USS Shenandoah: The Premature End of an Aircraft

BY Jessica Meadows

Nestled in the corner of Noble County, among the trees and narrow winding roads, sits a historical crash site and museum for aircraft USS Shenandoah.

The Shenandoah’s history thickens the air. It’s as if the ruins are resting beneath the snow in the mangled mass of aluminum that ended the lives of 14 men.

The Shenandoah was the first of several ships of its kind that took the United States Navy to new heights. The 680-foot aircraft was used as a scouting vessel for the submarines and ships that traveled the ocean following World War I.

The Shenandoah crashed on the stormy morning Sept. 3, 1925. The Shenandoah descended from the heavens in three parts. One section landed on property that would eventually be owned by husband and wife, Bryan and Theresa Rayner. When the crash occurred, Bryan’s grandfather owned the land. He and other men helped rescue survivors.

The huge helium tanks that inflated the ship were both responsible for the breakup of the wreckage and for the saved lives of all but 14 crew members. Although the storm ultimately destroyed the ship, the helium allowed parts of the ship to stay in the air. Many of the survivors were located in these parts of the Shenandoah that remained afloat, brought only to the ground by groups of men, including Bryan’s grandfather, who tied it down.

The historical evidence is housed in a mobile-home museum, which is maintained by Bryan and Theresa Rayner.

The museum displays include: photographs of the hundreds of people in their Model T’s who traveled to the crash site to see the wreckage, time lines of the ship’s life and death, a National Geographic form 1923 with a detailed tour of the Shenandoah and many other trinkets from the 1900s.

The Rayners volunteer their time in the community to teach children and others about the Shenandoah and its importance.

Exploring the Art of Basketweaving

BY Kadi McDonald

Off U.S. Route 33 in Rockbridge, a small town near Logan, I met Leota Hutchinson, a woman who has transformed her 22-years of basket weaving experience into a business: Hutchinson’s Hilltop Haven.

In Hutchinson’s Hilltop Haven, you can learn to weave a basket or buy one of Hutchinson’s hand-woven designs. Either way a trip to her shop is an authentic country experience.

The shop sits atop a hill in the small town of Rockbridge, with a picturesque view of the surroundings. Hutchinson built the shop in 1991, after she outgrew her garage workspace.

Today, tourists from her neighbor’s, Cabin and Tipi Retreat— At Boulder’s Edge – spill into her shop. Tourists come year-round to enhance their country experience.

Some will simply purchase her products while others decide to spend the afternoon weaving a basket or two.

She shares her hobby with anyone interested in learning by teaching basket-weaving classes Monday through Saturday. Anyone interested in learning more or signing up to make a basket-weaving appointment contact Hutchinson at (740)385-8130.

A few of the baskets for sale include: decorative baskets, functional baskets and tote-bag baskets. Hutchinson uses different colors and vine, called rattan, which is grown in jungles, that she purchases from a New York company.

“They do it up real nice,” she says, referring to the one-pound rolls of vine she receives.

When working with beginners, Hutchinson teaches the “beginners’ basket”, a rectangular basket with a single handle. A basket takes approximately three hours to make and costs about $13. Students have the option to add color and walnut stain, both of which she makes herself.

Hutchinson usually keeps at least two of each type of basket on hand. “If somebody buys one, I make another one because I like to have a basket to look at,” she says. “I can read patterns, but it’s easier to look at a basket.”