Mountain Times

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FebruaryAROUND THE COUNTY

Thursday - Mondays • National Radio Astron-omy Observatory • Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. Winter/Spring Hours:Now through Friday before Memorial Day;Thurs - Mon. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. • Free Public Tours11 a.m. , 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thurday - Sunday - Pocahontas County Arti-sans Co-op • Green Bank • 304-456-9900 •artisancoop.com. Showcasing original worksof artists and craftspeople from PocahontasCounty and the surrounding region.Fridays in February • Star Lab • NRAO •Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. •Gather at the planetarium balloon every Fridayfor a unique look at the sky. There is a $3 chargeper person and reservations are suggested. Pro-gram begins at 2 p.m.February 5 • Star Party • NRAO • GreenBank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. • NRAOStaff will orient you to the star-filled sky and thenview the night sky on the Star Party Patio. Bringoptical telescopes and binoculars - you won’tbelieve the view! Program begins 30 minutesbefore dark. Dress warmly!Feb. 5 • Live Music: Bare Bones • Pocahon-tas Opera House • 818 Third Avenue,Marlinton • 304-799-6645 • pocahonta-soperahouse.org Bill and Becky Kimmonsteam up with Mark Davis to form this a cappellatrio. Their music is bigger than one genre, span-ning time and several styles. They move fromAppalachian ballads to Motown, from the ante-bellum South to contemporary songs about loveand broken hearts, and from protest songs toold-time songs of salvation.

See EVENTS page 5

IN THIS ISSUE

Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Knitting up a storm . . . . . . . . . .1

Birds of all feathers . . . . . . . . . .2

Wondrous Woodshop . . . . . . . .3

Live music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

What’s up in the sky . . . . . . . . .4

Flour Girls bakery . . . . . . . . . . . .6

On the cover: Ken Jones standswith a rustic queen-size easternwhite pine bed, outside the Wes-ley Chapel Road workshop heand his father completed in 2005.Cost for the bed and matchingnightstand is about $1,000.Photo by Geoff Hamill

Vol. 10, No. 2February 2011

Supplement to The Pocahontas Times Post Office No. 436-640 ISSN No. 07388376

BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TO POCAHONTAS COUNTY

Satify

your S

weetoo

th

p. 6

RESOURCE-FULLLocal woodworker createsfrom nature’s endgame

Drew TannerStaff Writer

Winter is the time for wool. Andthere’s likely no place in Marlintonwith more of it than Cheryl’s Beau-

ty and Beyond. Cheryl Beverage relocated her salon

and yarn shop to the town’s Riversidesection over the summer and has sincemade the new location as cozy as an oldfavorite sweater.

Step inside and you’ll find shelvesbrimming with a variety of yarns, an as-sortment of knitting supplies, lots ofcomfortable seating for a knitting circle,and a display of Beverage’s own handi-work, from booties, socks and fingerlessgloves, to headbands, hats and her sig-nature felted purses.

Beverage says she just likes being sur-rounded by the warmth and sight of allthat yarn.

“I just love it,” she says. “I love yarn—the feel, the colors.”

Beverage jokes that she has a short at-tention span that keeps her jumpingfrom one project to the next.

“I’ve always been into one thing or an-other,” she says. “I’ve crocheted since Iwas 12. Then I learned to knit. I like topaint and make earrings, baskets.”

She says she was inspired in part byher mother, who sewed and did craftswhen Beverage was a child.

“She never knitted,” she continues,“but I think that’s where it came from,because she was always doing some-thing.”

Looking closely at Beverage’s work,it’s clear that her comments about herown attention span aren’t justified. Sheshows a keen eye for detail. As someonewho is largely self-taught, she pays closeattention to deconstructing the detailsfrom the works of others.

Prior to taking up knitting, Beverage

learned how to make bas-kets some 20 years ago.

“I love Longabergerbaskets, but I couldn’t af-ford them,” she says. “SoI learned to make them.”

Beverage says she learned basket mak-ing from Leslie White, in Green Bank.White showed her how to make a coupleof basic basket designs.

“Once you learn, you can just go withit,” Beverage says. “I don’t use patterns.I just decide what size I want, and if it

doesn’t turnout that size,it doesn’t re-ally matter.It’s still abasket.”

And Bev-erage recent-ly startedmaking ster-ling silverjewelry.

“I just fig-ured it out,”she says.

But herskill at knit-ting washard-won.

“I’d tryevery winter,”

she says.“I’d get myb e g i n n e rbook andtry to learnand I couldn’t get it. So I finally had toget help.”

Help was close by. Her main knittingmentor for the past five years has beenher husband’s aunt, JoAnn Gardner, ofDunmore. Not only does Gardner knit,she sells yarn made from the wool of herown sheep through Beverage’s shop.

At Beauty and Beyond, Beverage isfinding a way to pass on her love forknitting. Tuesday afternoons andevenings find a half dozen or more stu-dents occupying the cozy chairs at thefront of the shop, taking knitting andcrochet instruction from Maxine Ratliff,of Buckeye.

“We have some that know how to knitbut just want to learn something new orhave a question,” Beverage says. “Somecome in for the whole time, others comein for an hour after work.”

Beauty and Beyond also hosts Thurs-day evening pottery classes with Cynthia

Knitter’s paradise offers yarns, classes

See KNITTER page 6

Photos by Drew TannerTuesday knitting lessons are a rea-son to sit around Beauty and Be-yond and socialize while working ona project or getting some pointers.Maxine Ratliff, of Buckeye, (left)gives instruction to Robin Taylor, ofDunmore, (center), while CherylBeverage (right) works on one of herown creations. Beauty and Beyondoffers an array of yarns, from multicolored sockyarn, to local wool, Noro, organic cotton and more.

Beverage recently addedsterling silver and gem-stone jewelry to her artis-tic repertoire.

Skeins of yarn hang amidst felted purses, scarves, headbandsand other knitted items for sale at Beauty and Beyond.


Taking a drive or awalk on any givensnowy day, you

might see a small, feath-ered flash of color flitacross your path. WhilePocahontas County isa favorite spotamong area birdwatchers in thespring ands u m m e rm o n t h s ,there arequite a fewbirds to seeduring thewinter, too.

Snowy con-d i t i o n sa n dthe

lack of fo-liage thistime ofy e a rm e a n sbirds aremuch easi-er to spot.And youcan evenv e n t u r eout in thecomfort ofyour car ify o u ’ drather notbundle upto searchfor them.

In earlyJanuary, agroup ofdedicated bird-loversheaded out into the chillywinter morning to seejust how many birds theycould find as part of Poc-ahontas County’s fourthAnnual Christmas BirdCount. Organized by thePocahontas County Na-ture Club, the group metat Barnett Cabins in MillPoint, where they pairedup and set off in their ve-hicles to count birds with-in a seven-and-a-half-mile radius.

What they found wasthat quite a few birdsstick around for the win-ter. And with habitatranging from the highmountain bogs of theCranberry Glades to thewide river bottom ofMarlinton, the diversityof species in such a smallarea is impressive saysRob Tallman, of the Divi-sion of Natural Re-sources.

Tallman, formerly theDNR’s state ornitholo-

gist, is now the WildlifeManager for

the DNR’sC h e a tM o u n -

t a i n

WildlifeManage-m e n tArea andh a sh e l p e dorganizethe an-nual birdcount inP o c a -h o n t a sCounty.W i t hn e a r l yt w od o z e na n n u a lb i r dc o u n t sa r o u n dthe state,Tallman

says the DNR is able toget a good measure ofWest Virginia’s winterbird populations.

While the four years ofthe Pocahontas CountyCount isn’t yet enough toreveal any significanttrends, what Tallman sayshe does see is a healthy,stable population.

And a few surprisesturn up with each count.

“We seem to pick up aunique species everyyear: short-eared owls,barn owls, crossbills” saysTallman.

That’s due in large partto the diversity of habitatavailable in PocahontasCounty, but the numberof eyes out there alsohelps. Tallman says thecount based in Mill Pointdraws more participantsthan most in the state.

“There’s a good turnout every year,” says Tall-man. “A lot of counts inthe state just have a fewpeople.”

One of the regulars on

the Nature Club’s countis Beth Bullard. Whileshe and her husband arededicated bird watchers,most of their activity is inthe warmer months, shesays.

“We use a lot of feedersat home in the winter,”says Bullard. “We don’tventure out much thistime of year, but I’mimpressedb y

howmany you can

see in an hour in thecar.”

During this year’scount, Bullard says sheidentified a total of morethan 800 birds represent-ing 25 different species.

“There are always a lotmore, different birdsthan you expect,” shesays. “There are 35 blackvultures that roost belowDroop Mountain that wefound this year. We didn’tknow about those be-fore.”

“And there are morehawks—red shouldered,red tailed, and kestrels—than you might expect,”she adds.

Bullard says the birdsalso behave a bit differ-ently in the winter.

“Winter birds here—and in Virginia andMaryland—have a flock-ing behavior wheredowny woodpeckers,chickadees, titmice, car-dinals and other speciesflock and move togetherthrough fence rows and

forests,” she says.“There has to be anadvantage to them todo that.”

The advantage to birdwatchers, of course, isgetting to see a variety ofspecies all in one loca-tion.

Another regular on theannual bird count, U.S.Forest Service Wildlife Bi-ologist Shane Jones, saysseeing so many birds inone day can add a brightspot to the cold winter.

“Any day you can getout and see 24 species injust a few hours of themorning is rejuvenating,at least for me,” he says.

If there’s a lesson to belearned from the annualbird count, it’s that youdon’t have to go far—oreven outside the comfortof your car—to get thatfeeling.

Simply driving aroundthe quiet streets of Mar-linton, count participants

found Eastern Towhees,pileated and red-belliedwoodpeckers and a gold-en-crowned kinglet, aswell as the plentiful jun-cos, nuthatches andblack-capped chickadeesthat love a well-stockedfeeder.

It’s not a bad way toshake off some of thatwinter-time cabin fever. Ω

2 • Mountain Times • February 2011

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Visit the Pocahontas Times bookshelf -other titles include: Pocahontas County History,Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County, Pumpkin Soup& Shrapnel, Pocahontas County Cemetery Headstone Listing, TheDurbin Route, Greenbrier River Trail History, Above the Smoke, TheWilliams, Historic and Scenic Tour of Pocahontas County, McNeelFamily Record, Back to the Alleghenies, The Way Pocahontas CountyCooks, and more.

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206 Eighth Street, Marlinton • 304-799-4973

Performances at the OperaHouse are informal, family-friendly, open to all, and handi-capped accessible. Personswith disabilities are encouragedto attend; special accommoda-tions can be arranged upon request. This program is

presented with financial assis-tance from the WV Division ofCulture and History, and theNational Endowment for theArts, with approval from theWV Commission on the Arts,

and Pocahontas County Drama, Fairs and Festivals.

All tickets $7

Third Ave., Marlinton, For further info call 304-799-6645 or 800-336-7009

Children 12 and under admitted free.

BareBonesA capella music

from thetraditional tothe unusual

Live Music this Month at the Opera House

Saturday, February 5 • 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 267:30 p.m.

Opry NightDown-home music to set

your feet tapping

Saturday, March 57:30 p.m.

Bing Brotherswith Jake Krack

“Hard-drivingMountain Music”

ADVANCE TICKETS NOWAVAILABLE. Orderonline or by phone!

There are 35 black

vultures that roost

below Droop Mountain

that we found this year.

We didn’t know about

those before.

–Beth Bullard

“

”

Winterbirders

flocktogether!

A femaleNorthern

Cardinal is moremuted than her bright

red mate.

White-breasted nuthatcheslove to climb down a treehead first.

Photos courtesy Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Barred and other owls stick around all winter, but youʼre lucky if you see them.

