Seventy-five years ago (1947) the Examiner had a story on the front page about an aged turtle whose tummy was carved with the initials of four generations of the Grover Evans family. The oldest date was 1853 when John Evans carved his initials. This was followed by Peter Evans, his son, in 1877. Grover added his initials in 1900. Two of his sons, Paul and Eugene, added their initials in 1924 when the Examiner carried the first story about the old terrapin. The turtle was at least 94 years old in 1947 when it was again brought into the Examiner. But we’ve been told he was probably more years than that. We wonder if he’s still around and if any more relatives of the Evans family are now carved on him. Keep in mind that turtles seldom stray very far from their “home” sites so if any members of the Evans family are still on the family farm they might look for the turtle.

Is Scheduled

There was a full harvest moon September 10 and we forgot to remind you to watch. However, we are in time to tell you that the Autumnal Equinox is next week on Sept. 22. That means that Fall will truly be here so we can enjoy continued cool nights and some days. Plus we can watch the full impact of fall colors in the mountains.

For September 23-25

Virginia Beach has opened a can of worms. There’s a proposal to charge grocery shoppers 5 cents per plastic bag and it’s splitting the community. What caught our attention was the fact that the city paid a consulting company $11,515 for an opinion on the proposal. Think of all the bags that amount would cover. A state law allows Virginia Beach to charge a 5-cent fee for disposable plastic bags. It’s already in effect in Fairfax County, Alexandria and Charlottesville. Being for environmental changes can get sticky: Do you charge for plastic or destroy trees for paper?

Don’t you love the smell of smoke coming from a wood stove, the smell of fall rain or the smell of chili simmering on the stove? Don’t you love the high school football stadium full of fans, the roar of, “Let’s go Mountaineers!” and your favorite sweater? Living the simple life. Having the ability to look at the mountains, the changing of the leaves and the stars in the sky is a wonderful gift.

So many times, we are so caught up in getting through life we miss the simple pleasures around us. Growing up I remember making mud pies, drinking from a water hose and playing ball in the open field with the neighborhood kids, the Burns boys, the Hartman bunch and the Williams kids. I can sometimes close my eyes and drift back to those days and I can hear my mother calling my name.

My mother was one of the hardest working, and sweetest person I ever knew. Her gentle hands and reassuring smile took my cares away. I can still see cows being milked, the smell of the silo and hear the laughter of the Moyers kids as we ran through the barn yard. I can still smell the sweat of my horse and saddle as if it was yesterday. I have vivid memories of Lisa’s favorite pony Peanut. All of us loved that pony.

I remember sitting at the kitchen table handwriting a letter to one of the 4-H exchange campers and just waiting to receive a letter in the mail in return. It could take weeks but the joy of seeing that envelope in the mailbox…! I can’t imagine growing up with a cell phone, texting and email. Time changes many things but it shouldn’t change us teaching our children the “finer” things in life. Just waiting for the first warm day and off go the shoes. Barefoot and free. Do you remember the first summer swim in the river? Today we are so caught up with new technology, germs and new diseases that we miss the joy of living. I remember sitting on the riverbank fishing, riding bikes all over town and going to the show at McCoy’s theater. Who would have dreamed about the luxuries of today?

Fall is just around the corner. When it arrives, it means extra yard work. Raking the leaves, putting away patio furniture and cleaning the flower beds. The Town of Moorefield will be doing those things. They will be sweeping and cleaning the sidewalks and cleaning up especially the downtown area. Beautiful mums will replace the summer flowers and extra cleaning will be done to welcome our visitors to Heritage Weekend.

Heritage Weekend begins Saturday, Sept. 24. I encourage all residents and businesses to do their fall cleanup as soon as possible. Decorating your business or home for Heritage Weekend would make Moorefield look very special. Join me in participating in welcoming visitors to our town.
Dates to remember for activities at “Carla Hardy Garden” in the town square:
· Sept. 17: Farmer’s Market 9 a.m. to noon
· Oct. 15: Farmer’s Market 9 a.m. to noon
· Oct. 22: Back by popular demand: Food Truck Day 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Watch the Moorefield Examiner, Town of Moorefield Facebook Page and listen to WELD for future events. If you or your organization would like to plan an event please contact the Moorefield Town Office or call 304-703-2606. I will see you at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday, Sept. 17 9 a.m. to noon.

Is there a point to my corner this week? Yes and no. Yes because I didn’t write about drug use, vandalism and other things we should or should not do. No, I really just wanted to take a stroll down memory lane where life seemed uncomplicated and days seemed to last forever. We still enjoy many of these things here in Moorefield and I am happy that we still hold onto our heritage. As always, I am hometown proud.

I screwed up last week. My Unbased Opinion never came together. My daughter, Hannah, the Editor, bailed me out. She did a heck of a good job as far as I am concerned. First hole I’ve walked away from in 27 years of column writing. Hannah had my back. Thanks, lady.

I’ll try to get back on track this week. First, I’m recovering from COVID 19 which might have been part of my writing problem last week. No major pain and suffering. Discomfort and lethargy were prevalent. By Tuesday last week it had bloomed into a positive home test administered by Hannah. Poor Papa was a “sickey”.

It never got worse than a sore throat, nasty little dry cough, stuffy nose, general discomforts and maybe a fever. Those were gone by sometime Friday when Phoebe came down with same problems and her very own positive test. All that followed up with a positive test for Hannah sometime Saturday.
I think the family is on the mend from COVID now, so perhaps life will return to normal. While my discomforts kept me awake I thought and remembered. Not that long ago, two years perhaps, television screens were filled with terrible images of the dead and dying all ascribed to ravages of unchecked COVID. Great arguments about whether some poor soul had died of COVID or another condition not diagnosed prior to death. Statistics about how data was reported to support them were major topics for evening news. Controversies over varying recommended means of limiting casualties raged between state Governors.

National news folks reported all of it. There were times I thought about a contest between the Politicians and the Scientists with sports reporters quoting from lists of statistics and giving scores of tallies of the dead. Today, Sept. 11, I saw headlines announcing some 300 folks are still dying each day from COVID.
All the worrisome news from yesteryear popped into my mind when Hannah told me I was a positive. I’ve thought about it through all three family positives. I’ve thought about it and I have no idea what has happened in two and a half years to bring the Pandemic down to simple mentions on normal news programs. Do I thank scientists or politicians for my apparent continued existence? The whole pandemic thing has lost its zing and I’ve lost my train of thought on the subject. We are all still alive and working here. Take care.