The Wayts of Millsboro
Updated: Mar 2, 2021
Thanks to author Margaret W. DeBolt and the resourcefulness of Mrs. Betty Bower, we now have a fantastic collection of excerpts from that classic publication, The West Virginia Hillbilly. For those of you unfamiliar with this newspaper, it was founded in 1957 by Jim Comstock and is basically a sampler of past and present West Virginia life.
Margaret wrote a column for many years for the Hillbilly entitled "The Wayts of Millsboro," which featured entries from her father, William Blaine Wayt's personal diary, as well as random supplements of anecdotes and observations. She also penned a separate column entitled "Hill Cookin'" that featured down-home recipes from friends, family, and readers. Betty Bower, a personal acquaintance of Margaret's, managed to save over 100 issues of the Hillbilly dating back to the early 1990's and has generously allowed us to scan and share them with all of you.
In addition to Margaret's columns, I have included a large sampling of Hillbilly articles that serve as backdrop. I am sure you will enjoy reading these, as well.
The Hillbilly is an American treasure and included in the archives at the Smithsonian. The photo below is from the John F. Kennedy Museum & Library in Boston.
In the table below you will find the complete set of Margaret Wayt DeBolt's columns for The West Virginia Hillbilly. There are two Some notes before you browse...
The files are in PDF format. Your browser should be able to display them for you. If not, you will need a PDF reader on your device. It is recommended that you use a PDF reader so that you can take advantage of the Bookmarks feature - a handy, subject-based table of contents that allows you to jump to articles of interest.
You'll notice that some of the pages include bright yellow comment balloons in the upper left corner which provide some background information about the page. These may be read simply by hovering your mouse pointer over them.
If you discover that some of the print or detail of images is too small, then use your browser's or reader's zoom feature to adjust, but note that the resolution quality of the images varies.
Most of the files are between 2-3MB in size, so please allow time for them to display/download. If you download, if you must share, please do so discreetly. This is our family history and as long as credit and context are maintained, then all is well.
Lastly, there may be some content which isn't suitable for younger readers - no obscenity, but in terms of raw details of life back in those times, such as diseases, conflicts, etc. We have chosen to include some of it not only because it was a a part of the original publication, but also because it is an important aspect of our ancestors' daily lives. We'll make every attempt to place comment balloons on pages which include stories and/or images of this type of material so that browsers will be forewarned.
Click on the links below to download and open the files. Enjoy!
Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Set 6
Set 7 Set 8 Set 9 Set 10 Set 11 Set 12
Set 13 Set 14 Set 15 Set 16 Set 17 Set 18
Set 19 Set 20 Set 21 Set 22 Set 23 Set 24
Set 25 Set 26 Set 27 Set 28 Set 29 Set 30
Set 31 Set 32 Set 33 Set 34 Set 35 Set 36
Set 37 Set 38 Set 39 Set 40 Set 41 Set 42
Set 43 Set 44 Set 45 Set 46 Set 47 Set 48
Set 49 Set 50 Set 51 Set 52 Set 53 Set 54