Some find their life goals at home; others move away

By Dwight Williamson

When I have more time, I hope to write about the number of former Logan Countians who became outstanding in one profession or another — some who departed their homeplaces, and a few who remained within our mountainous confines.

Logan County has produced former NFL greats, one of the best sports agents in the country, a few Major League Baseball players, a few professional golfers, a former NASA employee who helped send men to the moon, a personal aide to the president of the United States, a handful of Hollywood movie actors and actresses, college basketball phenoms such as Walt Walowac at Marshall University, numerous military war heroes, a former Verdunville resident who was so successful in Texas that he gave a million dollars to the Logan County Board of Education for future scholarships, numerous authors of various books, and a great number of musicians who were highly successful in their heyday — and that doesn’t include the million-to-one shot Eugene Landau Murphy Jr. of “America’s Got Talent” fame, or another rising star, Brayden Williamson.

When you toss into the mix the televised talents of magician Michael Ammar and the world championship boxing titles held by Jack Dempsey, plus renowned people such as the Devil Anse Hatfield clan, as well as former Logan County sheriff Don Chafin, well, it appears that we’ve got a good mixture of Logan County representation in various fields. And there are many more Loganites, who in one way or another, have been highly successful. Some return to the home of their roots, while others never do.

One person who has returned to his native county to remain for eternity is a former Loganite who grew up at Cherry Tree, and following graduation from Logan High School in 1951, he trained as a paratrooper and served three years during the Korean War, earning the Good Conduct Medal, Bronze Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal and the United States Service Medal. In addition, he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge.

That person is none other than Ronald Charles McCormick, who died May 12, 2021, in Steger, Illinois. Like so many Loganites during the 1950s, Ron went to work for Ford Motor Company in Chicago and later became the chief inspector of the stamping plant there.

Prior to his graduation from high school, the skinny kid who was born at Monitor and also lived at Micco with his coal-mining father (Clovis) and mother (the former Virginia Taylor, who was a school teacher), young Ronald became in 1948 the West Virginia featherweight boxing champion. In the title bout, which was refereed by world champion boxer Jack Dempsey, McCormick was declared to have delivered the fastest technical knockout in the history of Golden Gloves boxing.

McCormick attended the first grade at Micco, the second and third grades at Switzer, and finished growing up in the then-crowded community of Cherry Tree. It was there he was taught by Lucille Von Peachy. Mrs. Von Peachy and her husband would later purchase Logan Memorial Park at McConnell and were the owners when it suddenly was abandoned. It is there that many prominent Logan County citizens, including Mamie Thurman, are buried.

After delivering the Logan Banner newspaper, which was a boyhood dream at the time, a teenaged Ronald McCormick went to work at the Logan Banking Company at Cherry Tree. His younger brother, Robert, who admired his elder sibling, also would later become a “newspaper boy” and it is he who speaks of the fond memories associated with the baking company.

“Oh, we loved to smell the wonderful odors coming from the freshly baked loaves of bread,” said Robert. “Peering through the large entrance at the building one could see my brother perspiring profusely while loading tray after tray of loaves just out of the oven on racks.”

Reminiscing about his life growing up at Cherry Tree, Robert said that it didn’t matter whether you were walking the railroad tracks behind the bakery or the street; there the “fresh bread scent would fill the air.”

Bobby was seven years younger than his brother and the two shared the same bedroom while growing up. When his brother entered into the U.S. Army, Bobby was in the fifth grade, and he recalls the loneliness he felt with his brother’s departure.

Whether that had anything to do with his school grades coming down or not remains to be seen. However, when his mother informed his military brother of the problem, Ron wrote him a letter saying, “Don’t do as I did in school, Bobby. Do your best. Every time you make the honor roll, I will send you $25.”

That promise worked, as the younger brother was able to save up money all the way through high school, which he then gave to his parents to help purchase the family’s first television set — an RCA Victor from Island Creek’s Company store at Main Holden.

Whether it was attending Bobby’s college graduation or just visiting together, the brothers obviously were extremely close — like so many other coal camp kids grew up to be.

A celebration of Ronald McCormick’s 89 years of life will be held in the meeting room at the Chief Logan State Park Lodge Saturday, July 16 at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at Highland Memory Gardens. The public is invited.

Like it was mentioned earlier, there are many former Loganites who ventured away from their hometowns to pursue a better life. Some have returned and some never will.

Welcome back, sir.

Dwight Williamson is a retired magistrate in Logan County. He writes a weekly column for HD Media.

Published with permission.

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