Pete and Giulia Zando, War, McDowell County, West Virginia oral history

                           Pete and Giulia Zando, War, McDowell County, West Virginia
oral history with:  B. L.  Dotson-Lewis

"Strangers in Our Land"

Oral History Interview with  Giulia Ferrante Zando
     Italian Immigrant 98 years old
War, McDowell County, West Virginia
December 2, 2001

               

Notes: v  Giulia Ferrante Zando arrives in America in 1913 at the age of nine or ten accompanied by Vincent, brother, age 13 and Aminta, sister, age eleven. v  Giulia, Vincent and Aminta spend ten days on Ellis Island. v  The rich New Yorkers came to the island and tossed coins over to the immigrant children. v  Traveling from rich, fertile lands of vineyards and orchards near Naples, Italy to War, West Virginia, Southern Appalachian coal mines, was quite a shock. v  Giulia had never seen snow before nor the art of mining and processing coal in the coke ovens. v  Giulia tells me, "It was like going from Paradise to an Inferno"; Giulia tells me, "It was like traveling from Heaven to Hell." v  Giulia had not seen her father and mother since she was eighteen months old.

Giulia Ferrante Zando Zando photos:  Josephine and Mary Zando     (daughters of Pete and Giulia)

                                        "Strangers in Our Land"

            According to Josephine, Giulia's daughter, to find Giulia's house in War,  I should go past Big Creek High School, Emanuel Baptist Church (the big church with a flag on front)  and then stop at  the large stone house.  I found it with no trouble and was met at the door by Josephine, who took me to the kitchen to meet Giulia. I was in for the treat of a lifetime:  recording the oral history of Giulia Ferrante Zando.

            Because of my arrival time, I was at the house with Mary, Giulia's other daughter, while Giulia went to the beauty parlor with Josephine for her weekly hair appointment and before our photo. Mary brought out the family album and while we perused the album, she revisited memories of her immigrant family as she remembered them as well as those told to her by her mother and father.

Mary (Giulia's daughter) comments:

            My brother Raymond was an interpreter in the Army. He served under Patton during WWII.

            I live in the house next door now; that was the first one my father built.  See the stone fence in front of the house, my father built it.     My father would build on the house after working all day in the coal mines.  The house has a wine cellar.
          He, my father, would cut out the stone at night and mark each one for the house he was building for my mother.  All four children were born in the house next door.  The house I live in now.  He built a bigger house for the family when the family grew too large for the first house.

            My father boarded at my grandmother's house and mother had to get out of school and take their lunch to the boarders' workplace each day.       My father was good looking and he would walk so straight and tip his hat to the women.  He was a gentleman.

My mother wants to go back to Italy, but she has not gone back so far.

            My father was from Falcade, Italy.  He had three brothers and one sister.  His father built a big stone house in Italy with four floors; one floor for each boy and a little house next to it for his daughter.  During the War one of the armies took it over and used it.  Later, it became an orphanage.

            All of my father's brothers came to America.  One went back, but he was sick and had children over there.

            The grandmother kept them, my mother and her brother and sister, when the father and mother came to America.  All those years they lived with my great-grandmother, and when they left she was heartbroken and died soon.

            My mother must have been the active one because my grandmother had to always go with her to make sure she got to church and things like that.  On the boat to America, she was the only one who didn't get sea sick. 

            My mother has always been active in the church and other civic organizations.

They used to tell us my father, when in Europe, always went over the mountains to work with his father (when he was a young man in Austria), like in the "Sound of Music."

My mother's family had vineyards over in Italy.     They had left Paradise for Hell:  Coke ovens blazing, snow on the ground.  They spoke no English.  They had never seen snow before, coal mines, nor coke ovens.  They came to America for jobs "The Land of Opportunity."

Background notes for oral history:

            The first officials that immigrants encountered face-to-face on Ellis Island, New York, were federal physicians in search of newcomers with contagious diseases, mental abnormalities, or physical deformities that might limit newcomers' abilities to support themselves.  Those whom inspectors wanted to examine further were detained and chalked with a code letter to indicate the reason for the holdover-- "K" for hernia, "L" for lung, "E" for eye, "H" for heart, "X" for mental disorder.

            After completing the medical examination, immigrants were assembled in the Great Hall.

