Reminiscences
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REMINISCENCES Introduction This document has focused on the memories of many residents from videotaped interviews (converted to disks) north and south of U.S. Route 460 in eastern Roanoke County and southern Botetourt County to the Bedford County line, and west on Alternate 220 toward Read Mountain. There are certainly other families of significance that do not occur on the list that follows this page. To those families, apologies are in order. Those residents who agreed when approached are the ones that appear. Families with the surnames of Callahan (Callaghan), Davis, Dent, Donald, Gordon, Hall, Leonard, Martin, Smith, Swartzel, Tyler, Whitt, and Witt have been important contributing members of the southern Botetourt communities of Coyner Springs, Webster, Blue Ridge, and Laymantown. The family members who have been interviewed will have their disks put on file in the Bonsack Baptist and Bonsack Methodist church libraries, in addition to the Fincastle Library. The entire interview can be viewed if desired. I have attempted to review all the disks and bullet the information conveyed. Words cannot express how many residents have opened their doors. To them, I am most grateful. Their oral history has been an invaluable contribution, in addition to pictures that have augmented their words. My hope is that residents connected to this area will enjoy finding some of the vignettes that have been shared. Enjoy! Sincerely, Deedie Dent Kagey, Ed.D. INTERVIEWS – 460 EAST CORRIDOR Bonsack to Blue Ridge NAME INTERVIEW DATE RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY Amos, Henry Junior and Hearn, Sherry Meadows June 24, 2013 Bonsack Ayers, Naomi Martin October 9, 2012 Laymantown Bolt, Vivian Zimmerman and Danny February 4, 2014 Blue Ridge Brown, Curtis and Judy September 23, 2013 Blue Ridge Brown, Jim and June March 5, 2012 Laymantown Cook, Albert Watson Jr. October 2, 2012 Bonsack Cox, Freddie and Frye, Debbie Cox November 4, 2012 Bonsack Crumpacker, Helen and James M. Jr. (Jim) July 15, 2011 Bonsack Fluke, Margaret February 25, 2012 Blue Ridge Foster, Sam September 16, 2013 Blue Ridge Hagan, Alice Trout October 29, 2013 Roanoke City, Hollins Farm Hale,William David October 2, 2013 Bonsack Huffine, Joan Robinson June 20, 2013 Bonsack Jayne, Alvin G. October 23, 2012 Blue Ridge Jeter, Ned December 3, 2012 Bonsack/Coyners Kessler, Carl November 2, 2012 WV and Laymantown Lee, Annie Laura Jeter and Wagner, Anne Marie Lee September 21, 2012 Bonsack/Coyners Lunsford, Ray W. September 12, 2013 Blue Ridge McCabe, Jim September 30, 2013 Thaxton/Bonsack Meador, Vernon October 28, 2013 Grubb Hollow, Blue Ridge Metz, Reba Spickard October 13, 2013 Laymantown/Blue Ridge Miller, Wanda and Barnes, Rebecca (Becky) January 13, 2014 Hollins Moyer, Joann Blake May 13, 2013 Bonsack Murray, Howard Forest and Pejie January 27, 2012 Laymantown Murray, Joe April 16, 2012 N. Bonsack Myers, Ken and Carole Porter June 18, 2014 Blue Ridge Radcliff, Richard July 25, 2013 Bonsack and Blue Ridge Robertson, Andrew Jennings September 26, 2013 Bonsack Shaver, Betty Bonsack March 23, 2012 Bonsack Smith, Jeanette Ayers July 9, 2011 Bonsack St. Clair, Barry April 23, 2012 Laymantown Stanley, Mollie Gish November 15, 2012 Bonsack Trent, Elsie Booth and Richardson, Dorris Cox (Sis) February 24, 2012 Bonsack Wall, Gay Harper July 17, 2013 Blue Ridge Wheeling, Ray February 3, 2014 Bonsack/Blue Ridge Amos, Henry Junior and Hearn, Sherry Meadows Interview - June 24, 2013 Sherry Meadows was born during WWII. In 1929, her parents moved to Bonsack and were tenant farmers for the Mason Cook farm. They lived in a house next to the old Methodist church (now Greater Hope Temple Ministries). There were four children born and several years later Sherry was born. After her dad died at age 61 years of age, she and her mom moved to Vinton in 1966. She stated, “The Bonsack community was a wonderful place-- one not found in many places.” There were many families and lots of children. “We were poor and didn’t know it.” Her dad worked on Mason Cook’s dairy farm until he was no longer able to work. They grew corn and wheat for the cows they were going to milk. The cows never liked me and neither did the dogs. Sherry was bitten three times. Bonsack Baptist Church, where they were members, was the center of church and spiritual life. Both the Methodist and Baptist churches were on the old road and she attended Sunday School and Bible school in both churches, stating there was little else to do. The Baptists met in