The Fairmont Time has an excellent article about Bill McCombs and Patty Steel McCombs.

Bill, Class of 1969, is the #1 expert on Monongah’s water system. Wife Patty, a Fairmont East graduate, has been the heart and soul of Monongahfest since its inception.

 

I’ll step out of the way and let those who don’t get the Fairmont Times but do read this blog wherever they are living together read it:

 

FACES: Bill and Patty McCombs’ involvements and activities in Monongah span fun events and government and everything in between

·         By Leah Nestor Times West Virginian

 

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MONONGAH — Patty McCombs moved to Monongah in her 20s, around the time she married Bill.

Bill had lived in Monongah all his life and became involved in the community early on. They’ve been together 40 years.

“I think it’s the friendship, maybe the fellowship of the town, that brings everyone together,” Patty explained. “I mean everyone just gathers to help you do everything. That’s the way this town is, and that doesn’t happen in a lot of towns.”

Patty and Bill have been very involved in the town for most of her life and all of his.

“I like my town, and I like to see good things happen to it,” Bill said.

“He gets so wrapped up in the town,” Patty said about her husband. “He cares more than anybody I’ve ever seen about a town.”

Their involvements and activities in Monongah span fun events and government and everything in between.

Patty has helped with Monongahfest since its inception. Monongahfest is now on its 29th consecutive run.

“(The creators) wanted to have a community gathering of some sort where everyone just got together and enjoyed the day,” Patty said. “And it just bloomed into what it is today.”

Patty has also served as the town recorder since 2003.

“(I just had) an interest in the town, and now I feel like if I quit I’m going to miss something,” she laughed.

A few years before Patty decided to run for town recorder, Bill began running for town council. He was a councilman for about 20 years. He is running for it again after a four-year hiatus.

“Because of the water projects and sewer projects that are coming up, I’d like to be involved with that and have some input,” he said.

Long before his time on council, he began volunteering with the Monongah Volunteer Fire Department in 1971 when he was 20 years old. After 45 years, he is now assistant fire chief and treasurer.

“All of us guys got together and we built this ourselves,” Bill said about the department’s building. “(It) took three or four years to build this. We don’t owe a penny on it.”

He said he always enjoyed helping people and knows that there are many people who either cannot volunteer or will not volunteer.

Way back when there was a Monongah Fire Department Women’s Auxiliary, Patty was on that, too. A lot of fundraisers were done for the fire department, she said, and she continues to help with the department even though the women’s auxiliary is no longer in existence.

After years as chief operator of the Monongah Water Plant, Bill has waffled between retirement and working again, going into retirement and returning to help train a new water plant supervisor.

“I retired and one guy took my place. He lasted three months; the other one lasted six months,” Bill explained. “So now I’m training another one. I told him he had to last at least a year.”

In their spare time, when they are not getting involved in another aspect of the town, they’re getting together with their neighbors.

“They’re all friends, and if they don’t know each other then their parents knew each other,” Patty explained. “It was just something that’s just come down the line that they all kind of inherited.”

She said that friendship is what has kept her here.

Not only do they find time to spend with their neighbors, all the families have camp sites at Big Bear Lake where they spend the weekends together.

“Everybody says you’re supposed to go to camp to get away from your neighbors, but all of our neighbors are at camp,” Patty laughed.

In addition to government, fire department, events and time with neighbors, Bill and Patty said they owned the ice cream shop for about five years. And although the businesses in the town have changed or left, she said the people have stayed the same.

“When you come (to Monongah), you feel like no one is a stranger in this town because everyone always treats you as if they’ve known you forever,” Patty said.