Life in Italy for Giulia:

            Before America:  Giulia:  I was born on September 17, 1903 to Lucano and Maria Federici in Ischia, a small town near Naples, Italy.  When I was 18 months old, my father sailed to America to find a better life.

            The coal mining agents met immigrants on Ellis Island and told them of jobs in Gary, McDowell County, West Virginia-the Southern Appalachian Coalfields.  Three children were left in Italy with my Grandmother Feerici, (my brother, Vincent; my sister, Aminta and me).  We enjoyed the closeness of our relatives and the spacious orchards of citrus, peaches, apples and olive trees while living on the farm.

            While living in Gary, my parents had a baby boy and a baby girl.  In the year 1910, my father moved the family to Berwind, West Virginia, where another baby boy was born.

My father worked as a stone mason on tunnels for the N&W Railroad.  My mother kept several Italian boarders to help out with the family income.

          In 1913 the Ferrantes sent to Italy for my brother, my sister and me (the ones they had left behind).

Chapter 1 - "Ship Ahoy" - "Only in America"

          My trip to America - One year prior to declaration of World War I, where five million people were slaughtered; nine year old Guilia Ferrante, her thirteen year old brother and eleven year old sister were put on a boat for America.  They left behind a broken hearted grandmother who had cared for the children since 1907.  The grandmother died a short time later.

Giulia:  My Story; My Life:

            In 1913 I was put on a boat sailing for America.  I was 9 years old.  It was November.  My trip to America was during rough, stormy weather.  Most of the passengers became seasick.  They seldom left their cabins.  I had "seafaring" legs, so I took food to passengers, night and day.  The ship's Captain noticed what I was doing and invited me to eat with him at his table.  He said to me, "Looks like you have been working hard.  You deserve to have dinner with me."  That made me feel special.

            Passengers were given numbers to get meals and when I kept showing up with more numbers, the ship's cooks asked me where I got all those numbers.  The food served the captain was different from what was served passengers.  It was really good.

Arrival on Ellis Island:

          My uncle, who was in his 20's, was also on board the ship, but he was supposed to go back to Italy after my father picked us up on Ellis Island.  An emergency came up in the family, so my father could not come to get us and my uncle had to return to Italy as scheduled and left us alone on the island.  It took ten days to get the legal papers ready for us to be released from Ellis Island, without a parent.  We stayed there alone.  We did not speak any English.  We had to stay on Ellis Island until the papers were ready.  We were well cared for while there.  I remember on weekends, rich New Yorkers coming up to the Island to pass coins to the immigrants (especially the children).  My brother, Vincent and my sister, Aminta, were angry with me because my coin was larger than theirs.  They thought I had gotten more money.  Later, they learned a dime, (what they had) was worth more than the nickel I had.  So, once they understood their coin was worth more than mine, they got over being mad.

Midnight Special to West Virginia, the Southern Appalachian Coalfields:

          The legal papers finally arrived.  My brother, sister and I were put on a train to Welch, McDowell County, West Virginia.  We had to change trains in Washington, D.C.

          My brother, my sister, nor I spoke or understood a word of English.  A conductor on the train was in charge of us in helping us change trains in DC.

          The train trip to West Virginia was during the cold, bleak month of November, 1913.  As we got closer to the McDowell County line, we saw the ground covered in snow, something we had never seen before.  The coke ovens on the steep mountainsides near Elkhorn were a frightening sight with fire spewing out of the tops of the ovens.  We wondered what our life was going to be like in America.

          My Father, whom I had not seen since I was eighteen months old, met us in Welch.  We spent the night there before going on to Berwind, our home.  I kept looking at the picture of my parents that I had in the locket around my neck, to be sure this was my father!  Berwind, West Virginia, "Melting Pot" for Hungarian, Polish, Italians.

          We didn't go to school right away because of the language barrier and the adjustment to these "new parents" and three smaller brothers and sister, we had never met.

          My mother kept several boarders and my father worked in the Berwind coal mine, when the railroad was completed.

          We kept busy caring for the smaller children and doing household chores.

Berwind became the "Melting Pot" for Hungarian, Polish and Italian Immigrants.  We moved to War, West Virginia (McDowell County) in 1914.  Again, my mother kept boarders in a house located next door to the War Creek tipple.  As you can imagine, keeping the place clean was a 24 hour a day job with all the coal dust!

