west virginians? what the heck are you? (Fairmont, Clarksburg: lawyers, houses)

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by NVplumber

Hey Buzz....yep I'm a fair piece north of Vegas. Bout 80 an hour and a half southeast of Reno. Town called Yerington. Used to be a real quiet area but it's been growing some over the last 20 years. A LOT of Bay area transplants and SO Cal malcontents trying to barge in and "make the valley a better place". But it's still a nice little town for the most part. I lived in Reno for 11 years. It was ok when I was single but I wouldn't want to raise my kids there...or in any other big city for that matter. I'm ranch life born and bred so I like the sticks. WV really appealed to the country boy in me. ..My in laws back there are wayyy nice folks and all the people I got to interact with were the same way. great huntin' and fishin' but the woods ain't really my element. Last trip back my wifes cousin was telling me about the brilliance of the WV Dept. of Wildlife. It seems the wild turkeys were getting to thick so some classroom educated bioligist geek came up with the exeptional plan to introduce predators to the ecosystem. And what predator you ask!? Why coyotes of course! What a bunch of morons! I couldn't believe my ears! So now of course the yotes are out of control. We have LOTS of experience with them critters here in the desert. There ain't no other animal out there ( I think) thats as adaptable and vicious as good ol' Wiley Coyote. Reckon if we do ever move there we won't have to give up varmint shooting as a pastime.

Tell me about it; 20 years ago we only had about 400,000 people in Las Vegas. Now we have 2 million and I think most came from SoCal. Funny thing is, while in Southern California they are the world's best drivers; but turn them loose in Nevada and they forget everything they know.

I usually go through Fallon on the way to Reno, but I've been to Yerington a few times. It's nice up there. Since you're a person of the cow persuasion, do you ever get over to Elko for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering? If you don't freeze to death it's really fun. Cowboys and cowgirls from all over the world show up. I like Elko, especially the Basque food.

Western Folklife Center - Home

I don't know if coyotes were purposely introduced to WV but I know they are there now. My cousins get them on their farm in Ritchie County. One guy near by them has a burro which is supposed to keep them away. I don't know if that works either. I've seen many coyotes and wild burros running around the desert in close proximity, especially at Red Rock Canyon. I read several years ago that coyotes had managed to make their home in all 50 states, so they've been in West Virginia for a long time. I don't know how long the wild turkeys have been there but it's only been about ten years or less since I started seeing them on my trips back home. We didn't have any when I lived there. No other animal is as able to survive all kinds of disasters as Mr. Coyote.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by NVplumber

Well..after a trip down the holler with one of my inlaws on my first visit to WV I was seein' all kinds of things...aliens of all shapes and sizes swingin; from the trees. Can still taste that shine. Remember a drive we took and I was smelling hickory smoke...made the comment that someone had a smokehouse goin' maybe doin' some of that famous ham. Got a look like I was from Mars and was gently informed that "Theys' cookin' shine". I got a real good education on WV life on that trip. Class was never so much fun! Watch out fer them aliens theys everwhere they is!

Usually when people in West Virginia talk like that they're putting you on. There are some no sh** hillbillies in WV, just like there are in most eastern states, but I'm not sure there are many stills producing white lightnin' these days. The father of an old girlfriend gave me a snort of that one time and I thought it would burn my insides out. Kind of like a party I went to in Reno once where they served Everclear punch, except he didn't cut it with anything. But I've always felt most West Virginians like to lay it on pretty thick for visitors who expect that kind of talk. Maybe the people you know really talk that way, but the fact is that almost every town in West Virginia has a small college, and there are two major universities. Way more people going to college in WV than we have in Nevada, with less population there, and ¼ the space. Just about all the West Virginians I know from all walks of life dress and talk sort of preppy. When I show up in my typical Las Vegas shorts and t-shirt I feel sort of under dressed. But we subscribe to the early Andre Agassi school of fashion here in Vegas.

[David Kennedy]

Gentlemen...private stock, home manufactured, mountain liquior is made by almost everybody and used by almost everyone...wonderful new, high tech, even solar powered devices that create creations of brew that use strawberries and apples...corn, rye and the favorite of course is peach..

I went to a wedding this summer and the preacher had brought a gallon of his own 'makins'.
Peach flavored and distilled...had everybody dancing in about 30 minutes...

It's everywhere...just like the old days and drank by all the cops, judges and high and mighty company presidents...

Only area of crime that is ignored by the mafia...they must make enough money from the dope industry.

