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,2.--H[nton News Thurs. Oct. 18, 1979
Published Tuesdays and Thursdays
By the
Hlnton PublJshinR Corporation
210 Second Ave.
Hlnton. W.Va. 25951
Bob Front, Co-Publisher
Jane Front, Co-Publisher
Richard Man,n, Editor
USPS 246-160
By Carrier
15 Cents Daily
Subscriptlons:
By Mail
$10.00 per year
U.S. Postal regulations require
payment in advance.
,, Second class postage paid at Hinton, W. Vaj
My maternal grandmother,
Mrs. Virginia (Anderson) Br-
iers, was a lovely, remark-
able woman. We called her "
Mammy", and we spent most of
our childhood at her home.
"Mammy "was bern in Hinton,
W. Va. in 1872 and died in 1944.
She married Mr. George Tho-
mas Briers, and they reared
three girls and two boys. Their
oldest girl was Mrs. Annie (
Briers) Meadows, and the secnd
girl was my mother, Mrs Lettie
(Briers) Dressier. Their third
child, a son, was Mr. Pearl T.
&
Things
By
Frederick
D. Long
The Strange Case of Mrs. Shue
Part V by Frederick D. Long
On January 25, 1897 Zona
Shue was buried int he Soule's
Chapel Cemetery in Meadow
Bluff. One month later, to the
day, this startling account was
published in The Greenbrier
Independent by Thomas H. Den-
nis then editor of that Lewis-
burg Newspaper.
February 25, 1897, Thursday
Evening.
Six months after he took
office, he would preside over the
most extraordinary case of his
career• It began June 23, 1897 in
a packed court room in Lew-
isburg.
Little tim was spent picking a
jury which consisted of : A.B.
Gardner, D.S. Lochart, Charles
W. Dunbar, A.B. Stuart, C.W.
Hogsett, J.M. Hughart, T.W. Mc
.Clung, J.A. Vaugher, C.M. Th-
omasson, J.A. Hartsook, Rich-
Foql Play Suspected ard Bolwfieid, and J.R. Rudg-
"Ms Zona (Heaster) She'. eway.
died in the Richlands of this
examined her, but "Trout" re-
fused.
Andy Jones testified that he
found Mrs. Shue around 11:00 on
the morning of January 23. That
he had gone to get Dr. Knapp
and had been present all the
time the doctor conducted his
examination confirming the
doctors statement. Aunt Mar-
tha Jones did the same.
Over one hundred witnesses
were summoned. The trial
would be a long one. The first to would drop from side to side
take the witness stand were when not supported." That
By Bill
Briers, and their fourth child, a
daughter, is Mrs. Elsie ( Br-
iers) Tyree. Their youngest
child, a nd Mr. George Ed-
ward Briers are the only living
members of Mr. and Mrs.
George T. Briers family.
"Mammy" and "Pappy" BIL
iers worked hard to rear their
children. "Pappy" was first
hired as a Carman for the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
at Hinton, W. Va., then he was
hired as a patrolman for the
City of Hinton. His last work he
was manager for the Briers and
Dressier grocery store that was
located in the West End Of
Hinton.
"Mammy" was a small wom-
an, and she had long, dark,
shining hair that she pinned in a
knot ant he back of her head.
Her eyes were dark brown and
her skin was a light, smooth
olive color. She looked like a
beautiful Indian girl. She had
difficulty breathing since her
childhood, because she had ast-
hma. I remember our mo-
ther telling me, when she was a
child growing up, that her mo-
ther was so weak from the ast-
hma. attacks that she would
drag a chair around the house to
support her while she attended
to the chores of the home. The
neighbors depended on her for
help and advice, and we grand-
children wer always running to
her house to bandage a bruis-
ed knee or we asked for a jelly
sandwich. Because of her sleep-
ing hours were from 4 A.M. until
12 Noon. By sleeping during
those hours, she could breath
more easily in the cool, early
morning than she could in any
other part of the day. She would
arise at noon and do her chores
around the home, or she would
work in her vegetable garden.
At night, her chidlren and gr-
andchildren would meet at her
home and chat about the news
those persons that took part in
the post- mortem examination.