          Finally, in 1914 we enrolled in school in War, West Virginia.  We were very happy to meet other children our age.  Fortunately, we had teachers who were understanding in assisting us to complete  assignments, doing homework, etc.  I was excused from school for thirty minutes each day to deliver lunches to the boarders who worked at William Poca Mine              The Italians kept Italian customs and enjoyed holiday traditions.  Weddings were joyous events and most of the citizens in town were included to huge dinners, dancing and fun.  Neighbors helped one another in cooking, canning, babysitting and doing laundry.  In the evenings the women visited and did sewing and handwork.

          My brothers traded their Italian food with friends for brown beans and cornbread.  We children jumped rope, sang songs and took long walks.  Each year we looked forward to a huge 4th of July celebration.  It was fun riding in a cart pulled by a goat the Mahone family owned.

Backgrounds did not matter; everyone was friendly, caring and always there when you needed a friend.

          My father quit working in the mines and started working as a laborer for Zando Construction Company.  Several years later, he returned to the skill practiced in Italy-shoe cobbler.  My parents had four more sons but three died as babies.

          The family was busy with the boarders, livestock, orchard and a big vegetable garden.  The men relaxed by sitting around a potbellied stove and playing cards, checkers or reading Italian papers from back home.  During the summer months, the men played Bocco - lawn bowling.

          More and more coal mines opened up bringing in more businesses.  Trains made traveling easy and enjoyable.  Later, bus service was available.  Few people at that time owned cars.  I worked in a dry goods store.       I married on March 7, 1923.  I married Pete Zando.  He was a local man and had boarded at my mother's house.  Pete was from Northern Italy and was used to different foods than my family.  We lived in War in a brick house.  We raised four children.

          During the Depression Era, my Pete was employed building stores, a bank and the schools in the War area.  Many of the buildings are still standing.  The buildings were built from stone and the Italians were well-known as stone masons.  During the Depression Era, we had cows, chickens, rabbits, fruit trees and a vegetable garden to provide food for us.  We made a vow to never let a hungry person leave our house.  They would always be provided with a hot meal.  These were traditions in War.

          We children were pampered by the Italian boarders who missed their own families still living in Italy.  When my children started school, I was busy serving as Homeroom Mother, attending P.T.A. meetings and other activities that are popular for mothers with children in school.  The people in War were very community minded.

          In the year 1937 we moved next door to a house Pete built in the evenings after his regular work hours.  It was a stone house with large stones that my husband marked each day after they blasted the rock in the mountains to get to the coal underneath.  At night my husband would carve out the stones to put together to make our new home.

          Many of the buildings in the area are made from stone.  The stone was available from the mountains and the Italians were gifted stone masons putting the stones together.

After my oldest son went to the Army, we rented his room to teachers who came to the community to teach and needed a place to stay.  The teachers became a part of our family.

          My blessings are many.  Pete served in World War I; my son Raymond, served in World War II, and my younger son served in the Korea War, and all returned home to us safe and sound.  My son, Raymond, served as an interpreter in the Army during WWII.

Life in War was Glorious:

          Like I said before, my life has been blessed.  My husband and sons returning home from wars safely.  My children are all retired now and visit me often.

          I am blessed with seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild scheduled to arrive in January, 2002.

          My husband, Pete, died in November, 1969.

          War has been a wonderful place to live, rear a family and enjoy wonderful friendships that have enriched my life.  Many changes have taken place in War and the memories of the early days and years give me peace in my Golden years.

Giulia had celebrated her 99th birthday.

A letter to Giulia

October 30, 2002
Summersville, West Virginia

To the Family and Friends of Giulia Ferrante Zando

War, West Virginia

            I received an email last evening from Joyce Wright Wood, living in Florida, Buck Wright's daughter.  She told me she read in the Bluefield newspaper the passing away of Giulia Ferrante Zando. She thanked me for capturing Giulia's life through an oral history for my educational website; www.appalachianpower.com.  She alsd  thanked me for capturing her father's life's story for the website as well.