[NVplumber]

Please forgive my colorful writings. No offense meant ..just having a spot of fun. But as DK said and I observed first hand the squeezin's are a fact of life. All manner of recipes can be had and a lot of them are quite good ( and VERY potent). Another thing I noticed about WV was how many communities there were. Small unincorporated villages and such. One could drive through 10 such places and only have been behind the wheel for a few minutes. Seems like I saw so many signs announcing a new place that I lost track. Spelter , Hepzibah, Shinston, and to many "Runs", and "Hollows" to remember all within a very small area. Out here we are so spread out that we tend to speak of drive times in hours instead of miles. Got my directions confused more than once....and don't blink or you done missed your turn. Another note on the homemade "Likker" ...I do believe my Father in Law is sending a touch back with my wife. Had to laugh when she called and told me. I plan on putting the pig my lil' dude caught at the County Fair and Rodeo scramble in a pit after some generous feeding.( Just put last years in the freezer) and having a Luau with a West Virginia twist. the squeezin's he gets me make a dynamite bowl of punch! Might even invite some friends from Area 51.

[vec101]

"Hollows" - I came to learn that is "hollers"

You can buy moonshine in some stores but that's not the good stuff. I did not know old fashioned highly potent moonshine was still relatively common til I had a son in college and he brought home a milk jug full of shine - got it from a friend. (Don't know how it did not burn through that jug). It is nasty. Even son and friends only drink it on occassion as a novelty and even then just take a sip or two - it's horrible. Especially like to give it to people who have never had it before.

[NVplumber]

Originally Posted by vec101

"Hollows" - I came to learn that is "hollers"

You can buy moonshine in some stores but that's not the good stuff. I did not know old fashioned highly potent moonshine was still relatively common til I had a son in college and he brought home a milk jug full of shine - got it from a friend. (Don't know how it did not burn through that jug). It is nasty. Even son and friends only drink it on occassion as a novelty and even then just take a sip or two - it's horrible. Especially like to give it to people who have never had it before.

My Father in Law showed me the trick on how to test the stuff. take a teaspoon full and light it on fire. If it burns a nice clean blue it's the good stuff...any yellow or orange flame and just dump it in your gas tank.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by NVplumber

Please forgive my colorful writings. No offense meant ..just having a spot of fun. But as DK said and I observed first hand the squeezin's are a fact of life. All manner of recipes can be had and a lot of them are quite good ( and VERY potent). Another thing I noticed about WV was how many communities there were. Small unincorporated villages and such. One could drive through 10 such places and only have been behind the wheel for a few minutes. Seems like I saw so many signs announcing a new place that I lost track. Spelter , Hepzibah, Shinston, and to many "Runs", and "Hollows" to remember all within a very small area. Out here we are so spread out that we tend to speak of drive times in hours instead of miles. Got my directions confused more than once....and don't blink or you done missed your turn. Another note on the homemade "Likker" ...I do believe my Father in Law is sending a touch back with my wife. Had to laugh when she called and told me. I plan on putting the pig my lil' dude caught at the County Fair and Rodeo scramble in a pit after some generous feeding.( Just put last years in the freezer) and having a Luau with a West Virginia twist. the squeezin's he gets me make a dynamite bowl of punch! Might even invite some friends from Area 51.

That's why I call West Virginia a congested rural area. WV has more towns than we have named places in NV...just all shoved together. But don't forget that if they ironed the wrinkles out of West Virginia it would almost be as big as Nevada...as long as they don't iron Nevada too. It's not so easy to get lost here in Nevada because we have so few highways we don't have many wrong turns available to make. Do you think we have as many canyons as WV has hollers? I doubt it. At least nobody lives in most of them.

I wonder if I might know any of your in-laws. Where in the Clarksburg area do they live? I'm originally from the North View section of Clarksburg and went to school in Adamston. I also lived in Nutter Fort and Stealey after I got married.

[NVplumber]

My Father in Law lives in Spelter...right next to the old DuPont plant. My wifes stepsister lives in Nutter Fort. She also has a good friend that lives in Hepzibah. I can't remember the name of the place her cousin lives but it's literally "down the holler" from Spelter. My Father in Law is really active in the Shriners and the Elks...he's a genuine good ol' boy. Theres a big power plant down that way to...another little town I can't remember the name of but it butts right up to Shinston. My lil' dude and I had a blast fishin' the river that runs through there. ( I think it's the Monongaheala) Really pretty country. Oh it's a tossup whether we have as many canyons as they do hollers...but the hollers have more people than our canyons fer sure. Most of our canyon country is pretty inhospitable to human life.

[NVplumber]

Her cousin lives in Glenn Falls.....Knew it would come to me

[David Kennedy]

This blog is 'doin' its work...bringin' back the memories...