Andrew Manzo, son of Ron Manzo, Class of 1969, finished second in his age class at the 5K run in The Villages, Florida – by 9 seconds.

Andrew  is production editor of the Villages Sun, the daily newspaper that has about 60 pages every day, chockfull of more than 300 activities for Villagers to enjoy every day.

 

Andrew’s aunt is Debbie Manzo Vandetta, wife of Monongah Mayor Greg Vandetta.

 

Andrew’s father, Ron, has been married for four decades to Fairview High grad Janice Manzo and is a nephew of Ernie “Frog”, Joe, John “Duke” Manzo, Class of 1945; and Raymond “Pigeon” Manzo, Class of 1947.

Ron and Janice have five children – Andrew, Evan, Aaron, Ashley and Jared.

When he isn’t running 5K’s, Andrew is beating the socks off me when we play at Hill Top golf course in The Villages. Well, the only time we played, last winter.

Chancey’s Grill is open

Cousin Vince Fazio says his Chancey’s Grill restaurant finally is open, at 323 Adams Street, previously the location for the Firehouse Café.

The Marion County High grad lives in Monongah.

 The Firehouse Café was owned and operated by Fairmont firefighter Mark Delbrook.

Vince can handle parties as large as 30.

Vince operated Chancey’s at 1602 Locust Avenue until pipes frozen in winter destroyed his kitchen equipment. 

Vince’s parents are Steve Fazio and the late Nancy Fazio, who passed away in 2005. Vince lives in Monongah with Lexi Nicoletti.

Vince’s grandfather, Renzy Fazio, is my uncle through marriage to Frances Olesky Fazio, younger sister of my father, John W. Olesky, Sr.

Hey, Willie! Beth & Rick are on the road again!

I think Beth Pritchard Brooks, Class of 1978, is what country singer Willie Nelson had in mind when he sings “On the Road Again.”

Beth and husband Rick Brooks will leave their Harter Hill home in Worthington on Sunday, Nov. 1 for Seattle, where Rick’s latest months-long project of setting up distribution center technology will begin.

Writes Beth:

“Busy day today! The Eagle's Nest (their travel trailer they hitch to the truck) is all cleaned up and today we are packing it up! Expecting some family to stop by and dinner later with some old friends. Sad to be leaving tomorrow. It feels like I just got home and tomorrow we are off again and Seattle bound! But I have really enjoyed my first Fall in 3 years at home! And enjoyed seeing family and friends, though we didn't get to see everyone we wanted to. Happy Halloween everyone!”

The upside of Rick’s career is that they get to see the country, from Washington to Arizona to Maine, which Rick is doing his job. And Las Vegas.

Beth’s sisters are Jonna Pritchard Barnett, who was in the first graduation class at North Marion in 1980 after going to Monongah High for three years, married to Shinnston High grad Brad Barnett, and Jane Pritchard Moore, Class of 1975, married to Henry Moore. Their parents were John Pritchard and Mary Jane McDaniel Pritchard, daughter of the famous Ted McDaniel, Monongah Streetcar Stationmaster.

Beth promises to post “lots of pictures.”

As for Willie’s signature song, he wrote it in 1980 about his constant concert courts and it is as much a part of his performances (I’ve been to a half-dozen of his concerts over the years) as “Whiskey River” and “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground.”

$1,000 for Monongah to have Christmas lights in place

It will cost $1,000 to have the Christmas lights installed, not the $400 originally estimated.

The higher total came from Monongah mayor Greg Vandetta.

Susan Sanders is heading the fundraising drive to have the lights, donated by the town of White Hall, erected.

Greg said once the materials for the light installations are in the town's possession, the town will be able to have the decorations put up in about seven weeks. In time for Christmas.

No. 1 high school in West Virginia

George Washington High School in Charleston is the No. 1 high school in West Virginia, according to state data testing from the National Center for Education Statistics for more than 20,000 high schools.

It is based on GW’s math and reading/language arts scores, which was far above the state average.

