Berkeley Castle

Present Day  Image Source

     Berkeley Castle, aka Berkeley Springs Castle, was originally built for Colonel Samuel Taylor Suit from Washington DC.  He first met his wife, Rosa, at Berkeley Springs and the residence was meant to be a place of peace and relaxation. (Apparently Rosa didn't want to marry the guy until he promised to build her a castle - he was 30 years older than her!)  Unfortunately he died in 1888 before it was finished.  After his death the quality of work done on the castle was obviously not as good but, was completed sometime in the early 1890's   You see, in his will he stated that Rosa had to finish the place before she could inherit his money. 

     For the next 20+ years Rosa lived the high life.  She threw parties and spared no expense on her guests.  She hired orchestras and caterers, and even paid for their hotel rooms.  By the time she was 50 she had spent all the money and had to start renting the place out.  She ended up in a tiny house raising chickens until her son took her to live in Idaho.

Image Source

     The castle was put up for auction a few times, and in 1916 it was bought by the Bank of Morgan County. George Cunningham, a local businessman, owned it between 1923 and 1938.  He had planned on turning the castle into a hotel, but it never ended up happening.  

     It was used in 1924 as place to throw Pasttime Club dances, and Friday nights in 1936 the "Old Castle Club" held it's dances.  Writers and artists would also stay in the castle in 1929.  

Image Source

     After Cunningham, Berkeley Castle was owned by Ward Kesecker.  He fixed the place up, did repairs, and even added an addition.  In 1939 a hobby and antiques fair was held at the castle for two weeks.  During this time is was also used by the Monte Vista Boys Camp.
     In 1954 Walter Bird purchased the castle on the creepy castle on the hill.  He's the one who finally figured out how to make some money with the place, tours.  He would make up wild stories about things that had happened there.  You know, murders, battles, ghosts, that sort of thing. He made it the place for tourists to go for nearly 50 years.

       The current owner is a Andrew Gosline who bought the castle at auction in 2002.  He was a retired data processor, from Florida, when he read an ad about the castle and auction.  Well, it was near his birthday and he decided to go check the place out.  He and his sons went and ended up buying the place.  He says, "I really didn't expect to buy it.  It's just one of those things you get caught up in."
      Although sometimes people show up looking for a tour of the place, it's just a residence now.  Mr. Gosline stated, "I find I have to keep the doors locked.  The people try to come in and walk through."  It's just a big castle for two, Andrew and his dog, Duke.
     

Image Source

     The Castle is on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, and can be rented out for weddings.  You can visit its website at berkeleyspringscastle.org and take a virtual tour here.
    

      

     

Mound Day

The Daily Telegram

November 5, 1908

     All the grades in the city schools observed Mound Day this afternoon for half an hour.  Appropriate programs were rendered and funds raised for the preservation of the mound at Moundsville.

     Mr. McConkey presided over the high school and Superintendent Burdette gave an historical account of the mound.  Miss Bertha Bland and Frank White, high school representatives, read sketches.  There was patriotic music.  The fund will be deposited in the bank to be drawn on by State Treasurer Ogdin.

     The Clyclopedia Americana says of the mound:

     "One of the most interesting mounds of North America is that know as Grave Creek Mound located in Moundsville, West Virginia.  The Mound is situated on an artificial truncated mound, some 70 feet high and 900 feet in circumference at its base.  The mound was built by a race superior and previous to Indians, and is the most notable mound in the Ohio Valley.  Its cubic contents are equal to the third pyramid of Mycerinus, but was heaped up by a people destitute of the knowledge of iron, and who had no domestic animals or machinery to aid them.  They were evidently people like the Egyptians, ruled by some one monarch, who was able to combine vast numbers in the erection of one structure, and at the same time, able to provide them with food in abundance.  The mound-builders cultivated the soil like the Egyptians, and had maize for their food, as the date and leek and onion supplied the wants of the laborers on the Nile.  No Indian was ever known to toll in this manner.  No government existed among the Indians that could bring them so much servitude.  The authority of a chief or sachem is too slender a thread for such a people.  It must be remembered that in Egypt to build one of the pyramids required the labor of 360,000 men for 20 years.  This Mound was visited by white men at a very early date, for, in 1818, on of the large trees growing on the Mound bore the date of 1734, and several names cut in the bark were yet distinguishable.  Tomlinson, the owner of the Mound, was induced - by his neighbors and friends in Wheeling - to open the Mound, which he did in 1838.  From the north side he excavated toward the centre an adit ten feet high and 7 feet wide along the natural surface.  At the distance of 111 feet he came to a vault that had been excavated in the earth before the Mound was commenced;  8 feet by 12 feet square and 7 feet in depth.  Along each side, and across the ends, upright timbers had been placed, which supported timbers thrown across the vault as a ceiling.  Those timbers were covered with loose unhewn stone, common in the neighborhood.  The timbers had rotted, and the stone tumbled into the vault.  In this vault were two human skeletons, one of which had no ornaments.  The other was surrounded by 650 ivory beads and an ivory ornament about six inches long.  A shaft was also sunk from the top of the Mound to meet the other.  At 34 feet above the first or bottom vault, was found another, similar to the first.  In this vault was found a skeleton which had been ornamented with copper rings, plates of mica, and bone beads.  Over 2,000 discs cut from shells were found here.  The copper rings, or bracelets found, weighed about 17 ounces."   

