Troy Wye Pritt In His Own Words: Oral History - 1916-2005 -Elkins, WV

ISBN: 978-0-615-23951-4                         205 pages, Paperback $19.95

(NOTE: TEMPORARILY PAGE TABS HAVE BEEN MOVED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE) 

TROY WYE PRITT IN HIS OWN WORDS is not biography, nor is it autobiography, but it is oral history. After his wife’s loss of memory by Alzheimer’s, Mr. Pritt set about recording on tapes his own memories. His son transcribed and edited the tapes and compiled those memoirs in this book.

Mr. Pritt recalls life in South Elkins (WV) as a child between the First World War and the Depression- the Influenza Epidemic, working on Blain Taylor’s farm, the first automobiles, telephones, radio, washing machines, neighbors making cider, the games children played, going to town Saturday evenings are recalled.

In his teens Troy saw the effects of the Depression and Drought on the people in his town and region. He describes his jobs at Shreve’s store, as a lobby hog on a railroad construction gang, selling cars, working at Kroger’s, and Elkins Laundry. During World War II he worked as machinist for the Western Maryland Railway in Elkins, Bergoo, and Spruce WV. He describes 3,000 soldiers and mules coming and going in Elkins every three months.

After the War Mr. Pritt worked on the Atlantic Coast Line in Rocky Mount, NC and the B&O Railroad in Baltimore, MD and then worked as a tool and die maker for Western Electric in Baltimore, MD, and Shreveport, LA. He retired and returned to Elkins where he was well known for his woodworking.