GW has 1,108 students and a 20 to 1 student/teacher ratio.

To check the best high school in every state, according to these tests, click on http://public-schools.startclass.com/stories/6740/best-high-school-in-every-state?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social.paid&utm_campaign=ao.sp.fb.dt.6740

There are plans for a Mining Heritage Park at the site of the 1907 Monongah Mine Disaster that killed more than 500 miners.

Project developers and Monongah PACE project said a blueprint for the park includes an entrance resembling the old mine, a soccer field and a horse stable. The project was designed by WVU students in the landscape architecture department.

Developers also hope to renovate disaster ruins to their original historical state and use recycled mine timbers and other materials for most of the park.

The community and designers say it will bring several benefits to the town.

Monongah PACE president Donald Harris said:

"It remembers the coal miners, the families, and the heritage of the coal miners. Plus, it'll bring in jobs and restore the community.”

PACE is exploring fundraising possibilities.

The Fairmont Times story on the project:

By Richard Babich Times West Virginian

Monongah may be getting a memorial park to commemorate miners lost during the worst coal disaster in the nation’s history.

The Program Advancing Community Employment (PACE) Project announced the first big step for the project Thursday, which would be a memorial and recreational park in Monongah, the site of the deadliest mine disaster in the United States’ history. The announcement was made at Hardway Hall on the Fairmont State University campus, with Jim Justice, a West Virginia businessman and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, in attendance.

PACE members’ goal is to have both banks of the West Fork River in Monongah be the site of a park.

According to Dr. Craig White, the president of the PACE Project Inc. and senior level professor of sociology at Fairmont State, the area that included the old mine site and recreational areas in Monongah could be converted into a tourist attraction as well as a place for use by the community.

The memorial park would include the current soccer field and rail trails as well as add a gathering space and a new bridge to connect the east side of town to one of the mine portals and other structures once used by the mine.

White said PACE will act as a bridge to link the needs of the community with a solution, such as providing jobs and employment to Monongah. He said this is the biggest part of the project being launched.

“This particular project relates to the cultural heritage piece that was ranked high in the needs assessment,” White said.

He said the park could add jobs to the town as well.

The next step for PACE in Monongah was presented by West Virginia University landscape architecture associate professor Peter Butler and designed by student Connor Price. The presentation included a proposed park to offer employment and recreation for Monongah.

Price, a New Jersey native, said the design was drawn up after students met with community members and viewed historic photos of the mine.

“I was definitely exposed to (mining) when meeting with the community,” Price said.

Price said he found the impact the disaster had on the town to be interesting to learn about.

One concept taken from the photos was of large, wooden archways leading into the mine. The current design of the park has two of these timber thresholds — one leads to one of the mine portals and another would lead into the park.

“I thought that would be very interesting to incorporate that into the design,” Price said. “It would give people the feeling of what it would feel like descending into the mine. It also plays off the idea of using the materials that would be (there) during that era.”

Justice was supportive of the idea and said he “absolutely” wanted to see the park succeed.

“What they’re doing is my story. It’s dreaming; it’s doing something great for West Virginia,” Justice said.

He said this concept could become a tourist attraction.

"The park has such an upside potential as far as tourism, and the park itself will just be a great attraction for families that want to live here,” Justice said.

He praised the universities working together to give students a chance to learn with a hands-on opportunity.

“For good or for bad, most everybody will take my call,” Justice said. “When I call them and I try to promote something within our state, a lot of people will listen. They’ve got a dream, but they need a hand of assistance, and that needs to come from the government so that the government helps them market, promote, (have) enthusiasm and passion and maybe even dollars.”

 

1956, 1966 or 1976 MHS grad? Be at 2016 reunion

Monongah High graduation classes of 1956, 1966 and 1976 will be the honor classes for the 2016 MHS Alumni Reunion on Saturday, May 28 at the Knights of Columbus on Mary Lou Retton Drive in Fairmont.

This will be the 60^th anniversary for the Class of 1956, the 50^th anniversary for the Class of 1966 and the 40^th anniversary for the Class of 1976.

