SUMMERS COUNTY W.Va. (Hinton News) – This week’s piece is only tied to Summers County because my mother, Cheryl, grew up in Talcott, where she was living part-time when this tale occurred. Her grandmother, Bridgett Thomas, lived on the backside of Muddy Creek Mountain in the old house you see here. The house is known among the family as “The Chase Place”.
My mother and my grandmother, Bea, went to visit Grandma Thomas when my mother was around 13 years old. She hadn’t been feeling well, and as Bridgett said, “You have moped around all day.” Fast forward to that evening, and Bridgett had had enough. Ha.
Bridgett didn’t drive and said, “All right, Bea run me out the road too (we can’t remember the name of the store, but the building still stands today). I am going to get Cheryl some medicine that will fix her right up. And she did just that!
Mom remembers it as an old country store, much like what you would have seen on The Waltons or Little House on the Prairie. Bridgett walked up to a shelf behind the counter and grabbed a box. It contained the glass bottle of McElree’s Cardui you see here. Mom took a dose after getting back to grandmas and it wasn’t long before she was fast asleep.
To start with, the bottle is from 1908, so when grandma bought it, it was already 53 years old, lol. Plus, it is 19% Alcohol, no wonder mom felt better and went to sleep! It is no wonder I became as obsessed with antiques and history as I am. Growing up, it always sat in the china cabinet on the enclosed porch of Granddad’s house in Talcott. It now sits among my collection in my room.
