Eleanor Roosevelt Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

November 15, 2010: Aracoma Hotel in Logan Badly Damaged by Fire

On November 15, 2010, the Aracoma Hotel in Logan was badly damaged by fire, leading to its demolition several months later.

Named for the Indian princess Aracoma, the daughter of Chief Cornstalk, the landmark hotel experienced many brushes with history. Built in 1917 for $50,000 by Syrian immigrant Harvey Ghiz, the hotel was the largest downtown building erected after Logan’s great fire of 1912. During construction, workers unearthed roughly a square-block field of bones and relics that had once been an Indian burial site.

The original four-story building fronted on Coal Street with an elaborate arched facade. It contained 94 rooms, most with private shower baths. It also boasted electric elevators and fine woodwork.

In 1921, during the West Virginia Mine Wars, local women set up an emergency food station in the Aracoma’s lobby to supply meals and supplies to the troops, police, and other antiunion forces quartered in Logan. Over the years, the hotel hosted such notables as evangelist Billy Sunday and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. And in 1960, John F. Kennedy used the Aracoma as his headquarters while campaigning for president in the region.

November 15, 2010: Aracoma Hotel in Logan Badly Damaged by Fire

On November 15, 2010, the Aracoma Hotel in Logan was badly damaged by fire, leading to its demolition several months later.

The original four-story building fronted on Coal Street with an elaborate arched facade. It contained 94 rooms, most with private shower baths. It also boasted electric elevators and fine woodwork.

November 13, 1879: Arthurdale Educator Elsie Clapp Born

Educator Elsie Clapp was born on November 13, 1879, in Brooklyn Heights. She was influenced by progressive educator John Dewey, who believed that schools should have a direct impact on the communities they serve.

In 1934, Clapp brought this philosophy with her to West Virginia as director of the community school at Arthurdale. The Preston County town was the first of the nation’s New Deal subsistence homesteads. A pet project of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Arthurdale was intended to give unemployed miners and their families a fresh start.

Clapp believed that Arthurdale’s school should tap into the students’ rural heritage and prepare them for real-life situations. For instance, they learned how to measure lumber for houses and built fiddles and guitars to be played at community square dances.

Ultimately, though, her strategy was rejected. The school was refused accreditation because it didn’t meet state standards. Others criticized Clapp for failing to prepare students to live in the modern world. She left after only two years at Arthurdale, and Preston County took over the school. But, her community-based approach to education would later become much more widely adopted.

October 30, 1930: First Mountain State Forest Festival Held

The first Mountain State Forest Festival began in Elkins on October 30, 1930. Since then, it has been held every October except for the years 1941 to 1949.

The festival was intended to attract tourists to the region, which is known for its hardwood trees and dazzling fall colors. It often occurs shortly before the November elections. So, it has hosted a bevy of politicians, including Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. It also has brought in a wide range of other national figures, including pilot and racing legend Eddie Rickenbacker, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and “first man on the moon” Neil Armstrong.

Typical events include performances by the Wheeling Symphony, nationally known country music acts, a fiddle contest, and dances. It also features arts-and-craft shows, wood chopping contests, old English knight tournaments, a carnival, and a fire-engine parade representing departments from across West Virginia. The culminating moment is when West Virginia’s governor crowns the new Queen Silvia.

Today, the festival, which is celebrated the first weekend in October, regularly attracts up to 150,000 visitors to the Randolph County seat.

November 15, 2010: Aracoma Hotel in Logan Badly Damaged by Fire

On November 15, 2010, the Aracoma Hotel in Logan was badly damaged by fire, leading to its demolition several months later.

The original four-story building fronted on Coal Street with an elaborate arched facade. It contained 94 rooms, most with private shower baths. It also boasted electric elevators and fine woodwork.

Eleanor Roosevelt's Homestead School in W.Va. Celebrates 75th Anniversary

This weekend, the Tygart Valley Homestead School celebrated the 75th anniversary of the first graduating class.

The Great Depression was extremely tough for West Virginians. Thousands of timber and coal jobs were lost across the state.

Like two other sister communities in West Virginia, Arthurdale and Eleanor, the Tygart Valley Homestead was a federally funded program in Randolph County that offered struggling West Virginians the chance to relocate to an area with new job opportunities. Residents all lived in rent-to-own housing built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Patty Lindsay Piercy’s family came to the Tygart Valley Homestead in 1937. Before they moved, Piercy says her family had been going through a very difficult time, economically.

“They definitely were struggling. My dad worked in the coal mines. And it was just a few days a week maybe if they was lucky enough to work. They didn’t own their own home,” said Piercy.

Piercy was one of about 70 current and former residents of Dailey and East Dailey who joined together on Saturday to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first graduating class of the Homestead school.

“It’s still a place where you’re coming home. Even though it’s been that many years, we’re still coming home,” said Piercy.

Sonny Knaggs also grew up on the Tygart Valley Homestead. Knaggs is president of the Tygart Valley Homestead Association, a grassroots organization that’s trying to find support to restore the Homestead School, which serves 140 students kindergarten-fifty grades and is in need of upgrades.

“We would like to see this school building used at least another 50 years,” said Knaggs.

During the celebration this weekend, an Eleanor Roosevelt impersonator recalled the history of when the first lady visited Tygart Valley and even attended a local square dance at the homestead school.

The anniversary celebration also marked the launch of a new photo exhibit of historic photos of the Homestead community. This summer, the photo exhibit will travel to libraries and museums throughout West Virginia, beginning at the Beverly Heritage Museum.