THIS WEEK IN WV HISTORY: July 26-Aug 1

Charleston, W.Va. – The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history. To read more, go to e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia at www.wvencyclopedia.org.

July 26, 1922: Country music producer and recording label executive Jim Foglesong was born in Lundale, Logan County. In Nashville, he found success working with Roy Clark, Donna Fargo, Hank Thompson, Barbara Mandrell, The Oak Ridge Boys, Don Williams and many other artists.

July 26, 1942: Camp Washington-Carver was dedicated and opened to the public. Located at Clifftop, Fayette County, it was the first statewide 4-H camp for African Americans in the country. The camp’s Great Chestnut Lodge is West Virginia’s largest log structure.

July 27, 1895: Singer, instrumentalist and educator Revella Hughes was born in Huntington. After becoming a star of the Harlem Renaissance, she returned home to care for her ailing mother and lead the music department of Cabell County’s segregated Black school system.

July 27, 1896: Clark Kessinger was born near Charleston. He was among the most prolific and influential fiddlers of the 20th century, and one of West Virginia’s most important traditional musicians.

July 27, 1909: Coach “Dyke” Raese was born in Davis, Tucker County. He directed West Virginia University to its first major sports national championship, winning the 1942 National Invitation Tournament in basketball.

July 28, 1836: Nathan Cook Brackett was born in Maine. In 1867, he founded and became the first president of Storer College in Harpers Ferry. For 25 years, it was the only Black college in West Virginia.

July 28, 1915: Frankie Yankovic was born in Davis, Tucker County. Yankovic did more to popularize polka music than any other performer.

July 29, 1873: Malcolm Malachi “Mack” Day was born. As sheriff of McDowell County, he claimed that God had called him to enforce Prohibition, even arresting an uncle and his own son.

July 29, 1900: Musician Don Redman was born in Piedmont, Mineral County, and then graduated from Storer College in Harpers Ferry. He was a multi-instrumentalist whose innovative arrangements for jazz greats laid the foundation for the big band era.

July 29, 1915: Camp Good Luck, the world’s first 4-H encampment, began at Elkwater, Randolph County.

July 29, 1918: Novelist Mary Lee Settle was born in Charleston. Her experiences in West Virginia, World War II and life abroad shaped her writing, including the National Book Award-winning Blood Tie. She is best known for the Beulah Quintet, a five-novel series tracing four centuries of West Virginia history.

July 30, 1973: The Frederick Hotel in downtown Huntington closed to transient trade. After it was built in 1905, it was touted as the most elegant hotel between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.

July 31, 1932: Actor Theodore Crawford “Ted” Cassidy was born in Pittsburgh but was raised in Philippi. He was best known for his role as Lurch on The Addams Family.

Aug. 1, 1866: The earliest recorded match game of baseball in West Virginia history was played in Wheeling, with the home team losing 45-12 to a club from Washington, Pennsylvania.

Aug. 1, 1921: Baldwin-Felts detectives shot and killed Sid Hatfield and Ed Chambers as they approached the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch. As Matewan’s police chief, Hatfield had assisted the United Mine Workers’ campaign to organize Tug Fork miners. The assassinations set in motion an armed miners’ march ending with the Battle of Blair Mountain.

Aug. 1, 1940: Justice Franklin Cleckley was born in Huntington. In 1994, he became the first Black justice to serve on the West Virginia Supreme Court. The Supreme Court once referred to Cleckley’s handbooks on evidence and criminal procedure as “the bible for West Virginia’s judges and attorneys.”

e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information contact the West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301; (304) 346-8500; or visit e-WV at www.wvencyclopedia.org.