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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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The West Virginia Encyclopedia
Author Warren Elmer ‘‘Tweard’’ Blackhurst (October 10, 1904-October 5, 1970) was born in Arbovale, Pocahontas County. Educated at Glenville State Teachers College, he taught English and Latin at Green Bank High School from 1932 to 1964. He developed and taught the state’s first conservation class, and supervised senior students in the planting of five acres of seedlings annually in the Monongahela National Forest.
Blackhurst wrote for magazines and newspapers on conservation and wildlife. His popular novels, which retold stories of Cass and the history of the timber boom years in the Greenbrier Valley, included Riders of the Flood (1954), which was his most successful book, Sawdust In Your Eyes (1963), Of Men and A Mighty Mountain (1965), and Mixed Harvest (1970). Afterglow, a collection of poetry and prose, was published posthumously in 1972. Blackhurst, instrumental in a citizens’ group that lobbied for acquisition of land and equipment to establish the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, was its first commentator in 1963. Between puffs on his pipe, he would give lessons on history, geology, and other aspects of the area during train rides up and down the mountain. He was also a popular public speaker, sharing the history and human interest of Pocahontas County with wit and insight.
Written by Louise Burner Flegel
Pocahontas County Historical Society. History of Pocahontas County. Marlinton: 1981.
Foreword by G. A. Bowling, in Warren E. Blackhurst, Afterglow. Parsons: McClain, 1972.