Zed Weatherholt Says Going To School With Former Rivals Was No Problem

Dunmore, WV – Like previous interviewees BJ Sharp Gudmundsson and Terry Barb, Zed Weatherholt was a part of the first graduating class from Pocahontas County High School 40 years ago. In the final interview of the series, I talked to Weartherholt and asked him the same question I posed to the other two, asking what it was like making the transition from one high school to another.

“I had a lot of friends at all three schools,” says Weatherholt. “For me it was an opportunity to have all my friends in the same school at the same time. I was not part of the rivalry because I was in a Rock N’ Roll band that played in all the schools.”

Similar to how the school band was a big part of that first year for Gudmundsson, and how the football team defined that first year for DeLayne Rhea, Weatherholt’s high school experience was strongly centered around his Rock N’ Roll band that was heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and The Rolling Stones. During the early 70’s Weatherholt’s band was pretty busy.

“We actually played a lot,” says Weatherholt. “We played in Monterey and Franklin. We were the first Rock N Roll band to play in Circleville, WV. We even played in bars even though we were probably too young.”

And of course that first school in 1970 brought some tragic news rockers like Weatherholt.

“It was in the 1970 that we lost Jimi Hendrix,” says Weatherholt. “I remember hearing about it outside the band room.”

Though rock stars of the 1960s were fading fast, and war in Vietnam was still going on, Weatherholt says that the early 70s was a great time and he feels sorry for the current teens that have to worry about things they never had to.

“Kids I hung around with were much more concerned about the clothes they were going to wear to the dance Friday night,” says Weatherholt. “We had the opportunity to be more innocent and to be teenagers. I’m not sure kids have that these days and that’s kind of sad.”

On Friday October 1st, following the Bath County Chargers and Pocahontas County Warriors football game, there will be a 70s themes Homecoming Dance at the Pocahontas Opera House, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the school.