            I am so sorry for the passing away of Giulia but her life is one of celebration.  I do not need thanks for having the honor and pleasure of getting the story of Giulia's life.  She is America.  I can read her story over and over - how she came to America from Italy at the age of nine; her stay on Ellis Island, not being able to speak any English and the funny parts like when the rich New Yorkers were tossing the coins over the fence to the immigrants and she picked up a nickel and her older brother and sister became angry because they got a smaller coin which they didn't know was a dime.  Finally, her exciting trip to Welch and later War.  Meeting her father for the first time since she was eighteen months old.

            Giulia exemplifies everything America stands for.  Her life, based on her oral history, was filled with struggles, hard work and joy.  It is apparent she was a big hit in the neighborhood by her involvement in civic activities.  Her popularity was obvious  because when  I contacted Tom Hatcher for some ideas for oral histories, her name was one of the first.  She is representative of all we should  strive to be; helping others, caring for our families and involvement in the church and the community.

            I learned a lot from Giulia.  I fell in love with her immediately.  She was so cute and spirited.  It was funny when Mary and Josephine told me she didn't want her photo made until after her weekly trip to the beauty salon.  I love the picture of Giulia and me.  She is so beautiful.  Her family made me feel welcome.  They were warm, friendly and helpful.       Apparently they recognized my need for help right off the bat, being a total novice at this big project of capturing the spirit of Appalachia, they showed me photos, they told me stories and Josephine even wrote a lot of the story down.  Thank you Josephine.

            What a family, what a community.  I am in constant awe of the natural beauty, the ole-time setting and the warm and friendly way I am treated when I come there. 

            It is I who should be thanking Giulia's family as well as all the people of War; Rush and Mary Ann Justice and Tom Hatcher, just to name a few, for giving me the opportunity of becoming a part of that special American Spirit found in your town.

            I spoke with Josephine on the phone this morning and she told me of the funeral arrangements and how the funeral was being arranged around the homecoming game and Halloween's trick or treat night and the Catholic's Holy Day, but I wanted something in hard copy to convey my feelings toward Giulia, her family and the people of War.  Josephine promised me a photo of 5 generations to add to Giulia's story.

            Although I will not be able to attend Giulia's funeral, she will be in my thoughts and always a part of my life.

            Love,

            B. L. Dotson-Lewis

Dr. Tom Hatcher, Mayor of War, McDowell County, West Virginia - oral history

Dr. Tom Hatcher, Mayor of War, McDowell County, West Virginia

(Dr. Hatcher was murdered July 2012 by daughter-in-law and her brother from Grundy, Va)

Authors note:  McDowell County, West Virginia (heart of the southern Appalachian Coalfields)

A special place with special people- Introduction

            My quest to capture the lively spirit of the Appalachians through the most reliable sources led beyond my own mountain top-it led me to an important place in this painful, joyful journey-a journey to McDowell County, West Virginia.  McDowell County was the world's leading coal producing county for twenty-two years.  A tiny, remote spot in the hills of southern West Virginia became the center of the noisy, busy, hustle, bustle business of mining and exporting coal worldwide.  Coal, the important energy producer, from southern Appalachia, fueling the Industrial Revolution.

            McDowell County's history is complex perhaps because of its vast amount of riches in mineral resources.  The stories are poignant, exciting and beautiful.  That is why I went to McDowell County, to further capture the essence of the rise and fall of the coal industry in the midst of coal country.

            This connection became possible while I was attending a statewide professional meeting in Huntington, West Virginia in November, 2001.  I wanted a connection with a town or community easily identifiable with wildcat coal strikes, racial diversity and coal camps-I knew McDowell County was this place.  I knew the lady in charge of registering participants for the conference was from McDowell County.  So,  during one of the long-speeches, I quietly walked to the back of the room and approached Gerri saying something like, "I am working on a project of collecting stories from the southern Appalachian coalfields and I want to come to Logan or Welch and meet people.  Will you help me?"

            She said, "Honey, you don't want to meet me-you don't want Logan or Welch-you want hooked up with my brother, Dr. Tom Hatcher, Mayor of War, McDowell County, West Virginia.  He is up to his eyeballs in this stuff-President of the Tazewell County, Virginia Historical Society and all that-here's his phone number (she quickly scribbled down a War, West Virginia number and handed it to me)-call him.  He will help you."

            I called Dr. Hatcher as soon as I returned home and we made plans for my first visit to War, West Virginia.