2010 POCAHONTAS COUNTYCHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

RESULTS

Total species counted: .......43Total individual birds: ....1183

A few selected species:Dark-eyed junco .............198Black-capped chickadee ....84Tufted titmouse................32American goldfinch ...........23White-breasted nuthatch....16Downy woodpecker .............9Golden-crowned kinglet.......8Fox sparrow ......................4Bald eagle ........................1American Robin ..................1Yellow-rumped warbler .......1

Geoff HamillStaff Writer

Years ago, Wood County woodworker Ken Jones,III, taught his young sons how to hammer a nail andsaw a board. As the boys grew older, their fathertaught them more and more about woodworking,metalworking, carpentry and an appreciation for thegifts of nature.

When the boys were old enough, they went to workin their father’s mill - peeling logs to make fenceposts and railings for log homes.

In 1996, Ken Jones III, his wife, Diana and theirtwo boys, Matthew and Ken, moved to PocahontasCounty and expanded the family business to con-struction of log buildings and furniture. The businessgot a big boost when Snowshoe Mountain contractedwith Jones to make log signs for the resort.

In 2003, Jones and young Ken started constructionof a two-story workshop on a hillside above WesleyChapel Road. The father found a bargain on some8”x 8” timbers - formerly part of a bridge - that be-came the building’s main beams. The elder Jones cutpine logs for rafters and customized one of his ma-chines to make tongue and groove siding. When thefather and son finished the shop in 2005, it was arock-solid testament to the father’s woodworking andcarpentry skills.

Shortly after completion, the workshop fell silentwith the father’s untimely death.

Ken Jones, now 28, and a respected carpenter andbuilding contractor, recalled working with his father.

“We’d go up on the mountain and cut red spruce byhand and we carried it out on our shoulders,” he said.“When we were young men, 12- or 13-years-old, wewould take it out on our shoulders and roll it up ontwo logs onto the back of the truck, take it to the peel-er mill, and we would peel it, let it sit out in the sun

for a week or two, let it season and crack, and thenwork it into a product.”

Jones learned resourcefulness from his father.“That’s what he was so ingenious with - he could

take nothing and make something out of it and makesomething beautiful,” hesaid. “No man taught himwhat he did. He studiedand researched all that onhis own. He was very in-genious. He would makeequipment and a lot ofstuff to do differentprocesses and things.What I picked up fromhim — don’t be afraid totry something and don’tbe afraid to do somethingbecause you never knowwhat you’ll be able to ac-complish.”

Jones converted the sec-ond floor of his father’sworkshop into an exqui-site home for his mother,Diana, with exposed pinetimbers and handmadecabinets. On the firstfloor, his father’s wood-shop remained idle, untila neighbor offered Ken some standing pine trees.

“I had somebody who said they had some deadstanding white pine to give me and that sparked aninterest. I had never thought about using dead stand-ing white pine - but it’s already seasoned - so all I hadto do was cut it, load it into my truck and bring it here

and hand hew it.”After getting the logs, Jones knew it was time to get

woodchips flying again. His father’s woodworking machines were vintage

when the boys learned how to use them — now they

were virtually museum pieces. But the younger Jonescleaned them up, oiled them up, tightened up thebelts — and turned on the power. With a little help,the old workhorses growled back to life.

“I just started putting everything back together andgetting everything hooked up - putting the motorsand belts back on and stuff,” he said.

Jones is proud to take a resource that would be wast-ed and turn it into something beautiful.

“I’m using a resource that eventually would havejust rotted if somebody didn’t use it,” he said. “Peoplejust keep supplying it to me. My neighbors and peo-ple are finding out that I need this type of wood andthey don’t mind it being removed from their proper-ty. It’s environmentally sound. Very limited natural re-sources have to be used to remove it from theproperty and bring it to the shop here.”

The woodworker feels his father’s spirit when heworks on the machines.

“I think it brings me closer to him,” he said. “Whenyou’re down there, you feel close to somebody thathad been in your life and taught you all this stuff. Itbrought me closer to my father. A lot of good memo-ries and stuff and I think it really helps carry on hislegacy. I think that’s really neat - his legacy carried onthrough me. He continues to live on through the

things that I do.”Jones’ first offering is a

queen-size bed andmatching nightstand. The

Mountain Times • February 2011 • 3

See WOOD, page 5

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We feature a family-style menu in a warm and friendly dining room. Feedthe ducks from our large deck overlooking the scenic Greenbrier River! Weserve three meals a day with all of your favorites cooked just the way you likethem. WI-FI hotspots are available in the dining room.

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Photos by Geoff HamillLet the chips fall where they may! Woodworker Ken Jones uses a vintage machine to cut a tenon on theend of a pine log. Jones restored his fatherʼs vintage woodworking machines and put them back into serv-ice this year to start a furniture-making business.

Jones hand hews a pine log with a draw knife in hisWesley Chapel Road workshop. Jones uses handtools and vintage power tools to make beautiful fur-niture from rough logs.

Jones and his father used creosote timbers from an old bridge for main beamsin a two-story, balloon-frame workshop. The second floor was converted intoan elegant apartment with beautiful pine beams and rafters.

Father’s gift keeps on giving in

Green Bank Woodshop

Sarah ScolesContributing Writer,National Radio Astronomy Observatory

This month, themost interestingthing in the sky

will be the space shuttleDiscovery, which takes itsfinal voyage into orbit onFebruary 24. Carrying sixastronauts, it will dockwith the InternationalSpace Station (ISS).

The Discovery hasspent 352 full days inspace and has completed38 missions, more thanany other spacecraft,amounting to 5,600 jour-neys around the Earth. Ithas carried 180 peopleinto space, notably EileenCollins, the first femalepilot and the first femalecommander; BernardHarris, the first African-American to perform aspacewalk; and JakeGarn, the first Congress-man to go into space.

It is fitting, then, thatthe Discovery will be thefirst shuttle to retire asNASA phases out the pro-gram. After Discovery’s

last launch, there will beone, possibly two, morelaunches, but after that,the United States’manned space flight pro-gram will have to take adifferent form.

The Discovery is takingsomething called the“Permanent Multipur-pose Module” to theSpace Station. Althoughyou might not be able totell from the name, themodule is essentially astorage unit that attachesto ISS. While a large clos-et might not seem scien-tifically interesting, thestation’s inhabitants can-not fulfill their duties ifthey do not have room tomove around or room fornew equipment. After all,think about how muchstuff you accumulate inten years (the age of theSpace Station), and thenimagine that your housewas a capsule floating inspace, where you couldn’thave a yard sale.

The module, in addi-tion to bringing storagespace, will also bring anew ISS inhabitant: theRobonaut 2, a humanoid

robot that can move bothlimbs and individual fin-gers. In the beginning,Robonaut 2 will undergotests to see how it is af-fected by microgravity.Engineers hope that oneday it can help astronautsperform tedious or riskytasks.

So, on February 24,tentatively at 4:50 p.m.,run to your computerand head to www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html to watch theDiscovery lift off for the

last time. And even afterthe Discovery returnshome and retires, re-member that Robonaut 2will always be right over-head.

To find out when theSpace Station will bepassing through your sky,go to spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/and put in your location.

When it passes throughat night, you will be ableto see it with the nakedeye as a small white light

that moves through thestars. If you're lookingwith a telescope, youmight be able to pick outthe station's T-shape! Ω


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Photo courtesy NASA

Robonaut 2, the first“dexterous humanoidrobot” in space.

What’s up in the sky?The ISS gets a storage solution and a permanent boarder


The second half of the Poca-hontas County Opera House’s2010-2011 Performance Seriesgets underway with a series ofthree local favorites in Febru-ary.

A capella trio Bare Boneskicks off the next round of con-certs on February 5 at 7:30p.m., followed by Opry Nighton February 26 and The Bing

Brothers on March 5.The music of Bare Bones is

bigger than one genre, span-ning time and many styles.They move from gnarly old Ap-palachian ballads to Motown,from African-American songsof the antebellum South to con-temporary songs about loveand broken hearts, and fromprotest songs to old-time songsof salvation. Bill and BeckyKimmons team up with MarkDavis (also of the VooDoo Katz

and Comparsa) to form thetrio.

Formerly known as SoupKitchen, the group’s newname came to Becky recentlywhen she and Bill weresinging in the kitchen, andtalking about the glories ofthe unadorned chord. “It’sthe bare bones of music,” shesays.

Two things are constantwith Bare Bones—strongrhythm and tight harmony.

Add the Kimmons’ ir-repressible sense ofhumor, and you have amemorable eveningthat will send you awaysinging.

From a capella, themusic turns to some de-cidedly talented instru-mentalists – who canalso sing. The Pocahon-tas Opera House’s an-nual Opry Night hascome to represent someof the best in local tradi-tional and countrymusic talent from the

Allegheny Highlands of WestVirginia. On February 26 at7:30 p.m., this year’s OpryNight will showcase the musicof The Classic Country Ram-blers – Bill Hefner, Jeff Hefner,Paul Bennett and Justin Ben-nett– and, of “The Appalachi-an,” John Wyatt.

The members of The ClassicCountry Ramblers come from atradition of family teachingfamily. Paul Bennett startedsinging with his mother and

grandmother, cranking up thepump organ or record player tosing with Jimmie Rodgers,Hank Williams and Bob Wills.At the age of six, Paul’s ownson, Justin, asked for a har-monica so he could play alongand has long since picked upthe guitar.

In the Hefner family, Jefflearned mandolin from hismother when he was in gradeschool and later started on theguitar. His father, Bill Hefner,was the founding guitarist ofthe Black Mountain BluegrassBoys and is today a respectedmusician and guitar maker.

As the Classic Country Ram-blers, Justin plays lead and

Opera House welcomesback local favorites

Bare Bones performsSaturday, February 5.

Opry Night, Saturday, Febru-ary 26, features The ClassicCountry Ramblers.

See LIVE MUSIC, pg 5

craftsman said furniturestores sell similar piecesthat lack the handmadequality.

“You can get a bed likethat from a factory. Theycost you about $1,000and that’s somethingthat’s mass-produced anddoesn’t have the touch ofbeing made in a smallshop. It’s a high qualityproduct. It’s somethingthat I believe will last.You can pass it on fromgeneration to genera-tion.”

In addition to bedroomfurniture, Jones plans toproduce a new line ofitems this spring, includ-

ing A-frame swings, half-log benches, picnic ta-bles, bar stools andcustom-crafted products.

“The sky’s the limit,”he said. “I call my com-pany Rustic Creations be-cause you come with anidea you think you’d likemade and we can work itup and make it a reality.Being an individual that’sdoing it, I have moretime to spend with a cus-tomer than a big compa-ny that can’t modifysomething for you madein a factory or a plant.”

Log furniture doesn’thave to look rustic.

“Depending on thecustomer, you can make a

more contemporarylook,” he said. “You canput any kind of stain on itand you can give it a real-ly smooth appearance ifyou want a more contem-porary look.

Jones encourages par-ents to work with theirchildren.

“I feel very fortunate,”he said. “It was a lot ofhard work when I was

younger. I don’t thinkthere’s anything wrongwith young people get-ting out there and work-ing with their parents -no matter what anybodysays. It may not always beeasy, out there in the fieldworking, but you willlearn something and,consequently, it will turninto something good.

“It’s nice to be able to

make something withyour hands,” he said.“It’s nice to have the abil-ity to be creative. I’mthankful that I was giventhe ability to do thosetypes of things. It’s agreat gift and I think thatyou should use yourgifts.”

