Charles and Helen's Story

As a young lad of 14, Charles met a beautiful girl in a light blue pant suit and thought how he would like to marry her some day. The year was 1942; her name was Helen Virginia Wilson (age 13) from Barger Hill, and they were in junior high school.

At 16, Charles got a job at Dreamland pool as a Soda Jerk. He also got his girlfriend, Helen, a job there checking clothes in the locker room. Their relationship was growing more serious every day. He asked her stepfather, Cecil Rowe, if he could take her out on a date. They went to a Saturday afternoon movie and he bought her a vanilla ice cream at the local drug store. The birds were singing, the bells were ringing, and love was in the air!

Two weeks before his 17th birthday, Charles decided to go into the service. The year was 1945 and the war was quickly coming to a close. He joined the Navy and was sent to San Diego, CA for two years. He wrote Helen a letter of proposal and asked her to come to San Diego and marry him. However, he got a leave to come home, and plans were changed to get married in KY.

On June 3, 1947, Charles Roy Damron married Helen Virginia Wilson at the pastor's home of the First Christian Church in Cattletsburg, KY, with her mother Wilma Rowe and Aunt and Uncle Charlie and Ruby Brumfield by their side. He was so nervous that his pants leg was shaking and he forgot his sailor hat and had to go back in the parsonage to get it.

Charles went back to San Diego and Helen went back home. As soon as the Navy made living arrangements for the couple to be stationed in Washington state, Helen joined Charles in their first apartment in Seattle. She enrolled in Queen Anne High School.

Half way through her senior year, the Navy stationed Charles in Bellingham, Washington. This was their second apartment. One day Helen became very sick. Charles called the Doctor to the apartment thinking the worst. It only took the doctor a few minutes to determine that Helen would be just fine in about nine months.

With the news of their first child, came news that the Navy was shipping Charles to sea. His first assignment was six months on the USS Princeton. Helen went back to Kenova for the birth of their first son, Charles Roy Damron, Jr. Charles put in for a transfer closer to home. The Navy sent him to Norfolk, VA where he shipped out on the USS Tanniger. He worked sweeping the ocean for mines from WWII. He made friendships that would last for a lifetime with another sailor from Huntington, Ray Terrell. Together they sailed to Newfoundland and the West Indies.

In 1949, Charles completed his tour of duty. He went to work for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad as an electrician working on signal lights. His father-in-law, being an excellent carpenter, transformed what was a chicken coup over the hillside, to a one bedroom house for the young couple to live. It was here another child was born, Sandra Louise.

Soon after Sandra's birth, Charles and Helen bought a house on Chase Street in Huntington with a zero down GI Bill. One year later they were able to turn a $2000 profit by selling the house. Charles and Helen moved back to the converted chicken coup and their third child was born David Alan Damron, March 2, 1951.

Charles was riding the train daily from Kenova to South Charleston to work on the railroad tracks in front of Rock Lake Pool. When David was nine months old Charles found a house to rent in Lambert's Court on the hillside overlooking Rock Lake Pool.

In 1952, the young family moved up the street to 827 Allview Drive and rented a two story home from Franklin Ramey. He continued working on the railroad, but starting working evenings doing residential electrical work with Dick Thomas, another electrician from the C&O Railroad.

Charles studied hard for his electricians license. It was during this time that Charles and Helen made a decision that would change the family's life forever! In November, 1954, Charles quit his job on the railroad and went full time in the electrical service business. His first office was in the attic of the house at 827 Allview Dr. The motto of his business was "It's the know how that counts." The logo was a boy holding a toolbox with a bolt of lighting in his hand.

All the years as an ambitious hard working teenager, the skills learned in the Navy, and his work as an electrician on the C&O paid off. Damron Electric was a successful service business from the first year. During the early days Charles did residential work. His first commercial job was the McLeans Trucking Company in Belle, WV. It was a 14 month project that included the truck terminal and office building.

The young entrepreneur worked hard and in 1956 built a new home at 831 Allview Drive. This house, build by Charley Hall, who later became one of his life-long friends, was a sprawling ranch overlooking Rock Lake Pool. The house costs $16,000 and within the first year, Charles paid-off the mortgage in full. This was the beginning of many houses he owned out right.

From these determined years, Charles took an unsightly car dump on the corner of Chestnut Street and Tennesse Ave and transformed it into the new office site for Damron Electric. In 1962, the City of South Charleston gave Charley a beautification award for cleaning up the property and building an attractive office space in the heart of downtown Spring Hill.

Charley became a well respected citizen and was appointed to the Board of the Chemical Bank in South Charleston, During these prosperous years, Charley gave bountifully to his family, his church, and his community. He purchased a large steeple for the First Church of the Nazrene, a grand piano, a baptistry, and dedicated a stained glass window in 1970 to the memory of his dad, William David Damron.

Then one day, the little birds starting leaving the nest.

On June 9, 1967 Charles Roy Damron, Jr married Barbara Barnett. They had three children: Tammy Lynn, Helen Kathryn, and CR Damron III. Snub and Barb were married for 16 years. Today, Tammy and her family live in Maryland. Katie and her family live in Myrtle Beach, and CR and his family live in St. Albans.

On January 28, 1987, Snub married Janie Collison and she brought her three children to the family: Kelly, Kim, and Kevin. Today, Snub and Janie live in St. Albans, WV. Snub has his own electrical business and Janie works for the Charleston Area Medical Center. They celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary this year.

On December 30, 1967 Sandra Louise married Stephen Mark Higginbotham and had four children: Stephen Mark Jr., Amie Beth, and identical twin boys Matthew Christopher and Brian Kent. Today, Mark lives in Plano, TX; Amie and her family live in Colorado, and Matt and Brian and their families built their houses side by side in Austin, TX. With all the kids grown, Sandra and Steve built their dream home in Dallas, Texas. Steve is an Electrical Engineer for Alcatel-Lucent. Sandra is the Director of Program Management for Affiliated Computer Services. They are the host of Charles and Helen's 60th wedding anniversay weekend celebration at Stonewall Jackson Resort. This year Sandra and Steve will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary on a cruise in the Carribean.

The last bird to leave the nest was David Alan who married Cheri Ware on August 15, 1970. They had two daughters: April Ann and Heather Dawn. April and her family live in Cross Lanes; Heather and her family live in Spring Hill; and David and Cheri live in St. Albans. Cheri works with special needs children at an elementary school in Spring Hill. They are celebrating their 37th wedding anniversay this year.

 

As the little birdies started singing their own song, Charles and Helen decided to build a home in the country. They purchased 120 acres on Smith Creek Road in St. Albans and build a little 8000 square foot house. We named this the "White House" because it was made of white brick, white mortar, white walls, and two white brick fireplaces. In 1978 Charles and Helen gave five acres of this land to their sons Snub and Dave so they could also build their house of bricks. Steve had a opportunity with his work to move to the land of milk and honey, Houston, TX. He and Sandra packed up the kids and moved to Texas, where they live today.

Thirty-three years later as a 50th wedding anniversay gift, Charles build a new house for Helen on their land. This is where we will begin the weekend celebration of their 60th wedding anniversay. The family is getting excited about the big party. Snub, Dave, Sandra and our families have not forgotton our roots and the little converted chicken coup that was our first home. We owe all we are today to our parents, Charles and Helen Damron who gave us their legacy of a "long line of love."

After 60 years of marriage, the bird's are still singing, the bells are still ringing, and love is STILL in the air!

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