 McDowell County, West Virginia (heart of the southern Appalachian Coalfields)

A special place with special people- Introduction

            My quest to capture the lively spirit of the Appalachians through the most reliable sources led beyond my own mountain top-it led me to an important place in this painful, joyful journey-a journey to McDowell County, West Virginia.  McDowell County was the world's leading coal producing county for twenty-two years.  A tiny, remote spot in the hills of southern West Virginia became the center of the noisy, busy, hustle, bustle business of mining and exporting coal worldwide.  Coal, the important energy producer, from southern Appalachia, fueling the Industrial Revolution.

            McDowell County's history is complex perhaps because of its vast amount of riches in mineral resources.  The stories are poignant, exciting and beautiful.  That is why I went to McDowell County, to further capture the essence of the rise and fall of the coal industry in the midst of coal country.

            This connection became possible while I was attending a statewide professional meeting in Huntington, West Virginia in November, 2001.  I wanted a connection with a town or community easily identifiable with wildcat coal strikes, racial diversity and coal camps-I knew McDowell County was this place.  I knew the lady in charge of registering participants for the conference was from McDowell County.  So,  during one of the long-speeches, I quietly walked to the back of the room and approached Gerri saying something like, "I am working on a project of collecting stories from the southern Appalachian coalfields and I want to come to Logan or Welch and meet people.  Will you help me?"

            She said, "Honey, you don't want to meet me-you don't want Logan or Welch-you want hooked up with my brother, Dr. Tom Hatcher, Mayor of War, McDowell County, West Virginia.  He is up to his eyeballs in this stuff-President of the Tazewell County, Virginia Historical Society and all that-here's his phone number (she quickly scribbled down a War, West Virginia number and handed it to me)-call him.  He will help you."

            I called Dr. Hatcher as soon as I returned home and we made plans for my first visit to War, West Virginia.

  

"Homeward Bound"

Oral History Interview with Dr. Tom Hatcher,
 Mayor of War, McDowell County, WV

November 21, 2001 11:00 am

War City Hall - an old train station

            Author's Note:  Dr. Tom Hatcher is the Mayor of War, McDowell County, West Virginia.  He grew up in War, but left the area to pursue a higher education.  He earned a bachelor's degree, a master's degree and a doctorate.  He entered the teaching field but then moved on to a position as an Exchange Program Director for professionals.  This job took him to seventy-five countries.  The administrative position he held took him to Washington, D.C. but raising a young teen in D.C. wasn't easy, so, he packed up and returned to his home in War to begin  a career in  public service-serving his own.

Are your roots in War, West Virginia?

            My birth place was Iaeger, West Virginia and I lived most of my younger life in McDowell County, Iaeger and War. I graduated from Big Creek High Creek in 1958. I received my Bachelors and Masters Degrees from West Virginia University. I taught school in McDowell and Monongalia Counties and then started teaching for Marshall University.

What led you back to Appalachia?

            While at Marshall I became interested in obtaining my PHD. The Ohio University in Columbus was where I attended to receive a PHD in Developmental Psychology and Education.

            I returned to West Virginia University to teach from 1967 to 1980. In 1980 I accepted a position as Secretary General of the Council of International Programs, “CIP,” located in Cleveland, Ohio and began my work as director of an exchange program for professionals in the Human Services, Education, Social Work, Psychology. Eventually the program expanded to take in many areas including Business, Law and the Medical Profession.

            While serving as Director, I traveled to more than seventy five countries on every continent except Australia and Antarctica and to some countries, more than one time, selecting participants for the Exchange Program and working with Government Offices or Ministries of Social Welfare, Economic Development and Ministries of Health or Education. A lot of these participants were funded by those sources working through the American Embassies from each Country.

            The program was then moved to Washington, DC. I moved there with it. I didn't stay in DC long. In 1991 I left it all behind to return to Appalachia, my homeland for family reasons.

What did you do when you first returned to War?

            I began teaching at Big Creek High School. I taught there for four years and then moved to the McDowell County Schools Central Board Office in Welch to work in the Title I Program. I retired in 1998.

What about politics in War, West Virginia and how and why did you get involved?