For prices and more in-formation, call Ken Jonesat 304-456-9911. Ω

WOOD from pg 3

Mountain Times • February 2011 • 5

Feb. 5 • Live Music: ThreeDegrees of Hair • Brazen-head Inn, Mingo • brazen-headinn.com • 304339-6917. Three Degrees ofHair represents a diverse col-lection of three musical talents.More than 70 years of com-bined musical experiencemakes for a truly unique and en-joyable interaction. Their indi-vidual styles combine to bringboth relaxation and excitementto the listening audience, likeyoga for the ears.February 10 • High TechTour • 3:30 p.m. • NRAO •Green Bank • 304-456-2150• gb.nrao.edu. • Join us for aguided tour though parts ofNRAO normally off limits to vis-itors, like lab areas where sensi-tive receivers are designed andbuilt. Space limited to 15 perprogram; one hour and cost is$3.Feb 12, 19 and 26 • LiveMusic: Leftover Soup, with aguest or two sittin' in •Brazenhead Inn, Mingo •brazenheadinn.com • 304339-6917. Bring your own har-monies, instruments, songs andstories, and join us!Feb. 26 • Live Music: OpryNight at the Opera House •Pocahontas Opera House •818 Third Avenue, Marlin-ton• pocahontasopera-house.org • 304-799-6645.The annual Opry Night hascome to represent some of thebest in local traditional andcountry music talent from theAllegheny Highlands of WestVirginia. This year's Opry Nightwill showcase the music of TheClassic Country Ramblers and"The Appalachian," John Wyatt.Mar. 5 • Live Music: TheBing Brothers with JakeKrack • Pocahontas OperaHouse • 818 Third Avenue,Marlinton• pocahontasop-erahouse.org • 304-799-6645. WV’s own Bing Brothershave played their hard-drivingstring band music worldwide.Their sound has been formedby centuries-old WV mountainmusic and they remain true totheir roots. Award-winning fid-dler Jake Krack joins the broth-ers for this specialperformance.

On the MountainFor more information on any eventgoing on at Snowshoe MountainResort, call 877-441-4FUN or visit

snowshoemtn.com.

Feb. 4 - 6 Homegrown MusicFestival • At the HomegrownMusic Festival you can take inon-slope parties, resort-widebar specials and the best localmusic talent in the region, in-cluding The Hillbilly Gypsies,Paul Gold, Wild Rumpus andothers.Feb. 7 • Cupp Run Chal-lenge. Ski racers from acrossthe East are invited to partici-pate in the annual Cupp RunChallenge - one of the East’smost demanding ski races. Ona slope which covers nearly1,500 vertical feet in 1.25 miles,pros and amateurs will race thisgiant slalom course competingfor prizes and bragging rights.Feb. 18-21 • Presidents' DayWeekend • Extend your week-end a few extra days. Bring thewhole family for three days offun-packed events and enter-tainment. Check out snow-shoemtn.com for info onspecials and packages.March 4 • Cuervo Games ofWinter. The Cuervo Games ofWinter are infamous! Crazygames held in The ConnectionNight Club are the stuff of leg-ends! Couple that with on-snow events, and you''ve got aweekend that you'll remembera long long time! Ω


continued from page 1

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BREAKFAST SERVEDALL DAY LONG

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Open Mon. and Tues. 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. Wed. and Thurs. 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,

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Main Street, Durbin • 304-456-4506

We have a large selection of NEW APPLIANCES & FURNITURE IN STOCK

including kerosene/propane and electric heaters.

A beautiful pine nightstand created by woodworkerKen Jones. The craftsman can produce furniture ina variety of finishes and looks and welcomes ideasfor custom-made pieces.

Photos by Geoff Hamill

Jones works on a vintage drill press that his father taught him to use years ago.The elder Jones taught his sons woodworking and carpentry skills, the value ofhard work, and an appreciation for the gifts of nature.

sings tenor with Paul, who playsrhythm and sings lead. Jeff joinsin with mandolin and har-monies, and Bill fills in all thegaps and plays the fire out ofeverything.

John Wyatt’s music and story-telling celebrates the commonbonds of faith and family andwhat it means to be Appalachi-an. A former railroad brakemanand a Baptist minister, Wyattbegan to recognize the connec-tions between the music, theirfaith and values. Through hismusic, Wyatt encourages peopleto reconnect with their heritageand the proud, independentspirit that makes Appalachiagreat.

The traditional music contin-

ues the following weekend,March 5 at 7:30 p.m., as TheBing Brothers are joined byaward-winning fiddler JakeKrack.

The Bing Brothers haveplayed their hard-driving brandof string band music from Cana-da to Florida, from Australia toIreland and Scotland. Theirs isa centuries-old sound from theWest Virginia mountains, andthey remain true to their roots.Yet The Bing Brothers are high-ly versatile, playing selections inold time and bluegrass, as wellas traditional Irish songs andragtime.

Banjo player Tim Bing is a 13-time WV State Champion andAppalachian String Band win-ner. Fiddler Jake Krack has wonthe Galax Fiddler’s Convention

Contest four consecutive yearsand is known as one of today’stop old-time fiddlers. Mandolinplayer Mike Bing, withguitarist/fiddler Danny Arthurand bassist Bob Lieving havekept the powerful rhythm of theband cranking for 30 years.

Performances at the OperaHouse are informal, family-friendly and open to all. The en-trance and main seating arehandicapped accessible. Personswith disabilities are encouragedto attend; special accommoda-tions can be arranged upon re-quest. Admission to allperformances is $7 unless notedotherwise. Admission is availableat the door and in advance atpocahontasoperahouse.org orby calling 304-799-6645. Seat-ing is on a first come, first served

basis.The Pocahontas County

Opera House is located at 818Third Avenue in Marlinton. Forinformation on other upcomingOpera House events, visit poca-hontasoperahouse.org, or callthe Opera House at 304-799-6645.

These performances are partof the 2010-2011 PerformanceSeries sponsored by the Poca-hontas County Opera HouseFoundation with financial assis-tance through a grant from theWest Virginia Division of Cultureand History and the NationalEndowment for the Arts, withapproval from the West VirginiaCommission on the Arts. Finan-cial support is also provided byPocahontas County Drama, Fairsand Festivals. Ω

LIVE MUSIC from pg 4

Photo by Drew TannerLooking for a way to get around the high cost ofpopular name-brand baskets, Beverage learned tomake her own and offers them for sale at Beauty andBeyond.

Gurreri, and Beveragesays she would like to addbasket making classes inthe near future.

Ideally, Beverage saysshe’d like to have classesgoing on all the time atBeauty and Beyond, giv-ing would-be crafters andartists the confidence that

she has to create some-thing.

“I just see something Ilike,” she says, “and Ithink, ‘I can make that.’”Ω


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Flour Girlshas all the right treats

Photos by Suzanne StewartWith a display case lined with sweet andsavory treats, top, and an inviting andcozy atmosphere, Flour Girls Bakeryand Cafe in Slaty Fork has just whatyouʼre looking for to quell your hunger,

whether youʼre lookingfor breakfast, lunch or asnack.

Visit pocahontastimes.com

to see more photosfrom this and

all stories featured in

Mountain Times.

KNITTER from pg 1

Whether you have a sweet tooth or you’rejonesing for a good cup of coffee, theFlour Girls Bakery and Cafe at the inter-

section of Routes. 219 and 66 at Slaty Fork has whatyou crave.

The “girls,” consisting of Stacy Beckwith, Whitney Beckwith,Teresa Sharp and Doris Doyle, serve up homemade-from-scratch goodies for breakfast, lunch and snacks.

“We have a full coffee, tea and espresso bar and bakedgoods galore,” Stacy said. “Anything you can imagine.”

For breakfast, choose from bagels, sticky buns, cinnamonrolls and a breakfast roll with sausage and cheese baked inthe bread.

The cinnamon rolls are to die for, warm or cold. Thedecadent frosting alone will have you coming back formore.

At lunchtime, the girls offer a special consisting ofsoup and sandwich combo or a casserole dish. Vegetar-ian options are available, as well.

Save room for dessert, for this is where the girls excel.Cakes, pies, cookies and, of course, cupcakes line thedisplay case, waiting to the plucked from their perch.If you find yourself dining at HuaracheLoco, which is next door to the bak-ery, try the Key Lime pie. It’s madeby the girls.

Specialty orders are, well, thegirl’s specialty. They will cater toyour needs for open houses, birth-days and weddings. Wedding cup-cakes are a new trend the girls arefollowing, with your choice of fla-vors.

All the breads made at the bakeryare egg-free. The girls can also bakegluten-free goodies.

To wash down those stick-to-your-ribs treats, check out the extensivecoffee, espresso and tea bar. The cof-fee is mostly organic and is from Lex-ington, Virginia.

Although they aren’t made on-site, thedonuts are a West Virginia favorite, com-ing from The Donut Shop in Buckhannon.

While you enjoy your meal and coffee,don’t forget your laptop, the bakery has freeWiFi.

The bakery is open Monday and Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday from7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information or to place a special order, call 304-572-BAKE (2253) oremail the girls at [email protected]. Ω

Suzanne StewartStaff Writer

SNOWSHOE AND SURROUNDING AREA BUILDERGeneral Contractor • Remodels/Additions • Residential/Commercial

• Project Management • Consulting • 15+ years experience

304-572-2320WE PLOW SNOW - Call for estimates now!

Jim Weese • Owner

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FebruaryAROUND THE COUNTY

Thursday - Monday • National Radio Astron-omy Observatory • Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. Winter/Spring Hours:Now through Friday before Memorial Day;Thurs - Mon. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. • Free Public Tours11 a.m. , 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thurday - Sunday - Pocahontas County Arti-sans Co-op • Green Bank • 304-456-9900 •artisancoop.com. Showcasing original worksof artists and craftspeople from PocahontasCounty and the surrounding region.Fridays in February • Star Lab • NRAO •Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. •Gather at the planetarium balloon every Fridayfor a unique look at the sky. There is a $3 chargeper person and reservations are suggested. Pro-gram begins at 2 p.m.March 5 • Star Party • NRAO • Green Bank• 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. • NRAO Staffwill orient you to the star-filled sky and thenview the night sky on the Star Party Patio. Bringoptical telescopes and binoculars - you won’tbelieve the view! Program begins 30 minutesbefore dark. Dress warmly!March 5 • Live Music: The Bing Brotherswith Jake Krack • Pocahontas Opera House• 818 Third Avenue, Marlinton • 304-799-6645 • pocahontasoperahouse.orgWest Virginia’s own Bing Brothers have playedtheir hard-driving brand of string band musicaround the world. Their sound was formed cen-turies ago in the West Virginia mountains ,andthey remain true to their roots. Award- winningfiddler Jake Krack joins the brothers for this spe-cial performance.

See EVENTS page 5

Vol. 10, No. 3March 2011


Hop, Skip

& Jump Away

pg. 4

TTrraavveerrsseeThe Cranberry Wilderness

IN THIS ISSUE

Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Working with Wood . . . . . . . . . .1

Opera House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

A Winter Hike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Hop, Skip and Jump Away . . . . .4

On the cover: The waterfall at theconfluence of Big Beechy Runand Middle Fork. The CranberryWilderness includes the entiredrainage of the Middle Fork ofthe Williams River. The waterfallis three-and-a-quarter miles fromthe trailhead on Forest Road 108,just off of Williams River Road.Photo by Geoff Hamill


Working with woodisn’t rocket science.But for one of the ar-

tisans at the cooperativegallery in Green Bank, it’s alot more fun.

And Bill Leffingwell wouldknow. He worked on hisshare of rockets as an em-ployee of General Dynamicsin the 1950s and 60s, includ-ing the Atlas rocket programthat eventually sent JohnGlenn into orbit. He laterworked for Rockwell Interna-tional on the rockets that lift-ed the Apollo and Skylabmissions into space in the1960s and early 70s.

