West Virginia Mountain Mama

Heritage Apple Orchard Dreams

Posted on June 9, 2021 by jolynnpowers

One of the projects that has been taking up some of my extra time these days is a dream project involving creating a Heritage Apple Orchard at the 1870’s Adaland Mansion in Barbour County, West Virginia. I actually started work on this project last spring during the Covid shut down. Volunteers came together to apply for a grant to bring apples back to the historic property. The application was awarded to Adaland from “Try This West Virginia”, a health improvement coalition in West Virginia that are tackling health issues in the state. The hope is that not only can we restore a historical part of the story of the mansion, but bring food education to the community. We hope to teaching families about how to grow fruit trees, how to care for them and how to preserve the food that they grow, so we can help make West Virginia a healthier place.

The orchard has sparked new partnerships in our small community. Everyone wants to be involved in our little project from our local hospital, to West Virginia University Extension, to even our local Heart and Hand food pantry. We have discovered that there are only 3 locations in our state where these old examples of apples are being grown on this scale. Although we are starting with only 20 trees on our 20 acre property we are 1 of 3 Heritage Orchards that will be open to the public. Not only will this orchard be used not only by Adaland but the University of West Virginia Extension Service as an outdoor class room.

Adaland Mansion historically had an apple orchard and was known to have produced cider and apple brandy or as locals call it, Apple Jack. So the thought of bringing cider and other apple products back to the property was over whelming supported by the Adaland Mansion Board of Directors. Not only does the orchard allow us to talk about foods and farming at the turn of the 20th century but give us a chance to cook, preserve, and share the apples with the public. Eventually if this experiment is successful we would like to add 20 more trees to the project. We hope to produce enough apples for the mansion to create small batches of apple cider annually and apple sauce that we hope to sell here on the farm.

We have chose to use a small family owned nursery high in the mountains of Pocahontas County named Allendale Nursery to purchase our trees. In our selection we have the Grimes Golden Apple a West Virginia native tree that is one of the only self pollinating trees in our collection and is our featured tree through the whole project. Others that we are working with include, Summer Rambo, Wine Sap, Wolf River, Northern Spy, Cortland and Yellow Transparent for apple sauce. It is hoped within the next 5 years we see some fruit production but some of these trees will not produce fruit for about 10 years.

With advice from our local WVU Extension Agency were able to make a plan for our orchard. Things that needed to be considered in our plan were location and soil type. Apples don’t like the top of a hill or the bottom of a hill due to winter wind freeze damage or the water at the bottom hills in drainage areas. So we found a location that fit those guide lines and had our soil tested free by WVU Extension Services and added 75 pounds of fertilizer to our 125 foot by 30 foot orchard. Then started the long process of putting in the fence and digging the wholes for the twenty trees. We did dig extra wholes for additional Golden Delicious trees and crab apple if we needed them for pollination.

Trey Louzy plants his “Try This WV” apple tree on the family farm with his Pap Louzy.

After receiving the trees we sorted them by size and type. Then soaked them for a couple hours before planting. This energizes the roots and encourages them to grow. Then in the dug holes we added compost and placed the trees on top of the small mound of compost spreading the roots over the mound. Then covered the roots with dirt up to the graft line. All of the the trees we purchased are semi- dwarf trees that had been grafted to short root stock. This will keep the trees about 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide. After planting, each tree got a water bucket, a cage, a stake. The stakes keep the cage from moving and a place to tie of the tree if needed to encourage straight growth. We also gave away 16 trees to families in the local community. Some volunteered to help with the planting, others were families in need who wanted the trees to try to help feed their growing families.

The future is to trim the trees and watch for any sign of pests or diseases. So far we have already seen aphids and will most likely need to treat for them this month. We will use a mix of soap and water to spray down the young trees. We are hoping to learn about the most non-toxic ways to help keep the trees healthy. In some cases that will be spraying the trees in others it will be using things like bars of soap tied to the cages to repel deer from eating the young new shoots in the spring.

We hope to use the orchard as a outdoor class room with a pruning class and grafting class. These activities will be free and open to the public and many more ideas are coming to light on what is next for the trees and the Adaland Mansion Heritage Orchard project. I am most looking forward to our out door cooking class this fall. Where we will be cooking apples over a open fire and making apple sauce as take aways for those who attend.

Virginia Shemick checks all the trees in the orchard after planting.

It has been a wonderful experience bringing back the history of apples to the Adaland Mansion. It is exciting to see the results of all the volunteer hours spent making the orchard happen. If all goes well in the future Adaland will once again be producing cider and making apple butter for visitors and children come to the house for an event or tour. We hope that our project helps the community understand how easy it is to grow their own food, and how wonderful cooking and eating apples can be. As we move forward the orchard will be another educational feature to Adaland and will help the local community with a source of apples. I cant wait to share what happens next with the orchard project as we get ready to apply for another Try This WV Grant this spring, wish us luck!