            In 1995 I got interested in the politics of this town, War, West Virginia, by accident, I think.  I didn’t run for the job as city council member, but one member who was elected in 1995  had a job with the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources which turned out to be a conflict of interest. He resigned and I was appointed at the beginning of the term and served on the War City Council with a mayor who was eventually convicted of fraud.

            The mayor was involved in a scam involving a private rescue squad here in town. He was convicted of mail fraud and was sent to a penitentiary in Morgantown for about thirty-three months. Possible related fraud items in the city were there, if we had chosen to pursue them; but because he had already pled guilty, we let them go.

            My father was the one who developed this rescue squad and after Dad’s death in 1981, the Mayor of War became the President of the Board of the Rescue Squad.

            I think shortly after the scam was started, all the records for Medicaid and Medicare payments were destroyed except those going back to 1991. I think the problem started in the 80’s. Medicaid and Medicare did have records to show 3.75 million dollars being sent to the Big Creek Rescue Squad, none of which had gone through the books.

            The Fed authorities never found the 3.75 million. They thought they knew who got it but could never prove it. They did not charge anyone with the $3.75 million disappearance but with mail fraud. There was a plea bargain at the end of the Mayor's term in 1997, and he served about thirty three months in prison. My sister was appointed to the Board of Directors to help clean up the rescue squad and straighten out the financial situation there.

            The rescue squad has since declared bankruptcy and started over with a new name.  My sister Jerry is still President of the Board of Directors and has successfully cleaned out all that financial mess.

            The rescue squad had a lot of district people on the Board of Directors who were very good people and who believed in the President of the Board and accepted his word for everything. And he did have that side to him because he and my father were good friends. There were two sides to his character:   the public side that could be trusted and then the secret, dark side. He served his thirty three months and is back in War. He and I have made peace with each other. There is no point in carrying a grudge just because of a person's past. We had known each other for years. I am sure he will be here for many years.

            At the end of that council term in 1997, I decided to run for Mayor of War. The previous mayor was still in office. This was just before he accepted the plea bargain. Instead of supporting me, he got a young man who was about twenty three and on welfare at that time to run against me. He supported him and did his campaign signs and helped him a lot. Fortunately, the people here saw what was happening and he was defeated.

            On the night of the election when the results were posted on the wall of City Hall, (I don’t remember exactly how many votes he got but it was about 125), and he said, "Hell," I've  got more relatives in this town than that. I said to him, "Did you ever think maybe they didn’t all vote for you?"

            I have served two - two year terms and I am in a four year term now. I have tried to do what has needed to be done, things the previous mayor should been working on years ago while he was mayor. He served as mayor for more than twenty years.  We now have a brand new 8.7 million dollar sewer project and a lot of equipment that goes along with that. I have worked on cleaning up the town, removing debris and burned out houses.  We have worked on the water situation. We do not own the water, and I hope that is going to come about soon through the purchase of that water system at the first of the year.

            We were active with Governor Underwood. Governor Underwood was good to McDowell County and War. We have not had as much contact with Governor Wise, although this is improving. We are Democrats, however, not Republicans, and we want interaction with Wise.

What are some major events which have happened since you have served as mayor?

            We have had two major crises in the town to which we have had to respond. In 1999, three juveniles broke into the public library and proceeded to set it on fire. The $500,000. complex with 40,000 volumes of books, burned to the ground. A nineteen year old girl, her eighteen year brother and their16 year old cousin were charged. Then about six months later in 1999, on Halloween night, the Fire Department burned from an electrical fire. We have had those two big crises to face. That was close to a million dollars we lost with the Fire Department. We lost everything: vehicles, fire house-the works. We have been able to build a new fire house and get most of the equipment back. We are presently working on the library. The remainder of the library should get built before the fall of 2002.

What are some specific reasons for your return to your roots?

            I returned here because of family reasons and to get myself away from a big city environment and back to my homeland and to get my son away from the city. He had gotten into some trouble, and I needed to come back where I could have more control, but that turned out not to be the case. There is as much peer pressure here in this small town as there is in a big city. We are experiencing a breakdown in child-rearing practices. Teens are doing more today to get them in trouble than has ever happened before.

Have you become involved in community or civic projects?

            When I came back I thought I would do something about the history of the county, because that has never been done. So I helped to form the McDowell County Historical Society. A small group of us started working on the Heritage of McDowell County, West Virginia - First Volume 1858 to 1995 Volume 2, 1858 – 1999.

