4 SPIRIT OF JEFFERSON Farmer's ADVOCATE -Thursday, December 23, 1999
Serving Jefferson County Since 1844
Edward "Pat" Docken ,
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
nd it came to pass in those
days, that there went out a
decree from Caesar Augustus, that
all the world shall be taxed.
And this taxing was first made when
Cyrenius was governor of Syria.
And all went to be taxed, every one
into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Gali-
lee, out of the city of Nazareth, into
Judaea, unto the city of David, which is
called Bethlehem;
To be taxed with Mary his espoused
wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were
there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swad-
dling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for
them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the
Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
9
EDITOR'S NOTE: The editorial being reprinted here is, in
our opinion, the most famous in U.S. newspaper history and
was authored by Francis Pharcellus Church for The New York
Sun in 1897. We have reprinted the editorial from time to time
as part of a Christmas tradition.
pleasure in answering at once
prominently the communication below, expressing
at the same time our great gratification that its
faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun.
Dear Editor,
I am 8 years old.
Some of my little friends say there is no world would be extinguished.
Santa Claus. Not believe in Santa Claus? You might as
Papa says: "If you see it in The Sun, it's,so." well not believe in fairiest You might get your
Please tell me the truth: Is there a Santa papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys
Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but
115 West 95th Street even if they did not see Santa Claus coming
down, what would that prove? Nobody sees
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no
have been affected by the skepticism of a skep- Santa Claus. The most real things in the world
tical age. They do not believe except what they are those that neither children nor men can see.
see. They think that nothing can be which is Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of
not comprehensible by their little minds. All course not, but that's no proof that they are not
minds, Virginia, whether they be men's orthere. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the
children's are little. In this great universe of wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the
ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intel- world.
lect, as compared with the boundless world You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what
about him as measured by the intelligence ca- makes the noise inside, but there is a veil cover-
pable of grasping the whole of truth and knowl- ing the unseen world which not the strongest
edge. man, not even the united strength of all the
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He ex- strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart.
ists as certainly as love and generosity and de- Only faith, fancy, poetry, love and romance can
votion exist, and you know that they abound push aside that curtain and view the beauty
and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. and glgry beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in
Alas! How dreary would be the world if there all this world there is nothing else real and
were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if abiding.
there were no Virginias. There would be no No Santa Claus! Thank God he lives and he
childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to lives forever. A thousand years from now, Vir-
make tolerable this existence. We would have ginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from
no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The now, he will continue to make glad the heart of
eternal light with which childhood fills the childhood.
By Bill Theriault fort they built and the Indian at-
P.O. Box 173 tack upon it. It says that Catherine
BakertonWV25410 Byerle, a young woman in the
Dial 876-3321 party, was shot by Indians as she
If you travel Flowing Springs brought water to the thirsty de-
Road between Shepherdstown and fenders at the fort. The authentic-
Harpers Ferry or take the MARC ity of date of death on her tomb-
train from Martinsburg to work, stone (1707) has generated a con-
you've probably seen it. A cluster of troversy that continues to this day.
aging buildings where the road She is buried in a nearby grave-
crosses the railroad tracks. This is yard. Close by is the grave of Gen-
eral William Darke, a veteran of
Duffields, a once-thriving commu-
nity that contains many valuable the French and Indian Wars.
reminders of our heritage. Darke's property lies to the east of
The Historic Windshield Survey Duffields; his house is gone but the
of Jefferson County, completed in slave quarters still stand. A West
1973, listed 14 sites at Duffields as Virginia Highway Marker provides
having potential historic signifi- the only indication of the area's
cance. There are probably at least significance to the passerby.
half a dozen more. Duffield's Depot saw lots of ac-
tivity during the Civil War. It was
Duffields came into being in the the place of enlistment for Com-
1840s, as a result of the expansion pany H of the 2nd Virginia Infan-
of the B & O Railroad from Harp- try (Stonewall Brigade). On Sep-
ers Ferry to Wheeling. The rail- tember 8, 1861, at a Confederate
road station was built some time in encampment near Duffields, pri-
the late 1840s or early 1850s. Like vate James H. Miller tried to kill
many communities that developed his commanding officer, Captain
where roads and railroads crossed, John Henderson, who had ordered
Duffields became a local commer- the arrest of Miller's friend,
cial center, a place where farmers Oldham Herald. Miller was court
could bring and ship their crops, martialed for mutiny, insubordina-
But even before the railroadtion, and attempted murder. He
came, the area was rich in local was found guilty of all charges and
history. The railroad crosses and was executed by firing squad in the
recrosses Elk Branch several times spring of 1862.
as it flows from the Shenandoah Duffields was also a favorite
,Junction area, emptying into the site for Confederate Colonel John
Potomac River near the Bakerton Singleton Mosby's raids on the B &
underpass. Before the roads and O Railroad. The famous "Green-
railroads came to the area, Shaw- back Raid" occurred not far from
nee, Catawba, and Delaware Indi- Duffields on October 13-14, 1864.
ans followed Elk Branch from the Learning that a Federal paymas-
iPotomac to its source, camping ter had felt Washington on the Bal-
near the springs that fed it. timore and Ohio tracks, Mosby had
, Engle family tradition tells of a his men pull up the rails on one
group of German immigrants who side the of dual-track main line.