Categories: Adaland Mansion, AmeriCorps, Appalachian Mountains, Apples, Barbour County, Heritage Apple Orchard, Orchard, volunteering | Tags: Adaland Mansion, Barbour County, Gardening, Heritage Apples, Orchard, volunteering, West Virginia History | Leave a comment

Apple Raisin Strudel

Posted on February 18, 2021 by jolynnpowers

Apple deserts of any kind are a family favorite at our house and apple strudel is one of the easiest to make. My family is not a fan of the white icing that is usually drizzled on top of a strudel or danishes so I have omitted it. The flavor of this strudel is crip, sweet and spicy so no one complained about missing the icing. The raisins add a fruity sweetness to the tart apples, making a nice balance, that can get lost in apple pie. This was my gift to my husband for our 29th Anniversary.

Homemade Apple Raisin Strudel and carrot cake for our Anniversary Dinner.

This strudel was made with 1 box of store bought puffed pastry that was allowed to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The dough needs to be cool and not frozen to seal it together. I started my strudel by peeling, coring and slicing up 5 snack size apples. I used gala apples for their tart taste and crisp texture. They hold their shape well when cooked and are not too sweet when mixed with sweet raisins. I sprayed a 13×9 Pyrex pan with cooking spray and placed the puffed pastry up the sides of he pan cutting off any that overhung the edge. I needed a few more inches of pastry at the bottom to cover the whole pan. So, I placed the remaining pastry at the bottom pinching it together at the overlapping seam, cutting away about 3 inches of extra pastry. I let this warm while I cooked 1 1/2 tablespoons butter and 5 apples together in a cup of water in a large skillet. I allowed the apples to stew for several minutes. When the apples appear to be softening I added 1/2 cup of raisins,pinch of salt, cinnamon, and allspice and stirred together well. I allowed that to simmer for 4 minutes until the remaining water evaporated off the apple mixture and added 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Letting the sugar melt and mix in, I cook it down syrup until it is thick and dry.

This is the apple raisin and spice mixture before adding any sugar. It could be used as is but the apples were a little tart.

When the syrup is thick and apples are translucent but not completely soft remove from heat and spoon on to the puffed pastry. I then folded the soft pastry over the apple/raisin filling. Pulling one side over and then the other, pinching together the top as I went. I then folded up the ends and pinched them together also. I placed the strudel in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Until the pastry puffed up and turned golden brown but not dark. The syrup didn’t leak out of this one because I allowed it to get thick before placing in the dough.

When ready the top crust will form air pockets and appear flaky. At this point you can allow the pastry to cool and drizzle with powdered sugar icing made with milk and vanilla or leave plain. This makes 8 servings about two inches wide and keeps well overnight and can be a nice sweet treat to go with coffee in the morning.

Apple Raisin Strudel

5 tart apples (galla) peeled, cored and sliced

1/2 Cup raisins

1 Box of puffed pastry thawed but cool

1 1/2 Tablespoon salted butter

1 Cup water

1/4 to 1/3 Cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Pinch of salt

Cooking spray

Bake strudel in oven at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until puffy and golden brown.

This can be served with ice cream like pie, a touch of whipped cream, or like us we eat it warm from the oven plain with a glass of milk.

Categories: Apples, breakfast food, cakes and family deserts, Marriage, puffed pastry, raisins, strudel | Tags: apples, easy desert, family deserts, puffed pastry, raisins | 2 Comments

Tygart Lake State Park, Beach Glass and the Winter Blues.

Posted on February 2, 2021 by jolynnpowers

I often suffer from seasonal depression. I have to fight everyday to get out of bed, drag myself out of the house and I generally don’t want to do anything. Over the years I have discovered that just getting outside really helps my winter blues. I don’t get out as often as I should in winter, but when I start to feel drawn into my grumpy hibernation state I try to get moving outside. Christopher and I headed to Tygart Lake State Park last month to see what we could find. We had no plan or even a good idea what we would find, so it was exciting to see what the park had to offer. I was also nice to take a homeschool day and actually learn something new about West Virginia.

Tygart Lake State Park is described by the West Virginia State Park System as, “Located in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains in scenic north-central West Virginia, Tygart Lake State Park provides guests with a quiet vacation spot and breathtaking views. Just four miles south of Grafton, Tygart Lake State Park is known for its 10-mile long, 1,750-acre lake, which offers water activities like boating, water skiing, scuba diving, swimming, kayaking, canoeing and fishing. The park is surrounded by beautiful mountain views and provides lakeside lodging perfect for relaxation and unwinding after a full day of play.”

In the off season the lake is drained for flood control. It is not uncommon to have winter floods in West Virginia. The worst happening on Nov. 4th, 1985, a night time flood destroying many of West Virginia small towns. So Christopher and I took the opportunity to explore the lakes bottom. Something that I have never done before and in some ways found extremely enjoyable. It brought back memories of reading the children’s story, The Five Chinese Brothers. I loved this story so much as a child I can almost still tell the tail today. In the story one of the Chinese Brothers is gifted with the talent of being able to swallow the sea and uses the gift to help a younger boy collect fish for his family. The illustrations in the story of the bear bottom of the sea stuck with me all these years. The illustrations show ships that had sunk, dead fish bones, ankers lost from the boats above and fish flopping on the sand at the bottom of the sea. When Christopher and I arrived at the resort building, all of the joy I had in reading that book as a child came rushing back to me. We were going to see the bottom of a 1,750 acre lake and I was going treasure hunting.

