What a muck-up!

By John Olesky, former Beacon Journal Television Editor

Well, it turns out The Back Nine From Hell at Brandywine in Peninsula has some competition from #9 on the front nine.

Tom Stone, brother of the woman I love and have lived with for 13 years, Paula Stone Tucker, and I were on #9 tee. In front of us is the pond that is far below the tee in altitude and between the tee and #9 green.

I hit my drive that didn’t quite clear the water on the fly. But my orange ball with “WVU” and “John Olesky” on it (I have about 800 of those) hit the water and plopped onto the far shore, about one foot beyond the water.

When Tom and I drove our golf cart between the green and the pond, I walked toward the orange ball … and sank into black, mucky, suction/vacuum equivalent of the La Brea Tar Pits of Los Angeles that once trapped mastadons, relatives of the elephant, to death.

There I was, a modern mastodon, my legs sunk 17 inches deep into the black, sucking muck.

It took three Brandywine employees, a metal extension ladder placed flat on the ground and a 3 x 10 foot flat board and about 30 minutes of rescue work, directed by me, to extricate me from the trouble I got myself into.

The problem was that the black muck had trapped my feet in my golf shoes, so you couldn’t just pull me out without causing me a lot of pain and permanent damage. The rescuers and I had to dig up around my two legs all the muck that was within a 2-foot diameter and 20-inch deep hole (to get under my feet).

As the rescuers dug close to my feet, following my directions, and I could feel how close their shovel/spade was to my body, then I would take the spade from their hands and finish extricating my leg by digging myself out.

When we got one foot and the left leg free, I put that foot on the rung of the metal ladder that was lying flat on the ground, so that it wouldn’t sink bank into the black, mucky yuck. That was my left leg. Then we extricated my right foot.

Part of the problem was that I was facing #9 tee and the water, and my back was to my rescuers. If they tried to yank me out they would twist my body and cause damage to it.

Once we got my second, right leg free, I plunked my butt on the board and scooted toward the green. Then the rescuers lifted me to a standing position.

I had the extra problem of having a store-bought right knee, so we didn’t want to dislocate or damage that. And I think my Pacemaker got pretty excited, too.

By the time I got home and stripped naked in the garage (with the door shut so I didn’t frighten the neighbors or the squirrels), my right knee was swollen, my right calf, back, right arm and right shoulder had been tweaked and were uncomfortable.

After the naked Mountaineer climbed to the second floor and into the shower, removing what mucky debris was left, only the right knee remained a problem.

I called Tom’s wife, Lorraine, who is a nurse and told her that I had pain pills left over from my nose excavation two months ago to remove cancer. She indicated it was OK to take one pain pill, which I did, and to put cold packs on my right knee for 20 minutes, which I did.

So now I have something else for our family lore, including the time that I rode my wagon off the bumpity reddog road and down into the ravine about 100 feet deep.

Tom Retton, our Jackson Street neighbor across the ravine in Monongah, West Virginia, saw me as he was driving by. He went down, carried my lifeless body to our Thomas Street house, knocked on the door and, when my mother answered, said, “Here’s your son.”

That was one of several times that my mother fainted over her wayward son’s adventures.

Monongah residents were used to me going into that holler, as we called the ravine, because I did it with four or five different types of riding conveyances.

I was so clumsy that my mother refused to let me have a bike. So I borrowed one from a friend and drove it into a truck, which caused its owner to come screaming at me because I scratched paint from off the truck.

It was the equivalent of a deserved “Get off my lawn” episode.

Somehow, I managed to survive my childhood, despite 8 black eyes, one at a time except for a double black eye once, and never because I was fighting. Only because I was a klutz who couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time.

A guy coming out of my Uncle Renzy Fazio’s grocery store once found me hanging upsidedown, holding onto the top railing, and my nose bleeding from hitting the bottom railing.

Just to make it interesting, I was hanging 10 feet above a concrete walkway. If I let go, it would be a brain blitz you don't want to have.

I kept the whole town busy trying to keep me from killing myself.

