West Virginian?
"…but why did you want to leave [Delaware] and live in the boonies of WVA?!" texted my deaf Marylander. I replied, "I am a sixth-generation West Virginian." She responded, "Ohhhh."
Nay, I am not living in the boonies, but just a college town of Morgantown, where my dad was the first in the Gorrell Family to attend West Virginia University (1935-39.)
West Virginian??
Yeah, on my mother's side, my sixth great-grandfather, General Andrew Lewis, fought in the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774. He told his son (my 5th GGF), Thomas, about the rich agricultural land on the Ohio River bank, so Thomas moved and settled in Mason County, WV.
On my father's side, my ancestor, Robert Gorrell, was the first settler in Middlebourne (county seat of Tyler County) in 1798. In honor of this pioneer, the stream running through this small city is called Gorrell Run.
Several generations passed. In the academic year of 1939-1940, my dad was a first-year teacher at Point Pleasant High School, where my mom was a second-year senior. They first met through a mutual friend. (Oh, brother!) [I will explain more about both families in the paid newsletters later.]
Pearl Harbor Bombing!
On June 3, 1942, they married before an Army reserve officer departed for more army training in the USA and then warred in Italy.
On July 16, 1944, I became a WWII baby.
In September 1945, I, as a 14-month boy, first met my dad when he came home from Italy.
At that time, my mom broke the news by telling him about my deafness. My dad got shocked. [More explanations in the paid subscriptions later.]
After struggling to find the best deaf education for me, they moved to Dayton, Ohio, in 1947.
Seventy-five years later, I moved back to the Mountaineer State, but I am still the Rehoboth Beach man, so I will often go to my beloved beach town for the rest of my life.
“The people of West Virginia are a proud and independent people — typical of the best in American life,” John F. Kennedy said during a campaign stop in Charleston on April 20, 1960.
"Mountaineers are Always Free." (State motto.)