WEST VIRGINIA

WEST “By God” VIRGINIA – The Mountaineer State

We arrived in Charleston, West Virginia, the state capitol in the late afternoon and were greeted by the familiar faces of PGER Ted Hess, State President Carl Mooney and his wife, Ann, Grand Lodge Judiciary Committeeman Jeff Miller and his wife, Debbie, DDGER Daniel Goheen and his wife, Paulette and Charleston Lodge #202 Exalted Ruler Walter Ice and his wife, Jennifer.  A transportation surprise awaited us as we left the airport – a beautiful Class A motor coach courtesy of Past Grand Esteemed Lecturing Knight, Dick Harris.  We all piled into the coach, sank down into plush leather chairs and thoroughly enjoyed the air-conditioned ride “down the mountain” to the hotel.  That evening, we had a very enjoyable dinner with the Past State Presidents for the West Virginia Elks State Association.

The next morning, we were treated to a tour of the Governor’s Mansion and the State Capitol Building.  The Governor’s Mansion is a beautiful 30-room Georgian structure set on the Capitol grounds.  Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, it was completed in 1925 and has been the ongoing home for the Governor and First Lady ever since.   What impressed us was the openness of the facility to all the citizens of West Virginia.  Even though the Governor lives there, most of the mansion was available to us for a tour.  You felt like you could sit down in any room, pick up a book and read or converse, just like you were in your own home. What a fabulously decorated and maintained shrine to the people of the state!

Upon exiting the Governor’s Mansion, we strolled across the lawn toward the Capitol building.  In the early days of West Virginia, the capitol moved back and forth between Wheeling and Charleston four times due to fires that destroyed their building.  Both sides adamantly deny any knowledge of what caused the fires in the other city.  The present capitol in Charleston is built of limestone and marble (no more fires) and boasts a 293-foot gold dome, five feet higher than the dome of the U.S. Capitol.  The interior is truly magnificent, with the Rotunda being the centerpiece of the building.  The central chandelier is made of 10,080 pieces of Czechoslovakian crystal and weighs 4,000 pounds.  The Senate and House chambers showcase hand-carved black walnut desks for each member and more Check crystal .  West Virginians are justifiably proud of their Capitol Building, open almost every day of the year, and we were told that it is frequently used for weddings, prom and graduation pictures.  It is truly the people’s building and they make every effort to demonstrate that to the citizens.

After leaving the Capitol, the group took a moment to stop and see a quilt exhibit in the foyer of the Culture Center for Venita’s benefit.  The quilts were varied and inspiring and included all manner of quilting.

Friday afternoon, Tom attended the opening business session for the association while Venita joined the ladies for refreshments and the “Thieves Christmas” gift exchange.  Tom met with his DDs and Ted.  That evening, we had a chance to attend the PER dinner at the Charleston Elks Lodge #202.  The members of the Lodge had put a great deal of thought and effort into the decorations and the event and an excellent dinner was had by all.  We felt like we had been out to a fancy supper club for the evening.  Great job, Charleston Elks!

The highlight of the weekend, for us,  came Saturday afternoon when the West Virginia Elks hosted all of their youth scholarship winners to a luncheon and an awards ceremony.  Tom and I had the privilege of sitting with two of the award winners at our table, Timothy Beavers (TJ) and Kristen Chaffins.  We had a great time talking with them and learning about their plans and dreams for the future.  TJ had already completed and published a work on antibiotic sensitive of bacteria in local water supplies (as a high school student) and was off to earn an “honest living” by majoring in political science followed by law school.    Kristen was off to study mechanical engineering and we were impressed by her speech and her focus.  We are in good hands when we turn over this country to these future leaders.  After the lunch, each award winner came up to the dais to receive their scholarship award and then gave a short presentation about their college plans. 

Saturday evening was the closing banquet for the weekend.  We were presented with some lovely remembrances of our time in West Virginia including a West Virginia Elks shirt, a “do rag”, several books about the state, a blown-glass water pitcher and an engraved, framed photo of Tom with Ted Hess.  Tom also received a remembrance of Marshall University “green” in the form of a bottle of bright green Prell hair shampoo.  He commented that with his hair style the shampoo may be the gift that lasts forever.  We are so grateful to all of the West Virginia Elks for everything you all did for us this weekend and we truly appreciate your gracious and overwhelming hospitality.  We look forward to spending some more time in your state in the future – maybe on the motorcycles with the “do-rag” this time!