As mentioned in earlier chapters, the St. Joseph’s settlement in the Marshall County backcountry way out Proctor was the home of origin for the Frohnapfel (maternal) side of my family. Along with many other conservative German Roman Catholics families, they immigrated in the 1850s and ...
One of local history’s greatest rivalries, the always testy battle between the Paden City Wildcats and the Sistersville Tigers, has a strange history. Both communities held fierce competitions over the years, but when the towns were just beginning a love story between two of the residents, ...
I was blessed to have some excellent, caring, inspiring teachers and mentors in elementary and high school, undergraduate and graduate school, and at Los Alamos National Laboratory during my thirty-year career there. Some of the Wetzel County teachers who stood out for me are mentioned ...
This chapter may get a bit tedious for those who aren’t familiar with the back parts of Wetzel and Marshall County that are waaaaaay out Proctor. But I wanted to include these bits of trivia because they illustrate one of the simple, inexpensive, and pleasant things our family did ...
My mother Virginia Louise (Frohnapfel) Eller (1923-2011) was better known as Ginny, Aunt Ginny, and Gramma Ginny. Mom was the ninth of twelve children born to Grandpa T. J. Frohnapfel and Gramma Anna (Estep) Frohnapfel at their farm on Ohio River bottom land a few miles north of Proctor. Ten of ...
My uncle Yonsell (Yontz or Yonce) Jay Eller (1902-1982) and aunt Pearl Amanda (Briggs) Eller (1906-1978) lived in Proctor almost all of their adult lives. Uncle Yontz was the third of the nine Eller siblings. All were born at the C. A. and Elizabeth Eller homestead on Newman Ridge and all ...
My Grandpap and Grandma Anna Frohnapfel’s farm and house was along Route 2 about two miles north of Proctor. I’ve been told that Grandpap bought the farm from the Arick family, who also owned the adjacent land to the south. I also understand that Grandpap built the house out of poplar trees ...
All my life I have hoped to see a ghost, sasquatch, mothman, Flatwoods Monster, or unidentified flying object. I’ve never seen any of these things. Perhaps they don’t like to show themselves to a professional scientist. While West Virginia is a well-known hot spot for paranormal sightings, ...
My Uncle Yontz aka Yonce, Yonsell Jay Eller (1902-1982), and aunt Pearl Amanda (Briggs) Eller (1906-1978) lived in Proctor almost all of their adult life. Uncle Yontz was the third of his siblings, all born at the Eller homestead on Newman Ridge. Aunt Pearl was born and raised a few miles away ...
My Grandpap and Grandma Frohnapfel’s farm house was on the north edge of Route 2 about two miles north of Proctor. I’ve told that Grandpap’s farm originally was my great grandfather Anthony Estep’s farm (Arick’s before that). Anthony and his wife lived in an older house directly ...