Day 7: Ohio and West Virginia

Editor’s note: Given limited travel opportunities these days, I decided each Thursday to post travel stories I’d written prior to starting this blog. The following is from a cross-country trip I made along the length of US 50 in the spring of 2018. I hope you might vicariously enjoy this trip while we’re all hunkering down at home. Because this is a longer trip (a week and a half), I’m going to post each of the daily entries over each of the next 10 days.

I left my motel early this morning, and was struck that, once again, I was the only guest at the whole place. Check out the parking lot:

On my way back onto US 50, I came upon the Athens Bread Company. Given that Athens is a college town, and the shop is located on a nice, upscale street, I figured I’d finally be able to get that fresh, artisan bagel that I was craving for breakfast for the past few days. I entered the shop and encountered a nice young man wearing a baker’s apron. This looked like the real thing! I asked him what kinds of bagels he had. He had none. Well, ok, how about a good scone? None. Bear claw? No. Donut? No. Well, I was really hoping to get something for breakfast. What do you have? He looked at me meekly and said that he could make me a sandwich. Like a breakfast sandwich, I asked? No, just like a sandwich sandwich. I was flabbergasted. It was 8 in the morning, and all this guy is selling is sandwiches? The whole thing was playing out like Monty Python’s cheese shop sketch, where it turns out the shop has no cheese at all. I gave up and decided I’d just get a cup of coffee for the road. I asked for a dark roast. “We have blueberry crunch.” Yes, that’s the coffee flavor he offered. I left empty handed.

My last stop in Ohio was Coolville (pop: 496). I just liked the name. I obviously failed in trying to do a cool pose in this selfie.

Before long I crossed into West Virginia. For most of the day’s drive, US 50 cut through heavily wooded, hilly countryside. It was perfect weather, and an enjoyable drive.

There were, however, very few towns to explore. One exception was Clarksburg (pop: 16,578). As soon as I entered the town I knew I was now in the South. Confederate statutes abounded, and the local courthouse had a large granite depiction of the ten commandments. Note the woman smoking next to the commandments.

Another West Virginia town of note was Grafton (pop: 5,000). I pulled the Yaris over in front of a nice-looking city block, and got out to look for a place to get a decent sandwich. A pleasant, older woman in a purple outfit seemed to appear out of nowhere, and asked me if she could be of assistance. I gave her my usual line that I’m a tourist traveling the entirety of US 50, and that was just exploring her town. Her eyes lit up, and invited me into the large brick church that was in front of us.

It turns out that the building was constructed as a Methodist church in 1873. According to my guide (whose name is Mary), the church hosted the first official Mother’s Day celebration in 1908. This was arranged by a local woman named Anna Jarvis, who was looking to honor her own mother who had died a few years earlier. After that initial celebration, Anna Jarvis pushed for an official national Mother’s Day, that would be on the second Sunday of May (which marked the date of her own mother’s death). Her efforts culminated in President Woodrow Wilson proclaiming a national Mother’s Day in 1914. Mary showed me the pen that Wilson used to sign the proclamation. 

The building’s lower rooms also have many historic pictures of Grafton. The town had been founded as a major railroad junction on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and grew into a good-size city before declining in the late 20^th century as the rail industry slowed. Mary, who  grew up in Grafton, seemed genuinely saddened by the decline. Eventually we made our way back out of the building, and Mary pointed out the old railroad depot across the street. Built in 1911, it has been out of service since the 1970s, but it’s still an impressive structure. Next to it is a large hotel that was built at the same time, as an incentive to get the B&O to locate the station there. Here’s the view of the station from the street:

And here’s the view from the railroad tracks. The hotel is on the right.

After about an hour, I made my goodbye to Mary. She invited me to attend the Mother’s Day service at the Shrine/Church this coming Sunday, but I told her I would be long gone. She gave me a look like I was an unappreciative rube. I then asked for a recommendation for lunch. She gave me several suggestions (she seems to know every place in town), and I settled on getting a “hoagie sandwich” from the food truck that parks near the abandoned depot every Wednesday. It was one of the best lunches I’ve had on this trip.

I got back onto US 50, and made my way through the Appalatians. Near the border with Virginia I saw this outhouse on the side of the road:

Here’s another stretch of abandoned buildings, in Virginia, that I thought was picturesque:

I ended my US 50 drive today at the city of Winchester, VA (pop: 27,300). From there, I took a three-hour detour south to visit my friend Chris, who moved to Virginia with his wife Carol about a year and a half ago. I’m going to take tomorrow off, while Chris and I drink Scotch and explore the area. Not at the same time. I will return to US 50 on Friday, and will resume my “blog” then.