| By Alvin Engelke
Those who attend the Creston auction are reminded that this time the happening
will be held on January 31 instead of the first Saturday in February.
The local area received a little snow along with typical January temperatures.
Albert Gore Jr. gave a big talk on global warming in New York City on one of the
coldest days of record. By the way, Baghdad Bob is back on Tee Vee and for sure
he will have plenty of work.
Danny Stutler was among those who attended the big root and fur auction at
Glenville. Trapping was one of the economic mainstays of the area until the
synthetic fabric group came along and tried to turn folks against animal products,
including furs. When the trapping pressure came off on local furbearers there
was a rabies outbreak that spread all the way to upstate New York. After all,
trapping had been going on in these parts for 400 years.
It was learned that the groups that are working to ban hunting, trapping and
fishing have millions and millions in banks. PETA has over $16 million and the
Humane Society has over $67 million. It was noted that PETA really stands for
People for the Eating of Tasty Animals.
Several Wirt County residents attended the play Death Trap at the Theater Guild
in Parkersburg. It is a two-act play with many twists, turns and a very surprising
ending.
It was noted that turnips, an umbrella and a cap were fetched in by one fellow for
The Sassy Storekeeper.
The other night, during the snow, more pies, cobbler and other goodies were
fetched in for Mr. Dexterity (and perhaps Phil). It seems that some of these
women think that a man's stomach is very important.
Chester Fluharty fell and broke a leg. Presently he is in Western Hills rehab
hospital at Parkersburg.
Brooks McCabe a politico down at the Mouth of the Elk River announced that
county consolidation would be a wonderful thing. He suggested that Kanawha,
Putnam and Cabell be joined together. Putnam County has been growing while
Kanawha has been losing population. A Putnam politician said consolidation
might be good "for the sparsely settled" but would not be good there. Obviously,
local residents are going to have to keep a close eye on the goings on down at
the legislative session. It also will be imperative to have the best candidates
possible for all offices so the local area is not bamboozled by the venal and the
gullible.
According to early reports the folks who make the laws are considering more
and higher taxes on snuff and chewing tobacco. Apparently some of the elite just
can't stand it that West Virginia leads the nation in chewing. These "leaders"
would have us believe with lots more gambling and lots of tax on Navy,
Copenhagen and Mail Pouch the state's financial woes will be solved. Of course
Mail Pouch, a West Virginia product, has been made in the same factory building
for about 160 years, a record that will be hard to beat -these are jobs that likely
will not be outsourced to Hindoostan or communist China.
Those who lead our state (and have led it now for decades) should be proud or
something. 14.8% of the state's residents have a bachelor's degree or more
which makes W. Va. 50th in the nation. Also, voter turnout in the 2000 election
was 40.9% which gave our state a rating of 46th.
The price of local crude oil rose to $31.75 reflecting the trend in world prices,
which are, of course, significantly higher.
Keith Collins, Anna Engelke, Sean McKillop, Dina Hallow and Jessica Potter were
at a Chili Party on Friday evening when they decided they wanted to go on "an
adventure", as Anna used to call it when she was little. After some discussion
they decided on a "spontaneous" trip to New York City. Driving all night, they
arrived about dawn and enjoyed visiting the Today Show on the Plaza where they
had three seconds of fame on national TV. The group also visited the World
Trade Center Site, dined in local eateries and secured tickets to the very popular
play, 42nd Street. By play time in the evening, the group was a little weary after
being awake for 40 hours and struggled to "keep focused" in the nice warm
theater. Keith soon drifted off. About that time a gunshot was fired as part of the
play. He threw up his hands and cried out in a loud voice, (expletives deleted),
sending the patrons around him into peals of laughter. After that incident,
staying awake through the rest of the performance was easier. The trip home
brought a snowstorm and bad road conditions but everyone arrived home safely.
They said next time they would check the weather first but then, would the trip
be spontaneous?
Leslie "The Leapin' Lizard" Lynch made the dean's list at West Virginia State
College. She and a group of friends also went to Jacksonville Florida to watch
the mismatch between the Morgantown and Maryland semi-pro teams.
Matt Copen rescued Nancy Engelke when her hot water pipe burst under her sink
sending extremely hot water and steam all over her kitchen. Matt had the pipe
fixed and working in very short order.
S. F. C. & Mrs. Thomas Fluharty and Chester Fluharty visited relatives in Pine
Grove. The big news in that area was arrival of the new column for the natural
gas liquids gas extraction plant. The part was flown from Canada to Pittsburgh
on a Russian plane and then trucked to Hastings Station. It took all day to get
from New Martinsville over to Pine Grove. They were 4 hours getting around the
first big curve in the road and at Reader cribbing and timbers had to be used to
cross the bridge.
Peggy Cooper became ill and was a patient in the hospital. She is now home and
feeling somewhat better.
Several Wirt residents were among the throng that attended the wake for
prominent Ritchie cattleman and civic leader Marian Goff. He & his wife had just
returned from the national Farm Bureau convention in Hawaii. Former Wirt
County VoAg teacher Ben Cummings won the young farmer debate and now has a
FWD Dodge pickup truck.
Mum seems to be the word on the Eastern American deep well at Gandeeville but
one outfit was paying $15/acre in delay rental for acreage near the location. It
was reported that Eastern American has started another deep well near Deadfall
Run in Clay County and that Martin Twist's second deep well in Jackson County
was a duster.
Both Alvin and Nancy Engelke were having professional consultations with Dr.
Mills.
Jim Thompson was consulting with the folks at the VA hospital at
Clarksburg.
It was learned that The Great Pifu motored down to Florida to spend some time
with his pal Paul.
Donna Sue Ferrell was attending to business in Grantsville.
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