            I think both of those attempts have generated other interests in the history of McDowell County. Another person who has written about McDowell County is Jean Battlo, a personal friend.

            Jean Battlo’s parents were Italian immigrants to McDowell County and her father worked in the coal mines. She is a McDowell County playwright. She has been recognized for the "Sid Hatfield" play. Jean has also done a text on McDowell County.

What about your parents; your family background, tell me about them?

            Growing up here, my parents were school teachers in McDowell County and Mingo County. They lived in the same communities, Iaeger and War. Mother, Beatrice Carter from Tazewell County, Virginia; her ancestors had been in Tazewell for 200 years.

            The Hatchers were from Mercer County, but my dad was from McDowell. Since my mother was in Tazewell County and was reared there, I am interested in the Tazewell County Historical Society and have been active in that since 1992. I have been President since 1997. I have been President of McDowell County Historical Society since 1992.

            My Dad, Glenn Hatcher, was a community-minded person. He was constantly helping people, belonging to community organizations. He represented McDowell County in the House of Delegates and WV State Senate. All three of us children in the family, without being taught about serving people, saw, in action, Dad and Mom's example about community service. All three of us are very community minded.

November 23, 2001  10:50 p.m.
 
RE:      My first visit to War, McDowell County, West Virginia

Dear Branscome, BJ and Mike,

            I felt compelled to write to people after returning from my first visit to War, WV… where I interviewed the Mayor of War, Dr.  Tom Hatcher.  I needed to write to someone who been to War before me.
            By the time I got home, after going around every hairpin curve on the eastern seaboard (McDowell County highways were carved out by inmates during the 1920’s) and then battling the traffic on WV Turnpike with everyone from the southern part of the U.S. trying to get north, I was a little weak and needed rest.
            Of course, I had a good cry.  I couldn’t help it.  Anyone with any feelings would have cried.  The people I met in War were warm, friendly, kind, helpful and great cooks.  They have the Appalachian Mountain Spirit.
            War is incorporated.  The former mayor, who had been in office for about twenty two years, had just gotten out of Federal prison for a conviction relating to mail fraud in relation to a private rescue squad.  An elderly lady in the County, in her late seventies, was awaiting sentencing on the Keystone Bank failure.  A local Bingo executive, who had embezzled funds, was awaiting a trial, which had been postponed many times.  The State of West Virginia has taken over the school system, after a State audit, for several serious violations, and things seemed to be in disarray.  Needless to say, all of this made me a little depressed.
            In and around War, there are about forty churches:  two Baptist, one Methodist, one Catholic, one Church of God, several Word Assemblies, and most of the rest Pentecostal, with quite a few female preachers.  Many of the Pentecostal ministers, whether male or female, have answered “the call,” but have little formal training beyond that.  While there are many  committed, Christian  citizens in McDowell County and in War, about 60 % of the people are unchurched and do not attend church on a regular basis.
            Dr. Tom Hatcher, Mayor of War since 1997, toured me through the town and up “hollows”.  We went in the old War Hotel that still has the sign, “Miner’s City,” the original name of War dating back to about 1880.
            He took me to the local diner for lunch.  I had potato soup, cornbread (right from the oven) and pineapple-upside-down cake, coffee, and a coke (all that was great).
            Since returning from War, I feel I have a new objective in life—to spend more time praying against big coal operators/corporations and to ask the Man Upstairs to help them develop even a small conscience about their operations in Southern West Virginia.  I would also ask HIM to make these guys’ lives a little miserable when collecting those large checks from coal and timber operations, without helping these coal camp inhabitants in major ways to redirect their lives, since “coal” is no longer “king” in these parts.  What these large companies have done is the best possible example of “abandonment,” even though they continue to own more than 90 % of the land.
            When 100,000 people lived in McDowell County (now 27,000), many coal mining jobs were dangerous, backbreaking, down on your knees jobs.  In 1985, when the last, large coal mining operation pulled out, they left the coal camps totally helpless.  The coal company had provided everything—houses, churches, company stores, water, coal for heating, etc.  There was no infrastructure for dealing with anything and many people left.  Now, some of the small coal camp houses are falling down all around.  Since mining is still occurring; there is dirt all around; and life there is not easy.  It appears that “abandonment” is a consistent problem; even the schools that are being used have asbestos, broken windows, ceilings falling in from water problems, and a high drop out rate.
            Approximately 40 % of the population is made up of retired, 30 % are working, and another 30 % are on some form of assistance or disability.  Many of these people do not have enough money to repair homes, and, consequently, housing is a major problem.
            Dr. Tom Hatcher’s profound remark to all of this:  “I don’t find this depressing.  I enjoy working with people and am an optimist.  I know things can be accomplished.  We work on what we can and look for opportunities to accomplish other improvements.”
            The single worst sight was the raw sewage in the Dry Fork River.  I noticed white pieces of paper hanging on every twig along the river.  I thought it was from flooding, but, no, it was raw sewage, pieces of toilet tissue.  Dr. Hatcher explained that while War has a new sanitary, sewage system, small communities upstream do not, and sewage goes straight into the river.  Another case of abandonment.  This sight, when the river is up from rains, goes for miles and miles.  With only four sewage treatment facilities in the County, the majority of houses have lines that run from underneath the homes to the creek.
            Also, when the coal companies sold people their homes, the homeowner was only given six inches of soil underneath.  The coal companies reserved the mineral rights, and since only about one third of the coal has been mined, there is likely to be tunneling underneath all of the houses for years to come.  I have already seen tunneling underneath the highway to reach the mountain on the other side to remove the coal.
            Based on reports substantiating the importance of McDowell's place in the world of coal business as the leading coal producing county, as well as   bits and pieces  of tales from the "Hatfield and McCoy" feud and wild cat coal strikes, I became very interested in visiting the southern most part of West Virginia.  However, After talking with Dr. Tom Hatcher, before our initial meeting, and he told me of the facts I have listed below about McDowell,  I was rearing to go.

