Ten decades…36,500 days (plus a few more thrown in for leap years)…52,594,876 minutes. However you decide to cut it, 100 years is a long time. When this milestone is reached, you just have to say “Well done!”
This year the Gillum House, a bed and breakfast located in Shinnston, WV, reaches the century mark. It was originally built in 1912 and then purchased as a private residence by Troy and Anna Brane Gillum, both business and civic leaders in the area, in 1918 for $2,906.25. The home passed down to their son, Virgil, who sold it to the Harris family in the 1970s where it remained until it was purchased by the current proprietor, Kathleen Panek, in 1994. Gillum House was opened up for stays in 1996.
Gillum House, Shinnston, WV
According to Kathleen, the home had the perfect mix of a sensible floor plan to host guests and a central location close to town and near plenty of activities including the The West Fork River Rail Trail, a 16-mile stretch ideally suited for hiking and bike riding. Over the years they’ve met people new to the area and those who have memories of it as a private residence. “The years the Gillums owned the house they had roomers,” says Kathleen. “A lady in town, who is 96 years old, and her friend Emma shared what is now Rosi’s Room during the war years.”
So what does someone do when their bed and breakfast is celebrating its 100th anniversary? Offer a celebration package, of course. Guests who book a 3-night stay in 2012 will get the third night for $19.12. It’s Kathleen’s way of thanking the many visitors who’ve walked through Gillum House’s front door and shared their own stories with her. “We have hosted many, many wonderful and interesting people, many of whom have become friends,” she said. “Troy’s son, Paul, told us after spending the night in Rosi’s Room in 1996, that he had just spent the night in the room where he was born – in 1919.”
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