Mothman Hunting!

We had to go. I'd taken three other granddaughters to Point Pleasant, WV to visit the site of one of the most bizarre paranormal sightings in America. Haley and Hannah have seen the movie, and they wanted to see the place it happened.
So today we loaded up and made the trip. First stop, the new Mothman Museum in the heart of town. For a mere $10, all four of us got into the museum to view the various artifacts and documents. Many of them were from the movie; there were a lot of handmade replicas of the creature that supposedly haunted the town in the late 1960's, and copies of news articles, handwritten police reports of sightings, and videos made by various companies of the phenomena.

Who or what is Mothman? That has never been satisfactorily explained. Those who saw the creature reported a large, birdman with wings and red eyes. Some reported feathers, others muscular human-like legs. Most agree that it/he was over 7 feet tall. A few said the eyes were mesmerizing. Some people suffered burns to their skin and around their eyes after seeing the creature. During the time of the sightings, there were multiple reports of UFOs in the area, and mysterious "men in black" who roamed the town and apparently made vague threats to those who persisted in investigating the events.

The replica statue was made

about 5 years ago, and soon after the town began hosting an annual Mothman Festival in September.

Hannah and Haley enjoyed having their photos taken with him. The statue is striking, made of polished metal with amber eyes that seem to look right at you.

Many sightings occurred in the old "TNT Area" where the US government manufactured munitions during WWII. The old bunkers used to store the explosives still stand, although they are now locked--but when I was there two years ago, we went inside one and found many empty, square cans.

We found the bunker or "igloo" area and walked back to look at them. It was a bright sunny day, and they seemed tame after reading all the hype. Last time I was there it was rainy and overcast, will fog and mist rising from the ground and it was easy to imagine some strange creature inhabiting the area.

Today the area is mostly contained within the McClintic Wildlife Management Area. There are many ponds and other water habitat, and many test wells in the area. What are they testing for? Is the area still contaminated from the munitions, or something else? According to the report the area is clear of contaminants, but I don't think I'd trust that.

But not now. We were the anomaly in that wild, overgrown area today. The story will live on, of course, and be added to by new tellers of the tale, and that's how it should be. The facts are recorded in history. Whether Mothman existed then or now, none can say with certainty. Whether his coming predicted the collapse of the Silver Bridge in November 1967, we will not know. What we have are conflicting reports and opinions, and a legend that lives on, 40 years later.

Books about Mothman and The Silver Bridge:
Coleman, L. Mothman and Other Curious Encounters. (2002). ISBN 978-1931044349

Colvin, Andrew "The Mothman's Photographer: The Work of an Artist Touched by the Prophecies of the Infamous Mothman" (2007). ISBN 978-1419652653

Keel, John A. "The Mothman Prophecies" (2007). ISBN 0-7653-4197-2
Wamsley, Jeff "Mothman: Behind the Red Eyes" (2005) ISBN 978-0976436805

Wamsley, Jeff & Sergent, Donnie "Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend" (2001) ISBN 978-0966724677

Unexplained! by Jerome Clark (1999)

The Silver Bridge by Gray Barker (1970)

Mysterious America by Loren Coleman (1983 / 2000)

Mothman! The Festival

(Photos are from the Mothman Lives! website--I'm still without internet so can't load my photos yet.)

What a blast! Most festivals in the mountains focus on arts, music and crafts.

The Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant, West Virginia has a different twist--and I do mean different.

Picture strange creatures, many in black, roaming the streets. Talks on the normality or the paranormal by scholarly sounding people.

Mothman pancakes (I had Fruity Mothman).

Mothman for President t-shirts.

Rock bands. Goth art.

Psychic readings and workshops.

Haunted House. Tours of the TNT Area, supposedly the sighting place of the legendary Mothman in 1962. T

hat will give you some idea of the Mothman Festival.

The creator of the mothman sculpture and his daughter. Replicas of the statue, cast in pewter, are being planned. If you'd like a Mothman at your house, contact:

Kelly Miller

PO Box 884

New Haven, WV 25265

304-882-3845

Batmobile?

