Vol. VI No.21
/
August 2, 1990
From the Greenbrier
Valley of West Virginia
Russia, With Love --- To Camp Allegheny
home is Hotkovo, a city of 20,000 inhabitants, 60 kilometers northeast of Moscow, but for the next couple of
they are the guests of Camp Allegheny near Caldwell. All the teenagers' parents are engineers, except one (he
Painter and restorer of church art). The girls, ages 14 to 16, were winners of a competion in Hotkovo sponsored by
an international non-profit group. The prize -- a trip to America! Shown here are (left to right) Anya
Nadya Soumenkova, Kira Moskalionova, Vika Efanova, Vera Vialova, Irina Lssinenko, Tatiana
Svetlana Sidorova, and Natalia Vasillieva. Ms Vasillieva, who works at the Science Research institute in
accompanies the girls and acts as their interpreter.
NT,
ALIVE
E
" ~
Kathy and ElisJT'~lmon
uirming Serpents
Weighs 200 Lbs; Another
3eady eyes peer through the
glass wall as wide-eye
gaze with open mouths.
massive snakes are the largest
many of Kathy and Elisha
ilmon's visitors have ever seen.
."People are really interested in
rnmg more about snakes," Mrs
said. We visit mostly small
ms where there's not too much
on---our exhibit gives people
to talk about."
Indeed, both the names and the
~asurements of the snakes attract
Sheba is over 20 feet long and
170 pounds. Crusher is 17
long and weighs in at a hefty
pounds• Gonzales and Simba,
;o measu ng 17 feet, are the
just over150 pounds.
set up their exhibit last
~ek at the flea market grounds at
~armco: this Week they are at
Food Center in Fairlea.
The monstrous snakes consume
of 20 store-bought chickens
ten days to two weeks.
eats the most: eight or nine
each feeding.
"Feeding time is the most dan-
rous time of all," Mrs Gotmon
"It's recommended you don't
mess with them within 24 to 36
~urs of when they eat They are
with "Gonzales"
very restless then. We always spray
Lysol on our hands and arms when
we enter the cage to be sure they
can't detect any animal smells on
us--and we make sure there are
two people in the cage at any one
time in case there's trouble."
"Another precaution we take."
she added, "is to take a big dentm
sack nto the cage with us. It's
wrapped aroLind the arm and hand
in case the snakes are ~n a b~ting
mood. When you go m to feed them.
you have to be ready to move fast
and get out of the way." The snakes
are not venomous, she said, but
their danger lies in their ability to
wrap around their victims, crushing
their rib cages and suffocating them.
The Golmons, residents of Amite,
Louisiana, tell why they enjoy their
work. "We like to give people the
opportunity to see something they
don't normally see," Mr Golmon
said. 'Tve been in a lot of different
vocations--from truck driving, off-
shore drilling, corrections, to con-
struction--and I get far more pleas-
ure out of this than anything else.
People are impressed with our
snakes--probably 85 per cent of the
country's zoos don't have snakes as
long as ours. I like to consider ours
as more of an educational exhibit."
Mrs Gotmon added, "We meet a
Into Fairlea:
Is 20 Ft.
lot of people who have a real fasci-
nation with snakes. Some of them
have some at home and ask us ad-
vice about feeding and taking care
of them. We're glad to offer them
what we know."
The couple travel throughout the
central and eastern states, setting
up their trailer-based exhibit mostly
~n shopping center parking lots. A
36-foot-long trailer is used n other
locations, but a 12-foot-long trailer
was brought to West Virginia. mainly
due to the mountain terrain, Mrs
Golmon said. This ~s the couple's
first visit to the state.
"We love West Virginia," Mr
Golmon said. "It's beautiful, and the
people are good. down-home,
friendly folks. That's the kind of
people we are."
The Golmons also provide lec-
tures and "hands-on observations"
at numerous schools. "Even the
cops get excited in the towns where
we go," Mrs Golmon sa~d. One po-
lice department in Tennessee told
us if we couldn't get engagements
for a return visit to their town, they
would see to it we got one. °
The couple travel nine months
each year. The remaining three
months, during the winter, are occu-
pied with repairs and maintenance
of the trailers and equipment.
