Mingo Flats Road

75°f/23.9°C already at 8am. Apparently that African dust cloud from the Sahara has made its way here. Yuck.Andrea! Oh, and rabbit, rabbit, rabbit!

Hannah's little boy was born yesterday after a rather difficult birth. Poor girl. I am so glad it is over, and he is a fine, healthy, big boy!

I first discovered this little road in 2009. The name intrigued me, and I had noticed that the road made a loop, returning to the main road a few miles away. This is in Randolph county, WV.

The post office is no longer in the abandoned store, of course. Apparently it was consolidated with the post office in Valley Head, not far away.

The surprise is coming upon this beautiful bronze sculpture, hidden along this narrow, rarely traveled little road.

The statue is an homage to the Mingo natives who lived in this area, surprising to learn as I had no idea that tribe had come this far east and south.

Unfortunately the writing on the monument has worn away to being unreadable.

However, I did find this on the Randolph-Elkins Tourism website:

"This monument is erected in memory of the passing of the “Red Man.” An Indian village was located near this place according to local tradition. It was frequented by the Mingo tribe, and at one time was an Iroquois outpost – Mingo Iroquois, meaning “Foreign Service”. The Mingoes are said to have been expelled by the Iroquois for disloyalty. This village was on the trail from the Lakes to the South, but had been abandoned prior to the coming of the “Pale Face”. From this tradition came the name of the present village. The Magisterial District and the adjacent stream – Mingo Run. Tal-gah-Jute-John Logan-The Mingo Chief, is supposed to have used this habitat. He was terrible in war-fare, yet humane in peace and was a factor in Colonial History."

How much of that is true, who knows? But it is good to know what the faded words once said.

A gate behind the monument seems to lead only to a steep, overgrown hillside.

This sign to the right of the Mingo promised more to see on this out-of-the-way road.

I'm pretty sure it was further than 3/4 of a mile, but then the road was so curvy, who could tell? After a few minutes of twists and turns, there stood the monument to Confederate general Robert E. Lee, just as it had when I first ventured back here, all alone on a quiet rise.

According to The Clio website, "August 1861, General Robert E. Lee took command of Confederate forces in western Virginia. The Rebel army encamped around Valley Mountain, near Mingo, in Randolph County. The soldiers endured cold temperatures, incessant rain, and mud. Sickness ravaged the camps and many died. The Confederates left to assault Cheat Mountain, where they were defeated in September. In 1913, the United Confederate Veterans dedicated a monument to the Confederate soldiers of Randolph County and those who died in the camps at Valley Mountain. It was rededicated in 2013 by the Sons of Confederate Veterans."

 

The Clio article goes on to say that over 40 men were killed in battle and buried on the Jacob Marshall farm, where this monument was erected.

Today, it is a quiet serene place, with no echoes from that bloody, violent past to disturb the peace. 

I turned around and drove slowly back the way I came, thinking about what it must have been like back in 1861.

Click here to read my post about my first visit to Mingo Flats, back in 2009. 

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

Wordless Wednesday: Around West Virginia

72°f/22.2°C, but already 80° by 9am.

Ellen pointed out that I posted this on Tuesday! Ah me. I really thought it was Wednesday.  

Meanwhile, granddaughter Hannah is having her (3rd) baby today, so hold her in your thoughts and prayers!

Photos from my weekend roadtrip to Pocahontas County:

CThe State is putting up these swings everywhere, and in my opinion,  ruining a lot of beautiful views.

This one is at Big Ditch Lake, near Birch River, WV.

The old mill at Millpoint. A young man was restoring it on his own dime, but I have not seen him there the last few times I have been by. You can see inside and reas more about the mill in this post from 2014. Yes, I stopped in the middle of the road to take this photo. There isn't much traffic here, so no worries.

The Greenbrier River 

The road to my friend's camp. I stopped by, but didn't stay there this time, opting for the comfort of a nice b&b.

At the evening jam

Bubbles being blown by children on the second floor porches above the jam laned in a mass on the hood of a truck.

Jim Berry, who is over 90, looking at the bubbles.

He couldn't figure where they were coming from. Magic!

The most photographed barn in POCO

All for today.

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

Old Friends and Good Times

71°f/21.7°C. I think Europe's heatwave is coming here to visit this week! Rained all day yesterday and most of last night, finally beginning to clear.

What a great trip that was to Pocahontas County. It was such a pleasure to see so many old friends...and I do mean old. We are all getting up there! And it was surprising to see how much everyone had aged since I last saw them 3 or 4 years ago. Well, I have too, and I am sure they noticed my many new wrinkles and abundant gray hair! Ah, we were so young when I first came to Allegheny Echoes. All in our 50s and full of sass and vinegar, staying up til the sun came up, sipping on 'shine, singing and laughing and listening or playing music! 

Now the conversations are often about what joints have been replaced (used to be joints meant something entirely different to most of these folks!), what medications everyone is taking, where we hurt and why...and everyone is in bed before 2am. What changes time hath wrought.

Which is the reason I very much wanted to go. Time is passing quickly now and I don't want to miss chances to meet up with friends whenever I can. But did I take photos of everyone? Nope, completely forgot because I was too busy being in the moment. 

But I did take some videos of the fine, fine music. So here's a taste. First, the Bing Brothers Band. Mike on mandolin, Dave on guitar, Tim on banjo, with Jake Kracke on fiddle and Tim Corbett on bass. These guys will be inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame next April. The Bings, along with my writing mentor Kirk Judd, were the founders of Echoes.

The evening concert featured the teachers and visiting Masters in various instruments and creative writing. 

And then later, jams back at the Marlinton Motor Inn, where most of the teachers and students stay, and where many of the classes are held. Classes are also held in various locations in town, as the community really supports this event, and has for the 30 years it has been held. 

So I got my music fix, for now. It seems that as I get older I want to hear live music more and more often. That's a good thing, I think. 

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