Webmaster Swings the Axe

No, I'm not firing employees, but here is a pic of me from the early days - about 1972, in rural WV.

Yes, I lived in the house you see behind me - and that is Wilbur, our dog.

This house had my first woodstove and was heated 100% that way. Luckily my landlady had a pro install the insulated chimney, so the place did not burn down. This was on the bank of the Gauley River - in Camden-on-Gauley, WV.

Rent? $30. a month. Also bought my first chainsaw here. The guy at the local store gave it to me on credit - $10 a month.

Ahh, those were the days!

I have rafted the Upper Gauley with the flood gates open at the dam. That river will hurt ya! Not as bad as the Upper Youghiogheny, but bad enough.

Nice form with the axe there fella.

Tom Hanks is the only one I've ever been compared to...

Don't worry, Mr. Cedar - look hard cause that is the house I'm gonna sell you when you finally move to the Mts.

Ah the halycon days of youth. Great shot Craig. Elk, you wouldn't want to know the cabin I was living in that year. Heated by a tin Ashley woodstove in CT. With no insulation, it was either hot, or damn cold in the winter. I remember being woken up one night in spring with carpenter ants falling on my face. Ah well, the rent was right, free, but I moved out in summer into better digs.

Oh to sit around the fire and listen to you two tell a few stories. Did you hike into town once a month for groceries and to pick up the new edition of the "Mother Earth News"?

Where on the Gauley were you folks? I have fallen off of a raft or two on the Upper Gauley, not to mention the Cheat, New and Upper Youghiogheny.

Not from the surprise of seeing bathers though.

Edit: Just went back and read Craig's post. Camden-on-Gauley.

NO mags like that in Camden-on-Gauley. We did either hike into town or drive for some basics including raw honeycombs and other such things. Lots of holy rolling going on - speaking in tongues, etc. etc.

The road to our shack was cut into the side of the hill that went down to the river - very steep hill....and muddy road. The result is, that on the way home, it was typical for one side of the car to go over the side of the road down toward the river. The only way to get the car going was to jack up the rear, then push it off the jack back toward the road a couple times.

There was a good lunch spot in Cowen, about 10 miles away....a drive in movie was also within 15 miles or so. That was the extent of our urban affairs. I do remember chestnuts were bountiful in the area.

One of the richer back to the landers that we knew ordered one of them thar Ashley stoves with a thermostat and we thought it was the ultimate appliance.....and this was the bare sheet metal and cast oval jobbie! $90. as I remember - we never had any as nice as that one, just junkers.

Probably a staged pic!