Tag: Webster County

Four Counties To Receive $12 Million To Improve Water, Wastewater

Recent federal legislation has brought billions of dollars to communities nationwide to address their water and wastewater needs.

Four West Virginia communities are getting nearly $12 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission for water and wastewater projects.

The city of Williamson in Mingo County is the biggest recipient, with $4.2 million for water system improvements for 222 commercial and 1,520 residential customers.

In Lincoln County, $3.3 million will go to the Hamlin Public Service District to upgrade sewers for 101 businesses and 586 households.

In Webster County, the Cowen Public Service District will get $3 million to extend nearly 11 miles of water line to 58 homes and two businesses.

In Barbour County, the town of Junior will receive about $1.5 million to replace water infrastructure serving 395 households and bringing the water system back into compliance with state regulations.

Recent federal legislation has brought billions of dollars to communities nationwide to address their water and wastewater needs.

Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito are members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Manchin’s wife, Gayle, is federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.

July 2, 1934: Woodchopping Star Arden Cogar Sr. Born in Webster Co.

One of West Virginia’s most successful athletes hailed from the unusual sport of woodchopping. Arden Cogar Sr. was born in Webster County on July 2, 1934. When he was 21, he won nine titles at what would become the Lumberjack World Championships. He demonstrated his skills at the 1965 New York World’s Fair and quickly became the sport’s leading figure, with regular spots on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. He eventually set more than 50 world records, many after he turned 40. He still holds nine records.

Arden Cogar Jr., who is now a lawyer, followed in his father’s footsteps and competed for West Virginia University’s lumberjack team. He now holds 10 world records himself. Altogether, more than 20 Cogars have been competitive lumberjacks. Arden Sr., his son Arden Jr., and nephew Paul collectively hold 21 of the 80 world records in the categories of underhand chopping and standing block chop.

In 2001, the Cogars introduced an international team competition to the Webster County Woodchopping Festival. The festival, which has been held annually since 1960, is one of the most popular events of its kind in the world.

June 25, 1980: Two Women Murdered Traveling to Rainbow Gathering

On June 25, 1980, Nancy Santomero and Vicki Durian, who were apparently hitchhiking to the Rainbow Family reunion in Webster County, were murdered on Droop Mountain, in southern Pocahontas County.

The Rainbow Family is a loosely organized group, variously characterized as hippies and drifters, or as peaceful nature lovers and ecologists.

The annual gatherings, first held in Aspen, Colorado, grew from popular social, political, and cultural movements of the 1960s and early 1970s. The name “rainbow” signifies the diversity of people involved.

In the weeks before the 1980 gathering and the murders, West Virginia Secretary of State A. James Manchin and a group of Marlinton residents filed suit to bar the Rainbow Family from Monongahela National Forest. Manchin was quoted as saying that West Virginia didn’t need “this bunch of derelict misfits.” The federal court suit was dropped.

Despite the murders, about 6,000 gathered at the Rainbow Gathering in Webster County. In 1993, Pocahontas County native Jacob Beard was convicted of the murders. He was later acquitted and received a $2 million settlement after Joseph Paul Franklin, a white supremacist and serial killer, confessed to the murders.

April 30, 1938: 'Uncle Jack' McElwain Dies In Wainville

Musician Lewis Johnson “Uncle Jack” McElwain died at Wainville in Webster County on April 30, 1938, at age 82. During his lifetime—all of which was spent at Wainville on Laurel Creek—he was considered the best fiddler in all of central West Virginia. He took part in many fiddle contests, and no one recalls him ever losing one. His most notable win was at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.

Although no recordings of “Uncle Jack” are known to exist, oral histories reveal much about his playing, which was in the “old West Fork style”—a reference to the West Fork of the Little Kanawha River, where the McElwain family lived before moving to Webster County in the 19th century.

It’s hard to overestimate McElwains’ influence on fiddle playing. He was visited regularly by members of the fiddling Carpenter, Hammons, and Wine families and used to trade tunes with the legendary Harts Creek fiddler Ed Haley. A former neighbor and fiddler once recalled that when “Uncle Jack” played “Old Sledge,” his best tune, “you seemed to rise up three feet off the ground!”

March 28, 1868: Eli ‘‘Rimfire’’ Hamrick Born in Webster County

Eli ‘‘Rimfire’’ Hamrick was born at Bergoo in Webster County on March 28, 1868. Considered one of the best woodsmen of his time, he often led coal and lumber barons on hunting expeditions.

In 1907, he was hired by the Webster Springs Hotel as a guide and handyman. One of his jobs was to kill and dress chickens for the hotel kitchen.

That’s when Rimfire supposedly acquired his nickname. When asked how he killed the chickens for the hotel, he replied, ‘‘With a rimfire rifle, by God.’’

Like many West Virginians, Hamrick was a man of many talents. He operated a jewelry, watch repair, and gunsmith shop in Webster Springs; served as Webster County’s game and fish warden; and supervised a fire tower. In 1932, he ran for the legislature but lost.

He was considered by many to be the ideal stereotype of a mountaineer. He was originally believed to be the sole model for the ‘‘Mountaineer’’ statue on the state capitol grounds.

However, he later revealed that his younger brother, Ellis, had also posed for the statue.

“Rimfire” Hamrick died in Bergoo in 1945 at age 77.

Deadline Approaching for West Virginia Flood Unemployment

West Virginians who are out of work due to recent deadly floods are facing a deadline to apply for unemployment benefits.

The deadline to file a claim for employees or residents of Kanawha, Greenbrier and Nicholas counties is Wednesday.

Those in Clay, Fayette, Monroe, Roane, Summers, Pocahontas and Webster counties have until Friday.

People who live or work in Jackson and Lincoln counties have until Aug. 4.

The Disaster Unemployment Assistance offers benefits for people who are ineligible under the state’s regular unemployment insurance. Farmers, self-employed people and others may be eligible for the Disaster Unemployment Assistance.

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