But it wasn’t a direct trajec-tory from rockets to wood-working for Leffingwell.

Faced with the choice ofbeing transferred to the LosAngeles area or finding an-other line of work in Florida,Leffingwell ventured intocommercial fishing from1973 to 1992. His fishing for

mackerel, snapper andgrouper took him along thesoutheastern seaboard fromthe Florida Keys to MurrellsInlet in South Carolina.

It was actually throughfishing that Leffingwell dis-covered the joy of workingwith wood.

“I did buy one boat fin-ished, but for the most part Ibought bare hulls and wouldbuild them up,” he says, “butI knew nothing about car-pentry. I had a saw and a drilland a hammer and fiber-glass. You can cover all kindsof mistakes with fiberglass.”

But even in those early,mistake-prone years of work-ing with wood, Leffingwellsays he thought to himself: “Irather enjoy this.”

From Florida, he and his

The down-to-earthpleasures ofworking with

Photos courtesy of Bill Leffingwell

Leffingwell's woodworking is worlds apart from his early career as an engineer on USAFand NASA rocket programs in the 1950s and 60s, but he says there's nothing he'd ratherbe doing.

In addition to cutting boards, Leffingwell turns highly figured slabs of wood into table is-lands—functional centerpieces for holding condiments or candles on the dinner table. See WOOD, page 5

Three great concertscome to Pocahon-tas County Opera

House during the monthof March. The BingBrothers and Jake Crackbring their mountain mu-sical stylings on March 5,followed by the GlenvilleState College BluegrassBand on March 12 andDavid Peterson and HisOld-Time Country Revueon March 26.

The Bing Brothers haveplayed their hard-drivingbrand of string bandmusic from Canada toFlorida—from Australiato Ireland and Scotland.Their sound has beenformed in the West Vir-ginia mountains, andthey remain true to theirroots. Yet The BingBrothers are highly versa-tile, playing selections inold time and bluegrass, aswell as traditional Irishsongs and ragtime.

Banjo player Tim Bingis a 13-time WV State

Champion and

Appalachian String Bandwinner. Fiddler JakeKrack has won the GalaxFiddler’s ConventionContest four consecutiveyears and is known as oneof today’s top old-timefiddlers. Mandolin playerMike Bing, withguitarist/fiddler DannyArthur and bassist BobLieving have kept thepowerful rhythm of theband cranking for 30years.

The following weekend,Glenville State CollegeBluegrass Music DirectorBuddy Griffin brings thecollege band to the OperaHouse for a special per-formance. Beginning in2002, the Glenville StateCollege Bluegrass MusicCertificate Program of-fered classes in audio andvideo production, bandorganization and market-ing plus instruction in vo-cals and the variousBluegrass instruments. Asof 2007, the GlenvilleState now offers an ac-credited Bachelor of Artsin Music with a concen-tration in Bluegrassmusic. Students in theprogram have playedNashville’s Ryman Audi-torium, the WWVAWheeling Jamboree, theGlenville State BluegrassFestival, the Ernest TubbMidnight Jamboree, theCarter Family Fold andthe Mountain State Artand Craft Fair.

This year’s ensemble

features Carol Belknap –lead and harmony vocals;Ryan Spangenberg –mandolin, lead and har-mony vocals; AllisonDrane – banjo, lead andharmony vocals; MeganMurphy, Assistant Direc-tor – guitar, mandolin,lead and harmony vocals;and Trish Cottrell – bassfiddle.

March concludes withan encore performanceby Nashville’s David Pe-terson. With a voice thatcould carry across moun-taintops and a rare emo-tional power steeped inthe blues, singer, song-writer and bandleaderDavid Peterson hascarved out his own specialniche in Country andAmericana music. In atime when country musicwas been hollowed out bymass-market radio andinvaded by 80s rock stars,Peterson’s profound re-spect for the bona fidetradition has created arefuge where the sounds

and spirit of the Ryman-era Grand Ole Opry singwith the lungs of a youngman. Something preciousand endangered gets afresh lease on life whenPeterson performs. Tick-ets for this performanceare $10.

Performances at theOpera House are infor-mal, family-friendly andopen to all. The entranceand main seating arehandicapped accessible.Persons with disabilitiesare encouraged to attend;special accommodationscan be arranged upon re-quest. Admission to allperformances is $7 unlessnoted otherwise. Admis-sion is available at thedoor and in advance atpocahontasoperahouse.org or by calling 304-799-6645. Seating is on a firstcome, first served basis.

The Pocahontas CountyOpera House is located at818 Third Avenue inMarlinton. For informa-tion on other upcomingOpera House events, visitpocahontasoperahouse.org, or call the Opera

House at 304-799-6645.These performances

are part of the 2010-2011Performance Series spon-sored by the PocahontasCounty Opera HouseFoundation with financialassistance through agrant from the West Vir-ginia Division of Cultureand History and the Na-

tional Endowment for theArts, with approval fromthe West Virginia Com-mission on the Arts. Fi-nancial support is alsoprovided by PocahontasCounty Drama, Fairs andFestivals and the Snow-shoe Foundation. Ω

2 • Mountain Times • March 2011




[email protected] submit editorial content or

ideas: [email protected]


2011 DEADLINESApril Mon., March 7May Mon., April 4June Mon., May 9July Mon., June 6August Tues., July 5September Mon., Aug. 8October Tues., Sept. 6November Mon., Oct. 10December Thurs., Nov. 3


Family Practice


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“Yank”

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Traditional, Bluegrass and Classic Countrycome to the Opera House stage in March

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Showtime:

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Saturday, March 5, 7:30 p.m.

Glenville State College Bluegrass Band


David Petersen’s Country Review



For a long time, I’vewanted to visit theBeechy Run water-

fall in the CranberryWilderness during winter.I thought it would looknice with lots of snow andice. But I’ve been discour-aged by the difficulty ofreaching the area duringthe winter months.

In good weather, youcan park at a trailhead offWilliams River Road andhike three-and-a-quartermiles down the MiddleFork Trail to reach the wa-terfall.

But most of WilliamsRiver Road is unplowedand impassable in winter.

Getting to the trailheadfrom the east was out ofthe question, due to roadconditions. But the trail-head is much closer to thewestern terminus ofWilliams River Road inUpper Glade.

A representative atGauley Ranger Districttold me that WilliamsRiver Road is plowedfrom Upper Glade as faras people live. I wasn’tsure how far that was orhow far I could get in myfront-wheel drive sub-compact, but I figured I’d

give it a try. If I got withina few miles of the trail-head, I would hike it in.

So, my dog Smokie andI loaded up for a trip toWebster County andUpper Glade. If success-ful, our journey wouldtake us back into Poca-hontas County, via Mid-dle Fork Trail, to ourobjective — the BeechyRun waterfall.

It’s a nice drive fromMarlinton to Richwoodon Route 39. It’s a Na-tional Scenic Byway, tra-versing unspoiled forestsand crossing the CherryRiver at least twice. Forshutterbugs, there areseveral good photo op-portunities along thisroute.

I wanted to stop andtake pictures along theway, but I was on a tightschedule. It was impor-tant that we start hikingno later than 1200 hoursin order to get to the wa-terfall and back beforedark.

A few miles past Rich-wood, I turned ontoRoute 20 north, whichtook me throughCraigsville and on toUpper Glade, where Iturned onto WilliamsRiver Road. I proceededfor approximately seven

miles, past several homesand camps, until I saw asign that read, “no snowremoval past this sign.”

Due to a recent melt,the road past the sign wasfairly clear, so Smokie andI pressed ahead. Abouttwo miles past the warn-ing sign, the road gotmuch worse, and I looked

for a place to turn aroundand park.

Off to the right was agraveled driveway downto a big metal quonsetbuilding with a sign overthe door, “Williams RiverLodge #3.” I thought itmight be some kind oftourist operation, where Icould find out how far itwas to the trailhead.

As I pulled up to thebuilding, three dogs ranaround the corner of thebuilding and jumped upto my car window to greetme. Smokie got very ex-cited. I was scratchingone of the mutts on thehead when a burly, beard-ed mountain man — bigas the Richwood Lumber-jack — burst out the doorof the lodge.

Thankfully, the manwas not pointing a shot-gun at me, and I statedmy purpose for being onhis property. The big fel-low was just as friendly ashis dogs and welcomedme to his home. I intro-

duced myself and the fel-low said his name wasJohn Jackson.

Jackson has owned thelodge for a long time butjust moved up here a yearago to live full-time. Hislodge is in a beautifulspot with awesome viewsof Williams River andSugar Creek Mountain.It’s the next-to-lastdwelling before enteringthe National Forest.

There’s an attractive lit-tle guest cottage on theproperty, but visitors willhave to rough it — there’sno electricity or tele-phone service this far outon Williams River Road.Jackson seems to like itthat way.

The owner said theroad got much worse pasthis place and kindly of-fered to let me park at hislodge. He said it wasabout three miles to thebridge near the trailhead.

Smokie and the threeresident dogs were play-ing and getting alongwell. Jackson said one ofhis mutts, a beautiful littlelong-hair named Whiskey,would want to follow uson our hike. Smokie wasvery happy to have a play-mate along for the hike.

Mountain Times • March 2011 • 3

See HIKE, page 6

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Cranberry WildernessWinter hike in


My hiking companions, Smokie and Whiskey. Dogs should be kept on a leashif there are other hikers or campers in the area.

Located in the for-mer St. Brednan’sCatholic Church on

the corner of Park Streetand Randolph Avenue inElkins, the RandolphCounty Community ArtsCenter is a haven for allthings art, music anddance.

The 83-year-oldbuilding becamethe arts center in2001 when theC a t h o l i cchurch movedto a newbuilding.

The GreatHall’s maine x h i b i tg a l l e r yhosts cre-ations byindividualartists andcollabora-tive ex-hibits fillthe wallswith artisticexpression.On the farend of the hallis the stage,where musiciansfrom all over theworld perform theirmelodic craft.

Leaving the Great Hall,classrooms and TheMaxwell Gallery, namedfor the late Judge RobertE. Maxwell, complete theart center.

Along with exhibits andconcerts, the arts centeroffers classes for buddingartists. Patrons are taughtby masters of their craftsin the fields of watercolor,pottery, dance and music.

Remnants of the build-ing’s past life remain, in-cluding the pipe organabove the main entranceand frescoes on the apsebehind the stage, add tothe atmosphere of thebuilding.

Events for the month ofMarch:

Exhibits:

•The RCCAC Blue-print Collection Exhibi-tion, the Great Hallgallery. On displaythrough March 12. Theexhibit consists of a col-lection of architecturalblueprints drawn by Wal-ter Martens, who de-signed the church for theCatholic Diocese in 1928.

•Randolph County Stu-dents Art Exhibit, theGreat Hall gallery. Ondisplay March 19 throughApril 20. In its eighthyear, the student exhibithas an array of pieces bychildren from Pre-K to12th grade.

•Ken McCoy Solo Ex-hibit, the MaxwellGallery. On displaythrough March 12. Aphotographer with morethan 50 years of interestin his field, McCoy ex-

hibits photographs in“Images: Near and Far.”

• Grey Darden Solo Ex-hibit, the MaxwellGallery. On displayMarch 19 through April20. Darden’s watercolors

capturethe

beauty of West Virginialandscapes.

- Hours for all exhibitsare: Monday through Fri-day, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4p.m.

Concerts:

• Todd Burge and theOdd Urges, Saturday,

March 12, at 7:30p.m., the GreatHall. An eclecticmusician, Burgeplays everythingfrom alternativerock to blue-grass and hasperformed infamous ven-ues likeCBGB’s andthe KennedyCenter. Tick-ets: Adults$13, seniors,$11 and stu-dents $5.

