Fraternity-Testvériség, 2008 (86. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
2008-07-01 / 3. szám
FEATURE SAM HAROUFF (R) AND UNKNOWN TRAINMAN (L) POSED ON THE FOOTBOARD OF SHAY NO. 5 (C/N 1503) AT THE CASS LOCOMOTIVE SHOP. THE WOOD CAB AND KEROSENE HEAD LAMP ON THE LOCOMOTIVE SUGGEST THAT THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN PRIOR TO 1921. (PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN, COLLECTION OF TOM MYLES) front steps in summer and inside in winter for the latest gossip and news or to listen to the radio located in the “furniture department.” When the C&O passenger trains arrived, residents gathered to look over the newly arrived passengers. The Company Store had an annual business of over a million dollars, which would be several million in today’s currency. According to the Register and Post Herald published in Beckley, West Virginia on December 17, 1955, the “Mammoth General Store at Cass is Believed to be the Biggest Operation in the United States.” Up on Whittiker Station, where the Hungarian immigrants worked, the company provided them with food and lodging. Since they rarely had access to charge anything at the company store in Cass, these “wood hicks” normally received almost all their pay in cash after allowing their pay to accumulate. But periodically, they would return to Cass where some had families lodging on “Big Bug Hill,” a small, unplanned gathering of rudely constructed houses, sheds, and barns called “Bohunk Hill.” Located close to the junction of the C&O and the logging railroad, it was convenient to work , especially when most of the men travelled up to the logging camp of Whittaker Station for weeks at a time away from their families. Bohunk Hill was physically separated from the company town of Cass but ultimately included within the corporate limits. Bohunk Hill provided a sheltered community for these immigrant Hungarian families, most of whom were not fluent in English. As a result, they had lower paying jobs in the logging operations and a lower economic status. Although many were proud and aspired to live in those company homes with more amenities, making a living in this English-speaking community was difficult. Consequently, most were relegated to Whittaker Station #1. Food and supplies were sent to Whittiker Station via Cass’s logging railroad as the cooks prepared all the meals for the loggers at the mountain camp. When the woodsmen returned to Cass after weeks at Whittiker Station, many visited the bars, gaming houses, and brothels on what was known as “Dirty Street” to drink, gamble, carouse, and have a “blow in,” as they called it. When these Hungarian “wood hicks” ran out of money but weren’t ready to return to the woods, they used the company credit system as an ATM. The “wood hicks” would often buy merchandise on credit from the store, take it across the river and sell it at reduced prices to replenish their cash. The proceeds 30 WINTER 2008
