Calhoun Chronicle Editor Duskey Weighs in on His Hope for Calhoun

After last week’s column and me being a cockeyed optimist – I said the time was right to go ahead with the AMC (America Medicine Company) announcement it was planning to build in Calhoun County – I was prepared to write an exhilarating column about the wonderful news. I even mentioned Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and how June 6, 1944, time was not perfect for D-Day because of weather conditions and the like but it was the perfect time.

It turned out that I was neither the one making the AMC decision nor was I Dwight Eisenhower. It did not happen, but I still believe it will happen as the folks of Calhoun County put on a tremendous show and presented a great list of reasons why it should happen.
Crystal Mersh Chairman of the Board of AMC issued from good news about the presentation.

“The AMC team was extremely impressed with the progress of the past year. They summarized their observations in that last year they could see the renewed hope and enthusiasm but this year they could clearly see tangible and impactful progress toward the common goal of economic development.
“It was also clear that the grass roots movement where people take control of and refuse to accept that they are victims of their circumstances has been continues to be highly motivational and effective in achieving the goal.

“They now have no concerns about the ability to secure work force here. There remains some concerns about attracting the most senior leadership roles … but we will charm them with pickles and pies and personality. What’s not to love about Houners?”

Not a thing Crystal not a darn thing.

As a matter of fact I am warming up to the term Houners and referring to people from Calhoun as Calhounians – which I am sure is the grammatically correct term – for years.

But we are like a Timex watch it that we can take a licking and keep on ticking.

For those too young to know what I am talking about newscaster John Cameron Swayze did a commercial back in the 1960s for Timex watches where they subjected the watch to all sorts of terrible things only to say in the end of the commercial that Timex “takes a licking and keeps on ticking.”
And folks, we are the “Timex” of history because we have had our share of lickings only to keep on going.

And people are beginning to notice.

But we are more than that, we are a people who care about other people.

I have had that brought home to me watching the actions of a person I interact with almost every day.

I don’t know if its spelled Chaz or Chas but her caring for all among us shows me what we all should be doing. I have watched her take care of the elderly, the young, strangers and old friends and she treats each and every one with respect and courtesy.

Her name is Chastity Shock, and she works as a waitress at Mom’s Place Too in Grantsville and starting July 1, 2025, she will be one of the newest members of the Grantsville Town Council.

Recently the good folks at Charleston got a taste of how everyone else is treated at Mom’s Place Too.

Anne Becket of The Summit Studio of the WV State Historic Preservation Office while on a visit with Crystal Mersh of the 1982 Foundation bragged on Mom’s Place Too both the food and hospitality of owner Lisa D’Ann Cooper and her staff. Beckett also loved getting a milk shake at J&B at the old soda fountain. She actually encouraged the entire Board of Directors to visit and do the same.

Grantsville may not be many things but if given a chance it can be a gracious town as Becket discovered.

And while as residents of Grantsville and Calhoun may have our squabbles – hellacious squabbles sometimes – we are gracious to those visiting us.

After Becket left there were still other visitors to Mom’s Place Too this Friday. There was a couple from Beckley visiting Calhoun County enroute to visiting all 55 counties in West Virginia. Calhoun was the 49th he had visited. Turns out we knew several of the same people. He even remembered the long gone Raleigh Register newspaper that I was sports editor of a lifetime ago.

The other couple was from Port Lucie, Fla., but she had relatives in Calhoun County and was in the process of building a container house a few miles out of town on Route 7.

Also there was longtime Calhoun native Dana Godfrey and Robin Mersh of 1982 Foundation fame.

Chaz treated everyone like friends and family. But it was no surprise to me since I have seen her go well above and beyond being nice to customers. I know she helps old folks like me who sometimes have a bit of trouble walking but she does the same for those with even more trouble walking and those who cannot walk.

I have seen her “talk” to those that cannot talk. I have seen her go to Walgreens to buy ice cream for a little girl who wanted ice cream when the restaurant had run out of ice cream.
So many different things, so many different times.

She has shown me – and anyone else smart enough to watch – just what a person should be by doing what a person should do. I have high hopes for Grantsville now that extraordinary people like her are in a position to affect our future.

She seems to be a great addition to our town’s government as does new Mayor John Villines, recorder Shannon Waldron and council members Jess Metz, Tanya Cunningham, Rissa Staples and Emilee Morgan.

I look forward to better days.

I have already made one suggestion I hope the town acts on.
I was sitting outside Mom’s Place Too one afternoon looking at the flowers hanging on holders up and down the street.

“You need a water wagon,” I said to Chaz.

“No, seriously you need a way to make sure all the flowers get watered a couple of times a week and a water wagon is a way to do it.”

By “water wagon” I mean you could get a big water tank with a sprayer system that could be attached to back of side-by-side (I think the town has one or two) and once or twice a week they could drive by and water the flowers without them (the flowers) needing physically raised and lowered as needs done currently. And in the winter you could put a blade on it and help keep streets and sidewalks plowed.
Or a pickup truck could serve as a “water wagon” instead.
And it doesn’t stop there as I plan to also suggest the town have a “house of the month” type thing where it would award something like a $100 shopping coupon (put the bite on some of the remaining town stores to offer a coupon two or three times a year) for the winner.

Then there is a need for a gazebo somewhere in town (maybe the old Rainbow Hotel lot of at City Park) where they could hold ice cream socials and small concerts.

Then I still think we need to plant Ginkgo trees at the old Rainbow Hotel location and put some benches and name it the Larry D. Harris Memorial Park while naming the city park Mayor’s Park and put up a list of all the mayors the town has had. Yes, it would take a little work but with enough people researching it could be done.

I see great things ahead for Calhoun County and the Town of Grantsville. The door is open, and we just need to walk through it.

Until next time stay safe but don’t live life in a bubble.

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