As for The Back Nine From Hell, Brandywine’s famous 9 holes where you stay in the narrow fairway or lose the ball or confront snakes, Tom and I combined for FIFTEEN lost golf balls, most of them by me.

That’s a record because my daughter, LaQuita, and I lost only 9 golf balls on the first 7 holes for the previous high.

While I was stuck in the equivalent of the LaBrea Tar Pits, I was thinking:

“Hell, my coal mining father was covered TWICE in cave-ins and rescuers had to go through 4 or more feet of coal to get to any part of his body, and he lived till black lung killed him in his 70s, so this is a piece of cake by comparison.”

I am eternally grateful to the Brandywine trio that my seniors league golfing partner at Sunny Hill (Kent) and Brookledge (Cuyahoga Falls),  Tom Stone, summoned.

They did an excellent job of getting a mastodon who will 85 years old on November 5 extricated from some nasty, foot-sucking muck.

Thanks, guys.

I think I’ll wait a while before I play Brandywine again.

And I think I’ll let my golf ball stay stuck atop the black muck, rather try to go for it again.

After all, I have dozens more with “WVU” and “John Olesky” emblazoned on them.

All in all, it was a fun and interesting day.

  Photos by Tom Stone

Faith: It’s a family thing

Joan Pitman Blagg is the subject of a remarkable Fairmont Times article about faith.

Joan is married to Eugene “Buck” Blagg. Both are 1951 Monongah High graduates who attend the Monongah High Alumni Reunions nearly every year.

Eugene "Buck" Pitman, Joan Pitman Blagg

Her parents were Charles “Walter” and Ina Pitman. Her sons are Bruce Blagg, who lives in Tampa, Florida; and Darrell Blagg, who lives in Idamay.

Her siblings include Virgil Pitman, Lexie Parks, Bruce Pitman and Velma Hartley. I think I’m missing one sibling. If anyone knows, email John Olesky at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com Thank you.

 Buck’s parents were Vaughn Blagg and Neva Hensley Blagg.

Buck’s siblings:

The late Ruth “Inkie” Lemoine Blagg McDonald, who lived in Charles Town; the late Kathleen Blagg Goldstein, Class of 1950, who lived in San Antonio; Vaughn Blagg Jr., who died in infancy; Diana Rotkis of Anchorage, Alaska; Doris Kendall of Spring Mills, West Virginia; and Immogene Blagg McCullough, once in the Air Force.

Inkie followed family tradition when it came to her faith. She was a member of the Jewel City Church in Shinnston and faithfully attended New Destiny Ministry Center in Kearneysville, West Virginia.

Her children are Melody Potts of Charles Town, Bev Rupe of Lady Lake, Jason McDonald of Grafton and Lavonda Cline of Millville, West Virginia.

Tammy Shriver’s story about the Blaggs in the Fairmont Times:

Some people’s faith is a journey filled with trials and hardships. Others are led to faith by friends.

But one might say Joan Pitman Blagg was born into her faith, and the trials and hardships of life have made her faith stronger. The Lord, church and faith have been a major part of her life since before she was born.

Joan Pitman Blagg was born May 9, 1933, the youngest of Charles “Walter” and Ina Pitman’s six children.

Joan Blagg said her parents intended on naming her JoAnn, but it was spelled incorrectly on her birth certificate and she has never changed it.

“Humor me,” says Blagg. “Call me JoAnn, but write it Joan.”

Blagg’s mother, Ina Pitman, started Calvary Temple in the 1930s. In 1929, Blagg’s mother attended an Assemblies of God Crusade in Carolina and was set on fire for the Lord.

Through that crusade, Blagg’s mother became a Pentecostal. After the revival, Pitman began her own crusade.

When she couldn’t find a church, she decided to start one of her own. The church was held in a one-room building that also hosted dances on Saturday nights.

So on Sunday mornings, Pitman would have to clean up the mess from the dance and light a fire in the potbelly stove before they could have church.

“She worked hard,” said Blagg. “I remember I was little, but I was there.” On May 28, 1934, the Rev. Olan Knotts set the church to order and appointed Ina Pitman as pastor.

Shortly after she received her license to preach from the Potomac District. During the time between the revival and receiving her degree, the church would have ministers come in and preach and teach.

