Saturday, February 26, 2022

 Stotesbury West Virginia Homes

When we miss home, do we miss a place? I often tell people that when I photograph homes in any coal town, I try to remember, Home, is what you know.. We know places, people and most of all the memories of all of these things linger. They are by themselves, a power. What do they remember?

Below a miner, a father, a grandfather, a nice guy.....what is he remembering?? Please feel free to comment. Clicking on an image allows you to see the full size image


In all of my efforts, I do the very best I can to respect a people and a culture. I photograph what I choose to point my camera at. Some things, I do not photograph. I choose not to. Why show what I can see anywhere?


Houses had numbers, had rooms, had meals and families. 



Some rooms allow us to see what they saw, just further in time than what we expect








Sunday, February 20, 2022

 Saint John's Baptist Church, Stotesbury West Virginia

Stotesbury West Virginia was a coal camp in Raleigh County West Virginia. It was part of the EE White Coal company and named for ET Stotesbury. By ~2002, most mining stopped here. As is the case with coal camps, once the coal goes, the town begins to wither. Coal towns, no matter how small or large exist to provide a place to live for those that mine the coal. Its a cold hard fact. Stotesbury, like so many other coal towns had segregated communities. In those communities, people went to church, school, died, were born etc etc. By ~2004, I was told of this incredible church at Stotesbury. It was named Saint Johns.SO, one day I happened to be there and at first sight, I knew this was a special and unique structure. The church itself is from the early 20th century, the late 19 teens. I have the corner stone below. Please feel free to comment as any feedback is welcomed. You can click on an image and see its original size. IF you would like a print, please contact me and we can discuss a fee.

WHY have this blurry dark image? Because this is what hooked me. Every wall resembled a face. A totally wooden multi story structure. The shapes were compelling. This building collapsed in late 2009. It was burned, so others would not try to enter and be injured. I will say now, the absolute neglect of this building was shameful. My fellow photographers and hobbyists watched it decay. The day was coming. We took all the pics we could...This is a starter series. I will have more pictures of Stotesbury coming soon!



Below, the cornerstone. Idiots have stolen this. It was also picked at over the years, so I got the image below, by the third year of visiting, imbeciles had chipped away much of it.





AMAZING, that early visit, I did make it inside. The widows and woodwork amazed me.



Then I saw the STAY OUT spray painted on the front door...A house of worship should never have this sign. I understood that this place was going to die. I saw the damages, the vandalism. People would drink here, fuck here, do drugs here and destroy the graves in the back. So I think I did the decent thing, I saved what I could.


Brilliant wood working and carpentry




And to this date, I swear, the building and window frames resembled large faces.







There is a cemetery in the back of this church. I took what pics I could. The graves were in some cases violated totally. I have no idea what compels a person to violate a grave. Honestly, there was so much beauty, I captured what I wanted and was happy to do so.







 





Tuesday, February 15, 2022

 WAR, West Virginia

So, I bet lots of folks ask, just how many places in the United States are named, War?? The answer at this time (2022) is ONE. The city of War WV was at one time called Miners City and was founded in 1920....War, was named after a local waterway named War Creek. SO...what about War? War WV is still classified as a city. Driving through War is easy, its a single main road that would take you to Cucumber if you were in a hurry. HOWEVER, be of good cheer, I loved War and tried with my limited time to capture its spirit. This is a starter series and there will be many more updates. PLEASE do feel free to leave comments. IF you want to have a print copy, please feel free to contact me and we can discuss a price and size.

YES, War is the southernmost city in West Virginia....



I have noted that some folks try to blend flowers or sky in alot of their pics of War. NOT ME. I see War as a city that one day, will stop being a city, then a town, then a place name and then people will forget it. SO, I have tried to take photos that show JUST buildings, and focus on some cool features that will one day be gone...

As an example below is the jail, which to my knowledge is gone. It was torn down in the early 2000's.....War is not a subtle place and I believe thats why I like it. There is no doubt about the pride, nor is there any doubt, it will not last forever.




Below is Miners City or rather the War Hotel. The Miners City sign is an homage to the city's roots.







The former War train station is also its City Hall. AND its claim to fame...The ten Commandments are proudly displayed on City Hall...I LOVE that







NOTE the Ten Commandments......displayed proudly on City Hall......


Can ANYONE tell me some stories of the Liberty Cafe???


NEVER forget the mural of the Big Creek Owls...Yes, of Homer Hickham fame..I will post pics of the Big Creek Highschool in War, HOWEVER, Coalwood High (Homers home town) is of course in Coalwood, you need to go and see that..










Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Mullens, though she be but little, she is fierce...

In a Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare wrote: "And though she be but little, she is fierce..." I think that's the perfect statement about Mullens. IF you drive by, nothing stands out. However, I looked at the former Bank of Mullens below. It is one of the original buildings in Mullens. You could look at the early homecoming city mural, and this bank would be there. I will be updating this page more in the future.....PLEASE do feel free to leave comments









In addition to the murals, you also get to see the older advertisement signs. Today, we call them art. BACK IN THE DAY, they were just signs...






Mullens does have a famous building resident, the Hotel Wyoming. Designed to be in the neo classical style, it also fell silent, but we are luck to see it stand.