The Flatwoods Monster

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5f/Flatwoods_monster_newspaper1.png

       Seven Braxton County residents Saturday reporting seeing a 10 foot Frankenstein-like monster in the hills above Flatwood.

     They said they saw the monster Friday night when they climbed a wooded hill to investigate reports that a flying saucer had landed.

     Mrs. Kathlyn May, Flatwood, said she and six boys, including a 17-year-old member of the national guard, started to search for a bright object which her two small sons said they had seen come down.

     However, State Police laughed the reports off as hysteria.  They said the so-called monster had grown from seven to 17 feet in 24 hours.

     The National Guard member, Gene Lemon, was leading the group when he said he saw what appeared to be a pair of bright eyes in a tree.  At first he thought it was an oppossum or a raccoon but when he shone his flashlight on it, he said, he saw a 10-foot monster with a blood-red face and a green body that seemed to glow.  Mrs. May said Lemon let out a terrified scream and fell over backwards.  She said the monster started toward them with a bounding motion. 

     All of the party agreed that there was an overpowering smell that burned the nostrils and made them sick.  Several of the party fainted and vomited for several hours after returning to town.

     A. Lee Stewart, co-publisher of the Braxton County Democrat, said he and several men armed with shotguns returned with Lemon about half-hour to an hour later, and reported a sickening odor still present.  He said there were also slight heat waved in the air.

     "Those people were the most scared people I've ever seen,"  Stewart said, "People don't make up that kind of story quickly."  Both Mrs. May and Lemon described the thing as having the shape of a man, blood-red face, bright green body, protruding eyes, and hand extended forward and appeared to give off an eerie light.  They said it had a black shield affair in the shape of an ace of spades behind it and wore what looked like a pleated metallic shirt.

     "It looked worse than Frankenstein," Mrs. May said.

Image Source:  here.

     

     Those who saw the monster:

1. Edward May - 13
2. Fred May - 12
3. Tommy Hyer - 10
4. Kathlyn May
5. Neil Nunley - 14
6. Ronnie Shaver - 10
7. Eugene 'Gene' Lemon - 17

      The "Braxton County Monster" has been described by a local insurance man and amateur astronomer as an illusion created by the remains of a gaseous meteor.
     He is Earl Stephens of nearby Belle, whose theory is one of the best offered here on the origin of "the thing" that scared the daylights out of a Braxton County family.
     His theory was advanced after Mrs. Kathleen May and Gene Lemon of Flatwoods returned from New York where they described their experience before a nation-wide television audience.
     It is Stephens' opinion that the meteor, commonly called a fire ball, originated from an electrical discharge in the outer atmosphere, forming the shape of a gaseous ball.

Odor of Sulphur

     "The odor of sulphur was the tip-off," declared Stephens.  "It burns with a green flame accounting for the apparition the people saw."
     Stephens said one of the party apparently flashed their light on the gas ball just the instant before it disintegrated into thin air.  The reflection of the light on the gases gave it the shape the people described, he said.
     The " monster" story came to light a week ago after reports that Mrs. May, Lemon and four youths ran smack into the thing while searching for a strange object they saw floating into the woods near their home.
     They described the monster as about eight feet tall, with red eyes and a green body, topped by a strange pointed mantle.
     However, during a thorough search of the area by county officials the next day only the sulphurous odor remained.
Facts Support Theory
     Stephens said his theory is backed up by the fact the earth entered a meteorite stream on Aug. 24.  He believes the gaseous body may have been ripped from Biela's Comet which has been splitting up during recent years, showering the earth with its fragments.
     During the same period several local residents observed a strange luminous body that was believed to have fallen within a 50-mile radius of Charleston.
     The gaseous theory is further bolstered by the stories of two residents of rural St. Albans, who declared they saw a lighted object float lazily to the ground and disappear.
     A search of that area by two Gazette reporters failed to turn up any....

