Woodrow Wilson Pres. Library, VA & Lewisburg, New River, Beckley Coal, Blenko Glass W VA (10/19-21)

Ok, reality is setting in and if we want to catch up and be ready to finish this blog at the end of our trip, we need to consolidate some portions of the trip. So the story telling for this portion will be brief.

We left Shenandoah NP about halfway, SR 33, drove to I-81 then I-64. 

As we headed across Virginia we passed by Staunton, birthplace of Woodrow Wilson (Dec. 28, 1856) and now home to his Presidential Library & Museum.

Presbyterian Manse

Both smaller and more humble than others we've seen. His father was the pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in Staunton. 

First Presbyterian Church

Across the street is Mary Baldwin College, oldest college for women related to the Presbyterian Church U.S., and it was founded in 1842 .

Democrats had elected only one president since 1860, Grover Cleveland. In 1912, Republicans were split between the Old Guard, which backed the incumbent President William Howard Taft, and the reform or progressive wing which backed former President Theodore Roosevelt. Woodrow Wilson, former president of Princeton and NJ governor was elected the 28^th President.

We ended our day in W. Virginia where we spent the night at our first Fairgrounds in Lewisburg, voted America's Coolest Small Town by Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine contest in 2011. Lewisburg served as our home base for a couple of nights. The next day we drove out to Grandview, scenic overlook for New River Gorge National River and not too far off I-64.  Contrary to its name, the New is believed to be one of the oldest rivers in North America.

From there we went into Beckley, W VA where we viewed a historical coal camp, "company" town, before riding "man cars" into old working areas of mine. 

The first mine opened in this area in 1891. Coal companies built towns from the ground up for their miners and families. The mine superintendent's home, provided by the company, was very different from the miner's shanty. 

"Super's" house

Miner's Shanty--home for one man during work week who'd go home on weekends.

Barbers did more than just cut hair at this time and the barber pole was symbolic of what they did. 

Company schools were provided for the kids and the rules for teachers (all women) were considerably different from today!

We saw and heard stories of how difficult the life of a miner and his family really was. Coal mines were, and still are, dangerous places to work. 

Miners had to pay for all their own personal clothing (knee pads, gloves) and safety items (hat, helmet) as well as tools and blasting materials. The company would sell them these items and deduct cost from their wages. Remember the line from an old song"…owe my  soul to the company store…"?

Next day we left for Lexington, KY, but we had quite a bit of W VA to drive through and John Denver's song, "Take Me Home Country Roads" came to mind as we drove.

On our way we passed through Charleston, West Virginia's capital city, with the state Capitol modeled after the U. S. Capitol dome and gilded in 23 ½ carat gold.

 Our final stop in W VA was the Blenko Glass Co in Milton where we watched artisans using earliest-known techniques of glass blowing to make Christmas trees and flower vases.

In the gift shop seasonal items and many "signature pieces" were for sale and we bought the cutest little pumpkin to have with us for many Halloweens and Thanksgivings to come!

As we entered Kentucky, where "Unbridled Spirit" is the motto,  limestone was visible and Daniel Boone National Forest was a reminder of the history. The scenery coming into Lexington was as beautiful as ever with white fences, dry stone fences and black fences.

No mortar is used in these limestone fences built early to mid 19th century by Irish stonemasons

We pulled into the Kentucky Horse Park around 5pm and settled in for a quiet night before touring the whole place the following day.