• Brown BagConcert featur-

ing the Davis &Elkins College

Concert Choir andJazz Band, Wednes-

day, March 16, noon,the Great Hall. The

monthly brown bag con-cert is a free event spon-

sored by Davis TrustCompany. Bring yourlunch and enjoy the lunchhour entertainment.

For more informationon the events and classesoffered at the RCCAC,visit the website atwww.randolpharts.org orcall 304-637-2355. Ω

JUBy Suzanne Stewart

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The Randolph Community Arts Center is located on the corner of Park Streetand Randolph Avenue in Elkins. The arts center hosts art exhibits, concerts anddance events and offers classes for all age groups. At left, Todd Burge and theOdd Urges will performSaturday, March 12, at7:30 p.m. in the GreatHall.

Paintings, drawings, sculptures, textiles and manymore art mediums are displayed in the Great Hall ofthe RCCAC.

Musicians perform on the main stage at the RCCAC. The aspe of the formerchurch encases the stage in religious frescos.

wife, Nancy, moved tonorth Georgia, wherethey remodeled an oldhouse, turning it into abed-and-breakfast. Asidefrom the drywall work inan addition, Leffingwellsays he and Nancy did allthe carpentry and renova-tion themselves.

About that time, Leffin-gwell was browsing a com-mercial fishing magazinewhen he came across in-formation about wood-working classes with afurniture maker in Massa-chusetts named BillSayre. Leffingwell saysSayre himself learnedwoodcraft from an Eng-lishman who worked sole-ly with hand tools fromlog to finished product.

In 1993, Leffingwellwent to work under Sayre.

“I was learning pa-tience,” Leffingwell says.“He was a fanatic on de-tails.”

His experiences learn-ing furniture making withSayre sparked Leffing-

well’s interest in thestylings of Shaker furni-ture.

“I guess that’s my firstlove,” he says. “If I couldmake what I wanted andsell it, it would be theShaker furniture.”

Unfortunately, Leffing-well says the market forhand-made furniture issmall. He jokes that manyof the larger furniturepieces he has made windup in his own home.

“We’re running out ofroom for furniture in thehouse,” he adds with alaugh.

But even when he wasmaking furniture, Leffin-gwell says he was tryinghis hand at other objects.

“I had always made afew cutting boards, butthat was just extra, tohave small items to sell atshows,” he explains.

In the past three years,Leffingwell says the cut-ting boards have now be-come a mainstay of hiswoodworking business. Injust one year at the Arti-san Cooperative Gallery

in Green Bank, Leffing-well said he sold in excessof 300 cutting boards.

Made from a variety ofAppalachian hard-woods—cherry, walnut,maple—no two of his cut-ting boards are quite thesame. Some have sleekand rounded modernlines, others have a rusticlook and feel, where Leff-ingwell has taken his cuefrom the natural lines ofthe wood itself.

Through the years,Leffingwell says he hascollected more lumberthan he’ll possibly be ableto use. He has evenmoved a significantamount of lumber withhim from Georgia to HotSprings, Virginia, then tohis present home in Rich-wood. A couple pieceshave even come with himfrom Florida.

Some of his lumber hascome from Eddie Fletch-er, of Williamsburg, who

specializes in salvagingand reclaiming wood thatmight otherwise be dis-carded.

From this stockpile ofraw material, Leffingwellcreates his furniture, cut-ting boards and now pic-ture frames and mirrorsin the workshop housedin the garage behind hiscentury-old home. On a

given week, Leffingwellsays he spends 25 hoursor more in the workshop.

It’s a world of chiselsand planers, shavings andsawdust, that is worldsapart from his work in thespace business almost 40years ago.

“I had always workedfor somebody until1973,” Leffingwell says,“and I decided I wantedto go fishing.”

Just two weeks after heleft Rockwell Internation-al, the firm landed thecontract for the NASASpace Shuttle program.While he had a standingoffer to come back towork on the project, hecouldn’t see himself re-turning.

“I knew I could neverwork for anybody again,”he says “I think it’s the in-dependence.”

“And I like workingwith wood,” Leffingwelladds. “It beats anythingelse I could do.” Ω

Mountain Times • March 2011 • 5

Pocahontas Countypeople and placesRead about the lives of men who are the

fabric of Pocahontas County and theplaces that make it a haven.

Visit the Pocahontas Times bookshelf -other titles include: Pocahontas County History,Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County, Pumpkin Soup& Shrapnel, Pocahontas County Cemetery Headstone Listing, TheDurbin Route, Greenbrier River Trail History, Above the Smoke, TheWilliams, Historic and Scenic Tour of Pocahontas County, McNeelFamily Record, Back to the Alleghenies, The Way Pocahontas CountyCooks, and more.

WARM UP TO A GOOD BOOK

ThePocahontas Times

206 Eighth Street, Marlinton • 304-799-4973

March 5, 12, 26 • LiveMusic: Leftover Soup, with aguest or two sittin' in •Brazenhead Inn, Mingo •brazenheadinn.com • 304339-6917. Bring your own har-monies, instruments, songs andstories, and join us!March 10 • High Tech Tour •3:30 p.m. • NRAO • GreenBank • 304-456-2150 •gb.nrao.edu. • Join us for aguided tour though parts ofNRAO normally off limits to vis-itors, like lab areas where sensi-tive receivers are designed andbuilt. Space limited to 15 perprogram; lasts one hour andcost is $3.March 12 • Glenville StateCollege Bluegrass • Since2007, Glenville State has of-fered an accredited Bachelorof Arts in Music with a concen-tration in Bluegrass music. Stu-dents in the program haveplayed Nashville’s Ryman Audi-torium, the WWVA WheelingJamboree, the Ernest TubbMidnight Jamboree, and theCarter Family Fold.March 19 • Live Music: St.Patricks Day • Juanita Fire-ball and the ContinentalDrifters • Brazenhead Inn,Mingo • brazenheadinn.com• 304 339-6917. Their goal isto recreate that sound which alistener may have heard on1920-1930s radio, before theadvent of visual communica-tions. With rousing fiddles,banjos, guitars and bass, Juani-ta Fireball and The ContinentalDrifters is definitely an old-timemusic crowd-pleaser.March 26 • Live Music:Dave Peterson’s CountryRevue • Pocahontas OperaHouse • 818 Third Avenue,Marlinton• pocahontasop-erahouse.org • 304-799-6645. With a voice that couldcarry across mountaintops andsteeped in the blues, singer,songwriter and bandleaderDavid Peterson has carved outhis own special niche in Coun-try and Americana music. Peter-son’s profound respect for thebona fide tradition has createda refuge where the sounds andspirit of the Ryman-era GrandOle Opry sing with the lungs ofa young man. This concert ismade possible in part with thegenerous support of the Snow-shoe Foundation.April 2 • Star Party • NRAO• Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu. • NRAOStaff will orient you to the star-filled sky and then view thenight sky on the Star Party Patio.Bring optical telescopes andbinoculars - you won’t believethe view! Program begins 30minutes before dark. Dresswarmly!

On the MountainFor more information on any eventgoing on at Snowshoe MountainResort, call 877-441-4FUN or visit

snowshoemtn.com.

March 4 - 6 • Cuervo Gamesof Winter. The Cuervo Gamesof Winter are infamous! Crazygames in The Connection NightClub are coupled with on-snow events, creating a week-end that you'll remember a longlong time! March 8 • Fat Tuesday Getyour Mardi Gras party on thisyear at Snowshoe Mountain.Bring family and friends andcelebrate this annual event allover the mountainMarch 9 - 10 • BurtonWomen’s Snowboard CampFemale snowboarders from be-ginner to advanced will havethe opportunity to take theirriding to the next level. Ridewith Snowshoe certified in-structors and a Burton Pro rider,yet to be announced. Best ofall, you'll also get to test thenewest snowboards forwomen from Burton's on-snowdemo clinic.March 10 - 13 • SpringBreak Bring your party to themountains this Spring Break!Friends at Budweiser will helpwith hip hop DJs and happyhours all week long.March 17 • St. Patrick's Day• Everybody’s Irish on St. Patty’sDay, so come visit Snowshoefor the festivitiesMarch 26 - 27 • Last HurrahWeekendOne last time! The snow andskiing have been extreme thisyear! Join in as we celebratethe end of the winter seasonwith the annual Last HurrahWeekend - enjoy the SaturdayNight Beach Party and the Sev-enth annual Pond Skimming Ex-travaganza. Ω



Performances at the OperaHouse are informal, family-friendly, open to all, and handi-capped accessible. Personswith disabilities are encouragedto attend; special accommoda-tions can be arranged upon request. This program is

presented with financial assis-tance from the WV Division ofCulture and History, and theNational Endowment for theArts, with approval from theWV Commission on the Arts,

and Pocahontas County Drama, Fairs and Festivals.

Third Ave., Marlinton, For further info call 304-799-6645 or 800-336-7009



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WOOD from page 1

Leffingwell's cuttingboards come in a varietyof shapes and sizes andfeature a range of Ap-palachian hardwoods. Atright, he prepares to cutthe pieces for a new cut-ting board on his bandsaw.

Off we advanced —three wilderness explor-ers! We were about a half-hour off-schedule, due tothe chat with John Jack-son, but it was a pleasantpart of the journey.

Still fresh and strong,we quickly hiked threemiles to the WilliamsRiver bridge. It’s a gor-geous view from atop theconcrete arch, so westopped to rest and Isnapped some pictures.

[Note: Never get in toomuch of a hurry on a hikethat you don’t stop fre-quently for water andrest. Drinks m a l lamounts, evenif you’re notthirsty, evenin wintertime.H e a d a c h e sand musclecramps fromdehydrationcan ruin agood hike andlead to moreserious heat

exhaustion.]We followed Forest

Road 108 about a half-mile from the bridge to aparking area and thetrailhead, where a wood-en sign marks the startpoints of both MiddleFork and County Linetrails.

You cross a narrowcreek to get started onMiddle Fork Trail. Thereare three stream crossingson the way to the water-fall, where you must walkthrough shallow water,and many muddy areason the trail. The path fol-lows an old railroadgrade, so it’s generallyflat and an easy walk, butthere are places next tothe river where the trail isslippery and narrow, andyou have to watch yourstep.

[Note: Always weargood hiking boots in thewilderness. High topboots provide good anklesupport and can preventankle sprains and breaks.Leather boots can be soft-ened and waterproofedwith neatsfoot oil. Laceup your boots tight toprotect your ankles andprevent blisters. Tightenthem up again after walk-ing a couple miles.]

The lowest elevation inthe Cranberry Wilderness

is where Middle Forkempties into WilliamsRiver, so this would be alow elevation hike. Athigher elevations, therewas still a lot of snow. Butthere was only about sixinches on the trail, andeven some bare spots. Intwo places, giant treeshad fallen across thepath, necessitating de-tours into deeper snow,but these were minor ob-stacles.

As you proceed south-east on Middle Fork Trail,there is high ground tothe left, where water cas-cades down nearly verti-cal fissures to the valley

below. A half-mile from the

trailhead, the path meetsand follows Middle Forkriver. Snow-capped boul-ders lined the river andplentiful evergreensleaned out across thewater.

The dogs were havinggreat fun racing throughthe woods, but stayedwithin eyesight as Ipressed ahead. I’veworked hard trainingSmokie to stay close dur-ing our hikes. I was gladto see him having funwith his furry little pal,but remembering not tostray too far.

