New Brooke County Park Honors Former Village of Power

BEECH BOTTOM - Jack Ernest recalled while serving in the Marines, the response he got whenever he told fellow servicemen he was from Power, W.Va.: "Where's that?"

Today many Brooke County residents might say the same thing though the former community, once located south of the present Beech Bottom, was home to hundreds of residents who worked at one of the largest power plants of its day.

But when the plant closed in 1973, the homes of its employees and many other structures frequented by them – including a post office, grocery store, bowling alley and doctor's office – were razed, leaving little evidence of Power's existence.

But members of a grassroots group called the People of the Village of Power and Beech Bottom officials have teamed with others to change that with the existence of a roadside park that was dedicated Saturday.

Diane Lamb, a member of the group, recalled a ballfield "where everyone played" and clubhouse where dances were held.

"We all have a picture in our minds of what it was like to live in Power, don't we," she asked former residents of the community and nearby Beech Bottom who gathered at the park.

Lamb noted the large power plant from which the community sprang.

Built on Aug. 17,1917 by he American Gas and Electrical System's Central Power Co. and West Penn and Central Power Co. to serve 1.2 million customers in the Northern Panhandle, Western Pennsylvania and as far as Canton in Eastern Ohio.

"I never thought it would come down, but it did," Lamb said.

Her sister, Susan Cunningham agreed, saying, "The village was so perfect. It was a thriving village and we never thought it would be gone."

Cunningham said about three and a half years ago, they, Ella Weaver and about 20 others in the group met with Beech Bottom Mayor Becky Uhlly to propose the park.

With monetary donations and hard work from many was created a park consisting of a sign detailing Power's history, a bench and a replica of a monument to the community's veterans that had been established by the power plant's owners.

Cunningham said the group will continue to accept donations, through the village and its Facebook page, in hopes of lighting the park.

She noted FirstEnergy's former director of internal affairs, Allen Staggers, arranged for the village to lease the property from the company, while the West Virginia Division of Highways secured the sign.

At its base are bricks believed to have come from one of the village's streets and collected by local resident Zane Smith.

Cunningham said the plaque for the original monument had been set by Robert Music and when the community was razed, he salvaged it and took it to his home, where it was found later by Uhlly's cousins, the Hubbards.

An old photo of Blanche Music and Nora Somerville at the monument was used by contractor Bill Magnone to recreate it. It also inspired Cunningham, Lamb, Weaver and Uhlly to wear black dresses and pearls, like those worn by Music and Somerville, for a group photo at the stone.

A Vietnam War veteran, Ernest said he donned his Marine Corps uniform to honor Power's veterans, including those who died while serving.

Ernest said he was born on a kitchen table, with the help of a midwife, in Power, where he "enjoyed a childhood second to none."

His childhood memories included playing on the slide, seesaw and merry-go-round at the playground and running home when the streetlights came on to avoid the wrath of his parents.

"If you were a Power kid, you had something so special, it could never be replicated," Ernest said.

Lamb recalled walking with her sister to buy candy and Twinkies at Wickham's Store.

Tom Wickham said he helped his father, also named Tom, at the store by delivering groceries.

"We sold meat, canned goods, frozen food. It was a full line grocery," he said.

Wickham added, "It was a wonderful place to grow up and everybody knew everybody. No locked windows or doors and people kept their keys in their cars. The world has changed."

Power native Bill Cunningham said his father was among many who worked at the power plant. He explained the houses and other buildings were raised because they had been powered by the plant.

A former Scoutmaster, he recalled camping with Scouts in woods near by the community.

Doug Lilly, a Beech Bottom native, remembered playing softball at Plummer Field, attending dances at a clubhouse there and patronizing the bowling alley.

He noted the latter employed young men to reset the pins after they had fallen who got to play for free.

"It's a shame there wasn't some way they couldn't save the town because it was really nice," Lilly said.

Also on hand for the dedication were state Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Wellsburg; Mary Jo Guidi, representative of U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; and D. David Stiles, who performed the national anthem and a medley of songs about West Virginia.