The Society have received letters from all over with stories in them about family, earlier times, and so on, that we requested. They are great and we want you to keep them coming. But this month we are overriding our request to honor special members of the Society that are always there when we need them, either in person or with great ideas. These dear members are Bob and Eileen Harness. It seems that they are appreciated by more people than just Marshall Countians. In the April 2005 issue of the Grit, Bob and Eileen are featured in an article by Carl E. Feather "Keeping History's Window Open." For those who have not seen it we are publishing it so you can enjoy it too. The by line states "Bob Harness, of Cameron, W. Va., collects history like some men collect cars." The feature goes on to say "The answer to - A maiden's Prayer - Is not a chin - With stubby hair - Burma Shave." When was the last time you saw a Burma Shave sign along the highway? It's probably been a few decades, unless you travel U.S. Route 250 through Marshall County, W. Va.

     Heading south out of Pleasant Valley and toward Cameron, these red-and-white signs greet motorist who fly by the home of Bob and Eileen Harness.

     Passersby are often intrigued by the signs, their A-frame house, the covered bridge that interrupts the sidewalk to their house, and the 1920s gas station across the highway from their home. Bob Harness welcomes that curiosity when visitors knock on the door.

     The couple, in their 80s, are dedicated to the preservation of history whether that be sharing oral history with visitors, helping raise money for the local historical society, finding a spot in their yard for some discarded piece of local history or, in the case of his gas station, salvaging a building destine for the wrecking crew. Their dedication earned them recognition as West Virginia History Heroes for 2003, an award presented by the state to its most ardent citizen guardians of history.

     After 40 years of marriage, Eileen Harness is accustomed to her husband coming home with all manner of historical artifacts. In one of his workshops is a 1927 Mack trucck undergoing restoration. Bob Harness embarked upon the project when someone gave him a dump bed for an old truck. That sparked a search for a truck on which to put the bed, which led him to the truck once used in the pipeline and timber industry around Marshall County.

     In his front yard, under a pile of autumn leaves, is a millstone made from ballast stone brought over on a European ship. The roof on his barn is made from discarded steel tanks that once held hydrochloric acid at Allied Chemicals, where Harness worked in maintenance.

     "My wife says I'm like an undertaker," he says. "I'll take anything." Even a gas station. The frame station, which measures 18 feet by 22 feet, once stood a mile south of the couple's farm, at Camp Washington. The old gas station hadn't been used in decades and was near collapse when Harness got a call from its owner, Mike Isinger, who told him the eye-sore was in the state highway department's crosshairs for removal.

     "He told me, "Anything you want out of there, you take," Harness says. "I went over and looked at it and went back to him and said "Could I have the whole building?" On April 1, 2000, Harness, Jim Redd and Terry Ashby moved the dilapidated garage to its new home on a sliver of level land across from Harness' house. He and several other history buffs have since restored and furnished the building with materials from other old buildings in the region. Half the wainscot ceiling is from the over hang of the original gas station. A quarter of it is from the Hazel Dell School. The balance is from the Wolf Run School. The countertop is from the Beeler Station School. Like his wife says, Harness will take anything, and put it to good use.

     For example, there's the gas station's big, black cash register with a colorful past. The register came from a filling station on Wind Ridge in Marshall County. At some point, the station was robbed and the register stolen. But the robbers couldn't get into the cash drawer, so they ditched the whole thing behind the station, where it lay for several years. It eventually ended up at an auction. Harness says the cash register was in bad shape after being out in the weather for so long, and the auctioneer was working up a sweat trying to raise a bid on it. Then he suggested there could be several hundred dollars inside the jammed drawer.

     Harness bid a buck, and got it. But after getting it open, he found mice had beat him to any money. The gas station includes other interesting artifacts, including old fashioned, gravity-fed gas pumps, a drug store showcase and a church pulpit with well-worn spots in the wood where the preacher rested his hands.

     As for why Harness goes to all the trouble to collect and preserve such items, his philosophy is summed up on a sign that hangs on the station: "Keep the window of the past open for the future."

     Mr. Feather's note reads Bob Harness welcomes visitors to his gas station, which is located between Moundsville and Cameron, W.Va., on route 250. There are no regular hours, however.""

     After this issue came out, Bob got a correspondence from another Mr. Bob Harness of Ross County, Ohio. It seems as though the Ohio Bob Harness' family migrated to Ohio from Hardy County, VA, not far from where our Bob Harness was raised. A family historian Ann (Harness) Perdue said her ancestor Elizabeth Harness was the first white woman to enter the Virginia Territory. She was 13 years old and was walking in front of a wagon train. Since the article was published our Bob and the Ohio Bob have been putting their heads together to determine whether they are related or not. The Ohio Bob is interested in restoring old tractors, etc. I am sure there will be a meeting of these collectors soon. (IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL.)

     We should call this issue a tribute to the Harnesses. The following picture is of the Harnesses with their Model A Ford being displayed at the Elizabethtown Festival. If it weren't for people like them would anyone know we even existed. Thanks for all your support Bob and Eileen.

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