Alumni Association president Linda Lopez Gandy, Class of 1965, put the word out so that those classes and mark the date on their calendar (and Friday, May 27 for the single-class reunions, too) and show up for what might be their last time together as a group.

In my Class of 1950, for example, 24 fellow graduates are deceased and only 21 are still alive.

Since the final Monongah High graduation class was in 1979, before being consolidated into North Marion, the alumni numbers are dwindling. In 2015, only about 125 showed up. It wasn’t that long ago that the attendance was double that.

America’s 10 most visited national parks

Nearly 70 million people visited America’s national parks last year.

The one that surprised me on the top 10 list was Olympic National Park in Washington State, sixth with three million visitors even though there are no roads you can drive on through the park.

Even No. 1 surprised me, because it’s the Great Smoky Mountains at 10 million. I thought the Grand Canyon would beat that total, but it’s No. 2 with 4.8 million. Not even close.

The others in the top 10:

3. Yosemite, with almost four million, the California park whose creation was caused after a crusade by naturalist pioneer John Muir.

4. Yellowstone, which is No. 1 on my list of those national parks I have visited, but drew only 3.5 million. It covers  2.2 million acres in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana and may be the world’s largest calderon, which means, if it blows, America might be reduced to 40 states.

5. Rocky Mountain in Colorado, which has 150 lakes and 450 miles of streams. Paula and I took in Rocky after a WVU football game against Colorado in Boulder.

7. Zion in Utah’s high plateau country with 3.5 million visitors. I was more impressed with Bryce Canyon, about an hour away from Zion, because it looked like nature sculptured thousands of objects on it.

8. Grand Teton in Wyoming with 2.8 million visitors.

9. Acadia in Maine which has a companion vista in Bar Harbor and the whale-watching ships.

10. Glacier National Park, which covers more than a million acres in Montana and draws 2.3 million people a year.

I’ve been to nine, never visiting Olympic National Park, which is separated by the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Victoria, British Columbia, where I have been in my travels to 53 countries and 43 states. So close, but we stopped in Victoria on our way to our Alaska cruises, one by sea and two by sea and land.

By comparison, New River Gorge National River, Gauley River National Recreation Area and the Bluestone National Scenic River combined draw 1.2 million visitors last year. A study showed that 45% of the people visiting those three didn’t know that they were in national parks. The trifecta brought 1.2 million visitors and $60.6 million to the economy of the four surrounding counties. Park tourism supported 670 jobs.

The New River Gorge National River is considered the No. 1 attraction in West Virginia, followed by Seneca Caverns, Blackwater Falls, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (just called Weston’s nuthouse before the politically correct days), Monongahela National Forest, Snowshoe mountain resort, the West Virginia State Capitol with its gold dome and the West Virginia State Museum in Charleston.

West Virginia also has 36 state parks. The most photographed spot is the falls in Blackwater Falls State Park near Davis.

Jim Mayo’s brother passes away

Bill Mayo, brother of Monongah’s Jim Mayo, passed away Thursday, Oct. 29 in Mannington.

Bill’s obituary:

William "Bill" Mayo

Birth Date: 

06/25/1953

Passed Away: 

10/29/2015

William “Bill” Eugene Mayo, age 62, of Mannington, WV, passed away on Thursday, October 29, 2015 at his residence. He was born June 25, 1953 at Fairmont, WV son of James Mayo and wife Evelyn of Mannington and the late Alice Jane Fletcher Mayo.

He is survived by his 3 sons, William E. Mayo II of Rachel, WV, James Brian Mayo and wife Shannon of Weston, WV and Christopher T. Mayo and wife Lori of Farmington, WV; 11 grandchildren; a sister, Marie Shuman and husband Jim of Mannington, WV and a brother, James F. Mayo and wife Jean of Monongah, WV; several nieces and nephews; long-time friends (known as sisters and brother) Tina Kellar and husband Kevin and Kenny Haught; and his former wife Judy K. Marshall.

