Photo: Front Row: Albert Losee, Minnie Hodges, Anna McCallister, Carrie Conner, Anna McCallister, Halley Dorsey; Back Row: John Sanford, Hattie Dorsey, Victoria Conner, Ed. S. Day, Sam Burton, Kathleen Poindexter, Norris Hensley, Effie Hodges, John S. Dudding.

Editor’s Note: The following article was published in the April 22, 1960 edition of the Breeze. Brackets [ ] have been inserted to provide corrected dates and information for clarity.

By Irene Ambler

Hurricane was a friendly, gracious little community in the 1890’s, when this picture was taken. There were a few houses, two or three livery stables, several general merchandise stores, possibly one or two grist mills, a post office, and the old Baptist Church. The streets were quiet and shady, and a boardwalk ran along Main Street. There was no need for paved streets, as the only traffic was that of horses, wagons, buggies and bicycles.

Most of the town’s leading citizens were merchants, as Hurricane was a progressive trading area for most of southside Putnam County, the eastern part of Cabell Count, and some of Lincoln County. Hurricane had been incorporated in 1880 [1888] after the railroad sliced through the main part of town [in 1873]. Previous to 1880 [1873], the town was located at Hurricane Creek Bridge [on Harbour Lane]. So, at the time this picture was made the town was only about fifteen or sixteen years old.

Everyone participated in social and recreational activities, and neighborliness and friendship was community-wide. On pleasant Sunday afternoons the young people would get dressed up and go strolling or bicycling. Most of the business buildings were located across the tracks on Putnam Avenue and on the lower part of Main Street. Upper Main Street from High School Avenue to the overhead bridge was almost unoccupied and there was a large expanse of lawn where now there are houses and business establishments. This section was called the “green” and was a meeting ground for young people of the community. In the evening, the youngsters would play hide and seek and other games.

When I came across this picture, I was aroused with curiosity to find out about the people. After making inquiries around town of some of the older residents, I finally learned from Homer Harrison that the young man sitting on the boardwalk with the pretty girls was Albert R. Losee. So, when Mr. Losee (who now lives in Huntington was visiting in town the other day, he told me about the picture.

Mr. Losee says that he is not positive when the picture was made, but that it was between 1894 and 1898. He doesn’t believe the picture was made for any special reason. He thinks that the group of young people had merely congregated and that someone came along and took the picture. Mr. Losee did, however, have very pleasant recollections of the young folks in the picture and stated that life in Hurricane was very happy and unhurried in that long ago day.

Mr. Albert Losee (first on the front row) was reared in Hurricane. He spent his boyhood days in the house that is now the Hurricane Woman’s Club. Up to the time he was eight or nine years old, he lived with his parents in the small cottage situated about where the A to Z Market is now located. Mr. and Mrs. R.V. Dorsey and family lived across the tracks in the Woman’s Club House. Mr. Losee said that one day when he came home from school, “home was not home anymore. Mr. father and Mr. Dorsey had traded houses that day, and the families had moved.”

Mr. Losee became a telegrapher for C&O and held that position until 1905. He then moved to Huntington to accept a position with the Twentieth Street Bank shortly after its opening. He worked there for many years. In 1935 he became associated with the Putnam County Bank and served as Assistant Cashier and Cashier until his retirement in 1952 [Albert Losee passed in 1965 at age 84 in Florida].

Seated next to Mr. Losee was Miss Minnie Hodges, the daughter of Postmaster Bill Hodges. Minnie was a school teacher. She was the teacher who held classes under a big tree in pretty weather on Putnam Avenue (we wrote about her in an article some time ago). Miss Hodges married Mr. A.B. McCutcheon; and she is a resident of Huntington at this time.

Next is Miss Anna McCallister, the daughter of Judge McCallister. (We didn’t find out very much about her).

Miss Carrie Conner, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Conner, married Pearl Burdette and spent most of her married life in Pt. Pleasant. She was the mother of Secretary of State Joe Burdette. Mrs. Burdette died a short while ago at Pt. Pleasant.

Next to Miss Conner sat another Miss Anna McCallister, the daughter of W.H. McCallister, who operated a large general merchandise store on Putnam Avenue. Anna married Dr. Curry and lived at Ronceverte, West Virginia after her marriage.

Sitting at the end of the front row was Miss Hallie Dorsey, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R.V. Dorsey. Hallie married Cecil Wells.

The first young man on the back row, John Sanford, married Miss Molly Harbour and became a prominent merchant at Branchland and Huntington.

Next to Mr. Sanford stood Hattie Dorsey, who became the wife of Dr. L.C. Morrison. Dr. Morrison started his practice in Hurricane, later moving to Milton, where he cared for hundreds of ill folks through many years. He also delivered a fantastic number of babies (including me).

Miss Victoria Conner was the sister of C.B. Conner and helped to manage Hotel Conner. She was later married to Joe Woody.

Next is Ed S. Day, a well-known young man who worked in his Uncle Bill Turley’s store on Putnam Avenue.

Sam Burton was born and reared in Hurricane and chose to become a C&O Conductor.

Kathleen (Kate) Poindexter lived at Poindexter Hotel with her family. She married Clarence Parchman and moved to Oklahoma, Mississippi. The Parchman’s later moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where Kate is still living.

Norris Hensley was born and reared at the old Spurlock farm near Lake Washington. He taught school in Putnam County for a few years, and then moved to Tampa, Florida.

Effie Hodges, another daughter of Postmaster Bill, was married to Earn Smallridge.

John S. Dudding operated a livery stable behind what is now the Putnam County Bank. At the time the picture was made, Mr. Dudding’s father operated a drug store where the Bank is located today.