| A former Calhoun woman celebrated her 100th birthday on September 18, 2002. Ola
Carpenter Hill of Ruth (South Charleston) enjoyed a birthday party with her family and
friends, receiving congratulations from President Bush and Governor Wise, and lots of other
famous folk.
Her niece Edna Duskey Kingsbury of Grantsville spent the day with her "last living
aunt."
Born in the backwoods near Husk Ridge, she was the daughter of the late Lewis and Emma
Husk Carpenter. She grew up on Board Fork, a narrow hollow filled with early settlers, the
Husks and the Carpenters. Board Fork is a narrow valley off Rowels Run, never improved by
the building of a "modern" road.
Ola's husband, Elmer Hill, died many years ago. "Ola left about 1921 to teach school in
Kanawha County. She was so homesick, she started to come back many times," recalled
Edna Kingsbury. Her two sisters, Violet Carpenter and Lena Duskey are deceased.
Ola landed in the small village of Ruth where she started teaching the one-room school. She
said the school did not have a dictionary, and she organized a pie social to buy one. She and
her husband operated a country store for many years, and is the oldest living member of the
Ruth Community Church.
Ola Hill, still alert, recalled her early life in Calhoun during the birthday party, and wants to
come back and visit the county "come spring."
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