HINTON W.Va. (Hinton News) – This week’s piece will be rather short as I have not had ample time to do extensive research for a story. I am going to show three photos, two of which you may have seen over the years. All three are directly related to each other.
The first photo you see is of the C&O Railroad Depot in Hinton. Over the years I have seen several photos and postcards of this building, but never this particular one. The photo used in this postcard was taken after some recent work along this section of track had recently been completed. Notice the fresh rock and earth that had been moved over the bank from the train tracks.
The second photo is not the clearest but was worth showing due to its rarity. It was taken sometime prior to 1911 when the YMCA, the building on the bank to the right of the depot, burned. The replacement YMCA was constructed in 1913 and now serves to house Summers County Council on Aging.
The third photo you see is of my Great Grandfather Fred Owen Thomas. I had mentioned him before in at least one of my previous stories. Fred was killed after stepping off of one train in front of another in Ronceverte, West Virginia in 1950.
Between shifts, he used to stay at the YMCA in Hinton. This photo of him was taken while sitting on the porch of this building on one of these stayovers. My Great Great Aunt Jewell, Fred’s sister, gave this photo to my mother when I was a child.
Fred was a brakeman on the railroad. The oil lamp and carbide lamp were his during that time. I remember my Grandmother Bea Thomas Thompson telling fond memories of her father Fred staying at the YMCA in Hinton.
My Great Aunt Ella Steep, Fred’s youngest daughter, received the pack of chewing gum he had on him when he died. All 11 of his children who were living at the time of his death received something he had on him when the accident happened.
We never knew of what my Grandmother Bea was given but after she passed in 1999 we cleaned out her cedar chest. In it, we found a broken pocket watch wrapped up in a little box. I am inclined to believe this was the piece of her fathers that she was given.
Until next week.
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