An advantage of hikingin winter is the ability toeasily discern animaltracks. Walking alongMiddle Fork, I saw deer,rabbit, turkey, mouse andcat tracks. I was surprisedto see cat tracks so far outin the woods. It would befun for kids to locate andidentify animal tracks on

a hike like this. At a bend in the river, I

sat on a log, took a breakand gave the dogs sometreats. A short walk far-ther, we came to a low, butwide, little waterfall, cre-ated when a tree fellacross the water to form anatural dam. I had seenthis little waterfall before,on a summertime hike afew years ago. Rocks and

sediment collected be-hind the tree to create ashelf. I wonder if the wa-terfall will disappearwhen the tree finally rotsaway. It’s a beautiful spot.

Less than two hoursfrom the trailhead, Iheard the rumble of alarger waterfall. I plowedthrough some deep snowand got my first glimpseof Beechy Run waterfallin winter.

Snow and masses ofrhododendron framedthe beautiful cascade andthe emerald green poolinto which it fell. I felt amix of awe and euphoria.

I snapped several pic-tures of the waterfall. Thedogs playfully tangled at

my feet as I lined up myshots and I had to shoothem away.

I sat on a big log, over-looking the waterfall, andrested. These are greattimes, when you can enjoynature in a beautiful spot,with nobody around formiles. It’s what keeps megoing back to the wilder-ness time and time again.

I plan to visit the water-fall again, during morefrigid weather, when I ex-pect to find more ice. Thewonderful thing aboutthe forests of West Vir-ginia is that they are con-stantly changing.

A hike through thesemountains is never bor-ing. Ω


It’s just about everywhere! Pick up your free copyof Mountain Times at more than 90 locationsthroughout the county

Mountain Times is your monthy guide to Pocahon-tas County events, tourism, history, arts, entertain-ment and other things to add to your to-do list,whether you live here or are spending your vacationin Nature’s Mountain Playground.

Read about new trails to hike or bike, new roads totravel and unique shopping and dining experiences.Plan your next visit to include a stay at a bed andbreakfast, campground or state park.

Don’t wait until you see a Mountain Times to pickone up - subscribe now to the Pocahontas Times

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MARLINTON AREA:The Snak ShakTourism OfficeDirt BeanLittle GeneralPocahontas FoodlandGreenbrier GrilleUnited Country RealtyRed Oak RealtyGunter’s General StoreEdray Quik StopFast Break SunocoDorie’s RestaurantRayetta’s LunchboxMarlinton Motor InnSixties Cafe

SOUTH:Buckeye Country MartTaylor’s MarketMcCoy’s MarketWatoga State ParkPretty Penny CafeNORTH:Elk River Inn & RestaurantSharp’s Country StoreSki Barn Mountain Resort RealtyFoxfire Mountain PropertiesRe/Max Old Spruce RealtyPar Mar ExxonSubwayHurache LocoFlour Girls Bakery

Why Not ShopMountain Valley PropertiesFirst Tracts RealtyLinwood LibraryCass Scenic RailroadLast Run RestaurantSeneca State ForestRt. 66 OutfittersArtisan’s Co-opNRAOHenry’s Quick StopBoyer Railroad RestaurantRyder’s RestaurantTrent’sForest Service, BartowDurbin & Greenbrier ValleyRailroad

H&C MartRt. 39 StopSNOWSHOEThe Inn at SnowshoeSnowCreek RentalsMountain LodgeAllegheny SpringsHighland HouseWildcat ProvisionsTop-of-the-World Check-in,

Shops and RestaurantSoaring Eagle LodgeEmber RestaurantVillage Restaurants & ShopsSilvercreek Restaurant &Shops

Pick up a FREE copy of Mountain Times at these locations:

Start your subscription to The Pocahontas Times today!Call 304-799-4973 to begin home delivery

or go online to pocahontastimes.com to sign up as an e-subscriber.Subscription rates: In-county $24.38/year. In-state $30.74/year.

Out of WV $30/year. Foreign $40/year. Snowbird and student rates available.Online subscriptions: $22/year. Online plus print subscription $37/year.

HIKE from page 3


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A small waterfall was created when a tree fell across Middle Fork river where it has re-mained for years. At left, clockwise from top are turkey, deer, raccoon and rabbit tracks,just a few of the animals you may come across during your hike.

AprilAROUND THE COUNTY

National Radio Astronomy Observatory •Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu• Winter/Spring Hours: Now through Fridaybefore Memorial Day; Thursday - Monday10 a.m. - 5 p.m. • Free Public Tours 11 a.m., 1p.m. and 3 p.m.

Wednesday - Monday • Pocahontas CountyArtisans Co-op • Green Bank • 304-456-9900 • artisancoop.com • Spring Hours:April 1 through Memorial Day; Wednesday -Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.to 4 p.m. and Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Showcasing original works of artists and crafts-people from Pocahontas County and the sur-rounding region.

Fridays in April • Star Lab Plane-tarium Shows • NRAO • GreenBank • 304-456-2150 •gb.nrao.edu • 2 p.m., $3 per per-son. Limited space of 15 partici-pants per program. Guests willgather inside a portable plane-tarium for a fascinating look atthe sky above.


See EVENTS page 5

IN THIS ISSUE

Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Artist Erin Lore . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Opera House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Ramp Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Hop, Skip and Jump Away . . . . .4

Snak Shak Dining Review . . . . . .6

On the cover: Outdoorsman JohnClay, of Barboursville, uses alaundry basket to collect rampsand rinse his harvest in a nearbystream. Clay, a member of HilltopSportsmenʼs Club in Frost, is agourmet chef, specializing inwild game recipes. Photo by GeoffHamill

Vol. 10, No. 4April 2011


RampsCan you dig it?

Page 3


Sometimes you have to pursue yourdreams despite what others mighttell you. That’s what Beaver Creek

artist Erin Lore says she had to do asshe planned to go to Concord Collegeafter graduating from high school inGreenbrier County.

“When I went to see my guidancecounselor and we were planning myclasses, she told me art was a really badidea,” Lore says. “She said it would beso hard to stay in this area with an artdegree. That really discouraged me.”

So Lore started out studying medi-cine, but just a couple years later shecame back to what she loved doing—drawing and painting.

Lore says that since she moved toPocahontas County around 2004,she has found a surprisingamount of art-related work.She has often worked oncommission, painting por-traits for families. For a pe-riod of time, Lore painted alot of pets as well, for peo-ple who wanted to preservethe memory of their ani-mals.

Among the more un-usual commissions wasfrom a client who askedLore to paint items fromhis antique engine collec-tion.

“His wife kind of jokedabout that,” she says.“She said, ‘you’d thinkhe’d hire someone topaint, maybe, his family.But no, he likes his en-gines better.’”

In addition to her com-missioned work, Lore hasalso used her paint brushto help causes in the com-munity. For HuntersvilleTraditions Day, Lore

painted a postcard of thehistoric HuntersvilleSchoolhouse, just as thecommittee that organizesthe festival was beginningto restore the old build-ing. Proceeds from thepostcards benefited therestoration effort.

People seek out Lorefor her painting, but sheis also skilled with a pen-cil. With her drawings,Lore has illustrated twochildren’s books au-thored by M. Jane Holt—Eaglet and Crow Woman(2008, Firepit Publishers)

and Timmy the Dragon (2007, YarrowPress). Lore was introduced to Holt byone of the local librarians who knewLore’s skills and that Holt was seekingan illustrator.

Lore studied graphic design at Con-cord, but well before that, Lore says shewas drawing as far back as she can re-member.

“My mom said I liked to draw as soonas I could pick up a crayon,” she said.

That interest was nurtured when shewas growing up by the strong art pro-grams in the Greenbrier Countyschools.

Drawing was her first love, but Lore’s

An eye for detail,a heart for teaching

See EYE, page 4

Photos courtesy of Erin Lore

Lore is regularly commissioned topaint family and wedding portraits,

above. At left and below, from time totime, Lore receives requests to paint por-

traits of pets or people with their beloved an-imals.


April brings a varietyof musical styles tothe Opera House

stage. The West VirginiaJazz orchestra starts offthe month on April 9, fol-lowed by the MarlbrookString Quartet on April17 and The Hillbilly Gyp-sies on April 29.

The West Virginia JazzOrchestra is celebratingits 10th season of per-forming this year. Housedat the Greenbrier ValleyTheatre, the orchestraperforms across the re-

gion with their group of18 professional and high-ly experienced players. Inaddition to playing thestandard repertoire of thefamous bands of pastyears – Count Basie, DukeEllington, Stan Kenton,and others – the bandconcentrates especially onimprovisation. TheWVJO also recreates themore outstanding jazzsolos and styles of famousjazz artists such as LouisArmstrong, Dizzy Gille-spie, Billie Holiday, EllaFitzgerald and many oth-ers. When combined withtheir careful planningand focus on audience en-tertainment, the WVJOdelivers an educational,experienced package fullof great jazz and fun. TheWVJO’s appearance atthe Opera House at 7:30p.m. on April 9 is madepossible in part with thegenerous support of theSnowshoe Foundation.

From jazz, the OperaHouse turns to classicalon April 17 at 3 p.m. withthe Marlbrook StringQuartet. The MarlbrookString Quartet is in resi-dence at Washington andLee University in Lexing-ton, Virginia. The mem-bers are JaimeLetourneau, Paula Zim-

merman, Cynthia Penneand Julia Goudimova.The quartet strives toprovide quality chambermusic in a personal for-mat and briefly explainsthe program before theperformance. With reper-toire ranging fromCharles Ives to J.S. Bach,the Marlbrook StringQuartet believes in show-casing traditional stan-dards along withpresenting lesser knownjewels. The ensemble es-pecially enjoys findingmusic based in greatAmerican musical tradi-tions. The program for

April 17 includes: Selec-tions from the Art ofFugue - J.S. Bach; StringQuartet No. 1 (from theSalvation Army) - CharlesIves; Crisantemi(Chrysanthemums) - Gia-como Puccini; StringQuartet in D, Op. 11 -Peter Tchaikovsky.

April ends with a spe-cial appearance by TheHillbilly Gypsies on April29 at 7:30 p.m., kickingoff the weekend of TheGreat Greenbrier RiverRace.

The Hillbilly Gypsiesare a West-Virginia-nativestring band that special-izes in playing its ownhomegrown style of Ap-palachian, old-timemusic, mixed with a hard-driving bluegrass sound.In addition to their origi-nal material, The HillbillyGypsies play an eclecticmix of traditional and,quite often, not-so-tradi-tional bluegrass standards

and catchy old fiddletunes.

They perform in theold-fashioned style,around a single vintage-style large-diaphragmmicrophone. This “old-timey” approach adds ahigh-energy, barn partyatmosphere to their show.Watching the whole bandwork around the mic islike taking a trip back intime.

Admission is $10 foradults and free for chil-dren 12 and under. Abenefit show for the

Opera House, theevening will also featuredoor prizes and otherspecial drawings.

Performances at theOpera House are infor-mal, family-friendly andopen to all. The entranceand main seating arehandicapped accessible.Persons with disabilitiesare encouraged to attend;special accommodations

can be arranged upon re-quest. Admission to allperformances is $7 unlessnoted otherwise. Admis-sion is available at thedoor and in advance atpocahontasoperahouse.org or by calling 304-799-6645. Seating is on afirst come, first servedbasis.

The Pocahontas CountyOpera House is located at818 Third Avenue inMarlinton. For informa-tion on other upcomingOpera House events, visitpocahontasoperahouse.org, or call the OperaHouse at 304-799-6645.

These performancesare part of the 2010-2011Performance Series spon-sored by the PocahontasCounty Opera HouseFoundation with financialassistance through agrant from the West Vir-ginia Division of Cultureand History and the Na-tional Endowment for theArts, with approval fromthe West Virginia Com-mission on the Arts. Fi-nancial support is alsoprovided by PocahontasCounty Drama, Fairs andFestivals and the Snow-shoe Foundation. Ω

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Opera House showcases jazz, classical and bluegrass in April

Showtime:

West Virginia Jazz Orchestra

Saturday, April 9, 7:30 p.m.

