Arrangements are almost completed for Fairmont’s Big Fourth of July celebration—Parade Formation to be known early next week Last night’s committee meeting was the most enthusiastic of any held yet. Arrangements are almost complete for the big celebration, which will bring thousands of people to our city and entertain them so well that Fairmont will…
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It’s Beginning to Look Like Winter Weather is Here to Stay
January, 2024 and over the last three days, a winter storm has blown through my state of West Virginia and up the East Coast. The storm was strong and fierce in some states and not so bad in others. My town of Fairmont, West Virginia, ended up with about four inches. The temperature is about…
Christmas Spirit Pervades in City
Companies Give Dividends and Bonuses—Parties Planned For Poor Children The West Virginian December 23, 1922 { For the next couple of weeks, I will be publishing my blog about what my hometown, Fairmont, W.V., was like in the year 1922 during Christmas. After reading this, I wish we had lived then.] Dividends are being paid,…
Events in history for December 9
The animated special A Charlie Brown Christmas, featuring characters from Charles Schulz‘s popular Peanuts comic strip, first aired on American television, and it became a holiday classic. December 9, 1965. December 9, 1868 The world’s first traffic light was erected near Westminster Bridge in London; however, it was removed a month later after a gas leak caused one of the lights…
The Nation Heard the Cries From a Small Town One Hundred and Sixteen Years Ago
The terrible mine disaster at Monongah is still fresh in our minds, and it will remain fresh for many days, for the parties of rescuers have scarcely begun to find the bodies of the victims of that catastrophe. Every decade has its horrors, and every decade will have them until the end of time. It…
Good Morning Fairmont!
Starting in 1925, the editor of the Fairmont newspaper was Mr. C. E. “Ned” Smith he began to write a column in the newspaper each day called “Good Morning!” In his column, he would include items such as obituaries, happenings at local churches, musings of life, or topical items. No one could capture the town…
Fairmont Brewery Company, the Enemy of the W.T.C.U.
It was a young area when Fairmont, W.V., was incorporated in 1843. Farmers mostly held the town together, and making a great city was on everyone’s mind. People, men, and women, worked hard. When the weekend came, what did they do to relax and blow off some steam? Church was always at the center of…
What the Heck is the Heck Line?
Radios, we listened to them almost every day when I was younger. I know that things are changing, and with our phones and other devices, radios are becoming a thing of the past. In the Twenties and Thirties, they were a lifeline to the outside world if you could afford one. Not everyone could. There…
The Citizen’s Hospital [pt 2]
The first Cook Hospital on Gaston Ave. in Fairmont, W.V. Notice the horse and buggy ambulance on the left. { Last week, I told you the story of how Cook Hospital in Fairmont, West Virginia, came to be. Dr. John R. Cook, a general practitioner, and surgeon, came to this town and prioritized good healthcare….
Cook Hospital: The Citizens Hospital
In the early days of Fairmont, West Virginia, people seemed to care for their ailments themselves. They used old remedies that had been passed down from elders. They used what they had and hoped for the best. It was a precarious time—no doctors or nurses to run to. When it came to farming, injuries were…
Stogies and Cigars. Is there a Difference?
So what is a “Stogie”? It’s believed to derive from the word “stoga.” which describes a long thin cigar popular in the nineteenth century. The stogies were usually made with lower-quality tobacco leaves and often were smoked by laborers and working-class men. Cowboys loved stogies, but sometimes instead of smoking them, they bit off a…
One of the Earliest Hotels in Fairmont, West Virginia
Fairmont, West Virginia, has had many hotels and motels over the years. When the city was at its peak, there were times the visitors coming in competed to get a room. In the early days when Fairmont was called Middletown, new arrivals needed shelter, and the Continental Hotel provided it. The Continental Hotel was built…
Hammond Fire-Brick Company. The Brick That Helps Build America
Just downstream from Valley Falls State Park, there used to be a town called Hammond. For quite a while, it was a hive of business. Now there is not much left except for a remnant of a brick paved road and some brick foundations of former homes. There is also found a very old sign…
100 Years of Business: This Family Has the Metal Touch
This story starts in Lewis County, WV. Nathaniel Davis Helmick was born in 1837 and learned the trades of wagonmaking and being a blacksmith. At the age of 27, Nathaniel joined the 17th regiment of the West Virginia Infantry, fought on the Union side until the war’s end, and left with the rank of Captain….
The Big Top is Up, and Performers Ready. It’s Circus Day!
The year is 1905, and the children of Fairmont W.V. can hardly hold back the excitement. Today is Circus Day! Every year in Fairmont, large or small circuses come and entertain the masses with all kinds of stunts, animal acts, and freak shows. The parade from the train station to the fairgrounds on the south…
The Strike That Took Out Constable Riggs
It was a day like any other day. The men rose and prepared to go to work. The last few days’ works seemed to have had a heavy tension in the air, and it felt like a powder keg ready to blow. Would today be the day? Would they work, or would they walk? It…
What Does One Building, A Huge Cake, and Three Stores Have in Common?
The year is 1847, and a man named Samuel Yeager was the owner and captain of a steamboat called the “John B. Gorden.” He was headed to Fairmont, W.V., loaded with 70 tons of freight. Now, what was a seaman to do with all the merchandise he had purchased elsewhere? He unloaded it, stored it…
Let’s Jump and Jive and Take a Ride in Ravine Park Tonight! Part 2
Ravine Park was to be the biggest little amusement park in the area. As told in the previous part 1 of this story, the park was furnished with concession stands, a pavilion, an auditorium, and a swimming pool to keep everyone cool. Now was the time for the rides. The City bought and installed its…
Let’s Jump and Jive and Take a Ride at Ravine Park Tonight! Part 1
In the City of Fairmont, W.V., with the coal industry spurring on a growth of business and more and more people relocating here, something needed to be done about the entertainment in town. There wasn’t much for the whole family to enjoy. Sure, they had the Grand Opera house, with the burlesque dancers and vaudeville…
Burn it to the Ground. Build it up. Burn it Down Again. Then let it Go!
