Published: September 27, 2006 06:24 pm      

A search for photographs of Mercer judges ... got any ghost stories to share?

When I first started covering trials at the Mercer County Courthouse, I quickly noticed the brass plaques in Judge John R. Frazier’s courtroom. Each honors a late attorney or judge who served the county. Now one of the new judges, Judge Derek Swope, wants to set up similar memorials in his courtroom.

The judge has several pictures already framed and ready for display, but he still has quite a few judges to find, so he asked me and my colleague Tammie Toler at the Princeton Times to help him locate more.

I know that collecting family photographs and other memorabilia is popular in this region. Both sides of my family have good collections of photographs, those portraits of people with deadly serious looks and ramrod postures. We also have some not-so-formal shots and others with interesting but unidentifiable people.

For instance, my late great-uncle Holly Perdue has two big shirt boxes filled with old mining photographs. One especially interesting one showed a well-dressed lady riding a mining car. It seems that mine camp women would ride coal cars through the mountains when they went shopping; it was faster than taking the long road up and down the mountains.

I even have a pair of inquest photographs. One shows a well-dressed man — he looks like a stereotypical silent film villain — lying on a stretcher with four men standing alongside him. He was shot outside a music hall in a Fayette County coal camp sometime around 1910 or so; the clothes look to be about that period. The photograph shows the deceased with the inquest jury. The second of the pair, a close- up of the dead man’s face with his eyes slightly open, is downright creepy. I doubt if I’ll ever know the full story behind those pictures.

Finding the lost photographs of former Mercer County judges should be easier than finding out who shot that man in those faded pictures. They could be hanging on living room walls, resting in attics, or lying nestled between the pages of old family albums.

Judge Swope provided a list of the judge photographs he is still seeking. His office is at the Mercer County Courthouse, and his phone number is (304) 487-8347.

The photographs being sought are of the following judges:

James E. Brown of Wytheville (1837); Edward B. Bailey of Fayettesville, Va. (1852); Evermont Ward of Logan, Va. and W.Va. (1860-1873); Nathaniel Harrison of Union (1866); Henry L. Gillespie of Beckley (1869); J.W. McWhorten (1870); David E. Johnston of Princeton (1881); Luther L. Chambers (1905) and Isiah Herndon (1906-1928), both of Welch; Howell M. Tanner (1928-1936), D. Milton Easley (1936-1952), and F. Morton Wagner (1953-1969), all of Bluefield.

In 1893 the Legislature passed a bill creating a Criminal Court for Mercer County, thus relieving the Circuit Court from the trial of criminal cases.

Judges of the Criminal Court were James French Milton (1893); John M. McGrath of Princeton (1893); G. Woods of Princeton (1901); J. Frank Maynard of Bluefield (1907-1925); George L. Dillard of Bluefield (1925-1932); John M. McGrath of Princeton (1932-1940); James Kahle of Bluefield (1940-1942); and F. Morton Wagner of Bluefield (1942-1952).

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Tuesday morning I was reminded that Halloween will soon be with us. I was walking down College Avenue when I noticed a couple putting up a big jack o’ lantern placard. Right across the street was another impressive display with pumpkins and ghosts.

Ghosts. I know several people who say they have seen ghosts. I’ve always enjoyed true-to-live ghost tales, and I’ve always wanted to see one, but so far I’ve had no such luck. I’ve always wanted to see a UFO, too, but so far the aliens have avoided me. Bigfoot or Mothman? I’ve seen deer, squirrels, possums, etc., but nothing more exotic.

When Halloween approaches, I’d love to hear more local ghost stories or tales of the unusual. Maybe somebody has seen something along the road they can’t quite explain, noises or voices they cannot place, or at least a shiny unidentified who knows what in the sky. Feel free to call or send an e-mail to gjordan@bdtonline.com. I’m not saying I can explain anything, but I’ll listen.

Greg Jordan is a reporter for the Daily Telegraph. Contact him at gjordan@bdtonline.com.