 [Caption under the picture]   

     THE MONSTER which prowled the hills of Braxton County on Friday, Sept. 12, was drawn by a New York artist from descriptions given him by Mrs. Kathleen May and Gene Lemon, Flatwoods residents who said they saw the "thing."  The two witnesses, with A. Lee Stewart, Jr., Sutton publisher, told their experience on "We The People" television show in New York Friday night.  [The artist's?] conception was featured on the program with a background of weird [music?].  Lemon and Mrs. May hold the portrait which they say is "quite accurate."  The [picture?] was taken in Charleston at the Greyhound bus terminal.

The Waffle Rock Boulder

     Once upon a time there was a rock.  This rock was different from all the other rocks, and the local natives believed it was sacred.  The years passed and the area near the rock became known as a town called Shaw.  This town was located somewhere in Mineral County, West Virginia.

Image Source: here.

     The town of Shaw had a river running through it called the Potomac.  Then one day some engineers decided to build a dam on this river.  To build this dam meant that the town of Shaw would be flooded forever, along with this magnificent rock.  In place of the town and rock would be a lake - Jennings Randolph Lake.  
     Luckily, someone realized that this rock should not be lost to the people, and decided to move it.  Unfortunately, this rock was a big one.  So it was decided that a portion of the rock, now dubbed "Waffle Rock," would be removed from the whole and saved.  
     A portion of Waffle Rock now sits on an overlook of the lake.  This rather large 'hunk' has been dubbed as the Waffle Rock boulder, and has been a tourist attraction since its placement there in 1985.  Another piece of the rock now resides at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.

Larger view of original rock.  Image Source: here.

     Waffle rock is not only interesting to look at, but it's also surrounded in mystery.  No one seems to know just how the strange geometric patterns came to be.  Of course, there are many theories out there.  To name a few:

• Carved by ancient native Americans
• Reptilian aliens
• More aliens/made a landmark
• An alien craft landed on it and left the markings behind
• Electromagnetic fields
• An electrical storm or lightning strike
• Sandstone formed cracks, and over time those cracks filled in with quarts.  Since the two rocks erode at different rates the 'waffle' appearance formed. 

     To me it looks like the inside of a beehive.  Back in prehistoric times lots of insects and animals were ginormous compared to today, so who knows, maybe this is a giant beehive fossil.  Hey, my guess could end up being the truth, right?  Unlikely.  Still, I'm glad that at least a part of it was saved and I hope to see it for myself one day.

Who doesn't like a good mystery now and then?

 

#staystrongWV

Photo by Melinda Hannah

     Today I wanted to thank some special people. Together they raised over $8,000 to help the victims of the devastating floods just a few weeks ago.  Lewisburg native, Brandon Baker, is the one who originally came up with the idea - and he never thought it would be such a success!  

    

 In his own words:

     "When I first got the idea to design wrist bands for the flood victims, I was riding in the back of mom and dad's truck on the way back from the beach.  My donation goal was 600 dollars.  I thought if I could donate 600 dollars I would feel very accomplished.  Then, they took off to say the least.

      They are in 13 or 14 different states, in the WVU athletic department and all over West Virginia.

     This isn't an exact number because I'm still owed a little bit of money, but I'm very pleased to announce that with everyone's help that purchased even just one wrist band, I have over $8000.00 to distribute to the flood victims.  Yes,  eight THOUSAND.

 

Brandon Baker

     I hope everyone understands how AWESOME that is for something that costs 3 dollars.

      Each and every one of you that bought one deserves to be personally thanked so THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH!!! It was all of you that made this possible." 

     He goes on to say:

     "Also, everybody keeps thanking me and I greatly appreciate it, bit it was not just me.  I just came up with the plan, but without the following people helping just out of the goodness of their heart while receiving nothing, this would not have been possible."    

Mara Davis

Project Supervisor

Tammy Metrick McManus

Delivered to Beckley and sold a ton to others.

Cathy Crews

Sold in Union

Debbie Jamie Daniels

Sold in Marlinton.

Caleb Aram Davis

Worked the table at Kroger.

Brenna Baker

Worked the table at Kroger.

Sherry Napier Baker

Helped keep money straight and did all shipping orders.

Dad Baker

For putting up with us. 

     "Also, a special thanks to [below] for their help getting them to the people on the western side of the county."

Sam Bevins

and

Chrissy Hunter

The little table that could.

     I would personally like to thank everyone who has helped in the aftermath of this disaster.  Much was lost, but I believe we've also found something profound - faith in humanity.  

We are West Virginia STRONG!

The West Virginia Bluebeard

     No, this post isn't about a pirate, it's about a creepy guy who killed a lot of innocent people.  Unlike most serial killers who are able to blend in, though, this guy totally looks the part.  While his (known) crimes did take place in beautiful West Virginia, he wasn't from here and we don't take credit for anything but his conviction and hangin'!     

 

In a Prison Cell  Image Source: here.

