In Defense of My Home

Home means different things to different people, but to most of us it means safety, security, the comfort of being yourself. When your home is threatened, you are threatened. Every part of your being becomes alert, stressed and ready for fight or flight. Flight is impossible for I cannot leave the home I love. Some will say I have only lived there for eight years, but I can tell you that it was my home when my great uncle had to sell the property in 1896, it was my home when my Dad was born nearby in the little white house next to the pond in Sugarloaf’s stronghold, it was my home during the Depression when as a young teenager my Dad watched his father suffer a terrible stroke and then lose the family farm in Comus, it was my home through my childhood in Barnesville and Dickerson and finally eight years ago I found my way home.

My first view of our property was on a sunny winter afternoon in 1999 with the green fingers of crowfoot peeking from the light blanket of snow covering the floor of the forest. I was amazed at the variety of trees, shrubs, and mosses everywhere. I was struck by the tremendous beauty of the area. Then continuing to walk down a path trodden by all manner of wildlife we came to the cliff that towers above the clear waters of Urbana Branch rushing to join the fun in Bennett Creek.

I have so many wonderful memories; of watching the Fox Hunt cross our land, galloping joyfully through the woods, not at all concerned about the fox, but loving the ride. I have seen a mother wild turkey bring her poulets out into the world of the forest, all excited and busily searching the underbrush for surprises. I have watched with amazement as my puppy, Keri, discovered a fawn camouflagued in the briars, waiting for her mom to return. And my heart always races with Tux, my Belgian Shepard as he leaps and glories in the chase, trying to herd the white-tailed deer.

So why, you may ask, would I even consider leaving this home I love? My husband knows. He knows the tears I shed as I heard the trees scream as they were bulldozed down for our well path, he knows how I tasked contractor after contractor to leave more trees than they wanted to, he saw me run screaming as the road builder pushed a tree down with the roots raking my crowfoot. He says I could not live seeing and hearing the destruction of my beautiful forest, the forest we searched for almost twenty years, the forest we couldn’t afford, but I had to have, the forest where we sold off the field with road frontage to afford the back farm lot with its wonderful trees, and stream, and wildlife.

Our property is long and narrow. Half of it with the stream and the cliff we think is safe. But what of the twenty acres of flat land? What of our walking paths, through the oak forest, down the hill through the birch trees, back on the ridge where the remnants of mountain laurel grow? What of the almost forty different varieties of Maryland trees? What of the animals and birds that call the forest home? Those are the areas marked for the stanchions. Where are we all to flee to when the forest is no more?

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The foundation of a brand new home sits abandoned
Planned power lines drape it with despair
It sits desolate and forlorn
Left as a symbol of greed...

A Letter From Sandra, Ever hopeful in West Virginia

My husband, Harry, and I own property in Upshur County, West Virginia.  One of the proposed sites would cross our land and our three children’s land that has been in our family for 140 years.  It will also cross our family cemetery that has been the final resting place for our loved ones for those 140 years.  We have approached the Upshur County Commissioners to try and get them to take a stand against the Path, but so far unsuccessfully.  We are trying to join fellow West Virginians to oppose the lines. I will never give up.  I am a very determined person when it comes to something I love, like these West Virginia hills.  

We lived in Maryland for over ten years and I have two daughters currently residing in Westminster, MD.  When we first moved to Maryland the county we lived in was rural with beautiful family farms and orchards. Now I can hardly recognize it with all the growth of urban sprawl.  I cannot understand counties, and states for that matter, not trying to keep more land safe from greedy developers and people trying to make millions off the land.

I am a big fan of the Tour de France and every year when I watch the cyclists start the journey into the French and Spanish countryside, especially the Alps, I am so jealous of the people who live in the small villages and hamlets.  I see the beautiful countryside and the 14th century castles and I wonder why this country does not have the same desire to protect our beautiful country. I consider it our duty to keep it clean and green for future generations.  

 My children and husband call me a tree hugger.  I would not let them cut very many trees when we built our home twenty-five years ago.  My ancestors probably had a difficult time making a living out of this land, but make a home they did.  When I walk on our property I have a great appreciation for their hard work.  When I was a child, the deer were not abundant in our area but now we have a wonderful herd of about twenty or so.  We have a family of black bear that have roamed our area for about two years now. The coyote pass through every year starting in the fall.  We have turkey galore, red headed woodpeckers that keep me company during the day, and a great horned owl that awakens me around 3:00 a.m. most mornings.  These are just a few of the animals and birds that I have grown to love.  

My husband is an engineer and since our marriage we have moved several times, but we always had our home to come back to and now that we are partially retired, we planned to spend the rest of our days enjoying the beauty that God has so blessed us with and we want to be good stewards of the land he has given us.  Someday the final resting place of our worldly bodies will be the cemetery where our ancestors have lain for over 140 years. That’s what we thought.  Now everything has changed and we have to worry about having a home at all.  

We have one grandson graduating from Marquette University in May of 2009, one grandson attending University of Maryland and one granddaughter in her first year at Marshall University in WV.  We also have four grandchildren still in elementary school.  I consider them my legacy and know we will not have the land to leave them if the power company and the greed of so many in WV power have their way’

I feel that not only are we going to lose our natural treasures, but we are going to lose all of our people that have hopes and dreams and that contribute to all that is beautiful in our world.  My neighbor and I have even gone so far as to promise each other that if and when they come to decimate our land we will chain ourselves to the beautiful, hundred year old oak tree that joins our property. As for me, you can share any part of my story that you would like.

A Tribute to Sandra

A cemetery has lain peaceful and quiet in the West Virginia hills,
Watching over its special family
For one hundred and forty years,
Watching,
As Sandra’s family grew, and worked,
And loved the land.
But now, power lines threaten - to destroy,
To mar the beauty,
To send the family away,
Away from their roots,
Away from their homes,
Away from that peaceful, quiet cemetery…

Numbers! Numbers! Think about numbers!
Trees come down; towers go up,

Power flows in,
86 percent …
Now heading north?
Is that what they meant?

So what’s for Maryland?
I hate to sound mean
For all our destruction
Only fourteen!

86% flowing north to the shore
We’re left with an environment beautiful no more

Numbers! Numbers! Let’s look at those numbers!
Trees come down; towers go up,

Guaranteed profit in Allegheny’s pocket
They’re gonna make 14 and 3 tenths percent
Yeah! Yeah!
That’s what they meant!

How about us, the citizen asks?
Allegheny might as well be wearing masks!
We’ll all be treated equal now they say
Equal to the northern folks in the rates we’ll pay!

Numbers! Numbers! This is all about numbers!

Power lines on Sugarloaf

I am very much in favor of burying the power lines that need to go through the Sugarloaf Mountain area. I am not sure it is possible to explain to the the power company how much this area means to those who make their home here or to those, like me, don’t own property near Sugarloaf Mt. but wish they did. I have a 200 acre farm in the Pocono Mountains that is very nice but if I could I’d trade it in a minute for a 50 acre farm near Sugarloaf. The area is full of history and so many acres of land for us to enjoy our outdoor pursuits. While I enjoy riding my horse through the area with my friends others hike, bike, picnic or hunt. All are lovely pursuits. The power lines do not add to our enjoyment although we recognize that we all consume power. If there is any possible way to buy the power lines I would pay more for power to make it happen.

Lets do everything we can (even pay more for power) if it means we can preserve the land and leave it for our children’s children to enjoy.

Respectfully, Lynn Martin