LOCAL
-SPIRIT of JEFFERSON
and FARMER'S ADVOCATE
PAGE C3
Wednesda~ April 18, 2018
DOUG PIFER
It was early May when my wife andleaves spread like green butterfly wings
I first encountered twinleaf, a real gem everywhere, but no flowers.
of a spring wildflower, in the woods. How could my wife and I, both sea-
Big clumps of plants were all around soned naturalists, have missedthe flow-
us. Double leaves stretched out more ers of twinleaf? We felt relief to learn
than 8 inches across, like pairs of butter- that twinleaf is among the hardest flow-
fly wings. Here and there among them ers to find in full bloom. The sun must
grew a strange green seed capsule at the hit the flowers to get them to open, but
end of a ten-inch stem. I'd seen twin- the first strong breeze causes the petals
leaf in the wildflower books for years to fall off. The weather had been sunny
but, judging from the pictures, I always but very windy, so we had been lucky
imagined it to be small and unobtrusive, just to see the buds opening!
These leaves looked enormous! Last year near the end of June while
Late last March we went back to the leading a bird walk at Yankauer Nature
same woods. Among the white flowers Preserve, I saw the big leaves and ripe
of bloodroot and early clumps of Dutch- pods of twinflower again. The seed cap-
man's britches we saw clumps of twin- sules were nearly mature, and the top
leaf about to bloom. Beautiful purplish of one of them had opened like a very
buds were just starting to appear above small, hinged lid.
ground. Surrounding them were rolled Inside were several seeds with strange,
up leaves that looked like miniature rep- fleshy spikes projecting from them.
licas of the big ones we saw the previous Called eliosomes, these growths attract
spring but most of them were reddish or ants, which enter the pods and remove
purplish in color, the seeds. Ants then carry the seeds into
Many of the buds were nearly open, their underground tunnels to feed their
showing eight pure white petals very young larvae. After the immature ants
similar to the flower of the bloodroot have nibbled off the good parts, the
blooming nearby. We came back a few seeds remain until they sprout into new
'days later to the same spot, hoping to twinleaf plants.
"see twinleaf in full bloom. We saw the Twinleaf also reproduces asexually
RIGHT: For some flowers, the earliest
days of spring -when trees are devoid of
leaves and sun can reach the forest floor
- are prime time.
through underground rhizomes, which
is why the plant often occurs in exten-
sive stands or clumps in the woods.
By the time the weather gets hot, the
leaves wither and twinleaf lies dormant
until next spring.
Interestingly, our sighting of twinleaf,
Jeffersonia diphylla, was in Jefferson
County, which is named after Thomas
Jefferson. Pennsylvania botanist Ben-
jamin Smith Barton first saw twinleaf
growing in the garden of fellow bota-
nist William Bartram. Barton named the
pant to honor his friend Thomas Jeffer-
son, the future president then serving as
the secretary of state.
- Doug Pifer
writes from
his home in
Shepherdstown
Tribute FROM PAaE Cl
about abolitionist John Brown and
his 21 companions and how their
insurrection to abolish slavery in
Harpers Ferry in 1859 is sometimes
referred to as "the spark that ignited
the Civil War," too little is known
about the companions in the ill-fat-
ed army.
Five resolute black men partici-
pated in the revolt in Harpers Ferry.
Lewis Leary and Dangerfield New-
by were killed during the struggle.
Shields Green and John Anthony
Copeland Jr in addition to Brown
and four other brave revolutionists,
were tried and then hanged at the
gallows in Charles Town.
Osborne Anderson escaped and
wrote a book entitled "A Voice from
Harpers Ferry" (1861) before serv-
ing in the Civil War. The Jefferson
County Black History Society re-
searched and published two related
books: "The Capture, Trial and Ex-
ecution of Shields Green and John
Copeland" (2003; revised 2006)
and "The Life and Death of Dan-
,gerfield Newby" (2005).
The Jefferson County Black His-
i tory Society conducted a symbol-
"ic funeral and burial for Green and
Copeland, whose bodies were ex-
humed and taken to the Winchester
-(Va.) Medical College, for dissec-
' tion by students in the anatomy lab-
: oratory.
After learning the significance of
a primitive stone house located on
.East North Street erected in 1829-
71830 by a free black man named
Francis Webb, the Jefferson Coun-
ty Black History Society set its am-
bition on purchasing that property.
The stone structure was attached
via a covered hallway to a larger
two-story house in need of substan-
tial repair.
