Area of Piney Creek Ignites Historical Interest in Cove

Hard country singer Junior Brown is a strong believer that “what was is as important as what is,” and it is a philosophy adopted by a group of Morrisons Cove residents who have set upon a journey determined to capture and record what was for their community.

Lead by retired dairy farmer Gerald Burket, a group of volunteers have started peeling off the layers of the onion comprising Piney Creek.

At least a section of the winding, twisting two-lane roadway starting just outside Martinsburg and traveling to the Clappertown area, about half way to Williamsburg, is the focus.

“No one kept any records,” Burket said at a recent meeting of the loosely formed group that hopes to put down on paper not only the histories of their Creek families but journal historical landmarks and remembrances that can often be swept away with passing time in a rural community.

Plans are to capture as much oral history as possible by spending some afternoons keeping company with older residents who remember how things used to be when they were children.

The group also hopes to focus on Creek residents with clear factual and emotional memories of information passed to them by ancestors.

“It was kind of my idea, my dream to do something like this,” Burket said. “My emphasis was to put together a pamphlet-type thing.”

But as word spread of Burket’s idea more people have stepped forward to join the conservation.

Like Burket, Lottie Ebersole was raised on a farm on the Creek and wants future generations to be aware of the hard work and value of those who have gone before.

“We’ve always called it the Creek,” Ebersole said with a longing in her voice as she recalled her rich childhood.

But the task could be overwhelming if left only to Burket, Ebersole and Darrell Smith, one of many Piney Creek Smiths.

Some volunteers have done preliminary work by interviewing some of the Longenecker family of the farm equipment business at Clappertown.

While remote and sparsely populated, this chunk of Huston Township once boasted an abundance of one-room school houses and plenty of churches — far more than the two of today.

It is these hidden treasures that are being lost without a memory for those yet to come, said James Snyder, president of the Blair County Genealogical Society.

“There’s a lot of interest in this area,” Snyder said.

The history of “Clappertown is especially worth saving,” he said.

The Clapper family was one of the region’s earliest settlers, he said.

A short distance away is the Royer Mansion and iron furnace, which hold statewide and national importance in the country’s growth. Also a part of that era were the mines in the Ormenia area and the barrens, a remote area where several people are said to have disappeared, Snyder said.

“Anything to get the history out there is a good idea,” he said

Volunteers desiring to help in this effort can contact Burket at (814) 935-0167; Ebersole at (814) 232-6665 or Smith at (814) 793-2728 to learn more.