The Marlbrook String Quartet

Saturday, April 17, 3 p.m.

The Hillbilly Gypsies

Saturday, April 29, 7:30 p.m.

Taking the stage at the Pocahontas County OperaHouse in April are clockwise from above, the WestVirginia Jazz Orchestra, The Hillbilly Gypsies andThe Marlbrook String Quartet.

Mountain Times • April 2011 • 3




[email protected]

To submit editorial content orideas:

[email protected]


2011 DEADLINESMay Monday, April 4June Mon., May 9July Mon., June 6August Tues., July 5September Mon., Aug. 8October Tues., Sept. 6November Mon., Oct. 10December Thurs., Nov. 3


Athree-man team ofhunters scouredsteep mountain

slopes near Slaty Fork onThursday, in search ofthe elusive Allium tricoc-cum. The species isknown to hide underleaves in the early springand give off a pungentodor when captured. Thehunters successfully cap-tured several Alliums andcarried their quarryhome in a laundry basket.

Of course, Allium tric-occum is the belovedramp.

Hundreds of harvesterstake to the vertical ter-rain of Pocahontas Coun-ty in early spring tocollect the delicacy, acousin of both garlic (Al-lium sativum) and onions(Allium cepa). Ramps,also known as wild leeks,are popular in the Ap-palachian Mountains andconsidered a delicacy inEurope and Canada.

Visitors and recent ar-rivals to the county mayhave eaten ramps, butnever gone ramp hunt-ing. Ramps are easy tofind if you know where tolook and what the leaveslook like. Any reason toget into the woods is agood reason, and ramphunting in springtime isa lot of fun, especiallywith friends. But, be pre-pared to negotiate steephillsides and do somedigging to get the prizedlittle bulbs into your sack.

Opinions vary on when

ramps should be harvest-ed but connoisseurs saythe green leaves shouldnot be too high above theground to get a rampwith the best flavor. LateMarch through earlyApril is prime time forramp harvesting, butthere is some flexibility,due to the varied terrain.Ramps at higher altitudescan be harvested later inthe season and still havegood flavor.

Your supplies shouldinclude a ramp hoe, asack or basket to carry theramps, a little bit of foodand a canteen of water.Pick up a three-prongramp hoe at a local hard-ware store. It works muchbetter than anything elseand is also helpful in thegarden.

Ramps like areas thatare shady and moist,often near rivers andstreams. They frequentlygrow on the north side ofmountains in smallclumps. Ramps look likelily-of-the-valley sproutsfrom above, with beauti-ful, wide green leaves, butunderground, they looklike scallions and have astrong garlic smell.Ramps grow in clumpsthat can be small or large.When you dig up aclump, leave some of thebulbs behind to regener-ate the crop for nextspring.

Rules for diggingramps on the Mononga-hela National Forest arevery generous. You candig all the ramps youwant, for personal use,

except in designatedwilderness areas. Re-member - that’s personal- not commercial use.People harvesting rampsfor sale on the nationalforest will likely ruin it forus all, by over-picking.Soon, we might need apermit to harvest rampsin the National Forest,and that would be ashame. If everybody fol-lows the rules, that won’thappen.

Depending on whereyou’re harvesting — in acouple hours, you oughtto have a couple poundsof ramps. That’s enoughfor several recipes be-cause the ramps haveplenty of flavor. Thereshould be a stream nearto where the ramps aregrowing. Take the rampsto the stream and rinseoff most of the mud be-fore you take them home.

Both the leaves andbulbs are edible. Rampsare generally choppedup, bulbs and leaves to-gether, and added torecipes. Local gourmetLouise Barnisky providedseveral good ramprecipes and some reallygood ramp stories, too.

Growing up in Duo,Louise and her siblingssold ramps and blackber-ries to make money tobuy school books. Theysold ramps for two dol-lars a bushel and black-berries for 40 cents agallon.

Barnisky remembersthe first ramp dinner inMarlinton. The LionsClub had requested the

use of the Marlinton Ele-mentary School musicroom for several years fora ramp dinner, but hadbeen refused because offears that the aromawould linger. But theschool finally consentedto have a ramp dinner inthe music room, where 40bushels of ramps wereconsumed and the clubraised an amazing$1,700.

The gourmet said herfavorite ramp recipe waswilted ramp salad. Takesome small, tender rampswith leaves and placethem in a metal bowl.Heat up some bacongrease, vinegar, a pinchof salt, a pinch of sugarand some crumbledbacon bits in a fryingpan. Pour the hot mix-ture over the salad andplace the hot pan overthe bowl to make sure theramps are wilted good.

Here are some moregood ramp recipes.Happy hunting and bonappetit!

Ramp Dip Annette Graham, from

David Soctt’s recipe

1 pint Sour Cream2 – 8 oz Cream Cheese1 – 16 oz Velveeta

Cheese1 T. Horseradish2 -10 Drops Hot Sauce15-20 Ramps (bot-

toms/tops) chopped fine— Microwave Velveeta

and cream cheese tomelt, stirring every 30

seconds. Stir in remain-ing ingredients. Refrig-erate. Serve with tortillachips or crackers.

Ramp CasseroleJulie McNabb – from

Barry Sharp’s Cookbook

1 lb. pork sausage2 cups grated cheddar

cheese2 cups milk30 or more ramps2 medium potatoes2 eggsSalt to taste— Mix eggs and milk

together, set aside. Frysausage. Slice potatoesthin. Layer potatoes,sausage and ramps in

casserole dish. Pour eggsand milk mixture overlayers. Bake at 350 de-grees until potatoes aredone. Halfway throughthe baking, top with grat-ed cheddar cheese.

Ramp Piefrom Barry Sharp’s

Cookbook

1 roll Ritz crackers,crushed

RampsButter PotatoesCheese— Crumble the Ritz

crackers in a pie pan.

April prime time for

Ramps

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Class size is limited to preserve quality of instruction,so register online at wvtu.org/school.html.

or call WVTU Fly Fishing School Director, Bubba Holt 304-299-9617 or email [email protected]


Tom Ferguson, of Barboursville, digs for ramps on a steep hillside. Huntingramps is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and harvest a food that is commonin Pocahontas County, but considered a rare delicacy in other parts of theworld. Below, a ramp hoe, ramp sprouts and some freshly dug ramps. A ramphoe can be purchased in local hardware stores for about $10 and is extremelyuseful.

The author, Geoff Hamill,locates a clump oframps, using a ramp hoe.Some of the bulbs fromevery clump should beleft behind to regeneratenext yearʼs ramp crop.

See RAMPS, page 5

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studies in college allowedher to explore newmedia that she contin-ues to use today, suchas oil and pastels.

Today, acrylic paintsand pencil are Lore’sprefered materials.She likes the controland level of detail thatthey offer for herphoto-realistic style ofdrawing and painting.

While Lore appreci-ates the commissionedwork, she’s also get-ting back into doingsome of her ownpainting. Lore is cur-rently in the process ofputting together aportfolio of prints thatshe can sell at areashows and festivals.People will have anopportunity to seesome of her work atthis July’s PioneerDays festival in Mar-linton.

Through Pocahon-tas County Parks andRecreation and thePocahontas CountyArts Council, Lore hasalso been an active artteacher since moving tothe county.

“I really like teaching,”she says. “I do classes withboth kids and adults. It’sa lot of fun.”

“The adults are nice be-cause when it’s time tostart class, everyone ispaying attention and intheir seats,” she says. “Butkids can be a little morefun. When an adultdraws, they start cri-tiquing their own workright away, but the kidsjust think everything theydo looks great.”

At the same time, Loresays its rewarding to workwith adults who mightstart out with doubtsabout their ability todraw, yet discover thatthey can indeed expressthemselves well in pic-tures.

And Lore has beenteaching children longenough that she is begin-ning to see some of herstudents consider pursu-ing art as they look to-ward college. She stillremembers the discour-agement she faced whenshe was in that position.

“With kids that I teachnow, I try to tell themthere are so many direc-tions,” she says. “There’scomputers, photography,graphic design. It’s notjust painting pictures andtrying to sell them. Thatcan be hard to earnmoney that way, but thereare so many other jobs inart now—especially with

computers—I don’t thinkanybody should be dis-couraged from it. There

are too many possi-bilities.” Ω

Paul Bunyan may bethe most notablelumberjack in histo-

ry, but he’s got nothing –except size – on the menand women who competein the Webster CountyWoodchopping Festivalevery year.

Strength, enduranceand skill are tested ascompetitors wield theiraxes, saws and chainsawsin the following cate-gories: axe throw, stockappearing saw 0-4.99, hotsaw, championship un-derhand chop, champi-onship standing blockchop, championshipspringboard chop, men’ssingle buck, women’s sin-gle buck, women’s under-hand chop, master’s

standing block chop,master’s underhandchop, handicap under-hand chop, handicapstanding block chop, twoman crosscut, Jack andJill crosscut and master’stwo man crosscut.

Taking place May 25through May 29, the festi-val is more than just acelebration of wood-chopping. Also includedin the festivities are a pag-eant for Miss Wood-chopper, JuniorMissWoodchopper and MissWoodchip; turkey callingcontest; motorcycle show;car and truck show; artsand crafts and a 5K run.

Whether you are up forthe challenge of compet-

ing or just want to watchthe wood chips fly, thefestival offers somethingfor everybody.

Schedule ofEvents

Wednesday, May 25

6:30 p.m.: Pet and bicy-cle parade

7 p.m.: Local talent va-riety show on Baker’s Is-land, free admission tothe island.

Thursday May 26

6:15 p.m.: Bed races7 to 8:30 p.m.: Wood-

chopping community ap-preciation night featuring“South of the River” inconcert on Baker’s Island,

free admission to the is-land.

Friday, May 27

6 p.m.: Arts and craftsopen

7 p.m.: Firemen’s pa-rade

8 p.m.: WV State Fire-men’s rodeo champi-onship

8 to 9:30 p.m. and 10 to11:30 p.m.: Outdoor con-certs featuring “Ston-estreet”

Saturday, May 28

6:30 a.m.: Lumberjackbreakfast

8 a.m.: 5K race begins9 a.m.: World Champi-

onship EliminationWoodchopping begins

All day: Ducky Derbytickets on sale

9 a.m.: Court Squareactivities begin

10 to 11:30 a.m.: Cof-fee hour

10 a.m.: Arts and craftsopen

11:45 a.m.: Paul Bun-yan Grand Feature Parade

1 p.m.: Car and truckshow

1 p.m.: Motorcycleshow

2 p.m.: Singles horse-shoe pitching tourna-ment

8 to 9:30 p.m. and 10 to11:30 p.m.: Outdoor con-certs featuring “SouthernMix”

Sunday, May 29

8 to 11 a.m.: WebsterSprings Volunteer Fire De-partment big breakfast Ω

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Webster County Woodchopping Festival

Photos courtesy of www.woodchoppingfestival.comA competitor participates in the axe toss at the Web-ster County Woodchopping Festival and below, apair compete in the two-man crosscut.

EYE from pg 1 Photos courtesy of Erin Lore

For her personal work, Loresays she is inspired by thethings she sees near her homeon Beaver Creek, such as theCummings Creek School-house, which is just down theroad from her. Below, in addi-tion to people and pets, Lorehas also been asked to paintitems from clientʼs collections,such as this antique engine.

Loreʼs painting of thetwo-room schoolhouseat Huntersville, left, wasfeatured on a postcard tohelp raise money for thehistoric buildingʼsrestoration.

Melt enough butter tosprinkle over crumbs.Dice enough potatoes,ramps and cheese to fillpan. Sprinkle morecrumbled crackers on topof pie and bake 45 min-utes to one hour at 350degrees.