   
     Sometime in 1892 a boy named Herman Drenth was born in the Netherlands.  In 1910 his family decided to try for a better life in the US and ended up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.   At some point he changed his name to Harry Powers.  Then in 1926, even though he was in his thirties, he moved with his parents to West Virginia.  His father was a hard working farmer, but he was lazy and wanted an easier way to make money - you know the type.

     Well, I guess he was lonely because he responded to an ad in Lonely Hearts Magazine and ended up getting married to Luella Strother in 1927.  I can't say I'm surprised at his choice of wife.  You see, Luella owned a general store in Clarksburg and she had some money.  He worked selling used furniture.  Harry still wasn't satisfied, however, and started taking out his own lonely hearts ads.  He placed his adds in papers from other towns and states using aliases like Cornelius O. Pierson and A.R. Weaver.  Whatever those things said must've been appealing because records from the post office showed 10-20 women responded daily! 

     This guy was a plotter and a planner.  He didn't care about these women he wrote to, he just wanted their money.  A male gold-digger.  He knew he had to lure them in with sweet talk, then get them to come 'be with him.'  But what was he supposed to do with them when they got there?  He decided to build himself a garage with a basement.  He called it his "lab." 

     He didn't just wait for the women to come to him, he was a hunter as well.  He told Luella that he was going on "business trips," but he was really searching for wealthy women.  Many of these women were widows, and some had kids.    

Image Source: here.

     Asta (Ester) Eicher was a widow living in Park Ridge, Illinois.  She had three children, Greta, Harry, and Annabel.  "Cornelius O. Pierson" went to visit her on June 23, 1931, and decided to take her on a trip.  For several days the children stayed with a women, Elizabeth Abernathy, while the two got better acquainted.  She received a letter one day that said "Pierson" was going to pick up the kids and they would all rejoin with Asta.  When he got there he told one of the kids to go to the bank and get money from the mothers account.  Well, the banker noticed the signature looked funny and wouldn't give them any money.  Powers must've freaked at this point, and he quickly took the kids - and no money.  The Eichers were never seen again.  He ended up telling concerned neighbors and friends that they were on a European trip.
     Dorothy Pressler Lemke would be his final victim, of how many no one knows.  She was from Northboro, Massachusetts, and she had some money.  He saw her ad and talked her into moving to Iowa to be his wife.  She withdrew $4000 from the bank, packed her bags, and was ready to go.  However, she failed to notice that when he sent to the bags ahead he sent them to Fairmont, West Virginia.  She was also never seen again.
     Friends of Asta Eicher decided it was time to talk to the police, things were just suspicious.  The police were given the name Cornelius O. Piersons from West Virginia, but they couldn't find anyone by that name.  Somebody apparently thought the guy they were describing sounded a lot like Harry Powers.  Then, farmer who lived nearby noticed some pretty nasty smells coming from the "lab," and told police.  Powers was arrested and his house in Quiet Dell and the "lab" were searched.

   
     What they found under that garage was gruesome.  One of the rooms was used for tying up and gassing his victims.  The gas was piped into one room while Powers watched from behind a plate glass window.  He admitted to being sexually pleased by their agony, even saying, "it beat any cathouse I was ever in..."  The children were usually killed immediately after arriving to the death pit.  Autopsy evidence on the Eichers showed that all the females had been strangled.  Her son was beaten to death with a claw hammer.
     The bodies of his five known victims were found in a shallow ditch which had recently been filled in.  Men searched and dug for other possible victims, but none were found.  When jailers asked Powers if their were any more bodies or victims he wasn't exactly cooperative.  He didn't deny the killings, though, and practically admitted to having many more victims.  He simply said, "You got me on five, what good would fifty more do?"

     People hated this guy so much that on September 20th a mob surrounded the jail house where he was being held.  The fire department tried to break up the crowd of nearly 1,000 strong with fire hoses, but when that didn't work they ended up using tear gas!  Police decided it would be better to send him off to Moundsville Penitentiary to await the trial.  The crimes had caused such a sensation that trial actually ended up taking place at Moore's Opera House - so that their would be enough room.  The courtroom had 1,200 seats in it, but Powers didn't have a care in the world.  The whole first day he struggled just to stay awake!  I guess by the time it was his turn to take the stand he realized he was going to die.  He cried and tears streamed down his face as he denied having killed anyone.  He even tried to take back his perverted confessions.
     Deliberations of the jury took place in a dressing-room, of all places.  In just under two hours he was found guilty for all five murders and sentenced to hang.  He had a change of heart in prison and wrote a full and detailed confession to his crimes.  My guess it he wanted the fame.  His last word was spoken on March 18, 1932.  He was hanged at Moundsville  Penitentiary, and when asked if he had any final words he said "No."
      
            

 

     

           

       

June 23, 2016 Aftermath

I love this one.