Bill enjoyed fishing and was a member of the JoAnne Sportsman Club. He loved his black cat – Blackie.

A Special Thanks to Amedysis Hospice, the Mannington Church of Christ and the New Beginnings Worship in Fairmont.

There will be no funeral visitation or funeral services. A private family entombment will be at Viewpoint Cemetery at the convenience of the family. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.mastersfuneralhomewv.com.

 

Diana Walker at WVU books event

Diana Pishner Walker, a 1977 graduate of Clarksburg Notre Dame High School and Fairmont State who works for the Marion County Board of Education, will be one of five featured authors at Mountaineer Week/Family Fun Day from noon-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31 in WVU’s Mountainlair student union.

Writes Diana:

“I just love sharing my story with you, my friends!”

Her latest book is “Spaghetti and Meatballs! My family is Italian!” Since she grew up in Clarksburg, I wouldn’t expect anything else.

 

Diana’s first book, “I Don’t Want to Sit in the Front Row Any More,” was a memoir based on the loss of her parents, Anna and Louis Pishner, within seven months of each other.

Ditching California for Auburn

Podiatrist John Yokay III, a Barrackville High and WVU grad who lives in Sacramento, California, writes:

“The whole family is headed to Auburn to watch the Auburn-Ole Miss game.”

John Yokay III

John III is the son of John Yokay, Class of 1953, who played for the 1952 state champ Monongah High football team. Dad once worked at St. John’s School of Boys in Deep River, Connecticut and lives in Mount Airy, Maryland. 

 

Papa John Yokay’s sisters are Leatrice Yokay Greaser, Class of 1950, who lives in Fairmont, and Pat Yokay Maddox, Class of 1948, who lives in Bentons Ferry.

John III usually is hopped up on Facebook about watching California high school football. So why is he excited about going to an Auburn game? Daughter Petrina was an outstanding gymnast at the Alabama college. Auburn is not all about football, you know. At least, not for all the people.

John III is a teacher in Sacramento Unified School District. He’s married to Angelina Yokay.

 

Auburn hosts #19 Ole Miss at noon Saturday on ESPN. Maybe you’ll spot John III and his entourage there.

King Coal is a has-been

Take it from Charles Patton, Appalachian Power president: Coal isn’t coming back, even if the Obama Clean Power Plan is discarded.

It’s economics:

The cost of natural gas electricity, including construction of power plants and infrastructure, is about $73 per megawatt hour. For a conventional coal plant, it’s $95 per megawatt hour.

That means it isn’t economically feasible to build new coal-powered plants, no matter what regulators decide. And all the huffing and puffing are for naught.

Kathy Tarley Parker, Christopher Parker on their wedding day

Happy anniversary, Kathy & Chris Parker!

Kathy Tarley Parker, daughter of Tony and Marcella Tarley and grandfather of Anton Tarley who came to America from

Splitts, Croatia, and Christopher Parker are celebrating their wedding anniversary. Kathy and Chris live in Monongah.

There are several Tarleys who are Monongah High graduates.

Anna Tarley Delovich, Class of 1952.

Carlo Tarley, Class of 1965.

Cathy Vincent Tarley, Class of 1966.

Tony Tarley’s son is Mark Tarley, a 1985 North Marion grad married to Siobhan who celebrated their 24^th wedding anniversary in February.

North Marion High (1985) and Fairmont State graduate Mark Tarley lives in Hickory, North Carolina. Marko Tarley, Class of 1957, Mark’s uncle and namesake, married Sally Woods, Class of 1959, who is a retired Fairmont State professor (1974-2002). They live in Fairmont. 

Phillis Tarley is a 1982 North Marion grad who is assistant campus director of admissions at Ross Medical Education Center in Morgantown. She lives in Kingmont but grew up in Idamay as the daughter of Phillip Tarley and Betha Irene Wilmoth Tarley. The late Worthington firefighter Dewey Tarley was Phillis’ brother.

Monongah sure had a lot of groceries stores and other businesses for such a small town.

