The Library
How much do you know about your family, its origins, and its progression from one generation to the next? It’s one thing to know when and where your relatives were born, who they married and when they died. It’s quite another, and more wonderful thing, to actually relive that history through personal family stories*. These heirlooms are gifts to each generation that preserves them by remembering them and passing them on.
Here are a few of those stories as told by loved ones that remember them best.
The Spiker Family Card Catalog
| Author | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Adelene Spiker | About Lynn | Adelene tells us about some of her husband's favorite memories. |
| Alice Lucinda Williams-Spiker | Tygarts Valley | Written by Alice Spiker when she was a freshman in high school. |
| Alice Lucinda Williams-Spiker | Merry Christmas 1944 | Copy of a letter Alice wrote to her husband Brad around December 1944 when he was serving in the military. |
| Angie Spiker Benson | The Billfold Gift | Amusing tale of the treasure Angie's two sons found in a Family Reunion Give-Away prize. |
| Bobbi Spiker Conley | A Teacher Affects Eternity | Bobbi tells about the educational life lessons she received from her father & his siblings (Brad, Lynn, Jean, Boots & Ann.J) |
| Bobbi Spiker Conley | The Spikers' & the DeBrulers' Connection (Excerpt from Spiker Gazette) | An excerpt from the February 2009 edition of the Spiker Gazette discussing the connection between these two families. |
| Bradford Spiker | The Good-Will Community, A History of Holbrook, W.Va., 1814-1945 | A local history as told by Bradford Spiker. |
| Brada Spiker Stotts | The Spiker Farm | Brada reminisces about the aroma of angel food cake, feeding baby lambs & a secret hidden in plain sight. |
| Briana Spiker | Home is Never Good-Bye | A fascinating description of daily life at the Spiker farm as remembered by Briana Spiker. |
| Cathy Spiker Gregis | Frog Giggin' with the Family | Cathy goes frog gigging with brother Jeff and cousins Tom, Briana and Mark. |
| Cathy Spiker Gregis | The Seance | Cathy says Jeff and Tom ran terrified from the room. |
| Cathy Spiker Gregis | Aunt Jean and the English Bulldog | Cathy refuses to go into the bathroom first, so Aunt Jean leads the way. |
| Cathy Spiker Gregis | Biggest Snake I Ever Saw | Cathy runs away, leaving her younger siblings to deal with the snake on their own. |
| Gary W. Zinn | The Twenty -- A Reminiscence | Author's note: This is a story about my father, O.Earl Zinn (first cousin of GayLink Zinn Spiker,) an old shotgun, and me. I hope that my Spiker cousins enjoy it. |
| Gary W. Zinn | Bob & Dean and Nelson & Lucille Go Fishing | Nelzon Zinn's baby brother, Gary, shares a fishing tale. |
| Gary W. Zinn | Remembering Marjory | Inspired by Melinda & Paula's writings (below) about Marjory Spiker, Gary Zinn shared some of his own memories of our sweet cousin. |
| Gary W. Zinn | Squirrel Hunting | An avid squirrel hunter since the age of seven, Gary tells four quick tales of his hunting adventures in the Holbrook - Summers area. |
| Gary W. Zinn | The Dog that Wouldn't Stay Away | Overy Earl Zinn advises his son in a plan to send the dog back to its home at neighbor Marion Gray's house. |
| Geneva Spiker Haught | Big White Grubs | A letter written by Aunt Jean to her then fiance, Ed Haught, in 1942 while he was stationed in Camp Forest, Tennessee during World War II. |
| Gracie Gurdle Spiker | Important Family Dates | A letter written by Gracie reporting the names & birth dates of her parents, grandparents & siblings. |
| Jean Jenkins Spiker | Beautiful Dreamer | Jeannie meets Aunt Jean Sjpiker Haught. |
| Jean Jenkins Spiker | Family | Jeannie marries into Jeff Spiker's family. |
| Jeana Spiker | That's Jeana, Mark's Baby Girl | Jeana fondly remembers her grandmother Alice Spiker. |
| Jeff Spiker | The Story of the Axe | Jeff reveals what created the scar on his father Bob's forehead. |
| Katie Spiker-Shaffer | My Farm Memories | Claw-foot tubs, four-wheelers, swings, and getting married are some of Katie's fondest memories at the Spiker farm. |
| Kenneth Zinn | Only in West Virginia | Ken recalls the memory of an "unusual image at the Spiker Farm." |
| Keri Ann Gregis Hurst | My Wonderful Grandparents | Keri thanks God for Bob and Dean Spiker. |
| Mark A. Spiker | Memories at the Spiker Farm | Mark reveals that washing clothes can be dangerous - to Tom Miller, Paula Miller and the screen door. |
| Melanie Spiker-Fouse | My Memories of the Spikers | The family reunion from a child's point of view. |
| Melanie Spiker-Fouse | Guy Zinn - History in Baseball | Death certificate reveals Gay Spiker's first cousin, Guy Zinn, was a professional baseball player for the New York Yankees. |
| Melinda Spiker Chambers | Memories at the Spiker Farm | Melinda shares stories about Aunt Marjory, homemade bread, flowers, crafts, the swinging bridge and more. |
| Michael Spiker | Reflections | Mike reflects on many of the chores he performed at the Spiker Farm. |
| Michael Spiker | Spiker/Zinn Farm History - Union District, Ritchie County, West Virginia | A history of the Spiker/Zinn family farm from 1768 to present. |
| Mildred Wilson Rule | The South Fork Baptist Church - A History | This history of the church is based upon Millie Wilson Rule's interpretation of the church minutes. |
| Nancy (Stewart) Allman | Cemetery Ghost Stories | Tales of spooky encounters at the Horn Creek Baptist Church and Union Church cemeteries. |
| Paul A. Miller | Memories of an Extraordinary Family and their Home Farm | Paul reveals things got off to a "bad start" -- meeting the Spikers for the first time, that is. |
| Paula Miller Nolan | Influencing my Life | "City girl" Paula Miller Nolan tries to milk a cow, wears a "farm" swimming suit & steps "in it" at the Spiker Farm. |
| Tyler and Tayler Weidlich | Our Trip to the Farm | Bob and Dean's great-grandchildren, Tyler and Tayler, have an exciting day at the Spiker Reunion. |
| Willa Dean Bonnell Spiker | A Little About Bob | Dean describes how Bob and many other relatives spent their weekends. It included hiding from the law. |
| Willa Dean Bonnell Spiker | As I've Heard Aunt Jean Tell It | The Snake Story as Dean says she's heard Aunt Jean tell it. |
| Willa Dean Bonnell Spiker | Wood Thing Inn | Dean reveals that "prissy" Jean Spiker Haught felt "Woodpecker" was a naughty word. |
| Willa Dean Bonnell Spiker | Our Home on Bear Run | Willa Dean Spiker's fascinating timeline from Bob & Deans first home through their last |
| Yetive Struzik | The Name Game | A letter from Yetive Spiker Struvik regarding genealogy information and revealing her sister's middle name. |
| Yvonne Haines | Grandpa's Life in West Virginia | Yvonne talks about her grandfather, Felix Zinn, and her great-grandfather, Granville Preston Zinn |