We began our search for sea shells and broken bottles just below the small Tygart Lake State Park Resort building walking down to the water’s edge. It was a cold day only 40 degrees and near the water it was colder. So, both Christopher and I bundled up against the wind off the lake and got busy looking for treasures.

While walking the bottom of the lake we found many beautiful things coal, broken jar lids and bottoms, shells and rocks, but the most intresting was the lighting glass. Formed when lighting strikes the sand.

While walking the waved sand we found a most unusual treasure. A piece of Frugilrite (lighting beach glass) that was partly buried in the sand. Beach glass is formed when lighting strikes the silica sand of the beach. The appearance in our case is much like a blob of green and clear liquid glass that was burnt into the beach. Attached to the Frugilrite is the iron and other minerals that surrounded the strike area. It is ruff in some parts and very smooth and shiny in others. Christopher found it in a shallow area of the lake only about 50 feet from the normal edge. I am guessing their was more to this piece of glass at one time, but water and erosion has taken its toll on the arms of the glass.

After a couple hours,the sun began to set on us, as we wondered closer to the dam that created Tygart Lake.The sun’s reflection on the water in the lake was amazing. Blasts of silver and gold shone across the water like sequins. I wanted to stay until the very last minute but knew better. We had to climb a very steep hill to return to the lodge and we wanted to get warm inside. I reluctantly told Christopher it was time to leave and begin the 1 1/2 hour drive home.

The lake bottom looking at the Dam the forms Tygart Lake State Park, WV.

Sunset on Tygart Lake near Grafton, West Virginia

Winter sun set on Tygart Lake West Virginia Dec 2020

Tygart Lake State Park lodge above the lake winter 2020

We returned up he hill to the lodge and stepped inside with our muddy shoes and cold hands just in time to get a few things from the gift shop and head home. We took the long way home, driving around the edge of the lake to see what other thing we could find. The park offers an outdoor pool, lake swimming, a camp ground, boat docks, a picnic area and trails for hiking. You can also see the Dam from above and see the water outlet area with a visitor center. Everything at the park was closed on this trip. So, now I have a reason to return this summer.

I never realised until this drive to he lake that even just a few hours away from work and the darkness of the winter would raise my spirits so high. Just skipping stones and taking photos, had broken away my gloom. Who knew that an afternoon with my son and a piece of glass would make me so happy again.

Christopher heading back inside the Tygart Lake State Park Lodge, Dec. 20202

He Holiday Display inside the Tygart State Park Lodge Dec. 2020

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Construction Completed at the Golden Rule; Rehabilitation of the Golden Rule #3.

Posted on January 21, 2021 by jolynnpowers

Cleaning up the last bits of construction at The Golden Rule building 1907- Jan 19th 2020

It has been a very long 3 years of construction, and a year of clean up to get to this post. The rehabilitation of the Golden Rule Building is complete. We are ready to move our equipment and fixtures back into the building starting in Feb. It is almost unbelievable that I will be finished with my small portion of this project very soon.

The ten upper story apartments are fully rented and have given Belington, WV much needed quality housing. Soon I will help to bring a new economic driver to downtown with a cafe’, train ticket booth, train themed gift shop, and an artist market. Here are some of the views from the finished apartments before they were rented.

These are from both the two bedroom and single bedroom apartments at the Golden Rule before move in day.

The first floor took another month to fully finish, but the the style and feel is very much the same. The main difference between the first floor space and the upper floors is the open floor plan. Walls have been removed that surround the water powered elevator shaft. It is nice to be able to see the lift from all sides of the main floor. The elevator has been restored and is operable from the basement to the first floor. It will never carry any passengers or freight but can be used for a display to display how water hydraulics worked. We have also kept the steps from the first floor to the second floor. The stairs have been capped off so they are only for display at this time and are planned to be used as a historical collection space. The original offices have had the tin ceilings repaired and repainted. They are one of the only decorative features in the building. Since the building was used as a warehouse, grocery store and finally as an around store the need for decoration was secondary to functional items. The vault is now clean and ready for storage or display space. With the replacement of many of the broken window panes, paint and new lights the front of the building looks fresh and inviting again.

The photos below show the building in the state it was in before construction and while I was working on cleaning and storing the contents of the building of more than a year. We removed many of the antiques that were found in the building and have them ready to return as a display. The less unique items will be for sale to benefit the continued development of the property at The Golden Rule.

main floor of the Golden Rule mess t 1st Day

stacks of items on third floor of the Golden Rule

It will take at least three or four more months of work to get the retail stores ready to open. We have displays to buy, internet and phone systems to install and lots of vendors to work with. We have plans for about 30 individuals to sell items in The Golden Rule Marketplace. Working in collaboration with the Durbin & Greenbrier Railroad we hope to see the train running this spring and the stores open by June. Covid has delayed some of our work but with a hopeful heart and lots of work the Belington Revitalization Committee, the Barbour County Development Authority and Woodlands Development Group have plans to move this project forward and see that this building comes back to life. I hope to plan an open house event before I leave The Golden Rule for good and It should be a great celebration of what a small town and small development company can do.

I have written about the Golden Rule before and if you have any interest in my other posts you can look here. The Golden Rule Redevelopment #1, Ghost Visits of the Golden Rule, Clean up of the Golden Rule, Volunteers Impact the Golden Rule.

