Fraternity-Testvériség, 2008 (86. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
2008-07-01 / 3. szám
A HUNGARIAN LOGGING CAMP were used to continue partying, and the cost of the merchandise was deducted from their accumulated pay in camp or whenever they came back from Whittiker Station to collect their pay in town. Some would party until the money was spent, ride the logging train back to the camp and start the cycle all over again. A Cass resident by the name of Gary McPherson recalled, “The stories about the wood hicks on ‘Dirty Street’ are true. They would come into town on the log train. They’d jump off and head right for ‘Dirty Street’. You could see the sparks fly from the nails on the caulked boots as they ran across the concrete. After awhile, there would usually be a fight. Lots of times, they would march out of town or down Main Street to fight. Then, a crowd of spectators would gather. 1 liked to hang around to see what would happen. Sometimes when Joe Woodall, the cop, had trouble handling a problem, he would just deputize the people around and they would have to help him.” Another former resident by the name of Joe Jackson wrote, “My grandfather was a “wood hick.” He worked on the mountain cutting timber for the mill and only got home once a month. When grandmother died, my mom had to take care of her and her three brothers. My dad ran away from Cass and joined the Navy. He got TB and was sent home back to Cass. He couldn’t work so he kept the house and Mom worked at the company store. 1 used to go behind the counter and get myself some candy always thinking that the clerks were nice for letting me have that candy and not knowing until later in life that they were counting what I got and deducting it from my mom’s pay.” Because of the pollution of the Greenbrier River due to the discharge of raw sewage into it from Cass, the town’s swimming hole was located away from the town. A significant number of residents joined the military during World War I, but the war also caused the sawmill business to dramatically increase its operations, and Cass continued to grow. By 1920, its operations peaked; the mill ran two 11 -hour shifts, six days a week. The company built over 300 structures in Cass and the census showed 1195 residents. Even a potter’s field cemetery was established in addition to small plots behind the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches. By the 20’s, the automobile reached Cass in sufficient numbers for a fuel tank to be installed, and by 1926, telegraph service began. But one of the biggest problems for the residents and loggers was obtaining fresh meat. The company owned its own farm along Deer Creek and raised most of the cattle and hogs that were used. Chickens and turkeys were kept in a pen north of the company store. Customers picked the bird they wanted which was then caught. Its legs were tied, and it was handed to the customer who prepared it herself. Ice was cut on the Greenbrier River and stored in an ice house that was insulated with a one-foot thick layer of sawdust, which would usually last until mid-summer. Then, the Great Depression and poor world-wide economic conditions reduced the demand for wood products from the saw mill. Unemployment rose and most of the residents not only grew produce from their own gardens, but for a small monthly fee, residents could graze a cow or two on company pasture. However, most bartered with friends and neighbors for services and objects they needed but couldn’t afford. Others raised hogs for butchering and chickens for both eggs and meat throughout the year. Then, THE CASS COUNTRY STORE AS OPERATED AFTER ACQUISTION BY THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA. THE PREVIOUSLY VACATED MEAT MARKET IS USED AS THE POST OFFICE. (COURTESY OF CASS SCENIC RAILROAD STATE PARK. FRATERNITY - TESTVÉRISÉG 31