 

I was reminded of that as I worked on converting the 1967 Monongah High Black Diamond yearbook into an online album.

 

In the Advertisers section were photos of Stanley Urban, Sr. and the Urban Grocery that he owned; Roman Prezioso, Sr. at the Prezioso’s General Store that he owned; Amelia Shenasky behind the counter of the P.P. Shenasky Grocery owned by her parents, Pete and Nell Shenasky; Lionel Nichols at the Nichols Grocery that he owned until the mid-1970s (Lionel passed away in 2014); Barbara Vozniak at Barbara’s Beauty Show that she operated; and Joe Hanus at the Hanus Garage that he operated.

 

Later, Amelia and husband Bruce Zentz opened up the Dairy Kone. Al Williamson delivered Shenasky groceries for decades, and later Shop ‘N Save in Shinnston. Al’s parents were Ruth and Doug Williamson. His sister, Kathy, is Class of 1978; his brother, Johnny Williamson, worked at Meffe’s baron Jackson Street. Doug Williamson worked for years at a Alasky’s in Farmington. Al Williamson lives in the small house beside Amelia on appropriately named Shenasky Lane.

 

The Shenasky building today is owned by J.L. Boggess, the son of Evelyn Kasper Boggess, Class of 1953, and husband Okey Boggess, a retired coal miner, who live in the childhood Kasper home in the Frogtown section of Monongah just before you get to Swisher Hill.

The late Amelia Ann Yerace Prezioso ran Prezioso Grocery at the top of Jackson Street with husband, Roman. Their children are State Sen. Roman Prezioso, Jr., Class of 1967, who lives in Fairmont with wife Deborah, and Marie Prezioso of Charleston.

Penny Nichols Freshwater, Class of 1969, Lionel Nichols’ daughter, lives in Ocala, Florida. Her mother was Thelma Fullen Nichols, also deceased. Lionel was the oldest graduate at the 2012 and 2013 Monongah High Alumni Reunions. Lionel's siblings, Bob Nichols, the barber and former Monongah mayor; Fritz Nichols; and Eileen Nichols Wood Stansberry are deceased. Lionel is Ramona Fullen Michalski’s uncle.

 

Joe Hanus ran the garage on the Jackson Street side of the building on U.S. 19, across the street from Thoburn School. His parents ran the Hanus Grocery on the other end of the building. The PNA Tavern run by the Brzuzy family was between the two Hanus businesses.

 

Joe’s sisters were Ann Hanus Pavlik, widow of coal miner Mitch Pavlik and later the girlfriend of my father, John W. Olesky, Sr., and Rose Hanus Vozniak, widow of Edmund "Coozy" Vozniak.  

 

Without photos were ads for Saban’s Service Station, operated by Nick Saban, Sr. with current Alabama football coach Nick Saban, Jr. on his staff, at U.S. 19 and Helen’s Run near Worthington.

 

Not in the 1967 yearbook but part of Monongah’s business history was Joe Scully’s shoe repair shop, Patsy Forte’s drug store, And Fazio’s Groceries on Jackson Street, Monongah Dairy King, Pettit’s Beauty Salon on Main Street in Monongah, Mike Meffe’s Meffe Service Station, Monongah Open Air Market, Champion Block, First National Bank of Monongah.

 

Tina Ann “Peaches” Aldridge DeMary, Class of 1945, and Frank DeMary, Jr. ran DeMary Grocery in Monongah at the end of the Brookdale Bridge. After Frank, Sr. left Monongah, he opened a store on the hill on Country Club Rd. in Fairmont, just above U.S. 19. In Monongah before moving to Rivesville, Fred DeMary had a grocery store at the end of the sidewalk, known as Ford Street in Brookdale, and was the basketball coach at East Monongah Grade School. 

 

Frank, Jr.’s parents were Frank Joseph DeMary, who passed away in 1972, and Lena Duva DeMary, who passed away in 1986. His siblings are Louise DeMary Lusi of Clearwater, Florida and Rose Ann DeMary Flore, Class of 1943, married to Robert and living in Princeton, Rhode Island.

