Glenville Folk Festival, Part 2

This year the folk festival tried something new in the schedule: ghost stories! Now you know that's right up my alley. The problem was that the ghost stories program was scheduled at the same time as the evening concert, and there were people in the concert I really, really wanted to hear--like Phyllis Marks, one of the few old-time ballad-singers left on our state. I had to make a choice, and this time the storytelling won out.

When we arrived, Dr. David Corcoran, publisher of the Glenville Democrat newspaper, was telling his version of the Greenbrier Ghost story, one of my favorites and the most famous of West Virginia ghost tales. Dr. Corcoran told about a couple of experiences his family had in a house they owned in Greenbrier county, then opened the floor to the people in attendance.

One man told stories about ghosts in Weston, West Virginia and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, another told a story about a girl in white who appeared in a house they lived in. I decided to offer two stories: one is a supposedly true story told to Larry by his grandmother about a boarding house in Olcott, WV where Larry grew up. The owner was reportedly locked in the attic by her son and left to starve to death, and until the place burned down people could hear her walking about in the attic, or opening and shutting cupboard doors in the kitchen, apparently looking for food. I also told Tailypo, an old mountain "jump tale", or story that makes the audience "jump" from a scare at the end. I was surprised that no one in the audience had heard it before since it's a fairly well-known and often-told story.

At the end of the storytelling, a drawing was held for a woodcut of a story in a book by Dr. Ruth Ann Musick called "The Telltale Lilac Bush." Everyone present was invited to put their name in the hat. And guess what? I won! How amazing is that! The picture is of a headless peddler who was murdered and whose head was seen burning near a whirlpool in the river (see page 93, of you want to read the story). Even stranger than the fact that I won is that I have told this story in the past. The woodcut will travel with me whenever I tell ghost stories now. And of course I'll have to tell the story about the peddler, too.

Here is a picture of the plaque and of the festival newspaper that includes an article by me on the importance of storytelling in today's culture:

The back of the plaque tells who made it, when and where he got his inspiration. True folk art, this.

And here's a close-up of the front of the plaque.

I love it! I've already volunteered to help with next year's ghost stories and I hope I'm taken up on the offer. We didn't get to go to the cemetery, but those who did were treated to more tales, especially the local legend of Sis Lynn who is buried, I hear, in that cemetery. There are so many reported sightings and incidents about Sis Lynn that it would be hard to label them all as coincidence. I definitely want to go to the cemetery myself and see her grave.

West Union, West Virginia : A Photo Journey

Fingerpuppet makers worked intently after the storytelling and made some creative puppets. About 50 children participated, a testament to the parents and to the library for encouraging children to be part of the summer reading program.

This is a quick tour of West Union, West Virginia, where I told stories on Thursday for the library.

West Union's Public Library was once an opera house, sponsoring visits by many famous performers in its heyday.

Beautiful homes along some streets testify to the affluent past of the town, where the driller and logger was king when West Union was established. The town was originally known as Lewisport, but in 1857 the B&O railroad put in a station and the name was changed, first to Union and then to West Union. The town is the county seat of Doddridge County, named for an early West Virginia settler named Phillip Doddridge.

The City Hall appears to have been a bank building in its beginning, and there must have been other buildings adjoining the now lone-standing hall. I believe it was a bank because so often banks were built on corners like this in the late 1800's-early 1900's.

The courthouse is the most outstanding building in West Union, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It crowns the highest point in town and is beautifully restored. We did not have time to go inside, so we have that to look forward to on our next visit. I have been told that the interior has all original woodwork--and the stained glass windows must be gorgeous with light coming through.

Lady Justice with her scales is a focal point of the courthouse's architecture.

West Union celebrates its founding every July with the WestUnionFest. Who can resist bed races, outhouse parades, Native American encampments and Civil War re-enactments and a Liar's Contest? We didn't hear about the Fest until too late to attend, but it's on our calendar for next year.

Want more? Google Books offers an online version of a history of Doddridge and Ritchie counties, complete with many historic photos.

Last Week's Storytelling Journey: Onego

The little community of Onego is in Pendleton County, not far from Seneca Rocks). (Click here for the legend about the Rocks.) It lies within the boundaries of the Monongahela National Forest, and it's one of those places that make you feel like you stepped back in time.

How would you pronounce Onego? Think it's a Native American name? It may be. But the local pronunciation might surprise you. It's pronounced "one go" as in "one go and you're through it." I don't know how the community received its name, but I like the local pronunciation-- it's very descriptive of a small village with one major road passing through.

Creek crossing

The local church is beautifully designed.

General store and US post office.

There are many communities like Onego scattered throughout West Virgina. Small, secluded and lovely, Onego is a treasure that travelers might pass through without noticing that in this little place life goes on like anywhere else--the only difference is that the residents of such places work, play and pray in surroundings of incredible beauty.