SUMMERS COUNTY W.Va. (Hinton News) – I am once again asking for your help with obtaining some history around the piece I am showcasing in this week’s story. In all of my years of collecting Pence Springs history, I have never seen or heard of this place, and that is coming up on three decades of collecting and research. Having been born and raised here, Pence Springs’ history is my passion. I love all local history, but there is just something about this place.
After walking into Pence Springs Community Church this past Sunday, knowing how much I love local history, my friend Mary Rudisill handed me some old papers. In the bag was “The Milestone” from Greenville High School in Greenville, W.Va., a yearbook from 1947 (Mary had gone to school with my grandmother, Ruth Catherine McDanial Jones). A mileage ration booklet from Ballengee, W.Va., from 1945.
And last but not least, this little business card, which appears to be from the 1910s or 1920s, from Tyler’s Bar-B-Q Lunch. Again, I have never heard of this business being mentioned before, so I know nothing about it. Just this little card that has my mind working in overdrive at the moment. Ha.
The back of the card reads “Sing While You Drive At 45 Miles per hour, sing – Highways Are Happy Ways!, At 55 miles, sing – I’m But a Stranger Here, Heaven is My Home!, At 65 miles, sing – Nearer, My God to Thee, At 75 Miles, sing – When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, I’ll Be There, At 85 miles, sing – Lord, I’m Coming Home.”
This is the only thing other than what you can see on the front of the card that I know, such as it saying in the upper left corner “Better Barbecues Eats”. It lists the mailing address as P.O. Box 62. It says Pence Springs in the bottom left corner and West Virginia in the bottom right.
If you know anything about this establishment, please let me know at greenbrierantiques@gmail.com. Such as the owner’s name, where it was located, it was in a building itself or was it run out of someone’s home? What years did it operate? And anything else you could add to this story would be greatly appreciated. If you happen to have a photo that shows this business, please share it. Thank you!
