Bluefield Evening Leader, Bluefield, West Virginia

Monday, March 23, 1908, page 5

There lives near Narrows, in Giles county, Virginia, a "character" in this day. Her name is Mrs Linnie Roland, and everybody knows her as "Aunt Lin." Her maiden name was Hale. She is now 66 years old. She is famous - yes, famous - for her love of the sick. Many a sick person has felt the soothing touch of her hand; the wrinkles in the pillow have been smoothed, the bed has been made and the sick one has been furnished with something good to eat many and many a time by "Aunt Lin." She has, in fact, waited on the sick for so long that now, when she had no sick one to visit, she is really miserable. The writer heard a very interesting story about her while at Narrows a few days ago. D F Hale's son Henry, who is about 20 years old, came home from school on December 23, 1907, very sick with rheumatism. Soon pneumonia also attacked him, due to a weak heart. "Aunt Lin," as everyone calls her, was soon at hand; in fact she made a half dozen visits every day. One morning in January the doctor came as usual. The weather being very cold the physician had taken three or four drinks. As soon as he came in and sat by the stove he became very sick, He at once left the room in a hurry. "Aunt Lin" waited a few minutes for him to return, but he came not. She therefore went out to see what was the matter. When she went out the doctor was standing on one end of the porch vomiting. She immediately took the other end of the porch, and there they stood, he vomiting every few minutes and she filling up the interval by vomiting too.

As I said before she is miserable when she has no sick person to visit. Last fall there was no one sick in the neighborhood and after milking the cows, churning, feeding the chickens and hogs, getting breakfast for her husband and boarders - she has a few boarders - sweeping and dusting the house and making the beds she had nothing to do. She therefore decided that she would apply for the position as drier in the veneering plant. She applied and the manager immediately sent word that she could have the place. Then his troubles began. People that he did not know visited him every day - young men, boys, girls, old women and men, demanding him to send her word that she could not have the place. He asked why. They told him that she would go in there and take rheumatism and die. He finally gave up and sent her word that the "old hand had returned and he guessed he would take him back." Many days afterward he met her and apologized, telling her the truth.

But her popularity had its greatest test three years ago. An Indian medicine man came to town. He had not been there long before he offered a silver set of five pieces to the most popular lady in the neighborhood. Mrs Cover, a very intelligent and refined lady from Winchester, Va, who had been living in Narrows several years, was immediately put forward; several others soon followed. On the third night "Aunt Lin's" name was entered. She received a goodly number of votes that night. Then the fun began. Men for miles up the creek rode into town; the mountains were left desolate and the neighborhood was lonesome, as everyone had gone to town. "What are you going to do with all that medicine?" was often asked. "I don't want it, but I bought it to get to vote for "Aunt Lin." She waited on me when I was sick." Parents had to threaten to whip their boys to keep them down. When asked why they took such a stand they answered that "Aunt Lin" always spoke to them and asked them in when they passed her door. "Aunt Lin" in the mountains was waiting on a sick woman and child. Finally the last day came, the votes were counted and "Aunt Lin" came out 35,000 votes ahead. - R S B