' tried to settle there in 1707, of the Their first attempt to stop a train
Letters to the Editor
REMINDS BYRD
HE IS "PART
OF ONSLAUGHT"
To the Editor:
I am trying to remind Senator
Byrd that, in my opinion, he is a
big part of the onslaught of "filthy
books, filthy music and videos and
the merchants that stock them on
their shelves" that he is urging us :~
to "boycott." He deliberately
missed his chance when he chose
to not vote for ouster of President
Clinton. I remind him that
Clinton's demonstrated low moral-
ity and pornographic actions are
outstanding examples of all that
the senator railed against last
Sunday.
Senator Byrd's refusal to origi-
nate or to press for laws controlling
widespread airing of that filth he
seemingly objects to has denied me
equal protection of my civil rights
as guaranteed bypur Constitution.
His devotion to his Party Politics
rather than to American's citizens
forces me to endure all that filth;
he has wronged me by denying my
equal rights that President Teddy
Roosevelt referred to when he said:
"I ask that we meet the many prob-
lems with which we are confronted
and give to each individual the
largest possible liberty of indi-
vidual action that is consistent
with seeing that he does not wrong
other individuals."
Senator Byrd is part of the Con-
gress that created "prayers have
been driven from schools and most
school activities" and he can only
advise us citizens to boycott mer-
chants? Byrd concluded with "the
people have an obligation to speak
out, as Christ spoke out." This is
my effort to speak out. It's time for
you to resign, Senator.
Stan Hadden
Harpers Ferry
HOSPICE DONORS,
SUPPORTERS ARE
MOST APPRECIATED
Dear Editor,
Hospice of the Panhandle has
served individuals at the end of life
for almost 20 years. During this
time the community has con-
stantly supported hospice both fi-
nancially and with wonderful vol-
unteers. Over the years hospice
has grown and been faced with
many challenges.
" Contrary to rumors in the com-
munity, Hospice of the Panhandle
is a financially viable and vibrant
organization. The board of Direc-
tors has paid close attention to the
needs of the community and the
resources required to match those
needs. Community support,
through fundraisers and growth of
Hospice.
During this holiday season, we
step to recognize every donor and
supporter. We want to remind
them how important their gifts are
to the continuing of our mission
and assure them that through
their generosity, the work of Hos-
pice will continue this year and for
years to come.
Sincerely,
Jim Seibert,
President
Margaret Cogswell,
Executive Director
A NOTE OF
APPRECIATION
Those of us helping the be-
reaved in the Grief Support Net-
work want to express gratitude to
wonderful congregations of the
Charles Town Presbyterian
Church, Trinity United Methodist
Church in Martinsburg; and the
Washington Square United Meth-
odist Church in Hagerstown.
These are dynamic vibrant places,
bustling with giving work. Also, to
Phil Slauson, Betty Mooney, Gloria
Hite, and Grace Rowland, Carolyn
Smith, and Ollie Bond for giving
so much of themselves, having
learned to bless others from les-
sons taken from their own wounds.
Jim Surkamp
Volunteer Coordinator,
The Grief Support Network, Inc.
Shepherdstown
was an.embarrassin
cause the train rushed
the other track. After
the second track, they
other train carrying
eral paymasters, who
express. Mosby's men
train and robbed the
and found some $168
backs. Mosby then
train burned and fled
turning safely across
doah River.
After the war,
one of the local
activities. In 1875,
County Grange Store
rated at Duffields and i
general merchandise
area.
Duffields also had a
black community
brunt of racial hatred'
once. According to an
ferson County
ceased), sometime
War II:
"They had a Ku
at Harper's Ferry So
fellas at Duffields got
one night, and they
controlling
doing things they
business. So
together, and they had g
20 in white suits and l
the track From
never had any
ored people from
Shenandoah Junction,
calmed right down.
scared. My uncle
never cause no trouble,
ored fella, if you scare
he'll straighten out
himself. But if you
inch, they'll take a
what they were
They got together and
them."
There's a lot more
you - both good
Duffields is an
Jefferson
that has been ignored
battles waged over
Farm, Route 9
stown bypass.
As important as
are, they do not I
term cooperation and
that we need to
tourism a significant
economy. In the long
most Jefferson
will support
that can generate
folks are much less
the noble goals of the'
ists.
Duffields
tunity to
ing
terested in
interested in eco~
ment. With enough
energy, Duffields can
historic district,
businesses can
tax credit of up to
our heritage and
prosper.
As the local battle#
Preservatiox
we should remember
easier to wage war
tain peace. It's easier
suits at your
tion their motives than
mutual goals and
year after year.
The Jefferson
Landmarks
mitted to
ing a working
tween preservation
interests in the
be preserved and
so can other historicallyt
sites in the county.
If you are interested
Jefferson County's
tearing down its i
Landmarks
They are held on the
day of each
Commission Meeting
doors east of the
Court House in
Meetings begin at 7
meeting is
ESTABLISHED 1844
Published Weekly on Thursday by
The Jefferson Publishing Corn
210 North George Street Charles Town, West'
Telephone: (304) 725-2046 Second Class!
Mail Address: P.O. Box 966 Paid at Charles
Charles Town, W.Va. 25414 USPS No.
Annual Subscription Price
To Jefferson County addresses $21.00
To all other West Virginia addresses $23.00,
To all other USA addresses $24.00, no tax
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Edward "Pat" Dockeney
POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to The
Box 966, Charles Town, WV 25414.
Spirit of Jeffereon-Farmer'J J