Categories: Abandoned structure, Barbour County, Belington, WV, Golden Rule, historic locations, Historic Preservation, Redevelopment projects, West Virginia History, Woodlands Development Group | Tags: Golden Rule, Historic Preservation, Historic West Virginia locations, Redevelopment, Woodlands Development Group | 8 Comments

This Christmas I did not Pick Up the Phone.

Posted on December 27, 2020 by jolynnpowers

Christmas was wonderful, the older son and his family came and friends sent cards and gifts. It was noisy and full of toys like it should be, then it wasn’t. Like clockwork my son, his wife and my grandaughter went on their way for a second round of gifts and another home cooked meal. The annual afternoon naps in our P.J.’s took place and the house got peaceful and quite. But, something about the afternoon felt off… Something was missing and I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I felt like I had missed something important, something that I had was always done Christmas day, like a religious ritual was missing. That something bugged me for hours until just before dinner, then I finally remembered. I cried most of the rest of the afternoon and night. Everything about the holiday had been great fun until I remembered… I had not called my Mom for Christmas. I had not picked up the phone one time all of Christmas or Christmas Eve.

Christopher with Father Christmas 2019 Beverly Heritage Center, Beverly, WV

I have lived far away from my childhood home for over 30 years. In all those years, I chosen to never go home for Christmas. It was a choice I was fine with, I never felt bad about it. I always called my mom Christmas afternoon. It was a ritual. Usually I would hear her with a house full of guests and I would talk my brothers and their families. It was a short moment of bonding. In her later years, I would talk with her at the nursing home about if she had a nice meal and who had visited. I never missed a phone call and she never stopped saying she was so glad I called. She would always rush me off the phone and tell me to get back to my kids that they needed me and she was doing ok. I always hated telling her goodbye, and at times missed sitting at her dinner table for a family holiday. It was my choice to stay so far away in the mountains of West Virginia. It was also because of her that I never went home. It was always so hard to fit into the image she had created for me. It was a image that just didn’t fit and made me uncomfortable when we had to stay with her.

As the first wave of memories and tears fell, a second came, with memories of my Mother in-law, and all of the Christmas dinners we eat together as a large family. Then other ghost like spirits creeped in with more Christmas memories. My wedding during Christmas to a childhood sweetheart who is now passed away. A Christmas in Germany drinking hot mulled wine in the streets. Christmas snows in Colorado where I would walk to Village Inn on Christmas Eve to see my high school friends. “Going Out for Coffee”, lasted years until we were all old enough to go out for Holiday drinks. All of us hated spending to much time with family over the holidays and some of us didn’t even have families at home over the holidays. One of the many images burnt into my brain is a gift of a huge stuffed dog my brother gave me at the age of 10. He drove around Boulder with this huge dog in the passenger seat of his old Jeep for several days before dropping it under the tree one Christmas morning. I remember getting Co-Op peanut butter from my aunt and uncle for 6 or 7 years in a row for Christmas. How if loved that home ground peanut butter with its oily flavor and ruff texture.

My Brother Bill Lowrey My mother Veda M Lowrey and My Uncle Wendell Lowrey at my Christmas Wedding 1987

My huge stuffed dog in 1978 a gift from my brother.

Clearing my eyes of tears, I felt driven to dig out photo albums and look through the photos for just one photo of me and my mother at Christmas together. I don’t think there are any, I don’t have any at all. She was always behind the camera and I was always in front. She took photos in her own personal way, many off center or poorly lighted, but they were her memories of good moments in our life. Now looking back maybe I was wrong for missing those holidays, now maybe I wish I had gone home just once. I also now realise that I can’t even call home anymore and my habit of picking up the phone over Christmas will fall to my brothers and my friends. Calls to them will take the place of calling home to speak to my mom. They will have to hear about the gag gifts and the looks of surprize at a gift and hear me saying, “thank you so much for remembering me and the kids”. They will have to listen to of how hard the year has been and that I miss spending time with them so much. We will have to rush off the phone and say our goodbyes with love. They will have to help me fill the space that once belonged to my mother.

Cody Powers age 8 Jane Lew West Virginia

Tom Powers playing Santa Claus with Christopher on his knee 2015

JoLynn Powers Christmas 2020 volunteering at the Christmas Open House at Adaland Mansion.

Hoping all of you had a happy and healthy holiday and that we are all blessed in the New Year. Remember to pick up the phone and wish someone you love a Merry Christmas for me. It is the smallest things that we remember about one another and sometimes it’s just a phone call that says I love you!

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The Beautiful Holiday Trees of Adaland Mansion

Posted on November 28, 2020 by jolynnpowers

This year is a real treat for me as I work at Adaland Mansion for the first of hopefully many years. It is the first time in my life that I get to be surrounded by some of the most beautiful holiday trees covered in the warm glow of twinkle lights every day I work. When I am alone in the house like most Fridays, and the lights are on and the sun begins to set, I find my mind wandering away from the papers that I am working on. My eyes are drawn out into the hall where a set of these smaller trees sit next to my office. Their appearance makes me relax and I drift off to a simpler time in my life.

One of two white hallway trees outside my office.