Fairmont W.V. has always been known as the “Friendly City” and a historic town. I, as well as many others, never felt it was all that historic. When I started doing this blog and studied more about my town, “Historic” is precisely as it should be described. As I write more weekly blogs, readers will…
Lyon’s Den in Fairmont, West Virginia
Nestled in the northcentral section of West Virginia is my hometown. Fairmont, the county seat of Marion County. Having a conversation with my brother the other day, we realized that there is not a part of this town we don’t have a memory of, good memories. This is the town we went to school in,…
The Ticket to the Golden Door: An intermigration Story
History is the true Spine of America, without it we would fall and collapse.
America’s Most Treacherous Winter Disaster
“It fell like powered sugar,brittle, yet airy and without direction as it covered the land under an unforgiving tomb.” H.S. Crow Northwest Plains The year was 1888, and it would go down in history as having one of the worst storms ever. States like the Dakotas, Montana, and Nebraska, had unseasonably warm weather the previous…
How Does the Word Beautiful Figure into a Suicide?
More and more people who choose to end their lives by suicide make headline news in today’s world. Right or wrong, it happens. When a newspaper or news show reports this tragic event, beautiful is never a word associated with suicide. But it has been used many times in the past. Furthermore, as I was…
Doctor Hyde is Placed in Jail
{The Cairo Bulletin. [Cairo, Ill.] 1910-1928, April 28, 1910} His Bail of 100,000 Revoked on Testimony Presented in the Trial by the State Kansas City, April 27- Dr. B.C. Hyde’s bond of 100,000 was revoked and the physician was placed in jail by the order of Judge Latshaw at the close of the criminal court…
Blind and Deaf Girl Astounds Chicago Medics
{ The Rock Island Argus and Daily Union. [ Rock Island Ill.] 1920-1923} April 27, 1922 Chicago, April 27– Members of the Chicago Medical society are marveling today over the feats performed last night by Willeta Huggins, 17-year-old girl, blind and deaf, and who is said to be “even more marvelous than Helen Keller.” The…
Who Was the Girl With the Blue Tattoo?
The year was 1850, and many people were heading to the midwest for a new opportunity in life. Large and small wagon trains gathered, thinking there was safety in numbers. At this time in the western territory, Indians had lived, and survived there for many years, but some were not always welcoming to newcomers. With…
Coal is still King! Then and Now
Young and old, it never mattered when your family needed food. Coal ming was the way to do that.
YMCA: A Great Organization and Disco Song
Back in the 70’s I spent my life at the discotheques, and one of my favorite songs to dance to was YMCA by the Village People. A viral song that is still used today at certain functions. Meanwhile, if the organization had never come into existence, we wouldn’t have the music. The YMCA stands for…
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: THE BRIGHTEST PART OF THE HOLIDAYS!
From Fire to Electricity Christmas lights are everywhere To bless the world again! Haloed candles’ golden flames At every windowpane- Lamplight streaming cheerily From welcoming doors flung wide- Firelight soft on little heads That dream of Santa’s ride- Starshine drifting from the sky- Lights that bob and glow As dancing lanterns mark the way The…
The Empire State Building: The Core of the Big Apple
Empire State Building, just say the name, and it evokes a picture of one of the tallest buildings in the world. From standing on the sidewalk and peering up to the sky, the massive structure overwhelms. In fact from that vantage point a person is unable to see the sphere on top. It is an…
Broadway is the Gateway to Dreams Pt 2
Hello folks! This week we will be going back to Broadway in New York City, to find out how it continued to grow. Remembering that it had its ups and downs. Theaters burning down, riots between upper and lower classes. Wars closed it down. Musicals became the most popular show to see. We now will…
Broadway is the Gateway to Dreams Pt 1
The Curtain Rises on Broadway Broadway is a main artery of New York life-the hardened artery. Walter Winchell Broadway is known as the “Great White Way.” The place where performers hope that what they want more than anything will really come true – “If you can make it here you can make it anywhere.” Each…
Intercollegiate Football: The History
Rugby, Soccer, and Football Why do Brits call what we know in America as soccer, football? From an article in the Smithsonian Magazine,”Brits coined the term soccer in the late 1800’s to refer to Association Football, the sport now known as soccer/football. “Soccer” was picked as a way to differentiate from another kind of football-Rugby…
Epidemic to Pandemic: It’s 1918 All Over Again
The influenza epidemic of 1918 may well be the greatest scourge ever to afflict humanity, exacting a death toll greater than all the wars of the 20th Century combined. The virus that wrecked this havoc apparently developed in birds, and then jumped to people. In other words, it was avian flu. David L. Katz The…
Take a Ride Down the Lazy River
The West Virginian June 04, 1909 From Fairmont to Morgantown and Return Sunday, June 6 The I. C. Woodward will leave Fairmont at 8:30 on Sunday, June 6, for Morgantown and return reaching Fairmont at 5:30 p.m. The fare for the round trip, not including any meals, will be as follows: From Fairmont 75 cents;…
Giants in West Virginia
Below is an article that was sent our Marion County Historical Society president, Dora Grubb. I’m pretty sure we or at least the older residents of West Virginia, have heard the tales of “Giant” sketons being unearth in various parts of the state, including Marion County. Please take a few minutes to read this article….