Arthurdale WV: poster child for New Deal efforts to ease the suffering, part 1

Posted by Dave Tabler

My father, Bayard Young, a native of Glenville, WV, was a graduate student at West Virginia University during the mid-30s. To earn cash to supplement his assistantship in the Chemistry Department, he freelanced newspaper articles and photographs. He had a darkroom and a press quality Speed Graphic camera – a monster to handle by today’s digital standards.

Dad stayed alert to any likely news pieces that he could cover and sell to some of the major East Coast newspapers. He had a fast turn-around with this photographs, and he was able to type out his copy at what was considered blazing speed on the clunky typewriters of the day. Continue Reading part-one…

Read part-two:  Arthurdale WV: poster child for New Deal efforts to ease the suffering, part 2

We love to hear New Deal stories like this! Let us know if you have any enthralling non-fiction stories about historical Arthurdale, WV!

Front Row (left to right): Helen Nikirk, United Way coordinator Martha White. Back Row (left to right): Nick Taylor, Chris Hudson II, Brandon Hudson, Chris Hudson Not Pictured: Lora Quince

Volunteers from the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties rolled up their sleeves to help Arthurdale Heritage (AHI). It was all part of the United Way’s Day of Caring. Six United Way volunteers from WesBanco’s Kingwood branch and Allegheny Energy’s Albright Power Station teamed up with AHI volunteers to clean and organize storage facilities at its Center Hall Complex.

“Our storage areas in the historic service station garage bays had not been thoroughly organized or cleaned for several years. It’s a project that wasn’t vital to our day-to-day operations, but still sorely needed. With the help of the United Way, we were able to complete a project in two hours that would have probably taken us two days,” said Jeanne Goodman, AHI Executive Director.

Goodman said the workers uncovered things like old, bedding and fixtures, office equipment, outdated foodservice products, and other items. AHI volunteers Randy Weaver and Roger Day helped guide the United Way workers to ensure only valueless items were disposed of. AHI volunteer Jeff Zinn provided a trailer and hauled away the trash.

“We would like to thank the United Way and the volunteers for coming out and working on such a hot, humid day. I also appreciate their employers, WesBanco and Allegheny Energy for allowing people time off to volunteer for United Way’s Day of Caring. We appreciate their time and commitment to Arthurdale Heritage,” Goodman said.

Front: Helen Nikirk. Back (left to right): Nick Taylor, Chris Hudson II, Brandon Hudson, Chris Hudson

Arthurdale Heritage President Sarah Barnes (left) and AHI Executive Director Jeanne Goodman (right) display Governor Manchin's proclamation declaring July 'Arthurdale Heritage Month.'

Arthurdale Heritage (AHI) is celebrating its Silver Anniversary this July at its New Deal Festival. To kick off the celebration, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin issued a proclamation declaring July ‘Arthurdale Heritage Month.’

“We are delighted that Governor Manchin has honored our beautiful community by declaring July ‘Arthurdale Heritage Month,’” said AHI President Sarah Barnes. “This recognition helps us spotlight the important role our state played during the New Deal era.  Eleanor Roosevelt would be proud to know that her ‘little village’ is doing so well and telling the story of what she set out to accomplish,” Barnes said.

The New Deal Festival is Saturday, July 10^th and features artisan demonstrators, a craft market, living history actors, an antique car, truck, and tractor show, quilt show, kids activities, live entertainment, barbecued chicken dinners, and more. More information about the New Deal Festival is online at: http://www.newdealfestival.org.

Throughout its 25 years, AHI has tirelessly worked to restore and preserve the New Deal Homestead Community of Arthurdale. The organization started as a grass-roots community group in 1985, raising money through donations from local residents and businesses. Today, AHI has successfully restored and preserved five buildings comprising the New Deal Homestead Museum. AHI also has three major capital projects underway to restore five additional structures.

“Arthurdale Heritage has truly been a grassroots organization.  Those of us involved in 2010 are so grateful to the determined group who started the organization 25 years ago and the community who supported it. They worked so hard to raise every penny to restore what is now the New Deal Homestead Museum today.  The community of Arthurdale is such a wonderful place to live – due, in no small part, to the efforts of this organization.  Without AHI, the community would be another town with abandoned buildings and struggling to survive.  The people of Arthurdale are to be commended for their efforts over the years by taking such pride in their community and seizing the opportunity to tell their story,” Barnes said.

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin issued this proclamation declaring July 'Arthurdale Heritage Month.'

“This award is a huge honor for our group. Our project was selected over projects in larger counties in Monongalia and Kanawha Counties,” said award recipient Becky Friend.

AHI President Sarah Barnes said, “Arthurdale Heritage is very fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteers like the master gardeners. Their dedication and vision has helped turn what was once an abandoned building foundation into a beautiful garden.”

The garden, built on the site of the former Finks Co-op General Store, was completed in the summer of 2009. The project was funded with a Green Thumbs/Healthy Joints Grant from the West Virginia University Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, Center for Excellence in Disabilities and a donation from Arthurdale Heritage, Inc. It features raised flower beds, decorative metal benches, and inspiring quotes from Eleanor Roosevelt.

The garden features raised flower beds to help teach ergonomic gardening techniques.

The garden sits on the site of the original Arthurdale co-op general store.

UPDATE (5/24/2010): Bidding is now open and you can place your bid here:  Greenbrier Classic Tickets Silent Auction

Win two passes to all practice and competition rounds. Your passes include guaranteed admission to a special concert featuring country music superstars Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.

Arthurdale Heritage, Inc. can help you make this Father’s Day special with the ideal gift for the dad who loves golf. Treat dad to the thrill of watching the world’s top golfers including Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and Sergio Garcia. Held at the world-famous Greenbrier, your passes include guaranteed admission to the entire week’s events, including practice rounds. They also include admittance to a special concert featuring West Virginia native Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.