It was explained that Zona
Shue's body was in an almost
perfect state of preservation
do to the fact that during the
month that she was buried,
prior to the autopsy, the temp-
erature remained inthe teens
alogue at the lovely flower
collection, or select a favorite
vegetable seed.
"Mammy" was known in the
neighborhood for her medical
remedies that would cure every
type of ailment. Her main rem-
edy was her "Hot Pepper Tea ",
because it would cure all aches
and pains immediately. She
would fill a quart stewpan with
water and place it on the coal
range, and let it come to a
boiling point. She would add a
teaspoonful of black pepper to
the boiling water. She let this
tea steep until it became cool
enough to drink. As soon as her
patients drank this "Hot Pepper
Tea" remedy, they would be
laughing and playing in a few
minutes. During those days, ev-
ery ache and pain of the stom-
ach was called Acute Indiges-
tion, and the only cure was "
Mammy's .... Hot Pepper Tea".
We lived in the house next to
our grandparents' home, which
was on the location where the
Church of Christ stands today.
No one today would recognize
the surroundings there as they
were when we were children
growing up in the West End of
Hinton. The entire Briers'
Hollow, below Temple Street
and Seventeenth Avenue, and
including the Briers' property
had been filled. There was a
bridge that spanned Briers'
Hollow from Temple Street at
Seventeenth Avenue, and the
Briers' property sloped toward
the hollow and the cliff over-
looking the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad property. "Mam-
my" had a grape arbor that was
between our homes, and anoth-
er one beside her house that
went a long way down the hill to
the privy. A large pear tree was
beside this grape arbor, and her
vegetable garden was at the
rear of their home that ext-
ended to the cliff.
county, on the 23rd of Janury,
and her body was taken out to
Little Sewell and buried. Since
then rumors in the community
caused the authorities to sus-
pect that she may not had died
from natural causes. In short
her husband, E.S., commonly
known as "Trout" Shue, was
suspected of having brought
about her death by violence or
in some way unknown to her
friends. An inquest was accor-
dingly ordered, and, on Monday
last before Justice Homer Me-
Clung and a jury of inquest,
assisted by Mr. Preston, the
State's Attorney for the county,
Mrs. Shue's body was exhumed
and a post mortem examination
made, conducted by Drs. Kn-
app, Rupert and Houston Mc-
Clung, She being present and
summoned as a witness. From
one of the Doctors we learn that
the examination clearly disclo-
sed the fact that Mrs. Shue's
neck had banff broken. We hear
too that Shue's conduct at the
time of his wife's death and
when she lay a corpse in his
house was very suspicious.
The jury found in accordance
with the facts above stated,
charged Shun with the crime of
murder and yesterday aftern-
oon he was brought here by
James C. Shawver, John N.
McClung and Estill McClung
and lodged in jail to await the
action of the grand jury." ( Vol.
XXXI No. 40)
M.r Shue pled not quilty to the
charge made against him and
secured lawyers Dr. William
Rucker and James Gardner to
defend him. Prosecuting Attor-
neY, John Preston, and his
ssistant, Henry Gilmer, spent
there time gathering additional
evidence. Mr. Shue was held in
the county jail without bond.
On April 2l, 1897 "Trout" She
appeared before the grand jury
and Judge Joseph Marcellus
Mc-
Whorter. He was indicted for
murder in the first degree. The
trial was set for the June term
of Court.
-.-. Joseph M. McWhorter was
: :" elected, November 3, 1896, as"
:': judge of the judicial circuit of
:-:-which Summers Co. was inc-
:,.'- luded. He was a self -educat-
-:'" : ed man reading and studying
:::: until he acquired a good ed-
:: :: ucation. The practice of law was
::': his first love, however, he had
-:" also served as State auditor,
?- "?. mayor of Lewisburg, and sup-
" : : erintendent of schools for
- :Greenbrier Co. He was polite
.and courteous, easy to approach
-.d speak to. A friendly chr-
ri :r'.,'*tian gentleman on the bench
- aS well as in private life.
of the day, or we played the up- We grandchildren dearly lo-
ather witnesses were called to-date records on the phone- red our grandparents, ' Ma;
? • '
and they testified as to Mr... grapl6[te didn t care low.late-, my" and i'Pappy " Briers, a/d
Shue's strange action.s' ' 9 .th We €otd6" 'stay, beausd shd' "'foe 'r[i[ly were blessed, dur-
day of her .burial and before.' thoroughly enjoyed talking with ing our childhood, to be able to
Some stated that the "head was
everyone. When we would leave live close to them and enjoy the
very loose upon the neck and for ourhomesaround 11 P.M. or hapiness that we shared tog-
12 midnight, she would look ether.
through her favorite flower cat-
when she was in her coffin Mr.