 

Julie and Gene Loss Carlot operated Carlot’s Grill across the street from Monongah High. 

Monzo Grocery was across U.S. 19 and Thoburn School from P.P. Shenasky Grocery, with a lighted bocce ball court next to it.

 

There was Consol’s Champion Store, which reminds me of Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “I Owe My Soul to the Company Store” because so many miners owed most of their paychecks to it by payday, and the A&P Store just off the center of town in East Monongah.

 

In Worthington, Hertzog Drug Store was a Worthington landmark for more than a half-century. Virgil Hertzog founded the store in 1922. It was famous for its homemade ice cream. His daughter, Marylee Hertzog Gwinn, Class of 1948, lives in Rockville, Maryland. A son, Richard Hertzog, is deceased.

The Demus family was famous in Worthington for producing football players for Monongah High and Italian sausage sold at the Demus Market that closed in 2009. By then it was run by Nick Demus, Class of 1945, a former Lion gridder.

 

And I’m sure I haven’t touched on other businesses in Monongah. There were so many. Incredible!

If you remember other long-ago businesses in Monongah, email John Olesky at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com and I’ll add them to this article.

 

 

Little Mill Fall’s Rev. Manning passes away

The Rev. Robert Manning of Little Mill Fall, father of the late Jeffrey Blair Manning, Class of 1976, passed away Sunday, Oct. 25.

The Reverend’s obituary:

Rev. Robert Manning

Robert Manning
(July 26, 1926 - October 25, 2015)

Rev. Robert E. Manning, 89, of Little Mill Fall, WV passed away Sunday October 25, 2015 at the Fairmont Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was born July 26, 1926 in Meadowbrook, WV, son of the late James Britton Manning and Bonnie (Glover) Manning.

 

Robert was a veteran of the US Army serving during WWII. He retired in 1989 from Loveridge Mine after working for Consol Mines for 42 years. He was ordained in 1960 as a Southern Baptist Minister and served as interim pastor for several churches in Marion and Monongalia counties. He also started the Search the Scriptures Broadcast that aired for 44 years on WTCS and WFGM radio stations, retiring in 2007.

He was a member of the United Mine Workers of America and attended the Willow Tree Baptist Church. Robert was an amateur geologist. He collected and studied fossils and enjoyed sharing his knowledge with children at various local elementary schools.

                                                 

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Muriel (Wine) Manning; one son Jeffrey Blair Manning; a sister Betty Efaw and her husband Buck Efaw; two brothers, James Manning and his wife Mary, and Bill Anderson; his step-father, Charles Felix Anderson; a daughter-in-law, Linda (Revels) Manning; and two great grandchildren, Joey Martin and Emilyn Martin.

He is survived by three daughters, Betty Elaine Grugin of Mannington, WV, Manoki Howard and her husband Scott of Fairview, WV, Rebecca Markley and her husband Darrell of New Carlisle, OH; and one son, Charles Manning of Monongah, WV; a daughter-in-law, Lorretta Manning of Little Mill Fall, WV; ten grandchildren, Melody Grugin, Steven Grugin, Julie Willis, Marsha Gum, Diane Sine, Heathton Stewart, Britton Stewart, Trixie Minor, Mistie Martin, and Jason Manning; fourteen great grandchildren, Gwendalyn, Gage, and Greyson Willis, Gunner and Maverick Gum, Riley Sine, Jacob, Paige, and Madelynn Stewart, Kailey Minor, Jason Manning II, Alex Hayes, Benjamin and Zachary Martin; one sister-in-law, June Anderson of Alliance, OH; several nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends at Domico Funeral Home, 414 Gaston Ave. in Fairmont from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, and noon to 2 p.m. Friday. The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday October 30, in the funeral home with Rev. Larry Harker officiating. Interment will follow at the Anderson Cemetery with full military rites being performed at graveside by the Marion County Veteran’s Council. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.domicofh.com .