After receiving her degree, Pitman pastored the church herself. Pitman would preach and Blagg’s aunt, Elsie Hawkins, would play the piano.

“A lot of times it was just the two of them, but then my aunt would go out and pick up children and bring them to church and then their parents began to come and the church grew,” said Blagg.

Blagg is certain that if it hadn’t been for her mother’s faith and trust in the Lord, she would not have survived her childhood.

“I almost died when I was 2. I had cat scratch fever. My mom was outside the door praying for me, or I probably would have died,” said Blagg.

At age 2, Blagg had cat scratch fever that caused a sore under her chin that opened and she bled through the mattress of her crib. Her parents rushed her to the doctor, and the doctor was sure she would not survive.

Blagg’s mother was praying outside the door, and the doctor and nurse worked on Blagg. “The doctor kept saying I was going to die because I had lost so much blood. But my mother was praying outside the door,” said Blagg. “The nurse asked the doctor if she could try something, and he said, ‘Go ahead. She is not going to make it anyway.’ So the nurse packed brown sugar in my wound and wrapped it, and I survived.

“I could hear her pray for me when I came home from school,” said Blagg. “It really does something to you. It attaches you to Heaven, as well as I can explain it.

“That is my desire,” said Blagg. “I want to go to Heaven and take as many people with me as I can.”

As a freshman at Monongah High School, Blagg met Buck, her husband of 64 years.

“We had actually met at church but really didn’t notice each other,” said Buck. Buck and his father attended Calvary Temple. Buck’s father left the church, but Buck stayed.

“It’s the only time I can ever remember Buck going against his father,” said Blagg.

The coupled married in November after Buck turned 18 and have been together since.

They have two sons, Bruce and Darrell, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

When the Blaggs’ children were born, Blagg says she felt a responsibility to teach them to serve the Lord and put him first.

“I attribute the longevity of our marriage to the fact that we both put the Lord first and have him first in our lives, and we are second in each other’s lives,” said Buck.

Blagg admits it was not always that way for her. “I had Buck in the wrong place,” she said. “I had him first, but the Lord showed me different.”

About 40 years ago, Buck fell off a house and was in the hospital from November to March. “It wasn’t until the first of March (that year) before the doctors would tell me if he was going to live or not,” said Blagg. “I told God, ‘If you let him live, I will serve you. I need him and I need him bad. But if you take him, I will serve you anyway.’

“That was tough,” said Blagg. “But I knew better. “Mom was a tough preacher and a tough mom. We broke up for a time. When I asked him why he didn’t come back, he said, ‘I was afraid of your mother,’ ” she said.

All that toughness brought Joan and Buck Blagg closer to the Lord. And the Blaggs serve the Lord.

Buck has been on all the boards at the church and is currently treasurer at Calvary Temple.

Joan has cooked, served and even done janitorial jobs. For about 15 years, the Blaggs invited 30-50 people to their home after Sunday evening services for food and fellowship. “I do whatever needs done,” she said.

She worked in the nursery for seven years, worked with the youth, and is currently teaching sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade girls.

“I don’t teach the girls Bible stories. I teach the girls to plan a life with God’s plan for their life because this is a treacherous time. If they don’t make good decisions, they’ll blow it,” said Blagg.

Blagg admits that she loves kids and animals. “Even though cats almost killed me twice — once when I was 2 and again when I was 5 — I still love them and take care of them,” said Blagg.

“The most important thing I have came into this world with me, and that is a desire to go to Heaven and take as many people with me as I can.”

From the humble beginnings of Calvary Temple in the one-room dance hall to the complex that is now the meeting place on Swisher Hill near Worthington, the church has grown, as has its membership, making the Blaggs’ desire to go to Heaven and take as many people with them as they can more of a reality.

It turns out that Ron Pearse wasn’t the only one tripping the light fantastic at the Marion County Dancing With the Stars United Way fundraiser in October.