Sculptures of Chief Cornstalk and someone I can't remember, in front of the huge mural being created along the floodwall in Point Pleasant. The Curse of Cornstalk is said to hang over this small town.

Looking toward the site of the famed Silver Bridge, which collapsed in 1967, killing 46 people.

Some blamed it on the curse laid on the area by Cornstalk.

This year's festival is over, but mark the weekend of September 19-20 on your calendar for next year for the next festival. It'll be the best fun you've had in a while!

Ups and Downs and All Arounds

Goodness, it's been a strange week.

Saturday we took granddaughter Haley to Charleston so she could participate in the annual Capital City Challenge, the Charleston triathlon (bike, run, kayak). It was a beautiful day for the event and this year there were twice as many entrants as last year. Haley, however, was the youngest by far--no one else in the race was under 19 years old. So she won first place in her class, of course--but better than that, she improved her time from last year by about 30 minutes. So she was very happy about that. I have to admit to getting granny jitters to think of her out on the Great Kanawha River all alone in her kayak, but she did superbly. Why do I worry?

After the race I drove to Sutton in cerntral West Virginia to attend a meeting for a new project for West Virginia Writers. I had time to kill so of course I used it wisely--browsing in junk shops :) I got lucky, too, finding a Fenton glass bear for a dollar, lovely table linens, some dishes made in Paden City, West Virginia, and many other pieces of vintage glass. Most of these items will eventually be listed on my eBay auctions.

eBay has become a good little sideline over the past two months. I'm not making a fortune, but I am meeting my goal of paying for my phone, cell and satellite internet costs with some $$ left over. I'm learning a lot too as I research various glassware, learn what sells and what won't (hobnail milk glass-no one seems to want it. Aprons? everyone wants them!). I'm also still selling books on Amazon and while not as lucrative as eBay it is a lot easier to sell books, and so much easier to pack them. It's not the income producer that eBay is, however. Still, every little trickle of money is helpful. If you want to look at what's listed right now, check my sidebar link. My inventory is down a little because I can't list items until the computer is working again (insert frustrated sigh).

Sunday morning was devoted to reviewing stories for the Mothman Festival that afternoon. I had my set list but there were two new ones I wanted to tell and I needed to be sure I had them down well enough for performance. We drove to Point Pleasant that afternoon and enjoyed the sight of people dressed as Men in Black and Mothman after the storytelling. I was in the State Theater for the performance and was very pleased with the audience. Since this gig was finalized only a week before, it had little publicity but there weer 50 attentive people there to listen.

Mothman, some of you might know, was an apparition that scared many people in the Point Pleasant area in the 1960's. Described as a large, gray creature with red eyes and large wings, the creature was said to be able to fly 60 mph. Many people credited Mothman with some of the disasters and troubles that have occurred since the sighting, like the collapse of the Silver Bridge over the Ohio River. Many theories have been advanced as to what Mothman actually was, and there is a whole museum dedicated to the story in Point Pleasant.

My computer modem quit working Sunday morning, so that's been an interesting wrinkle in my usual routime. Since I place many listings to end on the weekends, it meant I had no way to verify and ship my orders. I worked on it for a while and concluded there was no hope, so Monday I called Hughesnet and ordered a new one. The tech on the phone offered a free replacement! How cool is that! So I sprung for expedited shipping and hope the thing will arrive today or tomrrow.

Without the computer, there was only one thing to do--use my new smartphone to look up what sold, pack and weigh the items, then head to the library to print shipping and labels. That's what I did. It was cumbersome and took more time than I wanted to spend, but the packages got shipped.

On the return trip home, we stopped to talk with a neighbor who is getting ready to build a new house. Larry has some block laying in his future, I think. While we were talking he asked us if we wanted the little log building on the property. You know what my answer was! So we have another project to work on over the winter.

