Hitchhiking with a Dog and Guitar!

[webbie]

Yep, that's me and the wifey....and our dog and my guitar!
We were 18 years old.

Gotta love that we were able to hitchhike to WV and all around....people actually picked us up! We also got some great insight into the area - such as when the head of the operations for WestVaco picked us up. He ended up giving us a tour of their vast woodlands and telling us how it all worked....lots of stories from those days!

But the wife remembers one in particular. Wilbur (dog) had a bad habit of eating his...well, some of you dog lovers know what I mean. So, we were in the boonies hitchhiking and Wilbur was doing (and must have snacked on) his business.....next thing you know we are picked up by some nice folks.

The lady loves Wilbur, so she gives him affection and he nuzzles her and licks her
"That ain't Channel Number 5" was her first comment.....amazing that these people didn't kick us out, but laughed it off.....

One time, in VA, we were picked up by three of the Dominions most interesting characters. These were true natives of the backwoods....but, they had a certain gleam in their eyes- very clear eyed. As we drove on, they related to us how they regularly consume Jimson Weed, a STRONG psychoactive substance!

I guess the revolution had come to even rural VA. I could write a book. Maybe I will.

 

[1750]

That's really a great picture.

About what year was it taken?

 

[webbie]

1971 in Richwood, WV.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richwood,_West_Virginia

 

[1750]

That's beautiful country.

Good times, good times.

 

[webbie]

I remember walking into Richwood...it was rainy and foggy and we needed breakfast, so we went into one of the local Cafes. The jukebox was playing "Almost Heaven" and it was so perfect......

We stayed one night at the old hotel in that town - it was an old frame building, nothing like any hotel you'd stay in today.

Typical WV scenes of those days. We lived in a "holler", and the sun came up late and went down early in these places. The local older gents would be out on the porches of their homes (shacks, really!) in a rocker or a swing with a TV set blaring some televangelist. That's where we first ran into stoves and chain saws, etc.
Virtually every home was heated by wood or coal. The fancier folks had circulators or new Ashleys, the poorer folks had any piece of iron that would hold a fire. No such thing as an indoor bathroom that I remember.....

 

[1750]

That's really a rich memory.

I've done quite a bit of hiking and camping in that area. What a gorgeous place.

 

[Panhandler]

Although I live in northern WV, I was in Richwood in October. Hiking in Cranberry Glades on my way to Seneca State Forrest. Beautiful area, as most of our state is.

 

[DevilsBrew]

Awesome.

 

[webbie]

Speaking of Deliverance (the real kind), I also remember the first time we drove down the mountains into Richwood. Two small rivers converge near the town. We drove over a small bridge and saw a gathering down by the river. It was a baptism, and in WV this was right out of a Movie.......a beautiful scene, with the mountains, greenery, a little fog and the river....with people getting dunked....

In our little town (Camden-on-Gauley) we were invited to one of the local churches and attended a service where they spoke in tongues. I'm going to guess that these were Pentecostals, but I am not certain. All I know is that they were folks who shared everything...probably a result of being so poor. They had a great setup afterwards with all kinds of food - it was late fall, as I remember, because there were lots of apple goodies.

Many of the younger generation had already left the hollows for the city. Back then we used to say that, in WV, you are either a coal miner or an auto mechanic. The land in those MTs is unproductive, so forget about farming.

 

[Panhandler]

Richwood has seen it's better days, for sure. Not much left there. I remember as a kid my uncle was/is a Methodist minister in WV. He "lost" his congregation to those speaking in tongues.

 

[firebroad]

Me and You and a Dog Named Boo....