John and Belle Wolfe celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. John was a life long employee of the Mill Creek Coal & Coke Company. Photo provided by Ted Dixon, grandson of John and Belle.
Notes by Ron Dixon, Grandson of John and Belle
Grandfather John Wolfe worked for the Mill Creek Coal and Coke Company. He was the general maintenance supervisor for the Coal Company taking care of many repair needs. He was a carpenter, plumber and I'm sure many other things that I was not aware of. He traveled to all the Mining communities of the Mill Creek Coal Company taking care of whatever he needed to do. I remember he used to go to a place called "English". I know it is in McDowell but I'm not really sure exactly where English is.
Grandparents lived in a Company provided home in the community of Barlow. I spent a lot of time at their home as well. The Barlow mine was active and a lot of activity was always going on. From Grandfathers front porch I could watch the action as the N&W had track going up the valley toward Coaldale that the N&W used to move loaded coal cars around building outbound trains. Although today there is no visible evidence there was a huge slate dump across from their home on the opposide mountain side. Today it is completely covered by trees. The Company Store at Barlow was maybe a quarter mile (plus or minus) from their home going toward Maybeury. Granny would often send me to the store to pick up something for her. She always rewarded me with a shiny dime. The dime didn't last long because I couldn't wait to go back to the Store and get one of those huge and delicious .05 cent ice cream cones.
Of Course the mine was eventually closed and the tipple was torn down. I was able to witness the Company Store being torn town as the railroad construction project moved on toward completion. Grandfather Wolfe retired and built a home in Bluewell, West Virginia. They then moved away from the Barlow location. Today it is a very depressing site to drive through this area. Only a few people live there now and most of the buildings have fallen into a dilapidated condition.
I have good memories from my childhood although I'm sure there were some hard times. I was blessed to be born into a good family in southern West Virginia. I have nothing but good memories of all my Grandparents. One thing that I will always remember is the delicious food that Granny Wolfe always placed on the table. As a good Granny will do she was always ready to give me something good to eat.
JOHN WOLFE ENJOYING HIS RETIREMENT
E. L. Harris
1718 Hamilton St
Warren, OH 44485
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