(The log room we are currently working on is moving slowly ahead--the footer is ready and the block for the foundation will arrive this week. We plan to get the subfloor in place and the logs stacked before winter, but the way things are going we might not get that far before the ground gets too muddy to work.)

My cell phone rang as we were discussing the log building with our neighbor--it was the delivery truck with the gas refrigerator we've been waiting for. He had it ready to deliver--on a tractor trailer! Now if you've been reading my blog for a while you know there is no way a tractor trailer can get to my house, and really should not even try to get up Joe's Run. So Larry and the neighbor went out to meet the truck and brought the fridge home at last. I am not happy at all with Lehman's Hardware about this shipping service. We paid for delivery to our house, but it turned out to be a total hassle. word to the wise if you ever buy an appliance from them--they seem to be clueless about how to arrange a suitable delivery to a place in the country.

We finally settled down to dinner and then decided to watch a movie--a rare thing for me since I am usually busy with computer work in the evenings. Just as we got settled someone knocked on the door. Visitors! We spent the evening talking with them. It was a nice way to end the day.

Sometime in the night the electricity went off. I woke to a pitch black room. Expecting it to be back on shortly, I snuggled under the quilts to sleep some more. We woke at 8 am, late for us but it was dark and gloomy outside and there was still no electricity. I got up and called the power company--the power would not be back on until 2pm. That kind of messed up our plans to put in the new fridge, so we decided to take care of some business in town, mail more eBay packages and so forth. So that's where I am now, at the library printing labels, catching up on email and writing this blog.

This is only Tuesday. I wonder what other surprises we'll have this week. 

Weekend: Critters Soft and Strange, and Good Music

Saturday! Some days are just made for fun and this was one. We started with breakfast at our favorite place, some rummaging at Goodwill, and a petting zoo with all sorts of exotic creatures-

Wallabys, pygmy goats, Japanese silkie chickens (I think that's what they are), huge tortoises, alpacas, potbelly pigs, miniature ponies, and more.

Anastasia, animal lover that she is, had a blast and it wasn't long before she was in the pen too--as were we all. This was an event at a local feedstore. We stopped for chicken feed (really) and found this by accident.

In the afternoon, we decided to introduce Anastasia to one of West Virginia's most famous legends, Mothman. Point Pleasant houses the museum, the statue, and the quirky legend.

Of course, it could be true....

The statue is a steel sculpture and has a place of honor in the center of town. There were many people besides us roaming around, a good sign for a small town that has struggled with economic hardship since the collapse of the Silver Bridge about 40 years ago. Today the town offers a lovely riverwalk with original murals that tell the town's history, a riverfront outdoor amphitheatre, the Mothman museum and a river museum, A state park that commemorates the Battle of Point Pleasant and the town's long history, the historic Lowe Hotel which is reportedly haunted, Mothman memorabilia, tours of the area where the creature was sighted, and several very good restaurants. It has become a destination for paranormal enthusiasts, history buffs, those interested in the river and people like us who enjoy it all.

A gift shop that sells a lot of tourist memorabilia (including Mothman Poop which of course I bought!) had these cutouts out front. Larry can never resist an opportunity to ham it up. I don't think he'd make a very good Shawnee warrior, though.

Or a very scary Mothman either.

We walked down to the river for some photos. The water reflected the clear blue of the sky and the sun offered a golden glow as the afternoon faded. Tom and Anastasia add to the scenery, I think.

We got home by dark, ate a bite and then drove to Charleston for the evening's Footmad concert with the Claire Lynch Band. The talent shared by thee four musicians is impressive.

We foot-stomped, clapped, laughed, and even shed a few tears, and left highly entertained and the owners of a couple CDs.

It was a good end to a long day. Today was sleep-in day, late breakfast and generally lazing about. Now it's time to get to the garden where I meant to go earlier today. All play this weekend, it seems!

Claire Lynch and me, at intermission.

Yard Sale, Sci-Fi, and a Hot Date

48 this morning, clear and very crisp. Another perfect Fall day.

