Prologue

Purpose

My reason for transcribing and publishing Verlie's Diary is twofold. First, I want to pass along this recorded history of a family member to my children and grandchildren. I am a firm believer that we know ourselves better when we know our roots and heritage. We can always build upon that knowledge to enhance our own presence and purpose on this earth. The second reason is to provide this account of one person’s perception of life and times in Athens WV from 1927-1962 to the archives at Concord University and the Mercer County Historical Society.

The content of this book is a transcription of journals that were written from 1927-1962 by Verlie White, daughter of Horace Greeley White and Nannie Burch White. She was the great granddaughter of Benjamin Fanning and Nancy Jane Martin. Benjamin was one of the founding fathers of Athens and the first postmaster. These journals had been in storage in my Aunt Lodema’s attic and were found after she passed away in 2015. Some volumes were in bad condition and were thrown away. The remaining journals were given to Fern, my sister, and she gave them to me for transcription. With the permission Fern, and my cousins, Mimi and Bobbie, I present them to be shared with family and friends.

All the journals were handwritten, either in pen or pencil, and lacked punctuation. I made a concerted effort to follow them as I read them. However, there are some instances where I could not determine the letters in the words so I wrote them as I saw them and put them in quotation marks. There are many names that I could not decipher but those readers who are familiar with the families may be able to determine who they are. In some instances, I had to rearrange words slightly to make sense. This is simply a personal record of her life in Athens WV over a period of time. Whether all that is recorded is true, I don’t know. I do believe that she was respectful in her accounts and did not intend any malice toward anyone or their families. It was as though she wrote them knowing that they would be discovered and read. At times she was quite cryptic, leaving interpretation to the reader.

The process of transcription has taken place over several years and has certainly provided insight into her life. Verlie was my grandfather’s sister and my great aunt. I viewed her as a respected member of the family and she was treated as such. Her opinion appeared to be important to all family members on everything from how to plant strawberries to who to vote for in an election and all things in between. She was not a warm, cuddly kind of aunt but a no-nonsense, matter-of-fact, get it done sort of aunt. She often invited my sister and me to spend the night with her when we were young. Not having an extra bed, she said that she would hang us on a nail in the corner to sleep and I truly believed her. We never spent the night with her. With the introduction of television, my sister and I were regular visitors on Friday and Saturday night while neighbors and family gathered to watch boxing or wrestling. We had assigned seats and were told that the one who was the quietest would win a prize. Those readers who know us know that Fern never won the prize! I grew up in a family where conversation between adults was the order of the day and children knew their place – which was in the background playing quietly and trying not to be noticed. We were acknowledged briefly upon arrival and departure.

Verlie cared about her community and its people. She was born in 1901, so her age at the writing of the journals can be easily tracked by subtracting one from the year of the journal. When the journals began in 1927, she and her mother and father lived on a farm at the end of Broadway Street. She and my Grandpa Greeley moved to the brick house beside of the present fire department in the mid-fifties and lived there until she passed away. She was the nurse/receptionist for Dr. Donzie Lilly and Dr. Uriah Vermillion and, as her journals show, she wore many other hats as well. She was married for a brief period of time in the 30’s to Dean Pettrey from the Pipestem area. It is my belief that he is often referred to as “D” throughout the journal – but I could be wrong. They divorced and she never remarried nor did she have any children.

It is my hope that the readers will come to see Verlie as I have – a hard-working, loving, caring, devoted and a respected member of the family and community of Athens WV.

Genealogy

Benjamin Fanning (1809-1900) and Nancy Jane Martin (1811-1900) had two daughters. Daughter Serepta Jane Fanning (1843-1928) married George Burch (1838-1919). They had children, including Nannie Burch. The names of the other children are unknown. Daughter Nannie E. Burch (1875-1948) married H. Greeley White (1874-1959). Nanny and Greeley had five children, two of whom passed away in childhood. The surviving children were Gilmer White (1890-1948), who had no children, Verlie White (1901-1966), who had no children, and Quincy Dean White (1998-1952), who married Neta Lee Alvis (1903-1955). Quincy Dean and Neta Lee White had three children:

Q.D. White (1919-1970) who married Ennis F. Keys (1921-2016). They had three daughters: Neta Fern. Carolyn Kay, Edith Ann (deceased).

Jesse Lee White (1921-1999) who married Lodema Fain (deceased 2015). They had three daughters: Mitzi Lee (deceased), Mimi Jo, Bobbie Gay.

Quinzetta White (1923-1973) who married Sampson Dillon(1902-1990). They had no children.

Acknowledgements

I want to express my gratitude to my late husband, Bob, who encouraged me to forge ahead when I was ready to give up. Many of the pages were in faded pencil and required a magnifying glass with a light to decipher and I did get discouraged. He was my proofreader and editor for the earlier journals. I appreciate his help and, although he is no longer with us, he was the driving force behind my seeing this through to completion.

I also want to thank my longtime friend, Rose Thornton Kessinger, for her encouragement and for listening to me talk on and on about the trials and tribulations associated with trying to produce this body of work over the past five years.

C. Kay Monohan

Through Verlie's Eyes

Verlie White's

Journals

From

1927 through 1962

As transcribed and edited by C. Kay White Monohan. No part of this text is to be reprinted or reproduced in any way without the written consent of the family. Contact kkmonohan@frontiernet.net