One of my guilty holiday pleasures, that started when I was just a child, is spending time driving around my home town time looking at the holiday lights. It’s a tradition that we have shared with both our sons no matter where have lived. I vividly remember spending hours listening to holiday music every Christmas while sitting in our living room in the dark with only the tree lights on. I have always found peace in the glow of colored lights. For years I always had twinkle lights in my bedroom year around, and both my kids have had them in their rooms too. How strange that a 3 dollar string of white lights always felt like love to me.The best part about decorating for Christmas is still the holiday lights. We have driven several times to the large Holiday light show in Wheeling, West Virginia at Oglebay Park where they have a large drive-through light show every Christmas just so I can share the lights with the boys.

Judge Ira Robinson’s Office with hand made doll house and the blue tree.

Each room of the mansion has a different color or theme for the trees and decor. Each year the staff of the house makes changes to what they do for decorations. But the warmth and love is always a huge part of the display.

The larger white tree stands at the end of the hallway on the second floor

My personal favorite this year is the pink tree in the Brides Bedroom on the second floor.

The Bride’s Room tree is my favorite this year. I like to imagine myself curled up in the grand oak bed covered in a huge quilt falling asleep to the warm glow of this tree. With its many hand made ornaments and pink flowers It’s victorian style is a little girls dream come true.

The Dining Room tree is a traditional Red and Green.

The Dining Room Mantel is decorated with ribbons and lights.

Each of the three first floor parlors also have a tree. The doors are strewn in garland and the windows are covered with many wreaths and bows. It takes groups of volunteers hours to create each tree and decorate each window.

Windows near the back veranda of Adaland Mansion at Christmas.

Small Reading room Parlor on the first floor.

This is just a small taste of what the house has for trees and decorations. I wish I had taken photos of them all because they bring me such joy everyday. Now if we get just a little snow it will feel like I have come home to the place I belong this holiday season.

This will be a much different year at the Mansion. With the Coroniavirus still keeping many people at home and away from traditional activities, I am so pleased that the staff of the Mansion has made it possible to have tours of the house again this year. Following all of the guidelines of our state, we are open for private tours for groups of 6 or smaller and will have the traditional open house event to share the Adaland Mansion with visitors.

I look forward to greeting guests on Dec 5th and meeting with many of the families and supporters of this much loved home. I will continue to be thankful to work in such a beautiful place and to have the opertunity to enjoy the thousands of holiday lights that make me so happy this Holiday Season.

Categories: Adaland Mansion, Barbour County, Christmas, Christmas tree decor, family fun, family memories, Historic Home, Holidays, Philippi, West Virginia | Tags: Adaland Mansion, Barbour County, childhood, Christmas Decor, Historic Preservation, Historic West Virginia locations, West Virginia History | 1 Comment

Dreams Really do Come True

Posted on October 2, 2020 by jolynnpowers

I have heard and believe that we must speak our dreams for them to become reality. So after speaking and wanting to be involved in historic preservation and rehabilitation most of the last 9 years of my life it is going to be my Job to tend to the needs and wants of Adaland Mansion a 1868 Greek Revival Mansion and 22 acre property in Barbour County, WV.

I have been selected to become the Director of Adaland Mansion a Community Non-profit that focuses on the preserving and educating the community about this unique house and property in North Central, West Virginia. It is a huge roll to fill and I am honored and overwhelmed that this grand old home asked me to be her caretaker.

Somewhere up in the stars, is my mother and my mother-in-law looking down saying that they think it is fitting, I have another old house to share stories about. A girl just cant have enough Ghost stories, Love stories or Sad stories to tell.

So as I end my time in the early spring with my current project at another Historic Building, the Golden Rule Building in Belington WV. I will move away from some of the redevelopment work I do as a contractor to more of a Historic Property Manager of sorts.

Golden Rule during redevelopment summer of 2018. Murals by my AmeriCorps volunteers.

Current apartment construction fall 2020

image of workers pouring floor to the new elevator shaft in the Golden Rule building early spring 2020.

I hope that I can live up to the dreams that many community members have for this property and house. I am excited to do my very best to keep this old girl alive and telling her stories to another generation.

In addition to my starting a new job, In Nov. we will celebrate the completion and move in of the first 10 residents of the Golden Rule and in March of 2020 the opening of the three businesses I have helped to develop. It will be one of the days that I am most proud of in my life. When those old barn doors open up and people return to the rear loading doc to ride the train once more I will know it is time for me to move on. I will bid farewell to a project that I have put my heart and soul into for three years. I will always be a fan of what downtown revitalization and what it can do for a community. I can only hope that over the course of the next few years I can stay involved in this field and support more redevelopment and preservation in West Virginia.

As I head to bed I’m still in shock that this next labor of love has been given to me .I guess the as the old and wise always say, “When a door closes a window opens”. It just happens that all my windows are over a hundred years old.

I cant wait to share with you my new adventures at my new location. I am hopeful that you will enjoy reading about another old house and share in my journey in taking care of her!

In the meantime I hope wright about the final steps in finishing the Golden Rule and what a joy it has brought me to be part of changing the community I live in.

