Route 1, Box 193, Washington, West Virginia 26181
The 7th annual Volcano Days Engine Show and Festival which was
held at Mount wood Park on September 23 and 24, 1995, was a great
success. On Friday the 22nd it rained most of the day and the nice
grassy field turned to mud, but after a couple of phone calls to
some friends who are in the trucking business, a pretty good
roadway was stoned all the way through the engine area. It has been
said: ‘It is better to have friends than money, because if you
have friends you can borrow money.’ Well, to show you that it
pays to have friends, the road which was stoned was entirely free
and they said that they were glad to be able to help. Saturday, the
23 rd, the sun came out and the mud dried up and all was well.
This year’s show was the biggest yet. We had some 145 engine
exhibitors and around 50 craft and flea marketers. The
entertainment, which started on Friday night, continued on Saturday
and Sunday, and was some of the best in the country. One of the
most important parts of the show is the public and they turned out
by the thousands 15,000 to attend this year’s show! Our show is
put on for the public and there is no charge. The wagons ran
constantly shuttling the visitors from the parking area to the
different areas of the show, and our historical field trips were
filled to capacity, as well as the geological field trips.
Volcano Days takes place at Mount wood Park, which is located 12
miles east of Parkersburg, West Virginia, on US Route 50.
The town of Volcano was one of the early oil-boom towns, which
sprang up in the late 1860s. The town prospered until 1879 when a
fire destroyed most of it. Historical field trips take spectators
back in time, as they hear from historians about the Wildcatters
who drilled the first wells to the mansions built by the more
successful ones.
While on the geological trips, you are taken to visit areas
where the rock formations are easily seen and the geologist
explains about the anticlinal theory and shows how, at sometime in
the distant past, there was an upheaval in the earth which almost
stood the rock straight on its edge. The oil in this made it easily
accessible to the drillers who knew where to drill.
The steam rising from the molasses pan made it easy to locate,
as some of the best molasses are made at the show each year; also,
there is apple butter, apple cider, cornmeal grinding taking place
daily, and the barbecue chicken was mouth watering good. Along with
the demonstration of how homemade soap is made, a shingle mill ran
constantly, sawing shingles for the visitors to take home free as a
souvenir. The shingles bear the name Volcano Days 1995. This
engine show and festival is intended to bring people together in an
atmosphere and setting where people can relax, have fun and learn
about the past. The engine exhibitors not only show, but also tell
the story of the engines, tractors, and implements which they
display, and how they probably affected the lives of the people who
owned them. You are all invited to join us next year on September
28 and 29, 1996, as an exhibitor or as a spectator. We will
try and make you feel welcome.
