HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 3
(By Delegates Browning and Burdiss)
[Introduced January 18, 2007; referred to the
Committee on Rules.]
Requesting the Division of Highways to name the bridge leading into
Wyco, West Virginia, the "Zeb S. Pugh Memorial Bridge".
Whereas, Mr. Zeb Pugh was born on December 9, 1918, in Galax,
Virginia. He was the son of the late Benjamin Harrison and Tiny
Brown Pugh; and
Whereas, Zeb Pugh grew up in Covel, West Virginia, where he
graduated from Conley High School and from the Bureau of Mines
Academy at Beckley College; and
Whereas, Zeb Pugh worked for several coal companies in West
Virginia during his 35 year career as a coal miner and was the
first African-American mine foreman in Wyoming County. Zeb
attended school to become a Federal Mine Inspector, leading his
class with a 4.0 grade point average and retired in 1973 as a
Federal Mine Inspector from the Bureau of Mines in Norton,
Virginia; and
Whereas, Zeb Pugh was the founder of the Wyco, West Virgnia
Water Works and worked tirelessly to ensure that all the residents
of Wyco, West Virginia had fresh, clean water in their homes; and
Whereas, Zeb tried for years to obtain funding through the
Housing and Urban Development but was turned down at every turn. He was finally able to obtain $15,000 through the state's counter
cyclical fund, an emergency fund designed to aid communities with
water system problems; and
Whereas, G.O. Bledsoe, Inc., a Beckley engineering firm,
estimated that this size of a project would cost $425,846.00 to
complete; however, Mr. Zeb Pugh and volunteers were able to
complete this project for the $15,000 that he obtained through the
state's counter cyclical fund; and
Whereas, Mr. Zeb Pugh and the Homeowners Water Company
purchased the water system for $400 and upgraded the system through
grants from the County Commission and Governor Rockefeller. The
Wyco Water Company, at the time of Mr. Pugh's death in 1997, was
worth $500,000; and
Whereas, Mr. Zeb Pugh chartered the Wyoming County NAACP where
he served as President for many years and opened many doors for
African Americans within Wyoming County; and
Whereas, Mr. Zeb Pugh died on August 21, 1997. He is survived
by his wife of 56 years, Mrs. Margaret E. Pugh and three daughters,
Rebecca and Geneva Pugh and Faye Pugh Singh. His son, Rudolph
Pugh, died in 2002 in Inglewood, California; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Legislature hereby requests the Division of Highways
to name the bridge leading into Wyco, West Virginia, the "Zeb S.
Pugh Memorial Bridge"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Commissioner of the Division of
Highways is hereby requested to post signs thereon with words, printed in bold and prominent fashion, designating the bridge as
the "Zeb S. Pugh Memorial Bridge"; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates is
hereby directed to forward a certified copy of this resolution to
the Secretary of Transportation, the Commissioner of the Division
of Highways and the family of Mr. Zeb S. Pugh.