I was out early this morning, hitting the road about 7:30 to get to a friend's big yard sale. So up, take care of critters, make a mug of tea to go...and I forgot my phone. So no photos, sadly.

It was odd to be out without my phone. I guess that's the first time I have done that in years. I kept thinking, I'll call so-and-so, or I'll check on this or that...and no phone. I got used to it after a couple hours though.

I stopped to pick up more mums and some bags of mulch so with the yard sale buys, the totes from yesterday and mulch and mums, my van was pretty full. We never have the back seats in, except when we might have someone traveling with us, and it's a good thing.  I love the flexibility a van offers.

I came home to get my plants in, so some weeding, did a second coat of paint on a table, cleaned house, put out more Fall and Halloween decorations, then it was time to do the critters again and get the waterer turned on. We are supposed to have a little rain tonight or tomorrow, but it will be nowhere near enough.

I had considered going to the Mothman Festival, but the day was just too pretty to spend in crowds. I wanted to be home. The festival is fun, though. The photo below was from the 2007 festival, granddaughter Hannah playing around with the Mothman sculpture.  (How odd to think she is now the mother of 2!)

I have attended several times, once as a storyteller, and always enjoyed the zany freedom of this festival-- people dressed as Men in Black, Ghostbusters, all sorts of sci-fi or mythical creatures. You can even get Mothman pancakes! If you have not heard of our Mothman, here is a link to the story, and here is a link to one of my posts about the festival. Expected attendance this year is likely to far surpass other years as this festival is drawing a national audience these days. By the way, there is a movie too, starring Richard Gere, called The Mothman Prophesies. I think it came out around 2000. Have you seen it? Not quite true to details, but a good movie anyway.

Yesterday I stocked our booths, came home to take care of the animals and change my clothes, then went out on a hot date...with my son Derek. It was really nice, just the two of us, which rarely happens. 

Do you have Halloween decorations out yet? It is too early for me, but Larry got some out with the Fall stuff, so I went ahead and did them. I have noticed a lot of people doing the same. And at the store this morning, they were putting Christmas things on the shelves. It's what, 100 days until Christmas? Way too early to think about!

All for tonight. My friend Tamara came over as I was writing this post, and we had a nice long visit. Now I am ready for sleep. Sweet dreams!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

A New Political Party Comes to WV

News Release:


McCain Criticized for Stealing Attention from Small-party Candidates
August 29th


Only one day after the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention, the media has accused John McCain of not only stealing fellow- presidential-candidate Barack Obama’s thunder, but also of snatching the spotlight from yet another first in this political campaign: the first ever Monster Party ticket.



Today, Mothman, the Monster Party presidential nominee, announced his choice of running mate–an event which was sadly neglected by the media, owing to the excitement over McCain’s announcement this afternoon.


Candidate Mothman, of Point Pleasant, Mason County




In a stunning move, Mothman bypassed such hopefuls as Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, and Hillary Clinton, and surprised his party by selecting a running mate from his own state of West Virginia: the Braxton County Monster.



Although this decision does not fall on the anniversary of any historic occasion relevant to the candidates, both Mothman and the Braxton County Monster assured reporters that they are confident the Monster Party ticket itself should draw in plenty of attention from voters.

Braxton County Monster, courtesy of www.wvculture.org

8/29/08 Source: B.I.A.S. Media



Many thanks to my friend Rachel Maynard for allowing me to post her hilarious email message. Rachel's poetry is stunning; obviously she has a quirky sense of humor as well!

Computer Blues, Mothman, and Weekend Plans

As in the blue screen of death. Again. My computer crashed last night for no reason I know of, just another fun adventure with Microsoft and Vista. I hope. I hope it's not some nasty virus thingy that will require a trip to the computer doctor. I know one tihng for sure: I will probably be spending my quality at-home time this evening on the phone with India. Sigh.

