Our West Virginia Trip Sunday, June 28 We drove to Allentown, PA stayed at Comfort Suites, across the street from Dorney Amusement and Water Park. The free hot breakfast was amazing! Monday June 29 We made the 7 hour trip to Saint Barbara s, Chapmanville, without any problems except for the fact that Sophia on the GPS lost track of us several times through the mountains. We finally arrived at our destination around 6:00 pm and were greeted by Cathy Marino and Kathy Mounts. They had thoughtfully prepared dinner for us: stew, homemade cranberry bread and iced tea. Tuesday, June 30 Cathy and Kathy treated us to lunch at Surrey House, Chapmanville. Afterwards, Cathy took Sr. MP to see Cordia Swafford while Sisters Eugenia and Margaret rested. Fr. Yesu Golla, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Edmund s, invited us to dinner at the Logan rectory. He served rice and two different curry dishes along with yogurt sauce for those who found the curry too spicy. Other guests at the dinner included Cluny Associates Cathy Marino, Martha Cody (grandmother) and Connie Bazzilla. Connie made a tasty, much appreciated spaghetti dish to share with us. Dinner was followed by a tour of the town, we met some Michigan youth who were in town for a work camp. Emma (one of those students) took the group photo for us. Front l-r: Connie Bazzilla and Martha Cody Back l-r: Sister Eugenia, Father Yesu, Sister Margaret, Cathy Marino, Sister MP
Wednesday, July 1 At 9:30 am we began our journey to Tamarack. We hoped to stop at St. Joseph the Worker parish in Whitesville on the way wanting to get some photos for Sr. Anne Marie. Unfortunately, we couldn t find our way so ended up going back to the main Beckley route. After some shopping, we met up with Molly Daniel and Sharon Price, two Cluny affiliates, great friends of the sisters. They treated us to lunch and lots of Whitesville news. l-r: Molly Daniel, Sister MP, Sharon Price, Sister Margaret Plans were made to try route 3 again in hopes of finding the Whitesville church. This time we succeeded thanks to Sharon s detailed directions. We barely made it back to St. Barbara s for the 6:00 Mass which Father Yesu offered for the Cluny Sisters.
At 7:30 pm Kathy arrived to lead us to Chief Logan Park. Although there was some torrential rain at the time, we persevered in following Kathy. Once we found a suitable parking place at the park, ten Associates joined us for an outdoor performance of Mamie at the Liz Spurlock Amphitheatre. This play presented the story of Mamie Thurmond, an infamous Loganite who was murdered in 1932. Rumor has it that Mamie s ghost still roams the hills and causes unusual things to happen at old mine 22 road where her body was dumped. Although Sister Margaret had some trouble following the actors West Virginia accents, she did follow the story, and like everyone else in the audience, she had her own theory regarding Mamie s demise. Just before the final scene, the heaven s once again opened and everyone got drenched. Our beds were a very welcome sight when we finally reached them at midnight. Thursday, July 2 This morning we had a date with Father Yesu who had kindly offered to give us a tour of the Man area and St. Edmund church in particular. After the tour, he brought us to the home of Martha Cody in Logan. In a spirit of true West Virginia hospitality, Martha prepared a delicious lunch for us, as well as some treats for our journey. Before leaving Logan, Father Yesu also gave Sister Margaret some more curry!
After a restful afternoon at St. Barbara s, Connie and Kathy arrived to take us to supper and an Associates meeting at Saint Mary s in Madison. It was great being with these old and new friends. As part of the introductions, Sisters Eugenia and Margaret shared details of their ministries. Then Sister MP presented the icon of Blessed Anne Marie along with some information about a possible pinning celebration and commitment service with Sisters Luke and Marie in November. Each Associate was invited to take an icon poster home. Only three Associates were not able to be there: Catherine Ball and Kaye Ellis from the Madison area, and Joyce Hylton from Logan. The group very kindly gave Sister Margaret a donation for our sisters in West Africa. Front l-r: Sr. Margaret, Diane Swain, Sr. Eugenia, Connie Bazzilla, Martha Cody, Kathy Mounts Back l-r: Debbie Mullins, Frances Campoy, Patsy Ojeda, Francine Ferrell, Mary Casey, Doris Zappia, Patty Jo Brammer, Cathy Marino, Mary Ann Lasley
Friday, July 3 We were on the road for home by 9:00 am. The journey to Harrisburg, PA took about 6 hours with breaks. After settling in to our room, Sisters Margaret and MP walked to a near-by shopping center to look around. While in St. Barbara s we had neither TV nor internet access, so part of our Friday evening routine consisted of watching TV to catch up with what s going on in the rest of the world. There really wasn t anything new taking place just the usual politics and crime. Thus, we hit the beds early so as to be ready for an early departure the next day. Saturday, July 4 As we left Harrisburg, the heavens opened so we had to drive through two hours of heavy rain. Happy 239th birthday, America! Driving through New York and crossing the George Washington Bridge was a new experience for two of us Sister Eugenia was the seasoned driver here! We noticed many streets were already closed off in preparation for huge Fourth of July crowds. If we hadn t been under a time pressure, it might have been fun to join the celebrations there. We pulled into the Restmere driveway at 3:30 pm, tired but very grateful for the experience. We had a wonderful time with our West Virginia Associates, and hope others will someday be able to visit too! A good time was had by all!