When today’s fast-paced society meets the old-fashioned things of yesterday, people often discover a treasure they could have easily missed. The winter issue of GOLDENSEAL magazine introduces readers to such a treasure through the childhood memories of Robert Orndorff in the article, “‘Old-Fashioned Things’: Yellow Spring Memories” by Cecelia Mason, the Eastern Panhandle bureau chief for West Virginia Public Broadcasting. The article is an informative and entertaining look at one family’s life in Yellow Spring, a small Hampshire County community with a history that dates back nearly 250 years.
In the article, Mason recounts the community’s development, the early businesses, and the famous grain mill which stayed in operation for more than 150 years; however, it is the personal memories of Orndorff, a retired medical technician from Bunker Hill, that provide special insight into life in Yellow Spring. Orndorff’s family goes back several generations in the region. His aunt and uncle were the late Clarence and Lona Cline, whom he visited regularly during the 1930's and ‘40's. In the article, he recalls the creative way the family used water from the spring for refrigeration, and the unique way his uncle ran pipes through the back of the cookstove to create hot water for the bathroom. Orndorff also recalls the successful hunting and fishing parties that often visited the area.
The winter issue of GOLDENSEAL, due out December 5, also includes articles about Taylor County’s color guard of retired veterans, life on Duck Run in Gilmer County, Spaniards who moved to southern West Virginia to work in the coal mines, and the Air-Ola Radio Company of Huntington.
GOLDENSEAL is West Virginia’s magazine of traditional life and is a quarterly publication of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. It is available for $4.95 by calling (304)558-0220.
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