Aunt Kate and the Booger: Guest Blog #2

Nolan, WV

Theresa's Note: Today's blog post is another wonderful Guest Blogger submission, this time from local paranormal researcher, Chris May. Chris has shared this awesome story, passed down to him from his Grandmother, about a suspected witch living in the small coal town of Nolan, WV. Enjoy this fascinating tale of what happens when you don't give a witch what she wants...and make sure to share this post with anyone you'd think would also appreciate a little spookiness from West Virginia's southern coalfields! A HUGE THANK YOU goes to Chris for sharing this story; I personally love hearing these old tales passed down from generation to generation, and I'm a sucker for anything related to our state's coal history. 

My Grandmother told this story to me. According to her when she was a child, an old woman lived next door to her and her family in the small coal town of Nolan. My Grandmother stated that many strange things happened in and around the old woman’s home. On one occasion my Grandmother, who was scared to death of old Aunt Kate, witnessed the old woman stick her hand back into a coal burning stove and pull out hot coals and wiggle them in her hands without being burned. 

Grandmother also stated that Aunt Kate would openly admit to witchcraft and on one occasion claimed to have fought with the Devil himself, ripping his leg off and throwing it behind a bed. 

The most disturbing story about Aunt Kate pertained to the old woman not getting something that she wanted....

My Great Grandfather had produced a garden several miles from his home every year. This particular year was very dry; water had to be carried to the crops as well as extra care needed to be taken with ensuring the crops survival. My Grandmother helped her father throughout the growing season and when time came to harvest the crops my Grandmother worked with him to bring the crops the long distance back to the old home place. As my Grandmother and Great Grandfather were wheeling the crops past Aunt Kate’s, she stopped them and stated, “Harrison, give me some of them beans.” 

Now, my Great Grandfather was a very generous man, but felt that due to the hard work that they had put in, the family should get first choice on the crops. He replied, “Old woman we’ve worked hard for those beans and your not gonna get any”. Aunt Kate was very angry at this reply and stated, “Ok Harrison, you’ll be sorry”, and were they ever. 

That night after the family went to bed my Grandmother stated that she heard something walking in the house. According to her the “thing” walked into her room and stood at the head of where she was sleeping and then it would turn and walk out of the room. My Grandmother said she had never been so scared. Because of this walking, she did not sleep all night. The next morning my Grandmother came in for breakfast and was confronted by my Great Grandfather about the “thing” that walked the night before. My Grandmother stated that she and my Great Grandfather were the only two in a house of twelve to hear it walk. My Grandmother stated that her father took old Aunt Kate the beans without haste and as he gave them to her, he told her to “take your booger back!” She replied in an evil tone, “it won't bother you no more” and it didn’t.

Chris May is a 42 year old married father of two. He resides in Barboursville. He holds a master’s degree in leadership studies and a master’s degree in counseling. Chris has worked in the law enforcement field for nearly 13 years as a probation officer. When he is not reading or researching the paranormal and history, he enjoys bass fishing with his 10 year old.

Theresa Travels: Whipple Company Store

Whew! It's been a busy, busy Memorial Day Weekend! On Saturday, the family and I headed down to Fayette County, WV where we visited the Whipple Company Store, the ghost town of Thurmond, Hawks Nest State Park, The Mystery Hole, and the Glen Ferris Inn. Sunday, we attended the annual Vandalia Festival at the capital and explored the state museum. Monday, we took it fairly easy and took Luke to see the Angry Birds movie. And, on Tuesday, we watched my nephew walk across the stage and receive his high school diploma. So yeah, I'm ready for June....and a little rest and relaxation!

For the first blog of the new month, I wanted to share with you a little about our trip, starting with the always awesome Whipple Company Store. Our original itinerary only included the Mystery Hole and Hawks Nest, but since we were so close to Whipple, we decided we had to make a stop there, too. I am SO glad we did. The travel gods were really smiling down on us that day!

