Jay's Journey
July 06, 2007 06:00 PM | General
Editor's Note: Nearly 900 miles and more than 100 towns, communities and villages covering four days comprised Jay and Bonnie Jacobs’ sentimental drive through West Virginia. For the last five years, Bonnie and Jay wanted to take a few days in the summertime to see the different parts of the state having grown up in the north and living the past 39 years in Frederick, Md. Finally, this was the year that they decided to go. Armed with a trunk full of West Virginia t-shirts, highlight DVDs, and other Mountaineer paraphernalia, the Jacobs’ chose to stop by unannounced and simply say ‘hello’ and ‘thanks.’ If you know Jay and Bonnie there are no strangers -- only old friends and new friends. For many years doing West Virginia basketball games on the radio, Jay had always heard about these wonderful little towns and communities and would try to picture them in his mind. Today, all of them have become a fond and lasting memory.
By Jay and Bonnie Jacobs for MSNsportsNET.com
Jukly 6, 2007
After living in Northern West Virginia, Morgantown and Moundsville and loving it, we decided to venture south for a better glimpse of more of our state. This sentimental journey led us first off to Prickett’s Fort, populated with a strong history of loving folks like a blacksmith, a homemaker, a potter and a knowledgeable homeowner. Their commentary gave us a glimpse into the arduous work of the early settlers and into the shadow of fear that covered their daily lives. What a great picture of not only the past but also of the wonderful West Virginians who today work to make our history come alive.
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| Jay meeting some great Mountaineer fans while getting directions to Lewisburg.
Submitted photo |
Then we journeyed on to beautiful Buckhannon, a picturesque town with a handsome looking college in the heart of this area. From there we traveled on to Elkins and D&E College and through Beverly, Daily, Valley Bend and Mill Creek. The history behind the names would be delightful to know. We kept meeting friendly, delightful folks who loved West Virginia and West Virginia University.
The scenery along the way was comprised of majestic tree-covered mountains and beautiful valleys that made us appreciate our Creator so much more. Anyone who criticizes our state has certainly not traveled the roads we were on. The warmth of the West Virginians made us proud to be one, too.
We had the pleasure of meeting folks like Roger, Arleen, Mary, LeRoy, Kevin, Lee, Bob, Marcel, Barb, Max, Ashley, Dianne, Gary and all the “little people” in the world’s eyes perhaps, but big people in ours because they are such fans of our state and the Mountaineers for whom they listen to each and every game.
Then we breezed along to Huttonsville, Valley Head, Snoeshow, Mingo, Frost, Minneahah (our favorite name), Neola, Alvon, Shryock and on and on and on. Have you ever heard of these?
These are areas filled with neat fields, tidy yards and well-tended gardens and homes that showed the pride of the Mountaineers. Also, along these roads we chuckled at the no-gridlock-factor that we are so accustomed to living in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. Most of the roads were in good to great condition even though very winding in places. The twists and turns only allowed us time to slow down and see the beauty of the hills.
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| The good folks at Sims Exxon in Lewisburg, W.Va.
Submitted photo |
The winding roads eventually took us to the Greenbrier Resort and the famous bunker constructed for securing the safety of Congress during any bomb attacks and the fallout that followed. The Greenbrier was in a beautiful setting and is an absolute tribute to all the workers who kept its hedges, flowers and lawns so superbly manicured and the interior so sparkling and lovely. It was a gift to the eye.
Once we left White Sulphur Springs and the Greenbrier we traveled on to the colorful and friendly town of Lewisburg and the Stardust Café, whose name we couldn’t help but love and the food was so well worth the time spent there. We also met two lovely ladies Carol and Kay at Grannies Restaurant who absolutely love West Virginia (Kay is the mother of Travis McClintic, a backup wide receiver and holder on last year’s Mountaineer football team). We also met the boys at Sims Exxon who had waited hours to tell Jay how much they love West Virginia football and basketball. What a testimony to the spirit of faithfulness of our West Virginians!
Many times we seemed to be riding through a tunnel of trees and we pondered how the pioneers felt – overwhelmed perhaps as they carved out this wonderful place in the hills – places like Pickaway, Alderson (what a great patriotic show for the 4th), Union, Peterstown, Glen Lyn and so on. These places are the part and parcel of the sum of West Virginia.
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| Jay with WVU grads Carol and Kay at Grannies Restaurant in Lewisburg.
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And as we traveled we were delighting in all of the names of the tiny side roads. Two of our favorites were Pitty Pat’s Road and Moo Cow Road – someone certainly had fun with these names we’re sure. Also, the many, many churches we saw were old, charming and well tended. They spoke to us of the heart-felt faith of West Virginians. Naturally, we were also scouting out the beautiful golf courses but had no time to stop and play (Jay – play, Bonnie – hack). The Fountain Springs and its owner Dave were both great to see, and our friend Wes at Glade Springs made us feel welcome and he shared his enthusiasm for golf, the beauty of Glade Springs and his love of West Virginia University.
We saw Pipestem State Park – what a great place – and the sweet, dear ladies at the Pipestem Trading Post. Then it was off to the town of Hinton and the numerous flying flags that stirred our patriotic hearts and of course, the interesting and fascinating Little Junk Store.
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| Jay and Bonnie pose with the friendly scarecrow at the Pipestem Trading Post.
Submitted photo |
We went on to Beckley, Bluestone Lake, Sun Valley, Nimitz, White Oak, Shady Spring, Beaver, Jumping Branch and Tamarack where the display of outstanding crafts filled us with pride. Then it was on to Mount Hope, Oak Hill, Fayetteville, Hopewell, Ansted, Victor, Chimney Corner, Glen Ferris, Boomer, Montgomery, Glasgow, Belle and then Charleston where the sight of the gold-domed capital was a heart-stirring thing.
Our final trek up from Charleston sent us through Parkersburg and then on to the quaint river towns of Sistersville, Paden City and New Martinsville toward the Ohio Valley where we finally stopped at Moundsville – a favorite of ours for reconnecting with dear friends and great West Virginia fans like Rudy and Martha.
And as the trip of discovering our state and people and West Virginia fans drew to an end, we were thinking of the hopes and dreams, gains and losses, stories and pains of the many people who pushed the forest back and apart to carve out their dreams. These hearty soles are what is truly Wild and Wonderful West Virginia!
