We, at the Historical Society, have a huge undertaking in organizing, logging, identifying and digitizing our wonderful collection from Gilmer County’s past. The photos are rich with details of how people lived, dressed and progressed through the years. I love the articles, but the old photos are my favorite.
Happy Mother’s Day to all plus a special Howdee-Do to the women of the Zinn family!
The man giving the reward is on the right….County Ag agent M.R. McClung; Then left to right Grandpa Scott Zinn his mother Vada Zinn, Scott’s wife, Dale Zinn (standing), Mary Alice Zinn Lockard (Scott’s sister)
Vada Zinn of Cox’s Mills, WV at the age of 57, was the first to win this double victory in the program’s (at that time) five-year history. This article was clipped from the local newspaper, The Glenville Democrat, published in 1944. Our Historical Society members found it in the many articles filed away for prosperity. The farm is still in operation by the Zinn family and the house looks very much the same today.
Vada Zinn was obviously an energetic wife and mother. It appears she was also a pioneer-woman-farmer of her day. I’ve noticed most articles about this contest would use the full names of the men, but the woman only addressed as the Mrs. without the use of their names at all. Looks like Vada blew that out of the water! Read the article and see if you can find her husband’s name. Interesting indeed.
Update:
Vada Fisher Zinn’s (B. Aug 31, 1887) husband, Manley Bush Zinn (B. Oct 8, 1879), died of pneumonia at the age of 44, on Feb. 15, 1923. They had been married on Oct 20, 1907 marking their union at a short 16 years. Their son Scott and daughter Mary Alice were just children. Vada was 36 years old at the time of his passing. Vada was 90 years old upon her death on May 13, 1977.
We’d appreciate any and all help in our project of digitizing and posting more photos and stories of this nature. Our equipment may be outdated and our work force is few, but we’ve been able to update as funds allow. I’m happy to say, with the help from people like you, we’re beginning to get the ball rolling. Sitting here looking over the hills of West Virginia, rolling the ball shouldn’t be a problem.
