Volume 31, Number 4

Virgil A. Lewis was West Virginia’s first state historian and archivist, serving from 1905 until his death in 1912. This posthumous portrait was painted by J.C. Adler in 1913. Photograph by Michael Keller. Our story begins on page 10.

Published by the
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

Joe Manchin III, Governor

Kay Goodwin, Secretary
Department of Education and the Arts

Troy Body, Commissioner
Division of Culture and History

John Lilly, Editor

Gordon Simmons
Editorial Assistant

Cornelia Crews Alexander
Circulation Manager

BlaineTurner Advertising, Inc.
Publication Design

Fall 2005

2 Letters from Readers

6 Current Programs*Events*Publications

9 GOLDENSEAL Good-Byes

10 100 Years of Collecting

State Archives Centennial
By Gordon Simmons

17 Virgil A. Lewis

Mountain State Historian

18 Hunting for the State

Charles Rand’s 1914 Adventure
By John Lilly

22 Hidden Gems

Photographs from the State Archives
Photoessay

28 Weirton’s Singing Men of Steel

By Mary Zwierzchowski

34 A Fayette County Christmas

By Karen R. Shepherd

36 “Bus on a Rock”

Bruiser Cole’s Camp at Gauley Bridge
By Anna Sale

42 Cole Boats

By Gerald Milnes

46 Rosbys Rock

No More, No Less
By Carl E. Feather

54 Wye Plummer Pritt

50 Years As a Track Man
By Troy Wye Pritt and Troy Lynn Pritt

60 West Virginia Back Roads

All Aboard in Belington
Leon Cross and the New Tygart Flyer
By Carl E. Feather

62 New Books Available

By Gordon Simmons

66 Mountain Music Roundup

By John Lilly

69 GOLDENSEAL 2005 Index