Update: Computer seems to be fixed without benefit of India. Yay!
We have a busy time planned this weekend anyway so there may be little time for blogging. Lots of family are coming in to help take down the old cabin, we'll be making more cider and there is that Mothman Festival going on in Point Pleasant.

Hannah in 2007 when we went Mothman hunting

Even though the TNT Area is now off limits due to one of the old munitions bunkers exploding last spring (yes, it really did--read about it here),

One of the bunkers, back in 2007 when we could still explore there. What does the sign say?

Oh yeah, right. No one knew there really were explosives being stored there.

there is still a lot to see and do during the festival including live musc, hayrides, speakers on paranormal topics and more.

Update: Well, some family coming. Others could not make it. But we're forging ahead anyway.
So I'll be back as soon as I can with photos from what we got into over the weekend, and in the meantime, check out some of the new links in my sidebar to some blogs I think you'll enjoy. I love geting to know other bloggers, and these new ones are some interesting folks.

Update: maybe tomorrow night or Sunday I'll be able to post photos!

Good-bye Summer!

65 this morning, Foggy early but clearing off slowly. High of 93 yesterday, humid and yucky.

Happy first day of Fall!

I am absolutely thrilled to see the back end of Miss Summer, as she drags her tattered, dusty skirts out of here. Today will be another scorcher, as she apparently isn't giving up without a fight, but then we cool down, thank the gods. 

We have had some busy days lately, so I am behind on my blog and on blog-reading. Today I will have to catch up. 

Larry had an appointment with the VA on Wednesday, and I was worn out from my full day at the docs on Tuesday, so I stayed home and had most of the day at home alone. I admit, it was rather nice! I stayed busy with cleaning, and made a batch of cherry jelly, as I had accidentally opened a jar of cherry juice, thinking it was grape. I guess I made the cherry juice last year, but have no memory of it. We date the tops of our jars, which helps a lot when I am clueless. The jelly turned out beautifully,  and such a pretty color. I did a little Halloween decorating, too. Early for me, but I want to get it done before I'm laid up.

The VA determined that in addition to COPD, Larry has a blocked artery, so he will be seeing a cardiologist in a few weeks about that. His lungs sound better thanks to some new meds, although there is some damage from his years of smoking and working in masonry. At least we know now what's going on with him. He is still a working machine, and it will be my job to keep him slowed down a bit.

We stocked our booths Friday and yesterday, catching up on missing last week. Then we went junking, as we call it. I was happy to find this handmade crocheted bedspread for $15. 

Think of the work that took! There is a label giving the maker's name, and dated 1960. Of course I Googled her; apparently she was a foster child, never married but kept in close contact with her foster families. So her things must have eventually been put into an estate sale, which is how the dealer ended up with the bedspread.

Yesterday was a good day for a drive, really too hot to do anything else. We drove up along the Ohio River,  passing through the small community of Belleville,  which was having its annual homecoming. Do they have these where you live? There had been a parade earlier, along with a car show, horse show, lots of vendors, etc. There were crowds of people, nice to see for such a small place.

It was also Mothman Festival weekend, but that was in the opposite direction, downriver.  That festival has become huge, with tens of thousands of visitors. Not my kind of scene, but again, I am thrilled for Point Pleasant as the town benefits greatly from this festival. If you are wondering what the heck it's all about, here's a link to one of my older blogs about Mothman.  The movie with Richard Gere, called The Mothman Prophesies, is a good show, although it is a highly fictionalized account of the whole affair.

I wasn't in a picture-taking mood yesterday, but did snap these along our road. Such pretty color!

One maple, showing off.

Our two pups took a wander yesterday morning so Larry had to go fetch them home, again. Buddy's perimeter collar battery had died, so that was why they were able to chase a skunk, apparently! Larry gave them a bath, and they smell much better. Silly dogs. Good thing we love them.

I stayed up on the deck, away from the fray and the spray!

