va. at his aunt & Uncles large farm . They also piped in natural gas, grew most of their food ,made butter ,etc.and had cows,lambs,horses ,
pigs ,goats and of course chickens. It was so peaceful to go visit there which I did when we married. They lived between Weston and Camdon near Allen Bridge.The nights were beautiful — millions & millions of stars. Glad you and your Mom had a great visit. More people need to visit their past. Does any one live in your great grand parents house ? I see fresh cut wood .
Thanks again,
Brenda
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Thanks for sharing something personal that brings all of us a little closer together. Thanks for making a difference for the good in this world!–Mark
June 3rd, 2009 at 12:03 am
That place looks almost like the home I grew up in.
I’m 72. We had no electricity or indoor plumbing.
Looks like the same outhouse-I hated it. Lots of Black Widows and
mice.
We did our home work by kerosine lamps or white gas lamps.
We did have a battery operated radio. All three of us kids fought
to stick our ears up to the very weak speaker.
All of this was in a place called Pope Valley, California.
We loved that place, snakes,spiders,wasps and all the beautiful
animals.
My father finally sold the small ranch and we moved to Vallejo, Ca.
Big city to us. We could not stop crying.
Oh well, I guess we all have to grow up someday.
I will never forget wandering through the star-thistel with my
22 single shot rifle. Or laying, flat on my back on top of some mountain for hours.
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:03 am
Brenda, Much to my dismay my Dad sold the old Garey holler to another family from Parkersburg back in the 70s after my Great Grand Parents moved down to Maryland so they would have medical facilities in their 80s. The house is used as a hunting lodge and not lived in year round. Looks like there is indoor plumbing now too. The new owners also graded the dirt roads. So improvements have been made. I am searching for old photos of the place when I was young. I want to compare!
June 3rd, 2009 at 1:37 am
Garey
Enjoyed the pictures, keep up the good work!
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:01 am
Garey thanks for sharing this with me, i really enjoyed having the chance of looking into your world. It reminded me of family trips i have taken with my family it made me take notice of how lucky i am in my life!
June 3rd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Thanks for sharing your trip back home to West Virginia. I really miss the hollers and the view yes I can’t help but to agreed on lifting your hands up to the hills.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Hi Garey,
Thanks for the photos of WV.My father is from there and my daughter graduated from WVU last year.My son is at Shepherd U now. Would you like to run in the Arbutus Firecracker 10 K July 4?I have not run it in two years but might this year . Thanks for your great products.
Grant menefee
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Garey, what wonderful memories! Thanks for sharing them. My brother moved from Maryland to Belington, WV (not a huge, bustling town) but now says he can no longer stop his truck on the road and talk to a neighbor like he could when he moved there over 20 years ago. To quote him, “It’s becoming a zoo.” Oh, for the simpler life.
June 4th, 2009 at 2:21 am
Thank you, I needed that.
June 4th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Hello Grant, I went to Shepherd College back in the 70s. Will check with Judy about the 10K. Good goal.
June 4th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
I’m happy I didn’t delete this one. Nice that you spent that time with your mom.
June 5th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I attended Davis & Elkins college in Elkins, W.Va. from 1965 to 1969. These pictures bring back memories of the rugged and remote areas of the state. I’ve often said that if one were to flatten out W.Va., it would be the largest state. You are constantly going up and down hills. Despite many snowstorms, the roads were always cleared and well maintained – can’t recall many potholes. Researched both the Flatwoods alien encounter and the Mothman as part of a term paper – there are some strange things in those mountains.
June 19th, 2009 at 12:52 am
Love those photos from W.V. During the 70′s I had a friend who owned an old farm in Gassaway W.V. We would go to visit him and fantasize about moving there and living off the land. Obviously we were young and naive about how much work that would have been! It fit so well with our interest in health foods and nutrition. I was reading Adele Davis and Diet for a Small Planet at the time!
W.V. is so beautiful and those photos sure brought back some memories for me. Thanks Garey!