Fried RampsMountain Cookin’

Cookbook— By comparison, the

odor of ramps makes gar-lic smell like Chanel No.5. After one whiff oframps, you’ll either lovethem, or light out for theflatlands.

Parboil ramps threeminutes, drain and boilin new water until tender.Drain and fry in butter orbacon drippings. Addslightly beaten eggs, orpotatoes, salt and pepperto taste.

Ramps GratinLinda Sharp – from

Barry Sharp’s Cookbook

2 Tbsp butter or mar-garine, divided

1/2 cup Gruyere orSwiss cheese, shredded

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

3/4 lb. washed andsliced ramps

2/3 cup heavy creamSalt and pepper to taste— In skillet melt one

Tbsp butter, add bread

crumbs and toast, stirringoccasionally, until lightlygolden. Remove to plateto cool, then toss withcheese, set aside. Melt re-maining butter, addramps and cook till limp.Season to taste. Addcream and cook oneminute longer. Transferto small greased bakingdish, sprinkle top withbread crumb mixture.Bake at 350 degrees 15minutes or until hot andcrumbs are lightlybrowned. Serve warm.

Ramp Breakfast Wedges

4 cups grated potatoes2 cups chopped ramps1 cup crumbled fried

bacon6 eggs1/2 cup shredded moz-

zarella cheeseSalt and pepper to taste— Fry grated potatoes

until done in 10-inchskillet. Pat down andslightly up sides of skillet.Saute ramps and put halfon top of potatoes.Scramble eggs and pouron top of potatoes andramps. Cover and cook(do not stir) on low heatuntil eggs are almostdone. Top with crumbledbacon, rest of ramps andmozzarella cheese. Coverand continue to cookuntil eggs are done andcheese is melted. Cut intowedges like pie andserve. Ω

April 2, 16, 24, 30 • LiveMusic: Leftover Soup with aguest or two sittin’ in •Brazenhead Inn, Mingo •brazenheadinn.com • 304-339-6917. Bring your own har-monies, instruments, songs andstories and join in the music.

April 2 • Party Under theStars • NRAO •Green Bank •304-456-2150 •gb.nrao.edu •NRAO staff willo r i e n tyou to thestar filled skyand then viewthe night skyon the Star Party Patio. Bring op-tical telescopes and binoculars.You won’t believe the view.Program beings 30 minutes be-fore dark.

April 8 through 11 • The 9thAnnual Brazenhead FolkWeekend • Brazenhead Inn,Mingo • brazenheadinn.com• 304-339-6917. An informalgathering of kindred musicalspirits and free-flowing eclectictraditional song, from country-western to English ballads andmore.

April 9 • Live Music: WestVirginia Jazz Orchestra •Pocahontas County OperaHouse • 818 Third Avenue,Marlinton • 304-799-6645 •pocahontasoperahouse.org• 7:30 p.m., $7. The West Vir-ginia Jazz Orchestra is celebrat-ing its 10th season ofperforming this year. Housed atthe Greenbrier Valley Theatre,the orchestra performs acrossthe region with their group of18 professional and highly ex-perienced musicians.

April 14 • High Tech Tours •NRAO • Green Bank • 304-456-2150 • gb.nrao.edu •3:30 p.m., $3 per person. Limit-ed space of 15 participants perprogram. Participants will beguided through areas of NRAOnormally off limits to visitors, likelabs where sensitive receiversare designed and built, and theGBT Control Room.

April 17 • Live Music: TheMarlbrook String Quartet •Pocahontas County Opera

House • 818 Third Avenue,Marlinton • 304-799-6645 •pocahontasoperahouse.org• 3 p.m., $7. The MarlbrookString Quartet is in residence atWashington and Lee Universityin Lexington, Virginia. The quar-tet strives to provide qualitychamber music in a personalformat and talks briefly aboutthe program before performingto explain what makes the workstand out and thoughts on whatto listen for in the selections.Program to includes selectionsfrom Bach, Ives, Puccini andTchaikovsky.

April 29 • Live Music: TheHillbilly Gypsies • Pocahon-tas County Opera House •818 Third Avenue, Marlinton• 304-799-6645 • pocahon-tasoperahouse.org • 7:30p.m., $10. The Hillbilly Gypsiesare a West Virginia native stringband that specializes in playingits own homegrown style ofAppalachian old-time music,mixed with a hard drivin’ blue-grass sound. In addition to theiroriginal material, the groupplays an eclectic mix of tradi-tional and quite often, no-so-traditional bluegrass standardsand catchy old fiddle tunes.

April 30 • 25th Annual GreatGreenbrier River Race •Marlinton • PocahontasCounty Conventions and Vis-itors Bureau • 800-336-7009• greenbrierrivertrail.com •10 a.m. race meeting, 11 a.m.race begins. Come joint the funwith this Triathlon event. Run,canoe and bike for great prizesand the chance to place in thishistoric race. All the fun beginsand ends in Marlinton’s Munici-pal Park, right next to the Green-brier River. After race funincludes prizes, awards, gour-met lunch and live music. Ω

Mountain Times • April 2011 • 5



RAMPS from page 3

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Performances at the OperaHouse are informal, family-friendly, open to all, and hand-icapped accessible. Personswith disabilities are encour-aged to attend; special accom-modations can be arrangedupon request. These programs are presented with

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Photo by Geoff Hamill

Ramp leaves sprout to the surface in late March andearly April. Most connoisseurs believe rampsshould be harvested when the leaves are small, forbest flavor.

Jaynell GrahamStaff Writer

It would take a lot ofink to chronicle thechanges that have

taken place at the SnakShak on Third Avenue inMarlinton since its grandopening in June 2009.

Originally advertised asa Tropical Sno dispenser,Jonathan Gibson and his“silent partner,” ChuckKettler, of White SulphurSprings, have repeatedlyrevamped and enlargedthe premises and en-hanced an ever-changingmenu to meet the needsand wants of the SnakShak’s clientele.

The latest move in thatendeavor is the additionof Kripsy Krunchy CajunChicken and Catfish, abrainchild of CISCO, along-time leader inquality food distribu-tion.

“Our goal is toprovide the bestfood, the mostpleasant envi-ronment andq u a l i t y ,f r i e n d l ys e r v i c e , ”said Kettler.

In theireffort toprovide thebest food,they havealso founda way toprice theirmenu so every-one can afford it.

It is affordable andyou can’t afford to missit.

Kettler, Gibson andGlen Kotval broughtsome friends to Pocahon-tas County a few yearsago to ride the Casstrain. A trip throughMarlinton sparked a busi-ness plan.

The purchase of theGreenbrier Building inAugust 2008 led to thetasteful renovation of itsapartments and with Kot-val putting his cabinet-making skills to good use,the original small restau-rant came to life, breath-ing life into the oldbuilding.

When not in the throesof remodeling, Kotvalspends his time in thekitchen, where he has be-come the one commonfixture in the midst ofchange.

Continually remodel-ing the interior and re-

working the Snak Shak’smenu exemplifies 23-year-old Gibson’s ap-proach to business. He isnot afraid to try some-thing new, and he is al-ways on the lookout forideas and ways to betterserve his customers.

Specialty chicken leftMarlinton several yearsago when Kentucky FriedChicken closed its doors.

The Snak Shak is bring-ing it back – with a kick.

The fresh, never frozen,Krispy Krunchy CajunChicken, white and dark,has a just-right spicy coat-ing. It’s crisp on the out-side and very, very moiston the inside. Add a bowlof red beans and rice anda fluffy biscuit,t o p p e d

withh o n e ybutter and you arehooked.

Lunchtime at the SnakShak resembles a coup ona poultry farm, as to-goorders pile up and chick-en flies out the door.

The catfish is excellent,as well – and not the leastbit fishy. This is a resultof zero trans-fat oil. Acorn/canola blend whichboasts “no flavor trans-fer.” Your fish will nevertaste like onion rings, norlike the meal of a previ-ous consumer.

Jimmy Smith, of Mar-linton, reported that hismother-in-law, AudreySheets, doesn’t eat fish.But she ate catfish at theSnak Shak and said shewould be back for more.

“She liked it, and shewas right,” said Smith.

“It was excellent.”Bring your appetite

and a little bit of money.A meal of two pieces ofcatfish, (and they are big,)a side, drink and a biscuit

areon the

menu forjust $7.99.

A two-piece chickenand biscuit combo can beyours for as little as$3.49.

Don’t want to fix din-ner?

Order a family meal,with up to 25 pieces ofchicken.

Several new sides areoffered by KrispyKrunchy, such as QuesoSticks, deep-fried hotcheese, coated withcrushed tortilla chips,served with chipotlesauce; Boudin (pro-nounced Boo-dan) Bites,which is a Cajun sausage,rolled up with rice andspices; and deep friedCorn on the Cob, incor-porating the sweetness ofthe corn with the spici-ness of the breading.

Customers are told to

wait until theirsecond bite ofcorn beforepassing judg-ment. Let the

spice hit yourtaste buds, and

you won’t be ableto put it down, said

the staff.The Jambalaya may

not be your momma’sjambalaya. It has a differ-ent texture and it, too, isspicy, incorporatingBoudin sausage and rice.

Geri Ortiz, ofLouisville, Kentucky, hasbeen in town for the pastfew days, training thecooks and staff at theSnak Shak as they joinwith 750 Krispy KrunchyCajun Chicken franchisesacross the nation.

Ortiz is good at whatshe does, and she does itfor 75 restaurants.

Her training, added toGibson’s willingness toblaze into the culinarywilderness, will serve din-ers well.

But customer satisfac-tion is still the name ofthe game at this establish-ment. In addition to itsnewest menu items, theSnak Shak has retainedits popular sandwichesand burgers, salads andspecialty pizzas.

Vegetarians are not leftout of the mix. A VeggieWrap or Veggie Pizza willmore than meet expecta-tions.

Several of my visitingfamily members havecommented that theHawaiian Melt, piledhigh with roast beef,turkey, ham, cheese,topped off with lettuce,tomato, mayo, horserad-ish and honey mustard, isthe best sandwich they’ve

ever eaten. Top billing for that

sandwich may be threat-ened by a proposed newaddition to the menu.

The Chicken CordonBleu-grass - chunks ofchicken tenders, pro-volone cheese and hamtopped off with a honeymayo.

I enjoyed an early pre-miere of this creation andwill go on record declar-ing it to be a winner.

This Snak Shak staff isdefinitely “cooking withgas.” During recent reno-vations they replaced theexisting ¾ inch gas linewith a 1 ½ inch line to ac-commodate the kitchenexpansion.

Most eateries can bejudged by their coffee –and tea. Thereto, theSnak Shak excels with itsKeurig machine, provid-ing fresh, on-demand hotdrinks.

All legal beverages areavailable at the SnakShak, and, in keepingwith the decorum of thislocation, are discreetly of-fered as a compliment tolunch or dinner.

An hour of good con-versation, coupled withan array of Cajun foodput before me for tastingand testing, ended with awell-earned complimentto the staff –

“Mom, I cleaned myplate!” Ω

A sample platter at the Snak Shak, above, of crispychicken, catfish, queso sticks with chipotle

sauce, and a cup of Earl Grey tea. At left, evenon the coldest day, you can enjoy a respitewith the Snak Shak's Hawaiian Beach Club,with turkey breast, provolone, avocadospread, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoand mayo.


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Getting spicy atthe Snak Shak

Photos by Jaynell Graham

The goal of the Snak Shak “is to provide the best food, the most pleasant envi-ronment and quality, friendly service.” Pictured above, l-r, Gerri Ortiz, ChuckKettler, Jonathan Gibson, Betty Herf, Linda Shisler, Joy Hammons and GlenKotval.

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