But before I get into that, a little about Whipple....The Whipple Company Store near Oak Hill was built around 1890 and used as a company store until the Whipple Mine shut down in the 1950s. After that, it was privately owned and operated as a general store for many, many years. Now, it is owned by a wonderful couple who work diligently to preserve not only the unique structure itself, but the fascinating history and the forgotten stories, both good and bad. And of course, the building is believed to be haunted!  One of the most haunted areas of the building is said to be the third floor ballroom. The ballroom was added for Lucy Collins, the wife of the mine owner, Justus Collins. It was a place where she could stay and entertain while accompanying her husband on trips to this particular mine town. After the Collins' home in Charleston was completed in 1907, Lucy's entertaining at the company store dwindled. Interestingly, in the 1950s when the first private owner took over, she completely boarded up that part of the building for fear of the spirits that resided there. HPIR was fortunate enough to have given the opportunity to privately investigate this location in 2012. If your own private investigation isn't feasible, you can still experience the darker history of Whipple; each fall, there are haunted history tours available for the public. You can read more about the ghosts of Whipple in my original blog, Coal Camp History Comes to Life at the Whipple Company Store.

Anyway, back to our trip. So we arrive at Whipple, and are pleasantly surprised to see that we arrived on a special day. There was an antique car show going on that day! Not only did we get to take a look at some really awesome vintage wheels, but Luke got to actively participate as a Youth Judge! He received an official hat, t-shirt, and lanyard. I have no idea why, but he picked the General Lee as his favorite car, lol. The owner of the car was really cool---he let Luke sit inside and get his picture taken.

When it was time for our tour to start, once again I was pleasantly surprised! Since the car show was going on that day, the owners of the store were offering complimentary tours! This was a somewhat more abbreviated tour than the normal, intended to be an introduction to the store to spark interest in it. However, it was still an excellent tour, full of information and even some hands-on activities for the kids. One interesting tidbit that I learned was that obviously poorly mannered children were not welcome during the reign of the coal company store. If a poorly mannered child were to approach the porch, the guards on duty did not say a word or touch the child. Instead, they would simply knock into the mother, causing her to fall down the narrow and cleverly designed front steps. Luke really took this info to heart; he was well-behaved as usual, but I did remind him that if he acted up, someone might push Mommy down the stairs, and he seemed to take that seriously, lol.

On a funner note, he got to operate the old elevator, explore how a scrip register and scrip worked, and sit in an old phone booth. I really enjoyed getting a refresher on some of the information I already knew about the store, learning a few more interesting tidbits, and just BEING there. Growing up in West Virginia and coming from a long family history of coal mining, the idea of the company store fascinates me. Joy and Chuck, the owners, have done such a wonderful job in keeping the history of this unique treasure alive. The Whipple Company store truly is one of a kind. It's like a time capsule and it is something that I would encourage EVERYONE to visit. You WILL learn something. You WILL be entertained. You WILL be touched by the overwhelming emotion that permeates throughout the walls of the Whipple Company Store. You might even be creeped out! During the autumn, special haunted history tours are available! Whether you're interested in coal mining history, women's history, West Virginia history, paranormal history, or history in general, Whipple is a treasure trove. Make it a must-see stop on your next trip through southern West Virginia. It's not a long drive from Charleston, and its a very short drive from Beckley. It's also located nearby a ton of other great tourist spots.

If you can't make it to southern West Virginia any time soon, you can still support this wonderful location. You can pick up a copy of one of their awesome books (I got Volume I), make a donation through their website, or follow them on Facebook and spread the word! Let friends and family know about this little gem of Appalachia.

Coal Camp History Comes to Life at the Whipple Company Store

Last February, I contacted the owners of the Whipple Company Store in Fayette County, WV about setting up a possible investigation of the 100+ year old coal company store.  I cannot pinpoint just how or when I became aware of this structure, but I've had in the back of my mind for over a year, hoping to find more information on the alleged hauntings.  The website mentioned that they held a haunted history tour each fall, but details were scant about just exactly WHAT those tales involved.  There also wasn't a lot of information online about actual investigations that took place there...

I soon found out why!  Despite multiple investigation requests a month, in order to preserve the integrity of the location as a historic landmark (and not simply a haunted fun house) no more than four teams are allowed in per year.  Fortunately, HPIR's strong commitment to and reverence of historic preservation landed us the opportunity to be one of the few lucky enough to investigate the location in an official capacity.

