SUMMERS COUNTY W.Va. (Hinton News) – Everything in history appears to connect in some degree or another, even if it is just a tiny bit. For example, this large 1910s arts and crafts oak apothecary cabinet ties into three of my previous stories. The first is the Meadow River Lumber Company in Rainelle, West Virginia and how it ties to Summers County.
The second is the Pence Springs Hotel. Ashby Berkley, the one who restored the hotel, purchased this piece in the 1980s at an auction. It had been built for and used in the Rexall Pharmacy on the Greenbrier side of Alderson. He used it on the back wall of the dining room to house the silver and other serving pieces.
The third was the Hines Boarding House on the farm where I live in Pence Springs. My family is currently restoring my grandparent’s 1950s ranch-style house that sits on the very location of the boarding house. It will be used as a short-term rental come 2025.
My father, David Jones, was the head of maintenance at Greenbrier Academy for Girls until it closed in 2023, they utilized the Pence Springs Hotel property. When the school decided it was no longer needed in the dining room, my father salvaged it.
Upon restoring Grandma’s house and needing a place to store this large piece, we decided to place it in the living room and use it as an entertainment center to house the TV and other pieces, and also use it to display some of our collections of antique cameras, antique radios and other old local pieces.
You can see it sitting on the back wall of the Pence Springs Hotel dining room in this photo in approximately 2008. Berkley is one of the gentlemen from my childhood whom I credit with instilling in me such a passion for local history that I have today. And a love for antiques, which often go hand in hand like with this piece.
It is quite a stately piece and looks as if it was made for this location. It has all of the original hardware and even a little brass plaque in the center of the top that says Meadow River Lumber Company. We have the sliding glass doors and original glass shelves but decided to store them in the attic to prevent them from being broken by house guests.
I can remember this piece from when I was a child as I spent a lot of time in the hotel while my mother was a chef there. After learning where it was made and the local store it came out of I was thrilled when my father saved it. And even more so when it found its second, third or fourth life; I have lost track, haha as a useful piece of furniture in the “Hines Boarding House 2.0,” what my family will be calling the short-term rental.
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