The third Maisie Dobbs book is about mysteries surrounding 2 men lost in WWI, with a side story about a very young girl accused of murder, and I am enjoying it very much. It is as good as the first book of the series, completely engaging. Book 2 was okay, but not nearly as engrossing. The author, Jacqueline Winspear, is a fine writer, lots of historical research evident, along with intriguing tidbits about life in 1930 England that  I find fascinating.  If you enjoy historical mysteries, you may enjoy these books.

 

That's about all the news, I guess. I'll end with these three new words I ran across this week:

Scansion 

Prosody 

Anaglypta 

Do you know what they mean? The first was a word in one of the New York Times puzzles this week.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

River Towns: Point Pleasant, Ohio

The West Virginia town of Point Pleasant has its famous personage in the form of an extra-terrestrial: Mothman, a legend made even more famous by the Richard Gere movie, The Mothman Prophesies, in 2002. But did you know there is another Point Pleasant downriver on the Ohio?

The Ohio community of Point Pleasant was established in 1813, one of many river towns that sprang up after the invention of steamboats made travel into the frontier easier and a little safer. In 1817, a small cabin was built in the community that would become home to Point Pleasant's most famous resident.

Jesse Grant moved to the growing community in 1820 and found work at a local tannery. A year later he married Hannah Simpson Grant and the two set up housekeeping. They bought the cabin, which was located near the riverbank, for $2. The following year, on April 27, 1822, the couple welcomed their first son. To name the child, a drawing was held at a family gathering a few weeks later, and the name Ulysses was chosen. However, Jesse Grant wanted to honor his father-in-law Hiram Simpson, so the child was named Hiram Ulysses Grant.

One year later the family moved to Georgetown, Ohio. Jesse had saved enough money to establish his own tannery and the family moved into a small, comfortable brick house.When a younger man, Jesse became friends with John Brown, the famous abolitionist, who was staying with the same family where Jesse was apprenticing. This, and his own father's anti-slavery views, formed the basis of Jesse Grant's lifelong opposition to slavery, which he passed on to his oldest son. When he was old enough, Hiram Ulysses attended a school run by another well-known abolitionist who lived nearby, John Rankin.

Some scenes from the homeplace:

Grant only lived in Point Pleasant for one year, and likely had no memory of the place, but the homeplace was preserved, luckily. It was moved away from its original location at the mouth of Big Indian Creek to avoid flooding, and was restored and furnished with period furnishings. It is now open for tours, along with the Grant Memorial Chapel and other buildings on the site.

There is, of course, a ghost that is reported to inhabit the cabin, although it seems to be a fairly benign spirit in that it only turns the spinning wheel from time to time. Certain to disconcert visitors, but harmless, I'd say.

In researching for this post, I found the life of U.S. Grant's father almost more interesting than that of his famous son. He was the epitome of the self-made man, owning properties in several states by the time of his death. You can read more about Jesse Root Grant here.

As you may know, the name Ulysses S. Grant was an error on his application to West Point, which was submitted by Ohio Congressman Thomas Hamer. Grant just adopted the name, and the rest is history.

To read more about West Virginia's Point Pleasant and Mothman, check out my past blogs on these topics.


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

River Towns: Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Point Pleasant, West Virginia is one of my favorite West Virginia towns. It's not far from where I live, and its location, slow pace, and friendly people make it a great place to visit. There is plenty to see and do in Point Pleasant: the mural painted floodwall and bordering walking path, the haunted Lowe Hotel, the Mason Jar Antique Mall, the Mothman Museum and the River Museum, Fort Randolph, Tu-Endi-Wei State Park, lovely old homes, and of course the Ohio River. The town has a long history: Indian wars, floods, and a tragic bridge collapse intertwine with folklore and legends to create a unique and fascinating story.