Coming Next Week
From
Mountain Messenger
The Area's Most Comprehensive
Guide To
State Fair of West Virginia
24 colorful pages, packed with information you can use.
It August
Inside Today
About Herbs ...................... 6A
Agriculture ........................ 7A
Briefly ................................ 2A
Carnegie Column .............. 6B
Classified .......................... 7B
For the Record .................. 3A
Garden Patch .................. 10A
Home Accent .................... 8A
Horoscopes ....................... 5B
Joy of Farming .................. 7A
Obituaries .......................... 9A
Opinion .............................. 4A
Roberta .............................. 5B
Saints ................................. 4B
Sports ................................ 1 B
Ill English Lad Gets Wish:
By Jonathan Wright
The trans-Atlantic phone connec-
tions crackled as the far-away voice
of the "directory" operator came on
the line, heavy with an English ac-
cent.
"Directory--may I help you?"
"In Carshalton, rd like the num-
ber for the parents of Craig Sher-
gold."
"Is this in reference to the get-
well cards?"
"Yes, it is."
"The family has asked we no
longer give out their number and to
inform all callers that their son has
received enough cards to qualify
him for the Guiness Book of World
Records."
"OK. Thank you very much. Bye."
"Bye."
This conversation resulted from
an inquiry by the Mountain Mes-
senger into the receipt of a chain-
type letter by several area mer-
chants. The letter reads in part, "It
has come to our attention that a
seven-year-old boy in England is
terminally ill with a brain tumor. His
ambition is to be included in the
Guiness Book of World Records. His
desire is to receive the most get-well
cards by a single individual."
The letter gives the boy's ad-
dress and ends with these instruc-
tions: "After sending your card,
please send the attached pages to
ten companies of your choice so
they might help Craig reach his
goal." The pages attached to a letter
received by Wyatt Photo of Lewis-
burg list the ten letter-recipient
choices of seven West Virginia busi-
nesses.
According to a spokesman at city
offices near Carshalton, England,
the boy received 16,250,069 cards.
The previous record was around
one million cards, received by an-
other boy from England one year
ago.
"Craig received cards from Presi-
dent Bush and Vice-President
Quayle," the spokesman said. "He
recently received several gifts from
a children's hospital in Atlanta
Georgia. He is in good spirits, al-
though he has good and bad days."
Rowan Home
Changes Hands
Springfield Associates, a three-
member board of health care man-
agers, has been chosen to operate
the Andrew S. Rowan Memorial
Home at Sweet Springs. The news
was recently announced by the
Monroe County Commission, new
owners of the 22.8-acre Rowan
Home. • •
The group has applied for a per-
sonal care license in order to begin
management of the home by its tar-
get date of September 1, according
to Kyle Baker, Mr Baker is the ad-
ministrator of Springfield Compre-
hensive Care Center, a facility the
group owns at Lindside, and is a
member of Springfield Associates.
The other two members are Don
Richardson and Ray Hope, both of
Charleston.
The Rowan Home presently
houses approximately 97 residents.
Most will likely remain at the Sweet
Spnngs facility when it is turned over
to the management of Springfield
Associates in September, according
to Mr Baker. Long-range plans,
specified in the icense application,
call for expansion to approximately
190 beds, Mr Baker said.
Staff members, numbering 75,
have attended meetings with Mr
Baker as he has discussed ex-
pected salaries, benefits, and re-
sponsibilities under the new man-
agement. "About 50 employees
have expressed an interest m re-
maining at Rowan," Mr Baker said.
"Some of the others are retiring, and
some have chosen not to accept a
job if offered."
Mr Baker said the staff will ini-
tially be reduced to about 45. In
some situations it may be necessary
for staff members to accept in-house
transfers he added.
Deed transfers for the property
have not been finalized yet, accord-
mg to Mr Baker; neither has the per-
sonal care license been granted.
"We don't foresee any problems,
though." he added. "The state
knows of our September 1 target
date, and I feet confident we'll make
it by then."
Mr Baker said he expects the
Rowan Home initially to have ap-
proximately 90 residents. Future ex-
pansion to 190 wilt be made pos-
sible by opening the home to out-of-
state residents, he said.