Categories: About me, Adaland Mansion, Barbour County, career goals, Golden Rule, historic locations, Historic Preservation, West Virginia History, work | Tags: Adaland Mansion, Barbour County, Future, Golden Rule, Historic Preservation, Redevelopment, West Virginia History, Wild Wonderful West Virginia, work | Leave a comment

How to Guide All About Grape Vines, Grape Juice,Grape Jelly.

Posted on September 7, 2020 by jolynnpowers

Fresh concord grapes from the backyard 2019.

This post is actually 2 years in the making. Last summer (2019) was the first time in years the Japanese Beetles did not destroy my chances of getting grapes from the Concord grape vines on our property. We treated for them (more about that later) so I was lucky to get about a half bushel of grapes. I chose to make juice from the grapes. I canned the juice ASAP. The plan was to make jelly over the winter. Then the old trelles crashed to the ground about mid Jan and I just forgot about the jelly until about a week ago. So we started all over by cutting the vines back building a new trellis and making jelly from canned juice.

To begin with if you have older vines or like us we had a very old trellis system that did not function well for two large heavy vines you might consider pruning your grape vine back. Grape vines produce much better when the vines are short and pruned regularly. In my case the trellis collapsed before we got time to replace it, forcing me to prune back the vines in the cold weather to get the old trellis out. When I was done our vines were about 4 feet long compared to 16 feet.

Old grape vine with fence style trellis.

New Grape Vine Trellis in place with short vines on the ground in April 2020.

Tom and I talked about how beautiful a grapevines could be even if you didn’t use the grapes. I wanted something that was just as pretty in the yard as functional. I also wanted to be able to walk under the trellis if we were working in the near by vegetable graden. So this is what we came up with. The Trellis is 6 foot 6 inches high made 8 feet apart on the inside. We cemented the 4×4 posts into the ground so they would not move.Everything is pressure treated and we used 2×4 hangers to create the top. After this stage I added some recycled garden wire to the top to give the vines something hold onto as they grow. Then we waited for the vines to get long enough to put on the trellis. In about 4 mouths they had grown 5 or more feet and I could begin to train the vines using zip ties and string. After a couple hours the longest vines were secured and ready to grow for the rest of the summer. Next year I should have a nice place to pick my grapes.

for more info about the pruning a old grape vine check out this grapevine post.

Training the grapevines over the new trellis 2020

Weaving the grapevine over and through the wire of the trellis 2020

As I said before we treated for Japanese Beetles. We also have a huge sugar ant problem in the house. So I used our fertilizer spreader to spread a yard pest insecticide in the back yard and around the foundation of our house. It was a game changer, very few bettles … stopped the mole damage we were getting from them looking for the beetle grubs and reduced the ants in the house. I don’t plan to treat again for several years. I would like to see if we can keep the beetle problem under control with a more natural soap and water treatment for a while but this brought a balance back to my yard for a while.

Part two: The best part of having grapes is grape juice and jelly. Both are easy to make at home and do not require a pressure canner. We follow The Ball Jar Company recipes to cann our juice and make jelly

Grape Juice: Wash all the grapes, removing all stems and leaves. Then place all the grapes in a large stock pot with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan by a inch or two. Around a cup per gallon of grapes. Bring grapes to a simmer crushing the grapes with a potato masher as the heat rises. Simmer 10 minutes. Don’t boil this releases the bitterness from the seeds into the juice. Strain through a couple layers cheesecloth to remove seeds. Let juice stand 24 hours or overnight to cool if possible before straining a second time. Prepare for the rest of the process by gathering up either a jelly bag or using several layers if cheesecloth. For this batch of juice I used 4 layers of cheesecloth, rinsing between about every two cups of juice. I think I spent more time rinsing out the clothe out then straining the juice. In the end I had 6 quarts of juice with no sugar and nothing artificial. It was worth it in the end. If you want to cann the juice as a cocktail add 1 or 2 cup sugar per gallon of juice.

Canning the Juice: I planned to make Jelly from the juice so I did not want to add any sugar. If you were going to drink the juice like a cocktail you would need sugar to make it taste good enough to drink.

As always wash and sterilize your quart jars, lids and seals as you heat your juice to a hot simer. Remove from heat and fill jars with hot juice. leaving a 1/4 inch head space wiping the top lip of jar. Place jars in a boiling water bath canner. Make sure each jar is covered fully with water and follow the directions in the Ball Canning Blue Book. Mine is a 1949 version and a 1991 version…. They both say the same thing.

Reheat to a simmer, pour into clean hot jars. Process 30 minutes in hot water bath at 185 -190 degrees.

For a great online store link to all things Ball Mason Jar.

Making Jelly: Canned juice is good for up to a year but your grape juice may look clouded in the jar… don’t worry you still get beautiful clear Jelly.

6 month old juice with cloudy appearance.

To quote my ball guide it is better to us canned juice then fresh!

The use of unsweetened, canned juice prevents the formation of Cream of Tartar crystals from forming in the jelly. After the juice is canned the crystals form and fall to the bottom. The canned juice should be strained through cheesecloth before using and the sediment at the bottom should not be used.
The Ball Blue Book of Home Canning , Preserving and Freezing Recipes CR 1949.