Shue had placed a folded sheet
on one side of her head and
another garment on the other in
order to keep it in an upright
position.
Still others testified that Mr.
Shue was the only one seen
about his house on the morning
and several times dropped well of his wiles death.
below zero. As the days passed witness
The doctors pointed out that after witness were called. Sh-
Zona's neck had been disloc- ues attorines tried to show that
ated in such a way that it would his actions were due to his state
have been impossible for her to of mind at the time. Circ-
have done it in a suicide att- umstantial evidence continued
empt. In fact there wasn't any to pile up against him.
evidence to show that she had At last the witness everyone
been subjected to any sort of wanted to hear was called to
• violence other than the disloc- take the stand. Not a sound was
ated neck which, beyond any heard as that person walked
question of doubt, caused her into the room. The Circuit CI-
death, erk walked over to the witness
Dr. Knapp, taking his time, stand, "Raise your right hand
explained in detail the diffic- please, Do you swear to tell the
ulty he encountered when ex- truth, the whole truth, and
amtning Zona on the day of her nothing but the truth, so help
death, which led to his erron- you God?"
eous conclusion that Zona had "I do."
died of "natural causes". He "State your name."
told that he had tried to get Mr. "Mary Heaster"
Shue to leave the room while he More next week.
Joseph M. McWhorter
By Atty. Gem Chauncey
Browning
r
Consumer News
If your debts have become
overwhelming, now there's a
way to buy a little time without
having to declare bankruptcy.
Employed persons have an
alternative to bankruptcy
under Chapter 13 of the Bank-
ruptcy Act , called the Wage
Earner's Plan, which was am-.
ended effective October 1, 1979.
With the Plan, you ask the court
for protection to help you work
out an arrangement with the
agreement of your creditors to
pay them back over time.
The procedure is fairly sim-
ple: You file a list of all your
debts with the court. At the
same time you also file a list of
your essential expenses every
month, including food, housing,
utilities, taxes, automobile ex-
penses, among others. You may
even add a small amount for
those unexpected bills. The dif-
ference between your wages
and what your necessities cost
is assigned to a trustee of the
court who will pay your cred-
itors.
Under the Plan, the court
usually allows up to three years
to pay off these debts, so the
difference between what you
make and your expenses must
be sufficient enough to pay the
debts within that period of time.
The protection I mentioned
earlier in this article refers to
protection from garnishment
and harassment by creditors,
and also from repossession so
long as you are paying your
debts under court supervision.
There is a cost involved in
taking advantage of Chapter
13- about $60 for court costs. It
is also advisable to obtain the
services of an attorney to re-
present you before the court and
to help you fill out the forms.
After your debts are paid, you
will notice a sudden "increase
in your salary since you will get
to keep what you have been
paying into the Plan. This will
prevent your credit rating
from srffering as it would if
your debts had gone unpaid.
However, this Plan may not be
for everyone with financial dif-
ficulties. Each individual
should review his or her part-
icular problems and select the
proper alternative which will
}W|p4o_ase... ": [inaneial woes.
"He who has health
has hope and he who
has hope has everything."
Proverb
,--
Cabot Corporation in West Virginia
1898...RURAL FREE DELIVER'V HAD
JUST BEEN INAUGURATED AND FOLKS
WERE SINGING "A HOT TIME IN THE
... OLD TOWN TONIGHT"--AND GODFREY L.
CABOT TOLD k FRIENO THAT HE WAS
GOIN TO WEb'T VII;INIA WHERE
THERE WAS NATUPJ. S TO BE a@
AT A FAIR PRICE.
THAT FII?.Tr NATI.,IPJ C.#t WELL.
