Published: June 19, 2009 08:50 pm      

Residents rate famous W.Va. natives

GREEN VALLEY — West Virginia’s history has produced a long roster of outstanding people, but is there actually a person who could claim the title “Greatest West Virginian?” Mercer County residents had varying opinions as West Virginia Day approached.

Lists of famous West Virginians often include well-known personalities such as Chuck Yeager, the pilot who first broke the sound barrier on Oct. 14, 1947 and actor Don Knotts, who became famous playing bumbling deputy Barney Fife on “The Andy Griffith Show.”

Local residents had others to add to the list.

“I would say (U.S. Sen.) Robert C. Byrd and behind him would probably be Governor Arch Moore. I tell people that if he ran today, they would put him back in office,” said Al Hancock, 72, of Bluefield. “And we can’t forget Ken Heckler (former West Virginia Secretary of State). He’s quite a man with a lot of accomplishments.”

A Brushfork resident, 69-year-old Harold Hoeksema of Brushfork, included Byrd on his list and added another.

“He’s not the only one. How about Jerry West?” he said. West was a star in the National Basketball Associa-tion (NBA) who was from Kanawha County.

Another resident named a West Virginian who is a star in the realm of academics.

“Well, we had John Nash,” said Dawn Ann Hawks of Princeton. “He was a genius.”

John Forbes Nash Jr., a native of Bluefield, shared in the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. His life story later inspired the movie “A Beautiful Mind.”

Names such as space shuttle pilot John McBride, Olympic gold medal winner Mary Lou Retton, author Homer Hickam and Pearl Buck, the winner of the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize, come up when names of famous West Virginians are discussed. And there are always people who want to add new names to the roster.

“My wife Sandi,” Charles McGuire, Jr. of Elgood replied when asked for his choice. The McGuires also added Senator Byrd and Governor Cecil Underwood to the list. One Mercer County resident had a local name to add.

“William Sanders,” said Joe Saunders, 41, of Princeton. “I think he did a lot for Mercer County, absolutely.”

William Henry Sanders II, born in Princeton, passed away June 3. He served with the Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during World War II and later became an attorney.