The area was first claimed in 1749 by the French explorer Pierre Joseph Celeron de Blainville, who set a plaque on the riverbank declaring all the territory in the region for the King of France:

"In the year 1749, in the reign of King Louis XV, we, Celeron, commander of a detachment sent by Commander de La Galissonière, Commander General of New France, for the restoration of peace in various untamed villages in the region, have buried this plaque at the confluence of the Ohio and Tchadakoin [Rivers] (Kanawha River) this 29th day of July near the fine river bank, to commemorate the retaking into possession of the afore-mentioned river bank and all the surrounding lands on both river shores back to the river sources, as secured by previous kings of France, and maintained by force of arms and by treaties, specifically the Treaties of Rijswick, of Utrecht and of Aix la Chapelle."

A grand and sweeping statement, is it not? But the French lost their claim when the British defeated the French in the French and Indian War.  In 1770 George Washington explored the Ohio Valley for the British, and noted the abundance of game and the wide, fertile bottomland in his reports. He later received over 10,000 acres in the region for his war-time service.

One section of the mural wall

Fort Randolph was established at Point Pleasant as a safeguard against Indian attacks, which were numerous in the area. Ongoing and escalating hostilities between settlers and Indians led to Lord Dunmore's War in 1774 which was a successful effort to drive the Shawnee and Mingo back across the Ohio River. The deciding battle in this conflict occurred at Point Pleasant. (Both my family history and that of my husband say we had ancestors in the fighting.) The Indians were soundly defeated; afterward, one of the most powerful Shawnee leaders, Cornstalk, became an advocate for peace between whites and Indians. On a peace-keeping mission to Fort Randolph in 1777 Cornstalk was taken hostage by the commander of the fort. Cornstalk, his son and two other Indians were later murdered by soldiers seeking revenge for the death of a militiaman at the hands of the Shawnee. Cornstalk was buried at the Fort. His body has been moved at least three times, and is now in its hopefully permanent home at Tu-Endi-Wei State Park. The murder of Cornstalk and the other Indians enraged the Shawnee who began a series of murderous attacks against settlers along the river that last over 20 years.

Local legend claims that before his death, Cornstalk laid this curse on the area:

“I was the border man’s friend. Many times I have saved him and his people from harm. I never warred with you, but only to protect our wigwams and lands. I refused to join your paleface enemies with the red coats. I came to the fort as your friend and you murdered me. You have murdered by my side, my young son. For this, may the curse of the Great Spirit rest upon this land. May it be blighted by nature. May it even be blighted by its hopes. May the strength of its peoples be paralyzed by the stain of our blood.”

Historians question the veracity of this story, doubting that Cornstalk ever said these words, and I have to say it does seem unlikely. However it is true that Point Pleasant has seen its share of disasters over the years, from raging Ohio River floods, to fires, the terrible collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967,

and the strange sightings of a creature dubbed "Mothman". Click the link to read more about paranormal activity in the area, and click here to read my other blog posts  on this topic.

Stories of hauntings abound in this town; many people report seeing and hearing strange things at the historic Lowe Hotel, and the places where Mothman was sighted attract many visitors. Others believe that the spirit of Cornstalk also haunts the area because of the repeated disturbance of his remains.

Another intriguing story says that Samuel B. Clemens, grandfather of Samuel L. Clemens (better known as Mark Twain)  was a settler in Point Pleasant, and was killed in 1805 when a log fell from a cabin he was helping to build. I have not been able to verify this, and have found another claim that repeats the story of the falling log but says the elder Clemens was killed in Madison, Boone County, WV.

on the banks of the Ohio at Point Pleasant, WV

With its location at the junction of two powerful rivers and its faascinating history, it would seem that Point Pleasant would be a thriving city, but development never took off here, and it remains today a picturesque small town hugging the banks of the mighty Ohio.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Brand New

27°f/-2.8°C, cloudy and cold all day, high only reached 32.

Well, it was one of those that's good/that's bad days again.

My new washer and dryer were to arrive today. I ordered them online from Lowe's,  so much easier than store shopping,  and even got the Black Friday price, on Sunday.

I didn't want to unhook my old set until I was sure the new ones were coming. You know how scheduled deliveries are! And the weather was icky, still plenty of snow on the ground. But an email this morning said yep, the truck was on the way. 

