Volume 30, Number 1

On the cover: Mack Samples steps into the spotlight at the 1997 Vandalia Gathering. Our story about Mack Samples begins on page 10. Our annual Vandalia coverage begins on page 62. Photograph by Michael Keller.

Published by the
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
Bob Wise, Governor

Department of Arts, Culture and History
Nancy Herholdt, Commissioner

John Lilly, Editor

Cornelia Crews Alexander
Circulation Manager

A.C. Designs
Publication Design

Spring 2004

2 From the Editor
3 Letters from Readers
6 Current Programs*Events*Publications
9 GOLDENSEAL Good-Byes
10 “A Neat Way to Live”:

Vandalia Award Winner Mack Samples
By John Lilly

18 “Satisfaction in My Heart”:

Lester and Linda McCumbers of Calhoun County
By Kim Johnson

26 An Easter Tragedy:

The Weirton Bus Crash of 1951
By Mary Zwierzchowski

30 “Thankful to Be Alive”:

Survivor Chris Valenti Barker
Interview by Mary Zwierzchowski

34 The Coal and the Call:

The Life of Homer Dale Hacker
By Stacy G. Hacker

38 “I’ve Enjoyed It All”:

Bonnie Cadle Hartley Recalls 103 Years
Interview by Olive Smith Stone

42 My Mother’s Apron

By Alice Brown Juergens

44 Mother and the Drunken Chickens

By Lud Freeman

46 Thursday Night at the Wetzel Republican

By Borgon Tanner

52 Hearth & Fair:

Don Page and the Roots of GOLDENSEAL
Interview by John Lilly

60 West Virginia Back Roads

Johnson’s Corner:
Wisdom, Inspiration, and Bargains at a Wide Spot in the Road
By Carl E. Feather

62 2003 Liars Contest

First place
Second place
Third place

66 Vandalia is for Kids!

Photoessay by Michael Keller

70 Back Issues Available