Other plans for the facility call for
the opening of a substance-abuse
unit, to be housed in the main build-
ing, and a "spa," using the former
resort's swimming pool.
Your Newspaper
Mountain Messenger
Covers
Southeastern West Virginia
Mary Redden
A Seamstress
Mary Redden sews more stitches
in a week than many people do in a
lifetime.
"rye never seen a sewing job I
couldn't handle," she says proudly,
but not boastfully. "1 guess rye al-
ways been gifted in that respect.
This is something I enjoy. It's relax-
ing, and I like seeing all the people
who come in and out of the shop."
Ms Redden works at Mary's Doll
Shop, a small store owned by her
daughter and located on U.S. High-
way 60 in McRoss, one mile east of
Rainelle. A colorful assortment of
dolls she makes fills the windows
and attracts numerous customers,
"A lot of out-of-state people come
through." she says. "Many of them
just see the sign or the dolls and
stop ~n to see what we have."
Ms Redden specializes in making
both bridal and country dolls, char-
acterized by wide-skirted dresses
and lace trimming. The idea came
from one she received as a gift. "My
daughter gave me one of those dolls
one time. I liked it, so I sat down and
made one. One thing led to an-
other--people would see them, like
them, and ask me to make one for
them. Soon I was making a lot of
them.
She also makes and repairs
quilts, curtains, pillows, and many
types of clothing. The knack for
sewing came from her mother, she
says. She and I used to do a lot of
sewing together. She's 72 now and
lives in Meadow Bridge--and still
does a lot of sewing, especially
quilting."
It is not unusual for Ms Redden
to make an item without a pattern. "If
a person comes ~n with just a pic-
ture of what he wants me to make,
such as from a catalog or magazine,
I can do it. That's usually not a prob-
lem for me."
Ms Redden grew up in Claypool,
near Meadow Bridge, She has four
children and nine grandchildren.
National TV
At Bank Meet
Pat Buchanan
Former White House Director of
Communications and television
commentator Pat Buchanan was the
keynote speaker at the 97th annual
conference of the West Virginia
Bankers' Association July 28 at The
Greenbrier Hotel, White Sulphur
Springs.
" Host of Cable News Network's
"Crossfire" program, which regularly
pits conservatives and liberals
against each other, Mr Buchanan
spoke mainly about President
George Bush's presidency and
speculated about its future. "1 be-
lieve Mr Bush's popularity cannot
last," he said.
Mr Buchanan traced the ele-
ments of the President's campaign
and said his poll ratings increased
only when he took a more aggres-
sive, offense-based approach
against Democratic contender Mi-
chael Dukakis. "Bush re-defined
Dukakis before Dukakis could re-de-
fine himself," he said. "The turmoil
surrounding the nomination of Dan
Quayle as Vice-president was the
turn-around point which helped Mr
Bush. He stood by his man and de-
fended him. People responded to
that--after all, a soap opera is more
popular than a position paper. This
helped him so much that he was fi-
nally leading by seven percentage
points on Labor Day "
The President's efforts at con-
ducting a "kinder, gentler presi-
dency' have worked, Mr Buchanan
contended. Additionally, he said, he
has benefited by "the greatest
peacetime economic recovery in his-
tory," begun by Ronald Reagan; the
ousting of Manuel Noriega from
Panama; the democratic reform of
Eastern Bloc governments: and an
easing of the Cold War with the So-
viet Union,
Mr Buchanan then delineated a
number of reasons he believes Mr
Bush's popularity will soon decline:
continuing federal budget deficits,
Mr Bush's reneging on his promise
of "no new taxes," his avoidance of
"political combat" by nominating a
non-descript judge to the Supreme
Court. and continuing controversy
over defense spending.
After leaving the White House
staff during the Reagan presidency,
Mr Buchanan wrote a personal
memoir entitled Right from the Be-
ginning. He writes a syndicated col-
umn and makes frequent appear-
ances on public-affairs programs,
including The McLaughlin Group
and The Capital Gang. He was a
semor staff assistant of President
Richard Nixon. He earned a
master's degree from the Graduate
School of Journalism at Columbia
University.