WAS COMPLETED ER 17,
1899. BY 1910 NA.T GAS COST
30UT SiX CENTS PER TtSN
CUBIC FEET (,J::),/IOUT 15
CENTS k ,/tNTH PER
RESIDENTIAL USER. WELL., SIR,
WE'D ALL. LIKE TO BACK TO THOE
G{X OLD OkS AND PRICE.S...
B.ff SKYI.,KETING INFLATION M4
HIGH OPEIFATING COSTS HAVE
AFFECTED US TOO. =-=
CONTRA TO WHAT FOr.KS
THINK, HIGHER PRICE FO NATI,3ZA
c.a i:x., T ,'t'.AN
CABOT
M, ONE',/. FO EXA,WR.E,
OVER 40 PI,Dff OF
WHAT CABOT CH/C.5
EA t,NTH 60E.5 TOW
ING NATURAL GAS FROM OTHER
. NOTHF.R 16 PERCENT OF
WHAT WE CHARGE THE CUSTOMER
FO WAC.=5 BENEFITS; WHILE
STATE, M3CAI. ANO FEgERN. TAXF.
T/UOE/IOTHER 13 I. AND,
THAT'S JLLb'T THE BEGIIIING.
Bt.ff, YOU KNOW, EVEN
WITH ALL THAT, NATURAL
6 IS STILL CHEMFR
THAN OIL, ELECTRIC OR
GAS IS B/MORE
WEST VIRfilNIA FOR
OTtlFR ENER6Y SOUI.
8Vamral Gas. .....
a00till the best energy bar00/
If you are interested in learn- Bankruptc
ing more about the Chapter 13 e Bankru|
Wage Earner's Plan, you may inistrative (
contact the nearest Federal Courts, WaS
Byrd's.Eye
By U.S. Senator Robe:
A Hard Look at U.S.
In the course of prepar-
ing for the upcoming SALT
II treaty debate in the Sen-
ate, I have been reviewing
the record of hearings con-
ducted by the Senate Com-
mittees on Foreign Rela-
tions, and on Armed Ser-
vices,
While I have not yet come
to a final decision on ratifi-
cation of the treaty, I have
reached some conclusions,
based on the evidence pre-
sented at the harings, on
the need for an increased
commitment to build U.S.
defense strength.
The testimony presented
at the Committee hearings
reveals a disturbing trend.
Put simply, the Soviet Un-
ion for the past several
years has been outspending
the U.S. on defense pro-
grams, and the U.S. is in
danger of facing a growing
imbalance in strategic nu-
clear weapons and conven-
tional forces.
Although the U.S. today
has what is known as
"rough" or "essential"
equivalence with the So-
viets in conventional and
strategic military power,
the picture for the future
is darker. In the 1980's, we
face the troubling prospect
of vulncrabilities of our
land-based missiles. I have
supported development of
the mobile MX missile as a
means of countering" this
vulnerahility, but this
weapon will not be initially
operable until 1986 and
fully operational until 1989.
In other areas, the So-
viets and their Warsaw
Pact allies possess a su-
perior conventional and the-
ater nuclear capability in
Central Europe, with one-
third more
field, three
tanks as
and a
theater
The Russi
ing far mt
strength tha
mately need
purposes,
The U.S.
questioned
strategic
clear wea
up to the I
ing the past
some cases
air-breathi:
(bombers
siles) and
launched
as well as
of our
dently
Vehicles
Minuteman I(
have maintain
rage. But, in
the Soviets I
equivalent to,
edge over €he
example, the.
ICBM's, and
bile
missile
against
Europe.
Regardless
come of the i
sideration of
treaty, the UJ
to increase
spending in a
rive manner.
cently
support, a5-
crease in
for 1981 and
must focus our
lars on those pr
strengthen our
forces and
tegic balance.
00-HAVE .... YOU H
ABOUT THE
DROP
OFF
For Today
,y in our Ch|
earn to yie
ill.
[ from the
, of whom
,old, I send
ore my fa
re thy
Uy I say t
em that a:
ere hath r
en John th
11: 10- 11).
Baptist ev
Leave your laundry with our attendant and P
later...washed, dried, folded and wrapped In I
packages all at a very reasonable price. A service
you do not have enough time to do the laundry
EQUIPPED
SELF-SERVICE OR DROP-OFF
(:ountry Roads