Cooking the Jelly: As always prepare lids rings and jars by washing and sterilizing. If using prepared juice, measure exact amount of juice into a 6 to 8 quart stockpot. Add water if necessary to get exact measurement. measure exact amount of sugar into a separate bowl with a dry measuring cup. Add juice to a large stock pot then sugar and mix well. Add 1 tsp butter to help reduce foaming( I do not do this with grape jelly but I do with others). Bring mixture to a rolling boil, one that cannot be reduced when stirred, boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Quickly add pectin and return to a rolling boil 1 minute, then remove from heat. I personaly do a sheeting test before I remove from the heat. if when a teaspoon of jelly sheets from the spoon it is ready. Sheeting is when you scoop up a teaspoon of jelly and slowly pour it back into the pot but some jells to the spoon and slowly slides off in a sold sheet. Then I remove from the heat and scrape as much foam off as I can before ladeling into prepared jars. filling jars leaving a 1/4 inch headspace.Wipe jars with a damp rag and add seals and rings. Place in warm water in canner until 1 to 2 inches of water covers jars. Bring water to boil, process at a boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water and let cool 24 hours before deciding if there is problem with the jelling.

If everything goes according to plan you should have about 7 half pint jelly jars of homemade Concord grape jelly.

Homemade grape jelly from backyard grapes. 2020

Well, it has been a long journey from picking our first grapes to making a new trellis, canning juice and finally making the jelly. I hope you find this helpful and it makes it possible to make your own Jams and jellies. My family loves homemade jelly so I am happy to have the vines.

Categories: Ball Mason Jar, Grape Jelly, grape juice, Grapevines, Jelly, pruning grapevines | Tags: Ball canning, Ball Mason jars, Grape Jelly, grape juice, grapevines, pruning vines | 3 Comments

A Visit to the Abandoned Nuttallburg Historic Coal Mine Town

Posted on August 23, 2020 by jolynnpowers

Abandoned homes or towns are my favorite places to visit. So when my husband offered to drive Christopher and I to a historic abandoned coal mining town near where he was working I got super excited!!We spent one early morning exploring the New River Gorge Valley and the lost town of Nuttallburg WV. For a more indepth history of the town and its famous Henry Ford owner you can check out the Parks Services Webpage for Nuttallburg,WV here!

We found out about the town while stopping at the New River Gorge Visitors Center and decided it was worth the 8 mile drive to see the abandoned coal tipple and Coke ovens. I have written about the New River Gorge before so if you want to lean more about the National River Check out my other blog posts. They will included info about the world famous Bridge Day Events .

After leaving the New River Gorge Visitor Center near Fayetteville, we took time to follow a map to a community called Wynonia where you leave the pavement and drive into a tree covered lane. The road is very narrow and twistly so the 8 miles seem like 10 before you reach the river’s edge and the mining town of Nuttallburg.

Nuttallburg is a coal mining town that was listed on the National Historic Registry in 1998. It was important due to its production of smokeless coal. The town was founded by John Nuttall in 1870, at its peak had over 100 houses, several schools, churches and 80 Coke Ovens. The coal was processed and shipped out on the rail lines along the New River. The community and the mine were purchased by Henry Ford and the Fordson Motor Company in the 1920’s, serving his car manufacturing plants in Michigan.

The Nuttallburg post office was closed in 1958 and a cap was put on the opening of the mine that same year. The town then slowly decayed with much of the wooden structures destroyed by weather and scavengers who used the remaining good materials for better projects.

Coal Shoot area of the Coal Tipple of Nuttallburg WV.

Under the Coal shoot looking up at the steep conveyor belt at Nuttallburg Wv

Coal Conveyor Belt disappears into the weeds at Nuttallburg Wv

The remains of the coal mining town include a row of Coke Ovens that once processed thousands of pounds of coal for the steel mills that lined the Ohio River Valley. The coal tipple, coal shoot, the conveyor belt cover and the mine head all remain on view to visitors. I was impressed that the ovens were still standing since they are not metal structures. In this case they are just simple brick and mortar domes with a draft whole in the top. To learn more about how important Coke is in steel production click here

Opening to several Coke Ovens appear in a row these are slowly sinking into the mud around them at Nuttallburg WV

Included in the collection of the building foundations is what is left of a company store and house foundations. The idea that over a hundred families depended on this simpel store made me think how lucky we are to be able to buy almost anything from around the world at our local grocery store.

Christopher and I in the front window of the company Store.

Tree growing inside the Nuttallburg company store

Images from company stores near Nuttallburg WV.

At this time of the year most of the house and church foundations are covered with Kudzu vines, for better or worse. The vines make the place feel totally isolated and part of the a tropical rainforest. I told Christopher that I felt like we had stumbled into a Jurassic Park movie. With all the strange abandoned structures,trees and the wild undergrowth you felt like the last people on earth. Maybe this was the perfect place to visit during the Coronavirus. We did not see another person until we were ready to leave.

Kudzu vines clime over the foundation of a house in Nuttallburg WV

A forest of Kudzu covering everything in sight.

Beyond the end of the town is an even smaller community of Seldom Seen. It has a nice trail to it but is a little risky to get to and the forest service posts warnings about not getting off the trail due to holes in the ground that are part of buried foundations. I could not convince my husband that would be a fun adventure to follow the trail and take photos so that is planned for a later date. From what I gather this area was the residential area for White coal miners. The town was segregated and the African Americans who worked in and near the mine lived at the entry of the town with their own school and church.

