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The Spiker Gazette |
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Oxford, WV | Volume 10 | Issue 11 | November 2016 |
In this Issue: | Political Persuasion ??? Announcements |
Political Persuasion ???
Written by: Bobbi Spiker-Conley Do you remember meeting your sweetheart's family for the first time? A bit stressful, wasn't it? Worse than a job interview. More like facing a judge and jury. And everything you said or did could -- and would -- be held against you. So it seemed for Uncle Paul when he traveled to the Spiker farm to meet the family of his future bride, Aunt Kitty. In a family story he submitted to us for publication, he recalled,
You can read the entire tale from a book in our Library (click here,) but here's a little snippet...
Jake Spiker's reaction makes me chuckle, but it comes as no surprise. I've heard that he was a strong man with strong convictions, yet recognized when it was better to get up, shut up, and move on to another topic. Especially when it came to a discussion of politics with his daughter's beau. That respectful avoidance seems so contrary to what we've seen throughout this election year. Everyone is spouting opinions, theories, and yes, a lot of misinformation, across all mediums. There are "Vote For ..." signs in our neighbors' yards, "enlightening" social media posts from our friends, and all sorts of persuasive arguments from subscribers to our community newspapers. So...has it always been this way? I'm going to say, "Yep. Pretty much." Our ancestors didn't have Facebook but they learned almost as much about their friends and community through the Local, Personal Mention, Society or Neighborhood Gossip columns found in most rural newspapers. And just like we've seen on modern-day media, the gossip was heavily sprinkled with political promos during major election years. Case in point -- the "Local News" section of the Ritchie Gazette dated November 3, 1916. (Transcribed by John Jackson of the Ritchie County, West Virginia History & Genealogy Group on Facebook.) I don't know who authored or edited this section but I am confident it was a Republican.
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I counted seven promotions for the Republican ticket in this neighborhood gossip column printed 100 years ago. Some things never change.
Please exercise your right to vote. |
Announcements
♦ Submitted by: Drew & Katie Spiker -- "Thrilled to be home with our newest family member, Grace Marie Spiker, born November 9th at 12:32 am. She was 22", 8 lbs 14 ox and we're all three happy and healthy!" | ![]() |
♦ Submitted by: Bobbi Spiker-Conley -- Congratulations to Rob & Shelly Currey - Doddridge County 2016 Outstanding 4-H Volunteers. |
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Text from banquet pamphlet reads: "Rob and Shelly Currey are a dynamic duo. Enthusiastic, hardworking, happy, giving and fun-loving are words to describe this super volunteer team. With the tremendous growth in the livestock program, these two started a special interest livestock club to support our youth. The club grew from 12 to 53 members within a couple of years. Their club's plan of work is very hands-on with lots of tours, workshops and activities including trips to the slaughter house, WVU livestock farm, showmanship clinic and livestock markets. They are committed to helping their young members give back to the community by providing several service-learning efforts, including a petting zoo for the preschool and nursing home. Rob and Shelly have given a lot of themselves to make this livestock club a great place for kids to learn and grow." |