**        McDowell has or had the most diverse ethnic group in WV—immigrants, African Americans, etc.

**        McDowell is one of the most remote counties as far as accessibility in traveling.

**        McDowell has been labeled the “Free State of McDowell” for years:

            Free--Civil War men escaped into the mountains to keep from taking sides;

Free--African Americans from the South who worked in the mines  considered themselves free;

Free –You can get off “Free” if, by chance, you killed someone for a valid reason.

            I guess those are some of the reasons I went to War and to McDowell County, WV.  I identify with the plight of the people.

            Dr. Hatcher is a bright spot there.  While there are others like him, they need many more like him to help.

            There are groups there – Big Creek People In Action, the Big Creek TEAM Center, Family of Faith Missions, Calvary Covenant Ministries, AIM (Adventures in Missions), etc., and these groups are impacting the area.  Each year, more than 1500 people from church all over come to assist.  College students do projects here, and people are working to get local kids into college.  The County is working to provide jobs other than coal mining.  And, of course, the area’s greatest resource is the wonderful people who live there.

            My life is changed because of the contacts I have made there.  My eyes have been opened, and I am still trying to find ways to help.

Happy Thanksgiving,

B. L. Dotson-Lewis

McDowell County, WV historical facts

                     McDowell County, West Virginia coal tipple

McDowell County, West Virginia, Historical Facts

Eyewitnesses reported between 25 and 50 shots fired on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch, WV, August 1, 1921.  Matewan Police Chief, 26 year old, W. J. "Smiling Sid" Hatfield and 22 year old Ed Chambers, lay dead.  Charged with "shooting up" the Mohawk coal tipple during this controversial union organizational period with the UMWA against big coal operators, the two were gunned down in cold blood on the steps of courthouse.              A US Senate Committee tied the untimely deaths back to a prior shooting spree in Matewan, WV, which occurred on May 19, 1920.  Brothers of Thomas L. Felts, a partner in the Baldwin-Felts (union busters) Agency were killed (7 Baldwin-Felts employees killed).  Sid Hatfield, with 18 additional men, charged with the shootings, were acquitted of all charges.             Thomas Felts, owner of the Baldwin-Felts Agency, admitted to furnishing men to coal operators to intercede in matters against possible union organizational efforts by the United Miner Workers.              McDowell County-world's largest coal producing county in the world for 22 years             US Senator Robert C. Byrd - his foster father worked in the coal mines on the banks of the Elkhorn Branch of the Tug Fork and the family lived in West Virginia