Sign that is posted to inform visitors about what is at Seldom Seen WV

Hidden in the photos is the remains of a walking swing bridge. That linked the African AmeriCan Community to other housing and people who lived across the river,.

sign showing development on river and what the KudZu covered up.

Train Tracks near the swinging bridge remains in Nuttallburg WV

At this point it was time to head back home but after this wonderful visit I plan to return this fall to see everything decked out in the fall colors and the Kudzu dead to take more photos.

The drive in and out of the valley was just a beautiful as the town and we enjoyed the coolness of the trees and waterfalls.

We hope that if you are in the Fayetteville area of West Virginia or near the New River Gorge Bridge you will consider taking the time to see this beautiful park and learn more about West Virginia and its history.

Categories: Abandoned structure, antique, Appalachian Mountains, Coal Mine, historic locations, Historic Preservation, New River Gorge, West Virginia History | Tags: Coal Mine, Fayetteville WV, Historic Preservation, Historic West Virginia locations, New River Gorge | 6 Comments

The Carnegie Science Center; An Investment in the future

Posted on July 29, 2020 by jolynnpowers

It seems everything we are doing this summer is a investment in the future. Even the little day trips we have taken are to help my son explore ideas that he may want to revisit in the future. I have been working on several projects at work that are going to pay off 5 or 10 years from now. We are even working on our house with the idea that my husband will retire in 7 or 8 years. Maybe this all comes with age, maybe with the lack faith in the current situation with Covid, the looming election and the general unrest in the county we are just focused on what will come next. Instead of worrying to deeply about the current state of everything. Maybe the future is brighter than the drama of today. So we are spending time with Christopher in the most positive way we can think of, with small trips to help spread the joy of learning with him.

the USS REQUIN ( ss481) a standard fleet submarine with armament decommissioned and released from Navy list Dec 1971. Sept 1992 arrived at Pittsburg

So I wanted to share a little bit about a really impressive place that we enjoyed visiting over the 4th of July weekend. the Carnegie Science Center of Pittsburg, Pa. My son’s elementary school had made year end field trip plans to take the 5th grade class to the Science Center. The plans were cancelled when school was dismissed because of the Covid- 19 outbreak. So we promised our son as soon as the center reopened we would make the trip to Pittsburgh. It was a wonderful, educational day and I know we will be back to share the experience with my granddaughter also.

Young man moving the controls on a gigantic robot hand on the robotics floor of the Carnegie Science Center.

The Carnegie Science Center is a 4 story building, plus a basement cafe and interactive decommissioned submarine that is an interactive playground full of things to touch, build, try and see. Their website offers information on what is playing at the IMAX theater , The planetarium and what is featured in the gallery. They share information on what to expect each day and what you can and cant do in the huge activity gym attached to the main building.

We were overwhelmed with the options offered and spent about 5 hours in the main building and still did not do everything available. We did see a afternoon planetarium laser show to the music of the band “Queen” and the Gallery show called “Mummies”. It was all well done and Christopher was so excited to see each floor of exhibits.

One of the largest model train displays I have ever seen. Most of the locations are of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.

Visitors start on the first floor where the Gallery show is exhibited. This show was about mummies and their creation. They covered not only egyptian mummies but European, Scottish and Mongolian mummies. I only took one photo because the crowds were hard to shoot around. A very informative show and Christopher learned that not all mummies are wrapped in bandages.

Natural occurring sand mummy from the middle east around 7000 years old/

Decorative display outside the exhibit for Mummies at the Carnegie Science Center 2020

You then proceed up to the frist floor of displays mostly about earth science, animals and water.

Some of the water displays we got top play with at the Carnegie Science Center

The Second floor was about Medical Science and Aero space. We played with bones, made our heart beat a drum, made dancing skeletons and played with a very loud fart machine. Tom played in a space capsules restroom, we touched a meteor and watched Christopher try out his Space Walking skills on a bodyboard.

The third floor is the Robotics and train floor. I thought I would never get Christopher out of these rooms. They are the high light of our day. Everyone found something they enjoyed.

Tom played several rounds of air hockey against a robot and never won

I personally fell in love with their collection of movie robots that talked.

Christopher was enchanted with the huge electric train layout and the moving miniatures.

The fourth and final floor is there Lego room and weather exploration display. The room had all the building blocks you ever want to find. Some were as large as a gallon milk jugs some were as small as a pee. They then allow you to place your creation in an earthquake simulator. We rode out the top 5 worst recorded earthquakes in history but now understand a lot more about the weather and quakes.

We then headed to the basement for a tour of a real submarine floating in the Ohio River. This was so fascinating and is part of your ticket price. I was just so surprised at how small everything was. Your entry into the ship is a new stairwell into the torpedo room, then you travel the length of the ship and exit out the back up a ladder to the deck. 80 men lived in these small quarters for 18 months at a time. It is a hard and dangerous job and one that not everyone is cut out for.

We had to walk through 5 or 6 of these hatches this man is about 6 foot and had to lean down to get through the opening.

We ended our visit with a laser show at the planetarium. For a extra $5 dollars each we spent the last 45 minutes of our visit in the dark with the music of Queen. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day.