Virginia “Ginger” Larry Zaccagini, Class of 1944, and husband Rudy Zaccagini cut a pretty mean rug, too. And the Fairmont Times photo captures the moment. The other part of the montage was when they showed up at the 2012 Monongah High Alumni Reunion, undoubtedly doing so pretty impressive dancing then, too.

Ginger’s sister was the late Agnes Jean Larry DiLaura, Class of 1950, who passed away in Nevada in September. They grew up in Carolina with another sister, Gloria Larry Boehm, Class of 1959.

To read the Oct. 19 Monongah High Alumni blog article about Ron Pearse, Class of 1961, a psychology professor at Fairmont State, click on

http://jo4wvu.blogspot.com/search?q=if+you+want+to+see+ron+pearse

If you want to see Ron Pearse, Class of 1961, a psychology professor at Fairmont State with his own professional services on Locust Avenue,  dance with Emily Gallagher during the Marion County Dancing With the Stars United Way fundraiser, click on

http://m.timeswv.com/ron-pearse-and-emily-gallagher-during-marion-county-dancing-with/youtube_529d4dee-7577-11e5-a0bc-2b9e703d6ed9.html?mode=jqm

Ron is the son of T.J. and Madge Pearse of Monongah. Ron’s flower gardens were featured in a Fairmont Times article.

T.J. is a former Marion County schools superintendent who changed his family Prezioso name to Pearse.

 

The Pearse family had the brick home on the elevated land off U.S. 19 just behind the coal shed on the Olesky property on Church Street. A wall kept the Pearse dirt from cascading onto the sidewalk alongside U.S. 19 and the Olesky property.

The late Madge Pearse is connected to Arnold (J.B.) Loss, husband of Suzanne Barr Loss, Class of 1948, of Mill Fall, by blood or marriage. Which means that I may have a round-about tie to the Pearse family since my mom’s sister, Gezala Loss, was married to Frank Loss, brother of Arnold’s dad. Frank and the original J.B.’s siblings were Elizabeth Loss, Rose Tropea (of Tropea Grocery), Mary McGraw, William Loss and Virginia Loss.

T.J.’s parents were Alexendra and Lavania Serge Prezioso. The other children are Ramon Paige of Shinnston, Teresa Prezioso Mangino, Lenora Prezioso Romeno, Elvita Prezioso Knight, Jeannette Prezioso Domico, Nick Prezioso, Celic Prezioso, Roman Prezioso Sr., Arthur Prezioso and Albert Prezioso.

The next generation of Preziosos, besides Lavinia, include Josephine Prezioso Westfall of Monongah, Bea Prezioso Mangino of Michigan, Brulina Prezioso Sweeney of Vienna, Barbara Prezioso Vozniak (married to  Mitch Vozniak) of Monongah, Marie Prezioso of Charleston, Eugene Prezioso and wife Pat of Michigan, Nick Domico and wife Ellen of Fairmont, Dr. Ronald Pearse and wife Julia of Fairmont and West Virginia state senator Roman Prezioso and wife Debbie of Fairmont.

Heat at last for Paula & Joe Fazio

Paula Kerns Fazio, Class of 1979, married to Joe Fazio, Class of 1974, and daughter of Dorothy Stevenski Kerns, Class of 1942, isn’t living in Siberia in her home any more.

Paula Kerns Fazio

Wrote Paula:

“$378 later and there is once again heat at the Fazio household! Sean and I awoke this morning to a frigid 58 degrees. Brrrrrrrrrr! So thankful to have heat once again!”

Good thing, because the temperature will hit 25 tonight in Monongah.

Paula’s brothers are Dave and Donnie Kerns and her sisters are Pam and Patti. Their daughter is Alex, married to Joe Huff and the parents of Charlotte.

Joe Martin, Class of 1959, has his 1987 Mercedes convertible up for sale. It has only 106 miles on it. Apparently a little ol' gentleman only took it to the beach on his birthdays and holidays.

Personally, I’ve been a bigger fan of Mercedes McCambridge, who Orson Welles called “the greatest living radio actress.”

My favorite Mercedes, an Irish-American Illinois native, was busy on the scary “Inner Sanctum,” heralded weekly by the sound of a squeaking door, “Studio One” and “Ford Theater,” all on radio where your imagination out-did anything today’s technology geniuses can whip up and fling at you on movie and TV screens.

