(Remembering life as a boy in Lewisburg, WV, an amazing town and an amazing time to live)   Recently, I saw a list ranking the Top Ten restaurants in Lewisburg. In 1955, there weren’t ten restaurants in all of Greenbrier County, and there was just one in Lewisburg – the Court Restaurant. Supply and demand restricted the number of eateries in those days. And there was very little demand. … [Read more...]

(Remembering life as a boy in Lewisburg, WV, an amazing town and an amazing time to live)   There was just one movie theater in Lewisburg when I moved from Beckley – the Court Theater. It was located, naturally, on Court Street, about a half block from Washington Street, the main thoroughfare through town. The Court Theater served as a major hub of social activity for young and old … [Read more...]

(This is the eighth in a series of articles about growing up in Lewisburg, West Virginia, perhaps the greatest town and in the best time to grow up that a young man could ever ask for.)   The first Easter Sunday after I moved from Beckley to Lewisburg, it snowed. Our family entered Old Stone Church in our summer best, having to knock off the snow from our shoes. I wore a blue seersucker … [Read more...]

(This is the seventh in a series of growing up in Lewisburg, West Virginia in the 1950’s, perhaps the greatest town and in the best time to grow up that a young man could ever ask for.)   Lewisburg was a Mecca for young bikers. Other than Washington Street, a fairly steep incline, most streets were level or close to it. We went everywhere on our bikes - in traffic and along the back … [Read more...]

The smaller the town, the friendlier the people. I know from experience. I grew up in the small town of Lewisburg. I had moved from a larger town, Beckley, WV, at age 11, where I left Freddie Arnold, my super-close friend, behind. In Lewisburg, I would make many super-close friends. Immediately, everyone welcomed me with open arms. The very first weekend after I began classes in Lewisburg, … [Read more...]

(This is the fourth in a series of growing up in Lewisburg, West Virginia, perhaps the greatest town and in the best time to grow up that a young man could ever ask for.)   Downtown Lewisburg was a living portrait out of a Norman Rockwell collection of nostalgia. There was main street and that was about it. Small stores in brick buildings lined Washington Street, the main thoroughfare … [Read more...]

(This is the third in a series of growing up in Lewisburg, West Virginia, perhaps the greatest town and in the best time to grow up that a young man could ever ask for.)   Describing Beckley, WV as hilly would be like saying that Warren Buffet has a little money. Beckley was not “hilly”. It was a town perched among mountains. Streets went vertically, not horizontally. There was one road … [Read more...]

(This is the second in a series of growing up in Lewisburg, West Virginia, perhaps the greatest town and in the best time to grow up that a young man could ever ask for.)   I had been uprooted at the tender age of 11 from my hometown of Beckley, WV to a place called Lewisburg, historic Lewisburg, they said. I couldn’t have cared less about the history part, all I knew is that my best … [Read more...]

(This will begin a series of articles about growing up in Lewisburg, West Virginia, perhaps the greatest town and in the best time to grow up that a young man could ever ask for.)   I heard the dreaded news in February1955. My father was an FBI agent and had been transferred from Beckley, WV to Lewisburg, a small West Virginia town of about 2,000. Why in the world would Mr. Hoover … [Read more...]