the morning and the Methodists met in the evening for Bible school. It was a close-knit community in that everyone knew everyone and also what they were doing. There were hard times and problems too. In June 1957, her dad was combining wheat where the Walmart is today and got his leg caught in the combine, which almost severed his foot. He had to spend four to five months healing. He went back to work and turned the tractor over, lying on the ground for a couple of hours until her mother found him. He was hospitalized and died at 61 as a result of all his injuries. Sherry’s mother cleaned the old Bonsack Baptist Church, which she stated had one room and a pot bellied stove. The children had to help her clean also. She remembered the addition being added, which enlarged the size of the old church. Later in 1972, the new church was built on old VA 604 (now Alt. 220). State Route 604 (which used to meet Bonsack Road) had a 90 degree curve and a large oak tree. Cars would often run into the creek trying to negotiate that curve. “Since my bedroom was on the top floor and windows usually open, I could observe an accident nearly every week. Cars were driving fast and drag racing.” Cars would wind up in the Meadows’ yard. Their house and one other were between Mason Cook’s home and the old Methodist church. The family eventually moved to Mama Cook’s house on the corner of Cook Creek Drive. Henry Junior Amos: his mother lost his birth certificate and he thought his name was Junior Henry Amos, until his birth certificate was eventually found, which reversed the first and second name; however, he answers to both. His family was originally from Franklin County, but his dad started working in Murray’s orchards. Henry was 13 years old when he started to work in the orchard, which occurred from 1942-1948. Someone told him about the N&W. He went to work for the railroad from 1948-1984. He was moonlighting by painting houses. A step ladder threw him about 30 ft. to the ground, which hurt his back pretty badly. He hasn’t worked since the back injuries, but has managed to get around fairly well. Junior married Sherry’s oldest sister in Dec. 1950. Sherry went to town on Saturday mornings by riding a Greyhound bus by waving it down to stop. Her mother would give her a quarter to spend and it took her three hours to figure out how to spend it. One time, when she was 13 years old, she went to the bus terminal, bought her ticket, and the agent kept calling other stops, but not Bonsack. I got stuck at the terminal and the agent called her mom, who came to pick her up. She remembers making “mud pies” with her mother’s chicken feed, but never got a whipping. Everyone always worked, finding any kind of job that would provide a little extra money. Her mother and women in the community would go to the Laymans’ farm and pick strawberries. When peaches and apples came in, they would pick those. Her mother also worked at Murray’s orchard, where she would wrap the apples with a triangular dark blue tissue paper which were shipped overseas. The women received 10¢ a bushel for wrapping the apples. In the summer, the children would also pick peaches and apples. Sherry worked one summer picking peaches at Crumpacker Orchards and made enough money to buy her high school ring, which was $20.00. Jean Crumpacker, daughter of Morris and Helen, was a good friend and had a horse. We would ride all over what is now the LaBellevue subdivision area. In 1962, the Crumpackers had two lakes and there was a major rain, causing both dams to break, flooding all of Bonsack. The old Methodist church and the house the Meadows used to live in before moving to Mama Cook’s house flooded. The piano floated and many cars were stalled due to water. A tractor trailer with a chain hooked to the back pulled the cars out one by one. There were two stores: Mr. Tesh’s store was across the street and Mr. Teel’s was down the road, near Glade Creek Road. Dad got paid once a month and I went to Mr. Teel’s store every day, mostly to get what mom needed, but often could spend 5¢ to buy a popsicle. The newspapers were dropped off in a stack on the back stoop of the store because there was no delivery. Residents were trusted to pick up their paper if they had a subscription. Mr. Teel would always write down in a ledger what was bought and the price. He also drove a school bus. Mr. Tesh’s store was a gathering spot at night— always men laughing and chatting until midnight Church life was very important to Sherry. She went there ever since the doors were open. Bonsack Baptist was a major influence.