The Jefferson County Black His-
tory Society planned originally to
raze the two-story structure, but
an investigation showed that stmc-
"ture also has historical significance.
John Frederick Blessing, who pre-
viously owned the house, had be-
friended abolitionist John Brown
,while preparing him meals dur-
ing his confinement in the Jeffer-
son County Jail as he awaited trial.
Ownership of the Webb-Blessing
-' House had remained with the Bless-
ing family.
In 2003, the Jefferson County
Black History Society bought the
property from the Blessing heirs.
Philanthropist Vincent Groh of
Hagerstown, Md was a major do-
nor. Substantial restoration has
been done to the property, and since
-2009 tours have been conducted
upon request.
Friends of the Webb-Blessing
House, established in 2016, donate
funds to maintain and improve the
property. Restoration of the struc-
ture and grounds are ongoing. (For
more, see the Jefferson County
Black History Preservation Society
newsletter written by Friends of the
Webb-Blessing House at jcblackh-
istory.org.)
The Society has developed var-
ious exhibits including on black
schools and black teachers; the
Charles Town Colored Horseshow;
BRIAN M. CHRISTOPHER
Members of the MarshalI-Holley-Mason American Legion Auxiliary helped create a recent exhibit at the Jefferson
County Museum.The post, established in 1934 during segregation, is named in honor of James Henry Marshall, Lew-
is Holley and Marshall Mason, threeAfrican-American veterans of World War I from the Eastern Panhandle.
The Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society's Webb-Blessing House is one of the most historic homes
in the county. It dates to 1829 when a free black man named Francis Webb built the stone structure. It's attached to
a larger two-story house next door through a covered hallway. That home had belonged to John Blessing, who'd be-
come friends with abolitionist John Brown in the fall of 1859 during his trial and as he awaited his execution. The
home had remained in the Blessing family through most of the 20th century.
This 2003 photo shows
the founders of the
Jefferson County Black
History Preservation
Society with
philanthropist Vincent
Groh (second from
left). The Hagerstown,
Md man was a major
donor as the Jefferson
County Black History
Preservation Society
bought and began
restoring the property
and homes. Now tours
are available upon
request and the home
features a number of
black history exhibits.
Shown with Groh are
(from left) the late
James A. Tolbert, Jim
L. Taylor, George C.
Rutherford and the late
Nathaniel F. Downing Sr.
I
I
[.
The Jefferson
County
Black History
Preservation
Society began in
the fall of 2000
to rediscover
and preserve the
legacy of African-
Americans in the
county.
Jefferson County black churches
(featured at the Cultural Center in
Charleston in 2005); "John Brown
and the Provisional Army"; "Major
Martin Robison Delany, First Black
Nationalist"; Allen E. Cole, Kear-
neysville native and professional
photographer in Cleveland; a col-
lection of newspapers and newslet-
ters and military exhibits on black
veterans and items from the Span-
ish-American War, World War I and
Word War II.
The Jefferson County Black His-
tory Society procured funding from
the American Public University
System for the creation of the Jef-
ferson County African-American
Military Room at the Webb-Bless-
ing House.
The Jefferson County Black His-
tory Society also has created a num-
ber of publications including "Black
History Tour Guide of Charles
Town" brochure in 2001, the
2002 poster "Charles Town Black
Schools"; a collection of black his-
tory news articles and events in Jef-
ferson County; "The Black Book," a
directory of African-American facts
from 1800 to 2004; "A Road Trip
through History," a video in 2006;
the Webb-Blessing House brochure
in 2009; the 2009 book, "African
Americans of Jefferson County"
from Aracadia's "Images of Amer-
ica" series; and the Jefferson Coun-
ty African-American Heritage Trail
map in 2010.
Over the years, the Jefferson
County Black History Preservation
Society has presented numerous
black history lectures and presenta-
tions, including an adult education
class in black history. It's also con-
ducted countless black history tours
for local and out-of-state visitors.
The Jefferson County Black His-
tory Preservation Society acknowl-
edges the deeds and contributions
of its gracious supporters, especial-
ly APUS.
The sun has set for two of the
founders of the Jefferson County
Black History Preservation Society.
The leaders of the JCBHPS are ap-
preciated immensely for their labor
and earnest effort to make a positive
difference.
- Linda
Downing Ballard
is a Jefferson
County resident, a
native of Charles
Tow and one of
the daughters of
the late Nathanial
Downing Sr.