There is no possible way that I could do the history of this location justice within the confines of a simple blog post, but I would like to briefly go over some of the major points of interest.  The company store was built between 1890 and 1893 by the P.M. Snyder Construction Co. for Justus Collins.  Collins, who ran several mines, built four identical stores, but the store at Whipple is the only one standing today.

During its tenure as a coal company store, the building was the life blood of the community.  All shopping was done at the store, through the use of company scrip, and most of the socializing occurred there as well.  Like most other company stores, this one contained a doctor's office, a post office, and even an upstairs ballroom for the prominent company owners and their families. What should have been a location of much happiness and community unity, unfortunately also had a prominent dark side..  In addition to the many miners who lost their lives in the mines, including the 16 taken in the 1907 explosion, there are plenty of deaths associated directly with the company store property itself, some by illness and some by more violent means.

The Whipple mine closed in the mid-1950s and a year later, the building was bought and ran as a trading post by a lady named Madge.  During Madge's time at the building is when the ghost stories began to circulate.  In fact, Madge was so spooked by sounds of children in the upstairs ballroom, that the entire floor was shut off until after her death in 1988.  By 1992, a man from Charleston took ownership of the building, turning it into a restaurant and community theater.  Unfortunately, restoration efforts would prove to be too much for him, and he sought a buyer for the aging former company store.

Luckily, a wonderful couple took ownership of the building, turning it into a hands-on museum experience.  Joy and Chuck have worked tirelessly in order to preserve the wonderful history of this location.  They ensure that the stories of those associated with the company store are not lost to history.  There IS happiness associated with this building...but there is also a darker side of history that cannot be forgotten.  This darker side of the museum's history is discussed in detail during the haunted history tours, but not for pure entertainment value.  Rather, these tales are shared as a way to remember those who have passed and to help us learn and understand our own history, lest we be doomed to repeat it.

There is much more about the history of this location that we've chosen not to disclose online, so we STRONGLY encourage interested parties to visit the museum and take a tour.  Links to more information will be provided below.

As for HPIR's investigation of this location, I don't believe there was a single person with us that night that did not walk way without SOME type of experience.  Shadows seen in the same areas as other groups had reported them were seen before our equipment was even set up!  Odd K-II hits and other personal experiences were experienced in the vault area by several different members, strange shadows were reported in an upstairs corner by those manning the command station, but the most fascinating area was a back hallway where many deaths were said to have occurred.

We are still going over evidence, but preliminary analysis has already found an extremely interesting photo taken outside that seems to match reported activity, and the most hilarious (yet offensive) EVP I have ever heard.  Please check with the HPIR investigation page for those items to be posted!

Unfortunately, the scrip I brought for a trigger object was not touched...but it WAS from the Scarbro store, so maybe that's why, lol....but all in all the whole day was a success.  Before the investigation, we got there early to explore the ghost town of Thurmond, and have a nice picnic by the river.  Oddly enough, the very next day we heard on the news that a body was found in the river right near where we were.  We also visited the Catholic Cemetery, where many of the Italian miners in the area were buried, but the gate was locked.  Later on, I was able to confirm that my grandfather, who worked for the Greenbrier Dairy, had this particular company store on his route.  Unfortunately, he's passed, and unable to share any stories HE may have had about this wonderfully historic location.

Once again, I'd like to take the opportunity to strongly encourage anyone in the area to visit the company store museum, and take a tour.  You can also keep tabs on updates and events by "LIKING" the Whipple Company Store Face Book page, and as always, if you'd like more information on the history, please feel free to email me!

*Update August 2013:  On a recent trip to Hawks Nest and the Mystery Hole, I picked up a wonderful book compiled and edited by Wess Harris, entitled Dead Ringers:  Why Miners March.  The first chapter, written by Michael Kline, features interviews with Joy and Chuck and talks about some of the harder to hear history of the Whipple Company Store and the coal mining industry.  I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone wanting a deeper understanding of how coal camp life REALLY was.  It's a must-read for anyone who is investigating this location!*

LINKS
Whipple Company Store Home Page
Whipple Company Store Face Book
HPIR's Investigation Page

Photo above courtesy of the Whipple Face Book page