So hustle, hustle to get the old set unhooked. Which wasn't easy, of course,  because such things never are, at least around here. As were we pushing and shoving the old dryer out the door, a lady with pink hair pulled up. "I'm looking for Susan Hallsten?" Well, close enough, and yes that was me. She handed me a package, something I had ordered from ebay but somehow arrived via Walmart home delivery. Weird. And sad that the lady had to drive all the way out here to deliver it.

We finally got the washer out, and immediately the phone rang. It was the Lowe's delivery guy, who could not bring his big truck down our driveway. No problem, right? Larry could just take the truck up, and the set could be loaded on our truck and brought down.

Except the truck had a very, very low tire. Larry dragged out the air compressor and pumped it up. But then the truck wouldn't start. Of course. 

Next step: unload the washer and dryer at the top of the driveway,  and call our son Derek. He could come over in a couple hours--he was helping the Hunting Heroes program with a shooting match for disabled vets. By the time he got here, Larry had got the truck going and had somehow loaded both washer and dryer alone and brought them to the house. That man of mine!

So Derek helped get them inside and hooked up and we all had fruitcake and coffee (he likes my fruitcakes!).  And of course we tested the washer and dryer before he left.

And that was pretty much today. This is my first brand new laundry set in 35 years, and it is not a fancy model, believe me, but it will do. We had good luck with used ones for years, but the newer used machines do not hold up. I doubt the new ones will hold up like the one I bought in 1991, either. But maybe I'll get 5 years out of them. Ya think? 

Anyway, it was a good day, just tiring. But a couple truck drivers around here had bad days recently.  We saw this building on the way home yesterday. Here's a link to the story.

Then there was this story.  So when I read these stories, our washer/dryer hassles were nothing at all, a wee flea bite of irritation.  I am just glad those truckers survived their very bad days.

Now there are some who may be blaming the truck wrecks on Mothman. After all, both occurred in his stomping grounds, and at the time of year he has been blamed for other disasters, like the collapse of the Silver Bridge. Of course, that all hooha...right? 

Here's hoping your day was calm, peaceful, and contained no problematic trucks, washers, or dryers, or visits from Mothman!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Of Signs and Markets and Zucchini and Such

69°f/29 5°C, overcast. Should be cooler today, with a high of about 82°. Thank goodness.

So a few random things to share today. First, we stopped for dinner last night at the local Mexican restaurant,  and saw this new sign painted on the wall:

I'm not sure who came up with that, but it made me laugh!

The restroom doors are pretty cool too:

Before dinner we stopped by the local farmers market.  I wanted to pick up some eggs, and to check out this interesting vendor---a mobile book store.

Her books are all by self-published authors, and a quick check of several convinced me not to buy them, but I did buy one by the owner of this unit. I'll post a review after I read it. I also let her know about the open mic, and will be able to connect her with authors who may want to have their books in her "shop".

Jessie was at the market with her wonderful baked goods. She has a farm stand on a very rural road and does very well with it. People actually drive out there for her goods. She also sells through various stores in town.

Our friend Annette was there too, so I was able to get my eggs. She had some nice blackberries but I resisted, hoping we will go berry-picking at a pick your own place this week.

Yesterday's project was zucchini pineapple. I was used up a half dozen overgrown zucchini, ending up with 15 pints of faux pineapple. It's great in fruit salads, and many other recipes.

Larry accidentally pulled up some of my onions I grew from seed (even though I had very carefully told him not to pull these! Grrr) so we chopped those up for the freezer. Today we will cut up the other ones he pulled and put them in the dehydrator, as I am out of dried onions, and find them so nice to have on hand.

Saw these along the road yesterday. I used to know their name but have forgotten it. 

In Ravenswood,  this is the city's mural for West Virginia's mural project to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US.

These last 2 are from Facebook. Point Pleasant is the home of Mothman, and hosts the annual very popular Mothman Festival in September.

All you golfers, take note!

Until next time, friends!