The Greenbrier Classic is a PGA Tour FedEx Cup event and runs from July 26 through August 1, 2010. Measuring nearly 7,000 yards and playing to par 70, The Old White Course originally was designed by Charles Blair MacDonald and reopened in 2006 after an extensive renovation by Lester George which returned it to its original design. In preparation for the tournament, minimal course modifications are expected to add a couple of tees and the practice facility will be enhanced. The event features a $6 million-dollar purse and weekend competition rounds will be nationally televised on CBS.

Bidding opens at 9:00am, May 24th here at our website and closes at 4:00pm on June 16th. The winner will be announced Friday, June 18th. Rebid at any time while the auction is open. The highest bid wins. Be sure to check back regularly to see if you’ve been outbid.

My parents, Clinton and Irene Wolfe, were among the first fifty families to move to Arthurdale. Their home was F-6, which was one of the smaller Hodgson houses built on F Road. At that time, they had two daughters, Ruby and Delores. I was born in Arthurdale in 1937. In 1942 we moved further out the road to F-14, which was another Hodgson house but a little bigger than F-6.

Because I was so young, I do not remember much about the early days of Arthurdale. If my parents talked about those early days, unfortunately, I do not recall the conversation. I do not even remember seeing Mrs. Roosevelt, or hearing my teachers talk about her through twelve years of school. Perhaps other things mattered more to me and the community, such as the great turmoil of World War II.

Many people from Arthurdale not only served in the war, but there were shortages at home that people had to deal with. For instance, people could not buy a new car, because they were not being produced, nor could they buy tires or parts for the cars they already owned. It was hard work for families to keep food on the table. Then in 1950, the Korean conflict came along which added more stress. These are the kinds of things people talked about and were concerned with in Arthurdale during the years I was growing up. Very little was said about the history of Arthurdale or how it was founded. That interest has all come since the 50th anniversary of its founding.

I do remember being told that there was a lot of furniture made in Arthurdale and my family was provided with several pieces of it. I know we had two or three beds, bureaus, a large wooden cabinet that Delores still owns, and a nice wooden table with leaves on each side that folded down when not in use.

The kitchens in the Hodgson homes were very small and our table spent most of its time in the living room. Normally, when only family members were home, we ate meals in the kitchen around another small table. Frequently, uncles, aunts, and cousins would show up on Sunday and the Arthurdale table would be pulled out to the middle of the living room, the leaves would be opened up, a table cloth spread on it, and everyone would gather around that table to eat.

Other memories I have are doing school homework on the table, putting together jigsaw puzzles, and playing games around it. Since this was in the days before television, children as well as adults spent time doing other activities in the living room rather than mainly watching TV.

Because I was young and did not pay attention, I am not aware of how many other homes had a table like this one. The only other one I ever saw like it belonged to Mr and Mrs McNelis, our neighbors at F-12. It was also kept in their living room. I visited their home many times and would often see them both sitting at their table working on the daily crossword puzzle from the newspaper. They enjoyed doing that every day.

About 1978, when my parents moved from F-14 to a mobile home, I was given their table and have had it these many years. Just recently, while preparing to move to a smaller home in Ohio, I asked my sisters if we should donate the table to Arthurdale Heritage for use in the E-15 house. They agreed since that way it would remain in Arthurdale where it belongs. If any other former homesteaders read this or see the table, it would be interesting to know if they had a similar one and if they know the whereabouts of it. Perhaps someone even knows how many tables of this type were made in Arthurdale.

NOTE: Today (April 10) is Joe’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Joe, from everyone at Arthurdale Heritage!

My parents Allison and Opal Neely moved to Arthurdale in 1941 from Reedsville where I was born, September 29, 1940.  They had four children:  Patricia Joann Bjorkman (deceased), William “Bill”, Richard Lance, and myself, Wade A.  All children attended Arthurdale schools.  My mother was a cook at the school.  We lived at CR-1 and were the second family to live in that homestead house.  My brother-in-law, Dick Bjorkman, still resides in the family home.

I am married to Elizabeth “Liz” Goldstrom, originally from Masontown and a granddaughter of original Arthurdale homesteaders, Andrew and Alice Goldstrom.  My wife, Liz, after graduating from West Virginia University in 1964, taught first and fifth grades at Arthurdale in 1965 and 1966.

I attended Arthurdale schools, beginning in first grade in 1947, and continuing through 10^th grade in 1956 when Arthurdale and Masontown were consolidated into Valley High School.  I graduated from Valley High in 1958.

I didn’t go to college right after high school.  I started my career as a clerk typist in 1960 in Washington, D.C. with the federal government.  In Washington, I attended Benjamin Franklin University at night and worked a full time job.  I never received a degree but my higher educational experience was a valuable tool in progressing up life’s ladder.  My major was financial management. I had a very successful career as a budget analyst.  I retired on May 31, 1996 with 36 years of federal service.

I think that my parents would be proud of all the accomplishments and/or success that their children have attained coming from such a small town in West Virginia.  That says something for the values instilled in young people by their parents.  I thank them for that.

I have a lot of good memories of growing up in Arthurdale.  I will always remember my first grade teacher, Ms. Liston from Kingwood.  Another memory is when they put a new floor in the gym and installed glass backboards.  There were a lot of good standing-room-only games played in the gym by some VERY GOOD Arthurdale High School basketball teams.  I will always remember those events and also playing on some good basketball teams as a freshman and sophomore.  I am glad that AHI acquired the school buildings and are in the process of restoration.

Arthurdale will always be a place I am proud of.