While my gravelly-voiced Mercedes won a 1949 Oscar for her role in “All the King’s Men” opposite Broderick Crawford’s Huey “Kingfish” Long, I like her performance better as Luz, Rock Hudson’s no-nonsense, hard-working rancher/sister, in 1956’s “Giant.”

Charlotte Mercedes Agnes McCambridge  was nominated for another Oscar for “Giant,” but Dorothy Malone (“Written on the Wind”) beat her out, which I thought was an injustice. Anyone who can be in a movie with Liz Taylor and not be lost in the shadows has to be a great actress.

Mercedes’ husky speech made her the perfect choice for Linda Blair’s demon voice in “The Exorcist” movie.

Joe lives on Treasure Island, Florida with artist/wife Arlene Kitchen, who was born in beautiful Nova Scotia, one Canadian province west of the Prince Edward Island locale for the fictional Anne Shirley of “Anne of Green Gables.”

Joe has been dealing with strokes, lung cancer and lymphoma.

Joe and Arlene show up at the Monongah High Alumni Reunion/Sarasota at the home of Bill Meredith, Class of 1957, and wife Roleta, a Clarksburg Washington Irving High grad.

The third annual MHS Alumni Reunion at the Meredith home in Sarasota will be noon Friday, Feb. 6, 2015. There were reunions in 2012 and 2013, but none in 2014 while Bill recovered from surgery.

Bill and wife Roleta live at 3201 Charles MacDonald Drive in Sarasota. If you'll be near Sarasota Feb. 6, 2015, let John Olesky know at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com to help Roleta figure out how much food to have ready.

Paula and I will be staying in The Villages, Florida from January through March of 2015, except for heading down to Siesta Key and Sarasota Feb. 5-9 to take in the MHS reunion at the Meredith home and the Greek Festival at St. Barbara's Church in Sarasota Feb. 7.

If you're within a short day drive of The Villages in January through March 2015, call John at (330) 388-4466 and we'll have a mini-Monongah reunion there, too.

Joe’s online ad for his beloved Mercedes convertible:

Joe Martin jmartin808@aol.com for sale 
1987 mercedes 560sl 
http://used-classics-for-sale.com/vdp.php?id=100045

City: St Petersburg

State: FL

Zip/Postal Code: 33706

Type: Import Classic

Condition: Mint

Mileage: 106

Exterior Color: Blue

Engine Size: 6 Cylinder

Driveline: RWD

Fuel Type: Gasoline

DESCRIPTION

1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SL

1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SL model in mint condition

ROADSTER IN EXCELLENT CONDITION
Brand new Air Conditioner within
Front-end work been done
Brand new battery recently installed.

The S-Class name derives from the German "Sonder-Klasse" which means Special Class and the level of finish offered in these luxury cars certainly put them in a special class

But the "S" could just as easily stand for 'Safety' - giving the amount of attention Mercedes-Benz spent on ensuring the Safety of both the Driver and Passengers

The Double Wishbone front Axle developed from the experimental C 111 was fitted to all S-class models and offered zero-offset steering and anti-dive control giving measurable dynamic handling improvements

A stiffened body and roof frame along with strengthened pillars and other reinforced zones provided excellent occupant protection as did padded dash, deformable switches and other impact absorption devices

In addition the fuel tank was placed above the rear axle for protection in case of collision and from 1978 an anti-lock brake system was fitted
This is a must see Import Classic and everything works well

Serious inquiries only

This vehicle is in St Petersburg, FL.

Qualified Buyers may be eligible for Financing, Nationwide Shipping and Extended Warranties.

Stock Number: C100045L

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Denise Wood Roncone, Class of 1957

Keith Beckner

Dorman Keith Beckner, right, with Gene McIntire

Gets Honor Flight

To Washington, D.C.

 Dorman Keith “Legs” Beckner, Class of 1942, was in Washington, D.C. as part of the Honor Flight, which takes America’s veterans on a free flight to see our nation’s capital and visit war memorials.

