Day 57 – Lexington, VA
A most unusual day. It started out pretty normally, except everyone got up a little late. Don and I took our normal walk, I chased a few squirrels. When we got back to the rig, Don got a bunch of things together, including me, and got into the truck. We took off and headed up Highway 81, until we hit the 64, and headed toward West Virginia. It was a long drive, but I napped most of the way. When we got to Lewisburg, WV, we stopped and walked around a little bit, but found that the Visitor Center was closed. Sunday, you know. We got back in the truck and drove through Lewisburg, which was a pretty and obviously historic town. We headed for our ultimate destination, the little village of Alderson, on the banks of the Greenbrier River. Let me tell you why we were on our way there. As Geri puts it, Don had gotten a big bug up his butt about a historical incident called The Muddy Creek Massacre. Some of his ancient ancestors had been killed there, and many had been taken into captivity by the Shawnee Indians. The captives had been surrendered some years later at Fort Pitt, which was to become Pittsburgh, PA. The massacre happened in 1763. Ever since Don found out about it, he has wanted to see where they lived and died. So that’s why we’re here. Alderson is very near where Muddy Creek joins the Greenbrier River, and Don’s ancestors usually tried to settle on a tributary to a major river, near their junction. He was hoping to find some local knowledge about the location of the settlement. We found a restaurant in Alderson with a lot of cars in the parking lot, and Don hadn’t eaten yet, so he pulled in. As he got out of the truck, an old guy standing nearby asked if he was really going to leave that vicious beast in the truck where he could bite people who tried to pet him. Turned out he was kidding, and knew all about me and my kind and loving attitude. I have such good press. Don engaged him in conversation, and found that the guy had lived there forever. So, Don asked him if he knew anything about the location of the Muddy Creek settlement that had been massacred. He said he didn’t know much about it, but his brother-in-law should, and he was in the restaurant. He spied a lady who was headed for the restaurant, and told her to bring his brother-in-law out. A few minutes later, a big, strapping guy came out and asked loudly “Who’s callin’ for me?” Don’s new friend said “This here fella is tryin’ to find out where the site of the Muddy Creek Massacre was, and I thought you might know.” The big guy said “How the hell should I know? I wasn’t near born yet!” But they both tried to be helpful, even though they were clueless. Don asked if the restaurant was a good place to eat, observing that it looked pretty popular; his new friend said it deserved the reputation of being the best place in town, seeing as how it was the only place in town. So, Don and his friend went into the place. Don told me that he was introduced to four different guys, each of whom was knowledgeable about local history; not a one of them had any idea what he was talking about. So, he took a table and ordered a Poor Boy sandwich. He told me it was the poorest excuse for a Poor Boy he had ever had.
So, we took off and explored Alderson; it didn’t take long. The business district, which consists of two blocks of 150 year old buildings, is on the south side of the river, in Monroe County. It had a nice grassy area next to the train station, where the Amtrak comes through but doesn’t stop. I got in some good rolls. The residential district is across the bridge, in Greenbrier County. Kind of strange. There was one big building, a huge Baptist Church, that had been built a long time ago and was surrounded by a large cemetery. Don wanted to walk through the graveyard, but I told him that it was getting a little late for that. So we drove up Highway 12, alongside Muddy Creek, and we took a little side road that got down close to the water. We got out and walked around a little, and Don took some pictures of the creek. He seemed a little let down, and I tried to cheer him up. We got back into the truck and went home.
Don made Geri give him a haircut, which he badly needed. For payback, he made some pasta with Rao’s sauce and Italian sausage. The plates were superb, as I like things a little spicy. It was starting to rain a little when we went in for dinner. Don’t know what it’s going to be like tomorrow, but Don has promised Geri that she gets a haircut and a manicure. Ho-hum. See ya manana.