Heavenly Father,

Keep out of harm's way all of the vacationers, and those trying to survive the heat wave;

Furnish safe passage to family members coming home to Gilmer County for reunions, especially those noted in our paper's GGOs;

Provide consolation and relief to the sick, especially Gloria Snyder, Patrick Gainer, Stanley McLaughlin, Sheriff Mickey Metz, Linda Nolan, Stan Mazzagotte, Pat Golden's son, Joe, and any of the other Gilmer Countians or former ones who need Christ's healing touch;

Give relief to the elderly residents of Glenville Gardens from their trials and tribulations;

Pray for our area and nation's veterans: they need our help and encouragement;

Spare our military personnel from personal injury in their peacekeeping operations; and, Give strength to individuals who have faced unbearable challenges recently.           Amen.  

     THIS WEEKS PRAYER

"To reflect is to look back over what has been done so as to extract the net meanings which are the capital stock for intelligent dealing with further experiences."

John Dewey

"Experience and Education"--1938         (1859-1952)

"Repartee is what you wish you'd said."

Heywood Broun

"The Algonquin Wits"--1968

(1888-1939)

MEDITATION MOMENTS

Visitors =

During this last week in July/first week of August, get out of the house and explore our Mountain State. Here are some historical shorts for the week!

* On July 28, 1927, the Potomac Valley Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), purchased Fort Ashby;

* On July 29-31, 1915, the first county 4-H camp in the U.S. was held at Camp Good Luck in Randolph County;

* On July 30, 1782, noted frontiersman, Samuel McCulloch, was killed by Native Americans;

* On July 31, 1955, WHIS-TV in Bluefield debuted;

* On August 1, 1893, in the midst of controversy over the removal of the county seat of Tucker County from St. George to Parsons, a large group of men forcibly moved the county court records to Parsons; and,

* On August 2, 1999, President Bill Clinton declared all 55 W.V. counties part of a federal drought disaster area. (Does this heated condition sound familiar?)

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History Shorts

JOB’S TEMPLE HOMECOMING

The Seventy-second Annual Homecoming of Job's Temple will give those attending an opportunity to see the restoration that took place this spring. The morning worship service will begin at 10:00 a.m. (Note change from previous years), August 8 at the historical log church located approximately ten miles east of Glenville on Route 5.

Reverend William R. Thomas, Chaplain for AMEDSYS Hospice in Parkersburg will be bringing the message for a fourth year. Rev. Thomas and his wife Mary reside in Parkersburg where she is principal of Lubeck Elementary. They are the parents of four children and have one grandson.

Robert H. "Chip" Nicholas, II will sing "Noah" as part of the worship service. This is his fourth appearance to follow in a tradition started by his late father, the Rev. Robert H. Nicholas. Chip lives near Glenville with his wife, the former Debbie Reaser, and their son, Robert Thomas Nicholas. Chip works for Flying W and Debbie has a hair salon.

Robert C. Maxwell of Hightown, VA, president of Job's Temple Association, and his wife Allie will give an overview of Phase I of the recent restoration project. This will be followed by the annual business meeting.

A lunch catered by Joe Corcoglioniti of Clarksburg will be served at noon in the picnic shelter.

Following lunch Doyle and Tammy Harbaugh and Linda Smith of Wakeman, OH will present music. They are members of Camden Baptist church where they are involved in music, missions and children's ministries. Tammy is a dental hygienist and also volunteers as a mentor in the local children's program, "Reach Our Youth." She is a great-granddaughter of the late Russell Hill and Ethel Rinehart Pickens who resided in the Grass Run area of Gilmer County.

Tammy's husband, Doyle, is a retired tool and die maker from Nordson Corporation and currently is competing internationally in table tennis. He leaves for Costa Rica tomorrow for his next tournament.

Linda is married to Ray Smith and is employed as a medical assistant. She is a soprano in a local community chorus, and the mother of three grown children. Their son Nathan is a member of the US Army stationed in Afghanistan. Linda also has an Appalachian heritage, her father migrating from Harrisville. They rarely turn down an opportunity to share gospel music with anyone who will listen.

Everyone is welcome to attend this tradition-filled homecoming.

Dan Johnson is thankful to Gilmer Countians for their support over 29 years

By David H. Corcoran, Sr.,

Publisher-Senior Editor

In the late 1960s when Dan Johnson, as an education major, was attending Glenville State College, he probably thought that he'd never return to his alma mater's town.

After all, as a native of Tyler County, he and Pat were studying at GSC to become teachers, fell in love, and married in 1969, while in college. After his graduation in 1971, they were no doubt eager to accept their first teaching jobs anywhere they could find them.

Later, he earned the Master's Degree in Educational Administration from West Virginia University, and taught for a number of years in the Ritchie County schools' system. Eventually, he was promoted to being a principal.

Then, in the late 1970s, this affable man was attracted to enter the business world, a course that years before he'd never thought of. Rannie Allen, of Allen's Pontiac in Ritchie County, made him Vice-President of his well-established automobile dealership. "Rannie provided me with on the job training in the art of doing business, and I've always appreciated that," Dan recalled, adding, "He ended up being very supportive of me in getting the State Farm Agency's job in Glenville."

Dan's change of life's direction from education to business was made easier by being attracted back to Gilmer County on April 1, 1981. "It was easy for us to come back to Glenville, because the people were so supportive of me while attending college here," he reminisced, with a smile.

Noting that he's been State Farm's point man here for 29 years and four months, he underscores, "I've spent more time here than anywhere else in my life."

In fact, he doesn't plan on leaving, either. "We're going to do some long-awaited traveling, with our first trip being to Oregon and Washington and without being on an itinerary," he foresees, with a brightness in his eyes.

He quickly adds that the happy couple of 41 years also plan to spend a lot more time with their grandchildren.

Their daughter, Jennifer (Mrs. Tom) Wellings has two children, Ty and Bayley, and they live in Glenville. Their son, Mark, and his wife, the former Cate Powell, don't live far away either, being in Morgantown where Mark is finishing his degree in industrial engineering. They have one daughter, Deta.

One special event, which broke his normal office routine, took place on his birthday in 1999. Being his 50th, several area State Farm Agents came to Glenville, and made him grand marshal in a homemade and humorously-styled parade, which this newspaper reported at the time.

That was a big morale boost for the man who tripled the volume of business for this local agency over his tenure.

How did he accomplish that growth?

"I used the principles that I learned in teaching, because you have to make educating the public about the value of having insurance your primary goal," he explains, noting, "Once they understand its advantages, they'll buy it from you, and you'll have a friend for life."

Also, having good products helped bolster his salesmanship, for State Farm offers all kinds of insurance: life, health, and fire and casualty, he describes.

Finally, working hard and giving your customers good service were his additional methods for building a successful agency here.

Not neglecting his civic duties, he has been active in past years in the Gilmer County Economic Development Association and continues to be a regular at The First Baptist Church of Glenville.

This Fri., July 30 will be his last official day at his East Main and North Court Street office, so he'd appreciate seeing any other old friends before then, who may not have attended his well food-stocked and delicious Retirement Party last Friday.

In wanting to make a final statement, the sociable and easy-going Dan Johnson stressed, "The people of Gilmer County have been very good and supportive, and I'm glad that I could be of service to them and this community over the past nearly three decades. If one has to work, I've always said, 'Gilmer County is the right place to be and it has the right people'."