This Week in W.Va. History
Special to the News Tribune
CHARLESTON – The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history. To read more, go to e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
May 9, 1800: Abolitionist John Brown was born in Torrington, Connecticut. His 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry galvanized the nation, further alienating the North and South.
May 9, 1843: Confederate spy ‘‘Belle’’ Boyd was born in Martinsburg. On July 4, 1861, Belle shot a Yankee soldier and started her spy career.
May 9, 1863: Confederate raiders arrived at Burning Springs, Wirt County. There they set fire to 150,000 barrels of oil, oil tanks, engines for pumping, engine houses, wagons, and oil-laden boats.
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Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church located in Grafton. The site of the first observance of Mother s Day
PHOTO BY DAVID KIRK
Inside, the church has towering ceilings and a huge, working pipe organ in the back. The two stained-glass windows on the left are currently out for restoration.
PHOTO BY DAVID KIRK
Portraits of Anna Jarvis and her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, the two women who pioneered the idea of Mother s Day.
PHOTO BY DAVID KIRK
Larry Richman plays the church pipe organ to an empty sanctuary on Motherâs Day May 9.
PHOTO BY DAVID KIRK
A stained-glass window honoring Anna Jarvis and all she did to promote and protect Motherâs Day.
In the following decades, numerous Motherâs Day efforts sprang up.
One was in 1904, by the administrator of the University of Notre Dame, Frank Hering, After observing students sending penny postcards to their mothers, he proposed âsetting aside one day in the year as a nationwide memorial to the memories of mothers and motherhood,â writing:
âThroughout history the great men of the world have given their credit for their achievements to their mothers. The Holy Church recognizes this, as does Notre Dame.â
The person who successfully made Motherâs Day into a national event was Anna Jarvis, of Grafton, West Virginia, the granddaughter of a Baptist minister.
I remember it like it happened yesterday. Mom and I were traveling from New York to Athens, Greece, connecting in Frankfort, Germany.
Severe weather in New York delayed our departure and scrambled international air travel. In Frankfort, we had to rebook our flight to Athens. Mom took our carry-ons and looked for a seat, disappearing into the sea of stranded travelers. And I snaked my way in a very long line to the ticket counter.
Booking the flight, the ticket agent asked for passports. I had mine and said Iâd be right back with my motherâs. When the agent informed me that I would have to start again at the end of the line, I responded: âNo I donât.â And turning from the counter, hands cupped around my mouth, I shouted: âMOM!â In a flash my mom appeared out of the crowd, her hand outstretched, waving: âIâm here!â
By City News Service
May 9, 2021
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The coronavirus pandemic has again prompted cancellation of Mother s Day events in Los Angeles County or their switch to a virtual basis.
Vallarta Supermarkets will recognize Mother s Day by streaming a virtual serenade by the Grammy-winning group Mariachi Divas on their Facebook and Instagram pages, www.facebook.com/vallarta.supermarkets and www.instagram.com/vallarta.supermarkets/.
A Mother s Day Remembrance Day Service will be presented beginning at 9 a.m. on Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary s website, www.hillsidememorial.org/mothers-day
A compilation of the best mariachi performances at The Ford, ``Dia de las Madres, will be streamed at Facebook and YouTube beginning at 3:30 p.m. RSVPs can be made at www.facebook.com/events/462901411490684.