I didn’t get to know the Hendricks family who lived in Orgas, including Tipper their cat until my third or fourth year. Howard worked at the State Capital in Charleston and Maxine was a stay at home mom.

Carolyn went to Sylvester Elementary and came to Whitesville in her 7th grade year. She was an excellent student, basketball player and softball player.

I took over the girls basketball coaching job at Whitesville shortly after she came and got to know her and her family through basketball.

Around then I was looking around for a church I could be useful in. I had attended the Whitesville Baptist and another local Presbyterian church. I then went to the Orgas Presbyterian church where the Hendricks’ went. They needed a youth director and I took the job. After church they invited me up for lunch and over time I got to know them well. I would end up preaching several sermons there.

Every Saturday they had spaghetti and had hotdogs on Sundays after church activities.

In 1977 the 9th grade team went undefeated. Carolyn was the stats leader in several season and career categories. I spent a lot of time there, it was like a second home. When I was sick I would go down there and Maxine would take care of me. Although no one ranked with my mother, Maxine was kind of a WV mother to me.

Carolyn and Forrest, the next door neighbor went with me up to my sister’s place in Dayton PA for a weekend one winter and we went shed riding while we were there.

We played a lot of Electronic Football game. Carolyn and Forrest were both in the top tier.

Carolyn was on a softball traveling team and sometimes I would take her to the games on my motorcycle. She was quite the competitor.

Carolyn was on the volleyball team I put together to play in the Marsh Fork Volleyball Tournament. The team consisted of myself, Carolyn, Larry Asbury, Johnny Green, Hank Strickland and Tully, the local WV State Trooper. We won the tournament over what everyone thought was the best team. Tish, another girl from Seth was to be on the team but got sick and couldn’t play.

I think it was in the 1980s that Carolyn and I both got into wrecks. Mine was on my motorcycle in Canton OH as I was coming down to take my last class for my Masters Degree. Her's was in her Ford EXP.

Carolyn graduated at the top of her Class in 1982 at Sherman High School. She played basketball there and after she graduated she went West Virginia State where she played basketball as well.

One time Howard had gotten tickets to the WVU Penn State Football game at the old Mountaineer Field. So me, Howard and Bob Milam went up to the game where we met my dad and a friend to watch the game.

I had built a little house in 1980-81 and Howard and Maxine came up along with my mom and dad and we had a house warming.

I stayed in contact with them up to the point I moved back to PA after my mom died in April 1990.