Haslam Family of Monaville, WV

Submitted by: Carla Haslam Herkner

I really appreciate seeing the Logan website.  I was born in Logan, and I lived there for the first three years of my life.  I have always counted on Logan and West Virginia, in general, as my home.  I am especially grateful to my parents for being dedicated to returning to West Virginia several times each year to visit with our family.  I graduated from West Virginia University, as did several of my family members and I have always been grateful for my education and friendships formed there.

My father was raised in Monaville, and he was a great, vibrant story teller.  I always felt as though I was right alongside him as he enjoyed his neighbor’s ethnic cooking and the camaraderie of his many friends there.  My mother always says that Dad loved Hungarian food and she attributes that to the many good families who shared their table with him through the years.  When Dad was about 4 or 5 years old, his father would have him sit on the kitchen table and assemble the pieces of a railroad lantern which would amaze and entertain his father’s friends.

After his father’s passing, Dad and his mother ran the Monaville Y.M.C.A.  When we look at the pictures of what is now a church, Mom can point out the tiny window at the top of the building which is where my Dad would run the movie projector at the “Y.”  My parents were afforded rich and enduring friendships with the good folks of Logan and Boone County.  That is my heritage and I will always be so appreciative.

Obituary

John James Haslam

John J. Haslam, age 92, of Honey Brook, PA, formerly of Vienna, Virginia died peacefully on Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at his home at Tel Hai Retirement Community, following a long illness.  His life was well lived and was a blueprint for younger family members to come after him.

John was born on July 27, 1917, in Logan, WV.  John was raised in Monaville, WV where as a youngster, he and his mother ran the Monaville YMCA.  He was the son of the late Gertrude Turnell Salino and Francesco Salino.  He was the adopted son of the late Mary Ann Wall Haslam and William Haslam.  John was the husband of Thelma P. (Powell) Haslam, with whom he shared 66 years of marriage.  John and Thelma were residents of Vienna, Virginia for over 50 years.

John attended Morris Harvey College in Charleston, WV and it is there that he learned to fly during Naval flight training school.  Due to an injury, he had to discontinue his Naval flight officer’s training and he continued teaching at the flight school during WWII.  He was later stationed in Palowan, Phillipines during WWII with Acorn 52.

John was a purchasing agent for DECO Electronics, in Leesburg, VA for many years.  He was responsible for purchasing all of the components of the telescope and communications satellite installation at Arrecibo, Puerto Rico.  John was the purchasing director responsible for supply acquisitioning for the U.S. Navy Communication Moon Relay System.  This four station network linked Washington and Hawaii in the first operational communications system to use a celestial body as a passive reflector.  He later continued his career in purchasing while working for Sanders Associates of Nashua, NH.

John was a devoted community volunteer during his 50 years of residing in the town of Vienna, VA.  He was a 45 year, active member of the Vienna Lions Club, a Mason, and an active member of C.H.O. or Churches Helping Others.  He continually worked as a volunteer on the various maintenance needs of the Vienna Presbyterian Church.  John often drove various community members to doctor’s appointments and was known as one who was always ready to help others.

He was an inventive, creative person who always had a woodworking project, a building project or an active hobby.  Some of his hobbies included lapidary, gemology, metal sculpture and decoy art.  He built a carport and family room addition to his home.  His retirement occupation was centered around his custom picture framing business which he ran out of his home.

John and his wife, Thelma, enjoyed travel and trips to visit John’s relatives in Sezze, and Biella, Italy.  At home in Vienna, they were very involved with small church group activities and could be relied upon to join in making homemade apple butter each fall.

John was a vibrant, entertaining guy who could tell a joke in the blink of an eye.  He will be sorely missed and is survived by his devoted wife, Thelma Powell Haslam, daughter, Carla Haslam Herkner, son-in-law, David Herkner and granddaughter, Dana Goodwin Schuetter and her husband, Scott Schuetter.  He is also survived by two great grandchildren, Cade and Alice Schuetter.