After seeing this article, Keith emailed me:

Hi, John,

A correction to the photo of me and Bill Poe. That is me and my good friend, Gene McIntire, Veteran of the Korea Conflict. We both attend Monongah Baptist Church and have been friends for many years. Bill Poe was our assigned Guardian to see to our every need.

It was a great to be honored like that. We were greeted with hand shakes and thanks for our service at our departure from the Clarksburg Airport and our arrival at Reagan National Airport. Plus people at all the Memorials we

visited.

Thanks for posting the photo. More photos on Facebook.

Best regards,

Keith

Keith’s daughter is Rhea Lee Beckner Hillberry of Littleton, Colorado, married to Gary Hillberry. Rhea is a Fairmont West High and Fairmont State business education graduate who retired from the Coors Brewery, the largest single brewery facility in the world, in Golden, Colorado.

Keith’s son is Roger Keith Beckner, who never met a fish he didn’t want to catch and release.

Bill Poe, Keith's guardian, also lives in Fairmont but originally is from Oregon.

Saturday’s Honor Flight was out of Clarksburg. There’ll be another West Virginia Honor Flight May 21.

Lisa Myers McCombs, Marion County Reading Teacher of the Year

Lisa Myers McCombs

Lisa Myers McCombs, Class of 1977, author of several children's books and Monongah Middle School language arts teacher, received Marion County Reading Council’s Patti R. Pollack Reading Teacher of the Year Award. She will go to the WVRA Annual Conference in November to represent Marion County for the Eddie C. Kennedy Reading Teacher of the Year Award.

Lisa also won the 2013 Marion County Reading Honor Council Award. She is president of the Marion County Reading Council, which has been in existence for 31 years.

The children’s books triology for Lisa, Y-Teens sponsor at Monongah Middle School, is “Opening Pandora's Box,” “Abby” and “Raspberry Beret.”

Lisa is married to Harless McCombs, Class of 1976, Monongah Fire Department chief.

Monongah Town Recorder Patty Steele McCombs is married to Harless’ brother, Bill McCombs, Class of 1969, who is Monongah Water Director and on the Town Council.

Lisa’s mother, Pat Myers, taught at Monongah Elementary and her father, John Myers, was the Golf Pro at Green Hills Golf Club for many years.

You can go to Lisa’s web site, where she discusses her multiple sclerosis (MS), by clicking on http://lisa-mccombs.blogspot.com/2013/01/marion-county-reading-council-officers.html

Monongah High Alumni potpourri

Betty Hanlin, who lives with Phil Colanero, Jr., Class of 1963, in Morgantown, is improving at Monongalia General Hospital in Morgantown. Her blood sugar count has dropped from 600 to 200. She also went in with kidney pain.

Wayne Sanders is minding the store while Phil minds Betty.

Irene Fazio Preolitti, Class of 1966, enjoyed her birthday by double-celebrating Cinco de Maya with family and friends, including daughter Monica Jo Preolitti Armistead, fresh from running her first half-marathon in Pittsburgh.

Beth Pritchard Brooks, Class of 1978, and daughter-in-law Brandy Brooks, married to Beth’s son Allen, found their Cinco de Maya Margaritaville in Elkins. Beth’s husband, Rick, is in Las Vegas on another job project.

Marcia Michalski Westfall, Class of 1974, of Kilarm, and husband Dave Westfall, Class of 1948, enjoyed their trip to Ohio Amish country, using the Millersburg Hotel as their base. Paula and I get down to Amish Country every summer. Plenty of great food, furniture and quilts!

Linda Tomlinson Stevenski, 1955, who lives in Monongah, keeps busy signing and selling her Bumby Books for children. Besides Chetty T. Chipmunk, her books include "The Ghost of Maple Road," "They Came to the Mine," “Monongah 1949” and “The Gnome’s Dome.”

The old Fairmont East High School building is being razed June 9^th to make way for a new one. At least the Monongah High building still exists, albeit as Monongah Elementary.

If you are enjoying life or traveling or have other events, email me at jo4wvu@neo.rr.com with jpeg photos and I’ll relay them in another Monongah High Alumni blog article.