Droozy
loved West Virginia, especially the hills which she, her sister and brother
would explore. The town of Weirton was the first place where Papa found work. He
had been sent there by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. This was an
organization that helped refugees find a way to support themselves. Droozy
would wander into the hills and admire the beauty of the trees, the many flowers
that would peek out of the ground. They were yellow, red and blue. She liked the
steel blue blossoms that marked the fall season and the daffodils that announced
the spring, the lilac that smelled so divine and even the dandelions that people
called weeds. Droozy would watch the birds flying in perfect symmetry across the
blue horizon. She would listen as the crickets chirped in the grass and every so
often she would catch one and hold it in her hands for a few seconds until it
would hop away very gracefully. She would climb the hills and sit among the
plants and flowers and daydream. When
September rolled around the Labor Day holiday was celebrated with a pageant - a
big celebration - which took place in the town’s football field. The band
would play John Phillip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever. This would thrill
Droozy; it would make her feel so patriotic. She would clap her hands, tap her
feet to the music and hum along with the crowd. She would look up at the
surrounding hills and would think of the beautiful State song which to her
described the glory of the State in which Droozy had found a new beginning. She
would often sing this song while lying on her back in those mountains watching
the sun make patterns: “Oh the West Virginia Hills, how majestic and how
grand, with their summits bathed in glory, like our prince Emanuel’s land. Is
it any wonder then that my heart with rapture fills, as I stand once more with
loved ones on those West Virginia Hills. Oh the hills, beautiful hills, how I
love those West Virginia hills. If
over sea or land I roam, still I’ll think of happy home, and those friends
among the West Virginia hills.” |
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